The Short Notes to be Known











Readings from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa said:
"The feeling of 'Thee and Thine' is the outcome of Knowledge. 'I and mine' comes from ignorance. Knowledge makes one feel : 'O God! Thou art the Doer and I am Thy instrument. O God! To Thee belongs all - body, mind, house, family, living beings, and the universe. All these are Thine. Nothing belongs to me.'
An ignorant person says, 'God is there - very far off.' The man of Knowledge knows that God is right here, very near, in the heart; that He has assumed all forms and dwells in all hearts as their Inner Controller."
 
Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa Said:
"There are different levels among the devotees of God: superior, mediocre and inferior. All this has been described in the Gita.
The inferior devotee says, 'God exists, but He is very far off, up there in heaven.'
The mediocre devotee says, 'God exists in all beings as life and consciousness.'
The superior devotee says: 'It is God Himself who has become everything; whatever I see is only a form of God. It is He alone who has become Maya, the universe, and all living beings.
Nothing exists but God.' "



From Other Scriptures
Sri Rama asked Hanuman:
"Hanuman, what attitude do you cherish towards Me?"
Hanuman answered : "O Rama! When I think I am the body, You are the Master and I am Your servant, when I think I am the jivatman (embodied individual soul), You are the whole and I am a part ; but when I have the Knowledge of Reality, I see that you are I and I am You."
 
Sri Ramacharitamanas
The Ramayana of Goswami Tulasidas
Extracts from Uttara-kanda- 126 to 129
Shambhu (Shiva) spoke to Uma: "I have thus repeated the most sacred narrative (The Ramayana), by hearing which one is freed from the bonds of worldly existence and comes to have devotion to the lotus feet of the All-merciful Sri Ram (The Lord), who is a wish yielding tree to the suppliant. Again they who listen to this narrative attentively are absolved of sins committed with the mind, speech or body. Devotion to Sri Hari (the Lord) can be easily attained by men who constantly listen to this story with faith.
This story should not be repeated to a perverse knave, who does not listen attentively t the story of Sri Hari; nor should it be recited to a greedy , irascible or lustful man who worships not the Lord of all animate and inanimate creation. It should never be repeated to a Brahman-hater.
They alone are qualified to hear Sri Ram's narrative, who are extremely fond of communion with holy men. They alone are fit to hear it, who are devoted to the feet of their preceptor, and are lovers of propriety and votaries of the Brahmans.
The story of Sri Ram wipes out the sins of the Kali age and
removes the impurities of the mind."




The distinguishing traits of the good and the wicked

(from Sri Ramacharitamanasa)

The Ramayana of Goswami Tulasidas
Uttar-Kanda-37-40
The conduct of saints and the wicked is analogous to that of sandal-wood and the axe. The axe cuts down a sandal-tree, while the sandal-tree in its turn perfumes the axe by imparting its virtue (fragrance) to  the axe. For this reason, sandal-wood (in the form of paste) finds its way to the head of gods (as tilak on the images of gods), and is loved by the world so much; while the axe has its metal edge heated in the fire and beaten with a hammer as punishment.
Saints as a rule have no hankering for the pleasures of the senses and are the very mines of amiability and other virtues. They grieve to see others in distress and rejoice at the sight of others' joy. They are even-minded and look upon none as their enemy. Free from vanity and passion, they are conquerers of greed, anger, joy and fear. Tender of heart and compasssionate to the distressed , they cherish guileless devotion to the Lord in thought, word and deed...... They never swerve from the control of their mind and senses, religious observances and correct behaviour and never utter a harsh word.
Now hear the characteristics of the impious, association with whom should be scrupulously avoided; for their company ever brings woe, even as a wicked cow ruins by her company a cow of noble breed.  The heart of the wicked suffers terrible agony; for they ever burn at the sight of others' prosperity. Wherever they hear others reviled, they feel delighted as though they had stumbled upon a treasure lying on the road. Devoted to sensuality, anger, arrogance and greed, they are merciless, deceitful, crooked and impure. They bear enmity towards all without rhyme or reason; they behave inimically even with those  who are actively kind to them. They are false in their dealings (lying is their stock-in-trade).  They speak honeyed words just like the peacock that has a stony heart and devours the most venomous snake.
Malevolent by nature, they enjoy other's wives and other's wealth and take delight in slandering  others. Such vile and sinful men are demons in human garb.... Devoted to their own selfish interests, they antagonise their kinsfolk, are given up to sensuality and greed and are most irascible. They recognise neither mother nor father nor preceptor nor the Brahmans; utterly ruined themselves, they bring ruin upon others. Overcome by infatuation they bear malice to others and have no love for communion with saints nor for the stories relating to Sri Hari. Oceans of vice, dull-witted, and lascivious, they revile the Vedas and usurp others' wealth. Though bearing malice to all, they are enemies of the Brahmans in particular; and full of hypocrisy and deceit at heart, they outwardly wear a saintly appearance.
Such vile and wicked men are absent in the Satya and Treta Yugas; a sprinkling of them will appear in the Dwapara, while multitude of them will crop forth in the Kali age.


 
Misery has a great value
Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa on misery
Kedar Nath Bandyopadhyay wrote:
One day I started for my office and crossed the Ganga (Ganges river) by boat, but due to some family trouble, my mind was very disturbed. It occurred to me that it would be better to go to the Master (Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa) than to the office, so I took another boat and landed at the temple ghat of Rani Rasmani
The Master was standing on the western verandah of his room, looking at the Ganga. As I walked up to him, he said: "What? You ran away from your office? That is not good. Live in this world like a crocodile. It lives under water, but sometimes it raises its snout above water, takes a deep breath, and again dives below the surface. People are submerged in their worldly life and they come here only when they are suffocating at home. Does anybody tread the path of religion without first undergoing sorrows and sufferings? Misery has a great value. It helps a person find the path to God."
The Master continued: "I know you are married. Do you have a mother?"
'Yes, my mother is still alive," I replied. He was silent for some time, and then he said: "All right, now stay at home. A little misery is good. It helps one to make progress in spiritual life. If there were no misery, would anyone chant the Lord's name?"
From the book 'Ramakrishna as we saw him'
By Swami Chetanananda, Advaita Ashrama)
From The Bhagavad Gita,Chapter 7, verse 16
The Blesssed Lord said:
Four kinds of virtuous men worship Me, O Arjuna, and they are the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth and the wise, O lord of the Bharatas.
  
Selections from Prayers and Meditations
Compiled from the scriptures of India
By Swami Prabhavananda and Clive Johnson
From the book 'Prayers and Meditations'
Vedanta Society of Southern California



This is the sum of all the scriptures

There is no sight equal to learning, no austerity equal to truthfulness, no misery like passion, and no happiness equal to following the ideal of renunciation.
The secret meaning of the Vedas is truth; of truth, self-control; of self-control, freedom from all limitations. This is the sum of all the scriptures.
Purity of conduct is the greatest purity. To think of God continuously, to worship Him, to chant His name and sing His praises – this is the best way of attaining the highest good.



The Mahabharata
Lord make me so pure and strong
Lord make me so pure and strong
That all creatures may look upon me
With friendship.
And may I also look upon all creatures
with friendship.





Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(Continued...) 


(My humble salutations to Tulasidas, Sree Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Hinduism com  for the collection)

 

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