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Showing posts with label Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Show all posts
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Mystery of the Moment
The Vedanta Kesari, p. 46-49, February 2007
Living In Time
‘Time" is our customary home. We are born in time, live in time and pass out in time. Throughout our life, we face time in various ways. There are good times and there are bad times. At times, we run short of time, and rush to meet the deadline—to catch a train, or submit an application, or complete a project, or finish an examination. Or, at other times, we wish we had something more meaningful to do than to merely ‘kill time." Time, as long as we live, is with us, always.
We also know the dynamics of time-force. Time plays a pivotal role in our life. There are specific times to do certain things. A farmer, for instance, knows what the right time is to sow the seeds, and when to start and stop irrigation. He also knows the right time for reaping the harvest. A black- smith knows when to strike the heated iron to give it the desired shape. A railway guard knows when to show the signal and how important it is to do so. Even a housewife knows when to remove the rice pot from the oven and when to open its lid. Every wise person has knowledge of how time functions in our lives and how we must learn to function according to it.
Time, with all its many-sided influence and power, makes and unmakes all our activities. Life, generally speaking, is centred in time. As in the case of all other activities of life, time plays a vital role in spiritual matters as well. Much before one tries to live a spiritual life, a time must come for living it. If one"s time has not come, no amount of advice and attempt to live a higher life is of much value.
Sri Ramakrishna would cite the case of an egg being hatched. He said, ‘…But you see, the mother bird doesn"t break the shell until the chick inside the egg is matured. The egg is hatched in the fullness of time. It is necessary to practise some spiritual discipline. The guru no doubt does everything for the disciple; but at the end he makes the disciple work a little himself. When cutting down a big tree, a man cuts almost through the trunk; then he stands aside for a moment, and the tree falls down with a crash." Breaking up the egg shell indicates the right state when the chick should emerge out of its protective environment. Before the right time arrives, the shell should not be broken. It might prove fatal.
A fascinating story is told about the importance of egg-shell. A little boy once sat reading his book near the window when his eyes fell upon a struggling caterpillar trying to emerge from its cocoon. It was a scene of great effort. The protruding butterfly jostled, pushed and made all possible attempts to come out. Seeing this, the boy"s heart melted. He leaned forward, took the struggling butterfly in his hands and gently pulled it out from its cocoon. But alas, contrary to his expectations, the butterfly could not fly. It was so very weak. It fluttered its wings, but could not take off. He waited but the butterfly could not fly. Watching all this from a distance was the boy"s uncle. He came nearer and addressing the boy, said, ‘Look, by making the butterfly come out of its cocoon before its right time, you have nearly killed it. It is nature"s plan that the butterfly should struggle to come out. Through its struggle, its pushing forward and backward, its wings are developed and become strong enough for flying. This butterfly will not be able to fly."
TO be Continued
Living In Time
‘Time" is our customary home. We are born in time, live in time and pass out in time. Throughout our life, we face time in various ways. There are good times and there are bad times. At times, we run short of time, and rush to meet the deadline—to catch a train, or submit an application, or complete a project, or finish an examination. Or, at other times, we wish we had something more meaningful to do than to merely ‘kill time." Time, as long as we live, is with us, always.
We also know the dynamics of time-force. Time plays a pivotal role in our life. There are specific times to do certain things. A farmer, for instance, knows what the right time is to sow the seeds, and when to start and stop irrigation. He also knows the right time for reaping the harvest. A black- smith knows when to strike the heated iron to give it the desired shape. A railway guard knows when to show the signal and how important it is to do so. Even a housewife knows when to remove the rice pot from the oven and when to open its lid. Every wise person has knowledge of how time functions in our lives and how we must learn to function according to it.
Time, with all its many-sided influence and power, makes and unmakes all our activities. Life, generally speaking, is centred in time. As in the case of all other activities of life, time plays a vital role in spiritual matters as well. Much before one tries to live a spiritual life, a time must come for living it. If one"s time has not come, no amount of advice and attempt to live a higher life is of much value.
Sri Ramakrishna would cite the case of an egg being hatched. He said, ‘…But you see, the mother bird doesn"t break the shell until the chick inside the egg is matured. The egg is hatched in the fullness of time. It is necessary to practise some spiritual discipline. The guru no doubt does everything for the disciple; but at the end he makes the disciple work a little himself. When cutting down a big tree, a man cuts almost through the trunk; then he stands aside for a moment, and the tree falls down with a crash." Breaking up the egg shell indicates the right state when the chick should emerge out of its protective environment. Before the right time arrives, the shell should not be broken. It might prove fatal.
A fascinating story is told about the importance of egg-shell. A little boy once sat reading his book near the window when his eyes fell upon a struggling caterpillar trying to emerge from its cocoon. It was a scene of great effort. The protruding butterfly jostled, pushed and made all possible attempts to come out. Seeing this, the boy"s heart melted. He leaned forward, took the struggling butterfly in his hands and gently pulled it out from its cocoon. But alas, contrary to his expectations, the butterfly could not fly. It was so very weak. It fluttered its wings, but could not take off. He waited but the butterfly could not fly. Watching all this from a distance was the boy"s uncle. He came nearer and addressing the boy, said, ‘Look, by making the butterfly come out of its cocoon before its right time, you have nearly killed it. It is nature"s plan that the butterfly should struggle to come out. Through its struggle, its pushing forward and backward, its wings are developed and become strong enough for flying. This butterfly will not be able to fly."
TO be Continued
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Gratitude: Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
Gratitude is not just a matter of a thank-you or some form of visible acknowledgment of the help we have received. These are outer and usually superficial ways of expressing our gratitude. They may be OK and sometimes even obligatory as a form of social etiquette, but they need not necessarily indicate that we are really grateful. It is possible to say a warm thank-you without being serious about it.
Obviously, real gratitude must proceed from the centre of our personality. How is this real gratitude expressed? Through love and reverence. We love and revere not only the benefactor but also the benefit he or she has bestowed on us. We use those gifts in the best possible manner, for ourselves as well as for others. Making the optimum use of our gifts is perhaps the best way to be grateful for the gifts received. When we use the gifts well, the message is loud and clear: 'I care for your loving presentation. I am grateful to you.
If we look back at our lives we'll be astonished to find what an enormous number of things there are we need to be grateful for. Let us begin with our parents, who were the first human beings we encountered as little babies. We could do nothing on our own then. We were fully dependent on them, particularly on our mothers. Have we cared to pause and ponder over their tireless, selfless labour, the continual sacrifices, and the unending care and love we received from them in those early years? They fed us, clothed us, nursed us back to health when we fell ill, and played with us. When we grew up a little, they arranged for our schooling and other facilities.
So, then, our parents did their duty in bringing us up and, to that extent, there seems little meaning in thanking them for it. This may be a little difficult to understand for those in the West, for there one says thank-you all the time for every little thing. Their prayers to God are also profusely filled with expressions of gratitude. A day called the 'Thanksgiving' is set apart every year when believers offer special thanks to God for all the bounties He has bestowed on them. But the Eastern tradition is different. In India no thanks are offered to God. No one says thank you to one's parents, teachers, children, and friends. Verbal thanking is considered a very formal gesture, tolerable in official dealings and among strangers, but not expected, even discouraged, in almost all other situations.
Once Sister Nivedita, by force of habit, said thank-you to a young Indian who had brought her a glass of water. She was quick to notice the subtle expression of pain on the young man's face, hurt as he was that the love and reverence with which he had done the little service to her was, so to say, compensated and neutralized by the two words: Thank You. She was careful thenceforth not to let this Western habit encroach on her dealings with those belonging to her adopted country.
To be Continued...
Obviously, real gratitude must proceed from the centre of our personality. How is this real gratitude expressed? Through love and reverence. We love and revere not only the benefactor but also the benefit he or she has bestowed on us. We use those gifts in the best possible manner, for ourselves as well as for others. Making the optimum use of our gifts is perhaps the best way to be grateful for the gifts received. When we use the gifts well, the message is loud and clear: 'I care for your loving presentation. I am grateful to you.
If we look back at our lives we'll be astonished to find what an enormous number of things there are we need to be grateful for. Let us begin with our parents, who were the first human beings we encountered as little babies. We could do nothing on our own then. We were fully dependent on them, particularly on our mothers. Have we cared to pause and ponder over their tireless, selfless labour, the continual sacrifices, and the unending care and love we received from them in those early years? They fed us, clothed us, nursed us back to health when we fell ill, and played with us. When we grew up a little, they arranged for our schooling and other facilities.
In the years that followed our parents were our constant source of support, encouragement, love, and security. How do we express our gratitude for all these things? It might be argued that our parents did everything because that is what they are supposed to do, it was their duty. We may appreciate their conscientiousness, but there is no question of being grateful for it. Now, that is an interesting point and it brings in a host of other related matters.
So, then, our parents did their duty in bringing us up and, to that extent, there seems little meaning in thanking them for it. This may be a little difficult to understand for those in the West, for there one says thank-you all the time for every little thing. Their prayers to God are also profusely filled with expressions of gratitude. A day called the 'Thanksgiving' is set apart every year when believers offer special thanks to God for all the bounties He has bestowed on them. But the Eastern tradition is different. In India no thanks are offered to God. No one says thank you to one's parents, teachers, children, and friends. Verbal thanking is considered a very formal gesture, tolerable in official dealings and among strangers, but not expected, even discouraged, in almost all other situations.
Once Sister Nivedita, by force of habit, said thank-you to a young Indian who had brought her a glass of water. She was quick to notice the subtle expression of pain on the young man's face, hurt as he was that the love and reverence with which he had done the little service to her was, so to say, compensated and neutralized by the two words: Thank You. She was careful thenceforth not to let this Western habit encroach on her dealings with those belonging to her adopted country.
To be Continued...
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Yearning for God: Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
Yearning for God is the out pour of Bakti or devotion. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa says that yearning for God happens only when one is exhausted of the fanciful experiences of life. The master further points out that when one is not done with 'Women and Gold', he is still not got out of the groove of the worldly ways. He illustrates this view drawing reference from His own life.
When Sri Ramakrishna was in Kamarpukur, Hriday's (Ramakrishna's nephew) son, a child of four to five years used to spend the day with the master. He was happy through out the day playing with toys. But at the approach of dusk, the child asked for its mother. Sri Ramakrishna tried to cajole the child by all possible means saying that he will give a pigeon and other things to divert its attention. However on further persistence, the child only wept for its mother's proximity. Sri Ramakrishna said that He Himself wept at the child's state.
The master thus says that one's yearning for God should also be like that of the child weeping for its mother. He says that is what is to be restless for the almighty. The worldly ways do not entice him anymore and his priority would be God and only God.
When Sri Ramakrishna was in Kamarpukur, Hriday's (Ramakrishna's nephew) son, a child of four to five years used to spend the day with the master. He was happy through out the day playing with toys. But at the approach of dusk, the child asked for its mother. Sri Ramakrishna tried to cajole the child by all possible means saying that he will give a pigeon and other things to divert its attention. However on further persistence, the child only wept for its mother's proximity. Sri Ramakrishna said that He Himself wept at the child's state.
The master thus says that one's yearning for God should also be like that of the child weeping for its mother. He says that is what is to be restless for the almighty. The worldly ways do not entice him anymore and his priority would be God and only God.
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