Dear Ankur Ji,

Thanks for sharing all those lovely photos. The photo of Sri Sarada Devi is identical to the one, which was featured in the 1942 edition of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. I see that someone has added a tikka (bindu), which of course was not on the original photo.

I liked your article of Swami Ijyananda also.

You mention that you have 'sometimes yearned to live the monastic life'.

As you know, that particular life is not for everyone. In 1981, I joined a Cistercian (Trappist) monastery (not far from Toronto, Canada); but, like your good self, I was also asked to leave the premises, after a certain period of time.

My problem stemmed from the fact that, since I was unable to join in their communal prayers, I was consequently not allowed to partake in their communal meals (as simple as they were).

Instead, the keeper of the Guesthouse would allow me an apple, two slices of white bread and a slice of processed cheese, a couple of times per day.

Personally, I was quite happy with that, at the time, since I was also allowed to read the books in the extensive monastery library.

Needless to say, they had some fascinating books, writtem by the well-known American Cistercian monk, Thomas Merton; such as: "Spiritual Direction and Meditation" & "The Seven Storey Mountain". I would recommend those books to anyone with spiritual aspirations.

The reason for my inability to join in their communal prayers, is simply that I did not agree with the content of the texts, and therefore would have been dishonest, had I prayed along nevertheless.

For instance, one of the prayers went something like this: "We fear Thee, O Lord". I told the Abbot (mohant), that I don't have a relationship with the Lord, which is based on 'fear', but rather based upon 'Love'.

Anyway, to make a long story short, he eventually kindly asked me to vacate my room, since he was expecting a group of new visitors to arrive soon. In case there was trouble, he brought along with him, a huge St. Bernard dog; which of course was entirely unnecessary.

After that, I decided to establish my own Monastery, in my heart, and have lived there ever since.

Om Shanthi Om
=============

You have succeded in building up a fine monastery indeed within your heart, respected Tom Ji. It is truly the best monastery.
I really enjoyed reading your post. The incident of the Abbot bringing in a St. Bernard dog along with him amused me for I had faced something like that. When I was asked to leave Advaita Ashrama, the then abbot Swami Mumukshananda, fearing I might make trouble, told me to take the decision as the decision of the President Maharaj of the Order who was my Guru. He said, "you said you will obey your Guru's wishes. So take this as his will." That was, as in your case, totally unnecessary. To take the revered monk's name to persuade me. I would have left even without that.
I think I have heard of Thomas Merton, though I haven't read anything by him so far. God willing, I might get to some day.
Could you tell how you got attracted to the Ramakrishna thought movement. You seem so well-versed in its tenets and ready with the appropriate quotes always.
I hadn't known of this photo featuring in the 1942 edition of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. I am glad you liked all the photos and the article of Swami Ijyananda Ji. He had the habit of keeping his mouth open and gazing at you without saying anything. Perhaps he thereby read our hearts. I have one photograph of him in that posture.

Thanking you.

With regards,

Ankur

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Dear Ankur Ji,

Thanks for sharing all those lovely photos. The photo of Sri Sarada Devi is identical to the one, which was featured in the 1942 edition of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. I see that someone has added a tikka (bindu), which of course was not on the original photo.

I liked your article of Swami Ijyananda also.

You mention that you have 'sometimes yearned to live the monastic life'.

As you know, that particular life is not for everyone. In 1981, I joined a Cistercian (Trappist) monastery (not far from Toronto, Canada); but, like your good self, I was also asked to leave the premises, after a certain period of time.

My problem stemmed from the fact that, since I was unable to join in their communal prayers, I was consequently not allowed to partake in their communal meals (as simple as they were).

Instead, the keeper of the Guesthouse would allow me an apple, two slices of white bread and a slice of processed cheese, a couple of times per day.

Personally, I was quite happy with that, at the time, since I was also allowed to read the books in the extensive monastery library.

Needless to say, they had some fascinating books, writtem by the well-known American Cistercian monk, Thomas Merton; such as: "Spiritual Direction and Meditation" & "The Seven Storey Mountain". I would recommend those books to anyone with spiritual aspirations.

The reason for my inability to join in their communal prayers, is simply that I did not agree with the content of the texts, and therefore would have been dishonest, had I prayed along nevertheless.

For instance, one of the prayers went something like this: "We fear Thee, O Lord". I told the Abbot (mohant), that I don't have a relationship with the Lord, which is based on 'fear', but rather based upon 'Love'.

Anyway, to make a long story short, he eventually kindly asked me to vacate my room, since he was expecting a group of new visitors to arrive soon. In case there was trouble, he brought along with him, a huge St. Bernard dog; which of course was entirely unnecessary.

After that, I decided to establish my own Monastery, in my heart, and have lived there ever since.

Om Shanthi Om
=============

Location: Guwahati, Assam, India

Dear Ankur ji,

I am happy that you enjoyed the story about my short residence in a monastery.

Your encouraging words about 'the monastery in my heart' were also much appreciated.

I would like to make a minor correction; namely, the fellow who visited my room with the St. Bernard dog, was not the Abbot, but rather the 'vice' Abbot.

He was quite amused that he usually found me sitting on top of the bed in the Lotus posture, during his daily visits; and consequently, would always address me, rather sarcastically (albeit in a good-natured way), as 'Swami'.

When he explained, that his reason for asking me to depart, was based upon the fact that I was not participating in their communal prayers, I couldn't resist the temptation to ask him: "Is this dog also leaving?"....whereupon, he replied, "No, why would you think that?". I then said, "He must be participating in your prayers then?"

A little bit of humour, introduced into a delicate situation such as that, is usually beneficial to all concerned.

You asked, how I became interested in the Holy Trio.

This started almost thirty years ago, when I read the following quote of Swami Vivekananda's in a small book on Hinduism:

(beginning of quote) "This is the great ideal before us, and every one must be ready for it - the Conquest of the whole world by India - nothing less than that, and we must all get ready for it, strain every nerve for it. Let foreigners come and flood the land with their armies, never mind. Up, India, and conquer the world with your spirituality!

Ay, as has been declared on this soil first, love must conquer hatred, hatred cannot conquer itself. Materialism and all its miseries can never be conquered by materialism. Armies when they attempt to conquer armies only multiply and make brutes of humanity.

Spirituality must conquer the West. Slowly they are finding out that what they want is spirituality to preserve them as nations. They are waiting for it, they are eager for it. Where is the supply to come from? Where are the men ready to go out to every country in the world with the messages of the great sages of India? Where are the men who are ready to sacrifice everything, so that this message shall reach every corner of the world?

Such heroic spurs are wanted to help the spread of truth. Such heroic workers are wanted to go abroad and help to disseminate the great truths of the Vedanta. The world wants it; without it the world will be destroyed. The whole of the Western world is on a volcano which may burst tomorrow, go to pieces tomorrow.

They have searched every corner of the world and have found no respite. They have drunk deep of the cup of pleasure and found it vanity. Now is the time to work so that India's spiritual ideas may penetrate deep into the West. Therefore young men of Madras, I specially ask you to remember this.

We must go out, we must conquer the world through our spirituality and philosophy. There is no other alternative, we must do it or die. The only condition of national life, of awakened and vigorous national life, is the conquest of the world by Indian thought." (end of quote)

I was so very impressed with the force and logic of Swamiji's words, that I became determined to learn more.

Shortly thereafter, I acquired a book, published by the Advaita Ashrama in India, entitled: "Selections From Swami Vivekananda". This whetted my appetite for more, so I managed to find a 1942 edition of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna in an antiquarian book store.

I was fortunate, at the time, to be living in solitude, whcih allowed me to delve deep into the words of Thakur ji, to study them thoroughly and patiently, without any outside interruptions or interference.

This was a great blessing, not always obtainable in this busy, modern world.

All my doubts, questions etc., have been answered through this great book, together with the writings of Swami Vivekananda, and the biography of Sri Sarada Devi (In the Company of The Holy Mother).

In 1998, when I became somewhat computer savvy, and learned to write HTML code, I decided to share some of this material with others, through the medium of the Internet.

Since that time, we have welcomed over half a million visitors to our Vedanta pages, which are still operational.

Of course, that doesn't sound like a huge amount of traffic, over a ten year period; but for me, it provides a humble satisfaction, that I have been able to share those golden words with others, who may not have had the opportunity to discover the Holy Trio otherwise.

Here are a few of our web pages:

Daily Sutras From The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

The Holy Mother, Sri Sararda Devi

Swami Vivekananda

Om Shanti Om
=============

Respected Tom Ji,

Half a million plus of traffic. When I read that, I thought wow! what a lot of visitors. I have just visited your webpages and I must say I really admire you for the good work you are doing. I have read and re-read with interest your account of introduction to the Holy Trio. Swami Ji's words are really inspiring. Sends the blood running faster through the veins albeit for a worthy cause.
Your writing of reading the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna has enthused me to study that great book once more. I need that study and reflection for I am not in much of a good shape at present.
You mentioned the chief books of the Ramakrishna Order. But you did not mention Sri Ramakrishna's Life by Swami Saradananda, his disciple and an apostle of Lord Jesus Christ in his previous birth according to Sri Ramakrishna. I have in front of me the new translation by Swami Chetanananda of Vedanta Society of St. Louis, U.S.A. of that classic hagiography. I have opened a page at random and am quoting from the page which opened, p. 631, 3rd para: It is now clear that the Master was not limited to seeing people and things of the world from a single perspective, as we are. As he ascended to higher and higher planes, his view of people and things changed accordingly. It was therefore impossible for him to harbour the one-sided beliefs and narrow attitudes that we have. That is why we could not understand his words or his thoughts,although ours were clear to him. We know a man as a man, a cow as a cow, and a mountain as a mountain. He saw a man, a cow, and a mountain as they truly are, and at the same time he saw the indivisible Satchidananda, the cause of the world, shining through them. The only difference between a man, a cow, and a mountain are the greater and lesser degrees to which Satchidananda is visible through the veil of ignorance that covers each of them to varying extents.

Even as I am writing to you, I am downloading and listening to Classic Hindi film songs by celebrated musicians of India. I give below the link so that even if you do not download, you can at least listen:
http://www.indianscreen.com/songs.htm

With regards and thanks,

Ankur

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Dear Ankur ji,

I am happy that you enjoyed the story about my short residence in a monastery.

Your encouraging words about 'the monastery in my heart' were also much appreciated.

I would like to make a minor correction; namely, the fellow who visited my room with the St. Bernard dog, was not the Abbot, but rather the 'vice' Abbot.

He was quite amused that he usually found me sitting on top of the bed in the Lotus posture, during his daily visits; and consequently, would always address me, rather sarcastically (albeit in a good-natured way), as 'Swami'.

When he explained, that his reason for asking me to depart, was based upon the fact that I was not participating in their communal prayers, I couldn't resist the temptation to ask him: "Is this dog also leaving?"....whereupon, he replied, "No, why would you think that?". I then said, "He must be participating in your prayers then?"

A little bit of humour, introduced into a delicate situation such as that, is usually beneficial to all concerned.

You asked, how I became interested in the Holy Trio.

This started almost thirty years ago, when I read the following quote of Swami Vivekananda's in a small book on Hinduism:

(beginning of quote) "This is the great ideal before us, and every one must be ready for it - the Conquest of the whole world by India - nothing less than that, and we must all get ready for it, strain every nerve for it. Let foreigners come and flood the land with their armies, never mind. Up, India, and conquer the world with your spirituality!

Ay, as has been declared on this soil first, love must conquer hatred, hatred cannot conquer itself. Materialism and all its miseries can never be conquered by materialism. Armies when they attempt to conquer armies only multiply and make brutes of humanity.

Spirituality must conquer the West. Slowly they are finding out that what they want is spirituality to preserve them as nations. They are waiting for it, they are eager for it. Where is the supply to come from? Where are the men ready to go out to every country in the world with the messages of the great sages of India? Where are the men who are ready to sacrifice everything, so that this message shall reach every corner of the world?

Such heroic spurs are wanted to help the spread of truth. Such heroic workers are wanted to go abroad and help to disseminate the great truths of the Vedanta. The world wants it; without it the world will be destroyed. The whole of the Western world is on a volcano which may burst tomorrow, go to pieces tomorrow.

They have searched every corner of the world and have found no respite. They have drunk deep of the cup of pleasure and found it vanity. Now is the time to work so that India's spiritual ideas may penetrate deep into the West. Therefore young men of Madras, I specially ask you to remember this.

We must go out, we must conquer the world through our spirituality and philosophy. There is no other alternative, we must do it or die. The only condition of national life, of awakened and vigorous national life, is the conquest of the world by Indian thought." (end of quote)

I was so very impressed with the force and logic of Swamiji's words, that I became determined to learn more.

Shortly thereafter, I acquired a book, published by the Advaita Ashrama in India, entitled: "Selections From Swami Vivekananda". This whetted my appetite for more, so I managed to find a 1942 edition of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna in an antiquarian book store.

I was fortunate, at the time, to be living in solitude, whcih allowed me to delve deep into the words of Thakur ji, to study them thoroughly and patiently, without any outside interruptions or interference.

This was a great blessing, not always obtainable in this busy, modern world.

All my doubts, questions etc., have been answered through this great book, together with the writings of Swami Vivekananda, and the biography of Sri Sarada Devi (In the Company of The Holy Mother).

In 1998, when I became somewhat computer savvy, and learned to write HTML code, I decided to share some of this material with others, through the medium of the Internet.

Since that time, we have welcomed over half a million visitors to our Vedanta pages, which are still operational.

Of course, that doesn't sound like a huge amount of traffic, over a ten year period; but for me, it provides a humble satisfaction, that I have been able to share those golden words with others, who may not have had the opportunity to discover the Holy Trio otherwise.

Here are a few of our web pages:

Daily Sutras From The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

The Holy Mother, Sri Sararda Devi

Swami Vivekananda

Om Shanti Om
=============

Location: Guwahati, Assam, India

Dear Ankur Ji,

Thanks again for your kind words, regarding our webpages for the Holy Trio.

I am sorry to note, that you are not in 'much of good shape at present'; and I sincerely hope that a careful re-reading of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna will help you to regain your equilibrium.

I know that there are many excellent books about Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda and also the Holy Mother; however, I have found that too much diversification tends to dissipate my spiritual energy; consequently, I remain 'fixed' on "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna", "The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda", and "In The Company Of The Holy Mother".

Everybody has his/her own particular nature. Some folks are able to absorb many opinions and thoughts from a variety of authors; concerning the Holy Trio; but, being basically a very simple person, I try to keep my knowledge of the Holy Trio as concise and uncomplicated as possible.

I guess that I agree wholeheartedly with Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, when He said:

'ONLY two kinds of people can attain self-knowledge : those who are not encumbered at all with learning, that is to say, whose minds are not over - crowded with thoughts borrowed from others; and those who, after studying all the scriptures and sciences, have come to realize that they know nothing.'

Regarding listening to music, I used to spend a lot of time enjoying recorded music of all types; but, for the past ten years or so, I find that I much prefer 'the sounds of silence'.

This is ironic, since I happen to possess a huge library of Long-Playing records, numbering well over 1500 units. I have many imported albums of Indian Classical Music, Sitar. Vina, Flute etc., performed by established masters. There are also to be found, folk music from almost every country in the world.

Besides the above-mentioned, there is of course, European Opera and other Classical selections; as well as American Jazz, Popular Music, Country, Rock etc., from the 1920's through the 1980's. Most of this material is catalogued by artist and song title.

And yet, it is very rare indeed, when I actually place a record on the turntable these days.

You may ask, 'how I managed to accumulate such a large music library?':

About twenty-five years ago, people were getting rid of their Vinyl LP records, and replacing them with CD's. The discarded LP's usually ended up in second-hand record stores, garage & lawn sales, and junk shops.

So, for a fraction of the original selling price, I was able to build a large library of recorded music, which I don't listen to any more.

There is always the possibility, however, that I may become interested again, but I sincerely doubt it.

Om Shanthi Om
=============

Respected Tom Ji,

Thank you once again for your interesting, encouraging and educative post. I agree with you that, "too much diversification tends to dissipate my spiritual energy." And most beautiful, "and those who, after studying all the scriptures and sciences, have come to realize that they know nothing." Though I must say that the Leelaprasanga or 'Sri Ramakrishna the Great Master' by Swami Saradananda is not an ordinary book nor its author ordinary. Most monks prefer to read this book along with and even instead of The Gospel of Sri Ramamkrishna. For Swami Saradananda was a direct monastic disciple of the Master just as Sri 'M' was a direct householder disciple. Swami Saradananda wrote his book to repay the debts he incurred to build a house for the Holy Mother in Kolkata, 'The Mayer Bari' or 'Udbodhan'. He lost all interest in completing it after the Holy Mother and Swami Brahmananda had passed on. He spent his last years mostly in meditation. Of course, this is just mentioning about the book. I agree with you again that it is best to limit oneself to two or three books by selected author/authors and meditate on them. Thank you for your good wishes. I hope God will again instil in me the fervour I felt originally while reading the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna for the first time.
I really admire the rich collection you have built up of musical records, though I appreciate even better the 'sound of silence' you are nowadays listening to!
With regards and thanks,
Ankur

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Replying to:

Dear Ankur Ji,

Thanks again for your kind words, regarding our webpages for the Holy Trio.

I am sorry to note, that you are not in 'much of good shape at present'; and I sincerely hope that a careful re-reading of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna will help you to regain your equilibrium.

I know that there are many excellent books about Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda and also the Holy Mother; however, I have found that too much diversification tends to dissipate my spiritual energy; consequently, I remain 'fixed' on "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna", "The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda", and "In The Company Of The Holy Mother".

Everybody has his/her own particular nature. Some folks are able to absorb many opinions and thoughts from a variety of authors; concerning the Holy Trio; but, being basically a very simple person, I try to keep my knowledge of the Holy Trio as concise and uncomplicated as possible.

I guess that I agree wholeheartedly with Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, when He said:

'ONLY two kinds of people can attain self-knowledge : those who are not encumbered at all with learning, that is to say, whose minds are not over - crowded with thoughts borrowed from others; and those who, after studying all the scriptures and sciences, have come to realize that they know nothing.'

Regarding listening to music, I used to spend a lot of time enjoying recorded music of all types; but, for the past ten years or so, I find that I much prefer 'the sounds of silence'.

This is ironic, since I happen to possess a huge library of Long-Playing records, numbering well over 1500 units. I have many imported albums of Indian Classical Music, Sitar. Vina, Flute etc., performed by established masters. There are also to be found, folk music from almost every country in the world.

Besides the above-mentioned, there is of course, European Opera and other Classical selections; as well as American Jazz, Popular Music, Country, Rock etc., from the 1920's through the 1980's. Most of this material is catalogued by artist and song title.

And yet, it is very rare indeed, when I actually place a record on the turntable these days.

You may ask, 'how I managed to accumulate such a large music library?':

About twenty-five years ago, people were getting rid of their Vinyl LP records, and replacing them with CD's. The discarded LP's usually ended up in second-hand record stores, garage & lawn sales, and junk shops.

So, for a fraction of the original selling price, I was able to build a large library of recorded music, which I don't listen to any more.

There is always the possibility, however, that I may become interested again, but I sincerely doubt it.

Om Shanthi Om
=============

Location: Guwahati, Assam, India

Dear Ankur Ji,

Thanks for your comments, which are always most appreciated.

Your warm understanding of my particular situation, concerning the complete contentment I feel, in obtaining my spiritual consolation and inspiration from the three publications heretofore mentioned, is also cherished by me.

May Sri Saraswati grant you the peace and isolation, necessary to absorb properly, the blessed contents of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, during your forthcoming re-reading.

I am sure that you will enjoy it immensely, just as I did, upon my second and third readings of Mahendranath Gupta's masterpiece. It seems that, with
every subsequent reading, special insights and previously unnoticed details spring to life.

Actually, I am planning very soon, to settle down to yet another serious reading of this book.

Om Shanthi Om

Respected Tom Ji,

You have today prayed to Mother Saraswati for me and today morning for the second time perhaps in my life I dreamt of our Holy Mother Sarada whom Sri Ramakrishna looked upon as Saraswati. I shall keep the dream to myself for the present. But I felt like having received Her blessings and may your prayers also be answered so that I can read the Gospel in peace and isolation. Thank you.
It is nice that you are going in for another serious reading of the Gospel. All the good wishes.
I am actually feeling happy today, though in a silent way, on account of the unexpected dream.
I think I will try to follow your example of having two three selected books only as a perennial source of inspiration. That will be helpful to me.

With thanks and regards,

Ankur

Location: Guwahati, Assam, India