READ THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA

We, who are the members of THE GOSPEL SOCIETY, have initiated a movement to encourage the reading of THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA 10 pages a day. We believe that the words of the Master, if read and absorbed, will purify us and take us closer to God. Thus, shall we be more peaceful and productive which will conduce to our personal benefit as well as to the benefit of the world about us. An army of Gospel readers is the need of the hour for great is the darkness all around but greater is the light within, shrouded though it be by clouds of material cover which may be blown away in a trice by the reading and the reminiscence of the Master's words as recorded by his chronicler 'M' (Mahendranath Gupta) in his epic hagiographical work. So, we exhort devotees to come forward and participate in this grand venture of transformation of self and society by effective reading of THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA. May Thakur preserve all in their noble endeavour for, indeed, the reading of the Gospel is dear, very dear to him!

WHERE ART THOU, O DELIVERER?

The world is athirst for spirituality, genuine and not the sham that abounds in the marketplace masquerading as messianic wisdom. What the world wants is a spiritual anchor where it can seek refuge from the turbulence of the times, a spiritual force that can rescue it from impending destruction from the surfeit of material tendencies? Who will give such spirituality? Who has it in him in such abundance that transmission into seekers will be spontaneous and transformation of their consciousness inevitable? Who breathes, O Lord, today, who does so that others may live, who dies every moment that some such may spring to life, who endures the rigours of life that others may smile in freedom?

It is such a one who the world awaits,
The man with the mission to See,
To do away with frothy forms,
To cleanse the clogs that be,
And so release the bliss within
Of flowing fountain free.

HEAR YE, THE HERO CALLS

My young friends,

We must in Swamiji's name shake up the world. Read, study, orate Swamiji and galvanise human society. Transform yourselves and the world around you beholding all as the manifestations of the Most High. Help the Ramakrishna Mission attain its welfare objectives by assisting them in the fruition of their projects geared for national development and the uplift of the poor and the downtrodden. Make a little sacrifice daily and save Rs. 20 a day and donate the sum when you deem it best in some worthy cause of the Mission. Do not hesitate to seek any clarifications here for all support will be provided in terms of providing information and web-links regarding the projects.

Also, read 'The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna' 10 pages a day to feel inspired to live a spiritual life. These are the words of God, direct and unaltered, and have the sanction of the Supreme. They will fill you with spiritual enthusiasm and uplift you to a higher plane of pure and ethereal vibrations where all is blissfulness and peace. Then will you be impelled to take his holy name, contemplate his holy life and earthly sport, and meditate on him who is the Soul of your soul, the Self of your self, your essence, the substance of your very being.

One more word. I said 'help'. No, not 'help' but 'serve the Mission' for who can help any save God Himself? We may only humbly serve but with flowing confidence in our abilities. There is no greatness in cringing before the mighty Mother, says Swamiji, but, surely, there is merit in self-assertion when such is your stance not for selfish gain but for the good of all. Self-confidence, self-assertion but total absence of egotism or self-serving, that is the way.

May you, my friends, who are in the prime of your youth, be full of the fire of purity and all-embracing love for humanity that you may carry the cross of Swamiji and fulfil his vision of a renascent India in the service of humanity! May your sincere labour of love find fruition in unnumbered acts of service to the cause of suffering humanity, here, in the offering of bread to the one that is condemned to eat grass, there, in the slaking of the thirst of the parched dying for a drop of water, and, yonder, in distant lands across the seas, in the propagation of the message of the Motherland brooded on by seers and sages through aeons, awaiting the fullness of time for the inundation of the world mired in materialism! May Swamiji impregnate your very beings and make you his worthy instruments in the cause of the regeneration of the world for which he had lived and died! Jai Ramakrishna!

Yours in Thakur-Ma,
Sugata Bose.

        

'TIS A LONG-LOST LOVE

'tis a long-lost love of yesteryears,
Crossing a century and more.
'tis a love, lost for so long,
Fading far in misty dreams
And yet, clear I remember.

The setting sun in its flaming hues
Charring my heart for good,
Sweeping waters of tidal times
Wrenching the love-locks free,
Sundering blossoming bonds,
They've carried her,
Carried her far away
Whither I know not.
But I remain to see,
See through the mist of times
Where fresh perchance
A bud so new
Has burst the bonds to forge,
Forge a fresher bond.
Or, perhaps, the dewy morn
Is shorn of fruit
Though springtime is
Alive everywhere.

My day is lost, 'tis evensong
And the birds must perch
In their leafy nests
And the boat sail off
With the rushing tide
To shores unknown,
Never to come this way.
Yesteryears of sunshine gone,
Lunar moods, stellar shine,
Melted into memory fine,
Wafer-thin mind's watery mark,
Rippling through subliminal streams,
Setting my soul on fire.

And here am I
The charred remains
Of a blossoming dream
That broke midstream
In patient wait
For my love long-lost
To set the dream aright.

The eve draws in,
The birds return,
The sky darkens,
The moon is up,
The shadowy night
Envelopes all
Save my hope
Of my love's return
Before I set afloat.

O Lord! a hundred years,
Is that not a long, long lapse
For the heart to fail
To feel its pulse,
For the soul to fall
Into oblivion
Of long-lost times,
Of Sunday chimes
Ushering the wakeful dawn?

Sleep my soul,
My love slumber,
In turbulent tide
My thoughts lumber
Sinking in to truth.
'tis a watchful dream,
A conscious stream,
A love-lost summer's
Bright sunbeam,
Autumn eve's
August form
That sunders law,
Dissolves all norm,
In icy chill
The cosmic thrill
Sweeping through
Every dale and hill,
Till springtime new
Freshens all
And blossoming buds
Send forth the call,
And the cuckoo sings
Her heart's delight
From eve to morn
And morn to night,
And all that clings
To this earthly face,
Melts to nought
Sans a trace.

The deeds are done,
The play's undone,
All that were
Have sunk to none,
Whence we sprang,
Thence we sink,
From love sublime
To the love-lost brink,
Broken, shattered, smashed the dream
In Knowledge, Existence, Bliss Supreme.  

FOUNDATION OF RAMAKRISHNA MISSION ... 2

"...We who have renounced in his name and embraced monasticism, you who have accepted him as your life's ideal even as you have stayed on in the householder's life immersed in activity, he whose holy name and wonderful life has spread across the East and the West in a wondrous way within 20 years of his passing away, this Order will be founded in his name. We are the servants of the Lord. Be thou our helpmates in this holy work."

Sri Girish Ghosh and other assembled lay devotees having seconded Swamiji's proposal, the future modes and procedures of the activity of the Ramakrishna Order were tabled for discussion. The Order was named Ramakrishna Mission. Its aims and objectives we are quoting from its printed advertisement.

Aim: Those principles of life which for the sake of human welfare Sri Ramakrishna had elucidated and enlivened in his own life, whose propagation and activation would conduce to the physical, mental  and spiritual growth of man, to aid this movement will be the aim of the Mission.

Mission: Beholding the diverse religious denominations of the world as manifestations of one imperishable, eternal religion, the work of establishing fraternal relations among the adherents of such religions which Sri Ramakrishna had initiated, the conducting of that work will be the mission of this organization.

Mode of work: To train teachers to equip them to impart education to the people for their temporal and spiritual uplift, to encourage and enthuse both industry and labour, and to introduce into society the principles of the Vedanta and other religions as they were manifested and elucidated in the life of Sri Ramakrishna.

The Indian work: To establish training centres in the towns and cities of India for aspiring teachers and to seek ways and means whereby such teachers might spread across the wide world and teach the masses. 

Foreign work: To send missionaries to foreign countries and to establish close, cordial ties between the foreign centres and their Indian counterparts as also to set up a stream of new centres.

Swamiji himself became the General President of the new association. Swami Brahmananda was nominated the President of the Kolkata centre and Swami Yogananda was nominated his assistant. Babu Narendranath Mitra (attorney) was elected the Secretary, Dr. Sashibhushan Ghosh and Babu Sarat Chandra Sarkar were elected the Assistant Secretaries and Swamiji's disciple Sarat Chandra Chakravarty was elected the reader of scripture. At the same time it was also laid down that every Sunday the Mission would meet at Balaram Babu's house for its weekly session at 4 p.m. After this initial session, every Sunday, for the next three years, the Ramakrishna Mission met at Balaram Babu's house for its deliberations. Needless to say that so long Swamiji had not left the shores of India for his second trip to the West, he would seek the opportunity to be present at these meetings and illumine all with his directions and sometimes captivate the audience with his divine renditions of songs.

Free translation by Sugata Bose

(Source book: Swami-Shyashya Samvad by Sarat Chandra Chakravarty)

        

ELEVENTH SUNDAY SESSION, 1 MAY, 2016, 5-9 P.M.

The eleventh Sunday Session was held today with Deepanwita Datta, Krishnakanta Das and Debkanti Moitra attending it along with me.The Session began with a brief period of meditation after which the aspirant's need for spiritual initiation and its pros and cons were discussed. We also dwelt on the Ramakrishna Movement in its earlier phases and now, on its evolution and broadening of work, on the subjective aspects of meditation, the relative merits of mental repetition of the mantra and meditation, the call of the Vaishnav kirtan (devotional song) and the role of divine grace in the spiritual path.

Overall, it was a harmonious session suffused with spiritual fervour and the promise of equally enthralling sessions to come in the near future. My heartiest greetings to all who attended and invitation to all who could not attend. Looking forward to such enlightening sessions in the future. May Sri Ramakrishna preserve all!

Reported by Sugata Bose

FOUNDATION OF RAMAKRISHNA MISSION ... 1

1 May, 1897, 3 p.m., the late Balaram Bose's residence, Bagbazar, Kolkata.

The devotees of Sri Ramakrishna have assembled to hear what Swami Vivekananda is about to address them. Swami Yogananda is present as well. Swamiji begins :" Having traversed through many countries I have arrived at the understanding that no great work can be possible without an organization. But in a country like ours, it will not be feasible to work along democratic lines from the very outset. In the West people are more educated and less prone to jealousy. They have learnt how to honour men of distinction. Just see how they have looked after an insignificant person like me while I was there, taking care of my every comfort. When education will be widespread in this country as well and the people will expand in their sympathies thus, when men will learn to look beyond the narrow confines of their sectarian beliefs and think for the general good, then they may run the organization along the lines of democracy. Thus, a director is needed till then for the Order whose command shall be binding on all. In due course of time the Order may be run taking into consideration the views of all..."

Free translation by Sugata Bose
(Source book: Swami-Shishya Samvad by Sarat Chandra Chakravarty)