The Ramakrishna Kathamritam - Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
If
you want to get the best of spiritual knowledge in the simplest of terms read
"The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna". To non English readers it is the
"Ramakrishna Kathamrita".
Sri
Ramakrishna had an erudite devotee. He however was very humble. Being educated he
did not believe in idol worship. He sought the formless divine. However Sri
Ramakrishna made him snap out of it. He accepted the form of God. According to
Sri Ramakrishna the all powerful formless Brahman has the power and ability to
take on a form.
Slowly
Sri Ramakrishna broke many of his concepts and steered him towards God
realization. The devotee became totally detached and his mind was constantly
abiding with God. His state became like the bird who sits on her eggs. Though
her eyes are open her mind is totally absorbed in the to be hatched offspring.
This is the symbol of the Jivanmukta. Only the form remains. The person is no
longer in it.
The
devotee was a frequent visitor and also accompanied Sri Ramakrishna during his
visits to the city and to the homes of devotee. He maintained a diary where he
wrote cryptic notes. Sri Ramakrishna did not like people recording his talks.
But he never objected in case of this devotee. The devotee too thought the
notes were personal.
After
the death of Sri Ramakrishna, the devotee was requested to publish his diary
entries. But the notes were very sparse. The devotee then meditated on the
notes and the events came surging to his mind. His pen flowed as he captured
what came.
People
reading the manuscript, including Swami Vivekananda, were amazed at the
clarity. They were transported back to those times. They encouraged the devotee
to do more. Ultimately the book was published one volume after another and
became a runaway bestseller.
The
book is unputdownable as you start reading it. The author is mentioned as Sri
M. His realization had erased the person. Only the shadow remained. It is like
Sri Ramana Maharshi writing the letter to his parents as he left home. At the
end of it he could not write his name as his individuality had disappeared.
The
book is a daily read for the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna. Reading the book
leads to self realization. You may go on to read many a scripture after that
but at every step you will remember the words in the book. What the plethora of
scriptural texts of the world says is expertly summarized in the simple words
of Sri Ramakrishna.
The
lofty spiritual giant, whose photograph of meditation is considered to be the
highest realized state, was a very simple child of the Mother. He spoke the
dialect of all and used homely similes to transfer the wealth of spirituality
to the common man. As he himself said, Mother will be angry with me as I have
distributed the greatest of spiritual secrets in the village market.
If you have not
read this gem of a book then procure and read it now.
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