Divine love and religious harmony

M N Kundu *

This saint spread non-sectarianism and non-ritualistic spirituality dependent on divine love for God and God in every being. Swami Vivekananda said that in Ramakrishna Paramahansa, we find condensed spirituality developed over the ages.

While others promoted mere tolerance, Ramakrishna advocated acceptance of diversity, appreciation and unification of wisdom and love.

Ramakrishna was inspired to seek God with innate simplicity of heart as if to prove the gospel of Christ, “Lord does not reveal Himself unto the prudent and the wise, but unto the babes.”

And his attainment prompted him to advocate heartfelt prayers and direct appeal to motherly aspect of the Absolute which invariably attracts response to the soul-call in an intended manner.

And he used to speak to the temple goddess Kali as his own mother who was the kindred point between the Absolute and manifestation.

His non-sectarianism springs from indifference to ritualism and emphasis on essential spiritualism. The rudimentary requisite for divine realisation is intense yearning. As long as we are engrossed in transient worldliness, the requisite yearning does not arise.

Aspiration remains merely at intellectual level and life rotates around sterile suffering. But the moment we sincerely turn to God everything becomes a stepping-stone for realisation as part of divine design for our ultimate happiness and peace.

To do away with diehard attachments he prescribed using the sword of discrimination between the real and apparent. In due course love for God develops so that we can derive divine inheritance.

He has abundantly cautioned that a devotee should never pray for worldly attainments as these will invariably lead to suffering after short satisfaction. One should seek permanent peace and liberating wisdom from the Almighty and not perishable consumables.

Even a little bit of spiritual wisdom can save us from dire disaster of fiery suffering and bring on illuminating elevation of transcendence.

Usually we are drawn downwards by gravitational pull of impulse with will suspension of discrimination and the goal of life becomes overcast with the mist of mundane living. The way to overcome this is to pray and surrender to the Divine.

Paths to the Divine may appear to be diverse but are never quite so. Every path calls for self-purification, intense aspiration, subduing lust, greed and egoism and love for God in all with elimination of earthbound attachments.

The master cautioned all against gravitational pull of earthbound lust and greed. He knew it well that people fond of worldly pleasures cannot easily get rid of the same.

So he taught a unique way of inward renunciation in mind first through wisdom-driven detachment like lotus leaf.

Sword of discrimination and perpetual remembrance of utter futility of transient pursuits make one mentally prepared for divine aspiration.