Miscellaneous - Religion   

Company of saints

CHENNAI: Cultivating the company of saints (Satsangh) is a sure way to progress spiritually. As they are constantly in tune with God the mind becomes cleansed of its baser tendencies in their presence. There is an interesting insight offered by the Bhagavata Purana in the form of a conversation between Narada and Yudhishthira about how God transmutes whatever emotion that is directed towards Him and grants liberation. Narada explained to Yudhishthira that the cowherd women (Gopis) attained Him through unalloyed love, Kamsa through fear, Sishupala through hatred, the Vrishnis through kinship, he and his brothers (Pandavas) through friendship and sages like him through devotion.

In his discourse, Swami Gautamananda said devotees who sought Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa found themselves transformed in course of time. A mentally-challenged woman used to attend the devotional congregation and often trouble the saint by saying she had come to meet Lord Krishna imagining herself to be a Gopi, observing which the others used to get angry with her. But his devotee Girish Chandra Ghosh felt sorry for her and explained to them that she did not mean any harm as she was only trying to express her devotion and that she would benefit from the saint. He clarified that he was able to empathise with her because of his own experience. He disclosed that there was not a bad habit that he was not addicted to, and besides he was lazy and would not do anything. But after he sought Sri Ramakrishna he underwent a total transformation, so much so, he started believing in God and that He was the one who was directing his life. His contention was that the lady’s case was nothing compared to his as she was only expressing her devotion, and hence she would realise God by the saint’s grace.

Sri Ramakrishna often stressed to his devotees to be cautious about two types of desires in the world: sensory attractions (material) and subtle ones like yearning for name and fame. The majority strive for these only but the saint cautioned that one must be altruistic in order to progress spiritually.

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