Latu was quite outspoken, but the Master taught him to be humble and not to hurt anyone. Once at Dakshineswar a devotee did not behave well and Latu got irritated and scolded him harshly. The Master observed everything. When the devotee left, Ramakrishna told Latu: “It is not good to speak harshly to those who come here. They are tormented with worldly problems. If they come here and then are scolded for their shortcomings, where will they go? In the presence of holy company never use harsh words to anyone, and never say anything to cause pain to another. Tomorrow, you go to him and apologize, so that he may forget what you said to him today.”
So the next day Latu visited the devotee, with his pride humbled. He spoke to him sweetly. When he returned, the Master asked, “Did you offer him my salutations?” Amazed at his words, Latu said that he had not. Then the Master said, “Go to him again and offer him my salutations.” So again Latu went to that devotee and conveyed Ramakrishna’s salutations. At this the devotee burst into tears. Latu was moved to see him weeping. When he returned this time the Master said, “Now your misdeed is pardoned.”
Ego separates human beings from God; that is why Sri Ramakrishna always taught his disciples to be humble. Even after his passing away, the Master kept watch on his Baburam. Premananda was a strict vegetarian and had a little hidden repugnance for people who ate fish; this attitude occasionally would surface in his words and dealings. One night the Master told him in a vision: “Look, Baburam, my children eat a little fish. Why do you make so much fuss about it? Do you think that you have achieved everything because you don’t eat fish?” The next morning Premananda got up and first went to the kitchen and touched his tongue to the fish-cutting knife. He said to himself: “I am Baburam; why should I hurt others’ feelings?” Afterwards he sent someone to the market to buy good fish; he then cut them, cooked them, and served them to the monks himself. After lunch he apologized to the monks: “The Master used to say, ‘The poison of the big cobra and the little cobra is the same.’ [The same divinity abides in an illumined soul as well as in a young monk.] I beg forgiveness from all of you. I must not say anything that could hurt others’ feelings.”
From the Life of Swami Turiyananda
Turiyananda was very frank and truthful. But his candour in pointing out a person’s defects often proved painful. One day he came across this verse of the Bhagavata: “Realizing the universe as one in the aspect of Purusha and prakriti, never praise or blame the action of others” (11. 28. 1). Then he read the commentary on that verse: “If accidentally the teeth bite the tongue, hurt and cut it, do people take a piece of stone and break the teeth? No, because the teeth belong to the same person to whom the tongue belongs. Since the one Lord who is in me also resides in others, it is improper to find fault with them.” This teaching made a deep impression on Turiyananda; thereafter, he became gentler in correcting those in his charge. (Source: God Lived with Them)
Holy Mother made people her own with her divine love, compassion, and sweet words. One day at Jayrambati, someone used harsh words when speaking to Surabala. At this, the Mother remarked: “One should not hurt others even with words. One must not speak an unpleasant truth if it is not necessary. By indulging in rude words, one’s nature becomes rude. One’s sensitivity is lost if one has no control over one’s speech. The Master used to say that one should not ask a lame person how he became lame.” (Source: Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play)