to Avidyâ, are not entirely empty or false, but have their reality in Brahman, if only a pupil can be brought to see it. What is phenomenal is not nothing, but is the appearance of that which is alone real, the Brahman, the Atman, or, in Kantian language, Das Ding an sich. For all practical purposes (vyavahâra) the phenomenal world is real, for it would not even seem to exist without its foundation in Brahman. The only riddle that remains is the Avidyâ, or nescience, often called Mâyâ, or illusion. Sankara himself will neither say that it is real or that it is unreal. All that he can say is that it is there, and that it must be removed by Vidyâ, science, or by Vedânta, the philosophy of the Upanishads.

This is a short outline of the background from which such men as Ramakrishna and other honest Sannyâsins step out, calling upon the world to have their eyes opened and to discover the way to their true salvation. This is what they preach as Brahma-knowledge, or self-knowledge. The literature in which this Vedântic philosophy has been treated is enormous, and the definitions of every technical term are most accurate and strictly logical. But there is also a poetical spirit pervading this abstruse philosophy, and the metaphors used for the illustration of the most recondite problems are often most striking.

In the extracts from Ramakrishna's teachings, some of which have been published by his pupils in their journal, the Brahmavâdin, these ancient metaphors have for the first time been blended with European thought; and from all that we learn of his personal influence, this blending had a most powerful effect on the large audiences that came to listen to him. He has left a number of pupils behind who after his recent death are carrying on the work which he began, and who are trying to secure, not only in India, but in Europe also, a sympathetic interest in the ancient philosophy of India, which it deserves as fully as the philosophy of Plato or Kant.

Precepts of Ramakrishna Paramahansa.
(1)

Like unto a miser that longeth after gold, let thy heart pant after Him.

How to get rid of the lower self.

(2)

The blossom vanishes of itself as the fruit grows, so will your lower self vanish as the Divine grows in you.

(3)

There is always a shadow under the lamp while its light illumines the surrounding objects. So the men in the immediate proximity of a prophet do not understand him, while those who lie far off are charmed by his spirit and extraordinary power.

(4)

So long as the heavenly expanse of the heart is troubled and disturbed by the gusts of desire, there is little chance of our beholding therein the luminary God. The beatific godly vision occurs only in the heart which is calm and wrapped in Divine communion.

(5)

So long as the bee is outside the petals of the flower, it buzzes and emits sounds. But when it is inside the flower, the sweetness thereof has silenced and overpowered the bee. Forgetful of sounds and of itself, it drinks the nectar in quiet. Men of learning, you too are making a noise in the world, but know the moment you get the slightest enjoyment of the sweetness of Bhakti (love of God) you will be like the bee in the flower inebriated with the nectar of Divine love.

(6)

The soiled mirror never reflects the rays of the sun, so the impure and the unclean in heart that are subject to Mâyâ (illusion) never perceive the glory of Bhagavân, the Holy One. But the pure in heart see the Lord as the clear mirror reflects the sun.

So be holy.

(7)

As the light of a lamp dispels in a moment the darkness that has reigned for a hundred years in a room, so a single ray of Divine light from the throne of mercy illumines our heart and frees it from the darkness of life-long sins.

(8)

As one and the same material, viz. water, is called by different names by different peoples-one calling it water, another vári, a third aqua, and another pâni-so the one sat-chit-ânanda-the One that is, that perceives, and is full of bliss-is invoked by some as God, by some as Allah, by some as Hari, and by others as Brahman.

(9)

A recently married young woman remains deeply absorbed in the performance of domestic duties, so long as no child is born to her. But no sooner is a son born to her than she begins to neglect household details, and does not find much pleasure in them. Instead thereof she fondles the new-born baby all the live-long day and kisses it with intense joy. Thus man in his state of ignorance is ever busy in the performance of all sorts of works, but as soon as he sees in his heart the Almighty God he finds no pleasure in them. On the contrary his happiness consists now only in serving God and doing His works. He no longer finds happiness in any other occupation, and cannot withdraw himself from the ecstasy of the Holy Communion.

(10)

When the Jews saw the body of Jesus nailed on to the Cross, how was it that Jesus, in spite of so much pain and suffering, prayed that they should be forgiven? When an ordinary cocoanut is pierced through, the nail enters the kernel of the nut. But in the case of the dry nut the kernel becomes separate from the shell, and when the shell is pierced the kernel is not touched. Jesus was like the dry nut, ¿e. His inner soul was separate from His physical shell; consequently the sufferings of the body did not affect Him. Though the nails were driven through and through, He could pray with calm tranquillity for the good of His enemies.

(11)

As one can ascend the top of a house by means of a ladder, or a bamboo, or a staircase, or a rope, so divers are the ways and means to approach God, and every religion in the world shows one of these ways.

(12)

Many are the names of God, and infinite the forms that lead us to know Him. In whatsoever name or form you desire to know Him, in that very name and form you will know Him.

(13)

Why can we not see the Divine Mother? She is like a high-born lady, transacting all her business from behind the screen-seeing all, but seen by none. Her devout sons only see Her by going near Her behind the screen of Máyá.

(14)

You see many stars at night in the sky, but find them not when the sun rises. Can you say that there are no stars in the heaven of day? So, O man! because you behold not God in the days of your ignorance say not that there is no God.

(15)

In the play of hide-and-seek, if the player succeeds in touching the grand dame (Boor), he is no longer liable to be made a thief of by the seeker. Similarly, by once seeing God, man is no longer bound down by the fetters of the world. Just as the person touching the Boori is free to go about wherever he chooses without being pursued and made a thief of, so also in this world's playground there is no fear to him who has once touched the feet of God. He attains freedom from all wordly cares and anxieties, and nothing can ever bind him again.

(16)

If a single dive into the sea does not bring you any pearl,. do not conclude that the sea is without pearls. Dive again and again, and you are sure to be rewarded in the end. So if your first attempt to see God proves fruitless, do not lose heart. Persevere in the attempt, and you are sure to obtain Divine grace at last.

(17)

A young plant should always be protected by a fence from the mischief of goats and cows and little urchins. But when once it becomes a big tree a flock of goats or a herd of cows may find shelter under its spreading boughs, and fill their stomachs with its leaves. So when you have but little faith within you, you should protect it from the evil influences of bad company and worldliness. But when once you grow strong in faith no worldliness or evil inclination will dare approach your holy presence, and many who are wicked will become godly through your holy contact.

(18)

Where does the strength of an aspirant lie? It is in his tears. As a mother gives her consent to fulfil the desire of her importunately weeping child, so God vouchsafes to His weeping son whatever he is crying for.

(19)

Meditate on God either in an unknown corner, or in the solitude of forests, or within your own mind.

(20)

If you can detect and find out the universal illusion or Máyá, it will fly away from you just as a thief runs away when found out.

(21)

Should we pray aloud unto God? Pray unto Him in any way you like. He is sure to hear you, for He can hear even the footfall of an ant.

(22)

The pearl-oyster that contains the precious pearl is in itself of very little value, but it is essential for the growth of the pearl. The shell itself may prove to be of no use to the man who has got the pearl. So ceremonies and rites may not be necessary for him who has attained the Highest Truth-God.

(23)

High up in the pure regions under the azure sky the vultures keep soaring on, but have their eyes always directed to the carrion in the field beneath. So worldly men of learning exhibit to all around them their high attainments by clever expositions of sublime spiritual truths and by the utterance of noble sentiments becoming a sage, but their minds are all along secretly and inwardly turned to the attainment of the nearest objects of the earth-to the glamour of shining gold and the vain applause of worldly men.

(24)

A little boy wearing the mask of the lion's head looks indeed very terrible. He goes where his little sister is at play, and yells out hideously, which at once shocks and terrifies his sister, making her cry out in the highest pitch of her voice in the agony of despair to escape from the clutch of the terrible being. But when her little tormentor puts off the mask the frightened girl at once recognises her loving brother, and flies up to him exclaiming, 'Oh! it is my dear brother after all.' Even such is the case of all the men of the world who are deluded and frightened and led to do all sorts of things by the nameless power of Máyâ, or Nescience, under the mask of which Brahman hides himself. But when the veil of Mâyâ is taken off from Brahman, the men then do not see in him a terrible and uncompromising Master, but their own beloved Other Self.

(25)

The vanities of all others may gradually die out, but the vanity of a saint as regards his sainthood is hard indeed to wear away.

(26)

Question: Where is God? How can we get to Him? Answer: There are pearls in the sea: one must dive deep again and again until he gets the pearls. So there is God in the world; you should persevere to see Him

(27)

How does a true lover see his God? He sees Him as his nearest and dearest relative, just as the shepherd women of Brindâvan saw in Sri Krishna, not the Lord of the Universe (Jagannâtha), but their own beloved one (Gopînâth, the lord of the shepherdesses).

(28)

A boat may stay in the water, but water should not stay in the boat. An aspirant may live in the world, but the world should not live in him.

(29)

What you think you should say. Let there be harmony between your thoughts and words; otherwise if you merely tell that God is your all in all, while your mind has made the world its all in all, you cannot derive any benefit thereby.

(30)

As when fishes are caught in a net some do not struggle at all but remain calm in the net, some again struggle hard to come out of the net, while a few are very happy in effecting their escape by rending the net, so there are three sorts of men, viz. fettered (Baddha), struggling (Mumukshu), released (Mukta).

(31)

If in all the different religious systems of the world there reigns the same God, then why does the same God appear different when viewed in different lights by different religions? God is one, but many are His aspects. The head of a family, an individual person, is the father of one, the brother of a second, and the husband of a third. The relations or aspects are different, but the man is the same.

POSTSCRIPT.-It was not easy to obtain any trustworthy information about the circumstances of the Mahâtman's life, a life singularly uneventful in his relations with the outer world, though full of stirring events in the inner world of his mind. The following information came to me from India after my article was in type. He was born in 1835 in a village near Jahanabad (Hoogly District) called Kamarpukur. His chief place of residence is said to have been at the celebrated Rani Rashmoni's temple of Kali on the bank of the Bhagirathî (Ganges) at Dakshineswar, a northern suburb of Calcutta. He died in 1886 in the Kasipur garden, two miles north of Calcutta, and was cremated at the Baranagore Burning Ghat where a Bel tree marks the spot. His ashes have been interred in the garden of the temple of Kacurgachee, about a mile east of the Manicktolla Bridge, Calcutta.

But

Protap Chunder Mozoomdar, the leader of the Brahma Samâj, and well known to many people in England, tells me of the extraordinary influence which the Mahâtman exercised on Keshub Chunder Sen, on himself, and on a large number of highly educated men in Calcutta. A score of young men who were more closely attached to him have become ascetics after his death. They follow his teaching by giving up the enjoyment of wealth and carnal pleasure, living together in a neighbouring Matha (college), and retiring at times to holy and solitary places all over India even as far as the Himalayan mountains. Besides these holy men, we are told that a great number of men with their families are ardently devoted to his cause. what is most interesting is the fact that it was the Mahâtman who exercised the greatest influence on Keshub Chunder Sen during the last phase of his career. It was a surprise to many of Keshub Chunder's friends and admirers to observe the sudden change of the sober reformer into the mystic and ecstatic saint, that took place towards the end of his life. But although this later development of the New Dispensation, and more particularly the doctrine of the motherhood of God, may have alienated many of Keshub Chunder Sen's European friends, it seems to have considerably increased his popularity with Hindu society. At all events we are now enabled to understand the hidden influences which caused so sudden a change, and produced so marked a deviation in the career of the famous founder of the Brahma-Samâj, which has sometimes been ascribed to the breakdown of an over-excited brain.

It is different with a man like Râmakrishna. He never moved in the world, or was a man of the world, even in the sense in which Keshub Chunder Sen was. He seems from the very first to have practised that very severe kind of asceticism (Yoga) which is intended to produce trances (samâdhi) and ecstatic utterances. We cannot quite understand them, but in the case of our Mahâtman we cannot doubt their reality, and can only stand by and wonder, particularly