- As a man’s faith increases, so does his knowledge of God.
Devotee: “Does God have a form, or is He formless?”
Sri Ramakrishna: “God has form and, again, He is formless. Once upon a time a sannyasi entered the temple of Jagannath. As he looked at the holy image he debated within himself whether God had a form or was formless. He passed his staff from left to right to feel whether it touched the image. The staff touched nothing. He understood that there was no image before him; he concluded that God was formless. Next he passed the staff from right to left. It touched the image. The sannyasi understood that God had form Thus he realised that God has form and, again, is formless.
“But it is extremely difficult to understand this. Naturally the doubt arises in the mind: if God is formless, how then can He have form? Further, if He has a form, why does He have so many forms?” …..
“Once a man went into a wood and saw a beautiful creature on a tree. Later he told a friend about it and said, ‘Brother, on a certain tree in the wood I saw a red-coloured creature.’ The friend answered: ‘I have seen it too. Why do you call it red? It is green.’ A third man said: ‘Oh, no, no! Why do you call it green? It is yellow.’ Then other persons began to describe the animal variously as violet, blue, or black. Soon they were quarrelling about the colour. At last they went to the tree and found a man sitting under it. In answer to their questions he said: ‘I live under this tree and know the creature very well. What each of you has said about it is true. Sometimes it is red, sometimes green, sometimes yellow, sometimes blue, and so forth and so on. Again, sometimes I see that it has no colour whatsoever.’
“Only he who constantly thinks of God can know His real nature. He alone knows that God reveals Himself in different forms and different ways, that He has attributes and, again, has none. Only the man who lives under the tree knows that the chameleon can assume various colours and that sometimes it remains colourless. Others, not knowing the whole truth, quarrel among themselves and suffer.
“Yes, God has form and, again. He has none. Do you know how it is? Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, is like a shoreless ocean. In the ocean visible blocks of ice are formed here and there by intense cold. Similarly, under the cooling influence, so to speak, of the bhakti of Its worshippers, the Infinite transforms Itself into the finite and appears before the worshipper as God with form. That is to say, God reveals Himself to His bhaktas as an embodied Person. Again, as, on the rising of the sun, the ice in the ocean melts away, so, on the awakening of jnana, the embodied God melts back into the infinite and formless Brahman.”
MASTER: “If the moth discovers light, can it remain in darkness any longer?”
DOCTOR (with a smile): “Of course it cannot. It would rather fly into the flame and perish.”
MASTER: “Oh no, that’s not so. A lover of God does not burn himself to death, like a moth. The light to which he rushes is like the light of a gem. That light is brilliant, no doubt, but it is also cooling and soothing. That light does not scorch his body; it gives him joy and peace. (BG 11.12, Be Drowned!)
MASTER (to Ishan): “Why don’t you say something? (Pointing to the doctor) He does not believe that God can incarnate Himself in a human form.”
ISHAN: “What shall I say, sir? I don’t like to argue any more.”
MASTER (sharply): “Why? Won’t you say the right thing?”
ISHAN (to the doctor): “Our faith is shallow on account of our pride. It is said in the Ramayana that a crow named Bhushandi did not at first accept Rama as an Incarnation of God. Once it incurred Rama’s displeasure. It travelled through the different worlds — the lunar, solar, and so forth — and through Mount Kailas, to escape Rama’s wrath. But it found that it could not escape. Then it surrendered itself to Him and took refuge at His feet. Rama took the crow in His hand and swallowed it. Thereupon the crow found that it was seated in its own nest in a tree. After its pride had thus been crushed, the bird came to realise that though Rama looked like any other man, yet He contained in His stomach the entire universe — sky, moon, sun, stars, oceans, rivers, men, animals, and trees.” (BG 6.30, BG 7.19)
MASTER (to the doctor): “It is very difficult to understand that God can be a finite human being and at the same time the all-pervading Soul of the universe. The Absolute and the Relative are His two aspects. How can we say emphatically with our small intelligence that God cannot assume a human form? Can we ever understand all these ideas with our little intellect? Can a one-seer pot hold four seers of milk? (BG 9.11)
“Therefore one should trust in the words of holy men and great souls, those who have realised God. They constantly think of God, as a lawyer of his lawsuits. Do you believe the story of the crow Bhushandi?”
MASTER: “Please cure my illness. I cannot chant the name and glories of God.”
DOCTOR: “Meditation is enough.”
MASTER: “What do you mean? Why should I lead a monotonous life? I enjoy my fish in a variety of dishes: curried fish, fried fish, pickled fish, and so forth! Sometimes I worship God with rituals, sometimes I repeat His name, sometimes I meditate on Him, sometimes I sing His name and glories, sometimes I dance in His name.”