SPIRITUAL TEACHINGS OF SWAMI BRAHMANANDA TRANSLATED FROM CONVERSATIONS AND LETTERS IN BENGALI Second Edition SRI RAMAKRISHNA MATH MYLAPORE, MADRAS 1933 All Bights Reserved SWAMI BRAHMANANDA SPIRITUAL TEACHINGS OF SWAMI BRAHMANANDA FOREWORD Swami Brahmananda was one of the most eminent and one of the most beloved of the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna the first also to come to Him. Sri Ramakrishna regarded him as His own son and admitted him to the utmost intimacy. In this familiar daily intercourse the disciple caught the glint of the Masters efful gence. It shone through all he said, all he did, all he was. It gave him unlimited power and insight, and an authority no one thought to dispute. This last he used sparingly. He led rather by quiet appeal than by more insistent methods, but so mighty was his spiritual force that his gentlest suggestion was to those who heard it, a word of command. It was my blessed privilege to be closely associat ed with the Swami during the six months of his first visit to Madras. When the present book of coun sels was put into my hands to revise, edit and pre pare for publication, there rose before my mind once again the picture of that majestic, yet child-like, figure moving in the twilight shadow up and down the dim monastery hall at Mylapore once again his gentle voice sounded in my ears once again the benediction of his loving presence fell in refreshing shower over my spirit. I have striven to lit that voice sound unmuted through these pages to lea e unbarred the benediction of that presence. The spiritual instructions which follow were spoken in largest measure at Benares, Kankhal, Belur, or elsewhere, in informal conversations. Some were written inpersonal letters. In the earlier days of the Swamis administration as President of the Ramakrishna Mission he remained nearly always in retirement at Puri, or at the Head Monastery of the Order on the Ganges above Calcutta. At that time he was reluctant to assume the place of teacher. At Madras, if any one asked him a question he would answer Go and ask Sasi Maharaj. He knows everything. I know nothing. vi Later he emerged from his seclusion and be came an active and stimulating visitor at the various Centres of the Mission. The teaching set down in the present volume belongs to this second period. It was preserved by devout disciples and published in the Vedanta Kesari, the Official Magazine of the Missions work at Madras. Carefully and reverently revised, it appears now in more perma nent form. The counsels given are pre-eminently practical. They are the spontaneous expression of the Swamis own wide vision and profound spiritual experience. Their power is irresistible. They transform and redeem. They kindle fresh ardour in the heart. They transmute life into living. Charged with a holy message they go forth now, bearing to world and cloister alike, the promise of spiritual achievement. DEVAMATA ANANDA-ASHRAMA, LA CRESCENTA, CALIFORNIA, U. S. A. June, 1931. vii CONVERSATIONS PRINTED AT THE MADRAS PUBLISHING HOUSE, LTD., MOUNT ROAD, MADRAS. CONTENTS FOREWORD CONVERSATIONS J. MEDITATION AND REALIZATION II. SPIRITUAL PRACTICES III. WORSHIP AND MEDITATION IV. THE KUNDALINI V. WORK AND WORSHIP VI. HAPPINESS VII. WORLDLY LIFE AND SPIRITUAL LIFE . VII REALIZATION THROUGH SELF-SURRENDER IX. DIVINE GRACE X. POWER OF RENUNCIATION XI BRAHMACHARYA XI COMPANY OF HOLY MEN XIII. THE WORLD AND GODXIV. NATURE OF MAN XV. SEEK GOD ONLY XVI CONTROL OF THE MIND XVIJ TURNING THE MIND TO GOD . XVIII. EXAMPLE OF HOLY MEN XIX. MEDITATION XX. GOD-VISION XXL DIFFERENT METHODS OF ATTAINMENT XXII. SAMADHI XXIII. POWER OF MIND xi PAGIi 1 6 11 17 21 29 36 43 52 60 68 75 82 89 95 100 103 112 117 124 130 139 144