Meet & Greet with Guest Swami Jñānasudhānanda 29May26

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[00:00:50]Good evening everybody.

[00:00:52]And we are pleased to have Swami Gnana Suddhananda.

[00:00:58]He is an assistant minister at the Vedanta Society of Southern California, Hollywood.

[00:01:08]Okay.

[00:01:13]There.

[00:01:14]There we go.

[00:01:16]Uh He has uh kindly accepted our invitation the Vedanta Society of Western Washington to come and speak to us on Swami Brahmananda Reminiscences of Swami Brahmananda and his transformative presence.

[00:01:42]It's a kind of a more like a meet and greet. We just talk a little and then you can ask questions >> [snorts] >> uh if you have.

[00:01:51]Uh So, Swami Gnana Suddhananda I mean, yeah, before he became Gnana Shudananda, he joined the order in 2005.

[00:02:05]And then, he came to the training center and he 2009.

[00:02:11]And in 2015, he was ordained.

[00:02:16]But before his ordination, he spent about 12 years working at the headquarters.

[00:02:24]And uh So, he knows the inner workings of the headquarters.

[00:02:30]Uh He also is uh erudite. I've seen him over the years.

[00:02:39]Dedicated and uh humble also, you can see, because gnana, knowledge, makes one humble.

[00:02:47]So, it's always like that. And not only that, the the elixir of knowledge, or the nectar of knowledge, that the bliss through the nectar of knowledge.

[00:02:59]So, knowledge, and this has been something that has uh always tantalized the human mind.

[00:03:10]And uh we have It's a It's a human mind that seeks knowledge.

[00:03:17]But it seeks knowledge also through various means.

[00:03:23]But they broadly can be classified into something that's existence and sometime and swings between non-existence.

[00:03:35]Take for instance, a simple thing like, yeah, these things are existent.

[00:03:40]We can see it.

[00:03:42]But go down to the very deepest layer, and you'll find this thing disappearing.

[00:03:49]And you'll wonder, what exactly is this?

[00:03:53]So, we are swinging between these poles of existence and nonexistence.

[00:04:02]Okay?

[00:04:06]Sri Ramakrishna uses the word between asti and nasti.

[00:04:14]Between isness and is notness.

[00:04:19]That's the closest word that you can get.

[00:04:23]So, the human mind is in a kind of a paradoxical. It wants to know the reality.

[00:04:28]Sri Ramakrishna is very clear.

[00:04:31]This existence and nonexistence is related to prakriti or nature or maya.

[00:04:44]We think it's real.

[00:04:46]Yeah.

[00:04:47]This is the attribute of prakriti.

[00:04:50]Nature.

[00:04:51]And you again we think it is not real.

[00:04:54]That also is attribute of nature, prakriti.

[00:04:59]Sri Ramakrishna said the reality is behind or beyond both asti and nasti.

[00:05:08]And he But then, how do you know How do you get to that point?

[00:05:13]Yes, that that is the whole pursuit of knowledge.

[00:05:18]And we have Swami here who embodies that knowledge. We all embody that knowledge, of course.

[00:05:27]Sri Ramakrishna at one time in Kashipur uh it was warm and uh M, the transcriber of the of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is is fanning him.

[00:05:42]And uh he's surrounded by a few disciples.

[00:05:48]And here he says, "Okay."

[00:05:50]Uh They're discussing certain things and then Sri Ramakrishna takes the fan from the hand fan from M's hand.

[00:06:03]Takes it.

[00:06:04]I have seen God directly as I see this fan in my hand.

[00:06:12]Here it is.

[00:06:14]Now he has experienced the reality that is beyond both isness and not isness.

[00:06:23]Or is notness.

[00:06:27]Here he's saying, "It is He directly [clears throat] is perceived."

[00:06:31]So, Jnana or whatever you call spiritual practices is not something that is you can say an illusion.

[00:06:42]In fact, we will call this knowledge chimerical, illusory.

[00:06:49]But the real knowledge is beyond both this and not this.

[00:06:55]Beyond nature.

[00:06:57]So, Sri Ramakrishna says, "I've seen this. I've seen it directly like I see a fan here."

[00:07:04]But this is this This is the subject matter of Vedanta.

[00:07:12]Now, the subject matter of Vedanta it is, you know, it's abstract. It's metaphysical. It's this, that. And there are so many explanations of Vedanta even Vedantans get confused.

[00:07:28]But when these Vedantic ideas or these ideals or this truth is embodied in a person then we can get a tangible can see glimpse into the nature of the person, the nature of the in person because behind every person is something which is not a person.

[00:07:58]And then if you're lucky you can get a glimpse even beyond that.

[00:08:04]So Vedanta does not dismiss the idea of personality.

[00:08:10]Because that's the doorway.

[00:08:12]Swami Brahmananda was one such huge gateway as it were into the higher realities of nature and even that which is beyond the nature.

[00:08:30]Because Sri Ramakrishna says I tell you in truth that which is that all pervading reality is there here within me.

[00:08:44]So he said So like Sri Ramakrishna's mind-born son was Swami Brahmananda.

[00:08:54]And so Swami Brahmananda in a way embodied Sri Ramakrishna.

[00:08:59]For all of us he brought it down to our level.

[00:09:03]So dwelling on his life and his words >> [snorts] >> gives us the insight into this reality which is beyond both is and is not.

[00:09:18]Most religions and most philosophies have got bogged down here.

[00:09:24]Yes, and that's why there's such a confusion about the word real.

[00:09:29]I consider this real and then go analyze it and then I find it's not real.

[00:09:35]And And we are.

[00:09:37]So, the reality has to be not this, not this, but even beyond.

[00:09:45]I leave it to Swami Gnana Sudhananda to speak about Swami Brahmananda and his presence and how the transformative presence that brought that reality down to our level where we can comprehend it.

[00:10:03]Thank you.

[00:10:04]We also uh will be uh hosting him on Sunday for the Sunday talk.

[00:10:11]So, this is a kind of prelude, as it were.

[00:10:15]Thank you, Swami.

[00:10:19]>> Um Sarvajiva papanasha karanam Bhaveshwaram swikritancha garbhavasa deha pasha midrusham yapitam swalilayacha yena divya jeevanam tannamaami deva deva Ramakrishna mishwaram.

[00:10:40]>> Can you translate that?

[00:10:43]>> [clears throat] >> This is a part of the hymn composed by Swami Virajanand Ji Maharaj, who was a disciple of Swami Vivekananda.

[00:10:55]Uh he wrote uh a hymn with the 10 verses, Stotra Dashakam, it is called.

[00:11:02]Uh the verse I chanted just now is part of that. So, Sarvajiva papanasha karanam Bhaveshwaram.

[00:11:10]He is he is the uh one who destroys the uh the papa, the sins of all beings.

[00:11:22]Uh and these papas, these sins are the cause of rebirth, and he destroys them.

[00:11:29]Um swikritancha garbhavasa deha pasha midrusham. So, he took birth. He took this body in the the form with it that we see. He took that form just for this purpose of giving salvation, giving illumination to the bonded souls.

[00:11:50]And the opportunity later in the divine journey So he his wonderful life that's divine journey divine life and he went through that divine life with this objective to that Ramakrishna mission to that Ramakrishna I bow down again and again. So that is the meaning of the verse very beautiful verse.

[00:12:19]Thank you Swami Satyamayananda for your kind words by way of introducing me. Maharaj has said a lot. I don't know how much I deserve all that.

[00:12:31]There is a tradition in our Ramakrishna order.

[00:12:37]See when we are given initiation, the ordination, we are also given a new name to signify that we have entered a new life. We have reborn as it were.

[00:12:54]So with the rebirth a new name is also a necessity.

[00:12:59]So we are given a new name.

[00:13:01]That new name uh sometimes it may it may be a reflection of the the personality of the person or sometimes it may not it may be >> [laughter] >> It's it's it's an it's an So we had our Swami Tapasyananda Maharaj.

[00:13:28]I don't know how many of you have heard of him. So, he was Swami Tapasyanandji.

[00:13:32]He was vice president of our order.

[00:13:35]He was a very very austere sadhu.

[00:13:38]Very austere monk. So, when people heard that his name was Swami Tapasyananda.

[00:13:45]Tapasya means austerity.

[00:13:47]And Ananda, you know, it means bliss.

[00:13:49]So, one who finds bliss in austerity.

[00:13:52]So, this Tapasyananda Swamiji really found bliss in in austerity. Okay. So, many people told him that Swamiji the your guru has chosen the right name for you. It's a It's a wonderful name that you have got. Tapasyananda, it correctly reflects your your way of life.

[00:14:12]But this Tapasyanandji Maharaj was so humble, and he would say, "No, no. It is not what I am.

[00:14:20]And the name tells me what I should be."

[00:14:24]>> [clears throat and laughter] >> So, he was so humble. So, same is the case with me.

[00:14:29]My name is Jnana Sudhananda. So, Maharaj said knowledge elixir, all that. So, yes, I have Being Vedantins, we cannot say that we don't have. Yes, we all have. As Swamiji said, it is hidden. So, we are all working towards manifesting it, bringing it out.

[00:14:50]That's good. So, I understand Swamiji Satyamanandji Maharaj gives classes here on Fridays on on a Vedantic text.

[00:15:01]Since I'm visiting Seattle, Swami asked me to give this class.

[00:15:07]And this being one-off class, I didn't choose any particular text.

[00:15:14]But then I thought I can speak about the founder of this Vedanta Society and his guru.

[00:15:22]Right. So, you all know Swami Vividishananda Ji Maharaj founded this Vedanta Society.

[00:15:29]Is there anyone among you who has seen the Swami Vividishananda Ji? Wow, Maharaj has seen. From Vidyananda Ji.

[00:15:37]So, good.

[00:15:38]>> [snorts] >> So, uh he served this Vedanta Society for little more than four decades until his passing away in 1980.

[00:15:49]Um a few weeks after his passing, uh >> [clears throat] >> Prabuddha Bharata, our magazine, uh published a a nice obituary. So, from that obituary we learn that Swami uh Vividishananda was a distinguished scholar uh in his youth. Uh he graduated from Calcutta University.

[00:16:11]He had a degree in philosophy.

[00:16:13]>> [snorts] >> And then he joined the Ramakrishna Order in 1919. Before that, uh he was initiated by Swami Brahmananda Ji Maharaj, his guru.

[00:16:25]And after that he joined the Order. And uh received Sannyasa Diksha from uh Swami Shivananda Maharaj in 1923.

[00:16:37]He spent many years in Mayavati Advaita Ashrama and also served as editor of Prabuddha Bharata for 2 years. And Swami Satprakashananda Ji was also editor of Prabuddha Bharata.

[00:16:49]Um and when Vividishananda Ji was in Mayavati, he made an adventurous pilgrimage to Mount Kailash.

[00:16:59]Afterward, he became the first president of our center in Rajkot. Rajkot is a uh big city in in Gujarat.

[00:17:09]Uh he was the first president of the center there.

[00:17:12]And then Swami Shivananda Maharaj sent him to the USA.

[00:17:17]After coming here, he worked in Portland, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Denver, and all these places. And in 1938, he came here, Seattle, and 4 years later, he established this Vedanta Society.

[00:17:33]He also visited Honolulu and preached Vedanta there.

[00:17:38]Uh in the reporting his death, the Seattle Times had something very interesting to say.

[00:17:46]He it referred to him as one of Seattle's most low-keyed but effective religious leaders.

[00:17:56]Swami Vividishananda's method of work was never mass conversion, but close personal contact through which he successfully endeavored to mold the lives of a few sincere spiritual aspirant.

[00:18:13]As such, the results of his subdued life of 42 years in Seattle were never spectacular, but deep, pervasive, and long-lasting.

[00:18:27]So, that is the tribute paid by Seattle Times Swami Vividishananda.

[00:18:33]And Vividishananda ji authored two important books, or rather the one was his translation. The the Mahapurush Sivananda Maharaj's biography.

[00:18:48]Uh it is called the the Saga of Great Soul.

[00:18:52]That was written by Vividishananda ji.

[00:18:54]Even today, it is a very popular book.

[00:18:57]And another book, uh For Seekers of God. So, that Maharaj translated from the Bengali to English. For Seekers of God, that is a really wonderful book. It contains conversations of Swami Shivananda Maharaj.

[00:19:16]>> [clears throat] >> I think it is a must read for all spiritual seekers of our order >> [clears throat] >> who are associated with the Ramakrishna Vivekananda tradition. It is a a must read. It is such a wonderful book.

[00:19:33]Vividishananda translated the first part of that book. And after his passing away a compilation of some of his best lectures in the USA were also published in India.

[00:19:49]So, how Swami Vividishananda came in contact with Brahmananda Raja Maharaj and how he received initiation is all very interesting. See, in in in most of our centers at the end of the day, we have something called reading class where all monastic members gather and we read a particular text. So, at Hollywood where I come from, the Hollywood Vedanta Society, we are reading Swami Brahmananda as we saw him, the book.

[00:20:27]It is a compilation of reminiscences by his of his disciples.

[00:20:34]So, today I want to share what Swami Vividishananda has to say about his association with Swami Brahmananda.

[00:20:45]It is very interesting.

[00:20:47]>> [snorts] >> Before Vividishananda received the sannyasa, his name was Vijayan.

[00:20:55]So, he met Swami Brahmananda first in Varanasi.

[00:21:02]His elder brother was called Satyen. So, he also became a monk of our order, and his name was Swami Atma Bodhananda.

[00:21:11]So, this his elder brother Satyen, he took Dwijen to Brahmananda and and introduced him to Raja Maharaj.

[00:21:22]And for this reason, Raja Maharaj always used to call him as Satyen's brother, Satyen's bhai.

[00:21:29]So, that's how Raja Maharaj used to call him.

[00:21:35]He met there That was a just a casual meet for just for a few minutes.

[00:21:41]And then, but he was very Dwijen felt very much attracted to Raja Maharaj. And after a few months, he moved to Calcutta to pursue his college studies.

[00:21:54]When he was at college, he he used to visit Belur Math along with many of his friends.

[00:22:03]At that time, Swami Brahmananda was not living in Belur Math. He Mostly, he did not live in Belur Math. He would be in either Puri or Bhubaneswar or in South India.

[00:22:13]He would be moving.

[00:22:14]>> [snorts] >> Uh Swami Premananda was the abbot of the Belur Math. And he loved these youngsters very very dearly. And Vividishananda, that is Dwijen, he says that he found Swami Premananda's love and affection so He felt it so keenly that he says, "Swami Premananda was not was of a different stuff. So, he is not like an ordinary human being."

[00:22:49]That's what Because such purity, such love is not found in ordinary human beings. That was his the impression Dwijen carried.

[00:22:59]One day, when Dwijen came to Belur Math.

[00:23:02]Uh Premananda told him that you know now Raja Maharaj is in Belur Math. Go and offer your salutations.

[00:23:11]Uh then Raja Maharaj was pacing up and down in the in the veranda of Belur Math. And Dwijen went near him and prostrated. Uh Raja Maharaj immediately asked him, "Have you not seen you before?"

[00:23:27]Uh the Satya Dwijen said, "Yes, seen you. I met you in Varanasi." Uh then Raja Maharaj immediately recalled, "Oh, you are that Satyen's brother." So, Raja Maharaj had such keen memory and keen observing observing power. He would not forget a face once he has seen it.

[00:23:46]>> [sighs] >> Uh Dwijen also met Raja Maharaj in Balaram Bose's house, in Udbodhan where Holy Mother stayed, and other places.

[00:23:58]Wherever Raja Maharaj went, all these young people, Dwijen and his friends, they used to go and meet Raja Maharaj.

[00:24:09]And they had read Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Bhagavad Gita, and Swamiji's books. They were all fired with the ideal of renunciation. And but they did not have clear idea of God. But they all felt very much attracted to Raja Maharaj.

[00:24:26]And it's very interesting that most of these youngsters of this group later joined the Ramakrishna Order. They all became monks.

[00:24:38]These people when they go Dwijen, he was so attracted to Raja Maharaj that whenever he met Raja Maharaj, he would repeatedly go and offer his salutations. Once Raja Maharaj, noticing him that doing salutations again and again, he smiled and asked, "How many have you did salutation to me today?"

[00:25:00]So, the Raja Maharaj often would be in uh in very abstracted mood uh without speaking any words, but still people would love to be in his company.

[00:25:16]Uh just sit near his presence, uh feel his presence.

[00:25:23]Um the that is how these youngsters also would benefit from his company.

[00:25:29]Once, there was uh singing of Ramnam Sankirtan at Balaram Bose's house.

[00:25:36]Dwijen also was there, and Raja Maharaj was seated on a special carpet, and Dwijen sat near him. Ramnam singing was going on, and there was such a palpable atmosphere of spirituality there.

[00:25:54]And Dwijen observed that Raja Maharaj's body was little shivering.

[00:26:00]Little trembling was there.

[00:26:02]And after a while, Raja Maharaj got up, and he left the room. And he later he said that "Today, we had something a hundred times better than meditation."

[00:26:17]So, the atmosphere created by Ramnam Sankirtan in the presence of Raja Maharaj, Raja Maharaj himself said that it was hundred times better than meditation.

[00:26:32]And whenever uh Raja Maharaj visits the the the mutt Ramakrishna Mutt Center, the monastery, there would be a special air of festivity there.

[00:26:44]One felt very much uplifted, and Dwijen was convinced that if only Raja Maharaj touches him, he will attain samadhi.

[00:26:53]That was his conviction.

[00:26:56]So, once he told Raja Maharaj, "Please do something for me."

[00:27:01]Um then Raja Maharaj remained silent and he said, "You have to do work."

[00:27:11]If you spend at just the half of the time and energy that you give for your university studies to the spiritual practices, you will achieve something. So, that was Raja Maharaj's thing.

[00:27:27]So, Vijayan probably thought that Raja Maharaj will just touch him and he will go to samadhi and he will not have to do anything. No, so Raja Maharaj said, "No, you have to do something and just half the amount of time and energy you give for your university studies, you have to give it to the spiritual practice."

[00:27:50]And Vijayan always thought that Raja Maharaj was his guru and he wanted to be initiated by him.

[00:27:57]But it was not easy to receive initiation from Raja Maharaj. It was very difficult to make him agree.

[00:28:06]One day, when Raja Maharaj was walking in the the monastery gardens, Vijayan gathered courage and went to Raja Maharaj and asked him, "Will you take my spiritual responsibility?"

[00:28:20]Then Raja Maharaj replied, "You come and see me later."

[00:28:26]>> [laughter] >> You come and see. So, that that was the characteristic of Raja Maharaj.

[00:28:32]On another occasion, he became very eager to Vijayan became eager to see Raja Maharaj. So, he started from his place in Kolkata to Belur Math and it was a stormy day and it was pouring and he walked all the way and by the time he reached Belur Math, he was drenched.

[00:28:52]Uh but there was no opportunity whole in the whole morning to see Raja Maharaj.

[00:28:58]He could see him only in the afternoon.

[00:29:01]And when Raja Maharaj saw him, uh he he was also surprised. "Oh, you have come on such a day."

[00:29:08]Um then [clears throat] uh Raja Maharaj told him that "See, today I'm not feeling well. You come on some other day, okay?" [clears throat] And on that day, uh he gave him a rosary and told him to you dip it in Ganga and use it.

[00:29:28]Uh but he told him that yes, I will give you initiation. I will I'll make you my disciple.

[00:29:37]Dwijen felt assured, but no date was fixed. So, he was in uncertainty again when Maharaj will agree to give the initiation.

[00:29:52]One such day, um he learned that Raja Maharaj was going to give initiation to some young uh people, some young boys.

[00:30:05]Uh Dwijen, what he did? He bathed in Ganga and on that day, he gathered some fruits and flowers and he went to Belur Math.

[00:30:15]Okay. Um as if getting ready to receive initiation. But uh obviously, Maharaj had not told him um that he would be initiating him on that day. But still, Dwijen probably wanted to try. So, he he went there and when he reached >> [clears throat] >> Belur Math, he saw Raja Maharaj was in his room.

[00:30:39]But he did not have the courage to directly go and approach Maharaj.

[00:30:44]See, Raja Maharaj was very kind, but at the same time it was not easy to go near him.

[00:30:51]So, he went to the the chapel and sat there for a time some time.

[00:30:59]In the meanwhile, Raja Maharaj came out of his room and was walking up and down in the veranda.

[00:31:05]Then Vijayan went to him and falling at his feet and he told Raja Maharaj that he wants to be initiated.

[00:31:18]So, Raja Maharaj was kind that day and he said, "Okay, you go and sit with other boys. I will call you."

[00:31:26]Uh so, then one by one the boys were called uh and Vijayan was also initiated. So, that is how he received initiation.

[00:31:39]As I told you, uh Brahmanandji was very reluctant when it came to initiation giving initiation.

[00:31:49]Candidates had to wait many years.

[00:31:54]It is also seen that Swami Brahmananda would give even the monastic vows, but he would not give initiation. So, there are few instances where so some older old generation monks have received sannyasa diksha, but they have not received spiritual initiation.

[00:32:13]So, it was so tough.

[00:32:15]>> [snorts] >> Um so, he would not turn them away outright, but he would say, "Wait a little. Wait a little." So, he would put put off the the the initiation ceremony. Probably, this was the way he he wanted to strengthen the earning in the candidate for this spiritual initiation.

[00:32:34]If they get initiation immediately after they're asking, then they will not value it much. So, probably Raja Maharaj wanted them to wait so that they prepare themselves to receive the the the initiation.

[00:32:52]Swami Ashokanand ji in his reminiscences of Raja Maharaj, he has given another explanation.

[00:33:02]He says that sometime in in 1905, Raja Maharaj fell very ill. He was down with typhoid fever.

[00:33:12]His life was in danger for almost 3 months and for a whole year after that, he was convalescing under under very care very minute care of other people.

[00:33:29]So, why this happened? Because he had initiated one young man who had not led a pure life before. Okay. So, in India, it is believed that when a guru gives spiritual initiation to the disciple, he accepts a part of his karma, a part of his sins so that he can have a smooth the progress in the spiritual path. This guru does. But, whatever he accepts will affect his body. Okay. So, Swami Brahmananda had initiated uh that young man who was not so pure and that affected his body.

[00:34:21]Because of this undergoing this suffering, Brahmananda in later years became very reluctant. He was very careful about accepting disciples.

[00:34:36]Swami Ashokananda also says that this reluctance Swami Brahmananda he did overcome after some years. Okay.

[00:34:48]How did that happen?

[00:34:51]He once saw a play based on the great Ramanujacharya, a great saint of Vaishnava sect South India.

[00:35:01]So, in that play in one scene Ramanuja receives a mantra from a guru. Okay. So, and that guru tells him, "See, this is a very very sacred mantra.

[00:35:18]I'm giving it to you.

[00:35:20]Whoever repeats this mantra will be saved. But, don't tell this to anybody.

[00:35:26]Okay." Then Ramanuja asks his guru, "Oh, what will happen if I tell you?"

[00:35:32]So, then he says, "You will go to hell."

[00:35:35]>> [clears throat] >> Then Ramanuja immediately he runs out and climbs up on a temple nearby temple and calls out people, "Listen, please come. Take this mantra. Whoever repeats this will be saved." Uh Uh so, when Raja Maharaj saw this scene in the play on the Ramanuja Of course, this is a real incident. This is recorded in his biography in the biography of Ramanujacharya.

[00:36:08]So, when Raja Maharaj saw this, he was shaken. And then he said, "Let whatever happen to the my body, but I will give initiation." So, then that was the thing. But, nevertheless, he was he was very cautious about accepting the disciples Raja Maharaj but whenever he gave gave the initiation to a person then that person was spiritually made. So nothing to worry about that was his was assured.

[00:36:43]Then when people came to meet Raja Maharaj so they all felt something very very extraordinary in his presence.

[00:36:57]His reminiscences are full of such incidents.

[00:37:04]Swami Prabuddhananda ji tells one incident that one professor of Calcutta University he had read about Raja Maharaj in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna so he knew that he was the he was considered the spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna and he wanted to meet Raja Maharaj.

[00:37:27]So Raja Maharaj was at that time staying in Balaram Bose's house.

[00:37:32]He this professor went to Balaram Bose's house.

[00:37:40]This Balaram Bose's house the whole family was devoted to Raja Maharaj. Of course they were devoted to Sri Ramakrishna and after him they were all devoted to Balaram to Raja Maharaj. And Balaram Bose's son had one room specially furnished for Raja Maharaj and he had given him silk robes.

[00:38:07]So they were so devoted and they used to take very minor good care of Raja Maharaj.

[00:38:15]So this young professor when he went to Balaram Bose's house it so happened that Raja Maharaj's personal attendant was not there in the room. He had He had gone somewhere.

[00:38:28]And Raja Maharaj was alone. And this young this professor just entered Raja Maharaj's room unannounced.

[00:38:36]And there he saw that Raja Maharaj covered in silk robe and having hookah.

[00:38:43]Okay. So, that was a tremendous shock for this professor.

[00:38:48]He said, "Oh, I I thought he is spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna and he used to be so austere, but now here I see this." So, it was it was a terrible shock for him. And but he did not say anything to Raja Maharaj neither did he introduce himself. He just walked out and sat on the veranda outside of the room.

[00:39:13]Uh and probably Raja Maharaj also never realized that he had entered his room and he went away.

[00:39:21]Then after a while the the attendant of Raja Maharaj came and he saw this young professor sitting at the at the outside of the room. And he asked him, "Do you want to see Raja Maharaj?"

[00:39:36]Uh he said, "Yes, I He He thought for a while this professor and he said, "Yes, I want to see." Then this attendant took him inside and uh uh told Raja Maharaj that so-and-so has come to see you. All right.

[00:39:51]So, he he made him sit and this attendant went away.

[00:39:55]And after half an half an hour this young professor came out and told this attendant that I almost made the biggest blunder of my life.

[00:40:07]I I tried to judge Raja Maharaj by externals. But here is a real spiritual person. Uh Raja Maharaj could um convey the what what is real spirituality to this young professor not through any lectures or sermons, but just his mere presence and ordinary talk reassured this young professor.

[00:40:45]Then Bhuteshananda ji Maharaj narrates another incident. One day Atul Atul is the brother of Girish Chandra Ghosh, the great dramatist. This Atul had one friend and Atul was devotee of Sri Ramakrishna and he had seen all all the direct disciples. He was very close to them. But this his friend was new.

[00:41:15]So Atul wanted his friend also to be associated with these great disciples and he brought one of his friends to Raja Maharaj.

[00:41:25]But as long as this Atul and this friend remained with Raja Maharaj, Raja Maharaj was talking on light humorous topics >> [laughter] >> all through that time.

[00:41:38]So this Atul was feeling a bit embarrassing.

[00:41:44]Oh, of course, he knew the greatness of Raja Maharaj, but he was worried what his friend would think. So what impression he would carry home.

[00:41:57]After After spending almost an hour or so, when they were about to return, then Raja Maharaj casually told his friend, this Atul's friend, "You see, once in a while we speak about God also.

[00:42:14]>> [laughter] >> And this friend, afterwards he told Atul, "See, today I have met a real sadhu, a one person who is filled with real pure joy." Okay? See, that was that was Raja Maharaj. See, ordinary people, they are concerned about image making.

[00:42:36]So, they want to impress people. Okay?

[00:42:39]Raja Maharaj was free. Okay?

[00:42:43]He He never cared for such thing.

[00:42:46]Um but, his um natural and joyfulness, um his is just the mere presence carried that power.

[00:42:59]And we we we can never know what would his approach be or would be towards a newcomer. Sometimes he may speak to the newcomer um about God or as happened in this case, he would be speaking on so many mundane things, but still the other person would notice the difference, the the spiritual power within him.

[00:43:28]Um A similar incident, this is narrated by Jnana Atmananda Ji. So, Jnana Atmananda before he joined the order, he was um he first came in contact with Swami Turiyananda Ji.

[00:43:46]So, in Varanasi probably. So, Turiyananda Ji, he told him that when you go to Kolkata, you please meet Raja Maharaj.

[00:43:56]Okay, all right. So, Jnana Atmananda came to Kolkata, and he also went to Balaram Bose's house to meet Raja Maharaj.

[00:44:07]So, at that time um First World War was going on. Okay.

[00:44:13]So, when Nanananda went to Raja Maharaj he saw that two devotees were hotly discussing the war. Okay? So, one had taken the side of Central Powers and other was supporting the Allies. He was rooting for Allies. [clears throat] So, they were hotly discussing and Raja Maharaj was enjoying the conversation.

[00:44:37]And once in a while he will ask questions.

[00:44:41]So, this continued. Half an hour passed and this Nanananda was was confused. Oh, is this the person Turyananda has sent me?

[00:44:51]>> [laughter] [snorts] >> How is he greater than So, Turyananda we know. So, he was very austere very Vedantic [snorts] monk.

[00:45:01]So, Nanananda was confused. How come he has sent me to this monk? How is he greater than any of these other disciples?

[00:45:12]But then just a little later Swami Brahmananda became very grave.

[00:45:21]Okay? Then these two people who were discussing war they they prostrated before Raja Maharaj and they left. And Raja Maharaj got up and he started walking up and down in the in the veranda.

[00:45:39]Then Nanananda could see the difference. He is no more the same person who was enjoying the conversation about the war.

[00:45:51]Then this Nanananda with great hesitation went near Raja Maharaj and saluted him and told him that Swami Turiyananda had sent him.

[00:46:08]Raja Maharaj then looked at him and said, "Child, God alone is real and everything else is transitory."

[00:46:21]This Raja Maharaj told him So, this Gnana-atmananda says, "I returned fully satisfied having met a great soul like Raja Maharaj."

[00:46:34]So, that's it. That is the power of Raja Maharaj.

[00:46:42]Raja Maharaj, he founded on a monastery in Bhubaneswar.

[00:46:50]During those times, it was not the big city that we find it today, okay? And especially the the monastery the the the neighborhood where monastery is located is very much it was covered with jungle and hardly people would go.

[00:47:08]So, Raja Maharaj was once living there in the in the newly found the monastery in Bhubaneswar.

[00:47:16]And at that time, three young men had come to Bhubaneswar on a something like a picnic, okay?

[00:47:27]Though Bhubaneswar is known as a place of pilgrimage, not all people go for pilgrimage. Some people just went there to enjoy the beauty to enjoy the quiet of the town.

[00:47:42]These three young people, they also had come on such a visit and they were put up in a hotel nearby near the the the monastery.

[00:47:52]So, they asked the hotel manager, "So, what are the places worth seeing around? Then this hotel manager told him told them that these are the major temples you can see.

[00:48:06]And then he also told him, "See, there is a branch of Ramakrishna order here. If you want, you can go there."

[00:48:16]Then he also shared a local gossip.

[00:48:19]"See, the abbot of that monastery, that is Raja Maharaj, he lives in a princely state, a princely life.

[00:48:28]And he smokes from a golden gold hookah.

[00:48:32]>> [laughter] >> And the monastery has large grounds.

[00:48:36]And many big people go to them go to that ashrama."

[00:48:43]Then these young people they they were outraged.

[00:48:48]"What?

[00:48:49]A monk living like a king? That's not good. You people should Why don't you take him to task?" So, then this manager said, "No, no, we cannot do that.

[00:49:04]He's a very big person here.

[00:49:06]He attracts so many people."

[00:49:08]Then these young people said, "We are not afraid of anybody.

[00:49:14]We'll go and teach him a lesson."

[00:49:17]So, this is what happened in the hotel.

[00:49:21]Here in the monastery, Raja Maharaj was sitting with his attendants.

[00:49:27]And it to the attendants it it appeared that Raja Maharaj was waiting for some guests.

[00:49:35]So, and he told them he Raja Maharaj told the attendants that "See, when guests come, please don't disturb us.

[00:49:43]Okay, I want to spend time with them."

[00:49:49]Just as Raja Maharaj told, these three young men, they walked into the monastery and this attendant, he received them, took them to Raja Maharaj, and made them sit, and just closed the door, and he came out.

[00:50:09]Almost 1 hour passed, and what this attendant heard was just once in a while peels of laughter. That's all he could hear. Okay.

[00:50:20]And after 1 hour, these three young men came out, and uh they went back to the to the to their hotel.

[00:50:31]And the manager, he he asked them, "How did you find him?

[00:50:36]How did you find that the abbot of that monastery?" So, these men said, "See, for the first time in our lives, we have seen a really a great man.

[00:50:49]We felt his extraordinary love, sympathy, and understanding. So, it was a life-transforming experience for us.

[00:50:57]So, this was the experience of those three young men. See, they had uh they were prejudiced. So, they had already arrived at their um conclusion without seeing Raja Maharaj.

[00:51:11]But, Raja Maharaj without any um criticism, without admonishing them, but he won them over just by the power of his love, sympathy, and understanding. That's a very, very uh great thing.

[00:51:32]Um just Maharaj, how many Sorry.

[00:51:34]>> finish that deal? What that one >> Yeah, there's the one or just one more incident, and then I'll finish.

[00:51:42]So, [snorts] there was one uh Debendranath Bose. He was a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna and he he knew all the disciples. [clears throat] Especially, he was fond of Swami Akhandananda Maharaj.

[00:51:57]After Sri Ramakrishna's passing away, he became the estate manager for a for a prince or something like that and he became very busy with his duties and he lost touch with the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna.

[00:52:16]One day, Swami Akhandananda accidentally he found this Deven Deven in the market. He ran into him and he was happy and he brought this Deven to Belur Math so that he can meet Raja Maharaj.

[00:52:37]So, Raja Maharaj was also very happy to see this Deven after a long time and after talking to him for a few minutes, this Deven Babu took leave and he went back.

[00:52:51]Then, Raja Maharaj told Akhandananda, "Hey Gangadhar, what has happened to your Deven? He's his movements, his dress, everything has changed. His face has a somewhat a worldly expression.

[00:53:09]What has happened to him?

[00:53:11]Has he forgotten Sri Ramakrishna and all of us?"

[00:53:15]This was the remark Raja Maharaj made.

[00:53:19]Akhandananda did not know what to say.

[00:53:22]He just kept quiet.

[00:53:24]But after some weeks, he again met Deven somewhere.

[00:53:30]After telling other things, he conveyed this Raja Maharaj's remark also to Deven. So, this is what Raja Maharaj uh, told me about you.

[00:53:43]Uh, after this uh, after a few days, they went this Deven, he came to Belur Math um, on his own.

[00:53:54]And uh, he came to Raja Maharaj's room and his attendant was at the door.

[00:54:00]Uh, this Deven asked him, "Where is Raja Maharaj? I want to meet him."

[00:54:06]Uh, he this attendant could see he was very uh, very excited, very anxious.

[00:54:13]And um, he asked him uh, to please sit down so that he will inform Raja Maharaj and uh, he can go and meet him.

[00:54:22]But this Deven was so uh, anxious that he he he was so restless that he could not even sit quietly for a while.

[00:54:33]And he went inside Raja Maharaj's room just as Raja Maharaj was about to come out to receive him.

[00:54:41]And as soon as Raja Maharaj saw Deven he went near him and touched his heart.

[00:54:52]Uh, and stroking it he said, "Deven, what has happened? Don't worry, everything will be all right. Just think of Sri Ramakrishna.

[00:55:02]Nothing nothing to worry. Think of Sri Ramakrishna, everything will be all right." Just said these words and stroked his heart. So this Deven who was so restless, he calmed down immediately and he uh, fell at the feet of Raja Maharaj and uh, he sobbed and told him, "Raja Maharaj, you have saved me because of your compassion, out of your compassion. All my worldliness is gone.

[00:55:34]Now I can live peacefully. Okay. So, then Raja Maharaj uh brought him to the veranda and told attendant to serve him prasad.

[00:55:47]So, this Devin Babu took the prasad and after that he used to come to Belur Mutt to meet Raja Maharaj regularly.

[00:55:56]And uh after many years, he he told uh this Devin told the attendant uh his attendant was Nirvanananda that see, you remember that day when I came to meet Raja Maharaj, I was in such a excited state of mind, but the the the touch of Raja Maharaj calmed me down. It was like an electric shock and at his touch, I could remember my association with Sri Ramakrishna and his disciples and since then I have turned over a new leaf and I became a new person. So, uh that was the greatness of Raja Maharaj.

[00:56:41]So, just I wanted to share these few incidents uh of Raja Maharaj.

[00:56:47]So, um see, Sri Ramakrishna again and again says that one should do holy company.

[00:56:54]See, if we remain immersed in our worldly duties, we forget God. We forget to we tend to forget God. But, we should by associating with holy people, we um we are reminded of God and we we gain some uh say um what I should say, uh a positive energy. See, we feel inclined to do spiritual sadhana, we spending time in spiritual practices by the by associating with holy people.

[00:57:35]Raja Maharaj, of course, was such one greatest holy person, but we people cannot get always company of such great souls, Raja Maharaj. But we have such beautiful reminiscences of him. So, we can study and contemplate. Right? So, the time we spend going through these incidents and listening to them, reading them, is actually the holy company. Is the Is the time we spend in the holy company of Raja Maharaj. And that has the same transformative power.

[00:58:11]So, thank you.

[00:58:15]>> Thank you. You should say thank you.

[00:58:19]Yes, thank you for this wonderful reminiscences of Swami Brahmananda.

[00:58:27]As I said, these people they had their being in the reality.

[00:58:37]And as it were, they separated themselves, came out, and reached out to us.

[00:58:43]And that was So, we don't know what mood they were in, but they were always absorbed the higher powers and the higher possibilities of this, you can say, people around them. They saw them. They saw their past, the present, and the future. Yes, that's a difference. They don't see just a person that now.

[00:59:06]They see the whole spectrum of that person's spiritual journey.

[00:59:11]And accordingly, they deal with these person on a person-to-person basis.

[00:59:19]And like he says, yes, we all busy with hundreds of things, and uh actually, we are [clears throat] we are afraid of reality.

[00:59:30]And we use euphemisms, we use soft language, we use indirect words to just hide away from this.

[00:59:38]So, in the presence of holy company, especially these books and all, you you drop all that soft language of yours, all that flowery language, and come down to straight this. So, holy company has come to the holy company.

[00:59:57]If you consider yourself holy, you are the best company.

[01:00:02]But till that time, you need external things. So, thank you, Swami. And he's the Swami will be here for a couple of days. And I hope uh they will all avail of your holy company.

[01:00:17]So, if you have any questions, uh or we can There are questions? Okay.

[01:00:27]Uh well, uh Okay. They'll just uh read this and Yeah.

[01:00:45]So, we have a few. Just take a few questions.

[01:00:51]Read it loud for them also.

[01:00:53]>> Ramakrishna said that for the householder, the mind lands on honey sometimes and other times on dung.

[01:01:02]>> [laughter] [snorts] >> This makes it difficult to be consistent in practice.

[01:01:08]How to be more disciplined as a householder?

[01:01:12]Yes, uh Sri Ramakrishna in in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, we find that in several places he has addressed this question. How spiritual practices uh can be made meaningful to the householders? He's given In fact, the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is mainly for householders. So, as you know, Sri Master Master Mahashaya Mahendranath Gupta used to visit Sri Ramakrishna mostly on weekends or on public holidays.

[01:01:47]>> [snorts] >> Uh where many devotees from Kolkata would go to Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Ramakrishna would speak to them. And that is what is recorded.

[01:01:57]So, Sri Ramakrishna's advice is say a prayer, then vichara. Vichara means by Sri Ramakrishna vichara he meant it is the discernment. Discernment between what is real and what is not real. That Sri Ramakrishna again and again insists. And then, the holy company. Holy company, as I said, it will encourage us to devote ourselves to spiritual practices.

[01:02:33]As he says, yes, it is very natural for the mind to dwell on ordinary things. It cannot remain on high things all the Uh it naturally goes down. That is the tendency. But, we we have to use our willpower and bring it up, raise it up, and try again and again to fix it on spiritual ideals. That is the only way.

[01:03:05]As Swami Atishwarananda says, rather Raja Maharaj told Swami Atishwarananda, "Struggle, struggle, struggle." So, it is always a struggle. So, um, bringing back the mind from uh worldly things, lower things, and putting it on higher things.

[01:03:28]Too many young people are experiencing depression and other mental afflictions.

[01:03:33]We know that any suffering comes as a result of sin. Often young people don't have a clue that they are doing wrong.

[01:03:41]How can young people be more mindful of their actions and develop a conscience which can rightly distinguish between right and wrong?

[01:03:54]Yeah. Developing a conscience which can rightly distinguish is is a higher stage, okay? See, now um we say yes, we all have conscience and it it pinches when we do evil things.

[01:04:14]But when we do something which is very very gross, very very cruel, yes, it pinches. But that is not the problem with most of us. We don't do such things, okay? But suppose you miss your meditation one morning, okay? Does it pinch?

[01:04:37]Does it hurt you Does it hurt you?

[01:04:40]It may not be so, right? So, because we are not most of us at least have not reached that level of subtlety where conscience becomes so sensitive. So, in such a case, the the best advice is to follow the the instructions of the guru, right?

[01:05:02]So, instead of depending on our conscience, we must we must follow the the instructions given by guru or by the the shastras by the scriptures. We have to mold our life according to their teachings. Yes, the young men uh the they are given to these evil ways. Uh that is very sad, but yeah, during that period of life you have lot of energy. Uh and there's lot of idealism, too.

[01:05:42]But it is channeled in wrong ways. Uh it That is why we tell them, "See, that is the best time you can come to Swami Vivekananda." Right? Swami Vivekananda is the eternal ideal for youth. So, they can draw inspiration from him and by studying his books, they can really learn many things many things and they will be in a better position to uh take better decisions in their life.

[01:06:19]>> Yeah, okay.

[01:06:20]We can >> We can stop, Maraj.

[01:06:23]>> Yeah.

[01:06:24]>> Yeah.

[01:06:24]>> Uh because there's a few questions still more, but then uh so, thank you very much again.

[01:06:33]And uh I said tomorrow the Swami will go to Tapovan, Darlington, and see the place.

[01:06:42]And uh and Sunday morning he's going to speak here.

[01:06:47]Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Hari Om Tat Sat. Sri Ramakrishna Arpanamastu.

[01:07:07]So, the in-person questions are there.