18th of Feburuary,the day Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was born

It is she (India) who must send forth from herself, the future religion of the entire world, the Eternal religion which is to harmonize all religion, science and philosophies and make mankind one soul.....It was to initiate this great work, the greatest and most wonderful work ever given to a race, that Bhagwan Ramakrishna came and Vivekananda preached. (Sri Aurobindo, 1972, p. 66, italics mine)..source:kundan



“It was in May 1919. Punamchandbhai had visited Pondicheny and when he returned I asked him whether he had seen Sri Aurobindo’s room. I put to him several questions regarding the room. He said there were two rooms connected by a door. The inner room was his private room. In the front room there was an almirah and on it was placed a framed photo of Sri Ramakrishna in a dancing pose….
(source:champaklal)
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12 October – 26 November 1912 105
Oct. 18t.
h.
“Cn.. R.K” [Communication from Ramakrishna]
Make complete sannyasa of Karma
Make complete sannyasa of thought
Make complete sannyasa of feeling
This is my last utterance.
Standing orders.
From Me. B.A.2
To believe everything, but put it in its place
To will everything, but only await the event&see where it has
stumbled
To see everything, but force no drishti.
Oct.3 18t.
h.
The manomaya activity has to be cleared out before the final
step is taken. Today the vijnana will recommence in the afternoon
and all the siddhis with it.
Positive Ananda in all things has to be made habitual. From
today it will be made complete and extended to the body, but
attacks will continue to be made on it. The same with the removal
of the manomaya.
From tonight no covering is to be used for the body. *From
tomorrow walking in the sun will be steadily practised. This will
finish the suddhi, mukti & bhukti.
Hunger & thirst are now only survivals, not imperative; they
can be removed by the use of the will instead of by eating.
Fulfilled except the prediction marked *
Then the siddhi. Today the shanti has been disturbed and the
shakti, because Mahakali had to draw back. From today this will be
prevented or, if it comes, resisted & expelled. From tomorrow the
third chatusthaya will begin to be absolutely final even in the siddhis
of power, but not perfect till the end of the month. From today

2 The significance of this abbreviation is not known. In the Record of 5 December
1912, these same “standing orders” are said to be from “the guiding source”. Ed.
3 Date repeated in MS. Ed.

the physical siddhi will begin to be effective in all its parts. From
today the fifth chatusthaya will begin to move towards general
progressiveness even in karma & kama.
Fulfilled*********************************************************

Maulid an Nabi

Mohammed's Message to the World [Excerpts of Ida Ansell's first transcript of Swami Vivekananda's San Francisco lecture delivered Sunday, March 25, 1900] Mohammed [After stating that he would "take Mohammed and bring out the particular work of the great Arabian prophet", Swami Vivekananda continued his lecture.]

Each great messenger not only creates a new order of things, but is himself the creation of a certain order of things. There is no such thing as an independent, active cause. All causes are cause and effect in turn. Father is father and son in turn. Mother is mother and daughter in turn. It is necessary to understand the surroundings and circumstances into which they [the great messengers] come. . . . This is the peculiarity of civilization. One wave of a race will go from its birthplace to a distant land and make a wonderful civilization. The rest will be left in barbarism. The Hindus came into India and the tribes of Central Asia were left in barbarism. Others came to Asia Minor and Europe. Then, you remember the coming out of Egypt of the Israelites. Their home was the Arabian desert. Out of that springs a new work. . . . All civilizations grow that way. A certain race becomes civilized. Then comes a nomad race. Nomads are always ready to fight. They come and conquer a race. They bring better blood, stronger physiques. They take up the mind of the conquered race and add that to their body and push civilization still further. One race becomes cultured and civilized until the body is worn out. Then like a whirlwind comes a race strong in the physical, and they take up the arts and the sciences and the mind, and push civilization further. This must be. Otherwise the world would not be. * * * * The moment a great man rises, they build a beautiful [mythology] around him. Science and truth is all the religion that exists. Truth is more beautiful than any mythology in the world. . . . The old Greeks had disappeared already, the whole nation [lay] under the feet of the Romans who were learning their science and art. The Roman was a barbarian, a conquering man. He had no eye for poetry or art. He knew how to rule and how to get everything centralized into that system of Rome and to enjoy that. That was sweet. And that Roman Empire is gone, destroyed by all sorts of difficulties, luxury, a new foreign religion, and all that. Christianity had been already six hundred years in the Roman Empire. . . . Whenever a new religion tries to force itself upon another race, it succeeds if the race is uncultured. If it [the race] is cultured, it will destroy the [religion]. . . . The Roman Empire was a case in point, and the Persian people saw that. Christianity was another thing with the barbarians in the north. [But] the Christianity of the Roman Empire was a mixture of everything, something from Persia, from the Jews, from India, from Greece, everything. * * * * The race is always killed by [war]. War takes away the best men, gets them killed, and the cowards are left at home. Thus comes the degeneration of the race. . . . Men became small. Why? All the great men became [warriors]. That is how war kills races, takes their best into the battlefields. Then the monasteries. They all went to the desert, to the caves for meditation. The monasteries gradually became the centres of wealth and luxury. . . . The Anglo-Saxon race would not be Anglo-Saxon but for these monasteries. Every weak man was worse than a slave.. . . In that state of chaos these monasteries were centres of light and protection. Where [cultures] differ very much they do not quarrel. All these warring, jarring elements [were originally] all one. In the midst of all this chaos was born the prophet. . .

In January 1925, Swami Shivananda visited Cuddapah, a small town in the state Andhra Pradesh in India, where Hindu and Muslim devotees had together established ‘Ramakrishna Samaj’. Later the swami recalled his meeting with a highly esteemed muslim who had received the title of Khan Bahadur from the British Government. Khan Bahadur belonged to the Sufi sect of Islam but was very devoted to Sri Ramakrishna. Almost every morning and evening during the period of his stay, the swami found Khan Bahadur seated in a corner of the shrine room of the Samaj in deep humility, intently looking at the portrait of Sri Ramakrishna on the altar. He was convinced that the Prophet Muhammad was born as Sri Ramakrishna for the good of the world...
READ MORE HERE

Prophet Mohammed

By Sri Swami Sivananda

• While Mohammed was serving a sick slave, the latter asked, "Has my master sent you to look after me ?"
  "Yes," said Mohammed, "the master of masters has sent me to serve you."

• One day, a dying dog approached a follower of Mohammed. The man had no means with which to procure water for the dog, for wells in the desert dry up quickly. He noticed a small pool of muddy water in the vicinity. He tore his shirt, soaked it in the water, placed the dog in his lap and moistened its mouth with the wet cloth. Another Arab who saw this went to the Prophet and said, "One of your followers has touched a filthy animal, a dog, and should therefore not be allowed back here again."
  Mohammed questioned, "What was he doing to the dog ?"
  "I do not know, but I saw him moistening its mouth with a torn piece of cloth dipped in muddy water," replied the man.
  "He is a better Muslim than you are, because he is kind to animals," said the Prophet.
• When Mohammed was in Mecca once, a poor shepherd from the hills came to worship in the mosque. He worshipped in his own simple way, performing the necessary ablution, kissing the stone and bowing before the sacred spot. Tears flowed from his eyes as he prayed: "O adorable Lord of love, show me Thy face. Let me be thy servant. Let me mend Thy shoes, apply oil to Thy hair, wash Thy soiled clothes and bring Thee daily the milk of my goat. Let me kiss Thy hand and shampoo Thy sacred Feet. Let me sweep Thy room."
  Such simple words of the honest and straightforward shepherd offended the priests who stood near him. They said to him, "What blasphemy is this ? There is no need of such gifts for the omnipotent Lord."
  They were ready to drive him out of the temple, when the Prophet called them to him and asked, "When you are in distant lands, in which direction do you turn your faces ?"
  "We turn our faces to Mecca," they answered in reply.
  He further asked, "When you are within this sacred walls, in which direction do you turn your faces ?"
  "All is holy here," they replied. "It does not matter which way we turn."
  The Prophet then said, "Your answer is beautiful indeed. Within the mosque it does not matter how you pray, as long as you have love and reverence. This poor shepherd's simple prayer entered directly into the ears of Allah more clearly than yours, as it was uttered from his heart with intense love, faith, sincerity and reverence. Make room for God's poor lover near me. Let no one be ashamed to have his company. He is humble, pure and exalted soul."..READ MORE HERE

The Importance Of Sri Ramakrishna

From a lecture delivered under the auspices of the Bombay National Union by Sri Aurobindo to a large gathering at Mahajanwadi, Bombay, on Sunday, the 19th January, 1908. The title is "The present situation".[…] The Bengali has the faculty of belief. Belief is not a merely intellectual process, belief is not a mere persuasion of the mind, belief is something that is in our heart, and what you believe, you must do, because belief is from God. It is to the heart that God speaks, it is in the heart that God resides. That saved the Bengali. Because of this capacity of belief, we were chosen as the people who were to save India, the people who were to stand foremost, the people who must suffer for their belief, the people who must meet everything in the faith that God was with them and that God is in them. Such a people need not be politically strong, it need not be a people sound in physique, it need not be a people of the highest intellectual standing. It must be a people who can believe.In Bengal there came a flood of religious truth.Certain men were born, men whom the educated world would not have recognised if that belief, if that God within them had not been there to open their eyes, men whose lives were very different from what our education, our Western education, taught us to admire.One of them, the man who had the greatest influence and has done the most to regenerate Bengal, could not read and write a single word. He was a man who had been what they call absolutely useless to the world. But he had this one divine faculty in him, that he had more than faith and had realised God. He was a man who lived what many would call the life of a madman, a man without intellectual training, a man without any outward sign of culture or civilisation, a man who lived on the alms of others, such a man as the English-educated Indian would ordinarily talk of as one useless to society. He will say, "This man is ignorant. What does he know? What can he teach me who have received from the West all that it can teach?"But God knew what he was doing. He sent that man to Bengal and set him in the temple of Dakshineshwar in Calcutta, and from North and South and East and West, the educated men, men who were the pride of the university, who had studied all that Europe can teach, came to fall at the feet of this ascetic.The work of salvation, the work of raising India was begun.Sri Aurobindo from "Speeches", booklet edition pages 26-27also in SABCL, volume 1published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram - Pondicherrydiffusion by SABDA

source:intyoga

Kali The Divine Warrior

Excerpt frm Dr.Vp.Varma's "The Political Philosphy Of Sri Aurobindo"

Khandana Bhava

Sri Ramakrishna's finger touch

Some of it we have tried to read, though it's often hard to understand. But we remember seeing Hriday in the film on Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna used to call him 'Hride'. He did look a bit stupid."
"That he was, indeed. He looked after his uncle, it is true, but he also troubled him a great deal. Unwittingly of course, and that shows he wasn't bright."
"Please tell us his story," requested Anirban.
"Well, you see, when he found that his uncle had granted to Vivekananda and others the vision of the Divine Mother, he complained to him loud and long, 'I look after you all the time and never get to see anything in reward. It's always others who are shown the divine visions.' Sri Ramakrishna explained to him, 'Continue working for me and looking after me; that will bring you all possible rewards.' But when the young man, refusing to understand, continued to insist and complain, his uncle finally touched him with his finger. Merely touched him once, with one finger. But in that instant Hriday found himself surrounded by an ocean of light! Light everywhere, the whole universe had become only light, but since his being had not been purified and prepared for such an experience, he lost his head. He began to shout, 'Ramakrishna, Ramakrishna, come, let's set out to save the country!' He had forgotten he was talking to his uncle. It was as though he himself was the Guru and Ramakrishna his disciple! (Laughter) The latter smiled to see how little was needed to make a man lose his self- control. So he touched his nephew a second time, and lo, the world of light was dissolved! Hriday, the great Yogi, was once again the simpleton he had earlier been!"
"Yes, we have heard about similar experiences. Nirodda told us how, in the early years of his Sadhana, he had felt showers of joy coming down on him. This had lasted a bare 10 or 15 seconds but it was enough to make him feel completely intoxicated."
"Indeed, it is so, particularly when the being is small and unprepared."
Page - 44
"Oh then... for us... after all, we are so weak! There are some of us who think that the very words 'Sadhana' and 'Yoga' are too difficult for us to understand, and are meant only for older people. All we need to do is to study and work, do whatever the Mother has asked us to do and rely solely on her, believing that she will do everything for us. Isn't that right?"
"Absolutely right, provided you have an unshakable faith and trust in her. You must be like the little kittens, as Ramakrishna used to say. It's just because you are not strong that we are here with you. Man, however great he may be, cannot attain the Divine by himself. It is the Divine Grace that makes everything possible. As the Bhagavata says, the Grace can make the dumb speak and the lame 'climb the tallest mountains. There is no miracle the Grace cannot perform."

SOURCE

Out Of Sheer Love For Humanity

"It became . . . an established rule for the learner to observe strict reserve as to the inner experiences of Yoga and for the developed Yogin as far as possible to conceal himself. This has not prevented treatises and manuals from being published dealing with thephysical or with the moral and intellectual sides of Yoga. Nor has it prevented great spirits who have gained their Yoga not by the ordinary careful and scientific methods but by their own strength and the special grace of God, from revealing themselves and their spiritual knowledge to mankind and in their intense love for humanity imparting something of their power to the world. Such were Buddha, Christ, Mahomed, Chaitanya, such have been Ramakrishna and Vivekananda"-SRI AUROBINDO
(Essays in Philosophy and Yoga, p.13-14)

Khandana Bhava

Unlooser of Our Bonds
(translation of Khandana Bhava Bandhana by
Swami Vivekananda)
We adore you, one beloved of all hearts,
Love Incarnate, blessing all by your life.
Stainless Godhead, freely taking a human form,
You have conquered human bondage and fear.
We adore you, brightest jewel of creation,
Taking from us every blemish and shame;
Form of spirit, eyes illumined with God-sight,
By your pure glance our delusion is gone.
We adore you, surging ocean of God's bliss,
Ever radiant with the nectar of love.
When we seek you with unswerving devotion,
We pass safely through the forest of life.
We adore you, come to earth in our time,
Guide to Oneness, leading us in Truth.
When, by your grace, our inner tumult ceases
Dawns the pure light deep within our hearts.
We adore you, lifter of our sorrow,
Futi or mercy, giving us your life.
By awesome effort for the good of mankind
You destroy all bondage in this age.
We adore you, greatest of renouneers,
Wholly free from passion and possession.
0 man divine, bestow on us devotion;
Grant us strength to follow after you!
we adore you, tree from doubt, ever tearless,
Standing steadfast in the vision of God,
Giving refuge to all seekers who come to you,
Caring nothing for their station or race.
We adore you, our unshakable refuge
In this ocean of delusion and pain.
At your pure love, freely showered on all alike,
Strife and sorrow dwindle down to a drop.
Victory to you, 0 Lord!
Speech and thought cannot hold you,
Yet without you we cannot think or speak.
Victory to you, 0 Lord!
Come to the heart's dark cave;
Reveal yourself in great radiance of light.
Victory to you, 0 Lord!
Remover of our pain,
Unlooser of our bonds,
Supreme and eternal good, we adore you!

RAMAKRISHNA SONGS

On the importance of Ramakrishna for India

From a lecture delivered under the auspices of the Bombay National Union by Sri Aurobindo to a large gathering at Mahajanwadi, Bombay, on Sunday, the 19th January, 1908.

The title is "The present situation".

The Bengali has the faculty of belief. Belief is not a merely intellectual process, belief is not a mere persuasion of the mind, belief is something that is in our heart, and what you believe, you must do, because belief is from God. It is to the heart that God speaks, it is in the heart that God resides. That saved the Bengali. Because of this capacity of belief, we were chosen as the people who were to save India, the people who were to stand foremost, the people who must suffer for their belief, the people who must meet everything in the faith that God was with them and that God is in them. Such a people need not be politically strong, it need not be a people sound in physique, it need not be a people of the highest intellectual standing. It must be a people who can believe.In Bengal there came a flood of religious truth.Certain men were born, men whom the educated world would not have recognised if that belief, if that God within them had not been there to open their eyes, men whose lives were very different from what our education, our Western education, taught us to admire.One of them, the man who had the greatest influence and has done the most to regenerate Bengal, could not read and write a single word. He was a man who had been what they call absolutely useless to the world. But he had this one divine faculty in him, that he had more than faith and had realised God. He was a man who lived what many would call the life of a madman, a man without intellectual training, a man without any outward sign of culture or civilisation, a man who lived on the alms of others, such a man as the English-educated Indian would ordinarily talk of as one useless to society. He will say, "This man is ignorant. What does he know? What can he teach me who have received from the West all that it can teach?"
But God knew what he was doing. He sent that man to Bengal and set him in the temple of Dakshineshwar in Calcutta, and from North and South and East and West, the educated men, men who were the pride of the university, who had studied all that Europe can teach, came to fall at the feet of this ascetic.The work of salvation, the work of raising India was begun.

Sri Aurobindo

from "Speeches", booklet edition pages 26-27also in SABCL, volume 1published by Sri Aurobindo Ashram - Pondicherrydiffusion by SABDA