Martha, Mary, M and Master

Merry Christmas!

Baby Jesus bringing everlasting joy...

One of our devotee-readers of this Blog, Sucheta Ghosh from Italy has sent the following which is a timely reminder of the divinity in different Incarnations to be contemplated upon on this auspicious occasion of Jesu Jayanti.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.

40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”  — Luke 10:38-42

From The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Visit to the Brahmani’s house (Chapter 43: Tuesday, July 28, 1885)

The Master arrived at the house of the brahmin lady who was grief-stricken on account of her daughter’s death. It was an old brick house… The brahmani had a sister; both of them were widows. Their brothers also lived in the house with their families. The brahmani had been busy all day making arrangements to receive Sri Ramakrishna…

The brahmani came and saluted the Master. She was beside herself with joy. She did not know what to say. In a half-choked voice she said: “This joy is too much for me. Perhaps I shall die of it. Tell me, friends, how shall I be able to live? I did not feel such a thrill even when Chandi, my daughter, used to visit the house accompanied by liveried footmen, with armed guards lining both sides of the street. Oh! Now I have no trace of my grief at her death. I was afraid he would not come. Then I thought that, if that happened, I should throw into the Ganges all the things I had arranged for his reception and entertainment. I should not speak to him any more. If he visited a place, I should go there, look at him from a distance, and then come away…

She was talking like this when her sister came up and said: “Come down, sister! How can I manage things if you stay here? Can I do it all by myself?”

But the brahmani was overwhelmed with joy. She could not take her eyes from the Master and the devotees…

M: “How amazing! A similar thing happened with two women at the time of Jesus. They too were sisters, and devoted to Christ. Martha and Mary.”

MASTER (eagerly); “Tell me the story.”

M: “Jesus Christ, like you, went to their house with His devotees. At the sight of Him one of the sisters was filled with ecstatic happiness. It reminds me of a song about Gaurānga:

My two eyes sank in the sea of  Gora’s heavenly beauty

And did not come back to me again;

Down went my mind, as well, forgetting how to swim.

“The other sister, all by herself, was arranging the food to entertain Jesus. She complained to the Master, saying: ‘Lord, please judge for Yourself-how wrong my sister is! She is sitting in Your room and I am doing all these things by myself.’ Jesus said: ‘Your sister indeed’ is blessed. She has developed the only thing needful in human life: love of God.”

MASTER: “Well, after seeing all this, What do you feel?”

M: “I feel that Christ, Chaitanyadeva, and yourself-all three are one and the same. It is the same Person that has become all these three.”

MASTER: “Yes, yes! One! One! It is indeed one. Don’t you see that it is He alone who dwells here in this way.”

As he said this, Sri Ramakrishna pointed with his finger to his own body.

 

Title: 'Martha and Mary' Painter: Nathan Greene, born 1961 Year: unknown Incident shown: Martha has made her complaint, and Jesus is responding. His left hand points towards Mary, as he suggests she focus on what is really important. The disciples in this crowded little room listen intently to what he is saying. Bible reference: Luke 10:41 Information: Nathan Greene is a contemporary painter of scenes from the Bible - not an overcrowded field these days. His paintings show meticulous attention to detail - not only in brushwork and realism, but in something that the great masters of the Renaissance and Counter-Reformation considered unimportant - historical realism. The people in Greene's paintings wear Middle Eastern designs and fabrics similar to those of the biblical period; their houses and furniture are authentic to the time. Modern minds, affected by scientific realism, appreciate this attention to detail in his powerful images. Courtesy: http://www.bible-art.info/Martha_Mary.htm

“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” [Luke 11:9 / Matthew 7:7]

Similarities between Christ and Sri Ramakrishna

M: “But there are many similarities between you and Jesus Christ.”

MASTER (smiling): “What else?”

M: “You don’t ask your devotees to fast or practise other austerities. You don’t prescribe hard and fast rules about food. Christ’s disciples did not observe the sabbath; so the Pharisees took them to task. Thereupon Jesus said: ‘They have done well to eat. As long as they are with the bridegroom they must make merry.

MASTER: “What does that mean?”

M: “Christ meant that as long as the disciples live with the Incarnation of God, they should only make merry. Why should they be sorrowful? But when He returns to His own abode in heaven, then will come the days of their sorrow and suffering.”

MASTER (smiling): “Do you find anything else in me that is similar to Christ?”

M: “Yes, sir. You say: ‘The youngsters are not yet touched by: “woman and gold”;  they will be able to assimilate instruction. It is like keeping milk in a new pot: the milk may turn sour if it is kept in a pot in which curd has been made.’ Christ also spoke like that.”

MASTER: “What did He say?”

M: “‘If new wine is kept in an old bottle, the bottle may crack. If an old cloth is patched with new cloth, the old cloth tears away.’

“Further, you tell us that you and the Mother are one. Likewise, Christ said, ‘I and My Father are one.’ “

MASTER (smiling): “Anything else?”

M: “You say to us, ‘God will surely listen to you if you call on Him earnestly.’ So also Christ said, ‘Knock and it shall be opened unto you.’

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Glory of Gita

Gita Jayanti – What it means to us?

The Gita as Nectarine drink

Vaikuntha Ekadashi on 17 December 2010

All over the globe the Hindus celebrate ‘Gita Jayanti’ on the 11th day (Ekadashi) of the bright fortnight (shukla paksha) of the month of Agrahayana (December – January). This month is also referred to as ‘Margashirsha’. Of the twelve months, Sri Krishna says in the Gita that He is Margasirsha. (X.35) It is seen that people generally attribute this day as the “Birthday of the Bhagavad Gita”. Well, can there be a birthday i.e., beginning for Divine Wisdom? As God is eternal (nitya) His knowledge is also ever present (sashwat). One cannot really say that the Song Divine has a birthday.

Ancient Muni Veda Vyasji

Actually, Gita Jayanti is the anniversary of the day, nearly 5000 years ago, when Bhagwan Shri Krishna spoke rather ‘sung’ to Arjuna, on the battlefield in Kurukshetra. Sanjaya, the Minister,  recited those words for the blind King Dhritarashtra. When writing Mahabharata, this Divine Song was ‘threaded into’ the great epic by ancient Maharishi Veda Vyasji for the benefit of humanity. (vyasena grathitaam puraana muninaa madhye mahaabhaaratam – First verse of Gita Dhyanam)

But it is nowhere to be considered as an ‘interpolation’ as some misguided modern scholars opine. The internal evidence shows that there is homogeneity running all through language, diction and development of the subject ‘Brahma-vidya’ – the knowledge of Brahman, the Supreme. The entire story of Mahabharata, when condensed into philosophy becomes Gita. What the heart is to the human body, the Gita is to this Great Epic, says Swami Chidbhavanandaji in his English Translation of the Gita.

Swami Vivekananda

What is Bhagavad Gita? As the great ‘cyclonic monk of India’ Swami Vivekananda has once said in the West, ‘Everything goes to show that this Vedanta philosophy must be very practical; and later on, when we come to the Bhagavad-Gita…..it is the best commentary we have on the Vedanta philosophy — curiously enough the scene is laid on the battlefield, where Krishna teaches this philosophy to Arjuna; and the doctrine which stands out luminously in every page of the Gita is intense activity, but in the midst of it, eternal calmness. This is the secret of work, to attain which is the goal of the Vedanta.’

“Bhagavad Gita” literally means Song of God or rather Song of the Spirit.  Since it is a Divine Song, the language of the original lyrics and the religion of the original singer do not have much relevance. For once, it has been ‘sung’ and written down to posterity, the song itself gets life, travelling across oceans and mountains, breaking all barriers of caste, creed and nationality.  Such is the influence of a divine song.  However, as Bhagwan Shri Krishna, Himself being the original ‘singer’, Bhagavad Gita gets the status of being the holiest and most sacred of all the songs of God. Therefore, What is its power? The lives of the lowly change, the world-disease afflicted gets healed, the morale of the depressed is uplifted. The results are as limitless as the Singer.

charming painting on Brahma-Vidya (Supreme knowledge) 'sung' to Arjuna by Sri Krishna

Mahatma Gandhi said, “When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavad-Gita…I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies and my life has been full of external tragedies.  If they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teachings of Bhagavad-Gita.”

The Gita consists literally 18 chapters with 700 verses (shloka). It has been said that all the Upanishads are the cows, the Milker is Krishna, the cowherd boy,  Arjuna is the calf, men of purified intellect are its drinkers and milk is the supreme nectar of the Gita.

sarvopanishado gaavo dogdha gopaala nandanah | paartho vatsah sudhir bhoktaa dugdham gitaamritam mahat || (4th verse of Gita Dhyanam)

We have cows of varying sizes and in different colours. But the milk yielded by them is the same. Most of us do not even know how to maintain the cows. Neither are we adept in the laborious art of milking the cows. But to drink milk everyone is eligible. So also Gita is accessible for everyone, while studying the Upanishads is not for common people. However Gita is not just any milk.  This milk is nectar that flowed from the Gods. What is in it for the humanity? The magical power to heal the sick, comfort the lonely, guide the lost, uplift the fallen and bring peace to the troubled.  The milk is gentle and pure enough for a baby, and at the same time, strong enough for a soldier.

The Gita as palm of hand

Let us see what was the scenario when the Gita was ‘sung’. Arjuna, the third son of Kunti,  surveyed the battlefield of Kurukshetra. The armies of Pandavas and Kauravas are standing on the opposite sides. Seeing the vast army, suddenly the great warrior was overcome with despondency and he laid down his arms. He told Krishna that he would not fight. “I do not see any good in slaughtering my own people in battle. O Krishna! I desire neither victory, nor kingdom not even pleasures.” (I.31)  Thus begins the Bhagavad Gita.

The teachings of the Gita were indeed applicable on a battlefield as in the end, we see in Mahabharata that Pandavas come out victorious. Can the Gita’s teachings be made applicable to our ‘inner battlefield’ also? Can we get a clear vision of our life, its pitfalls and its progress as a palm of hand? Through the story of Arjuna and the battle, we also derive lessons for our lives from Bhagavan Sri Krishna. The ‘real’ Kurukshetra is not to be sought somewhere outside rather ‘within’ us. Each of us is Arjuna, not knowing what is right and wrong, teared down with temptation, fallen with fear and feeling forsaken due to frustration. Our bodies are our chariots, being driven all too frequently by our senses as the horses. The mind, ego, desires, lust and greed are the evil Kauravas with whom we must do righteous battle, from whom we must not shy away in fear. If we give the reins of our lives to God (as Arjuna made Krishna his divine charioteer), we will surely be victorious.

Gita in the palm of hand...

The Gita as a ‘palm of hand’ clearly shows us not only the destination but also in clearest terms the varying paths to reach there. One is free to select any path that suits well. Or one can even combine one with another. Throughout the Divine Song, Bhagwan Sri Krishna explains how – through devotion (bhakti), through knowledge (jnaana), and through action (karma) - one can reach the ultimate destination of union (yoga) with God. For different temperaments He lays out different paths, all the while reminding us that true, earnest  yearning and pure, surrendered love for God are the surest and simplest way to attain one with the Eternal.

You don’t need to be a great scholar or a learned philosopher to understand the lessons of the Gita. Nor does the Gita demands decades of exacting penance to earn God’s favour. Rather, Bhagwan Sri Krishna offers infinite and eternal comfort by His words, “He, who is full of faith and zeal and is the master of the senses attains knowledge. Having attained knowledge one immediately attains supreme peace.” (IV.39)

The Gita as the Guidepost

Is the Gita relevant to the West today is an oft-repeated question. We can unequivocally say that yes, it is to West as it was and has been to the East. Not only for Hindus it is relevant but also for people professing any other religion. It teaches Hindus how to be better Hindus; it also teaches Muslims to be better Muslims, Christians to be better Christians, and Jews to be better Jews. For, if something is really “truth,” it must be universal. Truth is not limited to a religious framework. If it is truth, it must pertain to all.  Such is the profound truth of Bhagwan Shri Krishna’s words.

Sun and Ganga - courtesy: matthieu-aubry

The Bhagavad Gita is verily like Mother Ganga or the Sun; they do not discriminate.  Mother Ganga does not bring water to only Hindus’ farms.  The sun does not shine only on Christians’ gardens. Similarly, the Gita does not provide light and inspiration to only selected souls.

Aldous Huxley said, “The Gita is one of the clearest and most comprehensive summaries of the perennial Philosophy ever to have been made.  Hence its enduring value, not only for Indians, but for all mankind.” Sometimes, it seems that the West actually needs this wisdom even more than people of the East. Why? It is often seen that the West seem to hold even more tenaciously to their agendas, their expectations and their desires. The message in much of the West is “If you work hard, you will succeed, you will become prosperous.”  So, people don’t work for the sake of being God’s hands.  They work to reap the benefits, and when the benefits don’t come or don’t come quickly enough, they are frustrated.

It is the Karma Yoga of the Gita is the best answer to the problems engulfing the humanity in the West. People everywhere need both the message and the comfort of the Gita. With the ongoing assault of senses leaving indelible scars in the human psyche, the Gita stands as the harbinger of peace and harmony; it comes as the remover of pain; it bestows light dispelling the darkness of ignorance.

The Gita as the Reflector

digital painting - Courtesy : Dr S Adhinarayanan, New Delhi

It is remarkable that how Gita shines as the reflector for a practical spiritual life. What we see in the life of Sri Ramakrishna reiterates this point. The Paramahamsa never cared about the relative merits of religions. Neither did he entered into intricate differences of systems of philosophy. Verily he followed the footsteps of Sri Krishna. The unquenchable thirst for God and undying love for God’s name were the hallmark in Ramakrishna’s life. By his prolonged and intense spiritual practices, Sri Ramakrishna’s unique life that was transformed from an ordinary temple priest to paragon of spiritual values can best be clarified under this Gita Reflector.

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