Rise of Kundalini

1. When Kundalini shakti reaches the Heart Center (Anahat Chakra), one attain control over lower three centers (charkas) and sees the presence of God Everywhere. This is his first glimpse of God.

If not careful, consciousness will drop to lower conters.

2. When Kundalini shakti reaches the Throat Center (Vishuddhi charka). A person now will not have any interest in worldly activities. He does not like to discuss on worldly matters

Still, If not careful, consciousness will drop to lower centers.

3. When Kundalini shakti reaches 3^rd eye or center between eyebrows (Agya or ajnya charka), He realises God. He thinks his meditation is over. Still this is not the final state. There is still a thin transparent layer between him and Brahman.

Now even though a person slips his consciousness, it will not go beyond Heart Center.

4. Lastly, when the Kundalini shakti reaches the Crown Center (sahastra charka), he becomes one with Brahman. Such a person will stay in this state for 21 days and then his body drops permanently. Only avatars or some saints who are chosen by God for lok kalian (benefit of society).

Source: Sri Ramakrishna Jivan Charitra / Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

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Sri Totapuriji’s Advaita advise to Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Totapuriji was Advaita Guru of Sri Ramakrishna. He advised Sri Ramakrishna to meditate on attributeless (nirguna) brahman.

 

Brahman is the one and only Reality, ever-pure, ever-illumined, ever-free, beyond the limits of time and space, beyond cause and effect. Though is looks like it is divided by names and forms due to Maya (illusion), which makes the impossible possible, Brahman is really one and undivided. When a seeker is merged in the state of supreme eternal bliss and peace of Samadhi, he does not perceive time and space or name and form – which is the production of Maya.

 

So, one should immediately give up whatever comes under the influence of maya, as it is unreal. Dive deep in the search for Self and firmly establish yourself in it through Nirvakalp Samadhi. You will then find the world of name and form vanishing into nothing, and this small ego merging into cosmic consciousness.

Source: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

 

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Prayer by Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa

આ રહ્યું તારું પુણ્ય, આ રહ્યું તારું પાપ; 

બન્ને લઈ લે અને મને કેવળ, 

તારા તરફનો વિશુદ્ધ પ્રેમ આપ. 

 

આ રહ્યું તારું જ્ઞાન, આ રહ્યું તારું અજ્ઞાન; 

બન્ને લઈ લે અને મને કેવળ, 

તારા તરફનો વિશુદ્ધ પ્રેમ આપ. 

 

આ રહી તારી પવિત્રતા અને આ રહી તારી અપવિત્રતા, 

બન્ને લઈ લે અને મને કેવળ, 

તારા તરફનો વિશુદ્ધ પ્રેમ આપ. 

 

આ રહ્યો તારો ધર્મ અને આ રહ્યો તારો અધર્મ; 

બન્ને લઈ લે, મા ! 

અને મને કેવળ તારા તરફનો વિશુદ્ધ પ્રેમ આપ. 

 

(રામકૃષ્ણ પરમહંસ)

Sri Ramakrishna’s childhood

The years rolled on, and Gadadhar (Sri Ramakrishna) was now five years old. He began to show wonderful intelligence and memory even at this early age. The precocious boy learnt by heart the names of his ancestors, the hymns to various gods and goddesses. His father surprisingly observed that after hearing the hyyms and tales from the great national epics just once, Gadadhar could recall majority of the hymm or the tale exactly as told to him previously. As he grew to be very restless, Khudiram (Sri Ramakrishna’s father) sent him to the village school. At school Gadadhar made fair progress, but he showed great distaste for mathematics. He directed all his attention to the study of the lives and characters of spiritual heroes. Constant study of those subjects often made him forgetful of the world and threw him into deep meditation. As he grew older, he began to have trances whenever his religious feelings were roused. Soon it was found that not only religious subjects but beautiful scenery or some touching incident was also sufficient to make him lose himself.


In the year 1843 Khudiram (Sri Ramakrishna’s Father) died, and the entire burden of the family fell upon the shoulders of Ramkumar, his eldest son. The death of Khudiram brought a great change in the mind of Gadadhar, who now began to feel poignantly the loss of his affectionate father as also the transitoriness of earthly life. Though very young, he began to frequent the neighbouring mango-grove or the cremation ground in the vicinity and pass long hours there absorbed in thought. But he did not forget his duty to his loving mother. He became less exacting in his importunities, and tried every means to lessen the burden of his mother’s grief, and to infuse into her melancholy life whatever joy and consolation he could. Gadadhar soon found a new source of pleasure in the company of wandering monks who used to stay for a day or two in the rest-house built by the neighbouring Laha family for wayfarers. One day Chandra was startled to find her dear boy appear before her with his whole body smeared with ashes and with pieces of cloth put on like a wandering holy man. Association with these itinerant monks and listening to their readings from the scriptures inclined the naturally emotional mind of the boy more and more to meditation and kindled in him the latent spirit of dispassion for all worldly concerns.

Source: 

1. Sri Ramakrishnadev / Sri Ramakrishna Jivan Charitra by M (Vol. 1 of Complete works by Swami Vivekananda)
2. Life of Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Tejasananda

Birth of Sri Ramakrishna

After six years. residence in Kamarpukur, Khudiram got his son and daughter married. Ramkumar, his eldest son, in the meanwhile had become quite proficient in Hindu lore, and was able to relieve, to a certain extent, his father’s family burden by earning something. So Khudiram had now more time at his disposal to devote himself to religious practices. In the year 1824 he went on foot on a pilgrimage to Rameshwaram in South India, which lasted about a year. Twelve months later, in 1826, his wife Chandra gave birth to her second son, who was named Rameshwar. About eleven years later, in 1835, Khudiram went on another pilgrimage. This time to Gaya. Here, after the performance of the sacred rites, he had a divine vision at night. He dreamt that he was in the temple of Vishnu, where his forefathers were feasting on the sacred offerings he had made. Suddenly a flood of celestial light filled the holy precincts of the shrine, and the spirits of the departed fell on their kness to pay homage to a Divine Presence seated on a throne. The effulgent One beckoned to Khudiram, who, coming near, prostrated himself before Him and heard the luminous Person saying, .I am well pleased at your sincere devotion. I shall be born in your cottage and accept you as my father.. Khudiram awoke with his heart thrilled with joy. He understood that a Divine Being would bless his house very soon. About the same time Chandra Devi was also having strange visions at Kamarpukur. One night she dreamt that a luminous person exactly like her husband was lying by her side. Another day, while standing with Dhani (a village blacksmith woman and neighbour) before the Shiva temple adjacent to her house, Chandra saw a bright beam of divine effulgence dart from the image of Lord Shiva and enter her. Chandra was overpowered, and fell unconscious on the ground. Dhani nursed her back to consciousness, but from that time Chandra began to feel as if she were quick with child. On Khudiram.s return to Kamarpukur, Chandra narrated this event to her husband with her characteristic candour and simplicity. But Khudiram, who had already had the strange vision at Gaya, was now completely convinced that they were soon to be blessed with a divine child. He advised her not to speak of her visions to any one. Chandra was greatly consoled, and passed her days in complete surrender to the will of Raghuvir.

The blessed hour for which Khudiram and Chandradevi were anxiously waiting at last drew near. In the early hours of the morning, before sunrise, of February 18, 1836, Chandradevi gave birth to a boy whom the world was to know afterwards by the name of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. Dhani, Sri Chandradevi’s neighbour who was with Sri Chandradevi for the whole night, as she was expecting a delivery any moment, helped in the delivery of the child. She saw the new born child in the dim lamp light and was surprised to see that the new born baby was very beautiful and as big as a 6 month old! She could not take her eyes off the baby. Just born baby was washed and kept down by Dhani. Later, after few moments she turned her face towards the baby, but she could not see the baby. The child was not in the place where she had left him.. Fear crawled from her spine. She desperately looked here and there. She was shocked to see that the new born baby has just rolled himself in the vessel filled with ash. The baby was happily playing in the ash and he was entirely covered with the ash. She ran towards her with mixed emotions and just picked him, cleaned him and returned him to his mother.

The Child was born in very auspicious time ‘tithi’ (Purva Bhadrapad Nakshatra). It was Siddhi Yog. Astrology says that such a person (born in this star sign) will be highly spiritual and he will be always respected and engaged in the divine karma. He will be encircled by many disciples and that person will stay in God’s Temple and he will initiate a new sect and that he will become very famous in the whole world as the part (ansh) of Lord Narayana. Khudiram was overjoyed that the prospective greatness of his son confirmed his previous vision and the experience of Chandra, which they had earlier before conception. According to the Star Sign, he named the child as ‘Shambhuchandra’. But in memory of the divine vision he had in holy Gaya, he named the child as ‘Gadadhar’.

Source: 

1. Sri Ramakrishnadev / Sri Ramakrishna Jivan Charitra by M (Vol. 1 of Complete works by Swami Vivekananda)
2. Life of Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Tejasananda

Sri Ramakrishna’s early days

The years rolled on, and Gadadhar (Sri Ramakrishna) was now five years old. He began to show wonderful intelligence and memory even at this early age. The precocious boy learnt by heart the names of his ancestors, the hymns to various gods and goddesses. His father surprisingly observed that after hearing the hyyms and tales from the great national epics just once, Gadadhar could recall majority of the hymm or the tale exactly as told to him previously. As he grew to be very restless, Khudiram (Sri Ramakrishna’s father) sent him to the village school. At school Gadadhar made fair progress, but he showed great distaste for mathematics. He directed all his attention to the study of the lives and characters of spiritual heroes. Constant study of those subjects often made him forgetful of the world and threw him into deep meditation. As he grew older, he began to have trances whenever his religious feelings were roused. Soon it was found that not only religious subjects but beautiful scenery or some touching incident was also sufficient to make him lose himself.

Source:

1. Sri Ramakrishna Jivan Charitra by M

2. A short life of Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Tejasananda

Sri Ramakrishna’s first experience of divine joy (ecstasy)

At every time of spiritual crisis in Indian national life there has been born a saint or a prophet who has saved the nation from the impending danger. Sri Krishna, Buddha, Shankara, Nanak, Chaitanya.each fulfilled a great demand of the age in which he was born.

He directed all his attention to the study of the lives and characters of spiritual heroes. Constant study of those subjects often made him forgetful of the world and threw him into deep meditation. As he grew older, he began to have trances whenever his religious feelings were roused. Soon it was found that not only religious subjects but beautiful scenery or some touching incident was also sufficient to make him lose himself. Once an occurrence of this kind caused great anxiety to his parents and relatives. Sri Ramakrishna in later years narrated this incident to his devotees in the following way: 
“In that part of the country (that is, Kamarpukur) the boys are given puffed rice for snack. This they carry in small wicker baskets, or, if they are too poor, in a corner of their cloth. Then they go out for play on the roads or in the fields. One day in June or July, when I was six or seven years old, I was walking along a narrow path separating paddy fields, eating some of the puffed rice which I was carrying in a basket. Looking up at the sky I saw a beautiful sombre thunder cloud. As it spread rapidly enveloping the whole sky, a flock of snow white cranes flew overhead across it. It presented such a beautiful contrast that my mind wandered to far-off regions. Lost to outward sense, I fell down, and the puffed rice was scattered in all directions. Some people found me in that plight and carried me home in their arms. That was the first time I completely lost consciousness in ecstasy”.

Source:

1. Sri Ramakrishna Jivan Charitra by M

2. A short life of Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Tejasananda