In The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, a devotee wrote down all that he remembered his Master saying. I just came upon this:
“There are three classes of devotees. The lowest one says, ‘God is up there,’ and he points to heaven. The mediocre devotee says that God dwells in the heart as the ‘Inner Controller.’ But the highest devotee says: ‘God alone has become everything. All things that we perceive are so many forms of God.’ Narendra [the young Sri Vivekananda, who was Western-educated and initially sceptical] used to make fun of me and say: ‘Yes, God has become all! Then a pot is God, a cup is God!’ (All laughed.)
“All doubts disappear when one sees God. It is one thing to hear of God, but quite a different thing to see Him. A man cannot have one hundred percent conviction through mere hearing. But if he beholds God face to face, then he is wholly convinced.
“Formal worship drops away after the vision of God. It was thus that my worship in the temple came to an end. I used to worship the Deity in the Kali temple. It was suddenly revealed to me that everything is Pure Spirit. The utensils of worship, the altar, the door-frame – all Pure Spirit. Men, animals, and other living beings, - all Pure Spirit. Then like a madman I began to shower flowers in all directions. Whatever I saw I worshipped.”
RE: Seeing God
All doubts disappear when one sees God. It is one thing to hear of God, but quite a different thing to see Him. A man cannot have one hundred percent conviction through mere hearing. But if he beholds God face to face, then he is wholly convinced.
absolutely, completely, and utterly true - and beautifully put. Faith and belief is one thing - experience is quite, quite another.
There are three classes of devotees. The lowest one says, God is up there, and he points to heaven. The mediocre devotee says that God dwells in the heart as the Inner Controller. But the highest devotee says: God alone has become everything. All things that we perceive are so many forms of God.
interesting quote this David, thanks for sharing it.
I think there is a problem with the term 'devotee' in the current times as, to me, devotee refers to a specific type of aspirant or worshipper, and one that is waning rather than waxing (most established religions have devotee style worship and we have started to see the drift from mainstream religion because this no longer satisfies the thirst of the soul for the development level Man now stands at in general). Devotee referring to an emotional-centric form of worship and aspiration rather than centred in the mind, which is what the current need calls for, and successful modern systems of questioning, aspiration and worship are far more in this vein than true 'devotee', although the devotee does still have his place
It is excellently accurate though, the 'lowest' could be referred to as the personality, or the seeker who is still pulled by the 'will to know' so is only cognizant of 'God Trascendant' (althought the reference to pointing to heaven is also the correlation of the personality residing in the lower three bodies/chakras and 'pointing' to the highest chakra saying 'there'), the second being an aspirant who has had some modicum of progress and so is aware of the Soul Life as being the 'overseer/observer' of the personality, residing in the Fourth chakra, but this is, in truth, The Son (or Christ Self) rather than The Father, but until such time as the soul itself is awakened and moves to control the lower three or personality and fully express through them, it is still aspiration. From this point of view, the Soul is indeed the pinnacle of divinity and the epitome of eternal life to the perceiving personality.
Of course, the latter is one who recognises The Father in Heaven (both trascendant and imminent) already permeates all with aspected fragments, and while this can be intellectually grasped and 'felt/seen' at an early stage, true Living of that truth only really takes place when the soul is awakened and in full control, otherwise the sway of the personality still pulls to the lower worlds of the personality....so the person still pursues their desires.
the final paragraph is a wonderful example of one who has succeeded 'The Narrow Path' ('it was revealed') through a devotee form of worship and development. The Aryan root races contribution to the whole in tandem with universal energies and Forces moving has helped bring the centre of consciousness higher (simply through that being their function to the Whole Man), and as we continue to transit this change will also continue. This will result in a manifestation and expression of the same knowledge that is perhaps more stoic than the reaction described, although it does depend on 'which part of the Pure and Total Greater Spiritual Man' is being embodied by said person, since each major centre and each 'petal' must have its representative giving us the (biblical) 144,000 (the total sum of petals of all chakras in the fully awakened Spiritual Man)
thanks again for sharing that David.
As a final note: while God is everything, even the cup mentioned, this is no excuse for the 'idol worship' of modern society in the apathetic stance that 'it is God anyway, so must be OK' - The Teachings for the West must be blended with the Teachings for the East, but not w