By Master: ‘as for what has been said in the Vedas and Puranas, do you know what it is like? Suppose a man has seen the Ocean and somebody asks him, ’ well, what is the ocean like?’ The first man opens his mouth as wide as he can and says : ‘what a sight! What tremendous waves and sounds!’ The description of Brahman in the sacred books is like that. It is said in the Vedas that Brahman is of the nature of Bliss-It is Satchidananda.
“Suka and other sages stood on the shores of the Ocean of Brahman and saw and touched the water. According to one school of thought they never plunged into it. Those who do cannot come back to the world again.
“In smadhi one attains the Knowledge of Brahman – one realizes Brahman. In that state reasoning stops, and man becomes mute. He has no power to describe the nature of Brahman.
“Once a salt doll went to the depths of the ocean. It wanted to tell others how deep the water was, but that it could never do, for no sooner did it get into the water then it melted. Now who was there to report the depth of the ocean?”
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Vol I Pages 102-103
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The climate was pleasant. After the mercury touching 42 degrees the showers were a joy. I was waiting for my friend at the Sri Vealan Coffee, DB Road, Coimbatore. We had decided to have coffee and then proceeded on our usual evening walk. He came and we sat to have coffee. He asked whether I had finished my salutation of Lord Ganapathy at the Sithi Vinayaga Temple nearby. I remembered what his question was the other day when we had parted.
Me: You had asked me about Bakthi? Isn’t it?
He: Yes.
Me But before going into it. I want to ask you a fundamental question.
He: What is it?
Me: Do you know for sure that God exists leave alone seeing.
He: ..mm.. Yes, why not, I am sure. But it is difficult to explain.
Me: Why?
He: I can explain it to you in this way. This is called Anumana (disbelief)..It is like deducing some truth from the properties a thing exhibits when we are not able to see it. We cannot see the Solar system, but we are convinced by text books that it is an elliptical rotatory system with planets going around in it. You smell from a distance and confirm it is vadai, even before seeing it. Similarly, have any one seen an atom and its sub particles? Definitely no.. But all talk about it and all understand about it with no one seeing it. Yes the properties exhibited by atom gives its shape, content and energy. Similarly the properties which god alone can exhibit, if we are in proper stage to receive it, we can experience Him.
We finished our aromatic coffee, suiting the cloudy weather and started the evening walk.
Me: Then what are the properties by which one can deduce Him.
He: This is like this. 99.99% of that is happening around us are not under our control. Did you have the control over your birth? Or did you have control over how your body grows attains childhood, adult, old age and perishes at last. We do not know what will happen next. Why is the world like this physically? Why are we born? What is this universe? Why and where does it exists ? What is existence? Can all this be answered logically? Does it come into the ambit of reasoning? All these questions are the properties of Him and the anumana is the presence of God. That is if we have a concept of God many of these question gets answered!
Me: Then do you mean that man has no free will?
He: It is a very good question. Free will.. there is a sub question.. is there free will for all the creations?
Yes man has free will. This is where non believers take the divergent path. Destiny, fate etc all comes into this aspect of our discussion. Yes man has free will. It like a cow tied to a post with a length of chord for grazing. The cow has the freedom to graze any where upto which the chord length allows, but not beyond that. So, our freedom is only chords length. That is, we are, as you said the other day, under the control of the mother nature, above which we cannot move whatever ways we try. Can our logic move over and above what we have experienced, seen, taught and perceived in this world. What we learn, get educated sitting in our small place in the universe are all about the only dear world we have near us. Isn’t it?
Me: Yes you are right. What about other creations do they have free will?
He: In my anumana it is very, very limited. Can a fish have knowledge about atom bomb? Their free will chord is very small.
Me: What is the use of this free will?
He: In my opinion, man can use it for discriminating between good and bad, which is relative in nature that will take him to the path, and will help Him find the purpose of his life.
Me: What about non believers?
He: Non believers are materially oriented and believe utility for everything. They just say there is no use in worrying about before and after births. We are in this world and just enjoy it. They emphasis on morality and just social order. They are only anti religion and mix up religion with its errors as spirituality. But this will not help in crucial and hopeless situations in life. In old age and in disease they also think of the reasons for it.
Me: But you see Human beings are evolving. They are in Computers, communicate with machines and in space. With all this utilisation of science they are above their fore fathers they are into those of which they would not have thought or even imagined about. In this way, will Human not control his own births, deaths and life in future?
He: Oh come on its already late.
Me: Okay. Let’s see this on another occasion. I will be out of station for another fifteen days. Wasn’t I telling about that marriage. I am going to that. Then bye see you. Take care.
