我的上师
本译文由人工智能辅助工具生成，可能存在不准确之处。如需查阅权威文本，请参考英文原文。
AI-translated. May contain errors. For accurate text, refer to the original English.
中文
克里希纳在《薄伽梵歌》（Bhagavad Gita）中宣称："每当美德衰微、罪恶横行之时，我便降临尘世，扶助众生。"每当我们这个世界因发展的需要、因新的环境而需要新的调适之时，一股力量之浪便会涌来。由于人同时活动于两个层面——精神层面与物质层面，两个层面上的调适之浪便会相继而至。就物质层面的调适而言，近代以欧洲为主导；就精神层面的调适而言，亚洲历来是世界历史的根基。今日，人类在精神层面上需要又一次新的调适；今日，当物质理念正处于光辉与权力的巅峰之时，当人因对物质的日益依赖而几乎忘却自身神圣本性之时，当人几乎沦为单纯的逐利机器之时，调适已刻不容缓。那声音已然发出，那股力量正在涌来，驱散正在汇聚的物质主义阴云。这股力量已被启动，它将在不远的将来重新唤起人类对自身真实本性的记忆；而这股力量起始之处，依然是亚洲。
我们这个世界是按照劳动分工的原则运作的。说一个人应当拥有一切，这是徒劳之见。然而我们是多么幼稚啊！孩童在懵懂无知中以为，自己的布娃娃是这整个宇宙中唯一值得渴望之物。同样，一个在物质力量上强盛的民族，也会以为那便是一切所值得渴望之物，以为那便是进步的全部意义，以为那便是文明的全部意涵；若有其他民族不在乎这种占有、不具备这种力量，他们便认为那些民族不配生存，其整个存在都是无用的。另一方面，另一个民族则可能认为纯粹的物质文明毫无意义可言。来自东方的声音曾经告诉世界：若一个人拥有了日光之下的一切，却没有灵性，这又有何益？这是东方的类型；另一种则是西方的类型。
这两种类型各有其宏伟，各有其荣光。当前的调适，将是这两种理想的和谐融合。对于东方人来说，精神世界与西方人所感知的感官世界同样真实。东方人在精神之中找到了他所渴望与期望的一切；在其中，他发现了使生命对他真实有意义的全部。在西方人眼中，他是一个梦想家；在东方人眼中，西方人才是梦想家——玩弄转瞬即逝的玩具，他不禁哑然失笑，竟有成年男女为一把迟早要放手的尘土而如此大惊小怪。双方都称对方为梦想家。然而东方的理想对于人类进步而言，与西方的理想同等必要，甚至我认为更为必要。机器从未使人类幸福，也永远不会。那些试图让我们相信这一点的人，声称幸福在于机器；然而幸福永远在于心灵之中。唯有能够主宰自己心灵的人，才能获得幸福，而无他。那么，机器的力量究竟是什么？为何一个能通过导线传输电流的人，便被称为伟大的人、聪慧的人？大自然每时每刻所做的事，不是要超越这一切百万倍有余吗？那为何不俯伏下去顶礼大自然呢？即使你拥有统治全世界的权力，即使你掌握了宇宙中每一个原子，这又有何益？除非你心中拥有幸福的能力，除非你征服了自己，否则这一切都不会使你幸福。人生来是要征服自然的，这固然不错；然而西方人所说的"自然"，仅指物质的或外在的自然。外在的自然确实壮丽巍峨，有其山岳、海洋与江河，有其无限的力量与变化。然而，人的内在自然更为壮丽，高于日月星辰，高于我们这片大地，高于物质宇宙，超越了我们短暂的生命；它提供了另一片研究的领域。东方人在此领域卓越超群，正如西方人在另一领域出类拔萃。因此，每当发生精神层面的调适，理应由东方发起，这是理所应当的。同样，当东方人想要学习造机器之术时，理应坐于西方人脚下，向其请教。而当西方人想要了解灵性、了解上帝、了解灵魂、了解这个宇宙的意义与奥秘时，他必须坐于东方人脚下去聆听。
我将向你们讲述一个人的生平——正是他在印度激起了这样一波浪潮。但在讲述此人生平之前，我要先向你们呈现印度的秘密，印度究竟意味着什么。那些眼目已被物质事物的光华所蒙蔽的人，那些将一生全部奉献于饮食享乐的人，那些以土地与黄金为占有理想的人，那些以感官欲乐为享受理想的人，那些以金钱为上帝、以今世的安逸舒适为人生目标、死后万事皆休的人，那些从不展望未来、极少思及感官对象之上更高事物的人——如此这般的人若去印度，会看到什么？贫穷、污秽、迷信、黑暗、丑陋，无处不在。为何如此？因为在他们心中，所谓启蒙不过是服饰、教育与社会礼仪。当西方各国竭尽全力改善其物质处境时，印度走了一条不同的路。那里生活着世界上唯一一群人，在整个人类历史上，他们从未越过自己的边境去征服任何人，从未觊觎属于他人之物；他们唯一的过错，不过是土地过于肥沃，勤劳双手积累了财富，因而引诱其他民族前来掠夺。他们甘心被掠夺，甘心被称为野蛮人；作为回报，他们愿意向这个世界馈赠对最高实在的灵视，为世界揭示人性的秘密，撕裂那遮蔽真实之人的帷幕——因为他们懂得那个梦，因为他们知道，在这物质主义的背后，生活着人的真实、神圣的本性：任何罪恶都不能玷污它，任何罪行都不能败坏它，任何欲念都不能污染它，火不能焚烧它，水不能浸湿它，热不能令其枯竭，死亡不能将其消灭。而对于他们而言，人的这种真实本性，与任何物质对象呈现于西方人感官面前一样真实。
正如你们勇敢地迎向炮口、高呼冲锋，正如你们以爱国之名勇敢地挺身而出、为国捐躯，他们则以对上帝的爱勇敢地同样献身。正是在那里，当一个人宣称这是一个观念的世界、一切皆是梦境时，他会抛弃衣物与财产，以证明他所相信和思考的是真实的。正是在那里，当一个人了悟生命是永恒的，便会坐于河岸之上，像抛弃一根稻草一样随时准备舍弃自己的身体。他们的英雄气概就在于此——他们随时准备以兄弟之礼迎接死亡，因为他们深信死亡对他们并不存在。他们的力量就在于此，这种力量使他们在数百年的压迫、外族入侵与暴政之下始终无法被征服。这个民族今天依然生存，即便在最惨烈的灾难岁月，精神巨人也从未停止涌现。亚洲在灵性上孕育伟人，正如西方在政治上、科学上孕育伟人一样。本世纪初，当西方影响开始涌入印度，当西方征服者手持利剑前来向圣哲后裔们"证明"他们不过是野蛮人、不过是梦想者，他们的宗教不过是神话，他们所有的追求——上帝、灵魂以及一切——都是无意义的空话，数千年的奋斗与漫长的舍弃全都是徒劳之时，年轻的大学生们开始思考：此前整个民族的存在是否是一场失败？他们是否必须按照西方模式重新开始，撕毁旧书、焚烧哲学、驱逐传道者、拆毁庙宇？那些用刀剑和炮火来"证明"自己宗教的西方征服者，不是已宣称所有旧路都不过是迷信与偶像崇拜吗？在西方模式的新式学校中成长受教的孩子们，从幼年起便接受了这些思想，疑惑由此而生，这并不令人惊讶。然而，非但没有真正摒弃迷信、切实地追寻真理，检验真理的标准却变成了"西方是怎么说的"。必须驱逐祭司，必须焚烧吠陀，因为西方如此说。这种不安与躁动催生了印度所谓的"改革"浪潮。
若要成为真正的改革者，有三件事不可或缺。第一是感受。你真的为你的兄弟姐妹们感到痛苦吗？你真的感受到这个世界上有如此多的苦难、如此多的无知与迷信吗？你真的感受到人们都是你的兄弟吗？这种理念是否已渗透你的整个存在？它是否随着你的血液流淌？它是否在你的血管中激荡？它是否流贯你身体的每一条神经和每一根筋脉？你是否充满了这种同情之心？若是如此，这不过是第一步。你还必须思考，你是否已发现某种救治之道。旧有的理念或许全是迷信，但在这些迷信的堆积之中，藏有真理的金块。你是否已发现一种方法，能够保留那纯粹的黄金而不夹杂任何杂质？若你已做到这一点，这也不过是第二步；还有一件事不可或缺。你的动机是什么？你是否确定你并非受到对黄金的贪婪、对名声或权力的渴望的驱使？你真的确定，即便全世界都想要将你压垮，你也能坚守自己的理想、坚持工作吗？你是否确定你知道自己想要什么，并且哪怕生命危在旦夕，你也只会履行自己的职责，仅此而已？你是否确定，只要生命尚存、心脏中还有一丝跳动，你都将坚持不懈？如此，你才是真正的改革者，你才是教师、导师，是人类的福祉所在。然而人是多么急躁、多么短视！他没有耐心等待，他没有洞见的能力。他想要统治，他想要立竿见影的结果。为何如此？因为他想要亲自收获果实，他并不真正在乎他人。为义务而义务，并非他所追求的。克里希纳说："你有权利行动，但无权要求行动的果实。"为何执着于结果？尽义务是我们的事，让果实自然成熟。然而人没有耐心，他抓住任何方案就上。世界上绝大多数的所谓改革者，都可以归入这一类。
如我所说，当印度似乎面临物质主义浪潮的冲击，圣哲的教导即将被淹没之时，改革的理念在印度兴起了。然而这个民族已经承受过千百次这样的变革冲击。与之相比，这一次不过是温和的涟漪。一波又一波的浪潮曾淹没这片土地，数百年来摧毁碾压一切。利剑曾高扬，"真主至大"的呼声曾响彻印度的天空；然而这些洪流退去之后，民族的理想依然完好如初。
印度民族是无法被消灭的。它屹立不倒，只要那种精神作为根基依然存在，只要她的人民不放弃灵性，它便将永远屹立。他们或许依旧是乞丐，贫困交加，污秽与凋敝或许始终如影随形；但只要他们不放弃自己的上帝，只要他们不忘记自己是圣哲的子孙，他们便不会灭亡。正如在西方，即便街头的普通人也想追溯自己与中世纪某位强盗男爵的血脉渊源；在印度，即便是端坐王座上的皇帝，也想追溯自己与林中某位乞丐圣者的血脉渊源——那是一位身披树皮、以山果为食、与上帝默然对话之人。这才是我们所期望的血统类型；只要圣洁依然如此受到最高崇敬，印度便不会灭亡。
你们中许多人或许已读过麦克斯·缪勒教授（Max Müller）在近期《十九世纪》杂志上发表的那篇题为《一位真正的圣雄》的文章。室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）的生平颇为引人入胜，因为那是他所宣扬的理念的生动体现。对于生活在与印度截然不同的氛围之中的西方人而言，这或许显得有几分浪漫。西方繁忙生活中的方式与习俗，与印度迥异。然而，或许正因如此，它会更加引人入胜，因为它将以全新的光彩，照亮许多人早已有所耳闻的事物。
正是在印度各种改革运动方兴未艾之时，1836年2月18日，在孟加拉一个偏远村庄，一个孩子出生于一个贫寒的婆罗门家庭。父母都是极为虔诚的正统信徒。一个真正的正统婆罗门的生活，是一种持续的舍弃。他能做的事情很少；除此以外，正统的婆罗门不得从事任何世俗事务。与此同时，他也不得接受任何人的馈赠。你们可以想象，这样的生活是何等的严苛。你们常常听说婆罗门及其祭司体制，但极少有人停下来追问：是什么使这群杰出的人成为同胞中的统治者。他们是全国所有阶层中最贫穷的；而他们力量的秘密，正在于他们的舍弃。他们从不觊觎财富。他们是世界上最贫穷的祭司阶层，因此也是最有力量的。即便在这种贫困之中，婆罗门的妻子也绝不会让一个穷人经过村庄而不给他一些食物。这在印度被视为母亲的最高职责；正因为她是母亲，她有职责最后才用餐；她必须确保所有人都已用餐，然后才轮到自己。这正是印度将母亲视为上帝的原因。我们所讲述之人的母亲，正是印度母亲的典范。种姓越高，限制越多。最低种姓的人可以随意饮食。但随着人们在社会阶梯上攀升，限制越来越多；当他们达到最高种姓——婆罗门，即印度世袭祭司阶层——他们的生活，如我所说，受到极大的约束。与西方的习俗相比，他们的生活是一种持续的苦行。印度教徒或许是世界上最具排他性的民族。他们与英国人有着同样强烈的坚定性，但更加鲜明。一旦他们掌握了一个理念，便会贯彻到底，一代又一代地坚守，直到有所成就。一旦给他们一个理念，便不容易收回；但要让他们接受一个新理念，也并非易事。
因此，正统的印度教徒极为排外，完全生活在自己的思想与情感的天地之中。他们的生活在我们古老的典籍中被规定得事无巨细，每一个细节都被他们以近乎磐石般的坚定所把持。他们宁可挨饿，也不愿意吃一顿由不属于自己小种姓群体的人烹调的食物。然而尽管如此，他们却有着强烈的专注与无比的虔诚。那种强烈的信仰与宗教生活的力量，在正统的印度教徒中时常出现，因为他们的正统本身便来自于一种强烈的确信——他们所坚守的是正确的。我们或许并不都认为他们以如此恒心所坚持的一切是正确的；但对他们而言确实如此。在我们的典籍中写道，一个人应当始终慷慨，甚至到极致的程度。若一个人为了帮助另一个人、为了拯救那人的生命而将自己饿死，这也是对的；甚至有观点认为，一个人应当如此行事。婆罗门尤其被期望将这种理念付诸极致。熟悉印度文学的人，会记得关于这种极端慷慨的一个美丽古老的故事——《摩诃婆罗多》（Mahabharata）中记载的，一整个家庭将自己活活饿死，把最后一餐施舍给一个乞丐。这并非夸张，因为此类事情至今仍会发生。我的导师（Ramakrishna）的父亲和母亲的品格，正是如此。他们极为贫寒，然而母亲常常一整天不吃东西，以便帮助一个穷人。这个孩子便是在这样的父母膝下诞生的；他从幼年起便是一个奇特的孩子。他一出生便记得自己的前世，清楚地知道自己来到这个世界的目的，所有的能力都奉献于实现那个目的。
他尚幼时，父亲便去世了；男孩被送去上学。婆罗门的孩子必须上学，种姓将他限定于只能从事有学问的职业。印度古老的教育制度，至今在许多地方、尤其在与游方僧（Sannyasins）相关的领域仍然盛行，与现代制度迥然不同。学生不需要缴纳学费。人们认为知识是如此神圣，以至于任何人都不应贩卖知识。知识必须自由地、无偿地传授。教师们无偿接纳学生，不仅如此，他们中的大多数还为学生提供食物和衣物。为了维持这些教师的生计，富裕家庭在某些场合——如婚礼或祭祀亡灵的仪式——会赠予他们礼物。他们被视为接受某些馈赠的首要和最优先的对象；而他们则反过来需要供养自己的学生。因此，每逢有婚礼，尤其是富裕人家的婚礼，这些学者便会受邀出席，到场讨论各种学问话题。这个男孩参加了这样一次学者聚会，学者们正在讨论逻辑或天文等远超他年龄的各种话题。这个孩子如我所说颇为奇特，他从中得出了这样的结论："这就是他们全部知识的结果。他们为何争得如此激烈？不过是为了钱；谁在这里能展示最高的学问，谁就能得到最好的布料，这就是这些人拼命争夺的全部所在。我不再去上学了。"他果真如此；这便是他上学的终结。然而这个男孩有一位兄长，是一位博学的学者，无论如何，还是带着他到加尔各答（Calcutta）随自己读书。不久之后，男孩便深深确信，世俗学问的目的不过是物质上的晋升，仅此而已；于是他决心放弃学业，专心致志地追求精神知识。父亲已去世，家境极为贫寒；这个男孩不得不自谋生路。他去到加尔各答附近的一个地方，成了一名寺庙祭司。在婆罗门人看来，成为寺庙祭司是极为有损尊严的事。我们的庙宇不像你们意义上的教堂，不是公共礼拜的场所；严格来说，印度没有公共礼拜这样的事物。庙宇大多由富人兴建，作为一种积累功德的宗教行为。
若一个人拥有丰厚的财产，他便想建造一座庙宇。在其中，他供奉上帝某一化身的象征或神像，并以上帝之名将其献为礼拜之所。礼拜方式与罗马天主教堂中举行的礼拜颇为相似，非常类似弥撒——诵读圣典中的某些文句，在神像前摇动灯火，并以对待一位伟大人物的方式对待神像。这便是在庙宇中所进行的一切。去庙宇礼拜的人，并不因此被认为比从不去庙宇的人更为虔诚。更恰当地说，后者反而被认为是更有宗教心的人，因为在印度，宗教是每个人自己的私事。每家每户都有一间小礼拜室或一个特设的房间，人每天早晚去到那里，坐在角落里，在那里进行礼拜。这种礼拜完全在内心进行，旁人既听不到也不知道他在做什么。旁人只见他坐在那里，或许以某种特殊方式活动手指，或许以某种特殊方式捏鼻呼吸。除此之外，旁人并不知道他的兄弟正在做什么；甚至他的妻子，或许也不知情。因此，所有礼拜都在个人家中私下进行。那些没有礼拜室的人，会去河边、湖边或海边——如果他们住在海边的话；但人们有时也会去庙宇，向神像行礼致敬。他们对庙宇的义务到此为止。因此，你们可以看出，在我们国家从极古远的时代起，便已在《摩奴法典》中立下规定：成为寺庙祭司是一种有损人格的职业。有些典籍说这种职业如此堕落，以至于会使一个婆罗门受人诟病。就像对教育而言——只是在宗教意义上更为强烈——其背后还有另一种理念：那些为劳务收取报酬的寺庙祭司，是在拿神圣之物做买卖。因此，你们可以想象，当这个男孩被迫因贫困而不得不接受对他唯一开放的职业——寺庙祭司时，他内心的感受。
孟加拉有许多诗人，他们的歌谣流传于民间；这些歌谣在加尔各答的街头以及每一个村落中传唱。这些歌谣大多是宗教歌曲，其核心理念——或许是印度各宗教所独有的——是实证的理念。印度没有一部关于宗教的典籍不呼吸着这种理念。人必须实证上帝，感受上帝，见到上帝，与上帝对话。这才是宗教。印度的氛围中充满了圣人亲见上帝的故事。这些教义构成了他们宗教的基础；所有这些古老的典籍与经典，都是那些与精神真实直接接触之人的著述。这些典籍并非为理智而写，任何推理都无法理解它们，因为它们是由那些亲眼见到自己所描述之事物的人写成的，只有那些将自己提升到同等高度的人才能理解它们。他们说，即便在今生，实证也是可能的，它对所有人开放，宗教始于这种能力的开启——如果我可以这样称呼的话。这是所有宗教的核心理念，这也正是为何我们会看到，一个具有最精彩口才或最有说服力的逻辑的人，宣讲着最崇高的教义，却无法让人倾听；而另一个人，一个穷苦之人，几乎连自己母语都说不流利，却在其有生之年，让半个国家将他当作上帝来礼拜。在印度，一旦某人已达到实证境界的消息以某种方式传播开来，宗教对他而言不再是猜测之事，他在灵魂的不朽、上帝等重大问题上不再摸索于黑暗之中，人们便从四面八方赶来探望他，并渐渐开始礼拜他。
庙宇中供奉着"极乐圣母"的神像。这个男孩每天早晚主持礼拜，渐渐地，一个念头占据了他的整个心灵："这些神像背后有什么吗？宇宙中真的有一位极乐圣母吗？她真的活着并主宰着这个宇宙，还是这一切不过是一场梦？宗教中有什么真实性吗？"
这种怀疑降临于印度教的孩子。这是我们国家的怀疑：我们所做的这些事是真实的吗？光凭理论无法满足我们，尽管几乎所有关于上帝与灵魂已曾被提出的理论，都触手可及。无论是典籍还是理论都无法满足我们，那个攫住我们数千人的理念，便是实证的理念。上帝真的存在吗？若真如此，我能见到祂吗？我能实证那真理吗？西方的心灵或许会认为这一切极不切实际，但对我们而言，它具有极为切实的意义。为了这个理念，他们献出了生命。你们刚刚听到了，从最古远的时代起，就有人舍弃了一切安逸与享乐，住在洞穴之中；数百人离开家园，在神圣河流的岸边流下痛苦的泪水——为了实证这个理念，不是通常意义上的"了解"，不是理智上的理解，不是对真实之物单纯理性的领会，不是在黑暗中的摸索，而是强烈的实证，远比感官感知这个世界更为真实。这就是那个理念。我现在并不就此提出任何命题，但这是印刻于他们心中的唯一事实。数千人或许会牺牲，另有数千人随时准备好。就这样，为了这一个理念，整个民族数千年来一直在舍弃与奉献自己。为了这个理念，每年数千印度教徒离开家园，其中许多人死于他们所承受的艰苦磨难。对于西方的心灵而言，这必然显得极不切实际，我能理解这种观点的由来。然而，尽管我曾居住于西方，我至今仍认为这个理念是生命中最为切实的事物。
我所花费在任何其他事物上的每一刻，对我而言都是损失——即便是地上科学的奇迹；一切都是枉然，若它使我远离了那个思念。无论你拥有天使般的智慧还是动物般的无知，生命不过是一瞬。无论你是身无分文的最贫穷之人，还是有生之年最富有的人，生命不过是一瞬。无论你是生活在西方大城市某条街道上的被压迫者，还是统治着数百万人的加冕皇帝，生命不过是一瞬。无论你拥有最佳的健康还是最糟糕的健康，生命不过是一瞬。无论你拥有最富诗意的气质还是最残酷的性情，生命不过是一瞬。印度教徒说，生命只有一种解答，那就是他们所称的上帝与宗教。若这些是真实的，生命便有了解释，生命便变得可以承受、值得享受。否则，生命不过是无用的负担。这是我们的理念，但任何推理都无法证明它；推理只能使它成为可能，止于此处。我们在任何知识领域所拥有的最高推论，也只能使一个事实成为可能，此外无他。物理科学中最可证明的事实，至今也只是可能性，尚非既定事实。事实只存在于感官之中。事实必须被感知，我们必须感知宗教才能向自己证明它。我们必须感知上帝，方能确信上帝的存在。我们必须用感官感知宗教的事实，才能知道它们是事实。除此之外，任何推理都无法使这些事物对我们成为真实，都无法使我的信念坚如磐石。这是我的理念，也是印度的理念。
这个理念占据了这个男孩，他的整个生命都凝聚于此。日复一日，他会哭泣着说："母亲啊，祢真的存在吗？还是这一切不过是诗人的吟唱？极乐圣母究竟是诗人与误入歧途者的幻想，还是真有这样一种实在？"我们看到，他没有受过任何书本教育，没有受过我们通常意义上的教育，正因如此，他的心灵愈加自然，愈加健全，他的思想愈加纯粹，未被汲取他人思想所稀释。正因为他没有上大学，所以他独立思考。正因为我们在大学里耗费了半生，我们便充满了他人思想的堆砌。麦克斯·缪勒教授在我刚才提及的那篇文章中，很有见地地说，这是一个纯净而原创的人；而这种原创性的秘密，就在于他不是在大学的围墙之内成长起来的。然而，那个关于上帝是否能被见到的思念——在他心中占据首位，并且日益强烈，直到他无法思及其他任何事物。他再也无法正常主持礼拜，再也无法以一丝不苟的周到处理各种细节。他常常忘记将食物供品置于神像前，有时忘记摇动灯火；另一些时候，他会摇动灯火数小时，忘记其他一切。
那个理念每天都在他心中萦绕："母亲啊，祢真的存在吗？为何祢不开口说话？祢是否已死去？"我们中的许多人或许会记得，在我们生命中有这样一些时刻——厌倦了那些枯燥死板的逻辑推演，厌倦了在典籍中跋涉——那些典籍毕竟什么也未曾教给我们，不过成了一种理智上的鸦片——我们必须在固定的时间服用，否则便要死去——厌倦了这一切之后，我们内心深处发出一声呼号："这个宇宙中，有没有人能为我指引光明？若祢存在，请将光照赐给我。为何祢不开口说话？为何祢使自己如此难觅，为何派遣许多使者而不亲自来到我面前？在这个纷争与派系的世界里，我该跟随并相信谁？若祢是所有男女之上帝，为何祢不来与祢的孩子说话，看他是否已经准备好？"在伟大的沮丧时刻，这样的念头也会降临于我们所有人；然而围绕着我们的诱惑是如此之多，以至于转眼间我们便忘记了。曾经有那么一刻，天堂的大门似乎就要打开；曾经有那么一刻，我们仿佛即将跃入那璀璨的光明之中；然而那动物性的人又一次抖落了这一切天使般的幻象。我们再次沉沦，重新成为动物性的人，吃喝死亡，死了又喝，喝了又吃，一遍又一遍。然而有些非凡的心灵，不是如此轻易地被引离，一旦被吸引便永远无法回头，无论路途中有何种诱惑；他们想要看见真理，知道生命必将流逝。他们说，就让它在崇高的征服中流逝吧，有什么征服比征服低劣的自我更为崇高，比解答生死、善恶的问题更为崇高？
终于，他再也无法在庙宇中当差了。他离开庙宇，走进附近的一片树林，在那里住了下来。关于他生命的这一段时期，他曾多次告诉我，他根本记不清日出日落，也不知道自己是怎么活下来的。他完全失去了对自身的意识，忘记了进食。在这段时期，一位亲属怀着深情守护着他，将食物放入他的嘴中，他便机械地吞咽下去。
日夜就这样流逝于这个男孩。每当一整天过去，傍晚时分，庙宇的钟声和歌声传入树林，他便会非常悲伤，哭泣道："又一天白白地过去了，母亲啊，祢还是没有来。这短暂生命中又一天流逝了，我还是没有认识真理。"在灵魂的煎熬之中，他有时会将脸贴在地上哭泣，这一祈祷从他心底迸发而出："请在我身上显现，宇宙的母亲啊！请让祢看见，我需要的是祢，而非其他任何东西！"确实，他想要忠实于自己的理想。他曾听说圣母决不会来，除非一切都为了祂而舍弃。他曾听说圣母渴望来到每个人身边，但人们无法得到祂，因为人们想要各种愚蠢的小偶像来礼拜，他们想要自己的享乐，而非圣母；一旦他们真的以整个灵魂渴望祂，除祂之外别无他求，圣母便会立刻降临。于是他开始将自己锤炼成那种状态；他想要精确，即便在物质层面上也如此。他扔掉了自己拥有的那点小财产，发誓永不触碰金钱，这一理念——"我不触碰金钱"——成为他的一部分。这或许显得有些神秘，但即便在他晚年睡觉时，若我用一枚钱币触碰他，他的手便会弯曲，他的整个身体便会变得仿佛瘫痪一般。另一个进入他心中的理念，是欲念是另一个敌人。人是一个灵魂，而灵魂没有性别，既非男也非女。性别只存在于身体之中，而渴望抵达灵的人，不能同时执着于性别的分别。他生于男性身体，却想要将女性的理念带入一切之中。他开始思想自己是一个女人，穿着女装，以女性的方式说话，放弃男性的一切职责，在一个良好家庭的女眷之中生活，直到经过多年的这种修炼，他的心灵发生了转变，他完全忘记了性别的观念；就这样，他对生命的整个看法都发生了改变。
这便是那种攫住人心的强烈渴望。后来，这个人亲口对我说："孩子，假设有一袋黄金放在一个房间里，而隔壁房间里有一个盗贼；你以为那个盗贼能安睡吗？他不能。他的心思将始终在想如何进入那个房间、取得那袋黄金。那么你认为，一个人若坚信在所有这些表象背后有一种实在，有一个上帝，有一位永不死去的存在，有一种无限的喜乐——与之相比，感官的那些欢愉不过是玩具——这样的人，难道能在不竭力追求祂的情况下安于现状吗？他能有片刻停止努力吗？不能。他将陷入渴望的狂热之中。"这种神圣的狂热攫住了这个男孩。那时他没有老师，没有任何人可以指引他，所有人都以为他失去了理智。这是寻常的状况。若一个人抛弃了世间的虚荣，我们便会听到他被称为疯子。然而这样的人才是大地之盐。正是在这样的狂热中，涌现出了推动我们这个世界的力量；也唯有在这样的狂热中，才会涌现出未来推动世界的力量。
就这样，日复一日、周复一周、月复一月，灵魂在不断地奋力寻求真理。这个男孩开始见到种种幻象，看见奇妙的景象；他本性的秘密开始向他开启。一层又一层的帷幕，仿佛被一一揭去。圣母本身成为了导师，将他所寻求的真理传授给了这个男孩。此时，来到这地方的是一位容貌端庄、学识无双的女子。此后这位圣者常常谈到她，说她并不是有学问之人，而是学问本身的化身；她就是学问，以人的形态显现。在那里，你也能发现印度民族的独特之处。在印度教普通女性所生活的蒙昧之中，在西方国家所称的她们缺乏自由的环境之中，竟然能够涌现出一位具有至高灵性的女子。她是一位游方尼（Sannyâsini）；因为女性同样可以舍弃世界，抛弃财产，不嫁人，专心侍奉上主。她来了；当她听说这片树林中有这样一个男孩，便提出去看望他；她给予了他所获得的第一份帮助。她立刻认出了他所经历的是什么，对他说道："我的孩子，有福了，能有这样的狂热降临于他。这整个宇宙都是疯狂的——有的为财富，有的为欢乐，有的为名声，有的为百般其他事物。他们为黄金而疯，为丈夫、妻子而疯，为区区琐事而疯，为欺压某人而疯，为暴富而疯，为一切愚蠢之事而疯，唯独不为上帝而疯。他们只能理解自己的疯狂。当另一个人为黄金而疯时，他们对他有同感与同情，说他才是对的人，就像疯子以为唯有疯子才是神志清醒的一样。但若一个人为了至爱、为了上主而疯，他们怎能理解？他们以为他已失去理智；他们说：'别理他。'这就是他们称你为疯子的原因；但你的这种疯狂才是对的。有福了，为上帝而疯的人。这样的人极为稀少。"这位女子在这个男孩身边住了数年，教导他印度各种宗教的形式，将他引入瑜伽（Yoga）的各种修法，仿佛引导并调和了这道惊人的灵性之流。
后来，同一片树林来了一位游方僧（Sannyasin）——印度的一位托钵修士，一个博学的人，一位哲学家。他是一个奇特的人，他是一个唯心主义者。他不相信这个世界真实存在；为了证明这一点，他从不在屋顶下居住，始终露天而住，无论风雨晴晦。此人开始向这个男孩传授吠陀（Vedas）的哲学；他很快惊奇地发现，在某些方面，这位弟子比他这位师父更为睿智。他与这个男孩共处了数月，之后将他引入游方僧（Sannyasins）的修道团，然后离去。
当他以庙宇祭司的身份、以非凡的礼拜方式使人们以为他精神失常时，他的亲属将他接回家，给他娶了一个年轻女孩为妻，以为此举能够转移他的思想，恢复他心灵的平衡。但他回来了，如我们所见，沉浸得更深于他的狂热之中。在我们国家，孩子们有时在幼年便已成婚，在此事上毫无选择；是他们的父母为他们做主。当然，这样的婚姻与订婚没有多大区别。成婚之后，他们仍旧继续住在父母家中，真正的婚姻关系要等到妻子长大之后才开始。届时，按照惯例，丈夫会去迎接新娘入住自己的家。然而在这个案例中，丈夫却完全忘记了他有妻子。在远方家乡的这位女孩，听说她的丈夫成了一个宗教热忱者，甚至被许多人视为精神失常。她决心亲自了解真相，于是动身徒步走到丈夫所在的地方。当她终于站在丈夫面前，他立刻承认了她对他生命的权利，尽管在印度，任何选择了宗教生活的人——无论男女——都由此免除了其他所有义务。这位青年跪倒在妻子脚前，说道："至于我，圣母已向我揭示，祂寓居于每一位女性之中，因此我已学会将每一位女性视为圣母。这是我对你所能有的唯一理念；但若你想将我拖入尘世，因为我已与你成婚，我任由你安排。"
这位少女是一个纯洁而高尚的灵魂，能够理解丈夫的志向并给予同情。她迅速告诉他，她并无意将他拖入世俗生活；她所渴望的，不过是留在他身边，服侍他，向他求学。她成为了他最虔诚的弟子之一，始终将他尊为神圣的存在。就这样，通过妻子的首肯，最后一道障碍被清除，他得以自由地过上他所选择的生活。
此后，攫住这个人灵魂的渴望，是了解各种宗教的真理。直到那时，他所了解的宗教不过是他自己的宗教。他想了解其他宗教是什么样的。于是他寻访其他宗教的老师。在印度，"老师"所指的，你们必须始终记住，不是一个书虫，而是一个已经实证真理的人，一个在第一手而非经由中间人了解真理的人。他找到了一位穆罕默德（Mohammedan）圣者，拜于其门下；他践行了圣者所规定的修行功课，令他惊异的是，当他如法修行时，这些虔信的方法将他引向了他先前已达到的同一目标。他从追随耶稣基督（Jesus the Christ）的真实宗教中，也获得了类似的体验。他遍访他所能找到的各个宗派，无论他拿起什么，都全心全意地投入其中。他完全按照指示去做，每次都抵达了同样的结果。就这样，通过实际的体验，他认识到：每种宗教的目标是相同的，每一种宗教都在尝试传授同样的事物，差别主要在于方法，更大程度上在于语言。在核心上，所有宗派和所有宗教都有着相同的目标；他们彼此争吵，不过是为了各自的私利——他们并不急于追求真理，而是急于维护"我的名"和"你的名"。两个人传讲同样的真理，其中一人说："那不可能是真的，因为我没有在上面盖上我的名号的印记。因此不要听他的。"另一人说："不要听他的，虽然他所传讲的与我所传讲的大致相同，但这并非真理，因为他不是以我的名义传讲的。"
这就是我导师所发现的，于是他开始学习谦卑，因为他发现，所有宗教的核心理念都是："不是我，而是祢"；凡说"不是我"的人，主便充满他的心。这个小小"我"越少，他身上的上帝便越多。他发现这是世界上每一种宗教的真理，并着手实现这一点。如我所说，每当他想要做任何事情，他从不满足于精妙的理论，而是立刻付诸实践。我们见到许多人，就慈善、平等与他人权利等话题说得头头是道，但那不过是纸上谈兵。我是如此幸运，遇到了一个能够将理论付诸实践的人。他拥有一种最奇妙的能力，能够将他认为正确的一切付诸实践。
当时，那地方附近住着一户贱民（Pariah）家庭。贱民在整个印度有数百万之众，是一群地位低下的人，低下到我们有些典籍中写道：一个婆罗门出门时若见到贱民的脸，当天便须斋戒，并诵念某些祈祷文，方能重新成为圣洁之人。在一些印度教城市，当贱民进入时，他必须在头上戴一根乌鸦羽毛，表示他是贱民，并高声呼号："请注意，贱民正经过街道"；你会看到人们如同被施了魔法般四散逃开，因为若不小心碰触了他，便须换衣服、沐浴，并进行其他清洁仪式。而贱民数千年来一直相信，这是完全正当的；他们的触碰会使所有人变得不洁净。现在，我的导师会去到一个贱民家中，请求允许他打扫那户人家。贱民的职业是清洁城市街道和打扫房屋。他不能从前门进入房屋；他从后门进入；他离开之后，他所走过的整个地方，都要被洒上恒河（Gangâ）圣水加以净化。婆罗门天生代表圣洁，贱民天生代表其反面。而这位婆罗门请求允许他在贱民的家中做卑贱的服务。贱民当然不能允许这样做，因为他们都认为，若允许婆罗门做这种卑贱的劳役，将是一大罪孽，并会导致他们绝嗣。贱民不肯允许；于是在万籁俱寂的深夜，当所有人都已入睡，罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）便进入那户人家。他留有长发，用他的长发擦拭地面，口中念道："哦，我的母亲，使我成为贱民的仆人，使我感到我甚至比贱民更为低微。""最能礼拜我者，是那礼拜我的信众之人。这些都是我的孩子，你的特权是服侍他们"——这是印度教典籍的教导。
还有其他各种各样的准备工夫，要一一述说需要很长时间，我只想为你们勾勒他生平的梗概。就这样，多年来他修炼着自己。其中一种修法（Sâdhanâ），是根除性别的观念。灵魂没有性别，既非男也非女。性别只存在于身体之中，而渴望抵达灵的人，不能同时执着于性别的分别。生于男性身体，这个人想要将女性的理念带入一切之中。他开始思想自己是一个女人，穿着女装，以女性的方式说话，放弃男性的职责，在一个良好家庭的女眷之中生活，直到经过多年的这种修炼，他的心灵发生了转变，他完全忘记了性别的观念；就这样，他对生命的整个看法都发生了改变。
在西方，我们常听到崇拜女性之说，然而这通常不过是因其青春与美貌。而此人所言之崇拜女性，是说在他眼中，每一位女性的面容都是那慈悲圣母的容颜，除此之外别无他物。我亲眼见过这个人伫立于那些被社会所唾弃的女性面前，泪流满面地俯身跪拜，口中道："母亲啊，祢在街头以一种形态显现，在宇宙中以另一种形态显现。我礼拜祢，母亲，我礼拜祢。"试想那样的生命是何等的福祉——所有肉欲已然消散，能够以那种爱与崇敬之心凝视每一位女性，令每一位女性的面容都蜕变升华，唯有那位神圣的母亲——那慈悲者、人类的庇护者——的容光在其上熠熠生辉！这正是我们所追求的。难道你认为隐藏于女性身后的神性可以被欺骗吗？它从不曾被欺骗，也永远不会被欺骗。它总是彰显自身。它无误地识破欺诈，无误地察觉虚伪，它能感受到真理的温暖、灵性的光辉、纯洁的神圣。若要获得真正的灵性，这般纯洁是绝对必要的。
这种严格、纯粹的洁净进入了那个人的生命之中。我们在生命中所历经的种种挣扎，对他而言早已成为过去。他以四分之三的生命艰难换来的灵性珍宝，如今已准备好馈赠给人类，于是他的使命便开始了。他的教导与布道别具一格。在我们国度，教师是最受崇敬的人，他被视为上帝本身。我们对父母也未曾有过同等的敬重。父母给予我们身体，而教师指引我们走向解脱（Moksha）之道。我们是他的弟子，我们诞生于教师的精神传承之中。所有印度教徒都会前来向这位非凡的教师致敬，众人聚集其周围。而此人便是这样一位教师，然而他丝毫不在意自己是否受人尊重，他根本没有意识到自己是一位伟大的教师，他认为一切都是圣母在做，而非他自己。他常说："若我的唇间流露出任何善言，那是圣母在说话；这与我何干？"这是他对自己工作的唯一理解，直到临终之日，他从未放弃这一观念。此人不求任何人。他的原则是：先塑造品格，先赢得灵性，结果自会随之而来。他最喜爱的比喻是："当莲花盛开，蜜蜂自会寻蜜而来；因此，让你品格的莲花充分绽放，成果自将随之而至。"这是一堂意义深远的功课。
我的上师曾数百次向我讲授这一教诲，而我却时常忘却。鲜有人理解思想的力量。若一个人走入山洞，将自己封闭其中，思索一个真正伟大的念头然后离世，那个念头将穿透洞壁，振荡于虚空之中，最终渗透整个人类。思想的力量便是如此；因此，不必急于将你的思想传授给他人。首先要有所给予。唯有拥有可以给予之物的人才能教导，因为教导不是说话，教导不是传授教义，而是传递与沟通。灵性可以被传递，正如我真实地可以将一朵花递给你一般。这在最字面的意义上都是真实的。这一理念在印度极为古老，并在西方"使徒传承"的理论和信仰中得到印证。因此，首先塑造品格——这是你所能履行的最崇高的职责。自己亲证真理，之后你将有众多可以传授真理之人；他们都会前来。这是我上师的处世态度。他不批评任何人。我与他共同生活了多年，却从未听到那双唇对任何教派说出一句谴责之言。他对所有教派都抱有同等的同情；他发现了它们之间的和谐。一个人可能是理智型、虔信型、神秘型或行动型的；各种宗教代表着其中一种或另一种类型。然而，在一个人身上将全部四者合而为一是可能的，而这正是未来人类将要做到的。这是他的理念。他不谴责任何人，而是在万事万物中发现善。
数以千计的人们前来见闻这位奇人，他以一种乡土方言说话，每一句话都充满力量、蕴含光明。因为真正发挥作用的，并非所说的内容，更不是所用的语言，而是说话者的人格——那弥漫在他一切言语中的人格——这才是有分量的。我们每个人有时都会感受到这一点。我们聆听最华丽的演说、最精密论证的演讲，回到家中便将其尽数遗忘。而有时，我们听到以最朴素语言说出的寥寥数语，它们却进入了我们的生命，成为我们自身的一部分，产生经久不衰的影响。一个能将自身人格注入言语之中的人，他的话语才能发挥效用，但他必须拥有强大无比的人格。一切教导都包含给予与接受：教师给予，被教导者接受；但给予者必须有所馈赠，接受者必须敞开心扉。
此人来到印度首都加尔各答（Calcutta）附近居住，这座城市是我国最重要的大学城，每年源源不断地输送数以百计的怀疑论者和唯物主义者。然而，许多大学中的怀疑论者和不可知论者都会前来聆听他。我听说了此人，便前去聆听。他看起来不过是个普通人，并无任何出众之处。他使用最朴实的语言，我心想："此人能是一位伟大的教师吗？"——我凑近他，问了那个我一生中向所有人都提过的问题："先生，您相信上帝吗？""是的，"他回答。"先生，您能证明吗？""是的。""如何证明？""因为我看见祂，就像我此刻看见你一样，只是感知要强烈得多。"这立刻给我留下了深刻印象。我第一次遇到一个敢于说他看见了上帝的人——宗教是一种可以被感知、可以以远比我们感知世界更为强烈的方式被体验的现实。我开始日复一日地前往此人处，并真实地看到了宗教是可以被传授的。一个眼神、一个目光，便能改变整个生命。我曾读到佛陀、基督与穆罕默德，读到古代那些不同的光明使者，他们如何挺身而出，说道："汝已痊愈"，而那人便真的痊愈了。如今我发现这是真实的，当我亲见此人，一切怀疑皆烟消云散。这是可以做到的；我的上师常说："宗教可以比世间任何事物都更为具体、更为真实地被给予和接受。"因此，首先成为灵性之人；有所给予，然后立于世间将其奉出。宗教不是谈话、教义或理论，也不是宗派主义。宗教无法在宗派和社团中存活。它是灵魂与上帝之间的关系；这怎能变成一个社团呢？如此一来它便会沦为商业，而无论何处，宗教中存在商业和商业原则，灵性便会消亡。宗教并不在于建造庙宇或修建教堂，也不在于参加公众礼拜。它不存在于书籍、言语、演讲或组织之中。宗教在于实证。事实上，我们都知道，除非我们亲自知晓真理，否则什么都无法满足我们。无论我们如何辩论，无论我们听到多少，只有一件事能够满足我们，那就是我们自己的亲证体验；而若我们愿意尝试，这样的体验对我们每一个人都是可能的。实证宗教的第一理念便是舍离。在我们力所能及的范围内，我们必须放弃。世界的享乐与上帝的享乐永远无法并行。"你们不能同时服侍上帝和玛门。"让人们试试吧，我见过世界各地数以百万计的人尝试过；然而最终，一切归于虚无。若此话有一句真理，那便是：为了主的缘故，舍弃一切。这是一项艰难而漫长的任务，但你可以从此时此地开始。我们必须一点一滴地向它迈进。
我从上师那里学到的第二个理念，也许是最为关键的，那便是一个奇妙的真理：世界上的各种宗教并不相互矛盾或敌对。它们不过是同一永恒宗教的不同面向。那一永恒宗教被应用于不同层面的存在，被应用于各种思想和各种民族的见解。从来就没有我的宗教或你的宗教，我的民族宗教或你的民族宗教；从来就没有存在过多种宗教，只有一种宗教。一种无限的宗教在整个永恒中存在，并将永远存在，而这种宗教在不同国家以不同方式表达自身。因此，我们必须尊重所有宗教，并尽我们所能地接纳它们。宗教的显现不仅依据种族和地理位置，也依据个人的秉性。在某一个人身上，宗教以强烈的行动力、以行事的方式显现自身。在另一个人身上，它以强烈的虔信（Bhakti）显现自身，在另一个人身上，以神秘主义显现，在其他人身上，以哲学显现，如此等等。当我们对他人说："你的方法是错误的"，这是错误的。也许一个天性充满爱的人认为，那个行善助人者并没有走在通往宗教的正确道路上，因为那不是他自己的方式，因而是错误的。若那位哲学家想："哦，那些可怜的无知之人，他们对慈爱之神和爱祂又知道什么呢？他们根本不知道自己在说什么，"他也是错误的，因为他们可能是对的，而他也是对的。
要学习这一核心秘密——真理可以是一，同时也可以是多；我们可以从不同的立足点对同一真理持有不同的见解——这正是必须做到的。如此，我们对任何人都不会有敌意，而将对所有人抱有无限的同情。我们知道，只要这世界上存在着不同秉性的人，同一宗教真理就需要不同的适应方式，我们便会明白，我们有义务彼此宽容。正如自然是多样中的统一——现象中存在着无限的变化——正如在所有这些现象的变化之中、贯穿其中运行着那无限者、不变者、绝对的统一体，每一个人也是如此；小宇宙不过是大宇宙的缩影；尽管有种种变化，在所有这些变化之中、贯穿其中运行着这永恒的和谐，而我们必须认识到这一点。这一理念，在我看来，是时代最迫切的需要，超越所有其他理念。我来自一个宗教教派众多的国家——无论命运好坏，每一个有宗教理念的人都想向那里派遣先锋——我从童年起便熟悉世界上的各种教派。就连摩门教徒也来印度传教。欢迎他们一切！那才是传播宗教的土壤。宗教在那里生根，比在任何其他国家都更为深厚。若你来向印度教徒讲授政治，他们听不懂；但若你来传播宗教，无论它多么新奇，你转眼间便会拥有成千上万的追随者，并且极有可能在有生之年成为活神明。我为此感到欣喜，这正是我们印度所需要的。
印度教徒中的教派数量众多，有些表面上看来毫无调和的可能，然而它们无不声称自己不过是宗教的不同显现。"正如从不同山脉发源、蜿蜒曲折或径直奔流的不同河流，最终都汇聚于大海，将各自的水流融为一体；同样，持有不同观点的不同教派，最终都归于祢。"这并非一种理论，而必须被认知——但不是以某些人那种居高临下的方式："哦，是的，其中有些很好的东西。这些是我们所说的民族宗教。这些民族宗教有些可取之处。"有些人甚至持有最为奇妙的开明观念，认为其他宗教都是史前进化中的一小部分，但"我们的才是万物的完成"。一个人说，因为他的是最古老的宗教，所以是最好的；另一个人以同样的理由声称，因为他的是最新的。
我们必须认识到，每一种宗教都拥有与其他宗教同等的救赎力量。你在庙宇或教堂中所听到的关于它们差异的一切，不过是一堆迷信。同一位上帝回应着所有人；无论是你、我、还是任何一群人，都无需为最微小的灵魂的安危与救赎负责；同一位全能的上帝对一切都负责。我不明白人们如何能声称自己相信上帝，却同时认为上帝已将所有真理托付给一小群人，而他们是其余人类的守护者。你能称之为宗教吗？宗教是实证；而仅仅谈论——仅仅试图相信——仅仅在黑暗中摸索——仅仅鹦鹉学舌般重复祖先的言词并以为这就是宗教——仅仅将宗教真理做成某种政治东西——这根本就不是宗教。在每一个教派中——甚至在我们通常认为最具排他性的穆罕默德教徒中——甚至在他们中间，我们也发现，无论何处有一个人试图实证宗教，从他的唇间都涌出了炽热的言辞："祢是万物之主，祢在一切人心中，祢是一切的引导者，祢是一切的教师，祢对祢子女之乡的关爱远超我们所能及。"不要试图动摇任何人的信仰。若你能，给予他更好的东西；若你能，在他所处之地把握一个人，给予他向上的推动力；这样做，但不要毁掉他所拥有的。真正的教师，是那个能在顷刻间将自己化身为千人的人。真正的教师，是那个能够立即降至学生的层面，将自己的灵魂传递给学生的灵魂，通过学生的眼睛观看、通过他的耳朵聆听、通过他的心灵理解的人。这样的教师才能真正教导，其他人皆不能。世间所有那些否定性的、拆解性的、破坏性的教师，都无法做出任何善事。
在我上师的面前，我发现即使在这个肉身之中，人也可以是完美的。那双唇从未诅咒过任何人，甚至从未批评过任何人。那双眼睛已超越了看到恶的可能，那颗心灵已失去了思恶的能力。他只看到善。那种超凡的纯洁，那种超凡的舍离，是灵性的唯一秘诀。"不是通过财富，也不是通过子嗣，而唯有通过舍离，才能达到不朽，"吠陀（Vedas）如是说。"变卖你一切所有的，分给穷人，来跟从我，"基督如是说。一切伟大的圣人与先知都以这种方式表达过，并在他们的生命中将其付诸实践。若没有舍离，伟大的灵性何以可能？舍离是一切宗教思想的根基，无论其出现于何处，你将永远发现，随着舍离这一理念的减弱，感官对宗教领域的侵蚀就愈多，灵性也以同等的比例减退。
那个人是舍离的化身。在我们国度，一个成为游方僧（Sannyasin）的人必须放弃一切世俗的财富与地位，我的上师将这一点照字面义切实奉行。有许多人若他肯接受馈赠便会感到自己是蒙福的，若他肯收下，他们会欣然赠予他数千卢比；然而恰恰是这样的人，他才会转身离去。他是一个凯旋的典范，是对情欲以及对金钱渴望之彻底征服的活生生的实证。他已超越了对两者的任何念想，而这样的人在这个世纪是必需的。在这样一个时代，人们开始认为没有他们所谓的"生活必需品"便无法度过一个月，而这些"必需品"正在以超出一切比例的速度膨胀，在这样的时代，舍离是必要的。在这样的时代，需要有一个人挺身而出，向世界上的怀疑论者证明：仍有人存在，他对宇宙间所有的黄金或所有的名望视若草芥。然而，这样的人确实存在。
他生命中的另一个理念，是对他人深挚的爱。我上师生命的前半段用于获取灵性，其余的岁月则用于传布灵性。在我们国度，人们拜访宗教教师或游方僧的风俗与你们不同。会有人前来向他请教某事，也许有人步行数百英里，只为问他一个问题，只为从他那里听到一句话："请告诉我一句能使我得救的话。"他们便是以这样的方式前来的。他们成群结队地前往他通常所在之处，不事拘礼；他们也许会在一棵树下找到他并向他提问；而在一批人离去之前，另一批已经到来。因此，若一个人受到极大的崇敬，他有时白天黑夜都得不到片刻休息。他必须不停地说话。数小时内，人们川流不息地涌来，而他则不停地向他们开示。
于是人们成群结队地来聆听他，他在二十四小时内要讲授二十小时，而这不是仅一天，而是数月之久，直到最后身体在这巨大重压下垮塌。他对人类深挚的爱令他不忍拒绝帮助数以千计寻求他援助的人，哪怕是其中最卑微的一个。渐渐地，他患上了严重的咽喉疾病，然而他仍无法被说服去停止这些努力。一旦听说有人求见他，他便坚持要让他们进来，并回答他们所有的问题。当有人劝阻他时，他回答说："我不在乎。我愿意舍弃两万个这样的身体来帮助一个人。即便只帮助一个人，也是光荣的。"他从无休止。一次，一个人问他："先生，您是一位伟大的瑜伽（Yoga）修行者。为何不将心念稍稍放在您的身体上，治愈您的疾病？"起初他没有回答，但当问题被重复时，他温和地说："我的朋友，我以为你是一位智者，但你说话却像世间的普通人。这颗心已经献给了主。你是说我该将它收回来，放在这个不过是灵魂的囚笼的身体上吗？"
于是他继续向众人布道，消息传开，说他的身体即将逝去，人们开始比以往更大规模地涌来。你无法想象他们前往印度那些伟大的宗教教师处的方式，他们如何将其团团围住，在他们尚在人世时便将其奉若神明。数以千计的人仅仅等待触摸他们袍角的机会。正是通过这种对他人灵性的欣赏与认可，灵性才得以产生。一个人渴望并珍视什么，便将得到什么；国家亦是如此。若你去印度发表政治演讲，无论多么宏大，你几乎找不到愿意聆听的人；但去传播宗教，活出它，而非仅仅谈论它，数以百计的人会聚集前来，只为一睹你的风采，触摸你的足跣。当众人听说这位圣人即将离他们而去，他们便比以往更加聚集在他周围，而我的上师则完全不顾及自己的健康，继续向他们教导。我们无从阻止这一切。许多人从很远的地方赶来，而他则坚持要回答他们的问题，直到回答完为止。"只要我还能说话，我就必须教导他们，"他常说，而他也践行了这一誓言。有一天，他告诉我们，他将在那天放下身体，然后诵出吠陀（Vedas）中最神圣的词句，进入三摩地（Samādhi），辞世而去。
他的思想与讯息只有极少数有能力传播的人所知晓。在他离去之后，他留下了几个年轻的男孩，他们已经舍离了尘世，准备好继承他的事业。有人试图将他们压垮。但他们坚守阵地，以那伟大生命的精神鼓舞自己。多年来受到那蒙福生命的熏染，他们站稳了脚跟。这些年轻人，以游方僧的身份，在他们出生的城市街道上乞讨为生，尽管其中一些人出身于显赫的家族。起初他们遭遇了巨大的抵制，但他们坚持不懈，日复一日地在全印度传播那伟大之人的讯息，直到那个人所宣扬的理念充满了整片大地。这个人，来自孟加拉一个偏远的村庄，没有受过正规教育，凭借自身坚定意志的纯粹力量，实证了真理并将其奉予他人，仅留下几个年轻的男孩来守护这一火种。
今天，室利·罗摩克里希纳（Shri Ramakrishna）·帕拉玛汉萨的名字已遍及全印度，为数以百万计的民众所知晓。不仅如此，那个人的力量已传播至印度之外；而若我在世界任何地方所说过的话中有任何一句真理、一句灵性之言，我都归功于我的上师；唯有那些错误是我自己的。
这是室利·罗摩克里希纳对现代世界的讯息："不要执着于教义，不要执着于教条、宗派、教会或庙宇；与每个人身上存在的本质——灵性——相比，这些无足轻重；而一个人身上灵性愈是发展，他对善所具有的力量就愈是强大。首先赢得它，获取它，不要批评任何人，因为所有的教义和信条都有其善的一面。用你的生命表明，宗教不意味着言辞、名称或宗派，而是意味着灵性的实证。只有那些曾经感受过的人才能理解。只有那些已达到灵性境界的人，才能将其传递给他人，才能成为人类伟大的导师。他们才是光明的力量。"
一个国家产生这样的人越多，那个国家就越能得到提升；而一个国家若这样的人完全不存在，那便只是注定走向毁灭——没有任何东西能拯救它。因此，我上师对人类的讯息是："成为灵性之人，并为你自己实证真理。"他希望你为了同胞的缘故而有所舍弃。他希望你停止谈论对弟兄的爱，动手去证明你的言辞。舍离与实证的时候已经来到，那时你将看见世界所有宗教中的和谐。你将知道根本没有任何争论的必要。而到那时，你才准备好去帮助人类。宣扬并阐明所有宗教之根本统一性，正是我上师的使命。其他教师传授了以其名字命名的特定宗教，但这位十九世纪的伟大教师没有为自己提出任何主张。他让每一种宗教都保持不动，因为他已实证：在现实中，它们都是同一永恒宗教的组成部分。
注释
English
"Whenever virtue subsides and vice prevails, I come down to help mankind," declares Krishna, in the Bhagavad-Gitâ. Whenever this world of ours, on account of growth, on account of added circumstances, requires a new adjustment, a wave of power comes; and as a man is acting on two planes, the spiritual and the material, waves of adjustment come on both planes. On the one side, of the adjustment on the material plane, Europe has mainly been the basis during modern times; and of the adjustment on the other, the spiritual plane, Asia has been the basis throughout the history of the world. Today, man requires one more adjustment on the spiritual plane; today when material ideas are at the height of their glory and power, today when man is likely to forget his divine nature, through his growing dependence on matter, and is likely to be reduced to a mere money-making machine, an adjustment is necessary; the voice has spoken, and the power is coming to drive away the clouds of gathering materialism. The power has been set in motion which, at no distant date, will bring unto mankind once more the memory of its real nature; and again the place from which this power will start will be Asia.
This world of ours is on the plan of the division of labour. It is vain to say that one man shall possess everything. Yet how childish we are! The baby in its ignorance thinks that its doll is the only possession that is to be coveted in this whole universe. So a nation which is great in the possession of material power thinks that that is all that is to be coveted, that that is all that is meant by progress, that that is all that is meant by civilisation, and if there are other nations which do not care for possession and do not possess that power, they are not fit to live, their whole existence is useless! On the other hand, another nation may think that mere material civilisation is utterly useless. From the Orient came the voice which once told the world that if a man possesses everything that is under the sun and does not possess spirituality, what avails it? This is the oriental type; the other is the occidental type.
Each of these types has its grandeur, each has its glory. The present adjustment will be the harmonising, the mingling of these two ideals. To the Oriental, the world of spirit is as real as to the Occidental is the world of senses. In the spiritual, the Oriental finds everything he wants or hopes for; in it he finds all that makes life real to him. To the Occidental he is a dreamer; to the Oriental the Occidental is a dreamer playing with ephemeral toys, and he laughs to think that grown-up men and women should make so much of a handful of matter which they will have to leave sooner or later. Each calls the other a dreamer. But the oriental ideal is as necessary for the progress of the human race as is the occidental, and I think it is more necessary. Machines never made mankind happy and never will make. He who is trying to make us believe this will claim that happiness is in the machine; but it is always in the mind. That man alone who is the lord of his mind can become happy, and none else. And what, after all, is this power of machinery? Why should a man who can send a current of electricity through a wire be called a very great man and a very intelligent man? Does not nature do a million times more than that every moment? Why not then fall down and worship nature? What avails it if you have power over the whole of the world, if you have mastered every atom in the universe? That will not make you happy unless you have the power of happiness in yourself, until you have conquered yourself. Man is born to conquer nature, it is true, but the Occidental means by "nature" only physical or external nature. It is true that external nature is majestic, with its mountains, and oceans, and rivers, and with its infinite powers and varieties. Yet there is a more majestic internal nature of man, higher than the sun, moon, and stars, higher than this earth of ours, higher than the physical universe, transcending these little lives of ours; and it affords another field of study. There the Orientals excel, just as the Occidentals excel in the other. Therefore it is fitting that, whenever there is a spiritual adjustment, it should come from the Orient. It is also fitting that when the Oriental wants to learn about machine-making, he should sit at the feet of the Occidental and learn from him. When the Occident wants to learn about the spirit, about God, about the soul, about the meaning and the mystery of this universe, he must sit at the feet of the Orient to learn.
I am going to present before you the life of one man who has put in motion such a wave in India. But before going into the life of this man, I will try to present before you the secret of India, what India means. If those whose eyes have been blinded by the glamour of material things, whose whole dedication of life is to eating and drinking and enjoying, whose ideal of possession is lands and gold, whose ideal of pleasure is that of the senses, whose God is money, and whose goal is a life of ease and comfort in this world and death after that, whose minds never look forward, and who rarely think of anything higher than the sense-objects in the midst of which they live — if such as these go to India, what do they see? Poverty, squalor, superstition, darkness, hideousness everywhere. Why? Because in their minds enlightenment means dress, education, social politeness. Whereas occidental nations have used every effort to improve their material position, India has done differently. There live the only men in the world who, in the whole history of humanity, never went beyond their frontiers to conquer anyone, who never coveted that which belonged to anyone else, whose only fault was that their lands were so fertile, and they accumulated wealth by the hard labour of their hands, and so tempted other nations to come and despoil them. They are contented to be despoiled, and to be called barbarians; and in return they want to send to this world visions of the Supreme, to lay bare for the world the secrets of human nature, to rend the veil that conceals the real man, because they know the dream, because they know that behind this materialism lives the real, divine nature of man which no sin can tarnish, no crime can spoil, no lust can taint, which fire cannot burn, nor water wet, which heat cannot dry nor death kill. And to them this true nature of man is as real as is any material object to the senses of an Occidental.
Just as you are brave to jump at the mouth of a cannon with a hurrah, just as you are brave in the name of patriotism to stand up and give up your lives for your country, so are they brave in the name of God. There it is that when a man declares that this is a world of ideas, that it is all a dream, he casts off clothes and property to demonstrate that what he believes and thinks is true. There it is that a man sits on the bank of a river, when he has known that life is eternal, and wants to give up his body just as nothing, just as you can give up a bit of straw. Therein lies their heroism, that they are ready to face death as a brother, because they are convinced that there is no death for them. Therein lies the strength that has made them invincible through hundreds of years of oppression and foreign invasion and tyranny. The nation lives today, and in that nation even in the days of the direst disaster, spiritual giants have, never failed to arise. Asia produces giants in spirituality, just as the Occident produces giants in politics, giants in science. In the beginning of the present century, when Western influence began to pour into India, when Western conquerors, sword in hand, came to demonstrate to the children of the sages that they were mere barbarians, a race of dreamers, that their religion was but mythology, and god and soul and everything they had been struggling for were mere words without meaning, that the thousands of years of struggle, the thousands of years of endless renunciation, had all been in vain, the question began to be agitated among young men at the universities whether the whole national existence up to then had been a failure, whether they must begin anew on the occidental plan, tear up their old books, burn their philosophies, drive away their preachers, and break down their temples. Did not the occidental conqueror, the man who demonstrated his religion with sword and gun, say that all the old ways were mere superstition and idolatry? Children brought up and educated in the new schools started on the occidental plan, drank in these ideas, from their childhood; and it is not to be wondered at that doubts arose. But instead of throwing away superstition and making a real search after truth, the test of truth became, "What does the West say?" The priests must go, the Vedas must be burned, because the West has said so. Out of the feeling of unrest thus produced, there arose a wave of so-called reform in India.
If you wish to be a true reformer, three things are necessary. The first is to feel. Do you really feel for your brothers? Do you really feel that there is so much misery in the world, so much ignorance and superstition? Do you really feel that men are your brothers? Does this idea come into your whole being? Does it run with your blood? Does it tingle in your veins? Does it course through every nerve and filament of your body? Are you full of that idea of sympathy? If you are, that is only the first step. You must think next if you have found any remedy. The old ideas may be all superstition, but in and round these masses of superstition are nuggets of gold and truth. Have you discovered means by which to keep that gold alone, without any of the dross? If you have done that, that is only the second step; one more thing is necessary. What is your motive? Are you sure that you are not actuated by greed of gold, by thirst for fame or power? Are you really sure that you can stand to your ideals and work on, even if the whole world wants to crush you down? Are you sure you know what you want and will perform your duty, and that alone, even if your life is at stake? Are you sure that you will persevere so long as life endures, so long as there is one pulsation left in the heart? Then you are a real reformer, you are a teacher, a Master, a blessing to mankind. But man is so impatient, so short-sighted! He has not the patience to wait, he has not the power to see. He wants to rule, he wants results immediately. Why? He wants to reap the fruits himself, and does not really care for others. Duty for duty's sake is not what he wants. "To work you have the right, but not to the fruits thereof," says Krishna. Why cling to results? Ours are the duties. Let the fruits take care of themselves. But man has no patience. He takes up any scheme. The larger number of would-be reformers all over the world can be classed under this heading.
As I have said, the idea of reform came to India when it seemed as if the wave of materialism that had invaded her shores would sweep away the teachings of the sages. But the nation had borne the shocks of a thousand such waves of change. This one was mild in comparison. Wave after wave had flooded the land, breaking and crushing everything for hundreds of years. The sword had flashed, and "Victory unto Allah" had rent the skies of India; but these floods subsided, leaving the national ideals unchanged.
The Indian nation cannot be killed. Deathless it stands, and it will stand so long as that spirit shall remain as the background, so long as her people do not give up their spirituality. Beggars they may remain, poor and poverty-stricken, dirt and squalor may surround them perhaps throughout all time, but let them not give up their God, let them not forget that they are the children of the sages. Just as in the West, even the man in the street wants to trace his descent from some robber-baron of the Middle Ages, so in India, even an Emperor on the throne wants to trace his descent from some beggar-sage in the forest, from a man who wore the bark of a tree, lived upon the fruits of the forest and communed with God. That is the type of descent we want; and so long as holiness is thus supremely venerated, India cannot die.
Many of you perhaps have read the article by Prof. Max Müller in a recent issue of the Nineteenth Century, headed "A Real Mahâtman". The life of Shri Ramakrishna is interesting, as it was a living illustration of the ideas that he preached. Perhaps it will be a little romantic for you who live in the West in an atmosphere entirely different from that of India. For the methods and manners in the busy rush of life in the West vary entirely from those of India. Yet perhaps it will be of all the more interest for that, because it will bring into a newer light, things about which many have already heard.
It was while reforms of various kinds were being inaugurated in India that a child was born of poor Brâhmin parents on the eighteenth of February, 1836, in one of the remote villages of Bengal. The father and mother were very orthodox people. The life of a really orthodox Brahmin is one of continuous renunciation. Very few things can he do; and over and beyond them the orthodox Brahmin must not occupy himself with any secular business. At the same time he must not receive gifts from everybody. You may imagine how rigorous that life becomes. You have heard of the Brahmins and their priestcraft many times, but very few of you have ever stopped to ask what makes this wonderful band of men the rulers of their fellows. They are the poorest of all the classes in the country; and the secret of their power lies in their renunciation. They never covet wealth. Theirs is the poorest priesthood in the world, and therefore the most powerful. Even in this poverty, a Brahmin's wife will never allow a poor man to pass through the village without giving him something to eat. That is considered the highest duty of the mother in India; and because she is the mother it is her duty to be served last; she must see that everyone is served before her turn comes. That is why the mother is regarded as God in India. This particular woman, the mother of our subject, was the very type of a Hindu mother. The higher the caste, the greater the restrictions. The lowest caste people can eat and drink anything they like. But as men rise in the social scale, more and more restrictions come; and when they reach the highest caste, the Brahmin, the hereditary priesthood of India, their lives, as I have said, are very much circumscribed. Compared to Western manners, their lives are of continuous asceticism. The Hindus are perhaps the most exclusive nation in the world. They have the same great steadiness as the English, but much more amplified. When they get hold of an idea they carry it out to its very conclusion, and they, keep hold of it generation after generation until they make something out of it. Once give them an idea, and it is not easy to take it back; but it is hard to make them grasp a new idea.
The orthodox Hindus, therefore, are very exclusive, living entirely within their own horizon of thought and feeling. Their lives are laid down in our old books in every little detail, and the least detail is grasped with almost adamantine firmness by them. They would starve rather than eat a meal cooked by the hands of a man not belonging to their own small section of caste. But withal, they have intensity and tremendous earnestness. That force of intense faith and religious life occurs often among the orthodox Hindus, because their very orthodoxy comes from a tremendous conviction that it is right. We may not all think that what they hold on to with such perseverance is right; but to them it is. Now, it is written in our books that a man should always be charitable even to the extreme. If a man starves himself to death to help another man, to save that man's life, it is all right; it is even held that a man ought to do that. And it is expected of a Brahmin to carry this idea out to the very extreme. Those who are acquainted with the literature of India will remember a beautiful old story about this extreme charity, how a whole family, as related in the Mahâbhârata, starved themselves to death and gave their last meal to a beggar. This is not an exaggeration, for such things still happen. The character of the father and the mother of my Master was very much like that. Very poor they were, and yet many a time the mother would starve herself a whole day to help a poor man. Of them this child was born; and he was a peculiar child from very boyhood. He remembered his past from his birth and was conscious for what purpose he came into the world, and every power was devoted to the fulfilment of that purpose.
While he was quite young, his father died; and the boy was sent to school. A Brahmin's boy must go to school; the caste restricts him to a learned profession only. The old system of education in India, still prevalent in many parts of the country, especially in connection with Sannyasins, is very different from the modern system. The students had not to pay. It was thought that knowledge is so sacred that no man ought to sell it. Knowledge must be given freely and without any price. The teachers used to take students without charge, and not only so, most of them gave their students food and clothes. To support these teachers the wealthy families on certain occasions, such as a marriage festival, or at the ceremonies for the dead, made gifts to them. They were considered the first and foremost claimants to certain gifts; and they in their turn had to maintain their students. So whenever there is a marriage, especially in a rich family, these professors are invited, and they attend and discuss various subjects. This boy went to one of these gatherings of professors, and the professors were discussing various topics, such as logic or astronomy, subjects much beyond his age. The boy was peculiar, as I have said, and he gathered this moral out of it: "This is the outcome of all their knowledge. Why are they fighting so hard? It is simply for money; the man who can show the highest learning here will get the best pair of cloth, and that is all these people are struggling for. I will not go to school any more." And he did not; that was the end of his going to school. But this boy had an elder brother, a learned professor, who took him to Calcutta, however, to study with him. After a short time the boy became fully convinced that the aim of all secular learning was mere material advancement, and nothing more, and he resolved to give up study and devote himself solely to the pursuit of spiritual knowledge. The father being dead, the family was very poor; and this boy had to make his own living. He went to a place near Calcutta and became a temple priest. To become a temple priest is thought very degrading to a Brahmin. Our temples are not churches in your sense of the word, they are not places for public worship; for, properly speaking, there is no such thing as public worship in India. Temples are erected mostly by rich persons as a meritorious religious act.
If a man has much property, he wants to build a temple. In that he puts a symbol or an image of an Incarnation of God, and dedicates it to worship in the name of God. The worship is akin to that which is conducted in Roman Catholic churches, very much like the mass, reading certain sentences from the sacred books, waving a light before the image, and treating the image in every respect as we treat a great man. This is all that is done in the temple. The man who goes to a temple is not considered thereby a better man than he who never goes. More properly, the latter is considered the more religious man, for religion in India is to each man his own private affair. In the house of every man there is either a little chapel, or a room set apart, and there he goes morning and evening, sits down in a corner, and there does his worship. And this worship is entirely mental, for another man does not hear or know what he is doing. He sees him only sitting there, and perhaps moving his fingers in a peculiar fashion, or closing his nostrils and breathing in a peculiar manner. Beyond that, he does not know what his brother is doing; even his wife, perhaps, will not know. Thus, all worship is conducted in the privacy of his own home. Those who cannot afford to have a chapel go to the banks of a river, or a lake, or the sea if they live at the seaside, but people sometimes go to worship in a temple by making salutation to the image. There their duty to the temple ends. Therefore, you see, it has been held from the most ancient times in our country, legislated upon by Manu, that it is a degenerating occupation to become a temple priest. Some of the books say it is so degrading as to make a Brahmin worthy of reproach. Just as with education, but in a far more intense sense with religion, there is the other idea behind it that the temple priests who take fees for their work are making merchandise of sacred things. So you may imagine the feelings of that boy when he was forced through poverty to take up the only occupation open to him, that of a temple priest.
There have been various poets in Bengal whose songs have passed down to the people; they are sung in the streets of Calcutta and in every village. Most of these are religious songs, and their one central idea, which is perhaps peculiar to the religions of India, is the idea of realisation. There is not a book in India on religion which does not breathe this idea. Man must realise God, feel God, see God, talk to God. That is religion. The Indian atmosphere is full of stories of saintly persons having visions of God. Such doctrines form the basis of their religion; and all these ancient books and scriptures are the writings of persons who came into direct contact with spiritual facts. These books were not written for the intellect, nor can any reasoning understand them, because they were written by men who saw the things of which they wrote, and they can be understood only by men who have raised themselves to the same height. They say there is such a thing as realisation even in this life, and it is open to everyone, and religion begins with the opening of this faculty, if I may call it so. This is the central idea in all religions, and this is why we may find one man with the most finished oratorical powers, or the most convincing logic, preaching the highest doctrines and yet unable to get people to listen to him, while we may find another, a poor man, who scarcely can speak the language of his own motherland, yet half the nation worships him in his own lifetime as God. When in India the idea somehow or other gets abroad that a man has raised himself to that state of realisation, that religion is no more a matter of conjecture to him, that he is no more groping in the dark in such momentous questions as religion, the immortality of the soul, and God, people come from all quarters to see him and gradually they begin to worship him.
In the temple was an image of the "Blissful Mother". This boy had to conduct the worship morning and evening, and by degrees this one idea filled his mind: "Is there anything behind this images? Is it true that there is a Mother of Bliss in the universe? Is it true that She lives and guides the universe, or is it all a dream? Is there any reality in religion?"
This scepticism comes to the Hindu child. It is the scepticism of our country: Is this that we are doing real? And theories will not satisfy us, although there are ready at hand almost all the theories that have ever been made with regard to God and soul. Neither books nor theories can satisfy us, the one idea that gets hold of thousands of our people is this idea of realisation. Is it true that there is a God? If it be true, can I see Him? Can I realise the truth? The Western mind may think all this very impracticable, but to us it is intensely practical. For this their lives. You have just heard how from the earliest times there have been persons who have given up all comforts and luxuries to live in caves, and hundreds have given up their homes to weep bitter tears of misery, on the banks of sacred rivers, in order to realise this idea — not to know in the ordinary sense of the word, not intellectual understanding, not a mere rationalistic comprehension of the real thing, not mere groping in the dark, but intense realisation, much more real than this world is to our senses. That is the idea. I do not advance any proposition as to that just now, but that is the one fact that is impressed upon them. Thousands will be killed, other thousands will be ready. So upon this one idea the whole nation for thousands of years have been denying and sacrificing themselves. For this idea thousands of Hindus every year give up their homes, and many of them die through the hardships they have to undergo. To the Western mind this must seem most visionary, and I can see the reason for this point of view. But though I have resided in the West, I still think this idea the most practical thing in life.
Every moment I think of anything else is so much loss to me — even the marvels of earthly sciences; everything is vain if it takes me away from that thought. Life is but momentary, whether you have the knowledge of an angel or the ignorance of an animal. Life is but momentary, whether you have the poverty of the poorest man in rags or the wealth of the richest living person. Life is but momentary, whether you are a downtrodden man living in one of the big streets of the big cities of the West or a crowned Emperor ruling over millions. Life is but momentary, whether you have the best of health or the worst. Life is but momentary, whether you have the most poetical temperament or the most cruel. There is but one solution of life, says the Hindu, and that solution is what they call God and religion. If these be true, life becomes explained, life becomes bearable, becomes enjoyable. Otherwise, life is but a useless burden. That is our idea, but no amount of reasoning can demonstrate it; it can only make it probable, and there it rests. The highest demonstration of reasoning that we have in any branch of knowledge can only make a fact probable, and nothing further. The most demonstrable facts of physical science are only probabilities, not facts yet. Facts are only in the senses. Facts have to be perceived, and we have to perceive religion to demonstrate it to ourselves. We have to sense God to be convinced that there is a God. We must sense the facts of religion to know that they are facts. Nothing else, and no amount of reasoning, but our own perception can make these things real to us, can make my belief firm as a rock. That is my idea, and that is the Indian idea.
This idea took possession of the boy and his whole life became concentrated upon that. Day after day he would weep and say, "Mother, is it true that Thou existest, or is it all poetry? Is the Blissful Mother an imagination of poets and misguided people, or is there such a Reality?" We have seen that of books, of education in our sense of the word, he had none, and so much the more natural, so much the more healthy, was his mind, so much the purer his thoughts, undiluted by drinking in the thoughts of others. Because he did not go to the university, therefore he thought for himself. Because we have spent half our lives in the university we are filled with a collection of other people's thoughts. Well has Prof. Max Müller said in the article I have just referred to that this was a clean, original man; and the secret of that originality was that he was not brought up within the precincts of a university. However, this thought — whether God can be seen — which was uppermost in his mind gained in strength every day until he could think of nothing else. He could no more conduct the worship properly, could no more attend to the various details in all their minuteness. Often he would forget to place the food-offering before the image, sometimes he would forget to wave the light; at other times he would wave it for hours, and forget everything else.
And that one idea was in his mind every day: "Is it true that Thou existest, O Mother? Why cost Thou not speak? Art Thou dead?" Perhaps some of us here will remember that there are moments in our lives when, tired of all these ratiocinations of dull and dead logic, tired of plodding through books — which after all teach us nothing, become nothing but a sort of intellectual opium-eating — we must have it at stated times or we die — tired with all this, the heart of our hearts sends out a wail: "Is there no one in this universe who can show me the light? If Thou art, show the light unto me. Why dost Thou not speak? Why dost Thou make Thyself so scarce, why send so many Messengers and not Thyself come to me? In this world of fights and factions whom am I to follow and believe? If Thou art the God of every man and woman alike, why comest Thou not to speak to Thy child and see if he is not ready?" Well, to us all come such thoughts in moments of great depression; but such are the temptations surrounding us, that the next moment we forget. For the moment it seemed that the doors of the heavens were going to be opened, for the moment it seemed as if we were going to plunge into the light effulgent; but the animal man again shakes off all these angelic visions. Down we go, animal man once more eating and drinking and dying, and dying and drinking and eating again and again. But there are exceptional minds which are not turned away so easily, which once attracted can never be turned back, whatever may be the temptation in the way, which want to see the Truth knowing that life must go. They say, let it go in a noble conquest, and what conquest is nobler than the conquest of the lower man, than this solution of the problem of life and death, of good and evil?
At last it became impossible for him to serve in the temple. He left it and entered into a little wood that was near and lived there. About this part of his life, he told me many times that he could not tell when the sun rose or set, or how he lived. He lost all thought of himself and forgot to eat. During this period he was lovingly watched over by a relative who put into his mouth food which he mechanically swallowed.
Days and nights thus passed with the boy. When a whole day would pass, towards the evening when the peal of bells in the temples, and the voices singing, would reach the wood, it would make the boy very sad, and he would cry, "Another day is gone in vain, Mother, and Thou hast not come. Another day of this short life has gone, and I have not known the Truth." In the agony of his soul, sometimes he would rub his face against the ground and weep, and this one prayer burst forth: "Do Thou manifest Thyself in me, Thou Mother of the universe! See that I need Thee and nothing else!" Verily, he wanted to be true to his own ideal. He had heard that the Mother never came until everything had been given up for Her. He had heard that the Mother wanted to come to everyone, but they Could not have Her, that people wanted all sorts of foolish little idols to pray to, that they wanted their own enjoyments, and not the Mother, and that the moment they really wanted Her with their whole soul, and nothing else, that moment She would come. So he began to break himself into that idea; he wanted to be exact, even on the plane of matter. He threw away all the little property he had, and took a vow that he would never touch money, and this one idea, "I will not touch money", became a part of him. It may appear to be something occult, but even in after-life when he was sleeping, if I touched him with a piece of money his hand would become bent, and his whole body would become, as it were, paralysed. The other idea that came into his mind was that lust was the other enemy. Man is a soul, and soul is sexless, neither man nor woman. The idea of sex and the idea of money were the two things, he thought, that prevented him from seeing the Mother. This whole universe is the manifestation of the Mother, and She lives in every woman's body. "Every woman represents the Mother; how can I think of woman in mere sex relation?" That was the idea: Every woman was his Mother, he must bring himself to the state when he would see nothing but Mother in every woman. And he carried it out in his life.
This is the tremendous thirst that seizes the human heart. Later on, this very man said to me, "My child, suppose there is a bag of gold in one room, and a robber in the next room; do you think that the robber can sleep? He cannot. His mind will be always thinking how to get into that room and obtain possession of that gold. Do you think then that a man, firmly persuaded that there is a Reality behind all these appearances, that there is a God, that there is One who never dies, One who is infinite bliss, a bliss compared with which these pleasures of the senses are simply playthings, can rest contented without struggling to attain It? Can he cease his efforts for a moment? No. He will become mad with longing." This divine madness seized the boy. At that time he had no teacher, nobody to tell him anything, and everyone thought that he was out of his mind. This is the ordinary condition of things. If a man throws aside the vanities of the world, we hear him called mad. But such men are the salt of the earth. Out of such madness have come the powers that have moved this world of ours, and out of such madness alone will come the powers of the future that are going to move the world.
So days, weeks, months passed in continuous struggle of the soul to arrive at truth. The boy began to see visions, to see wonderful things; the secrets of his nature were beginning to open to him. Veil after veil was, as it were, being taken off. Mother Herself became the teacher and initiated the boy into the truths he sought. At this time there came to this place a woman of beautiful appearance, learned beyond compare. Later on, this saint used to say about her that she was not learned, but was the embodiment of learning; she was learning itself, in human form. There, too, you find the peculiarity of the Indian nation. In the midst of the ignorance in which the average Hindu woman lives, in the midst of what is called in Western countries her lack of freedom, there could arise a woman of supreme spirituality. She was a Sannyâsini; for women also give up the world, throw away their property, do not marry, and devote themselves to the worship of the Lord. She came; and when she heard of this boy in the grove, she offered to go and see him; and hers was the first help he received. At once she recognised what his trouble was, and she said to him. "My son blessed is the man upon whom such madness comes. The whole of this universe is mad — some for wealth, some for pleasure, some for fame, some for a hundred other things. They are mad for gold, or husbands, or wives, for little trifles, mad to tyrannise over somebody, mad to become rich, mad for every foolish thing except God. And they can understand only their own madness. When another man is mad after gold, they have fellow-feeling and sympathy for him, and they say he is the right man, as lunatics think that lunatics alone are sane. But if a man is mad after the Beloved, after the Lord, how can they understand? They think he has gone crazy; and they say, 'Have nothing to do with him.' That is why they call you mad; but yours is the right kind of madness. Blessed is the man who is mad after God. Such men are very few." This woman remained near the boy for years, taught him the forms of the religions of India, initiated him into the different practices of Yoga, and, as it were, guided and brought into harmony this tremendous river of spirituality.
Later, there came to the same grove a Sannyasin, one of the begging friars of India, a learned man, a philosopher. He was a peculiar man, he was an idealist. He did not believe that this world existed in reality; and to demonstrate that, he would never go under a roof, he would always live out of doors, in storm and sunshine alike. This man began to teach the boy the philosophy of the Vedas; and he found very soon, to his astonishment, that the pupil was in some respects wiser than the master. He spent several months with the boy, after which he initiated him into the order of Sannyasins, and took his departure.
When as a temple priest his extraordinary worship made people think him deranged in his head, his relatives took him home and married him to a little girl, thinking that that would turn his thoughts and restore the balance of his mind. But he came back and, as we have seen, merged deeper in his madness. Sometimes, in our country, boys are married as children and have no voice in the matter; their parents marry them. Of course such a marriage is little more than a betrothal. When they are married they still continue to live with their parents, and the real marriage takes place when the wife grows older, Then it is customary for the husband to go and bring his bride to his own home. In this case, however, the husband had entirely forgotten that he had a wife. In her far off home the girl had heard that her husband had become a religious enthusiast, and that he was even considered insane by many. She resolved to learn the truth for herself, so she set out and walked to the place where her husband was. When at last she stood in her husband's presence, he at once admitted her right to his life, although in India any person, man or woman, who embraces a religious life, is thereby freed from all other obligations. The young man fell at the feet of his wife and said, "As for me, the Mother has shown me that She resides in every woman, and so I have learnt to look upon every woman as Mother. That is the one idea I can have about you; but if you wish to drag me into the world, as I have been married to you, I am at your service."
The maiden was a pure and noble soul and was able to understand her husband's aspirations and sympathise with them. She quickly told him that she had no wish to drag him down to a life of worldliness; but that all she desired was to remain near him, to serve him, and to learn of him. She became one of his most devoted disciples, always revering him as a divine being. Thus through his wife's consent the last barrier was removed, and he was free to lead the life he had chosen.
The next desire that seized upon the soul of this man as to know the truth about the various religions. Up to that time he had not known any religion but his own. He wanted to understand what other religions were like. So he sought teachers of other religions. By teachers you must always remember what we mean in India, not a bookworm, but a man of realisation, one who knows truth a; first hand and not through an intermediary. He found a Mohammedan saint and placed himself under him; he underwent the disciplines prescribed by him, and to his astonishment found that when faithfully carried out, these devotional methods led him to the same goal he had already attained. He gathered similar experience from following the true religion of Jesus the Christ. He went to all the sects he could find, and whatever he took up he went into with his whole heart. He did exactly as he was told, and in every instance he arrived at the same result. Thus from actual experience, he came to know that the goal of every religion is the same, that each is trying to teach the same thing, the difference being largely in method and still more in language. At the core, all sects and all religions have the same aim; and they were only quarrelling for their own selfish purposes — they were not anxious about the truth, but about "my name" and "your name". Two of them preached the same truth, but one of them said, "That cannot be true, because I have not put upon it the seal of my name. Therefore do not listen to him." And the other man said, "Do not hear him, although he is preaching very much the same thing, yet it is not true because he does not preach it in my name."
That is what my Master found, and he then set about to learn humility, because he had found that the one idea in all religions is, "not me, but Thou", and he who says, "not me", the Lord fills his heart. The less of this little "I" the more of God there is in him. That he found to be the truth in every religion in the world, and he set himself to accomplish this. As I have told you, whenever he wanted to do anything he never confined himself to fine theories, but would enter into the practice immediately; We see many persons talking the most wonderfully fine things about charity and about equality and the rights of other people and all that, but it is only in theory. I was so fortunate as to find one who was able to carry theory into practice. He had the most wonderful faculty of carrying everything into practice which he thought was right.
Now, there was a family of Pariahs living near the place. The Pariahs number several millions in the whole of India and are a sect of people so low that some of our books say that if a Brahmin coming out from his house sees the face of a Pariah, he has to fast that day and recite certain prayers before he becomes holy again. In some Hindu cities when a Pariah enters, he has to put a crow's feather on his head as a sign that he is a Pariah, and he has to cry aloud, "Save yourselves, the Pariah is passing through the street", and you will find people flying off from him as if by magic, because if they touch him by chance, they will have to change their clothes, bathe, and do other things. And the Pariah for thousands of years has believed that it is perfectly right; that his touch will make everybody unholy. Now my Master would go to a Pariah and ask to be allowed to clean his house. The business of the Pariah is to clean the streets of the cities and to keep houses clean. He cannot enter the house by the front door; by the back door he enters; and as soon as he has gone, the whole place over which he has passed is sprinkled with and made holy by a little Gangâ water. By birth the Brahmin stands for holiness, and the Pariah for the very reverse. And this Brahmin asked to be allowed to do the menial services in the house of the Pariah. The Pariah of course could not allow that, for they all think that if they allow a Brahmin to do such menial work it will be an awful sin, and they will become extinct. The Pariah would not permit it; so in the dead of night, when all were sleeping, Ramakrishna would enter the house. He had long hair, and with his hair he would wipe the place, saying, "Oh, my Mother, make me the servant of the Pariah, make me feel that I am even lower than the Pariah." "They worship Me best who worship My worshippers. These are all My children and your privilege is to serve them" — is the teaching of Hindu scriptures.
There were various other preparations which would take a long time to relate, and I want to give you just a sketch of his life. For years he thus educated himself. One of the Sâdhanâs was to root out the sex idea. Soul has no sex, it is neither male nor female. It is only in the body that sex exists, and the man who desires to reach the spirit cannot at the same time hold to sex distinctions. Having been born in a masculine body, this man wanted to bring the feminine idea into everything. He began to think that he was a woman, he dressed like a woman, spoke like a woman, gave up the occupations of men, and lived in the household among the women of a good family, until, after years of this discipline, his mind became changed, and he entirely forgot the idea of sex; thus the whole view of life became changed to him.
We hear in the West about worshipping woman, but this is usually for her youth and beauty. This man meant by worshipping woman, that to him every woman's face was that of the Blissful Mother, and nothing but that. I myself have seen this man standing before those women whom society would not touch, and falling at their feet bathed in tears, saying, "Mother, in one form Thou art in the street, and in another form Thou art the universe. I salute Thee, Mother, I salute Thee." Think of the blessedness of that life from which all carnality has vanished, which can look upon every woman with that love and reverence when every woman's face becomes transfigured, and only the face of the Divine Mother, the Blissful One, the Protectress of the human race, shines upon it! That is what we want. Do you mean to say that the divinity back of a woman can ever be cheated? It never was and never will be, It always asserts itself. Unfailingly it detects fraud, it detects hypocrisy, unerringly it feels the warmth of truth, the light of spirituality, the holiness of purity. Such purity is absolutely necessary if real spirituality is to be attained.
This rigorous, unsullied purity came into the life of that man. All the struggles which we have in our lives were past for him. His hard-earned jewels of spirituality, for which he had given three-quarters of his life, were now ready to be given to humanity, and then began his mission. His teaching and preaching were peculiar. In our country a teacher is a most highly venerated person, he is regarded as God Himself. We have not even the same respect for our father and mother. Father and mother give us our body, but the teacher shows us the way to salvation. We are his children, we are born in the spiritual line of the teacher. All Hindus come to pay respect to an extraordinary teacher, they crowd around him. And here was such a teacher, but the teacher had no thought whether he was to be respected or not, he had not the least idea that he was a great teacher, he thought that it was Mother who was doing everything and not he. He always said, "If any good comes from my lips, it is the Mother who speaks; what have I to do with it?" That was his one idea about his work, and to the day of his death he never gave it up. This man sought no one. His principle was, first form character, first earn spirituality and results will come of themselves. His favourite illustration was, "When the lotus opens, the bees come of their own accord to seek the honey; so let the lotus of your character be full-blown, and the results will follow." This is a great lesson to learn.
My Master taught me this lesson hundreds of times, yet I often forget it. Few understand the power of thought. If a man goes into a cave, shuts himself in, and thinks one really great thought and dies, that thought will penetrate the walls of that cave, vibrate through space, and at last permeate the whole human race. Such is the power of thought; be in no hurry therefore to give your thoughts to others. First have something to give. He alone teaches who has something to give, for teaching is not talking, teaching is not imparting doctrines, it is communicating. Spirituality can be communicated just as really as I can give you a flower. This is true in the most literal sense. This idea is very old in India and finds illustration in the West in the "theory, in the belief, of apostolic succession. Therefore first make character — that is the highest duty you can perform. Know Truth for yourself, and there will be many to whom you can teach it after wards; they will all come. This was the attitude of my Master. He criticised no one. For years I lived with that man, but never did I hear those lips utter one word of condemnation for any sect. He had the same sympathy for all sects; he had found the harmony between them. A man may be intellectual, or devotional, or mystic, or active; the various religions represent one or the other of these types. Yet it is possible to combine all the four in one man, and this is what future humanity is going to do. That was his idea. He condemned no one, but saw the good in all.
People came by thousands to see and hear this wonderful man who spoke in a patois every word of which was forceful and instinct with light. For it is not what is spoken, much less the language in which it is spoken, but it is the personality of the speaker which dwells in everything he says that carries weight. Every one of us feels this at times. We hear most splendid orations, most wonderfully reasoned-out discourses, and we go home and forget them all. At other times we hear a few words in the simplest language, and they enter into our lives, become part and parcel of ourselves and produce lasting results. The words of a man who can put his personality into them take effect, but he must have tremendous personality. All teaching implies giving and taking, the teacher gives and the taught receives, but the one must have something to give, and the other must be open to receive.
This man came to live near Calcutta, the capital of India, the most important university town in our country which was sending out sceptics and materialists by the hundreds every year. Yet many of these university men — sceptics and agnostics — used to come and listen to him. I heard of this man, and I went to hear him. He looked just like an ordinary man, with nothing remarkable about him. He used the most simple language, and I thought "Can this man be a great teacher?"— crept near to him and asked him the question which I had been asking others all my life: "Do you believe in God, Sir?" "Yes," he replied. "Can you prove it, Sir?" "Yes." "How?" "Because I see Him just as I see you here, only in a much intenser sense." That impressed me at once. For the first time I found a man who dared to say that he saw God that religion was a reality to be felt, to be sensed in an infinitely more intense way than we can sense the world. I began to go to that man, day after day, and I actually saw that religion could be given. One touch, one glance, can change a whole life. I have read about Buddha and Christ and Mohammed, about all those different luminaries of ancient times, how they would stand up and say, "Be thou whole", and the man became whole. I now found it to be true, and when I myself saw this man, all scepticism was brushed aside. It could be done; and my Master used to say, "Religion can be given and taken more tangibly, more really than anything else in the world." Be therefore spiritual first; have something to give and then stand before the world and give it. Religion is not talk, or doctrines, or theories; nor is it sectarianism. Religion cannot live in sects and societies. It is the relation between the soul and God; how can it be made into a society? It would then degenerate into business, and wherever there are business and business principles in religion, spirituality dies. Religion does not consist in erecting temples, or building churches, or attending public worship. It is not to be found in books, or in words, or in lectures, or in organisations. Religion consists in realisation. As a fact, we all know that nothing will satisfy us until we know the truth for ourselves. However we may argue, however much we may hear, but one thing will satisfy us, and that is our own realisation; and such an experience is possible for every one of us if we will only try. The first ideal of this attempt to realise religion is that of renunciation. As far as we can, we must give up. Darkness and light, enjoyment of the world and enjoyment of God will never go together. "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." Let people try it if they will, and I have seen millions in every country who have tried; but after all, it comes to nothing. If one word remains true in the saying, it is, give up every thing for the sake of the Lord. This is a hard and long task, but you can begin it here and now. Bit by bit we must go towards it.
The second idea that I learnt from my Master, and which is perhaps the most vital, is the wonderful truth that the religions of the world are not contradictory or antagonistic. They are but various phases of one eternal religion. That one eternal religion is applied to different planes of existence, is applied to the opinions of various minds and various races. There never was my religion or yours, my national religion or your national religion; there never existed many religions, there is only the one. One infinite religion existed all through eternity and will ever exist, and this religion is expressing itself in various countries in various ways. Therefore we must respect all religions and we must try to accept them all as far as we can. Religions manifest themselves not only according to race and geographical position, but according to individual powers. In one man religion is manifesting itself as intense activity, as work. In another it is manifesting itself as intense devotion, in yet another, as mysticism, in others as philosophy, and so forth. It is wrong when we say to others, "Your methods are not right." Perhaps a man, whose nature is that of love, thinks that the man who does good to others is not on the right road to religion, because it is not his own way, and is therefore wrong. If the philosopher thinks, "Oh, the poor ignorant people, what do they know about a God of Love, and loving Him? They do not know what they mean," he is wrong, because they may be right and he also.
To learn this central secret that the truth may be one and yet many at the same time, that we may have different visions of the same truth from different standpoints, is exactly what must be done. Then, instead of antagonism to anyone, we shall have infinite sympathy with all. Knowing that as long as there are different natures born in this world, the same religious truth will require different adaptations, we shall understand that we are bound to have forbearance with each other. Just as nature is unity in variety — an infinite variation in the phenomenal — as in and through all these variations of the phenomenal runs the Infinite, the Unchangeable, the Absolute Unity, so it is with every man; the microcosm is but a miniature repetition of the macrocosm; in spite of all these variations, in and through them all runs this eternal harmony, and we have to recognise this. This idea, above all other ideas, I find to be the crying necessity of the day. Coming from a country which is a hotbed of religious sects — and to which, through its good fortune or ill fortune, everyone who has a religious idea wants to send an advance-guard — I have been acquainted from my childhood with the various sects of the world. Even the Mormons come to preach in India. Welcome them all! That is the soil on which to preach religion. There it takes root more than in any other country. If you come and teach politics to the Hindus, they do not understand; but if you come to preach religion, however curious it may be, you will have hundreds and thousands of followers in no time, and you have every chance of becoming a living God in your lifetime. I am glad it is so, it is the one thing we want in India.
The sects among the Hindus are various, a great many in number, and some of them apparently hopelessly contradictory. Yet they all tell you they are but different manifestations of religion. "As different rivers, taking their start from different mountains, running crooked or straight, all come and mingle their waters in the ocean, so the different sects, with their different points of view, at last all come unto Thee." This is not a theory, it has to be recognised, but not in that patronising way which we see with some people: "Oh yes, there are some very good things in it. These are what we call the ethnical religions. These ethnical religions have some good in them." Some even have the most wonderfully liberal idea that other religions are all little bits of a prehistoric evolution, but "ours is the fulfilment of things". One man says, because his is the oldest religion, it is the best: another makes the same claim, because his is the latest.
We have to recognise that each one of them has the same saving power as the other. What you have heard about their difference, whether in the temple or in the church, is a mass of superstition. The same God answers all; and it is not you, or I, or any body of men that is responsible for the safety and salvation of the least little bit of the soul; the same Almighty God is responsible for all. I do not understand how people declare themselves to be believers in God, and at the same time think that God has handed over to a little body of men all truth, and that they are the guardians of the rest of humanity. How can you call that religion? Religion is realisation; but mere talk — mere trying to believe, mere groping in darkness, mere parroting the words of ancestors and thinking it is religion, mere making a political something out of the truths of religion — is not religion at all. In every sect — even among the Mohammedans whom we always regard as the most exclusive — even among them we find that wherever there was a man trying to realise religion, from his lips have come the fiery words: "Thou art the Lord of all, Thou art in the heart of all, Thou art the guide of all, Thou art the Teacher of all, and Thou caress infinitely more for the land of Thy children than we can ever do." Do not try to disturb the faith of any man. If you can, give him something better; if you can, get hold of a man where he stands and give him a push upwards; do so, but do not destroy what he has. The only true teacher is he who can convert himself, as it were, into a thousand persons at a moment's notice. The only true teacher is he who can immediately come down to the level of the student, and transfer his soul to the student's soul and see through the student's eyes and hear through his ears and understand through his mind. Such a teacher can really teach and none else. All these negative, breaking-down, destructive teachers that are in the world can never do any good.
In the presence of my Master I found out that man could be perfect, even in this body. Those lips never cursed anyone, never even criticised anyone. Those eyes were beyond the possibility of seeing evil, that mind had lost the power of thinking evil. He saw nothing but good. That tremendous purity, that tremendous renunciation is the one secret of spirituality. "Neither through wealth, nor through progeny, but through renunciation alone, is immortality to be reached", say the Vedas. "Sell all that thou hast and give to the poor, and follow me", says the Christ. So all great saints and Prophets have expressed it, and have carried it out in their lives. How can great spirituality come without that renunciation? Renunciation is the background of all religious thought wherever it be, and you will always find that as this idea of renunciation lessens, the more will the senses creep into the field of religion, and spirituality will decrease in the same ratio.
That man was the embodiment of renunciation. In our country it is necessary for a man who becomes a Sannyasin to give up all worldly wealth and position, and this my Master carried out literally. There were many who would have felt themselves blest if he would only have accepted a present from their hands, who would gladly have given him thousands of rupees if he would have taken them, but these were the only men from whom he would turn away. He was a triumphant example, a living realisation of the complete conquest of lust and of desire for money. He was beyond all ideas of either, and such men are necessary for this century. Such renunciation is necessary in these days when men have begun to think that they cannot live a month without what they call their "necessities", and which they are increasing out of all proportion. It is necessary in a time like this that a man should arise to demonstrate to the sceptics of the world that there yet breathes a man who does not care a straw for all the gold or all the fame that is in the universe. Yet there are such men.
The other idea of his life was intense love for others. The first part of my Master's life was spent in acquiring spirituality, and the remaining years in distributing it. People in our country have not the same customs as you have in visiting a religious teacher or a Sannyasin. Somebody would come to ask him about something, some perhaps would come hundreds of miles, walking all the way, just to ask one question, to hear one word from him, "Tell me one word for my salvation." That is the way they come. They come in numbers, unceremoniously, to the place where he is mostly to be found; they may find him under a tree and question him; and before one set of people has gone, others have arrived. So if a man is greatly revered, he will sometimes have no rest day or night. He will have to talk constantly. For hours people will come pouring in, and this man will be teaching them.
So men came in crowds to hear him, and he would talk twenty hours in the twenty-four, and that not for one day, but for months and months until at last the body broke down under the pressure of this tremendous strain. His intense love for mankind would not let him refuse to help even the humblest of the thousands who sought his aid. Gradually, there developed a vital throat disorder and yet he could not be persuaded to refrain from these exertions. As soon as he heard that people were asking to see him, he would insist upon having them admitted and would answer all their questions. When expostulated with, he replied, "I do not care. I will give up twenty thousand such bodies to help one man. It is glorious to help even one man." There was no rest for him. Once a man asked him, "Sir, you are a great Yogi. Why do you not put your mind a little on your body and cure your disease? "At first he did not answer, but when the question had been repeated, he gently said, "My friend, I thought you were a sage, but you talk like other men of the world. This mind has been given to the Lord. Do you mean to say that I should take it back and put it upon the body which is but a mere cage of the soul?"
So he went on preaching to the people, and the news spread that his body was about to pass away, and the people began to flock to him in greater crowds than ever. You cannot imagine the way they come to these great religious teachers in India, how they crowd round them and make gods of them while they are yet living. Thousands wait simply to touch the hem of their garments. It is through this appreciation of spirituality in others that spirituality is produced. Whatever man wants and appreciates, he will get; and it is the same with nations. If you go to India and deliver a political lecture, however grand it may be, you will scarcely find people to listen to you but just go and teach religion, live it, not merely talk it, and hundreds will crowd just to look at you, to touch your feet. When the people heard that this holy man was likely to go from them soon, they began to come round him more than ever, and my Master went on teaching them without the least regard for his health. We could not prevent this. Many of the people came from long distances, and he would not rest until he had answered their questions. "While I can speak, I must teach them," he would say, and he was as good as his word. One day, he told us that he would lay down the body that day, and repeating the most sacred word of the Vedas he entered into Samâdhi and passed away.
His thoughts and his message were known to very few capable of giving them out. Among others, he left a few young boys who had renounced the world, and were ready to carry on his work. Attempts were made to crush them. But they stood firm, having the inspiration of that great life before them. Having had the contact of that blessed life for years, they stood their ground. These young men, living as Sannyasins, begged through the streets of the city where they were born, although some of them came from high families. At first they met with great antagonism, but they persevered and went on from day to day spreading all over India the message of that great man, until the whole country was filled with the ideas he had preached. This man, from a remote village of Bengal, without education, by the sheer force of his own determination, realised the truth and gave it to others, leaving only a few young boys to keep it alive.
Today the name of Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is known all over India to its millions of people. Nay, the power of that man has spread beyond India; and if there has ever been a word of truth, a word of spirituality, that I have spoken anywhere in the world, I owe it to my Master; only the mistakes are mine.
This is the message of Shri Ramakrishna to the modern world: "Do not care for doctrines, do not care for dogmas, or sects, or churches, or temples; they count for little compared with the essence of existence in each man which is spirituality; and the more this is developed in a man, the more powerful is he for good. Earn that first, acquire that, and criticise no one, for all doctrines and creeds have some good in them. Show by your lives that religion does not mean words, or names, or sects, but that it means spiritual realisation. Only those can understand who have felt. Only those who have attained to spirituality can communicate it to others, can be great teachers of mankind. They alone are the powers of light."
The more such men are produced in a country, the more that country will be raised; and that country where such men absolutely do not exist is simply doomed nothing can save it. Therefore my Master's message to mankind is: "Be spiritual and realise truth for Yourself." He would have you give up for the sake of your fellow-beings. He would have you cease talking about love for your brother, and set to work to prove your words. The time has come for renunciation, for realisation, and then you will see the harmony in all the religions of the world. You will know that there is no need of any quarrel. And then only will you be ready to help humanity. To proclaim and make clear the fundamental unity underlying all religions was the mission of my Master. Other teachers have taught special religions which bear their names, but this great teacher of the nineteenth century made no claim for himself. He left every religion undisturbed because he had realised that in reality they are all part and parcel of the one eternal religion.
Notes
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。