Sri Ramakrishna and Turiyananda

Swami Turiyananda and Sri Ramakrishna

Compiled and presented by

Mary Saaleman

One day the Master, Sri Ramakrishna, made me cry by singing this song:
O Kusa and Lava, why are you so proud?
If I had not allowed myself to be caught,
Could you have caught me?

I was deeply moved. That same day, the Master impressed deep into my mind the fact that one cannot attain God by self-effort, by performing sadhana (spiritual exercises). Only when God reveals himself is it possible to reach him.

Once when I told Sri Ramakrishna that the goal of my life was to attain nirvana (liberation), he reproached me for having such a low ideal.
1This is what Hanuman, a devotee of Rama, said to his two sons. 189/190 They are full of fear. They are like those parcheesie players who are always eager to go home. An amateur player, as soon as he sends home his piece, does not like to release it again. Such players are unskilled. But a skilled player is never afraid to get out again, if it gives him the chance to capture an opponent. Then he rolls the correct number and returns home. It seems that when he rolls the dice, the correct number appears in front of him. So don’t be afraid. Play without fear.”

I asked, “Is it really happening?” The Master replied: “Of course it happens. By Mother’s grace everything takes place. Mother loves people who play. Take the game of hide and seek. (There is a granny, there is a thief who is blindfolded, and there are children who trying to escape while being caught by the thief. The granny likes to let the kids run around and keep the game going. She can reach out to help a child so he doesn’t get caught by the thief caught, if she thinks it is necessary. At the same time, Divine Mother is not really pleased with those who seek nirvana, for they withdraw from the game. She wants the game to continue. That is why devotees do not get nirvana They say, ‘O mind, it’s not good to become sugar. I want to eat sugar.'”

The Master has often said to me, “What do the Scriptures say?
They are like sheets of paper with a shopping list on them. The list is only useful for checking off the purchased items. Once you have done that, the list will be discarded. So you must check your knowledge, your devotion, and consult the Scriptures to see if they agree. It is said, ‘If you have the knowledge of the Absolute, the Scriptures are worth only a straw.’ “The Divine Mother had shown Sri Ramakrishna what was contained in the Scriptures, the Puranas and the Tantric literatures. So, although he was an illiterate person, he was able to lower the pride of the Pandits. He used to say, “If you get a little ray of light from the Divine Mother, makes all learning pale into something insignificant.”

Sri Ramakrishna sounded like a drunkard when he spoke to the Divine Mother, saying, “Don’t give me the knowledge of Brahman, Mother! I don’t want it! I spit on it!” I was an extreme Vedantist at the time, and his words shocked me greatly. I thought to myself, “Good heavens! What could be greater than the knowledge of Brahman?”

collected and presented by

Mary Saaleman