Reach To Self – In Gita Verse 5.5 One who knows that the position reached by means of analytical study can also be attained by devotional service, and who therefore sees analytical study and devotional service to be on the same level, sees things as they are.
Krishna says that the person who realized himself for his path is irrelevant as he knows path is just means to realize self. You can reach to – self that is important then by which path.
Let me tell you a story of Ramakrishna which is very rare in the history of mystics. After attaining enlightenment, nobody ever tries to look into other paths to see whether they also reach enlightenment or not – there is no point. You wanted to reach here, you have reached – now what is the point of finding out whether other roads also reach here or not? But Ramakrishna had something tremendously significant in his mind, so he gave six months to each religion that was available in his vicinity; for six months he would practice the religion and forget everything else. Of course, he was already enlightened so the path was not a problem; in six months, he would reach back to the point of consciousness.
In Bengal, there is a small local group of a very strange religion: they believe that Krishna is the only man, and those who follow him are all women. They may be men, but that is only an illusion. In reality, except for Krishna, there is no other man – all are women. He is the lover and the beloved. In the night, the followers of that sect, men and women both, dress alike – like women. Even men sleep with a statue of Krishna in their beds – he is their husband.
Ramakrishna followed that path also for six months. For others it was just a ritual; they were born into that religion, just as you are born into Christianity, or Hinduism, or Jainism. You don’t really care; it is just accidental that you are born into a certain religion and you follow it, but it is at the most a formality.
But Ramakrishna was not going into those processes in a formal way: when he was following something, he was following it with totality and intensity. And almost a miracle was seen! Even during the day, he used the same clothes as women use in Bengal. Even the people of that sect told him, “In the day you can use men’s clothes; otherwise it looks very awkward.”
But he said, “When I follow something, I follow it totally. I cannot divide my day from my night. And I don’t care about the world.”
His breasts started growing; his disciples became very much afraid. So much intensity of projection that even the doctors who came to know about it visited Ramakrishna and when they saw his breasts, could not believe it – because this was a physiological miracle. But his disciples whispered in the ears of the doctor, “This is nothing – he is having monthly periods!”
For six months continuously… His voice changed, it became more like a woman’s. He started walking like a woman – which is very difficult; difficult because only a woman can walk that way. She has a womb inside her body and that womb gives a different kind of movement to the legs. Man has no womb inside; his legs have a different movement.
He started walking like a woman, speaking like a woman, his voice changed. And when the menstrual period started, then the disciples became really afraid. They said, “We have lost him. How can we get him back?” They tried to persuade him, but until six months was up, he was not going to change his path. They said, “This path is dangerous. We don’t think that these breasts and this period are going to disappear even after six months. Your whole life you will be a laughingstock – and we are going to be laughingstocks because we are your disciples.”
It took almost six months after he stopped for the change to take place again. Slowly, slowly he became a man again – otherwise he had become a woman.
Ramakrishna through all the practice found that all the paths are different but the destination is the same.
Krishna also says the same thing to Arjuna. Select any path and you will reach self-realization. Only thing common to practice any path is self-awareness, be total.
Tags: Reach To Self
