Miscellaneous - Religion   

Divine communion

CHENNAI : The spiritual heights that great saints attain are not possible for laypeople even by doing strenuous spiritual practices (Sadhana). Saints are emissaries of God chosen for His mission (for reforming mankind) so that they will take to the spiritual path, and hence they are specially equipped for their task. The example of a genius' ability to excel naturally and that of an average person who cannot achieve the same level even with lot of effort is apt to appreciate this difference.

In his discourse, Swami Gautamananda said even casual utterances of a saint like Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa offered insight into the mystical states he had attained. He used to say that he wept to the Divine Mother to grace him with scriptural knowledge and that She enabled him to grasp the entire teachings of the Vedas and the Puranas in three days. Even in the case of great Yogis spiritual experience lasts only for a few minutes or hours. But in Sri Ramakrishna's case his vision of the Divine Mother including spiritual union (Samadhi) lasted three days and when he came out of this divine communion his face glowed with unearthly radiance. The saint then requested the Goddess to withdraw the lustrous divine form he had so that his devotees would be able to interact normally with him.

He was also blessed with the vision of Mahamaya (the obscuring power of the Almighty), which appeared as a glow inside his room and spread, and enveloped the entire universe before his eyes. This proves that it is not possible for human beings to overcome Maya and only divine grace can enable one to transcend it and comprehend the Reality. The world of diversity that is apparent to human perception is thus due to illusion.

The Divine Mother revealed to the saint how many devotees would seek his guidance and also instructed him to teach Vedanta to this modern day people as the objective of his spiritual ministry was to rejuvenate Hinduism in this age. The meeting of Sri Ramakrishna and Narendra (Swami Vivekananda) was also ordained as the saint observed when he met him for the first time that he had been waiting for him for years. Naren was stunned by his statement and went away with reservation but returned the next day totally transformed.

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