SRI RAMAKRISHNA PARAMAHAMSA ALWAYS USED
MAKE HIS POINT BY NARRATING SIMPLE PARABLES
FROM HIS LIFE, SCRIPTURES, PURANAS, VISIONS
HE GOT FROM KALI MATA ETC.
SPIRITUALLY HIS EXPERIENCE IS ADVAITHA
PHILOSOPHY LIKE THAT OF BHGAVATPADA
SRI SHANKARACHARYA
FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED TO READ
MORE PARABLES OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA
PARAMAHAMSA PL. VISIT --
https://www.scribd.com/doc/229352368/41/SUCH-INDEED-IS-MAYA
MAA KALI
Reproduced from--http://www.rkmpune.org/readings/srk_parables.html
Such Indeed Is Maya
"Once Narada pleaded to the Lord of the universe, 'Lord, show me that Maya of Thine which can make the impossible possible.' The Lord smiled and nodded in assent. Subsequently the Lord one day set out on a journey with Narada. After going some distance, He felt very thirsty and fatigued. So He sat down and told Narada, 'Narada, I feel much thirsty; please get me a little water from somewhere.' Narada at once ran in search of water.
Finding no water nearby, he went far from the place and saw a river at a great distance. When he approached the river, he saw a most charming young lady sitting there, and was at once captivated by her beauty. As soon as Narada went near her, she began to address him in sweet words, and soon, both fell in love with each other. Narada then married her, and settled down as a householder. In course of time he had a number of children by her. And while he was thus living happily with his wife and children, there came a plague in the country. Death began to collect its toll from every place. Then Narada proposed to abandon the place and go somewhere else. His wife agreed to it, and they both came out of their house leading their children by the hand.
But no sooner did they come to the bridge to cross the river than there came a terrible flood, and in the rush of water, all their children were swept away one after another, and at last the wife too was drowned.
Overwhelmed with grief at his bereavement, Narada sat down on the bank and began to weep piteously. Just then the Lord appeared before him, saying, 'O Narada, where is the water you were going to bring me? And why are you weeping?' The sight of the Lord startled the sage, and then he understood everything. He exclaimed, 'Lord, my obeisance to Thee, and my obeisance also to Thy wonderful Maya!'"
Souls Caught In The Net
"Men may be divided into four classes: those bound by the fetters of the world, the seekers after liberation, the liberated, and the ever-free."
"Among the ever-free we may count sages like Narada. They live in the world for the good of others, to teach men spiritual truth."
"Those in bondage are sunk in worldliness and forgetful of God. Not even by mistake do they think of God."
"The seekers after liberation want to free themselves from attachment to the world. Some of them succeed and others do not.
"The liberated souls, such as the sadhus and mahatmas, are not entangled in the world, in 'woman and gold'. Their minds are free from worldliness. Besides, they always meditate on the Lotus Feet of God.
"Suppose a net has been cast into a lake to catch fish. Some fish are so clever that they are never caught in the net. They are like the ever-free. But most of the fish are entangled in the net. Some of them try to free them. selves from it, and they are like those who seek liberation. But not all the fish that struggle succeed. A very few do jump out of the net, making a big splash in the water. Then the fishermen shout, 'Look! There goes a big one!' But most of the fish caught in the net cannot escape, nor do they make any effort to get out. On the contrary, they burrow into the mud with the net in their mouths and lie there quietly, thinking, 'We need not fear any more; we are quite safe here.' But the poor things do not know that the fishermen will drag them out with the net. These are like the men bound to the world."
"The bound souls are tied to the world by the fetters of 'woman and gold'. They are bound hand and foot. Thinking that 'woman and gold' will make them happy and give them security, they do not realize that it will lead them to annihilation. When a man thus bound to the world is about to die, his wife asks, 'You are about to go; but what have you done for me?' Again, such is his attachment to the things of the world that, when he sees the lamp burning brightly, he says: 'Dim the light. Too much oil is being used.' And he is on his death-bed!"
"The bound souls never think of God. If they get any leisure they indulge in idle gossip and foolish talk, or they engage in fruitless work. If you ask one of them the reason, he answers, 'Oh, I cannot keep still; so I am making a hedge.' When time hangs heavy on their hands they perhaps start playing cards."
The Tiger Lurking Behind Worldly Happiness
"God is like a wish-fulfilling tree. Whatever the prayers to Him, he is capable of bestowing. But we have to think carefully about what we are asking for before praying to Him."
A traveler in the course of his journey came across a stretch of woodland. He was very tired and thirsty and he sat under a tree to take rest. As he was resting he thought, 'How nice it would be if I had a soft bed to rest on. I would have enjoyed a good nap.' Now, he was unaware of the fact that the tree he was resting under was a Wish fulfilling Tree.
No sooner had he expressed this desire that a bed with soft bedding appeared by his side. He was very surprised, but he was very tired to pursue the reasons behind this strange happening. He lay down on the bed and as he was enjoying its comfort he started thinking : 'Ah it would be so nice if a maidservant were to massage my aching feet.' And immediately a beautiful damsel appeared and started massaging his feet.
The travelers joy knew no bounds. As the moments passed he became aware that he was hungry and thought : 'Whatever I am desiring it is being fulfilled. So now won't I get good food?' Immediately a plate filled with the best of dishes appeared before him. He ate to his fill and lay down on the bed.
He started pondering over the wonderful things happening that day and it came to his mid : 'What if from the woods a tiger were to come and attack me!'. Immediately a tiger appeared from the woods and jumped on him and devoured him. The traveler thus lost his life.
The Stench of Worldliness
"Once a fishermans wife was a guest in a gardener's house. She was asked to sleep in a room full of flowers. But she couldn't get any sleep there. She was restless and began to fidget about.
The gardener's wife asked her: 'Hello there! Why aren't you asleep?' 'Oh, I don't know', said the fishwife. 'There are flowers here. The smell keeps me awake. Can't you bring me my fish-basket?'. When she got her fish-basket, she sprinkled a little water in it, and taking the smell of the fish coming from it, she fell fast asleep."
Worldly people are like this fisherman's wife. They are uneasy in the pure atmosphere that leads Godward and cannot do without the smell of worldly things. They do not want to smell the divine fragrance of meditation on God.
A SALT DOLL WENT TO FATHOM THE OCEAN
Once, a salt doll went to measure the depth of the ocean. It wanted to tell others how deep the water was. But this it could never do, for no sooner did it get into the water than it melted.
Now, who was there to report the ocean's depth?
What Brahman is cannot be described. In samadhi one attains the knowledge of Brahman—one realises Brahman. In that state reasoning stops altogether, and man becomes mute. He has no power to describe the nature of Brahman.
The Pandit In The Boat
"Once several men were crossing the Ganges in a boat. One of them, a pundit, was making a great display of his erudition, saying that he had studied various books - the Vedas, the Vedanta, and the six systems of philosophy."
"He asked a fellow passenger, 'Do you know the Vedanta?' 'No, revered sir.' 'The Samkhya and the Patanjala?' 'No, revered sir.' 'Have you read no philosophy whatsoever?' 'No, revered sir.' The pundit was talking in this vain way and the passenger sitting in silence, when a great storm arose and the boat was about to sink.
The passenger said to the pundit, 'Sir, can you swim?' 'No', replied the pundit. The passenger said, 'I don't know the Samkhya or the Patanjala, but I can swim.' "
"What will a man gain by knowing many scriptures? The one thing needful is to know how to cross the river of the world. God alone is real, and all else illusory.
Occult Powers Are Hindrances
On The Path To God
On The Path To God
"Once upon a time a sadhu acquired great occult powers. He took great pride in them. But he was a good man and had some austerities to his credit. One day the Lord, disguised as a holy man, came to him and said, 'Revered sir, I have heard that you have great occult powers.'
The sadhu received the Lord cordially and offered him a seat. Just then an elephant passed by. The Lord, in the disguise of the holy man, said to the sadhu, 'Revered sir, can you kill this elephant if you like?' The sadhu said, 'Yes, it is possible.' So saying he took a pinch of dust, muttered some mantras over it, and threw it at the elephant. The beast struggled a while in pain and then dropped dead.
The Lord said: 'What power you have! You have killed the elephant!' The sadhu felt proud and laughed. Again the Lord spoke: 'Now, can you revive the elephant?' 'That too is possible,' replied the sadhu. He threw another pinch of charmed dust at the beast. The elephant writhed about a little and came back to life.
Then the Lord said: 'Wonderful is your power. But may I ask you one thing? You have killed the elephant and you have revived it. But what has that done for you? Do you feel uplifted by it? Has it enabled you to realize God?' Saying this, the Lord vanished.
Subtle are the ways of Dharma. One cannot realize God. if one has even the least trace of desire. A thread cannot pass through the eye of a needle if it has the smallest fibre sticking out.
In The Dense Forest Of This World
Once a rich man was passing through a forest, when three robbers surrounded him and robbed him of all his wealth. After snatching all his possessions from him, one of the robbers said: 'What's the good of keeping the man alive? Kill him.' Saying this, he was about to strike their victim with his sword, when the second robber interrupted and said: 'There's no use in killing him. Let us bind him fast and leave him here. Then he won't be able to tell the police.' Accordingly the robbers tied him with a rope, left him, and went away.
After a while the third robber returned to the rich man and said: 'Ah! You're badly hurt, aren't you? Come, I'm going to release you.' The third robber set the man free and led him out of the forest. When they came near the highway, the robber said, 'Follow this road and you will reach home easily.' 'But you must come with me too', said the man. 'You have done so much for me. We shall all be happy to see you at our home.' 'No,' said the robber, 'it is not possible for me to go there. The police will arrest me.' So saying, he left the rich man after pointing out his way.
"Now, the first robber, who said: 'What's the good of keeping the man alive? Kill him', is tamas. It destroys.
The second robber is rajas, which binds a man to the world and entangles him in a variety of activities. Rajas makes him forget God.
Sattva alone shows the way to God. It produces virtues like compassion, righteousness, and devotion. Again, sattva is like the last step of the stairs. Next to it is the roof.
The Supreme Brahman is man's own abode. One cannot attain the Knowledge of Brahman unless one transcends the three gunas."
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