Living in Devotion
I had a respectful familiarity with the Sri Ramakrishna Mission. Besides reading the excellent books that they have been publishing, I had the fortune of visiting the Dakshineshwar Kali Mandir in Kolkata twice where Sri Ramakrishna met Narendra Nath, who would become Swami Vivekananda. I visited the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari thrice where Swamiji meditated for three days and nights in December 1892 on a rock amidst the sea. In Goa, I visited a house in Margao where Swami Vivekananda stayed before sailing to Chicago from Bombay on May 31, 1893, and which is now maintained as a temple. But it is only now (in July 2023) that I could read about Sri Ramakrishna.
Published in two volumes and a more-than-thousand-page tome, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna was written in Bengali by Sri Mahendrananth Gupta, under his pen name M, as his eye-witness account of Sri Ramakrishna’s last years. The English translation by Swami Nikhilananda was published in 1942. The book starts in February 1882 and ends with Sri Ramakrishna’s passing away in August 1886. The last of the 51 chapters describes how 16 of Sri Ramakrishna’s closest disciples renounced the world soon after his death, Swami Vivekananda being the most renowned among them, and established the Sri Ramakrishna Math.
I was born into a Brahmin family that followed the Santana Dharma tradition. There were brass idols and a shaligram passed on by our ancestors, called Thakurji. Kept on a small sandalwood simhasan, they were treated as living beings – given a bath every day, applied chandan and offered puja every morning and in the evening. Nothing happened in the house without seeking their blessings, including going out of the house and reporting to them on return. Thakurji are now with my mother and my younger brother Salil Tiwari is serving them in his house in Meerut.
I drifted into Vedanta and Buddhist literature but regained my Bhakti roots after meeting Pramukh Swamiji Maharaj through Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam in 2014. I wrote four books –Transcendence: My Spiritual Experiences with Pramukh Swamiji in 2015 with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, A Modern Interpretation of Goswami Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas in 2019, A Modern Interpretation of Lokmanya Tilak’s Gita Rahasya in 2020, and Simple Spirituality – Recalling Kabir in 2022, all dealing with the Bhakti Marga – the devotional way of approaching God.
Writing the foreword for the book on Kabir, the renowned author Bibek Debroy, who translated Valmiki Ramayana and Mahabharat into English, wrote, “The COVID pandemic caught the entire world unawares. With many of us having lost near and dear ones, the pandemic reminded us of our mortality in this world and the evanescence of life as we understand it. It naturally makes us reflective, forced to look inwards. Arun Tiwari too looked inwards. A book like this, meant for readers, is actually a book for one’s own self, one’s own search for the truth within.”
What makes The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna special? Before answering this question, it is important to know some salient features of Sri Ramakrishna’s life. Born in 1836 to a poor Brahmin family in Bengal and named Gadadhar (Lord Vishnu), he came to work as a help to his elder brother, who was a priest in the Dakshineswar Kali Mandir created in 1855 by Rani Rashmoni on the banks of the Hooghly (Ganga) River north of Kolkata. After his brother passed away, Sri Ramakrishna became a priest there and lived the rest of his life in the temple, except for the last year when receiving treatment for throat cancer.
Since childhood, Sri Ramakrishna experienced trances. Living in a temple and visited by people regularly, Sri Ramakrishna used to go into impromptu spells of unconsciousness. Upon recovery after a few minutes, he would sing devotional songs of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and other poets, dance and speak profound concepts. Sri Ramakrishna married Sri Sarada Devi, but lived a chaste life, treating her as Divine Mother. His wife lived with him as a celibate and was revered as Mother. He lived a pious and unblemished life in full public view and his 16 disciples created the great institution of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission, which have 221 centers all over the world.
Three themes emerge from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. First, Sri Ramakrishna had God-realization via various traditions. He trained himself in Tantra under Bhairavi Brahmani who lived in the Dakshineswar temple for six years, practised Vaishnava bhakti under a visiting monk, Jatadhari, who gave him an idol of Ramlala, and Vedanta under Naga Sadhu Totapuri, another visiting monk, who ordained him into sannyasa. Second, he interacted with great people of his times, namely Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Debendranath Tagore (father of Rabindranath Tagore), Keshab Chandra Sen, Dayananda Saraswati, and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya, and won their admiration. Third, he attracted some brilliant young disciples who, after his death, created a formidable institution through their impeccable example.
Sri Ramakrishna was a mystic. The American philosopher and psychologist William James, in his book, The Varieties of Religious Experience, published in 1902, has established the experiences of a mystic to be as real as any other experience. Like the sensory self that processes sensory inputs, there is a reflective self that interprets experiences, deriving from cultural conditioning, and perhaps from certain patterns of thinking hardwired into the human brain. If you imagine something vividly and absorb yourself in thoughts of the same, they become as real for you as a tree, a building, or another human being.
As for Sri Ramakrishna’s message, I quote from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna:
The Reality is one and the same. He is Brahman to the followers of the path of knowledge, Paramatman to the yogis, and Bhagavan to the lovers of God. . . Who can fully know the infinite God? And what need is there of knowing the Infinite? Having attained the rare human birth, my supreme need is to develop love for the Lotus Feet of God. . . God cannot be realized without purity of heart. One receives the grace of God by subduing the passions—lust, anger, and greed.
A man sets milk in a quiet place to curdle, and then he extracts butter from the curd. After once extracting the butter of Devotion and Knowledge from the milk of the mind, if you keep that transformed mind in the water of the world, it will float in the world unattached. But if the mind in its ‘unripe’ state-that is to say, when it is just like liquid milk is kept in the water of the world, then the milk and water will get mixed. In that case, it will be impossible for the mind to float unattached in the world.
You see, as long as a man is under maya’s spell, he is like a green coconut. When you scoop out the soft kernel from a green coconut, you cannot help scraping a little of the shell at the same time. But in the case of a ripe and dry coconut, the shell and kernel are separated from each other. When you shake the fruit, you can feel the kernel rattling inside. The man who is freed from maya is like a ripe and dry coconut. He feels the soul to be separated from the body. They are no longer connected with each other.
So, I earnestly suggest that you spend some quiet time alone, learn to see people around you as human beings living their own lives, and having their own dispositions and dispensations as you have yours, and never call anyone’s experiences absurd. See this world as a mango grove, pick the fruit that has fallen into your lap, and relish it. Why bother about how many trees there are in the grove, how many varieties exist, and who the owner of the garden is? This life has been given and it is up to us to make the best use of it before it is lost. Live purposefully and try to leave behind a legacy – at least a good memory, a nice feeling, in the hearts and minds of the people you come across.
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It is so mesmerizing experience reading this blog today. Just yesterday, we had a conversation at home here around the points you made in the last para…
* “to see people around you as human beings living their own lives, and having their own dispositions and dispensations as you have yours….”
* “This life has been given and it is up to us to make the best use of it before it is lost. Live purposefully and try to leave behind a legacy – at least a good memory, a nice feeling, in the hearts and minds of the people you come across.”
These words are real gems and so inspiring! Also, I have been a great fan of Sri Ramkrishna Paramhamsa and Swami Vivekananda. Thoroughly enjoyed reading!
Your exposition of profound spiritual truth is superb, Prof Tiwariji !
Your embedded message on living purposeful life serves as a guiding spirit for the contemporary world !!
Excellent introduction of Bhakti in the modern world. Bhakti yoga is one of the three main paths for God realization based on the principle that “God is Love and Love is God.” It is said to be the easiest path to attain God in the modern world – Kalyug – the Age of Machines as it is called.
Devotion has never been more relevant than in these modern times where the world is so much at unrest, where life has become a rat race, everyone is chasing behind something where love and basic human values are lost. Any amount of material achievements doesn’t guarantee happiness to a person. This makes devotion as the key for success in life.
There is nothing wrong with possessing worldly objects, but we need to understand whether that has brought genuine and permanent happiness to us. Has it made the world a better place to live? Has our community benefitted by this? Yes, we live in this world, and we just cannot think only about ourselves. For us to be happy and peaceful, the world should also be at peace.
Dear Sir, Your blog reminded me of my childhood schooling at Ramakrishna mission school, Jamshedpur. I am lucky to be a part of this institution from my early schooling till class 6th. I believe it has had a great impact on my moral build, I remember, we used to read books on Swami Vivekananda, how a simple student Narendra became swami Vivekananda after the teaching of Ramakrishna Paramahansa and his blessings. His life span was short but very big for humanity to learn the right way of living a life.
Babu moossaye, Jindagi badi honi chahiye lambi nahi, this dialogue from the movie “Aanand” fits him.
Still trying to find the purpose of my existence on this earth, trying to understand what nature wants me to do, lets see where I will be motivated by sign and symptoms of nature to do something for this society,
Tauji I am indeed thrilled after reading about our Thakurji. Nothing happens around us without their blessings. Even our dog sits in the most disciplined manner by my father when he does puja. May I mention for the record that our Thakurji consists of – Sri Balakrishna Bhagwan, Durga Devi ma, Sri Narasimha Bhagavan, Hanuman ji, and of course, Saligram. They were there even before my great-grandmother Smt. Javitri Devi’s marriage in the family sometime in the 1910s. She served Tkaurji her entire life before passing away in 1971. Jai Ho!
The message passed on by the Ramakrishna Mutt through its various institutions of education, selfless service and keeping the spirit of religion alive without a tinge of ego is exemplary.
Their sacrifice is worth emulating.
Excellent blog ….especially with the chaos around.
Sarve janah sukinah….
Pramukh Swami Maharaj epitomized the Hindu shastras’ definition of bhakti. His devotion touched many people’s hearts and changed their lives. Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s most valuable asset, and indeed his only item, was Shri Harikrishna Maharaj’s murti. Swamishri’s every action and moment was filled with love for Thakorji. Swamishri’s life revolved entirely around God.
Sir, may I add to this beautiful blog on Devotion, a poem I read on the Internet by William Robinson.
There are things beyond the heavens
I can’t begin to understand,
But I know that God is living,
And I know He holds my hand.
Yes, I know He watches o’er me
All the night and all the day–
And He’s always there to hear me
When I simply stop and pray.
Peaceful living in a pluralistic, multi religious and multicultural country like India is possible if people cooperate to promote human development and freedom. As far as I know, hatred, hostility or violence are not common goals of any religion. Casteism, which is seen by many as an age-old, religion-mandated practice not only leads to closed social stratifications but also strengthens it by upholding weird ideas such as one being born into one’s position within the societal framework is bound to follow dictates with no hope of freedom. Religious dharma in our daily life must be all about inclusiveness, helping a less fortunate person choose hope and self dignity and providing opportunities to all.
India as a multi religious country will look better to the world if leaders do their big part in building communities across faiths that support each other. The absolute truth of any religion that is based on ethics and human rights will prevent discrimination, support peace and promote reconciliation. Love, peace and forgiveness is the basis of all religions and it is up to us to find ‘fix all’ solutions for our day to day dilemmas, prejudice or hate.
Dear Sir, very interesting blog. Regardless of where you are in your faith journey, each of us could use more time in God’s consciousness.
Dictionary Online defines devotion as “loyalty and love or care for someone or something” as well as “religious worship or belief, or prayer and other acts of religious worship”. In religion, “devotion” is “prayer” and “meditation.” I consider devotion a time spent with God in worship, as a means of expressing our love and loyalty. It can include reading the scriptures, reading commentaries, singing, listening to worship music, praying, and silently spending time in the presence of God. When I find people saying, “I don’t have time”, I wonder and feel like asking, “Whom do you serve?” Thank you, Sir, for reminding us of these very important aspects of life.
Respected Sir, your blog is quite helpful. Getting into the habit of completing regular devotions takes time. The result may not be visible at first, but once devotions become a part of your everyday life, you will begin to feel their incredible benefits. Here are five advantages of performing daily devotions. Incorporate devotions into your daily life if you want to improve spiritually. While each day may not seem particularly significant, spending time with God daily will cause you to grow and mature. The more we engage with God, the clearer his message about himself, his kingdom, and his people becomes.
The most obvious advantage of completing devotions is a sense of tranquility. We’ve all felt hopeless, overwhelmed, anxious, or lonely at times. Reading a daily devotional that is relevant to your situation will provide you with much-needed comfort from God. You can always find solace in hearing of God’s grace and love for you. Devotions help us recall that no matter what is going on in the world, God has it all under control. Daily devotions may appear difficult at first, but the advantages are well worth it. If you want to grow spiritually and find comfort in your connection with God, try reading daily devotions. Thank you for reminding us of these most important aspects of life.
Sir, According to Vedanta, there are five reasons for suffering: 1. Not knowing who we are; 2. Attachment: clinging to impermanent things and having expectations; 3. Aversion: Attempting to shun unreal things; 4. Identifying with the ego and constructing various worlds; and 5. Death phobia.
Fortunately, Vedanta also provides us with remedies to these problems. It informs us that if we rectify the primary reason and remember who we truly are, the others will go away.
People sometimes claim that they do not have enough time for their spiritual practice due to familial obligations. Bhakti is the practice of serving one’s family.
With Bhakti, all attachments dissolve except the all-consuming love for God—the single attachment that liberates rather than confines. Its Love will serve you for eternity once the Divine is re-established in the temple of your heart. Bhakti is the path that leads to the ultimate “sit back in God.”
Thank you for sharing. Every blog of yours opens doors to a new world. It educates, inspires, and enriches with the wisdom of saints, thinkers, and doers.
Arun ji, Thank you. It is very well written. Last sentence of Living with a purpose and leaving behind legacy is very powerful and practical.
Great article. Like most yogis, including the most accomplished, Sri Ramakrishna was within the domain of Kaal. Also known as Brahma. Subject to birth and death.
Higher mystics or param saints, like Kabir, Nanak, and some others even living today, come from above of time region. That is called aptly, Akaal Desh.
This region is the Kindom of Heaven of Christ, where there is no Time. In other words, it is Eternal. May think of Exploring that in your writings.
Warm regards,
A nice message Dr Tiwari Ji, life should not be wasted; let’s do something useful for the society and the mother earth to have long term positive impact.
We try so hard to fit into what the world (others) ascribe to as how life must be lived, that we forget our own selves, ignore the inner person and what matters to us….and we eventually depart without ever knowing our purpose and truly connecting with our inner being….
I have learned about Sri Ramakrishna Mission and all the social reformers at high school. Your piece provided a new perspective.