CHAPTER X

GATHERING OF DISCIPLES AT THE TEMPLE

SRi RaMAKRISHNA was seated on His seat as usual with His face to the north. The western and northern doors of the apartment in which He latterly passed His days looked out on the sacred waters of the Ganges. Balaram, Rakhal, and other devotees and visitors were seated on a mat spread out on the floor of the room. They were singing hymns to the accompaniment of musical . One of the songs had particular reference to the six Lotuses marking the different stages of the Yogi's progress toward union with the Universal Spirit. At the close of this song the Bhagavan said:

The six Lotuses mentioned in the Science of Yoga correspond to the seven mental planes mentioned in the Vedanta. When the mind is

[Seven mental Planes.] immersed in worldliness, it makes its abode in the lowest lotus at the end of the spine. Sexual desires rise when the mind is in the second lotus, the sexual organ. When it is in the third, the navel, the man is taken up with things of the world--eating, drinking, begetting children. In the fourth mental plane the heart of the man is blessed with the Vision of Divine Glory and he cries out: "What is all this! What is all this!" In the fifth plane the mind rests in the throat. The devotee talks only on subjects related to God and grows impatient if any other subject comes up in the course of conversation. In the sixth plane the mind is localized between the eyebrows. The devotee comes face to face with God; only a thin glass-like partition, so to speak, keeps him separate from the Divine Person. To him God is like a light within a lantern, or like a photograph behind a glass frame. He tries to touch the Vision, but he cannot. His perception falls short of complete realization, for there is the element of self-consciousness, the sense of "I," kept to a certain extent. In the last or seventh plane it is perfect Samadhi. Then all sense-consciousness ceases and absolute God-consciousness takes its place. In this state the life

of the saint lingers for twenty-one days, after which he passes away. During these days he ceases to take any food. Milk, if poured into his mouth, runs out and never gets into the stomach.

[Sages who have reached the seventh Plane.] The Bhagavan continued: Some sages, who have reached the seventh or highest plane and have thus attained to God-consciousness, are pleased to come down from that spiritual height for the good of mankind. They keep the ego of Vidya, or, in other words, the Higher Self. But this ego is a mere appearance. It is like a line drawn across a sheet of water. Hanuman was blessed with the vision of God both with form and without form; but he retained the ego of a servant of God. Such was also the case with the wise men Narada, [**] Sanaka, [*+] Sananda, and Sanat Kumara of ancient times.