Important Incidents from the Life of Swami Brahmananda

A real guru acts in two roles — loving mother as well as chastising father — to train his disciple. The Master did not spoil his spiritual son. “When he did anything wrong,” said Ramakrishna, “I scolded him. One day he took butter from the temple prasad and ate it without waiting for me. ‘How greedy you are,’ I said. ‘You ought to have learnt, from being here, to control yourself!’ He shrank into himself with fear and never did that again.”

One day, the Master initiated Rakhal into the path of Shakti before the Divine Mother and taught him how to practise meditation on the different centres of the kundalini. Rakhal used to secretly practise these disciplines. Rakhal recalled: “Once I was meditating in the Panchavati at noon while the Master was talking about the manifestation of Brahman as sound [Shabda-Brahman]. Listening to that discussion, even the birds in the Panchavati began to sing the Vedic songs and I heard them.”

If a devotee sincerely loves God, He makes everything favourable for him. Shyama Sundari, Rakhal’s mother-in-law, was a devotee of the Master and she understood Rakhal’s spiritual inclination. One day Manomohan’s aunt said to her: “It seems that your son-in-law is turning into a monk. Why don’t you try to bring his mind back to the world, for your daughter’s sake?” “What can I do?” answered Shyama Sundari. “Everything depends on the will of the Lord. If my son-in-law becomes a monk, I shall regard it as a great blessing.”

“Oh, what superhuman power the Master had!” recalled Rakhal. “At that time we thought it was merely a peculiar power with him, but we could not understand the nature of it. Now we realize what a wonderful power it was! One day I said to him: ‘Sir, I cannot get rid of lust. What shall I do?’ He touched me in the region of the heart, muttering some indistinct words. All lust vanished from me forever! I have never felt its existence since then.”

Once at the Cossipore garden house Ramakrishna remarked: “Rakhal has the keen intelligence of a king. If he chose, he could rule a kingdom.” Narendra understood that the Master wanted Rakhal to be the future leader of his disciples, so he told his brother disciples, “Henceforth, we shall call Rakhal our Raja, king.” The Master was pleased when he heard this. Later Rakhal became known in the Ramakrishna Order as Maharaj, or Great King.

Monks depend solely on God. They sometimes follow the example of a python that attracts its prey without moving. In Vrindaban, Brahmananda took a vow of self-surrender, accepting only what God provided for him without asking; that day a devotee provided his food and other necessities, unasked. Another day while he was meditating a man put a new blanket in front of him and left. After a short while a thief came and took away the blanket. Brahmananda silently observed the play of maya and smiled.

Undoubtedly, the passing away of Vivekananda was a great blow to the monks; but Brahmananda came forward to hold the helm of the Ramakrishna Mission with his vast experience and strong common sense, with unselfish love and unbounded compassion, and above all with the personality of a spiritual giant. He could read a person’s character at a glance, and he guided the monks accordingly. He told them: “Give the whole of your mind to God. If there is no waste of mental energy, with a fraction of your mind you can do so much work that the world will be dazed.”

After Swamiji’s passing away Sister Nivedita became involved in India’s freedom movement. Brahmananda and Saradananda explained to her that the Ramakrishna Order had no connection with politics, so she had to choose either to be a member of the freedom movement or of the Ramakrishna Order. She chose the former. But Brahmananda was always affectionate towards her and helpful in her educational work. He asked her to write a biography of Swamiji, which was later published as The Master as I Saw Him.

Brahmananda visited Varanasi several times. In April 1908 he laid the foundation stone of the hospital building of the Home of Service. Again he went to Varanasi in 1912, and then in March he went to Kankhal and stayed until fall. He arranged to have Durga Puja (the annual worship of the Divine Mother) in the ashrama. He told a monk who was dispensing homeopathic medicine in the hospital: “Look, my child, your work pertains to life and death. Don’t be overconfident about your capability. When you give medicine, pray to Sri Ramakrishna, ‘Master, help me to select that medicine which will cure this patient.’ Then you will feel that the Master is working through you.” This was his last visit to Kankhal.

One evening while he was at Madras, he went into samadhi during arati [vesper service]. He sat on the rug at the far end of the hall, his body motionless, his eyes closed, a smile of ecstasy playing about his lips. Swami Ramakrishnananda was the first to observe that he did not move when the service was over. Realizing what had occurred, he motioned to one of the young swamis to fan his head… . For half an hour no one stirred — a boy who was crossing the hall did not even draw back his foot. Perfect stillness pervaded the monastery — a radiant, pulsing stillness.

On 20 January 1909 Brahmananda inaugurated the Ramakrishna Ashrama in Bangalore. It was a grand celebration. The high officials of the Mysore State attended the function. Brahmananda read his address, which made an excellent impression on the audience. This was the only time that Brahmananda ever spoke in public. In Bangalore, Maharaj was so impressed with Ramnam Sankirtan (choral singing in praise of Lord Ramachandra), that he introduced it to the Order, and he himself would join in the singing.

Swami Ashokananda recalled: “Once I managed to ask him a certain question very early in the morning… . He told me plainly: ‘You know I cannot do anything without the command of God.’ Yes, he was so close to God that we believed, and with good reason, that he was always in contact with Him. I have heard that he often saw God in the form of Sri Ramakrishna and in other forms as well.”

When Brahmananda was at the railway station, waiting for the train to Calcutta, a young girl who was a devotee’s sister bowed down to him and asked for some advice. Maharaj told her: “Daughter, the train is coming. I don’t have much time, but I will give you knowledge in one sentence: Read The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna regularly every day. That is enough. You will find in this book the truth of all religions.”

One day Atal Bihari Maitra, the deputy magistrate of Puri, said to Swami Sharvananda (a disciple of Maharaj): “What kind of monks are you! You have no occult powers.” Hearing this Maharaj said: “It is easy to get occult powers, but difficult to acquire purity of mind. It is this purity of mind that really matters.”

In 1920 Pandit Kshirod Prasad Vidyavinod went to see Brahmananda at Bhubaneswar. Kshirod lamented: “There was a possibility of my seeing Sri Ramakrishna, but it was my bad luck that I did not. I was then a student. After hearing about the Master, one day I left for Dakshineswar. After arriving at Alambazar I thought: The Master knows what is in everybody’s mind. If he exposes my secret thoughts in front of everybody, I will be embarrassed. This fear sent me back home.” Maharaj said, “Since you went to Alambazar to see the Master, take it for granted that you did see him.” “No, Maharaj, I did not see him.” Remembering his bad luck, Kshirod bent his head and began to sob. As soon as he lifted his face, he saw Sri Ramakrishna seated in Brahmananda’s place.

Brahmananda also taught the monks the secret of work: Simply carrying out some undertaking is not sufficient. It must be done in the right spirit, knowing that one is serving the Lord without any personal motive. Keep three-fourths of your mind fixed on God, and with the remaining one-fourth do whatever you have to do. If you follow this method, you will be an ideal karmayogi and you will attain peace and joy. On the other hand, if you only get involved in activities without practising meditation, ego and pride will crop up and quarrels and dissensions will ensue, thus disturbing the equanimity of your mind. Therefore I tell you, stick to your sadhana by all means whether you work or not… . Each and every work is equally important — whether it is meditation or household duties. Do it with the right spirit. Work is worship.

One day Brahmananda said to M.: “The Master came this time to make a bridge between Jiva and Shiva [human beings and God]. See how easy it has now become to realize the Lord!”

Many young people and devotees would come to Maharaj to have his holy company and listen to his inspiring teachings. He was an awakener of souls. Sometimes he would remind the devotees of Ramakrishna’s message:

The Master often said, “God can be attained if one loves him with the combined force of these three attractions: the chaste wife’s love for her husband, the mother’s love for her child, and the worldly man’s love for worldly possessions… .”

Sri Ramakrishna’s message in this age is renunciation of lust and gold. [Pointing to the monks] You have joined the monastery in order to become holy men. Renunciation of lust and gold is the ornament of a holy man, and it is the only means of attaining God. As one progresses on the path of spirituality, one is confronted by many kinds of temptations. Cravings — such as for woman and gold, for name and fame — arise again and may lead one farther away from God. Unless you beware of this thief in the form of cravings he will steal all the goodness in you, and you will drown in the bottomless ocean of worldliness. But, on the other hand, there is the ocean of divine grace — if anyone will sincerely call on Him but once. The Master used to say: “If you move one step towards Him, He comes down ten steps towards you.”

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