Title: KUMANOENSIS

Arrangement: 梶迫迅八

Album: SAKURA

Circle: 梶迫小道具店

“The world suffers under the weight of the unenlightened mind. Yet the enlightened one perceives the deeper truth—that the essence of reality is not sorrow, but serenity and bliss. Consider the Buddha’s smile. He smiles not in denial of suffering, but in recognition of the ultimate truth beyond it. His smile is the silent revelation that behind the veil of illusion, all is well. The final truth is not suffering—it is radiant, boundless peace and bliss.”

When God became an obstacle!

A couple of years back, I watched a video in which Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev tells a stunned audience something to this effect, "In this land called Bharat, even God is not the Ultimate. Moksha or Liberation is the Ultimate. And God is simply a tool to achieve this Ultimate." Now, that's pretty strong. In a country of 33 million gods and goddesses, of Mirabai and Radha and of Tyagaraja and Purandaradasa, God is not the Ultimate?

He then points out that in Sanatana Dharma, the four pillars of Purusartha (essence of human life) are Dharma (conduct), Artha (material wealth), Kama (fulfillment of desires) and Moksha (liberation). God doesn't even feature in it.

I didn't get it back then. I am still not sure if I have got it completely. But the story of Ramakrishna Paramahansa gave me a much deeper perspective. Here it goes...

In 1852, a 17 year old boy called Gadadhar, affectionately called Gadai, comes to Calcutta, from his native village - Kamarpukur - with his elder brother, Ramkumar. In 1855, Ramkumar lands a job as a priest in a nearby temple called Dakshineshwar Kali Temple, built by a wealthy widow, Rani Rashmoni, along with her son-in-law, Mathur Mohan. Both of them grow fond of Gadai and Mathur Mohan gives Gadai a new name - Ramakrishna.

Ramakrishna becomes Ramkumar's assistant, with the task of decorating the deity. When Ramkumar dies in 1856, Ramakrishna takes his place as the priest of the temple.

After Ramkumar's death, Ramakrishna becomes contemplative. He looks upon the image of the goddess Kali as his mother and the mother of the universe and becomes desperate for a vision of her. 

After many days of meditation, wherein he fails to receive a vision, he comes to a point of such anguish that he impulsively decides to end his life. Seeing a sword hanging in a nearby room in the temple, he runs for it and is just about to reach it when he suddenly has his first vision of the goddess Kali as the Universal Mother.

From that day onwards, Kali is not a deity for him any more. Kali becomes a living reality. She dances in front of him, she eats from his own hands, she comes when he calls, and she leaves him dripping with ecstasy. Ramakrishna’s consciousness gets so crystallized that whatever form he wishes for Kali, becomes a reality for him.

It is the Ultimate state for a human being to be in, isn't it? Turns out, No!

Though his body, mind and emotion are dripping with ecstasy, his being is trapped in it. It longs for something more, it longs for liberation. God, in this case, Goddess Kali, becomes an obstacle. Only a Guru can help him. Enter Totapuri.

Totapuri was a great and rare Yogi. He saw that Ramakrishna was a man of such intensity that he could go all the way and attain enlightenment. But the problem was, he was just stuck in his devotion. Totapuri tried to convince him, “Why are you so attached to your devotion? You can take the ultimate step.” But Ramakrishna said, “I want only Kali, that’s all.”

He was like a child who wanted his mother. It is a different state altogether. When he was high on her, he would be bursting with ecstasy and dancing and singing. When he lost contact, he would cry like a baby. Whatever enlightenment Totapuri talked about, he was not interested in all that. To the outside world, he had gone crazy.

One day, Totapuri explained to Ramakrishna, "You have empowered your emotion. You need to empower your awareness too."

Ramakrishna asked, "How?"

Totapuri replied, “The next time Kali appears, you have to take a sword and cut her into pieces.”

Ramakrishna asked, “Where do I get the sword from?”

Totapuri replied, “From the same place you get Kali from. If you are able to create a whole Kali, why can’t you create a sword?”

Ramakrishna sat down and summoned Kali. But the moment Kali came, he burst into ecstasy and forgot all about the sword and the awareness.

Then Totapuri picked up a piece of glass and said, “Next time when Kali comes, I am going to cut you where you are stuck. You then create the sword and cut Kali down.”

Again Ramakrishna sat, Kali came and just when Ramakrishna was on the edge of ecstasy, Totapuri took the piece of glass and cut Ramakrishna really deep across his forehead. At that moment, Ramakrishna created the sword and cut Kali down, becoming free from the Mother.

That's how Ramakrishna became Ramakrishna Paramahamsa - fully enlightened.