Life means struggle. Only two types of people do not struggle: the dead, and the illumined who have transcended the pairs of opposites. One day someone complained about dryness in spiritual life. “That very complaining,” Ramakrishnananda answered, “shows that their devotion is strong, even though they may not seem to express it so well as at other times. The very fact that they are restless proves that this dryness of heart is an unnatural condition for them, just as the fish feels dryness and jumps about when it is out of water, water being its natural element. Their devotion is not lessened in any way. So long as the hunger for devotion to God is there, a man is steady in devotion.” (Source: God Lived with Them)
Everyone without exception, sometime or other, passes through a “dark night” in spiritual life. In this period, the spiritual aspirant encounters subtle, unseen enemies, such as lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride, and jealousy. It is outright warfare. After joining the monastery, Turiyananda passed through such a dry spell. He described it later on: “When I was young and living in the Baranagore Math, once I had a very despondent mood. I could not meditate. I was then pacing back and forth on the roof. Then suddenly there was a rift in the cloud, and out came the full moon in all its majesty. All darkness was dispelled, and the whole landscape was flooded with light. As soon as I saw that I thought: See, the moon was there all the time but I could not see her. So the Atman is also ever present, shining in its own glory, but I did not see it. The cloud of ignorance stood between the Atman and my intellect overshadowing my mind. And at once I felt strong again, my doubts all gone.” (Source: God Lived with Them)
Brahmananda’s spiritual instructions are simple, direct, and practical. He taught mostly from his own experience rather than by quoting from the scriptures. Swami Vishuddhananda recalled: “On one occasion, in the house of Balaram Basu, Maharaj said: ‘You practise meditation and japam; you progress a little, then comes a period of dryness. It seems that the doors are entirely closed. At that time it is necessary that you stick to your spiritual practices with infinite patience; by so doing you will find one day that all of a sudden the doors are opened. What a great joy it is then! In spiritual life many such thresholds have to be crossed.’ (Source: God Lived with Them)
Girish Chandra Ghosh, a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna, told the following story about Brahmananda’s extraordinary spiritual power: Compared to myself, Rakhal is only a young boy. I know that the Master regarded him as his spiritual son, but that is not the only reason I respect him. Once I was suffering from asthma and various kinds of ailments. As a result, my body became very weak and I lost faith in Sri Ramakrishna. With a view to getting rid of that dry spell, I engaged pandits to read the Gita and the Chandi to me. But still I had no peace of mind. Some brother disciples came to see me, and I told them about the unhappy state of my mind, but they only kept silent. Then one day Rakhal came and asked me, “How are you?” I replied: “Brother, I am in hell. Can you tell me the way out?” Rakhal listened to me and then burst into laughter. “Why worry about it?” said he. “As the waves of the ocean rise high, then go down again, and again rise, so does the mind. Don’t be upset. Your present mood is due to the fact that it will lead you to a higher realm of spirituality. The wave of the mind is gathering strength.” As soon as Rakhal left my house, my doubt and dryness disappeared and I got back my faith and devotion. (Source: God Lived with Them)
While chanting God’s name, sometimes tears flow and at other times the eyes remain dry. While meditating on God, some days I feel a great deal of inner awakening, and some days I feel nothing.
— Sri Ramakrishna (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)