Master At Dakshineswar And Meeting Rani And Mathur

It was then 1855-56 andGadadhar was only nineteen years of age. One day, the great devotee Mathur, Rani’s son-in-law, having come across him inside the temple, asked Ramkumar: “Who is this young handsome brahmachari?” Ramkumar replied that he was his younger brother. Mathur said that he wanted very much to have that charming young boy stay at the temple. Ramkumar doubted if he would ever agree. Mathur just listened, but did not say anything on that day. That handsome face, however, was always in his mind and he was feeling increasingly attracted towards him. Due to circumstances, several events occurred simultaneously and one was the arrival of his nephew Hriday. Having his favourite Hriday with him the Master’s joy knew no bounds. The two were together all the time.

Now, since his childhood, the Master knew how to make clay images. In colour and gesture the icon was so exact that nobody could say that it was made out of clay it was as if all alive. … For his own worship, he made an image of Shiva with clay from the Ganga, complete with the trident, damaru, snake ornaments, crescent moon on the forehead, matted locks of hair on the head and the bull as the carrier. … While walking leisurely inside the temple, Mathur came across that Shiva’s image and was astonished. Who knows with what material the Master had created the image, it appeared that Shiva had come down from Kailasa in person. … Mathur took the image and at once rushed to the Rani’s place. In great wonder, Mathur said to her: “Where can one find out the maker of this exquisite image? Through our great fortune, he is right inside the temple and is no other than the handsome younger brother of the priest of Mother Kali. He is of tender age, and almost appeared to be a brahmachari, his very look captivates the mind. I strongly believe that if he could be persuaded to stay here as Mother Kali’s priest, in a short time, he could awaken Mother’s spirit in the deity. This is my firm conviction”. … 

Quickly, Mathur came outside and found that the Master and Hriday were pacing leisurely in the courtyard. He sent a message that he wished to talk to them. But the Master did not want to meet Mathur since he knew he would request him to stay at the temple. Mathur sent repeated requests and all were ignored by the Master. Ultimately, Mathur appealed to Ramkumar and, on his elder’s order, the obedient younger brother, accompanied by Hriday, who was like the shadow behind the tree, came to see Mathur. Seeing the Master, Mathur rose from his seat and then taking him aside respectfully requested him to assume the duties of the priest. The Master opposed, saying that the process of worship of a deity was indeed a veritable source of trouble, because one has to be always responsible for the costly ornaments and other articles of worship. However, he said, that if Hriday agreed to stay to help him, then he would agree to accept the proposal, however difficult the task might be. Mathur, overjoyed, immediately agreed to appoint Hriday. ...

(Akshay Kumar Sen "A Portrait of Sri Ramakrishna", Part II, “Master At Dakshineswar And Meeting Rani And Mathur, pp. 65-7)

Samadhi of Swami Vivekanand

Samadhi of Swami Vivekananda 

During his visit to America, one day Swami Vivekananda was found unconscious near a lake in the cold city of New Hampshire. When a gardener saw him lying lifeless, he ran and informed everyone about Swami Vivekananda 's sudden demise. Mr. Leggett, Sturges and MacLeod reached there in no time and tried in many ways to resuscitate him. But all attempts proved in vein. Even the doctors gave their verdict - 'Swamiji ji's pulse has stopped; he might have left his human garb....' However, amidst all that confusion and tension, Swami Vivekananda got up and sat with a normal disposition. Actually, he had entered the state of 'Nirvikalpa Samadhi.' His apparently unconscious state was misapprehended by people as death. Thereafter, Swami Vivekananda carried out several experiments on the subject of meditation over himself and also made others undergo the same. In times to come, the same place enriched with the vibrations of meditation become famous as one of the historical spots, known by the name of "The Thousand Island Park (Sahastra Deepodyaan)".

-[Let us be God's, Swami Ashokananda,)

SOME QUOTES OF SWAMI TURIYANANDA

SOME QUOTES OF SWAMI TURIYANANDA

 

“We have seen with these eyes. We have heard with these ears. When we came to Sri Ramakrishna he made us feel that God-realization was within our grasp. Yet occasionally we would become discouraged and worry whether our lives would pass without our reaching the goal. Then, in the course of time, the Master did everything for us.”

'There is none second to Him. He is all in all. He is my only refuge.’ When you come to this realization then you will have achieved something. The ordinary person depends on many things— on wealth, on friends, or on their own intelligence. But there is no security in anything but God.”

Eating, sleeping, fear, copulation—these are the common characteristics of man and beast. We differ from the beasts in that we can discriminate between right and wrong. If one lives on a low plane of consciousness, one finds pleasure in the senses. With spiritual growth, one experiences happiness in subtler things. Then the person no longer finds enjoyment in the gross. Most people live the lives of beasts—drinking, hunting, running after a mate. If one cannot rise to a higher plane of consciousness, human birth is wasted.

“Meditate! Meditate! Be absorbed in His consciousness! If you can think single-mindedly of the Master for five years, you will achieve everything. Then it does not matter where you live. East and West will be the same to you. Know that God alone is real. Nothing else matters.”

The root of religion is to have firm faith that there is a Reality behind this world appearance. As long as a person is in ignorance and still asserts that or he or she is one with the Absolute, they actually identify themselves with their own ego, not with Brahman. They do not know that there is a Reality beyond their little selves. They are really a kind of atheist.”

“In spiritual life, through the practice of meditation and prayer there comes first a feeling of the presence of God. Then arises the struggle to reach Him.”

“All people are slaves to nature. Some have a natural tendency toward inertia, others toward activity. Nature makes us helpless, and helplessly under her rule we sometimes act, sometimes become silent and lazy, and sometimes go to sleep. Nature controls us instead of our controlling nature. It is just as if a minister had usurped the king’s throne. I used to weep and pray that I would not remain under the control of nature. First be a witness to the workings of nature. Then try to realize the Reality that is beyond nature.”

“From my boyhood on I used to feel that a power was always protecting me, just as a child, learning to walk, is protected by its mother. I felt that I would fall if it were not for that protection behind me.”

“What people call conscience or the voice of God is the power of the guru. As a general rule, people make the mistake of killing their conscience, otherwise this power would guide everybody.”

“Be true to yourself, then you will attain everything. Sri Ramakrishna used to say: ‘Make your lips and your heart the same.’ That is to say, be sincere in every way. It is difficult to be sincere, but people think it is very easy.”

........... Swami Turiyananda