2.30 - 2.39 - THE MASTER IN VARIOUS MOODS

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object:2.30 - 2.39 - THE MASTER IN VARIOUS MOODS
book class:The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
class:chapter

Thursday, October 2, 1884

SRI RAMAKRISHNA was sitting in his room at Dakshineswar. Ltu, Ramlal, Harish, and Hazra were living with him at the temple garden. Baburam spent a day or two with him now and then.

Manilal Mallick, Priya Mukherji and his relative Hari, a bearded Brahmo devotee from Shibpur, and several Mrwri devotees from Calcutta were in the Master's room. Manilal was an old member of the Brahmo Samaj.

MASTER (to Manilal and the others): "It is wise to salute a person mentally. What need is there of touching his feet? Mental salutation doesn't embarrass anybody.

"The attitude that my religion alone is right and all other religions are false is not good. I see that God Himself has become all these: men; images, and salagram. I see one alone in all these; I do not see two. I see only one.

"Many people think that their opinion alone is right and others' opinions are wrong; that they alone have won and others have lost. But a person who has gone forward may be detained by some slight obstacle, and someone who has been lagging behind may then steal a march on him. In the game of golokdham one may advance a great deal, but still somehow one's piece may fail to reach the goal.

Inscrutability of God's ways

"Triumph or defeat is in the hands of God. We cannot understand His ways. You must have noticed that the green coconut remains high in the tree and is exposed to the sun, but still its milk is cool. On the other hand the paniphal remains in the water, but when eaten it heats the body.

"Look at the body of man. The head is the root, and it is at the top."

Two ways of Yoga

MANILAL: "What then is our duty?"

MASTER: "To remain somehow united with God. There are two ways: karmayoga and manoyoga. Householders practise yoga through karma, the performance of duty.

There are four stages of life: brahmacharya, garhasthya, vanaprastha, and sannys.

Sannysis must renounce those karmas which are performed with special ends in view; but they should perform the daily obligatory karmas, giving up all desire for results.

Sannysis are united with God by such karmas as the acceptance of the staff, the receiving of alms, going on pilgrimage, and the performance of worship and japa.

"It doesn't matter what kind of action you are engaged in. You can be united with God through any action provided that, performing it, you give up all desire for its result.

"There is the other path: manoyoga. A yogi practising this discipline doesn't show any outward sign. He is inwardly united with God. Take Jadabharata and Sukadeva, for instance. There are many other yogis of this class, but these two are well known. They shave neither hair nor beard.

"All actions drop away when a man reaches the stage of the paramahamsa. He always remembers the ideal and meditates on it. He is always united with God in his mind. If he ever performs an action it is to teach men.

"A man may be united with God either through action or through inwardness of thought, but he can know everything through bhakti. Through bhakti one spontaneously experiences kumbhaka. The nerve currents and breathing calm down when the mind is concentrated. Again, the mind is concentrated when the nerve currents and breathing calm down. Then the buddhi, the discriminating power, becomes steady. The man who achieves this state is not himself aware of it.

Efficacy of bhaktiyoga

"One can attain everything through bhakti yoga. I wept before the Mother and prayed, 'O Mother, please tell me, please reveal to me, what the yogis have realized through yoga and the jnanis through discrimination.' And the Mother has revealed everything to me. She reveals everything if the devotee cries to Her with a yearning heart. She has shown me everything that is in the Vedas, the Vednta, the Puranas, and the Tantra."

MANILAL: "And what about hathayoga?"

MASTER: "The hathayogis identify themselves with their bodies. They practise internal washing and similar disciplines, and devote themselves only to the care of the body.

Their ideal is to increase longevity. They serve the body day and night. That is not good.

Householder's duty

"What is your duty? You should renounce 'woman and gold' mentally. You cannot look on the world as crow-droppings.

"The goswamis are householders. Therefore I said to them: 'You have your duties in the temple; how can you renounce the world? You cannot explain away the world as my.'

"Chaitanyadeva said that the duties of householders were kindness to living beings, service to the Vaishnavas, and the chanting of God's holy name.

"Keshab Sen once said about me: 'Now he asks us to hold to both-God and the world.

But one day he will sting us.' No, that is not true. Why should I sting?"

MANI MALLICK: "But, sir, you do."

MASTER (smiling): "How so? You are a householder. Why should you renounce?

Complete renunciation for religious teachers

"But the renunciation of the world is needful for those whom God wants to be teachers of men. One who is an chrya should give up 'woman and gold'; otherwise people will not take his advice. It is not enough for him to renounce only mentally; he should also renounce outwardly. Only then will his teaching bear fruit. Otherwise people will think, 'Though he asks us to give up "woman and gold," he enjoys them himself in secret.'

"A physician prescribed medicine for a patient. and said to him, 'Come another day and I'll give you directions about diet.' The physician had several jars of molasses in his room that day. The patient lived very far away. He visited the physician later and the physician said to him: 'Be careful about your food. It is not good for you to eat molasses.' After the patient left, another person who was there said to the physician: 'Why did you give him all the trouble of coming here again? You could very well have given him the instructions the first day.' The physician replied with a smile: There is a reason. I had several jars of molasses in my room that day. If I had asked the patient then to give up molasses, he would not have had faith in my words. He would have thought: "He has so many jars of molasses in his room, he must eat some of it. Then molasses can't be so bad." Today I have hidden the jars. Now he will have faith in my words.

"I have seen the chrya of the Adi Brahmo Samaj. I understand that he has married for the second or third time. He has grown-up children. And such men are teachers! If they say, 'God is real and all else illusory', who will believe them? You can very well understand who will be their disciples.

Hard rules for a sannysi

"Like teacher, like disciple. Even if a sannysi renounces 'woman and gold' mentally, but lives with them outwardly, he cannot be a teacher of men. People will say that he enjoys 'molasses' secretly.

"Once Mahendra Kaviraj of Sinthi gave five rupees to Ramlal. I didn't know about it.

When Ramlal told me about the money, I asked him, 'For whom was the money given?'

He said it was for me. At first I thought that I should use it to pay what I owed for my milk, But will you believe me? I had slept only a little while when I suddenly woke up writhing with pain, as if a cat were scratching my chest. I went to Ramlal and asked him again, 'Was the money given for your aunt?' 'No', Ramlal answered. Thereupon I said to him, 'Go at once and return the money.' Ramlal gave it back the next day.

"Do you know how it looks for a sannysi to accept money or to be attached to an object of temptation? It is as if a brahmin widow who had practised continence and lived on simple boiled rice and vegetables and milk for many years, were suddenly to accept an untouchable as her paramour. (All look stunned.)

"There was a low-caste woman named Bhagi Teli in our part of the country. She had many disciples and devotees. Finding that she, a sudra, was being saluted by people, the landlord became jealous and engaged a wicked man to tempt her. He succeeded in corrupting her and all her spiritual practice came to nothing. A fallen sannysi is like that.

"You are leading householders' lives. It is necessary for you to live in the company of holy men. First of all, the company of holy men; then sraddha, faith in God.

"How can people have reverence and faith in God if the holy men do not sing His name and glories? People respect a man if they know that in his family there have been royal ministers for three generations.

(To M.) "Even if one has attained Knowledge, one must still constantly practise God-Consciousness. Nangta used to say: 'What is the use of polishing the outside of a metal pot one day only? If you don't polish it regularly it will get tarnished again.' I shall have to go to your house some time. If I know your house I can meet other devotees there.

Please go to see Ishan some time.

(To Manilal) "Keshab Sen's mother came here the other day. The young boys of her family sang the name of Hari. She went around them clapping her hands. I noticed she was not very much stricken with grief over Keshab's death. She observed the fast of ekadasi here and counted her beads. I was pleased to see her devotion to God."

About Keshab and Vijay

MANILAL: "Ramkamal Sen, Keshab Babu's grandfa ther, was a devotee of God. He used to sit in a tulsi-grove and repeat God's holy name. Pyarimohan, Keshab's father, was also a Vaishnava devotee."

MASTER: "The son could not have been so devoted to God if the father had not been like that. Look at Vijay. His father would become unconscious of the world in divine ecstasy while reading the Bhagavata. Vijay can hardly control his emotion: while uttering Hari's name, he sometimes stands up from his seat. The forms of God that Vijay sees nowadays are all real. Speaking about the different aspects of God, formless and with form, Vijay said that God sometimes appears with attri butes and sometimes without attri butes. He gave the example of the chameleon, which sometimes turns red, sometimes blue, sometimes green, and sometimes remains colourless.

Praise of guilelessness and purity

"Vijay is really guileless. One cannot realize God without being guileless and liberal-minded. Yesterday Vijay was at Adhar Sen's house. He behaved as if it were his own place and those who lived there his own people. One cannot be guileless and liberal-minded unless one is free from worldliness."

Then the Master sang:

You will attain that priceless Treasure when your mind is free from stain. . . .

He continued: "You cannot make a pot without first carefully preparing the clay. The pot will crack if the clay contains particles of sand or stone. That is why the potter first prepares the clay by removing the sand and stones.

"If a mirror is covered with dirt, it won't reflect one's face. A man cannot realize his true Self unless his heart is pure. You will find guilelessness wherever God incarnates Himself as man. Nandaghosh, Daaratha, Vasudeva -all of them were guileless.

"The Vednta says that a man does not even desire to know God unless he has a pure mind. One cannot be guileless and liberal-minded without much tapasya or unless it is one's last birth."

Master's guilelessness

Sri Ramakrishna was worrying, like a child, because he thought his legs were slightly swollen. Mahendra Kaviraj of Sinthi entered the room and. saluted the Master.

MASTER (to the devotees): "Yesterday I said to Naran, 'Just press your leg and see if there is any dimple.' He pressed it and there was one. Then I gave a sigh of relief. (To Mukherji) Will you please press your leg? Is there any dimple?"

MUKHERJI: "Yes, sir."

MASTER: "Ah, what a relief!"

MANI MALLICK: "Why should you worry about it, sir? Please take your bath in the river.

Why should you take medicine?"

MASTER: "No, sir. You have strong blood. Your case is different. The Divine Mother has placed me in the state of a child. One day I was bitten by something in the jungle. I had heard people say that, in case of snakebite, the poison would come out if the snake bit again. So I put my hand in a hole and waited. A man passing by said to me: 'What are you doing? You will get rid of the poison only if the snake bites again in the same place.

You will not be cured if the snake bites another part of your body.'

"I was told that the autumn dew was good. One day, while coming from Calcutta, I stuck my head out of the carriage and exposed it to the damp air. (All laugh.) (To Mahendra of Sinthi) "That pundit from Sinthi is very good. He holds a title for this scholarship. He respects me. I said to him, 'You have read a great deal; but give up the vanity that you are a scholar.' That made him very happy. I discussed Vednta with him.

Nature of Brahman

(To M.): "That which is Pure tman is unattached. My, or avidy, is in It. In my

there are three Guns: sattva, rajas, and tamas. These three Guns also exist in the Pure tman. But tman Itself is unattached. If you throw a blue pill into the fire, you will see a blue flame. If you throw a red pill, you will see a red flame. But fire itself has no colour of its own.

"If you put a blue pill in water, the water will turn blue. Again, if you put alum in that water, it will regain its natural colour.

"A butcher was carrying a load of meat when he touched Sankara. Sankara exclaimed: 'What! You have touched me!' The butcher replied: 'Venerable sir, neither have you touched me nor have I touched you. You are pure tman, unattached.' Jadabharata said the same thing to King Rahugana.

"The Pure tman is unattached, and one cannot see It. If salt is mixed with water, one cannot see the salt with the eyes.

"That which is the Pure tman is the Great Cause, the Cause of the cause. The gross, the subtle, the causal, and the Great Cause. The five elements are gross. Mind, buddhi, and ego are subtle. Prakriti, the Primal Energy, is the cause of all these. Brahman, Pure tman, is the Cause of the cause.

This Pure tman alone is our real nature. What is jnna? It is to know one's own Self and keep the mind in It. It is to know the Pure tman.

"How long should a man perform his duties? As long as he identifies himself with the body, in other words, as long as he thinks he is the body. That is what the Git says. To think of the body as the tman is ajnna, ignorance.

(To the bearded Brahmo devotee from Shibpur) "Are you a Brahmo?"

DEVOTEE: "Yes, sir."

MASTER (smiling): "I can recognize a worshipper of the Formless by looking at his face and eyes. Please dive a little deeper. One doesn't get the gem by floating on the surface.

As for myself, I accept all-the formless God and God with form."

The Mrwri devotees from Burrabazar entered the room and saluted the Master. He began to praise them.

MASTER (to the devotees):"Ah! They are real devotees of God. They visit temples, sing hymns to God, and eat prasad. And the gentleman whom they have made their priest this year is learned in the Bhagavata."

MRWRI DEVOTEE: "Who is this 'I' that says, 'O Lord, I am Thy servant?' "

MASTER: "This is the lingasarira, or embodied soul. It consists of manas, buddhi, chitta, and Ahamkra."

DEVOTEE: "Who is the embodied soul?"

MASTER: "It is the tman bound by the eight fetters. And what is the chitta? It is the 'I-consciousness' that says, 'Aha!'"

What happens after death

DEVOTEE: "Revered sir, what happens after death?"

MASTER: "According to the Git, one becomes afterwards what one thinks of at the time of death. King Bharata thought of his deer and became a deer in his next life. Therefore one must practise sdhan in order to realize God. If a man thinks of God day and night, he will have the same thought in the hour of death."

My hides Knowledge

DEVOTEE: "Why don't we feel dispassion toward worldly objects?"

MASTER: "Because of my. Through my one feels the Real to be the unreal and the unreal to be the Real. The Real means That which is eternal, the Supreme Brahman; and the unreal means that which is non-eternal, that is to say, the world."

DEVOTEE: "We read the scriptures. Why is it that we can't assimilate them?"

MASTER: "What will one accomplish by mere reading? One needs spiritual practice-austerity. Call on God. What is the use of merely repeating the word 'siddhi'? One must eat a little of it.

'The hand bleeds when it touches a thorny plant. Suppose you bring such a plant and repeat, sitting near it: 'There! The plant is burning.' Will that burn the plant? This world is like the thorny plant. Light the fire of Knowledge and with it set the plant ablaze. Only then will it be burnt up.

"One must labour a little while at the stage of sdhan. Then the path becomes easy.

Steer the boat around the curves of the river and then let it go with the favourable wind.

"As long as you live inside the house of my, as long as there exists the cloud of my, you do not see the effect of the Sun of Knowledge. Come outside the house of my, give up 'woman and gold', and then the Sun of Knowledge will destroy ignorance. A lens cannot burn paper inside the house. If you stand outside, then the rays of the sun fall on the lens and the paper burns. Again, the lens cannot burn the paper if there is a cloud.

The paper burns when the cloud disappears.

"The darkness of the mind is destroyed only when a man stands little apart from.

'woman and gold' and, thus standing apart, practises a little austerity and spiritual discipline. Then only does the cloud of his ego and ignorance vanish. Then only does he attain the Knowledge of God. This 'woman and gold' is the only cloud that hides the Sun of Knowledge.

Master's renunciation

(To the Mrwri devotee) "The rules for a sannysi are extremely hard. He cannot have the slightest contact with 'woman and gold'. He must not accept money with his own hands, and he must not even allow it to be left near him.

"Lakshminarayan Mrwri, a Vedantist, used to come here very often. One day he saw a dirty sheet on my bed and said: 'I shall invest ten thousand rupees in your name. The interest will enable you to pay your expenses.' The moment he uttered these words, I fell unconscious, as if struck by a stick. Regaining consciousness I said to him: 'If you utter such words again, you had better not come here. It is impossible for me to touch money. It is also impossible for me to keep it near me.' He was a very clever fellow. He said: 'Then you too have the idea of acceptance and rejection. In that case you haven't attained Perfect Knowledge.' 'My dear sir, I said, 'I haven't yet gone that far.' (All laugh.) Lakshminarayan then wanted to leave the money with Hriday. I said to him: 'That will not do. If you leave it with Hriday, then I shall instruct him to spend it as I wish. If he does not comply, I shall be angry. The very contact of money is bad. No, you can't leave it with Hriday.' Won't an object kept near a mirror be reflected in it?"

Liberation

DEVOTEE: "Revered sir, is a man liberated only when he dies on the bank of the Ganges?"

MASTER: "It is the Knowledge of God alone that gives liberation. The Jnni will certainly attain liberation wherever he may die, whether in the charnel-pit or on the bank of the ,Ganges. But the bank of the Ganges is prescribed for a bound soul."

DEVOTEE: "Revered sir, why does a man dying in Benares become liberated?"

MASTER: "A person dying in Benares sees the vision of iva. iva says to him: 'This is My aspect with form, My embodiment in my. I assume this form for the sake of the devotees. Now look. I am merging in the indivisible Satchidananda!' Uttering these words, iva withdraws His form and enables the dying person to see Brahman. "The Puranas say that even a chandala endowed with love of God achieves liberation.

According to this school the name of God is enough to liberate a soul. There is no need of such things as worship, sacrifice, the discipline of Tantra, and the recitation of mantras.

Path of devotion for Kaliyuga

"But the teachings of the Vedas are different. According to the Vedas none but a brahmin can be liberated. Further, the worship is not accepted by the gods unless the mantras are recited correctly. One must perform sacrifice, worship, and so on, according to scriptural injunction. But where is the time in the Kaliyuga to perform the Vedic rituals? Therefore in the Kaliyuga the path of devotion prescribed by Nrada is best. The path of karma is very difficult. Karma becomes a cause of bondage unless it is performed in a spirit of detachment. Further, the life of man nowadays depends on food. He has no time to observe the rituals enjoined by the scriptures. The patient dies if he tries to cure his fever by taking the decoction of herbs prescribed by the orthodox native physicians.

Therefore he should take a modern 'fever mixture'.

"According to Nrada the devotee should sing the name and glories of God. The path of karma is not the right one for the Kaliyuga. Bhaktiyoga is the right path. Do your duties in the world as long as you need them to reap the fruit of the actions of your past lives.

But you must develop love for God and be passionately attached to Him. The singing of the name and glories of God destroys the effect of past action.

"You don't have to perform duties all your life. As you develop unalloyed love and longing for God, your duties become fewer and fewer. After the realization of God they completely drop away. When the young daughter-in-law is pregnant, her mother-in-law lessens her duties. After the birth of the child she doesn't have to do any household work."

Several young men from the village of Dakshineswar entered the room and saluted Sri Ramakrishna. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. They sat down and began to talk with the Master.

YOUNG MAN: "Sir, what is Knowledge?"

MASTER: "It is to know that God is the only Reality and that all else is unreal. That which is the Real is also called Brahman. It has another name: Kala, Time. There is a saying, 'O brother, how many things come into being in Time and disappear in Time!'

"That whieh sports with Kala is called Kli. She is the Primal Energy. Kala and Kli, Brahman and akti, are indivisible.

"That Brahman, of the nature of Reality, is eternal. It exists in past, present, and future.

It is without beginning or end. It cannot be described in words. The utmost that can be said of Brahman is that It is of the very nature of Intelligence and Bliss.

"The world is illusory; Brahman alone is real. The world is of the nature of magic. The magician is real but his magic is unreal"

Power of inborn tendencies

YOUNG MAN: "If the world is of the nature of illusion-magic-then why doesn't one get rid of it?"

MASTER: "It is due to the samskaras, inborn tendencies. Repeated births in this world of my make one believe that my is real.

"Let me tell you how powerful inborn tendencies are. A prince had, in a previous birth, been the son of a washerman. While playing with his chums in his incarnation as the prince, he said to them: 'Stop those games. I will show you a new one. I shall lie on my belly, and you will beat the clothes on my back as the washerman does, making a swishing sound.'

"Many youngsters come here. But only a few long for God. These few are born with a spiritual tendency. They shudder at the talk of marriage. Niranjan has said from boyhood that he will not marry.

"More than twenty years ago two young men used to come here from Baranagore. One was named Govinda Pal and the other Gopal Sen. They had been devoted to God since boyhood. The very mention of marriage would frighten them. Gopal used to have bhava samdhi. He would shrink from worldly people, as a mouse from a cat. One day he saw the boys of the Tagore family strolling in the garden. He shut himself in the kuthi lest he should have to talk with them.

"Gopal went into samdhi in the Panchavati. In that state he said to me, touching my feet: 'Let me go. I cannot live in this world any more. You have a long time to wait. Let me go.' I said to him, in an ecstatic mood, 'You must come again.' 'Very well, I will', he said. A few days later Govinda came to me. 'Where is Gopal?' I asked him. He said, 'He has passed away.'

"What are the other youngsters about? Money, house, carriage, clothes, and finally marriage. These are the things that keep them busy. If they want to marry, at the outset they make inquiries about the girl. They want to find out for themselves whether she is beautiful.

"There is a person who speaks much ill of me. He is always criticizing me for loving the youngsters. I love only those who are born with good tendencies, pure souls with longing for God, who do not pay any attention to money, creature comforts, and such things.

"If married people develop love for God, they will not be attached to the world.

Hirananda is married. What if he is? He will not be much attached to the world."

Hirananda, a member of the Brahmo Samaj, was a native of Sindh. He had met the Master in Calcutta and become devoted to him.

Manilal, the Mrwri devotees, the Brahmo devotees from Shibpur, and the young men from Dakshineswar saluted Sri Ramakrishna and took their leave.

It was evening. Lamps were lighted on the south and west verandahs. A lamp was lighted in the Master's room also, and incense was burnt. He was repeating the name of the Divine Mother, absorbed in contemplation of Her. After a while he talked again to the devotees. There was still some time before the evening worship in the temples.

MASTER (to M.): "What need of the sandhya has a man who thinks of God day and night?

What need of rituals has a man, what need of devotions any more,

If he repeats the Mother's name at the three holy hours?

Rituals may pursue him close, but never can they overtake him.

Charity, vows, and giving of gifts do not appeal to Madan's mind;

The Blissful Mother's Lotus Feet are his whole prayer and sacrifice.

"The sandhya merges in the Gayatri, the Gayatri in Om. A man is firmly established in spiritual life when he goes into samdhi on uttering 'Om' only once.

"There is a sdhu in Hrishikesh who gets up early in the morning and stands near a great waterfall. He looks at it the whole day and says to God: 'Ah, You have done well! Well done! How amazing! He doesn't practise any other form of japa or austerity. At night he returns to his hut.

"What need is there even to bother one's head about whether God is formless or has a form? It is enough for a man to pray to Him, alone in solitude, weeping, 'O God, reveal Yourself to me as You are.'

"God is both inside and outside. It is He who dwells inside us. Therefore the Vedas say, 'Tattvamasi-That thou art.' God is also outside us. He appears manifold through my; but in reality He alone exists. Therefore before describing the various names and forms of God, one should say, 'Om Tat Sat.'

"It is one thing to learn about God from the scriptures, and quite another to see Him.

The scriptures only give hints. Therefore to read a great many scriptures is not necessary. It is much better to pray to God in solitude.

"It isn't necessary to read all of the Git. One can get the essence of the Git by repeating the word ten times. It becomes reversed and is then 'tagi'. The essence of the book is: 'O man, renounce everything and worship God.'"

The Master went into an ecstatic mood while watching the evening worship of Kli in the company of the devotees. He was in no condition even to salute the image. Very carefully he returned to his room with the devotees and sat down; he was still in an ecstatic mood. He spoke to them while in that state.

In the room was Hari, a young man about twenty years of age, who was a relative of the Mukherjis and very much devoted to the Master. He was married. At that time he was living with the Mukherjis and looking for a job.

MASTER (to Hari, in an ecstatic mood): "Take your initiation after getting your mother's permission. (To Priya, referring to Hari) I couldn't give him the mantra though I said I would initiate him. I don't initiate people. Continue with your own meditation and japa as you have been doing."

PRIYA: "Yes, sir."

MASTER: "And I am saying this to you in this state of my mind. Believe my words. You see, there is no show or deceit here. I just said to the Divine Mother in my ecstatic mood, 'O Mother, may those who come here [referring to himself] through sincere attraction obtain perfection!' "

Mahendra Kaviraj of Sinthi was seated on the verandah conversing with Ramlal, Hazra, and others. The Master called to him from his room. M. went out quickly and brought Mahendra in.

MASTER (to Mahendra): "Sit down and listen to my words."

Mahendra was a little embarrassed. He sat down.

Various forms of divine love

MASTER (to the devotees): "God can be served in different ways. An ecstatic lover of God enjoys Him in different ways. Sometimes he says, 'O God, You are the lotus and I am the bee', and sometimes, 'You are the Ocean of Satchidananda and I am the fish.'

Sometimes, again, the lover of God says, 'I am Your dancing-girl.' He dances and sings before Him. He thinks of himself sometimes as the friend of God and sometimes as His handmaid. He looks on God sometimes as a child, as did Yaoda, and sometimes as husb and or sweetheart, as did the gopis.

"Sometimes Balarama looked on Krishna as a friend; sometimes he would think he was Krishna's umbrella or carpet. He served Krishna in all possible ways."

Was Sri Ramakrishna hinting at his own state of mind while thus describing the different attitudes of a lover of God?

Chaitanya's spiritual moods

Next he described Chaitanya's three spiritual moods.

MASTER: "Chaitanyadeva used to experience three moods. In the inmost mood he would be absorbed in samdhi, unconscious of the outer world. In the semi-conscious mood he would dance in ecstasy but could not talk. In the conscious mood he would sing the glories of God.

(To the devotees) "You are listening to my words. Try to assimilate them. When worldly people sit before a sdhu, for the time being they completely hide all worldly thoughts and ideas. But once away from the holy man they let them out again. You have seen a pigeon eating dried peas. You think he has digested them, but he keeps them in his crop. You can feel them there.

"At dusk put aside all duties and pray to God. One is reminded of Him by darkness. At the approach of darkness one thinks: 'I could see everything a moment ago. Who has brought about this change?' The Mussalmans put aside all activities and say their prayers at the appointed times."

Practice of japa

MUKHERJI: "Revered sir, is it good to practise japa?"

MASTER: "Yes. One attains God through japa. By repeating the name of God secretly and in solitude one receives divine grace. Then comes His vision. Suppose there is a big piece of timber lying under water and fastened to the land with a chain; by proceeding along the chain, link by link, you will at last touch the timber.

"Higher than worship is japa, higher than japa is meditation, higher than meditation is bhava, and higher than bhava are mahabhava and prema. Chaitanyadeva had prema, When one attains prema one has the rope to tie God."

Hazra entered the room.

MASTER (to Hazra): "Love of God, when it is intense and spontaneous, is called raga-bhakti. Vaidhibhakti, formal devotion, depends on scriptural injunctions. It comes and it goes. But raga-bhakti is like a stone emblem of iva that has sprung up out of the bowels of the earth. One cannot find its root; they say the root goes as far as Benares.

Only an Incarnation of God and His companions attain raga-bhakti."

HAZRA: "Ah me!"

MASTER: "One day I was returning from the Pine-grove, when I saw you telling your beads. I said to the Divine Mother: 'Mother, what a small minded fellow he is! He lives here and still he pratises japa with a rosary! Whoever comes he [referring to himself]

will have his spiritual consciousness awakened all a once; he won't have to bother much, about japa. Go to Calcutta and you will find thousands telling their beads-even the prostitutes.'

(To M.) "Please bring Naran here in a carriage. I am making the same request to Mukherji. I shall give Naran something to eat when he comes. There is great significance in feeding boys like him."

Saturday, October 4, 1884

It was the day of the first full moon after the Durga Puja. Sri Ramakrishna arrived at the Calcutta house of Nabin Sen, the elder brother of Keshab Chandra Sen. On the previous Thursday Keshab's mother had begged the Master to pay her a visit in Calcutta.

The Master seated himself in a room on the upper floor of the house. With him were Baburam, Kishori, and a few other devotees. Nandalal and Keshab's other nephews, Keshab's mother, and other relatives of his, waited on the Master. It had been arranged to have devotional music performed in the room. M. was sitting in a room downstairs, listening to the kirtan.

Master with Brahmo devotees

Sri Ramakrishna said to the Brahmo devotees: "The world is impermanent. One should constantly remember death." Then he sang:

Remember this, O mind! Nobody is your own: Vain is your wandering in this world.

Trapped in the subtle snare of my as you are, Do not forget the Mother's name. . . .

The Master said to the devotees: "Dive deep. What will you gain by merely floating on the surface? Renounce everything for a few days, retire into solitude, and call on God with all your soul"

The Master sang:

Dive deep, O mind, dive deep in. the Ocean of God's Beauty; If you descend to the uttermost depths,

There you will find the gem of Love. . . .

At Sri Ramakrishna's request the Brahmo devotees sang: Thou art my All in All, O Lord!- the Life of my life, the Essence of essence;

In the three worlds I have none else but Thee to call my own.

Thou art my peace, my joy, my hope;

Thou my support, my wealth, my glory;

Thou my wisdom and my strength. . . .

The Master sang again:

O Mother, for Yaoda Thou wouldst dance, when she called Thee her precious "Blue Jewel":

Where hast Thou hidden that lovely form, O terrible Syama? . .

.

The Brahmo devotees also sang to theaccompaniment of cymbals and drums:

O Mother, how deep is Thy love for men!

Mindful of it, I weep for joy.

Almost from the day of my birth

I have transgressed Thine every law,

And still Thou lookest on me with love,

Comforting me with sweetest words.

Mindful of it, I weep for joy.

O Mother, the burden of Thy love

Is far too great for me to bear;

My soul gives a heart-piercing cry

At Thy love's touch. To Thee I come,

Seeking a refuge at Thy feet.

They again sang of the Divine Mother: O Mother, Thou my Inner Guide, ever awake within my heart!

Day and night Thou holdest me in Thy lap.

Why dost Thou show such tenderness to this unworthy child of Thine'?

Ah! It seems Thou art mad with love: now caressing, now with strong grasp

Holding me firm, Thou givest me to drink

Thy nectar, pouring in my ears Thy words of loving tenderness.

Unceasing is Thy love for me, a love that cannot see my faults ; Whenever I am in danger, Thou dost save me.

Saviour of sinners! I know the truth: I am my Mother's and She is mine.

Now I shall listen to Her alone, and follow the path of righteousness;

Drinking the milk that flows from my Mother's breasts, I shall be strong and sing with joy: "Hail, O Mother! Brahman Eternal!"

The Master and the Brahmo devotees sang several songs about Hari and Gaurnga.

Sunday, October 5, 1884

Sri Ramakrishna was sitting in his room after the midday meal, with M., Hazra, the elder Kli, Baburam, Ramlal, Hari, and others. Some of them sat on the floor and some stood about. On the previous day the Master had visited Keshab's mother at her Calcutta house and had made her happy with his devotional songs.

Hazra's eccentricities

Hazra had been living with the Master at Dakshineswar a long time. He was a little conceited about his knowledge and even criticized the Master now and then before others. Again, he would sit on the verandah of the Master's room and tell his beads with apparent concentration. He spoke slightingly of Chaitanya as a "modern Incarnation". He would say: "God gives not only pure devotion but also wealth. He has no lack of it. By attaining God one obtains the eight occult powers as well." Hazra had a small debt to clear up, about one thousand rupees. He had incurred it for the building of his house and was worried about paying it.

The elder Kli had a position in an office, from which he received a small salary. He had a large family to maintain. He was devoted to the Master and visited him now and then, even absenting himself from the office.

KALl (to Hazra): "You go about criticizing people; you are like a touchstone, testing what is pure gold and what is impure. Why do you speak so much ill of others?" HAZRA: "Whatever I say, I say to him [meaning Sri Ramakrishna] alone."

MASTER: "That is so."

Hazra began to explain Tattvajnana.

HAZRA: "The meaning of Tattvajnana is the knowledge of the existence of the twenty-four tattvas, or cosmic principles."

He was wrong about the meaning of the word.

A DEVOTEE: "What are they?"

HAZRA: "The five elements, the six passions, the five organs of perception, the five organs of action, and so forth."

M. (to the Master, smiling): "He says that the six passions are included in the twenty-four cosmic principles."

MASTER (smiling): "Listen to him! Notice how he explains Tattvajnana! The word really means 'knowledge of Self'. The word 'Tat' means the Supreme Self, and the word 'tvam', the embodied soul. One attains Supreme Knowledge, Tattvajnana, by realizing the identity of the embodied soul and the Supreme Self."

After a few minutes Hazra left the room and sat on the porch.

MASTER (to M. and the others): "He [meaning Hazra] only argues. This moment perhaps he understands, but the next moment he is his old self again.

"When the angler hooks a big fish and finds it pulling hard, he releases the line; otherwise it will snap and the angler himself will be thrown into the water. Therefore I do not say much to him.

(To M.) "Hazra said that a man could not be liberated unless he was born in a brahmin body. 'How is that?' I said. 'One attains liberation through bhakti alone. Savari was the daughter of a hunter. She, Ruhidas, and others belonged to the sudra caste. They were liberated through bhakti alone.' 'But still-Hazra insisted.

"He recognized Dhruva's spiritual greatness, but not as much as he recognized Prahlada's. When Ltu said, 'Dhruva had great yearning for God from his boyhood', he kept still.

"I said that there was nothing greater than the bhakti that sought no end and had no selfish motive. Hazra contradicted me. I said to him, 'A wealthy man is annoyed when a petitioner comes to him. "There he comes", he says angrily. "Sit down", he says to him in an indifferent voice, and shows that he is much annoyed. He doesn't allow such a beggar to ride with him in his carriage.'

"But Hazra said that God was not like such wealthy people of the world; did He lack wealth, that He should feel pinched to give it away? Hazra said further: 'When rain falls from the sky, the Ganges and all the big rivers and lakes overflow with water. Small tanks, too, are filled. Likewise, God out of His grace grants wealth and riches as well as knowledge and devotion.'

(To the devotees) "But I call this impure devotion to God. Pure devotion has no desire behind it. You don't want anything from me, but you love to see me and hear my words.

My mind also dwells on you. I wonder how you are and why you don't come.

"You don't want anything of God but still you love Him. That is pure bhakti, love of God with no motive behind it. Prahlada had it. He sought neither kingdom nor riches; he sought Hari alone."

M: "Hazra is a chatterbox. He won't achieve anything unless he becomes silent."

MASTER: "Now and then he comes to me and becomes mellowed. But he is a pest; again he argues. It is very hard to get rid of egotism. You may cut down an Awattha tree, but the next day a sprout will spring up. As long as the roots remain, the tree will grow again.

"I said to Hazra, 'Don't speak ill of anyone.' It is Narayana Himself who has assumed all these forms. One can worship even a wicked person. Haven't you observed the Kumari Puja? Why should you worship a girl who has all the physical limitations of a human being? It is because she is a form of the Divine Mother. But God dwells in a special way in His devotee. The devotee is His parlour. If the gourd has a large body then it makes a good Tnpura. It gives a nice sound."

Two monks had arrived at the temple garden in the morning. They were devoted to the study of the Bhagavad Git, the Vednta, and other scriptures. They entered the Master's room, saluted him, and sat on the mat on the floor. Sri Ramakrishna was seated on the small couch. The Master spoke to the sdhus in Hindusthani.

MASTER: "Have you had your meal?"

SDHU: "Yes, sir."

MASTER: "What did you eat?"

SDHU: "Dal and bread. Will you take some?"

MASTER: "No, I take only a few morsels of rice. Well, your japa and meditation must be without any desire for results. Isn't that so?"

SDHU: "Yes, Sir."

MASTER: "That is good. One must surrender the result to God. What do you say? That is the view of the Git."

One sdhu said to the other, quoting from the Git: "O Arjuna, whatever action you perform, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give in charity, and whatever austerities you practise, offer everything to Me."

MASTER: "If you give God something, you receive it back a thousand times over. That is why after doing meritorious deeds one offers a handful of water to God. It is the symbol of offering the fruit to God. When Yudhisthira was about to offer all his sins to Krishna, Bhima warned him: 'Never do such a thing. Whatever you offer to Krishna you will receive back a thousandfold.'

(To one of the sdhus) "Well, sir, one should be desireless; one should renounce all desires. Isn't that so?"

SDHU: "Yes, sir."

MASTER: "But I have the desire for bhakti. That is not bad. Rather, it is good. Sweets are bad, for they produce acidity. But sugar candy is an exception. Isn't that so?"

SDHU: "Yes, sir."

MASTER: "Well, sir, what do you think of the Vednta?"

SDHU: "It includes all the six systems of philosophy."

MASTER: "But the essence of Vednta is: 'Brahman alone is real, and the world illusory; I have no separate existence; I am that Brahman alone.' Isn't that so?"

SDHU: "That is true, sir."

MASTER: "But for those who lead a householder's life, and those who identify themselves with the body, this attitude of 'I am He' is not good. It is not good for householders to read Vednta or the Yoga-vsishta. It is very harmful for them to read these books.

Householders should look on God as their Master and on themselves as His servants.

They should think, 'O God, You are the Master and the Lord, and I am Your servant.'

People who identify themselves with the body should not have the attitude of 'I am He'."

The devotees in the room remained silent. Sri Ramakrishna was smiling a little, a picture of self-contentment. He appeared happy in his own Self.

One of the sdhus whispered in the other's ear: "Look! This is the state of the paramahamsa."

MASTER (to M.): "I feel like laughing."

Sri Ramakrishna smiled like a child. The monks left the room. The devotees were moving about in the room and on the porch.

Master ( to M.) :"Did you go to Nabin Sen's house?"

M:"Yes, sir. I listened to the songs from down stairs."

MASTER: "That was well done. Your wife was there. She is a cousin of Keshab Sen, isn't she?"

M: "A distant cousin."

Sri Ramakrishna strolled up and down with M. No one else was with them.

MASTER: "A man visits his father-in-law's house. I, too, often used to think that I should marry, go to my father-in-law's house, and have great fun. But see what has come of it!"

M: "Sir, you say, 'If the boy holds his father's hand, he may slip; but he doesn't if the father holds his hand.' That is exactly your condition. The Mother has taken hold of your hand."

MASTER: "I met Bamandas at the Viswases' house. I said to him, 'I have come to see you.' As I was leaving the place I heard him say: 'Goodness gracious! The Divine Mother has caught hold of him, like a tiger seizing a man.' At that time I was a young man, very stout, and always in ecstasy.

Master's attitude toward women

"I am very much afraid of women. When I look at one I feel as if a tigress were coming to devour me. Besides, I find that their bodies, their limbs, and even their pores are very large. This makes me look upon them as she-monsters. I used to be much more afraid of women than I am at present. I wouldn't allow one to come near me. Now I persuade my mind in various ways to look upon women as forms of the Blissful Mother.

"A woman is, no doubt, a part of the Divine Mother. But as far as a man is concerned, especially a sannysi or a devotee of God, she is to be shunned. I don't allow a woman to sit near me very long, no matter how great her devotion may be. After a little while I say to her, 'Go and see the temples.'

If that doesn't make her move, I myself leave the room on the pretext of smoking.

"I find that some men are not at all interested in women. Niranjan says, 'A woman never enters my thought.' I asked Hari about it. He too says that his mind does not dwell on woman.

"Woman monopolizes three quarters of the mind, which should be given to God. And then, after the birth of a child, almost the whole mind is frittered away on the family.

Then what is left to give to God?

"Again, there are some men who shed their last drop of blood, as it were, to keep their wives out of mischief. There is the gate-keeper, an old man, whose wife is only fourteen years old. She had to live with him. They lived in a thatched hut with walls made of dry leaves. People made holes in the wall to peep in. Now she has left him and run away.

"I know another man. He doesn't know where to keep his wife. There was some trouble at home, and now he is greatly worried. Let's not talk about these things any more.

"If a man lives with a woman, he cannot help coming under her control. Worldly men get up and sit down at the bidding of women. They all speak highly of their wives.

"Once I wanted to go to a certain place. I asked Ramlal's aunt about it. She forbade me to go; so I could not. A little while later I said to myself: 'I am not a householder. I have renounced "woman and gold". If, in spite of that, this is my plight, one can well imagine how much worldly people are controlled by their wives.'"

M: "One who lives in the midst of 'woman and gold' can't help being stained by it, even if only slightly. You told us about Jaynarayan. He was such a great scholar. When you visited him he was an old man. You found him warming pillows and blankets in the sun."

MASTER: "But he had no vanity of scholarship. Further, what he said about the last days of his life came to pass. He spent them in Benares, following the injunctions of the scriptures. I saw his children. They were wearing high boots and had been educated in English schools."

By means of questions and answers Sri Ramakrishna now explained to M. his own exalted state.

MASTER: "At first I went stark mad. Why am I less so now? But I get into that state now and then."

M: "You don't have just one mood. As you said, you experience various moods.

Sometimes you are like a child, sometimes like a madman, sometimes like an inert thing, and sometimes like a ghoul. And now and then you are a natural person."

MASTER: "Yes, like a child. But I also experience the moods of a boy and a young man.

When I give instruction I feel like a young man. Then there is my boyishness: like a boy twelve or thirteen years old, I want to be frivolous. That is why I joke and make merry with the youngsters.

"What do you think of Naran?"

M: "He has good traits, sir."

MASTER: "Yes, the shell of the gourd is good. The Tnpura made out of it will give good music. He says to me, 'You are everything.' Everyone speaks of me according to his comprehension. Some say that I am simply a sdhu, a devotee of God.

"If I forbid Naran to do something, he understands it very well. The other day I asked him to pull up the curtain, but he didn't do it. I had forbidden him to tie a knot, to sew his clothes, to lock a box, to pull up a curtain, and similar things. He understood it all.

He who would renounce the world must practise all these disciplines. They are meant for sannysis.

"While practising sdhan a man should regard a woman as a raging forest fire or a black cobra. But in the state of perfection, after the realization of God, she appears as the Blissful Mother. Then you will look on her as a form of the Divine Mother."

A few days earlier Sri Ramakrishna had spoken many words of warning to Narayan about women. He had said: "Don't let yourself touch the air near a woman's body. Cover yourself with a heavy sheet lest the air should touch your body. And keep yourself eight cubits, two cubits, or at least one cubit away from all women except your mother."

MASTER (to M.): "Naran's mother said to him about me, 'Even we are enchanted by the sight of him, not to speak of you, a mere child.' None but the guileless can realize God.

How guileless Niranjan is!"

M: "True, sir."

MASTER: "Didn't you notice him that day in the carriage on the way to Calcutta? He is always the same-without guile. A man shows one side of his nature inside his house and another to the outside world. Since his father's death Narendra has been worried about his worldly affairs. He has a slightly calculating mind. How I wish that other youngsters were like Niranjan and Narendra!

"Today I went to the village to see Nilkantha's theatrical performance. It was given at Nabin Niyogi's house. The children there are very bad; they have nothing to do but find fault. In such a place a person's spiritual feeling is restrained. During a performance the other day I saw Doctor Madhu shedding tears. I looked at him alone.

(To M.) "Can you tell me why people feel so much attracted to this place [meaning himself]? What does it mean?"

M: "It reminds me of an episode in Krishna's life at Vrindvan. Krishna transformed Himself into the cowherd boys and the calves, whereupon the cows began to feel more strongly attracted to the cowherd boys, the gopis, and the calves."

MASTER: "That is the attraction of God. The truth is, the Divine Mother creates the spell and it is that which attracts people.

"Well, not as many people come here as used to go to Keshab Sen. And how many people respect and honour Keshab! He is known even in England. Queen Victoria spoke with him. It is said in the Git that God's power is manifest in him who is honoured and respected by many. But so many people do not come here."

M: "It was the householders who went to Keshab Sen."

MASTER: "Yes, that is true. The worldly-minded."

M: "Will what Keshab has founded remain a long time?"

MASTER: "Why, he has written a samhita, a book of rules for the guidance of the members of his Brahmo Samaj."

M: "But it is quite different with the work done by a Divine Incarnation Himself-Chaitanya's work, for instance."

MASTER: "Yes, yes. That is true."

M: "You yourself tell us that Chaitanyadeva said, 'The seeds I have sown will certainly bear fruit some time or other.' A man left some seeds on the cornice of a house. Later on the house fell down and trees grew from those seeds."

MASTER: "Many people go to the Samaj founded by Shivanath and friends. Isn't that so?"

M: "Yes, sir. People of that sort."

MASTER (smiling): "Yes, yes. The worldly-minded go there, but not many of those who long for God and are trying to renounce 'woman and gold'."

M: "It will be fine if a current flows from this place. Everything will be carried away by its force. Nothing that comes out of this place will be monotonous."

MASTER (smiling): "I keep men's own ideals intact. I ask a Vaishnava to hold to his Vaishnava attitude and a Sakta to his. But this also I say to them 'Never feel that your path alone is right and that the paths of others a wrong and full of errors. Hindus, Mussalmans, and Christians are going to the same destination by different paths. A man can realize God by following his own path if his prayer is sincere.

"Vijay's mother-in-law said to me, 'Why don't you tell Balarm that it unnecessary to worship God with form; that it will be enough if he prays to the formless Satchidananda?'

I replied, 'Why should I say such a thing, and why should he listen to me even if I should say it?' "

M: "That is true, sir. There are different paths to suit time, place, and the fitness of the candidate. Whatever path a man may follow, he will ultimately reach God if he is pure of heart and has sincere longing. That is what you say."

Sri Ramakrishna was sitting in his room. Hari, the relative of the Mukherjis, M., and other devotees were on the floor. An unknown person saluted the Master and took a seat. The Master remarked later that his eyes were not good. They were yellow, like a cat's.

Hari prepared a smoke for Sri Ramakrishna.

MASTER (to Hari): "Let me see the palm of your hand. This mark is good sign. Relax your hand."

He took Hari's hand into his as if to feel its weight.

MASTER: "He is still childlike. As yet there is no blemish in him. (To the devotees) From the hand I can tell whether a person is deceitful or guileless. (To Hari) Why, you should go to your father-in-law's house. You should talk to your wife and have a little fun with her if you like. (To M.) What do you say?" (M. and the others laugh.) M: "If a new pot becomes bad, one can no longer keep milk in it."

MASTER (smiling): "How do you know that it is not already bad?"

The two Mukherjis, Mahendra and Priyanath, were brothers. They did not work in an office, but had their own flour-mill. Priyanath had been an engineer. Sri Ramakrishna talked to Hari about the Mukherji brothers.

MASTER: "The elder brother is nice, isn't he? He is artless."

HARI: "Yes, sir."

MASTER: "Isn't the younger brother very miserly? I understand that since coming here he has improved a great deal. He once said to me, 'I didn't know anything before.' (To Hari) Do they give anything in charity?"

HARI: "Not much, as far as I can see. Their elder brother, now dead, was a very good man. He was very charitable."

Physical signs indicating character

MASTER (to M. and the others): "Whether a person will make spiritual progress or not can be known to a great extent by his physical marks. The hand of a deceitful person is heavy. A snub nose is not a good sign. Sambhu had that kind of nose; hence he was not quite sincere in spite of all his wisdom. Pigeon-breast is not a good sign either. Hard bones and heavy elbow-joints are bad signs too; and yellow eyes, like a cat's.

"A man becomes very mean if he has lips that are thick, like a dome's. A brahmin was here for a few months acting as priest of the Vishnu temple. I couldn't eat the food he touched. One day I suddenly exclaimed, 'He is a dome!' Afterwards he said to me: 'Yes, sir. We live in the dome quarters. I know how to make wicker baskets and such things, Just like a dome.'

"There are other bad physical signs: one eye and squint eyes. It is rather better to have one eye, but never squint eyes. Squint-eyed people are wicked and deceitful.

"A student of Mahesh Nyayaratna's came here. He described himself as an atheist. He said to Hriday: 'I am an atheist. You may take up the position of a believer in God and argue with me.' Thereupon I watched him closely and noticed that his eyes were yellow, like a cat's.

"Whether a person is good or bad can also be known from the way he walks."

Sri Ramakrishna paced the verandah. M. and Baburam walked with him.

MASTER (to Hazra): "A man came here. I saw that his eyes were like a cat's. He asked me: 'Do you know astrology? I am in some difficulty.' I said: 'No, I don't. Go to Baranagore. There you will find astrologers.'"

Master and Nilkantha

Baburam and M. talked about Nilkantha's theatrical performance. Baburam had spent the previous night at the temple garden after his return from Nabin Sen's house. In the morning he had attended Nilkantha's performance with the Master.

MASTER (to M. and Baburam): "What are you talking about?"

M. AND BABURAM: "About Nilkantha's performance."

While pacing the verandah Sri Ramakrishna suddenly took M. aside and said, "The less people know about your thoughts of God, the better for You," Saying these words the Master abruptly went away. A short time afterwards he began to talk with Hazra.

HAZRA: "Nilkantha told you he would pay you a visit. It would be good send for him."

MASTER: "No, he didn't sleep at all last night. It will be different if he comes here through the will of God."

Sri Ramakrishna asked Baburam to visit Narayan at his house. He looked on Narayan as God Himself, and so he longed to see him. The Master said to Baburam, "You may go to him with one of your English textbooks."

About three o'clock in the afternoon Sri Ramakrishna was sitting in his room. Nilkantha arrived with five or six of his companions. The Master went toward the east door as if to welcome him. The musicians bowed before the Master, touching the ground with their foreheads.

Sri Ramakrishna went into samdhi. Baburam stood behind him. M., Nilkantha, and the musicians were in front of him, watching him in great amazement. Dinanath, an officer of the temple, looked on from the north side of the bed. Soon the room was filled with officers of the temple garden. Sri Ramakrishna's ecstasy abated a little. He seated himself on a mat on the floor, surrounded by Nilkantha and other devotees.

MASTER (still in an ecstatic mood): "I am all right."

NILKANTHA (with folded hands): "Make me all right too."

MASTER (smiling): "Why, you are already all right. Adding the letter to 'a', one gets 'ka'.

By adding another 'a' to 'ka', one still gets the same 'ka'." (All laugh.) NILKANTHA: "Revered sir, I am entangled in worldliness."

MASTER (smiling): "God has kept you in the world for the sake of others. There are eight fetters. One cannot get rid of them all. God keeps one or two so that a man may live in the world and teach others. You have organized this theatrical company. How many people are being benefited by seeing your bhakti! If you give up everything, then where will these musicians go?

"God is now doing all these works through you. When they are finish, you will not return to them. The housewife finishes her household duties feeds everyone, including the menservants and maidservants, and then goes to take her bath. She doesn't come back then even if people shout for her."

NILKANTHA: "Please bless me."

MASTER: "Yaoda went mad with grief because she was separated from Krishna. She went to Radhika, who was meditating. Radhika said to her an ecstatic state: 'I am the Ultimate Prakriti, the Primal Power. Ask a boon of Me.' Yaoda said to her: 'What shall I ask of You? Please bless me, that with all my body, mind, and speech I may think of God and serve Him; that with my ears I may hear the singing of God's name and glories; that with my hands I may serve Hari and His devotees; that with my eyes I may behold His form and His devotees.'

"Your eyes fill with tears when you utter the name of God. Why then should you worry about anything? Divine love has grown in you.

"To know many things is ajnna, ignorance. To know only one thing is jnna, Knowledge-the realization that God alone is real and that He dwells in all. And to talk to Him is vijnna, a fuller Knowledge. To love God in different ways, after realizing Him, is vijnna.

"It is also said that God is beyond one and two. He is beyond speech and mind. To go up from the Lila to the Nitya and come down again from the Nitya to the Lila is mature bhakti.

"I love that song of yours about aspiring to reach the Lotus Feet of the Divine Mother. It is enough to know that everything depends on the grace of God. But one must pray to God; it will not do to remain inactive. The lawyer gives all the arguments and finishes his pleading by saying to the judge: 'I have said all I have to say. Now the decision rests with Your Honour.' "

After a few minutes Sri Ramakrishna said to Nilkantha: "You sang so much in the morning, and now you have taken the trouble to come here. But here everything is 'honorary'."

NILKANTHA: "Why so?"

MASTER (smiling): "I know what you will say."

NILKANTHA: "I shall get a precious gem from here."

MASTER: "You already have that precious gem. What will you gain by adding again the letter 'a' to 'ka'? If you didn't have the gem, should I like your songs so much?

Ramprasad had attained divine realization; that is why his songs appeal so much.

"I had already planned to hear your music. Later on Niyogi, too, came here to invite me."

The Master was sitting on the small couch. He told Nilkantha that he would like to hear a song or two about the Divine Mother.

Nilkantha sang two songs with his companions. When the Master heard the second song he stood up and went into samdhi. Presently he began to dance in an ecstasy of divine love. Nilkantha and the devotees sang and danced around him. Then Nilkantha sang a song about iva, and the Master danced with the devotees.

When the singing was over, Sri Ramakrishna said to Nilkantha, "I should like to hear that song of yours I heard in Calcutta."

M: "About Sri Gaurnga?"

MASTER: "Yes, yes!"

Nilkantha sang the song, "The beautiful Gaurnga, the youthful dancer, fair as molten gold."

Sri Ramakrishna sang again and again the line, "Everything is swept away by the onrush of love", and danced with Nilkantha and the other devotees. Those who saw that indescribable dancing were never to forget it. The room was filled with people, all intoxicated with divine joy. It seemed as if Chaitanya himself were dancing with his companions.

Manomohan was in an ecstatic mood. He was a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna and a brother-in-law of Rkhl. Several ladies of his family had come with him. They were witnessing this divine music and dancing from the north verandah.

Sri Ramakrishna sang again, this time about Gaurnga and Nityananda: Behold, the two brothers have came, who weep while chanting Hari's name. . . .

He danced with Nilkantha and the other devotees, improvising the line:

Behold, the two brothers have come, they who are mad with love of Radha.

Hearing the loud music, many people gathered about the room. The verandahs to the south and north, and the semicircular porch to the west of the room, were crowded with people. Even passengers in the boats going along the Gauges were attracted by the kirtan.

The music was over Sri Ramakrishna bowed to the Divine Mother and said, "Bhagavata-Bhakta-Bhagavan. My salutations to the jnanis, my salutations to the yogis, my salutations to the bhaktas."

The Master was seated on the semicircular porch with Nilkantha and the other devotees.

The autumn moon flooded all the quarters with light. Sri Ramakrishna and Nilkantha talked.

NILKANTHA: "You are none other than Gaurnga."

MASTER: "Why should you say such a thing? I am the servant of .the servant of all. The waves belong to the Ganges; but does the Ganges belong to the waves?"

NILKANTHA: "You may say whatever you like, but we regard you as Gaurnga himself."

MASTER (tenderly, in an ecstatic mood): "My dear sir, I try to seek my 'I', but I do not find it. Hanuman said: 'O Rma, sometimes I think that You are the whole and I am a part, and sometimes that You are the Master and I am Your servant. But when I have the Knowledge of Reality, I see that You are I and I am You.'"

NILKANTHA: "What shall I say, sir? Please be gracious to us."

MASTER (smiling): "You are ferrying many people across the ocean or the world. How many hearts are illumined by hearing your music!"

NILKANTHA: "You talk of ferrying. But bless me that I may not be drowned in the ocean myself."

MASTER (smiling): "If you get drowned, it will be in the Sea of Immortality."

Sri Ramakrishna was delighted with Nilkantha's company. He said to the musician: "For you to have come here! You whom people see as a result of many austerities and prayers! Listen to a song."

The Master sang a song, two lines of which ran:

When the Blissful Mother comes to my house, how much of the Chandi I shall hear!

How many monks will come here, and how many yogis with matted locks!

He said, continuing, "As long as the Divine Mother has come here, many yogis with matted locks will come too."

Sri Ramakrishna laughed. To M., Baburam, and the other devotees he said: "I feel very much like laughing. Just fancy, I am singing for these musicians!"

NILKANTHA: "We go about singing; but today we have had our true reward."

MASTER (smiling): 'when a shopkeeper sells an article, he sometimes gives a little extra something to the buyer. You sang at Nabin's house and have given the extra something here."

All laughed.

--------------------

Chapter 31

ADVICE TO ISHAN

Saturday, October 11, 1884

SRI RAMAKRISHNA lay on the small couch in his room at the Dakshineswar temple garden. It was about two in the afternoon. M. and Priya Mukherji were sitting on the floor. M. had left his school at one o'clock and had just arrived at Dakshineswar. The Master was telling anecdotes about the calculating nature of the wealthy Jadu Mallick.

The worldly Jadu Mallick

MASTER: "Once I went to Jadu Mallick's house. He asked right away, 'How much is the carriage hire?' Someone told him it was three rupees and two nns. Then he questioned me about it. Next one of his people secretly asked the coachman, who said it was three rupees and four nns (All laugh.) At that he ran to us and said, 'How much did you say the carriage hire was?'

"A broker was present. He said to Jadu: 'There is a plot of land at Burra bazar for sale.

Will you buy it?' Jadu asked the price and the broker told him. Jadu said, 'Won't he give it for less?' I said to Jadu: 'Come, come. You aren't going to buy the land. You're only bargaining. Isn't that so?' He turned to me and laughed.

"That is the nature of the worldly man. He wants people to come to him. That spreads his name in the market.

"Jadu went to Adhar's house. I told him it had made Adhar very happy. He said: 'What?

What? Was he really happy?' A certain Mallick came to Jadu's house. He was very clever and deceitful. I saw it in his eyes. I looked at him and said: 'It isn't good to be clever.

The crow is very clever, but it eats others filth.' I could tell he was badly off. Jadu's mother was amazed and said to me, 'How did you know he hadn't a penny?' I saw it from his appearance."

Narayan entered the room and sat on the floor.

MASTER (to Priyanath): "Well, your Hari is a fine young man."

PRIYANATH: "What is so fine about him? Of course, he has a childlike nature."

NARAYAN: "He addressed his wife as mother."

MASTER: "What! Even I can't do that. And he calls her mother! (To Priyanath) You see, the boy is very quiet. His mind is directed to God."

Sri Ramakrishna changed the subject of conversation.

MASTER: "Do you know what Hem said? He said to Baburam, 'God alone is real; all else is illusory.'(All laugh.) Oh, no! He said it sincerely. Again, he told me he would take me to his house and sing kirtan. But he didn't do it. I understand that he said later on, 'What will people say if I sing with drums and cymbals?' He was afraid that people might think he was crazy.

Warning devotees about women

"Haripada has fallen into the clutches of a woman of the Ghoshpara sect. He can't get rid of her. He says that she takes him on her lap and feeds him. She claims that she looks on him as the Baby Krishna. I have warned him a great many times. She says that she thinks of him as a child. But this maternal affection soon degenerates into something dangerous.

"You see, you should keep far away from woman; then you may realize God. It is extremely harmful to have much to do with women who have bad motives, or to eat food from their hands. They rob a man of his spirituality. Only by being extremely careful about woman can one preserve one's love of God. One day Bhavanth, Rkhl, and some other youngsters had cooked their own meal in the temple garden. They were sitting at their meal when a Baul arrived, sat down with them, and said he wanted to eat with them. I said that there was not enough food; if anything was left it would be kept for him. He became angry and left. On the Vijaya day a man allows anyone and everyone to feed him with his own hand. It is not good. But one can eat food from the hand of a devotee who is pure in heart.

"You must be extremely careful about women. Women speak of the attitude of Gopala!

Pay no attention to such things. The proverb says: 'A woman devours the three worlds.'

Many women, when they see handsome and healthy young men, lay snares for them.

That is what they call the 'attitude of Gopala.'

"Those who develop dispassion from early youth, those who roam about yearning for God from boyhood, those who refuse all worldly life, belong to a different class. They belong to an unsullied aristocracy. If they develop true renunciation, they keep themselves at least fifty cubits away from women lest their spiritual mood should be destroyed. Once falling into the clutches of women, they no longer remain on the level of unsullied aristocracy. They fall from it and come to a lower level. People who practise renunciation from early youth belong to a very high level. Their ideal is very pure. They are stainless.

How to conquer passion

"How can a man conquer passion? He should assume the attitude of a woman. I spent many days as the handmaid of God. I dressed myself in women's clothes, put on ornaments, and covered the upper part of my body with a scarf, just like a woman. With the scarf on I used to perform the evening worship before the image. Otherwise, how could I have kept my wife with me for eight months? Both of us behaved as if we were the handmaids of the Divine Mother. I cannot speak of myself as a man. One day I was in an ecstatic mood. My wife asked me, 'How do you regard me?' 'As the Blissful Mother', I said.

"Do you know the significance of the iva emblem? It is the worship of the symbols of fatherhood and motherhood. The devotee worshipping the image prays, 'O Lord, please grant that I may not be born into this world again; that I may not have to pass again through a mother's womb.' "

A tutor of the Tagores entered the room with some boys of the family.

Sri Ramakrishna continued talking.

MASTER (to the devotees): "Sri Krishna has a peacock feather on His crest. The feather bears the sign of the female sex. The significance of this is that Krishna carries Prakriti, the female principle, on His head. When Krishna joined the circle of the gopis to dance with them, He appeared there as a woman. That is why you see Him wearing women's apparel in the company of the gopis. Unless a man assumes the nature of a woman, he is not entitled to her company. Assuming the attitude of a woman, he can sport with her and enjoy her company.

Disciplines during the Sdhan period But a man must be extremely careful during the early stages of spiritual discipline. Then he must live far away from any woman. He must not go too close to one even if she is a great devotee of God. You see, a man must not sway his body while climbing to the roof; he may fall. Weak people should hold on to a support while going up the stairs.

"But it is quite different when one reaches perfection. After the realization of God there is not much for a man to fear; he has become to a great extent secure. The important thing is for a man somehow to climb to the roof. After that he can even dance there. But he cannot dance on the steps. Again, after climbing to the roof, you need no longer discard what you discarded before. You find that the stairs are made of the same materials-bricks, lime, and brick-dust-as the roof. The woman you have to be so careful about at the beginning will appear to you, after the realization of God, as the Divine Mother Herself. Then you will worship her as the Divine Mother. You won't fear her so much.

"The thing is to touch the 'granny', as children do in the game of hide-and-seek. Then you can do whatever you like.

Planes of mind

"Man, looking outward, sees the gross; at that time his mind dwells in the annamayakosha, the gross body. Next is the subtle body. Functioning through the subtle body, the mind dwells in the manomayakosha and the vijnanamayakosha. Next is the causal body. Functioning through the causal body the mind enjoys bliss; it dwells in the nandamaykosha. This corresponds to the semi-conscious state experienced by Chaitanya. Last of all, the mind loses itself in the Great Cause. It disappears. It merges in the Great Cause. What one experiences after that cannot be described in words. In his inmost state of consciousness, Chaitanya enjoyed this experience. Do you know what this state is like? Dayananda described it by saying, 'Come into the inner apartments and shut the door. Anyone and everyone cannot enter that part of the house.

On meditation

"I used to meditate on the flame of a light. I thought of the red part as gross, the white part inside the red as subtle, and the stick-like black part, which is the innermost of all, as the causal.

"By certain signs you can tell when meditation is being rightly practised. One of them is that a bird will sit on your head, thinking you are an inert thing.

"I first met Keshab at a meeting of the Adi Samaj. Several members of the Samaj were sitting on the platform. Keshab was in the middle. I saw him motionless as a log.

Pointing to Keshab, I said to Mathur Babu: 'Look there! That bait has been swallowed by a fish.' Because of that power of meditation he achieved what he wanted-name, fame, and so forth-through the grace of God.

"One can meditate even with eyes open. One can meditate even while talking. Take the case of a man with toothache.

TUTOR OF THE TAGORES: "Yes, sir. I know that very well." (All laugh.) MASTER (smiling): "Yes, even when his teeth ache he does all his duties,but his mind is on the pain. Likewise one can meditate with eyes open and while talking to others as well."

TUTOR: "One of the epithets of God is the 'Redeemer of the sinner'. That is our hope.

God is compassionate."

MASTER: "The Sikhs, too, said that God was compassionate. I asked, 'How is He compassionate?' 'Why,' they answered, 'He has begotten us; He has created so many things for us; He has brought us up to be men; and He protects us from danger at every step.' Thereupon I said: 'After begetting us, God looks after us and feeds us. Is there much credit in that? Suppose a son is born to you. Do you expect a man from another part of the city to bring him up?' "

Tendencies from previous births

TUTOR: "Revered sir, one man quickly succeeds in spiritual life, and another doesn't succeed at all. How do you explain that?"

MASTER: "The truth is that a man succeeds to a great extent because of tendencies inherited from his previous births. People think he has attained the goal all of a sudden.

A man drank a glass of wine in the morning. It made him completely drunk. He began to behave improperly. People were amazed to see that he could be so drunk after one glass. But another man said, 'Why, he has been drinking all night.'

"Hanuman burnt down the golden city of Lanka. People were amazed that a mere monkey could burn the whole city. But then they said, 'The truth is that the city was burnt by the sighs of Sita and the wrath of Rma.'

"Look at Lala Babu. He had so much wealth. Could he have renounced it all so suddenly without the good tendencies of his previous births? And Rani Bhavani. So much knowledge and devotion in a woman!

"In his last birth a man is endowed with sattva. His mind is directed to God. He longs for God. He withdraws his mind from worldly things.

"Krishnadas Pal came here. I found him full of rajas. But it must be said that he observed the Hindu customs. He left his shoes outside before entering the room. After a little conversation I discovered that he had no stuff inside. I asked him about man's duty. He said, 'To do good to the world.' I said: 'My dear sir, who are you? What good will you do to the world? Is the world such a small thing that you think you can help it?' "

Narayan arrived. Sri Ramakrishna was very happy to see him. He seated Narayan by his side on the small couch. He showed him his love by stroking his body and giving him sweets to eat. Then he asked Narayan tenderly, "Will you have some water?" Narayan was a student at M.'s school. At home his people beat him for visiting Sri Ramakrishna.

The Master said to Narayan with an affectionate smile, "You had better get a leather jacket; then the beating won't hurt." Turning to Harish, the Master said that he would like to have a smoke.

Again addressing Narayan, Sri Ramakrishna said: "That woman who has established an artificial relationship of mother and son with Haripada came here the other day. I have warned Haripada very often. She belongs to the Ghoshpara sect. I asked her if she had found her 'man'. She said yes, and mentioned a man's name.

(To M.) "Ah! Nilkantha came here the other day. What spiritual fervour he has! He said he would come here another day and sing for us. They are dancing over there. Why don't you go and see it? (To Ramlal) There is no oil in the room. (Looking at the oil-jar) The servant hasn't filled it."

Sri Ramakrishna was walking up and down, now in his room, now on the south verandah. Occasionally pausing on the semicircular porch west of his room, he would look at the Ganges.

After a little while he returned to his room and sat on the small couch. It was past three in the afternoon. The devotees took their seats on the floor. The Master sat in silence before them, now and then casting a glance at the walls, where many pictures were hanging. To Sri Ramakrishna's left was a picture of Sarasvati, and beyond it, a picture of Gaur and Nitai singing kirtan with their devotees. In front of the Master hung pictures of Dhruva, Prahlada, and Mother Kli. On the wall to his right was another picture of the Divine Mother, Rajarajesvari. Behind him was a picture of Jesus Christ raising the drowning Peter. Suddenly Sri Ramakrishna turned to M. and said: "You see, it is good to keep pictures of sannysis and holy men in one's room. When you get up in the morning you should see the faces of holy persons rather than the faces of other men. People with rajasic qualities keep 'English' pictures on their walls-pictures of rich men, the King, the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and white men and women walking together. That shows their rajasic temperament.

"You acquire the nature of the people whose company you keep. Therefore even pictures may prove harmful. Again, a man seeks the company that agrees with his own nature.

The paramahamsas keep near them a few young boys five or six years old. They allow such boys to be near them. Attaining the state of a paramahamsa, a man loves the company of boys. Like the paramahamsas, the boys are not under the control of the Guns-sattva, rajas, or tamas.

"By looking at trees a man awakens in his heart the picture of a hermitage in which a rishi is practising austerity."

A brahmin from Sinthi entered the room and saluted Sri Ramakrishna. He had studied Vednta in Benares. He was stout and had a smiling face.

MASTER: "Hello! How are you? You haven't been here in a long time."

PUNDIT (smiling): "Worldly duties, sir. You know I have very little leisure. The pundit sat down, and the Master began to talk with him.

Dayananda

MASTER: "You spent a long time in Benares. Tell us what you saw there. Tell us something about Dayananda."

PUNDIT: "Yes, I met him. You also met him, didn't you?"

MASTER: "Yes, I visited him. He was 'living then in a garden house on the other side of the Ganges. Keshab was expected there that day. He longed for Keshab as the chatak bird longs for rain. He was a great scholar and made fun of the Bengali language. He admitted the existence of the deities, but Keshab did not. Dayananda used to say: 'God has created so many things. Couldn't He have created the deities?' Dayananda believed the Ultimate Reality to be without form. Captain was repeating the name of Rma.

Dayananda said to him sarcastically, 'Better repeat "sandesh"!' "

PUNDIT: "In Benares the pundits had great discussions with Dayananda. Finally he was left alone with all the others against him. They made it so hot for him that he thought the only way to save himself was by running away. All the pundits shouted with one voice, 'Whatever Dayananda has said is to be despised!'

Theosophy

"I saw Colonel Olcott too. The Theosophists believe in the existence of mahatmas. They also speak of the 'lunar', 'solar', 'stellar', and other planes. A Theosophist can go in his 'astral body' to all these planes. Oh, Olcott said many such things. Well, sir, what do you think of Theosophy?"

MASTER: "The one essential thing is bhakti, loving devotion to God. Do the Theosophists seek bhakti? They are good if they do. If Theosophy makes the realization of God the goal of life, then it is good. One cannot seek God if one constantly busies oneself with the mahatmas and the lunar, solar, and stellar planes. A man should practise sdhan

and pray to God with a longing heart for love of His Lotus Feet. He should direct his mind to God alone, withdrawing it from the various objects of the world."

The Master sang:

How are you trying, O my mind, to know the nature of God?

You are groping like a madman locked in a dark room.

He is grasped through ecstatic love; how can you fathom Him Without it? . . .

And, for that love, the mighty yogis practise yoga from age to age;

When love awakes, the Lord, like a magnet, draws to Him the soul.

Continuing, the Master said: "You may speak of the scriptures, of philosophy, of Vednta; but you will not find God in any of these. You will never succeed in realizing God unless your soul becomes restless for Him.

Only through affirmation, never negation, can you know Him, Neither through Veda nor through Tantra nor the six darsanas.

It is in love's elixir only that He delights, O mind; He dwells in the body's inmost depths, in Everlasting Joy.

"One must be very earnest about God. Listen to another song: Can everyone have the vision of Radha? Can everyone taste her love?

This, the rarest treasure of all, no earthly wealth can buy; Without devotions and sdhan none can ever obtain it.

The raindrop falling upon the deep when Svati shines on high Is formed within the oyster's shell into a priceless pearl.

Can such a pearl be formed from rain that falls at other times?

Mothers with their babes in arms may beckon to the moon To leave the sky and come to them; but only the babes are fooled.

Does the moon ever leave the sky and dwell upon the earth?

Preparation for God vision

"One must practise intense spiritual discipline. Can one obtain the vision of God all of a sudden, without any preparation?

"A man asked, 'Why don't I see God?' I said to him, as the idea came to my mind: 'You want to catch a big fish. First make arrangements for it. Throw spiced bait into the water. Get a line and a rod. At the smell of the bait the fish will come from the deep water. By the movement of the water you will know that a big fish has come.'

"You want to eat butter. But what will you achieve by simply repeating that there is butter in milk? You have to work hard for it. Only thus can you separate butter from milk. Can one see God by merely repeating, 'God exists'? One needs sdhan.

"The Divine Mother Herself practised austere sdhan to set an example for mankind. Sri Krishna, who is none other than the Ultimate Brahman, also practised sdhan to set an example to others.

Purusha and Prakriti

"Sri Krishna is the Purusha and Radha the Prakriti, the Chitakti, the dyakti. Radha is the Prakriti, the embodiment of the three Guns. Sattva, rajas, and tamas are in her. As you remove the layers of an onion, you will first see tints of both black and red, then only red, and last of all only white.

The Vaishnava scriptures speak of 'Kam-Radha', 'Prem-Radha', and 'Nitya-Radha'.

Chandravali is Kam-Radha, and Srimati is Prem-Radha; Nanda saw Nitya-Radha holding Gopala in Her arms.

"The Brahman of Vednta and the Chitakti are identical, like water and its wetness. The moment you think of water you must also think of its wetness, and the moment you think of water's wetness you must also think of water. Or it is like the snake and its wriggling motion. The moment you think of the snake you must a1so think of its wriggling motion, and the moment you think of the snake's wriggling motion you must also think of the snake. When do I call the Ultimate Reality by the name of Brahman?

When It is actionless or unattached to action. When a man puts on a cloth he remains the same man as when he was naked. He was naked; now he is clothed. He may be naked again. There is poison in the snake, but it doesn't harm the snake. It is poison to him who is bitten by the snake.

Brahman Itself is unattached.

"Names and forms are nothing but the manifestations of the power of Prakriti. Sita said to Hanuman: 'My child, in one form I am Sita, in another form I am Rma. In one form I am Indra, in another I am IndRani. In one form I am Brahma, in another, Brahmani. In one form I am Rudra, in another, Rudrani.' Whatever names and forms you see are nothing but the manifestations of the power of Chitakti. Everything is the power of Chitakti-even meditation and he who meditates. As long as I feel that I am meditating, I am within the jurisdiction of Prakriti. (To M.) Try to assimilate what I have said. One should hear what the Vedas and the Puranas say, and carry it out in life.

(To the pundit) "It is good to live in the company of holy men now and then. The disease of worldliness has become chronic in man. It is mitigated, to a great extent, in holy company.

Knowledge and ignorance

"'I' and 'mine'-that is ignorance. True knowledge makes one feel: 'O God, You alone do everything. You alone are my own. And to You alone belong houses, buildings, family, relatives, friends, the whole world. All is Yours.' But ignorance makes one feel: 'I am doing everything. I am the doer. House, buildings, family, children, friends, and property are all mine.'

Hollowness of worldly love

"Once a teacher was explaining all this to a disciple. He said, 'God alone, and no one else, is your own.' The disciple said: 'But, revered sir, my mother, my wife, and my other relatives take very good care of me. They see nothing but darkness when I am not present. How much they love me!' The teacher said: 'There you are mistaken. I shall show you presently that nobody is your own. Take these few pills with you. When you go home, swallow them and lie down in bed. People will think you are dead, but you will remain conscious of the outside world and will see and hear everything. Then I shall visit your home.

"The disciple followed the instructions. He swallowed the pills and lay as if unconscious in his bed. His mother, wife, and other relatives began to cry. Just then the teacher came in, in the guise of a physician, and asked the cause of their grief. When they had told him everything, he said to them: 'Here is a medicine for him. It will bring him back to life. But I must tell you one thing. This medicine must first be taken by one of his relatives and then given to him. But the relative who takes it first will die. I see his mother, his wife, and others here. Certainly one of you will volunteer to take the medicine. Then the young man will come back to life.'

"The disciple heard all this. First the physician called his mother, who was weeping and rolling on the ground in grief. He said to her: 'Mother, you don't need to weep any more.

Take this medicine and your son will come to life. But you will die.' The mother took the medicine in her hand and began to think. After much reflection she said to the physician, with tears in her eyes: 'My child, I have a few more children. I have to think about them too. I am wondering what will happen to them if I die. Who will feed them and look after them?' The physician next called the wife and handed the medicine to her. She had been weeping bitterly too. With the medicine in her hand she also began to reflect. She had heard that she would die from the effect of the medicine. At last, with tears in her eyes, she said: 'He has met his fate. If I die, what will happen to my young children? Who will keep them alive? How can I take the medicine?' In the mean time the disciple had got over the effect of the pills. He was now convinced that nobody was really his own. He jumped out of bed and left the place with his teacher. The guru said to him, 'There is only one whom you may call your own, and that is God.'

"Therefore a man should act in such a way that he may have bhakti for the Lotus Feet of God and love God as his very own. You see this world around you. It exists for you only for a couple of days. There is nothing to it." PUNDIT (smiling): "Revered sir, I feel a spirit of total renunciation when I am here. I feel like going away, giving up the world."

MASTER: "No, no! Why should you give up? Give up mentally. Live unattached in the world.

"Surendra wanted to spend the night here occasionally. He brought a bed and even spent a day or two here. Then his wife said to him, 'You may go anywhere you like during the day-time, but at night you must not leave home.' What could poor Surendra do? Now he has no way of spending the night away from home.

Reason and love

"What will you achieve by mere reasoning? Be restless for God and learn to love Him.

Reason, mere intellectual knowledge, is like a man who can go only as far as the outer court of the house. But bhakti is like a woman who goes into the inner court.

Different attitudes toward God

"One must take up a definite attitude toward God. Then alone can one realize Him.

Rishis like Sanaka cherished the attitude of nta; Hanuman the attitude of a servant; the cowherd boys of Vrindvan, like Sridm and Sudm, the attitude of a friend; Yaoda the attitude of a mother; and Radha the attitude of a sweetheart.

" 'O God, Thou art the Lord and I am Thy servant' - that is the servant's attitude, a very good one for aspirants."

PUNDIT: "Yes, sir."

The pundit from Sinthi left. It was dusk. Twilight hung over the Panchavati, the temples, and the river. Evening worship began in the different temples, accompanied by the sound of bells, gongs, and conchshells. Sri Ramakrishna bowed before the pictures of the deities in his room. He was sitting on the small couch in an abstracted mood. A few devotees were on the floor. There was silence in the room.

Master and Ishan

An hour passed. Ishan and Kishori entered and sat down on the floor after saluting Sri Ramakrishna. Ishan was a great ritualist. He was devoted to the performance of the, various rites and ceremonies prescribed by the scriptures. The Master opened the conversation.

Characteristics of Knowledge

MASTER: "Can one attain knowledge of God by merely repeating the word 'God'? There are two indications of such knowledge. First, longing,that is to say, love for God. You may indulge in reasoning or discussion, but if you feel no longing or love, it is all futile.

Second, the awakening of the Kundalini. As long as the Kundalini remains asleep, you have not attained knowledge of God. You may be spending hours poring over books or discussing philosophy, but if you have no inner restlessness for God, you have no knowledge of Him.

Path of devotion

"When the Kundalini is awakened, one attains bhava, bhakti, prema, and so on. This is the path of devotion.

Path of karma

"The path of karma is very difficult. Through it one obtains some powers-I mean occult powers."

ISHAN: "Let me go and see Hazra."

Sri Ramakrishna sat in silence. After a while Ishan returned to the room accompanied by Hazra. The Master was still silent. A few moments later Hazra whispered to Ishan: "Let's leave him alone. Perhaps he will meditate now." Both left the room.

Sri Ramakrishna was still silent. In a few moments the devotees noticed that he was really meditating. Then he performed japa. He placed his right hand on his head, then on his forehead, then on his throat, then on his heart, and last of all on his navel. Was it meditation on the Primordial Energy in the six centres of the body?

Ishan and Hazra had gone to the Kli temple. Sri Ramakrishna was absorbed in meditation. Meanwhile Adhar had arrived. It was about half past seven.

A little later the Master. went to the Kli temple. He looked at the image, took some sacred Rowers from the feet of the Mother, and placed them on his head. He prostrated himself before the Mother and went round the image. He waved the chamara. He appeared ecstatic with divine fervour. Coming out, he found Ishan performing the sandhya with the kosakusi.

Rituals are only steps

MASTER (to Ishan): "What? You are still here? Are you still performing the sandhya?

Listen to a song:

Why should I go to Ganga or Gaya, to Kasi, Kanchi, or Prabhas,

So long as I can brea the my last with Kli's name upon my lips?

What need of rituals has a man, what need of devotions any more,

If he repeats the Mother's name at the three holy hours?

Rituals may pursue him close, but never can they overtake him.

Charity, vows, and giving of gifts do not appeal to Madan's mind;

The Blissful Mother's Lotus Feet are his whole prayer and sacrifice. . . .

"How long must a man continue the sandhya? As long as he has not developed love for the Lotus Feet of God, as long as he does not shed tears and his hair does not stand on end when he repeats God's name.

I bow my head, says Prasad, before desire and liberation; Knowing the secret that Kli is one with the highest Brahman, I have discarded, once for all, both dharma and adharma.

"When the fruit grows, the flower drops off. When one has developed love of God and has beheld Him, then one gives up the sandhya and other rites. When the young daughter-in-law is with child, the mother-in-law reduces her activities. When she has been pregnant for nine months, she is not allowed to perform any household duty. After the birth of the child, she only carries the child on her arm and nurses it. She has no other duty. After the attainment of God, the sandhya and other rites are given up.

Master exhorts Ishan

"You cannot achieve anything by moving at such a slow pace. You need stern renunciation. Can you achieve anything by counting fifteen months as a year? You seem to have no strength, no grit. You are as mushy as flattened rice soaked in milk. Be up and doing! Gird your loins!

"I don't like that song:

Brother, joyfully cling to God;

Thus striving, some day you may attain Him.

I don't care for the line, 'Thus striving, some day you may attain Him.' You need stern renunciation. I say the same thing to Hazra.

"You ask me why you don't feel stern renunciation. There is a reason for it. You have desires and tendencies within you. The same is true of Hazra. In our part of the country I have seen peasants bringing water into their paddy-fields. The fields have low ridges on all sides to prevent the water from leaking out; but these are made of mud and often have holes here and there. The peasants work themselves to death to bring the water, which, however, leaks out through the holes. Desires are the holes. You practise japa and austerities, no doubt, but they all leak out through the holes of your desires.

"They catch fish with a bamboo trap. The bamboo is naturally straight. But why is it bent in the trap? In order to catch the fish. Desires are the fish. Therefore the mind is bent down toward the world. If there are no desires, the mind naturally looks up toward God.

"Do you know what it is like? It is like the needles of a balance. On account of the weight of 'woman and gold' the two needles are not in line. It is 'woman and gold' that makes a man stray from the path of yoga. Haven't you noticed the flame of a candle? The slightest wind makes it waver. The state of yoga is like the candle-flame in a windless place.

"The mind is dispersed. Part of it has gone to Dcc, part to Delhi, and another part to Coochbehar. That mind is to be gathered in; it must be concentrated on one object. If you want sixteen nn's worth of cloth, then you have to pay the merchant the full sixteen nns. Yoga is not possible if there is the slightest obstacle. If there is a tiny break in the telegraph-wire, then the news cannot be transmitted.

"You are no doubt in the world. What if you are? You must urrender the fruit of your action to God. You must not seek any result for yourself. But mark one thing. The desire for bhakti cannot be called a desire. You may desire bhakti and pray for it. Practise the tamas of bhakti and force your demand upon the Divine Mother.

This bitterly contested suit between the Mother and Her son-What sport it is! says Ramprasad. I shall not cease tormenting Thee

Till Thou Thyself shalt yield the fight and take me in Thine arms at last.

"Trailokya once remarked, 'As I was born into the family, I have a share in the estate.'

"God is your own Mother. Is She a stepmo ther? Is it an artificial relationship? If you cannot force your demand on Her, then on whom can you force it? Say to Her: Mother, am I Thine eight-months child? Thy red eyes cannot frighten me!.

A deed of gift I hold in my heart, attested by Thy Husband iva; I shall sue Thee, if I must, and with a single point shall win.

"God is your own Mother. Enforce your demand. If you are part of a thing, you feel its attraction. Because of the element of the Divine Mother in me I feel attracted to Her. A true Saiva has some of the characteristics of iva; he has in him some of the elements of iva. He who is a true Vaishnava is endowed with some of the elements of Narayana.

"Nowadays you don't have to attend to worldly duties. Spend a few days thinking of God.

You have seen that there is nothing to the world."

The Master sang:

Remember this, O mind! Nobody is your own:

Vain is your wandering in this world.

Trapped in the subtle snare of my as you are, Do not forget the Mother's name.

Only a day or two men honour you on earth

As lord and master; all too soon

That form, so honoured now, must needs be cast away, When Death, the Master, seizes you.

Even your beloved wife, for whom, while yet you live, You fret yourself almost to death,

Will not go with you then; she too will say farewell, And shun your corpse as an evil thing.

Continuing, the Master said: "What are these things you busy yourself with-this arbitration and leadership? I hear that you settle people's quarrels and that they make you the arbiter. You have been doing this kind of work a long time. Let those who care for such things do them. Now devote your mind more and more to the Lotus Feet of God. The saying goes: 'Ravana died in Lanka and Behula wept bitterly for him!'

"Sambhu, too, said, 'I shall build hospitals and dispensaries.' He was a devotee of God; so I said to him, 'Will you ask God for hospitals and dispensaries when you see Him?'

"Keshab Sen asked me, 'Why do I not see God?' I said, 'You do not see God because you busy yourself with such things as name and fame and scholarship.' The mother does not come to the child as long as it sucks its toy-a red toy. But when, after a few minutes, it throws the toy away and cries, then the mother takes down the rice-pot from the hearth and comes running to the child.

"You are engaged in arbitration. The Divine Mother says to Herself:'My child over there is now busy arbitrating and is very happy. Let him be.' "

In the mean time Ishan had been holding Sri Ramakrishna's feet. He said humbly, "It is not my will that I should do those things."

MASTER: "I know it. This is the Divine Mother's play-Her lila. It is the will of the Great Enchantress that many should remain entangled in the world. Do you know what it is like?

How many are the boats, O mind,

That float on the ocean of this world!

How many are those that sink!

Again,

Out of a hundred thousand kites, at best but one or two break free;

And Thou dost laugh and clap Thy hands, O

Mother, watching them!

Only one or two in a hundred thousand get liberation. The rest are entangled through the will of the Divine Mother.

"Haven't you seen the game of hide-and-seek? It is the 'granny's' will that the game should continue. If all touch her and are released, then the playing comes to a stop.

Therefore it is not her will that all should touch her.

You see, in big grain stores the merchants keep rice in great heaps that touch the ceiling. Beside them there are heaps of lentils. To protect the grain from the mice, the merchants leave trays of puffed rice and sweetened rice near it. The mice like the smell and the sweet taste of these and so stayaround the trays. They don't find the big heaps of grain. Similarly, men are deluded by 'woman and gold'; they do not know where God is."

"Rma said to Nrada, 'Ask a boon of Me.' Nrada said: 'O Rma, is there anything I lack? What shall I ask of Thee? But if Thou must give me a boon, grant that I may have selfless love for Thy Lotus Feet and that I may not be deluded by Thy world-bewitching my.' Rma said, 'Nrada, ask something else.' Nrada again replied: O Rma, I don't want anything else Be gracious to me and see that I have pure love for Thy Lotus Feet.'"

"I prayed to the Divine Mother: 'O Mother, I don't want name and fame I don't want the eight occult powers. I don't want a hundred occult powers O Mother, I have no desire for creature comforts. Please, Mother, grant me the boon that I may have pure love for Thy Lotus Feet.'"

"It is written in the Adhytma Rmyana that Lakshmana asked Rma 'Rma, in how many forms and moods do You exist? How shall I be able to recognize You?' Rma said: 'Brother, remember this. You may be certain that I exist wherever you find the manifestation of ecstatic love.' That love makes one laugh and weep and dance and sing; if anyone has developed such love, you may know for certain that God Himself is manifest there. Chaitanyadeva reached that state."

The devotees listened spellbound to Sri Ramakrishna. His burning words entered their souls, spurring them along the path of renunciation.

Now he spoke to Ishan in a serious voice.

MASTER: "Don't forget yourself because of what you hear from your flatterers. Flatterers gather around a worldly man. Vultures gather around the carcass of a cow.

"Worldly people have no stuff in them. They are like a heap of cow-dung. Flatterers come to them and say: 'You are so charitable and wise! You are so pious!' These are not mere words but pointed bamboos thrust at them. How foolish it is! To be surrounded day and night by a bunch of worldly brahmin pundits and hear their flattery!

"Worldly men are slaves of three things: they are slaves of their wives, slaves of their money, slaves of their masters. Can they have any inner stuff? There is a certain person whom I shall not name; he earns eight hundred rupees a month but is the slave of his wife. He stands up or sits down at her bidding.

"Arbitration and leadership? How trifling these are! Charity and doing good to others?

You have had enough of these. Those who are to devote themselves to such things belong to a different class. Now the time is ripe for you to devote your mind to the Lotus Feet of God. If you realize God, you will get everything else. First God, then charity, doing good to others, doing good to the world, and redeeming people. Why need you worry about these things. 'Ravana died in Lanka and Behula wept for him bitterly!'

"That's the trouble with you. It will be very good if a world-renouncing sannysi gives you some spiritual instruction. The advice of the worldly man will not be right, be he a brahmin pundit or anyone else.

"Be mad! Be mad with love of God! Let people know that Ishan has gone mad and cannot perform worldly duties any more. Then people will no longer come to you for leadership and arbitration. Throw aside the kosakusi and justify your name of Ishan."

Ishan quoted:

O Mother, make me mad with Thy love!

What need have I of knowledge or reason?

MASTER: "Mad! That's the thing! Shivanath once said that one 'loses one's head' by thinking too much of God. 'What?' said I. 'Can anyone ever become unconscious by thinking of Consciousness? God is of the nature of Eternity, Purity, and Consciousness.

Through His Consciousness one becomes conscious of everything; through His Intelligence the whole world appears intelligent.' Shivanath said that some Europeans had gone insane, that they had 'lost their heads', by thinking too much about God. In their case it may be true; for they think of worldly things. There is a line in a song: 'Divine fervour fills my body and robs me of consciousness.' The consciousness referred to here is the consciousness of the outer world."

Ishan was seated touching Sri Ramakrishna's feet and listening to his words. Now and then he cast a glance at the basalt image of Kli in the shrine. In the light of the lamp She appeared to be smiling. It was as if the living Deity, manifesting Herself through the image, was delighted to hear the Master's words, holy as the words of the Vedas.

ISHAN (pointing to the image); "Those words from your sacred lips have really come from there."

MASTER: "I am the machine and She is the Operator. I am the house and She is the Indweller. I am the chariot and She is the Charioteer. I move as She moves me; I speak as She speaks through me. In the Kaliyuga one does not hear the voice of God, it is said, except through the mouth of a child or a madman or some such person.

"A man cannot be a guru. Everything happens by the will of God. Heinous sins-the sins of many births-and accumulated ignorance all disappear in the twinkling of an eye, through the grace of God. When light enters a room that has been kept dark a thousand years, does it remove the thousand years' darkness little by little, or instantly? Of course, at the mere touch of light all the darkness disappears.

"What can a man do? He may speak many words, but after all is said and done everything rests with God. The lawyer says: 'I have said all that can be said. Now the verdict rests with the judge.'

"Brahman is actionless. When It is engaged in creation, preservation, and dissolution, It is called the Primal Power, dyakti. This Power must be propitiated. Don't you know that it is so written in the Chandi? The gods first sang a hymn to the dyakti in order to propitiate Her. Only then did Hari wake up from His yoga sleep."

ISHAN: "Yes, sir. Brahma and the other gods sang this hymn at the timeof the death of the demons Madhu and Kaitabha:

Svaha, Vashat, and Svadha art Thou; Thou the inner Self of the mantra;

Thou the Nectar of Immortality, O Everlasting One!

Eternal and unutterable art Thou, and yet Thou art manifest In the three matras and the half matra:

O Goddess, Thou art Savitri; Thou art the Ultimate Mother; All things have their support in Thee, by whom this universe was made.

O Goddess, Thou sustainest all, and all by Thee is devoured!

Thou it is that we call the Creator, when Thou createst the world,

O Embodiment of creation!

Thou it is that we call the Preserver, when Thou preservest it; Thou it is that we call the Destroyer, when Thou destroyest it."

MASTER: "Yes, but you must assimilate that."

The Master rose. He mounted the platform in front of the shrine and saluted the Mother, touching the ground with his forehead. The devotees quickly gathered around him and fell at his feet. They all begged his grace. He descended from the platform and started toward his room, conversing with M. First he sang: I bow my head, says Prasad, before desire and liberation; Knowing the secret that Kli is one with the highest Brahman,

I have discarded, once for all, both dharma and adharma.

The Master continued: "Do you know the meaning of dharma and adharma? Here dharma means religious acts enjoined by the scriptures, suchas charity, sraddha, feeding the poor, and the like.

"The performance of this dharma is called the path of karma. It is an extremely difficult path: it is very hard to act without motive. Therefore one is asked to pursue the path of devotion.

"A man was performing the sraddha ceremony at his house. He was feeding many people. Just then a butcher passed, leading a cow to slaughter. He could not control the animal and became exhausted. He said to himself: 'Let me go into that house and enjoy the feast of the sraddha ceremony and streng then my body. Then I shall be able to drag the cow along.' So he carried out his intention. But when he killed the cow, the sin of the slaughter fell also on the performer of the sraddha. That is why I say the path of devotion is better than the path of action."

The Master entered his room accompanied by M. He was humming a song. The forceful words of renunciation that he had just spoken to Ishan found expression through its words. He sang the lines:

Mother, take everything else away from me,

But leave me my necklace of bones and my pot of hemp!

Sri Ramakrishna sat down on the small couch, and Adhar, Kishori, and the other devotees sat on the foor.

MASTER (to tile devotees): "I was noticing Ishan, Why, he hasn't achieved anything!

What can be the reason? He practised the purascharana for five months. That would have caused a revolution in any other person.'

ADHAR: "It wasn't wise of you to say those things to him in front of us."

MASTER: "How is that? He is so much given to japa! How can words affect him?"

After a while Sri Ramakrishna said to Adhar, "Ishan is very charitable, and he practises japa and austerity a great deal." The Master remained quiet a few moments. The eyes of the devotees were fixed on him. Suddenly Sri Ramakrishna said to Adhar, "You have both-yoga and bhoga."

Saturday, October 18, 1884

It was the day of the worship of Kli, the Divine Mother. The worship was to begin at eleven o'clock at night. Several devotees arrived at the temple.

All creation is the sport of my mad Mother Kli; By Her my the three worlds are bewitched.

Mad is She and mad is Her Husband; mad are Her two disciples!

None can describe Her loveliness, Her glories, gestures, moods;

iva, with the agony of the poison in His throat, Chants Her name again and again.

The Personal does She oppose to the Impersonal, Breaking one stone with another;

Though to all else She is agreeable,

Where duties are concerned She will not yield.

Keep your raft, says Ramprasad, afloat on the sea of life, Drifting up with the flood-tide, drifting down with the ebb.

The Master was quite overwhelmed with the song. He said that songs like these denoted a state of divine inebriation. He sang one after another:

This time I shall devour Thee utterly, Mother Kli!

For I was born under an evil star,

And one so born becomes, they say, the eater of his mother. . . .

Then:

O Kli, my Mother full of Bliss! Enchantress of the Almighty iva!

In Thy delirious joy Thou dancest, clapping Thy hands together! . . .

And then:

If at the last my life-breath leaves me as I repeat the name of Kli,

I shall attain the realm of iva. What does Benares mean to me?

Infinite are my Mother's glories; who can find the end of Her virtues?

iva, beholding their smallest part, lies prostrate at Her Lotus Feet.

The singing was over. Two sons of Rajnarayan entered the room and bowed low before the Master. In the afternoon they had sung with their father the glories of the Divine Mother. The Master sang again with them:

All creation is the sport of my mad Mother Kli The younger brother requested Sri Ramakrishna to sing a certain song about Sri Gaurnga. The Master sang:

Gaur and Nitai, ye blessed brothers!

I have heard how kind you are,

And therefore I have come to you. . . .

Ramlal entered the room. The Master said to him: "Please sing something about the Divine Mother. It is the day of Her worship."

Ramlal sang:

Who is the Woman yonder who lights the field of battle?

Darker Her body gleams even than the darkest storm-cloud, And from Her teeth there flash the lightning's blinding flames!

Dishevelled Her hair is flying behind as She rushes about, Undaunted in this war between the gods and the demons.

Laughing Her terrible laugh, She slays the fleeing asuras, And with Her dazzling flashes She bares the horror of war. . . .

Again Ramlal sang:

Who, is this terrible Woman, dark as the sky at midnight?

Who is this Woman dancing over the field of battle? . . .

Sri Ramakrishna began to dance to the song. Then he himself sang: The black bee of my mind is drawn in sheer delight To the blue lotus flower of Mother Syama's feet, The blue flower of the feet of Kli, iva's Consort.

Tasteless, to the bee, are the blossoms of desire.

My Mother's feet are black, and black, too, is the bee; Black is made one with black! This much of the mystery These mortal eyes behold, then hastily retreat.

But Kamalakanta's hopes are answered in the end; He swims in the Sea of Bliss, unmoved by joy or pain.

After the music and dancing Sri Ramakrishna sat on the couch and the devotees sat on the floor. He said to M.: "It is a pity you weren't here in the afternoon. The musical recital of the Chandi was very fine."

Some of the devotees went to the temple to salute the image of the Divine Mother.

Others sat quietly performing japa on the steps leading to the Ganges. It was about eleven o'clock, the most auspicious time for contemplation of the Divine Mother. The flood-tide was rising in the Ganges, and the lights on its banks were reflected here and there in its dark waters.

From outside the shrine M. was looking wistfully at the image. Ramlal came to the temple with a book in his hand containing the rules of the worship. He asked M. if he wanted to come in. M. felt highly favoured and entered the shrine. He saw that the Divine Mother was profusely decorated. The room was brilliantly illuminated by a large chandelier that hung from the ceiling. Two candles were burning in front of the image.

On the floor were trays full of offerings. Red hibiscus flowers and bel-leaves adorned Her feet. She wore garlands round Her neck, M.'s eyes fell on the chamara. Suddenly he remembered that Sri Ramakrishna often fanned the Divine Mother with it. With some hesitation he asked Ramlal if he might fan the image. The priest gave his permission. M.

joyously fanned the image. The regular worship had not yet begun.

The devotees again entered the Master's room. Beni Pl had invited Sri Ramakrishna to visit the Sinthi Brahmo Samaj the next day, but had made a mistake in his letter with regard to the date.

MASTER (to M.): "Beni Pl has sent me an invitation. But why has he put the wrong date?"

M: "The date was not written correctly. He wrote the letter carelessly."

As Sri Ramakrishna spoke, he was standing in the middle of the room with Baburam by his side. He leaned toward the disciple, touching his body.

Suddenly he went into samdhi. The devotees stood around with their eyes fixed on him.

The Master's left foot was advanced a little; the shoulder was slightly inclined to one side; his arm rested on Baburam's neck near the ear. After a while he came down from the ecstatic state. As he stood there he put one hand to his cheek and appeared to be brooding over something. Then, smiling, he addressed the devotees.

MASTER: "I saw everything-how far the devotees had advanced. I saw Rkhl, him (pointing to M.), Surendra, Baburam, and many others."

HAZRA: "Me?"

MASTER: "Yes."

HAZRA: "Many more obstacles?"

MASTER: "No."

HAZRA: "What about Narendra?"

MASTER: "I didn't see him. But I can tell about him. He is a little entangled. But I saw that everyone will succeed. (To M.) I saw that all are in hiding."

The devotees listened to these words with great wonder. It seemed to them that they were hearing an oracle.

MASTER: "But I got into that mood by touching Baburam."

HAZRA: "Who is first?"

Sri Ramakrishna was quiet for a time. Then he said, "I wish I had a few like Nityagopal."

Again he appeared thoughtful. He remained standing. He said: "I wish Adhar Sen's duties would become fewer. But I am afraid the English officer will scold him. He may say, 'What is all this nonsense?'" (All smile.) Sri Ramakrishna sat on the small couch, and the devotees on the floor. Baburam. and Kishori came quickly to the Master and began to stroke his feet gently.

MASTER (to Kishori): "What's the matter? Why so much service today?

The worship in the temple

Ramlal entered the room and saluted Sri Ramakrishna, touching the ground with his forehead. Then with great respect he touched the Master's feet. He was ready to worship the Divine Mother in the temple.

RAMLAL: "Please permit me to go to the shrine."

The Master twice uttered the words "Om Kli" and said: "Perform the worship carefully.

There is also a sheep to be slaughtered."

It was midnight. The worship began in the Kli temple. The Master went to watch the ceremony. During the worship he stood near the image. Now the sheep was going to be slaughtered. The animal was consecrated before the Deity. People stood in lines watching the ceremony. While the sheep was being taken to the block Sri Ramakrishna returned to his room. He could not bear the sight.

Several devotees remained in the temple till two o'clock in the morning. Haripada came and asked them to take the prasad to the Master's room. After finishing their meal they lay down wherever they could for the remainder of the night.

It was morning. The dawn service in the temples was over and the theatrical performance was going on in the open hall in front of the shrine. M. was coming through the courtyard with Sri Ramakrishna. He wanted to take leave of the Master.

MASTER: "Why should you go now?"

M: "You are going to Sinthi in the afternoon. I too intend to be there. So I should like to go home for a few hours."

They came to the Kli temple. At the foot of the steps M. saluted the Master.

MASTER: "You are going? All right. Please bring two pieces of cheap cloth for me. I shall use them while taking my bath."

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Chapter 32

VISIT TO THE SINTHI BRAMO SAMAJ

October 19, 1884

ON THIS DAY Sri Ramakrishna again visited the Sinthi Brahmo Samaj. It was the occasion of the autumn festival of the Samaj, which was being celebrated at Benimadhav Pal's garden house. The hall was decorated with flowers and greens, flags and festoons, of various colours. Outside, the blue autumn sky with its fleecy clouds was reflected in the water of the lake.

Sri Ramakrishna arrived at half past four in the afternoon. Entering the hall, he bowed down before the altar. The Brahmo devotees, among whom could be noticed Vijay and Trailokya, sat around him. A sub-judge, who was a member of the Brahmo Samaj, was with them.

Trailokya was entertaining the devotees with his melodious music.

MASTER (to Trailokya): "That song of yours, 'O Mother, make me mad with Thy love', I enjoy very much. Won't you sing it?"

Trailokya sang:

O Mother, make me mad with Thy love!

What need have I of knowledge or reason?

Make me drunk with Thy love's Wine;

O Thou who stealest Thy bhaktas' hearts,

Drown me deep in the Sea of Thy love!

Here in this world, this madhouse of Thine,

Some laugh, some weep, some dance for joy:

Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Gaurnga,

All are drunk with the Wine of Thy love.

O Mother, when shall I be blessed

By joining their blissful company?

As he listened to the song, the Master's mind underwent a transformation, and presently he went into deep samdhi. Coming down a little to the plane of the sense world, he gave instruction to the devotees. His mind was still charged with the divine experience.

His words were spoken as if in a state of intoxication. Gradually he became again fully conscious of the world.

MASTER: "O Mother! I don't want the bliss of divine inebriation. I shall eat siddhi.

Occult powers

(To the devotees) "By 'siddhi' I mean the attainment of the spiritual goal and not one of the eight occult powers. About the occult powers, Sri Krishna said to Arjuna, 'Friend, if you find anyone who has acquired even one of the eight powers, then know for certain he will not realize Me.' For powers surely beget pride, and God cannot be realized if there is the slightest trace of pride.

Four classes of devotees

"According to a certain school of thought there are four classes of devotees: the pravartaka, the sadhaka, the siddha, and the siddha of the siddha. He who has just begun religious life is a pravartaka. Such a man puts his denominational marks on his body and forehead, wears a rosary around his neck, and scrupulously follows other outer conventions. The sadhaka has advanced farther. His desire for outer show has become less. He longs for the realization of God and prays to Him sincerely. He repeats the name of God and calls on Him with a guileless heart. Now, whom should we call the siddha? He who has the absolute conviction that Cod exists and is the sole Doer; he who has seen God. And who is the siddha of the siddha? He who has not merely seen God, but has intimately talked with Him as Father, Son, or Beloved.

Difference between intellectual understanding and actual vision "It is one thing to believe beyond a doubt that fire exists in wood, but it is quite another to get the fire from the wood, cook rice with its help, appease one's hunger, and so be satisfied. These are two entirely different things.

"No one can put a limit to spiritual experience. If you refer to one experience, there is another beyond that, and still another, and so on.

Advice to Brahmo

(In an ecstatic mood, referring to the Brahmos) 'They are Brahma jnanis. They believe in the formless Deity. That is good.

(To the Brahmo devotees) "Be firm in one ideal-either in God with form or in the formless God. Then alone will you realize God; otherwise not. With firm and unwavering belief the followers of God with form will realize Him, as will those who speak of Him as formless. You may eat a cake with icing either straight or sidewise; it will taste sweet either way. (All laugh.)

Need of firmness and conviction

"But you must have firm conviction, you must pray to Him whole-heartedly.

Faith of the worldly-minded

Do you know what the God of worldly people is like? It is like children's saying to one another while at play, 'I swear by God.' They have learnt the word from the quarrels of their aunts or grandmo thers. Or it is like God to a dandy. The dandy, all spick and span, his lips red from chewing betel-leaf, walks in the garden, cane in hand, and, plucking a flower, exclaims to his friend, 'Ah! What a beautiful flower God has made!' But this feeling of a worldly person is momentary. It lasts as long as a drop of water on a red-hot frying-pan.

"You must be firm in one ideal. Dive deep. Otherwise you cannot get the gems at the bottom of the ocean. You cannot pick up the gems if you only float on the surface."

With these words the Master sang in the sweet voice that had bewitched the hearts of devotees like Keshab:

Dive deep, O mind, dive deep in the Ocean of God's Beauty; If you descend to the uttermost depths,

There you will find the gem of Love. . . .

The devotees felt as if they were in paradise itself.

Seek the Creator and not the world's beauty

MASTER (to the Brahmos): "Dive deep. Learn to love God. Plunge into divine love. You see, I have heard how you pray. Why do you Brahmos dwell so much on the glories of God? Is there such great need of your saying over and over again, 'O God, You have created the sky, the great oceans, the lunar world, the solar world, and the stellar world'?

"Everybody is wonder-struck at the mere sight of a rich man's garden house. People become speechless at the sight of the trees, the flowers, the ponds, the drawing-room, the pictures. But alas, how few are they who seek the owner of all these! Only one or two inquire after him. He who seeks God with a longing heart can see Him, talk to Him as I am talking to you. Believe my words when I say that God can be seen. But ah! To whom am I saying these words? Who will believe me?

Futility of mere study

"Can one find God in the sacred books? By reading the scriptures one may feel at the most that God exists. But God does not reveal Himself to a man unless he himself dives deep. Only after such a plunge, after the revelation of God through His grace, is one's doubt destroyed. You. may read scriptures by the thousands and recite thousands of texts; but unless you plunge into God with yearning of heart, you will not comprehend Him. By mere scholarship you may fool man, but not God.

"Scriptures and books-what can one achieve with these alone? Nothing can be realized without His grace. Strive with a longing heart for His grace. Through His grace you will see Him and He will talk to you."

Different degrees of divine manifestation

SUB-JUDGE: "Sir, does God show more grace to one than to another? If so, He can be accused of the fault of partiality."

MASTER: "What are you saying? Do you mean to say that the moon and a glowworm are the same, though both give light? Iswar Vidysgar asked me the same question. He said, 'Is it a fact, sir, that God gives more power to one and less to another?' 'God', I said, 'exists in every being as the All pervading Spirit. He is in the ant as well as in me.

But there are different manifestations of His Power in different beings. If all are the same, then why have we come here to see you, attracted by your renown? Have you grown a pair of horns? Oh, no! It is not that. You have compassion; you have scholarship; there is a greater degree of these virtues in you than in others. That is the reason you are so well known.' Don't you see that there are men who, single-handed, can defeat a hundred persons? Again, one man takes to his heels in fear of another; you see such a person, too. If there are not different manifestations of power in different beings, then why did people respect Keshab Sen so much?

"It is said in the Git that if a man is respected and honoured by many, whether it be for his scholarship or his music or his oratory or anything else, then you may know for certain that he is endowed with a special divine power."

A BRAMO (to the sub-judge): "Why don't you accept what he says?"

MASTER (sharply, to the Brahmo): "What sort of man are you? To accept words without conviction! Why, that is hypocrisy! I see you are only a counterfeit."

The Brahmo was much embarrassed.

Advice to the worldly-minded & Prayer in solitude SUB-JUDGE: "Sir, must we renounce the world?"

MASTER: "No. Why should you? A man can realize God even in the world. But at the beginning he must spend a few days in solitude. He must practise spiritual discipline in a solitary place. He should take a room near his house, so that he may come home only for his meals. Keshab, Pratap, and others said to me, 'Sir, we follow the ideal of King Janaka.' 'Mere words don't make a King Janaka', I replied. 'How many austerities King Janaka first had to perform in solitude-standing on his head, and so on! Do something first; then you may become a King Janaka.' You see a man writing English fluently; but could he do that at the very start? Perhaps he was the son of poor parents; he was cook in a family and earned his meals by his service. Perhaps he had to struggle hard to go on with his studies. It is after all these efforts that he can now write such fluent English.

Danger of "woman and gold"

"I said to Keshab Sen further, 'How can the worldly man be cured of his serious disease unless he goes into solitude?' A worldly man is suffering from delirious fever, as it were.

Suppose there are pickled tamarind and jars of water in the room of such a patient.

Now, how can you expect him to get rid of the disease? Just see, the very mention of pickled tamarind is making my mouth water! (All laugh.) You can very well imagine what will happen if the tamarind is actually put in front of me. To a man, a woman is the pickled tamarind, and his desire for enjoyment, the jars of water. There is neither end nor limit to this desire for worldly enjoyment. And the things are in the patient's very room. Can you expect the patient to get rid of the delirious fever in this fashion? He must be removed for a few days to another place where there are neither pickled tamarind nor water-jars. Then he will be cured. After that if he returns to his old room he will have nothing to fear. 'Woman and gold' cannot do any harm to the man who lives in the world after attaining God. Only then can he lead a detached life in the world as King Janaka did. But he must be careful at the beginning. He must practise spiritual discipline in strict solitude. The peepal-tree, when young, is fenced around to protect it from cattle. But there is no need for the fence when the trunk grows thick and strong.

Then no harm will be done to the tree even if an elephant is tied to it. 'Woman and gold'

will not be able to harm you in the least, if you go home and lead a householder's life after increasing your spiritual strength and developing love for the Lotus Feet of God through the practice of spiritual discipline in solitude.

"A man sets milk in a quiet place to curdle, and then he extracts butter from the curd.

After once extracting the butter of Devotion and Knowledge from the milk of the mind, if you keep that transformed mind in the water of the world, it will float in the world unattached. But if the mind in its 'unripe' state-that is to say, when it is just like liquid milk-is kept in the water of the world, then the milk and water will get mixed. In that case it will be impossible for the mind to float unattached in the world.

"Live in the world but, in order to realize God, hold fast to His Lotus Feet with one hand and with the other do your duties. When you get a respite from your duties, cling to God's Lotus Feet with both hands-live in solitude and meditate on Him and serve Him ceaselessly."

SUB-JUDGE (joyously): "Sir, these are very beautiful words indeed. Of course one must practise spiritual discipline in solitude. But we forget all about it. We think we have become King Janaka outright! (The Master and the devotees laugh.) I feel very happy and peaceful even to hear that there is no need to give up the world and that God can be realized from home as well."

MASTER: "Why should you give up the world? Since you must fight, it is wise for you to fight from a fort. You must fight against your sense-organs, against your hunger and thirst. Therefore you will be wise to face the battle from the world. Further, in the Kaliyuga the life of a man depends on his food. If one day you have nothing to eat, then you will forget all about God. A man once said to his wife, 'I am going to leave the world.' She was a sensible woman. She said: 'Why should you wander about? If you don't have to knock at ten doors for your stomach's sake, go. But if that is the case, then better live in this one place.'

"Again I say, why should you give up the world? You will find it more convenient at home. You won't have to worry about food. You may even live with your wife. It isn't harmful. You will find near at hand all that the body needs at different times. When you are ill, you will have someone near you to nurse you.

"Sages like Janaka, Vysa, and Vasishtha lived in the world after attaining Knowledge.

They fenced with two swords, the one of Knowledge and the other of action."

SUB-JUDGE: "How can we know that we have Knowledge?"

MASTER: "When one has Knowledge one does not see God any more at a distance. One does not think of Him any more as 'He'. He becomes 'This'. Then He is seen in one's own heart. God dwells in every man. He who seeks God realizes Him."

Sin and God's name

SUB-JUDGE: "Sir, I am a sinner. How can I say that God dwells in me?"

MASTER: "That's the one trouble with you Brahmos. With you it is always sin and sin!

That's the Christian view, isn't it? Once a man gave me a Bible.A part of it was read to me, and it was full of that one thing-sin and sin! One must have such faith that one can say: 'I have uttered the name of God; I have repeated the name of Rma or Hari. How can I be a sinner?' One must have faith in the glory of God's name."

SUB-JUDGE: "Sir, how can one have such faith?"

MASTER: "Have passionate love for God. One of your Brahmo songs says: O Lord, is it ever possible to know Thee without love, However much one may perform worship and sacrifice?

Pray to God in secret and with yearning, that you may have that passionate attachment and devotion to Him. Shed tears for Him. A man sheds a jugful of tears because his wife is sick or because he is losing money or because he is worrying about getting a job. But tell me, who ever weeps for God?'

Self-surrender to God

TRAlLOKYA: "Sir, where is people's leisure? They must serve their English masters."

MASTER: "Well, then give God the power of attorney. If a man entrusts his affairs to a good person, will the latter do him any harm? With all the sincerity of your heart resign yourself to God and drive all your worries out of your mind. Do whatever duties He has assigned to you. The kitten does not have a calculating mind. It only cries, 'Mew, mew!'

It lies in the kitchen contentedly if the mother cat leaves it there, and only calls the mother, crying, 'Mew, mew!' It has the same feeling of contentment when the mother cat puts it on the soft bed of the master of the house. It only cries for its mother."

Duty to wife and children

SUB-JUDGE: "Sir, we are householders. How long should we perform our worldly duties?"

MASTER: "Surely you have duties to perform. You must bring up your children, support your wife, and provide for her in case of your death. If you don't, then I shall call you unkind. Sages like Sukadeva had compassion. He who has no compassion is no man."

SUB-JUDGE: "How long should one support one's children?"

MASTER: "As long as they have not reached their majority. When the chick becomes a full-grown bird and can look after itself, then the mother bird pecks it and doesn't allow it to come near her." (All laugh.)

SUB-JUDGE: "What is a householder's duty to his wife?"

MASTER: "You should give her spiritual advice and support her during your lifetime and provide for her livelihood after your death, if she is a chaste wife.

"But if you are intoxicated with the Knowledge of God, then you have no more duties to perform. Then God Himself will think about your morrow if you yourself cannot do so.

God Himself will think about your family if you are intoxicated with Him. If a landlord dies leaving behind a minor son, then a guardian appointed by the court takes charge of the son. These are all points of law; you know them."

SUB-JUDGE: "Yes, sir."

VIJAY: "Ah! Priceless words! God Himself carries on His shoulders all the responsibilities of a person who thinks of Him with single-minded devotion and is mad with divine love.

A minor gets his guardian without seeking him. Alas, when shall I have that state of mind? How lucky they are who feel that way!"

TRAILOKYA: "Is it ever possible, sir, to have true knowledge of God while living in the world? Can one realize God here?"

MASTER (with a smile): "Why do you worry? You are enjoying both treacle and refined sugar. (All laugh.) You are living in the world with your mind in God. Isn't that true? Why shouldn't a man realize God in the world'? Certainly he can."

TRAILOKYA: What are the signs of a householder having attained Knowledge?"

MASTER: "His tears will flow, and the hair on his body will stand on end. No sooner does he hear the sweet name of God than the hair on his body stands on end from sheer delight, and tears roll down his cheeks. "A man cannot get rid of body-consciousness as long as he is attached to worldly things and loves 'woman and gold'. As he becomes less and less attached to worldly things, he approaches nearer and nearer to the Knowledge of Self. He also becomes less and less conscious of his body. He attains Self-Knowledge when his worldly attachment totally disappears. Then he realizes that body and soul are two separate things. It is very difficult to separate with a knife the kernel of a coconut from the shell before the milk inside has dried up. When the milk dries up, the kernel rattles inside the shell. At that time it loosens itself from the shell. Then the fruit is called a dry coconut.

Signs of God-vision

"The sign of a man's having realized God is that he has become like a dry coconut. He has become utterly free from the consciousness that he is the body. He does not feel happy or unhappy with the happiness or unhappiness of the body. He does not seek the comforts of the body. He roams about in the world as a jivanmukta, one liberated in life.

'The devotee of Kli is a jivanmukta , full of Eternal Bliss.'

"When you find that the very mention of God's name brings tears to your eyes and makes your hair stand on end, then you will know that you have freed yourself from attachment to 'woman and gold' and attained God. If the matches are dry, you get a spark by striking only one of them. But if they are damp, you don't get a spark even if you strike fifty. You only waste matches. Similarly, if your mind is soaked in the pleasure of worldly things, in 'woman and gold', then God-Consciousness will not be kindled in you. You may try a thousand times, but all your efforts will be futile. But no sooner does attachment to worldly pleasure dry up than the spark of God flashes forth."

Force your demand on the Divine Mother

TRAILOKYA: "What is the way to dry up the craving for worldly pleasure?"

MASTER: "Pray to the Divine Mother with a longing heart. Her vision dries up all craving for the world and completely destroys all attachment to 'woman and gold'. It happens instantly if you think of Her as your own mother. She is by no means a godmother. She is your own mother. With a yearning heart persist in your demands on Her. The child holds to the skirt of its mother and begs a penny of her to buy a kite. Perhaps the mother is gossiping with her friends. At first she refuses to give the penny and says to the child: 'No, you can't have it. Your daddy has asked me not to give you money. When he comes home I'll ask him about it. You will get into trouble if you play with a kite now.'

The child begins to cry and will not give up his demand. Then the mother says to her friends: 'Excuse me a moment. Let me pacify this child.' Immediately she unlocks the cash-box with a click and throws the child a penny.

"You too must force your demand on the Divine Mother. She will come to you without fail. I once said the same thing to some Sikhs when they visited the temple at Dakshineswar. We were conversing in front of the Kli temple. They said, 'God is compassionate.' 'Why compassionate?' I asked. They said, 'Why, revered sir, He constantly looks after us, gives us righteousness and wealth, and provides us with our food.' 'Suppose', I said, 'a man has children. Who will look after them and provide them with food-their own father, or a man from another village?'

SUB-JUDGE: "Is not God, then, compassionate, sir?"

MASTER: "Why should you think that? I just made a remark. What I mean to say is that God is our very own. We can exert force on Him. With one's own people one can even go so far as to say, 'You rascal! Won't you give it to me?'

Futility of egotism

(To the sub-judge) "Let me ask you one thing. Are vanity and egotism the result of knowledge or of ignorance? Egotism is of the nature of tamas; it is begotten by ignorance. On account of the barrier of ego one does not see God. 'All troubles come to an end when the ego dies.' It is futile to be egotistic. Neither body nor wealth will last.

Once a drunkard was looking at the image of Durga. At the sight of Her decorations, he said, 'Well, Mother! However You may fix Yourself up, after two or three days they will drag You out and throw You into the Ganges.' (All laugh.) "So I say to you all, you may be a judge or anybody else, but it is all for two days only.

Therefore you should give up vanity and pride.

Sattva, rajas, and tamas

"The characteristics of sattva, rajas, and tamas are very different. Egotism sleep, gluttony, lust, anger, and the like, are the traits of' people with tamas. Men with rajas entangle themselves in many activities. Such a man has clothes all spick and span. His house is immaculately clean. A portrait of the Queen hangs on a wall in his drawing-room. When he worships God he wears a silk cloth. He has a string of rudraksha beads around his neck, and in between the beads he puts a few gold ones. When someone comes to visit the worship hall in his house, he himself acts as guide. After showing the hall, he says to the visitor: 'Please come this way, sir. There are other things too-the floor of white marble and the natmandir with its exquisite carvings.' When he gives in charity he makes a show of it. But a man endowed with sattva is quiet and peaceful. So far as dress is concerned, anything will do. He earns only enough money to give his stomach the simplest of food; he never flatters men to get money. His house is out of repair. He never worries about his children's clothing. He does not hanker for name and fame. His worship, charity, and meditation are all done in secret; people do not know, about them at all. He meditates inside his mosquito curtain. People think he doesn't sleep well at night and for that reason sleeps late in the morning. Sattva is the last step of the stairs; next is the roof. As soon as sattva is acquired there is no further delay in attaining God. One step forward and God is realized. (To the sub-judge) Didn't you say that all men were equal? Now you see that there are so many varieties of human nature.

Four classes of men

"There are still other classes and kinds of people. For instance, there are those who are eternally free, those who have attained liberation, those struggling for liberation, and those entangled in the world. So many varieties of men! Sages like Nrada and Sukadeva are eternally free. They are like a steamship, which not only crosses the ocean but can carry big animals, even an elephant. Further, the soul that is eternally free is like the superintendent of an estate. After bringing one part of the estate under control, he goes to another. Those struggling for liberation strive heart and soul to free themselves from the net of the world. One or two of them may get out of the net. They are called the liberated. The souls that are eternally free are like clever fish; they are never caught in the net.

"But the souls that are entangled, involved in worldliness, never come to their senses.

They lie in the net but are not even conscious that they are entangled. If you speak of God before them, they at once leave the place. They say: 'Why God now? We shall think of Him in the hour of death.' But when they lie on their death-beds, they say to their wives or children: 'Why have you put so many wicks in the lamp? Use only one wick.

Otherwise too much oil will be burnt.' While dying they think of their wives and children, and weep, 'Alas! What will happen to them after my death?'

The entangled soul

"The entangled souls repeat those very actions that make them suffer so much. They are like the camel, which eats thorny bushes till the blood streams from its mouth, but still will not give them up. Such a man may have lost his son and be stricken with grief, but still he will have children year after year. He may ruin himself by his daughter's marriage, but still he will go on having daughters every year. And he says: 'What can I do? It's just my luck!' When he goes to a holy place he doesn't have any time to think of God. He almost kills himself carrying bundles for his wife. Entering the temple, he is very eager to give his child the holy water to drink or make him roll on the floor; but he has no time for his own devotions. These bound creatures slave for their masters to earn food for themselves and their families; and they earn money by lying, cheating, flattery.

They laugh at those who think of God and meditate on Him, and call them lunatics.

"So you see how many different kinds of men there are. You said that all men were equal. But how many varieties of men there are! Some have more power and some less.

Thought of God at the hour of death

"The entangled creatures, attached to worldliness, talk only of worldly things in the hour of death. What will it avail such men if they outwardly repeat the name of God, take a bath in the Ganges, or visit sacred places? If they cherish within themselves attachment to the world, it must show up at the hour of death. While dying they rave nonsense.

Perhaps they cry out in a delirium, 'Turmeric powder! Seasoning! Bay-leaf!' The singing parrot, when at ease, repeats the holy names of Radha and Krishna, but when it is seized by a cat it utters its own natural sound; it squawks, 'Kaa! Kaa!' It is said in the Git that whatever one thinks in the hour of death, one becomes in the after-life. King Bharata gave up his body exclaiming, 'Deer! Deer!' and was born as a deer in his next life. But if a man dies thinking of God, then he attains God, and he does not have to come back to the life of this world."

A BRAMO DEVOTEE: "Sir, suppose a man has thought of God at other times during his life, but at the time of his death forgets Him. Would he, on that account, come back to this world of sorrow and suffering? Why should it be so? He certainly thought of God some time during his life."

MASTER: "A man thinks of God, no doubt, but he has no faith in Him. Again and again he forgets God and becomes attached to the world. It is like giving the elephant a bath; afterwards he covers his body with mud and dirt again. 'The mind is a mad elephant.'

But if you can make the elephant go into the stable immediately after bathing him, then he stays clean. Just so, if a man thinks of God in the hour of death, then his mind becomes pure and it gets no more opportunity to become attached to 'woman and gold'.

"Man has no faith in God. That is the reason he suffers so much. They say that when you plunge into the holy waters of the Ganges your sins perch on a tree on the bank. No sooner do you come out of the water after the bath than the sins jump back on your shoulders. (All laugh.) A man must prepare the way beforehand, so that he may think of God in the hour of death. The way lies through constant practice. If a man practises meditation on God, he will remember God even on the last day of his life."

A BRAHMO DEVOTEE: "You have spoken very beautifully, sir. Beautiful words, indeed."

Master's humility

MASTER: "Oh, this is just idle talk. But do you know my inner feeling? I am the machine and God is the Operator. I am the house and He is the Indweller. I am the engine and He is the Engineer. I am the chariot and He is the Charioteer. I move as He moves me; I do as He makes me do."

Presently Trailokya began to sing to the accompaniment of drums and cymbals. Sri Ramakrishna danced, intoxicated with divine love. Many times he went into samdhi. He stood still, his eyes fixed, his face beaming, with one hand on the shoulder of a beloved disciple. Coming down a little from the state of ecstasy, he danced again like a mad elephant. Regaining consciousness of the outer world, he improvised lines to the music: O Mother, dance about Thy devotees!

Dance Thyself and make them dance as well.

O Mother, dance in the lotus of my heart;

Dance, O Thou the ever blessed Brahman!

Dance in all Thy world-bewitching beauty.

An indescribable scene. The exquisite and celestial dance of a child completely filled with ecstatic love of God and identified heart and soul with the Divine Mother! The Brahmo devotees danced around the Master again and again, attracted like iron to a magnet. In ecstatic voices they chanted the name of Brahman. Again, they chanted the name of the Divine Mother. Many of them wept like children, crying, "Mother! Mother!"

When the music was over, the devotees and the Master sat down. Although it was about eight o'clock, the evening worship of the Brahmo Samaj had not yet begun. In the joy of this divine music they had forgotten all about their formal worship. Vijay, who was to conduct the evening service, sat facing the Master. His mother-in-law and the other Brahmo ladies wanted to see Sri Ramakrishna; so the Master went to meet them in another room.

After a time the Master came back and said to Vijay: "What devotion to God your mother-in-law has! About the worldly life she said to me: 'Oh, you needn't tell me about the world. No sooner does one wave disappear than another rises up.' 'But', I said, 'what is that to you? You have knowledge.' She replied: 'Where is my knowledge? I haven't yet been able to go beyond Vidy-my and Avidy-my. It won't help me much to go beyond just the illusion of ignorance; I shall have to transcend the illusion of knowledge as well. Only then shall I have true knowledge of God. I am quoting your own words.' "

While they were talking, Beni Pl, their host, entered the room.

BENI (to Vijay): "Sir, please get up. It is already late. Please begin the worship."

VIJAY: "What further need is there of worship? I find that according to your arrangement the rice pudding is served first, and then the soup and other dishes."

MASTER (with a smile): 'The devotees provide offerings according to their temperaments. The sattvic devotee offers the Deity simple rice pudding, and the rajasic devotee, fifty different dishes. The tamasic devotee slaughters goats and other animals."

Vijay began to hesitate about going to the platform to conduct the worship. He said to the Master, "I shall conduct the worship from the platform only if you give me your blessing."

MASTER: "It will be all right if you don't feel any egotism, if you don't have the vain feeling: 'I am giving a lecture. Listen to me.' What begets egotism? Knowledge or ignorance? It is only the humble man who attains Knowledge. In a low place rain-water collects. It runs down from a mound.

"A man achieves neither Knowledge nor liberation as long as he has egotism. He comes back again and again to the world. The calf bellows, 'Hamba! Hamba!', that is, 'I! I!' That is why it suffers such agony. The butcher slaughters it and the shoe-maker makes shoes from its hide. Besides, its hide is used for the drum, which is beaten mercilessly. Still no end to its misery! At long last a carding machine is made from its entrails. While carding the cotton the machine makes the sound 'Tuhu! Tuhu!', that is, 'Thou! Thou!' Then the poor calf is released from all suffering. It no longer says, 'Hamba! Hamba!' but repeats, 'Tuhu! Tuhu!' The calf says, as it were, 'O God, Thou art the Doer and I am nothing.

Thou art the Operator and I am the machine. Thou art everything.'

"Three words-'master', 'teacher', and 'father'-prick me like thorns. I am the son of God, His eternal child. How can I be a 'father'? God alone is the Master and I am His instrument. He is the Operator and I am the machine.

"If somebody addresses me as guru, I say to him: 'Go away, you fool! How can I be a teacher?' There is no teacher except Satchidananda. There is no refuge except Him. He alone is the Ferryman to take one across the ocean of the world. (To Vijay) It is very difficult to act as an chrya. It harms the chrya himself. Finding a number of men doing him reverence, he sits you put four seers of milk in a oneseer jar? If God, through His grace, ever reveals Himself to His devotee and makes him understand, then he will know; but not otherwise.

"That which is Brahman is akti, and That, again, is the Mother.

He it is, says Ramprasad, that I approach as Mother; But must I give away the secret, here in the marketplace?

From the hints I have given, 0 mind, guess what that Being is!

Ramprasad implies that he has known the truth of Brahman. He addresses Brahman as Mother.

"In another song Ramprasad expresses the same idea thus: Knowing the secret that Kli is one with the highest Brahman,

I have discarded, once for all, both dharma and adharma.

Adharma means unrighteous actions, actions forbidden by religion. Dharma means the pious actions prescribed by religion, as, for instance, charity to the poor, feeding the brahmins, and so on."

VIJAY: "What remains if one renounces both dharma and dharma?"

MASTER: "Pure love of God. I prayed to the Divine Mother: 'O Mother; here, take Thy dharma; here, take Thy adharma; and give me pure love for Thee. Here, take Thy virtue; here, take Thy vice; and give me pure love for Thee. Here, take Thy knowledge; here, take Thy ignorance; and give me pure love for Thee.' You see, I didn't ask even for knowledge or public recognition. When one renounces both dharma and adharma, there remains only pure love of God-love that is stainless, motiveless, and that one feels only for the sake of love."

A BRAMO DEVOTEE: "Is God different from His akti?"

MASTER: "After attaining Perfect Knowledge one realizes that they are not different.

They are the same, like the gem and its brilliance. Thinking of the gem, one cannot but think of its brilliance. Again, they are like milk and its whiteness. Thinking of the one, you must also think of the other. But you cannot realize this non-duality before the attainment of Perfect Knowledge. Attaining Perfect Knowledge, one goes into samdhi, beyond the twenty-four cosmic principles. Therefore the principle of 'I' does not exist in that stage. A man cannot describe in words what he feels in samdhi.Coming down, he can give just a hint about it. I come down a hundred cubits, as it were, when I say 'Om'

after samdhi. Brahman is beyond the injunctions of the Vedas and cannot be described. There neither 'I' nor 'you' exists.

"As long as a man is conscious of 'I' and 'you', and as long as he feels that it is he who prays or meditates, so long will he feel that God is listening to his prayer and that God is a Person. Then he must say: 'O God, Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant. Thou art the whole and I am a part of Thee. Thou art the Mother and I am Thy child.' At that time there exists a feeling of difference: 'I am one and Thou art another.' It is God Himself who makes us feel this difference; and on account of this difference one sees man and woman, light and darkness, and so on. As long as one is aware of this difference, one must accept akti, the Personal God. It is God who has put 'I-consciousness' in us. You may reason a thousand times; still this 'I' does not disappear.

As long as 'I-consciousness' exists, God reveals Himself to us as a Person.

"Therefore, as long as a man is conscious of 'I' and of differentiation, he cannot speak of the attri buteless Brahman and must accept Brahman with attri butes. This Brahman with attri butes has been declared in the Vedas, the Puranas, and the Tantra, to be Kli, the Primal Energy."

Way to Brahmajnana

VIJAY: "How, sir, can one have the vision of the Primal Energy and attain Brahmajnana, the Knowledge of the attri buteless Brahman?"

MASTER: "Pray to Him with a yearning heart, and weep. That will purify your heart. You see the reflection of the sun in clear water. In the mirror of his 'I-consciousness' the devotee sees the form of the Primal Energy, Brahman with attri butes. But the mirror must be wiped clean. One does not see the right reflection if there is any dirt on the mirror.

"As long as a man must see the Sun in the water of his 'I-consciousness' and has no other means of seeing It, as long as he has no means of seeing the real Sun except through Its reflection, so long is the reflected sun alone one hundred per cent real to him. As long as the 'I' is real, so long is the reflected sun real-one hundred per cent real.

That reflected sun is nothing but the Primal Energy.

"But if you seek Brahmajnana, the Knowledge of the attri buteless Brahman, then proceed to the real Sun through Its reflection. Pray to Brahman with attri butes, who listens to your prayers, and He Himself will give you full Knowledge of Brahman; for that which is Brahman with attri butes is verily Brahman without attri butes, that which is Brahman is verily akti. One realizes this non-duality after the attainment of Perfect Knowledge.

"The Divine Mother gives Her devotee Brahmajnana too. But a true lover of God generally does not seek the Knowledge of Brahman.

"There is another path, the path of knowledge, which is very difficult. You members of the Brahmo Samaj are not jnanis. You are bhaktas. The Jnni believes that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory as a dream. To him, 'I' and 'you' are illusory as a dream.

"God is our Inner Controller. Pray to Him with a pure and guileless heart. He will explain everything to you. Give up egotism and take refuge in Him. You will realize everything."

The Master sang:

Dwell, O mind, within yourself;

Enter no other's home.

If you but seek there, you will find

All you are searching for.

God, the true Philosopher's Stone,

Who answers every prayer,

Lies hidden deep within your heart,

The richest gem of all.

How many pearls and precious stones

Are scattered all about

The outer court that lies before

The chamber of your heart!

He continued: "When you mix with people outside your Samaj, love them all. When in their company be one of them. Don't harbour malice toward them. Don't turn up your nose in hatred and say: 'Oh, this man believes in God with form and not in the formless God. That man believes in the formless God and not in God with form. This man is a Christian. This man is a Hindu. And this man is a Musslman.' It is God alone who makes people see things in different ways. Know that people have different natures. Realize this and mix with them as much as you can. And love all. But enter your own inner chamber to enjoy peace and bliss.

Lighting the lamp of Knowledge in the chamber of your heart, Behold the face of the Mother, Brahman's Embodiment.

You can see your true Self only within your own chamber. The cowherds take the cows to graze in the pasture. There the cattle mix. They all form one herd. But on returning to their sheds in the evening they are separated. Then each stays by itself in its own stall.

Therefore I say, dwell by yourself in your own chamber."

It was ten o'clock in the evening. The Master got into a carriage to return to Dakshineswar. One or two attending devotees got in with him. The carriage stood under a tree, in deep darkness. Beni Pl wanted to send some sweets and other food with Sri Ramakrishna for Ramlal, the Master's nephew.

BENI PL: "Sir, Ramlal was not here this evening. With your permission I should like to send some sweets for him by your attendants."

MASTER (with great anxiety): "Oh, Beni Pl! Oh, sir! Please don't send these things with me. That will do me harm. It is never possible for me to lay up anything. I hope you won't mind."

BENI PL: "As you please, sir. Please give me your blessing."

MASTER: "Oh, we have been very happy today! You see, he alone is a true man who has made money his servant. But those who do not know the use of money are not men even though they have human forms. They may have human bodies, but they behave like animals. You are blessed indeed. You have made so many devotees happy today."

Monday, October 20, 1884

Two days after the worship of Kli, the Mrwris of the Burrabazar section of Calcutta were celebrating the Annakuta festival. Sri Ramakrishna had been invited by the Mrwri devotees to the ceremony at 12 Mallick Street. It was the second day of the bright fortnight of the moon. The festival connected with the worship of Kli, known as the "Festival of Light", was still going on at Burra bazar.

About three o'clock in the afternoon M. and the younger Gopal came to Burrabazar. M.

had in his hand a bundle of cloths he had purchased for Sri Ramakrishna. Mallick Street was jammed with people, bullock-carts, and carriages. As M. and Gopal approached Mallick Street they noticed Sri Ramakrishna in a carriage, which could hardly move because of the jam. Baburam and Ram Chakravarty were with the Master. He smiled at M. and Gopal.

Sri Ramakrishna alighted from the carriage. With Baburam he proceeded on foot to the house of his host, M. leading the way. They saw the courtyard of the house filled with big bales of clothes which were being loaded into bullock-carts for shipment. The Mrwri host greeted the Master and led him to the third floor of the house. A painting of Kli hung on the wall. Sri Ramakrishna bowed before it. He sat down and became engaged in conversation with the devotees. One of the Mrwris began to stroke his feet. The Master asked him to stop. After reflecting a minute he said, "All right, you can stroke them a little." His words were full of compassion.

MASTER (to M.): "What about your school?"

M: "Today is a holiday, sir."

MASTER (smiling): "Tomorrow there will be a musical recital of the Chandi at Adhar's house."

Master and the Mrwri pundit

The host sent a pundit to Sri Ramakrishna. He saluted the Master and took a seat. Soon they were engaged in conversation. They talked about spiritual things.

MASTER: "God incarnates Himself for the bhakta and not for the Jnni."

PUNDIT: "'I incarnate Myself in every age for the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked, and for the establishment of dharma.' God becomes man, first, for the joy of the bhakta, and secondly, for the destruction of the wicked. The Jnni has no desire."

MASTER (smiling): "But I have not got rid of all desires. I have the desire for love of God." The pundit's son entered the room. He saluted the Master and took a seat.

MASTER (to the pundit): "Well, what is bhava and what is bhakti?"

PUNDIT: "Meditation on God mellows the mind. This mellowness is called bhava. It is like the thawing of ice when the sun rises."

MASTER: "Well, what is prema?"

The pundit and Sri Ramakrishna were talking in Hindusthani. The former gave some sort of explanation of prema.

MASTER (to the pundit): "No! No! That is not the meaning. Prema means such love for God that it makes a man forget the world and also his body, which is so dear to him.

Chaitanyadeva had prema."

PUNDIT: "Yes, sir. One behaves like a drunkard."

MASTER: "Some people develop bhakti and others do not; how do you explain that, sir?"

PUNDIT: "There is no partiality in God. He is the Wish-fulfilling Tree. Whatever a man asks of God he gets. But he must go near the Tree to ask the boon."

The pundit said all this in Hindusthani. The Master explained it to M.in Bengali.

Different kinds of samdhi

MASTER: "Sir, please describe samdhi to us."

PUNDIT: "There are two kinds of

samdhi: savikalpa and nirvikalpa. In

nirvikalpa samdhi the functioning of the mind stops altogether."

MASTER: "Yes. The mind completely takes the form of Reality. The distinction between the meditator and the object of meditation does not exist. There are two other kinds of samdhi: chetana and jada. Nrada and Sukadeva attained chetana samdhi. Isn't that true, sir?"

PUNDIT: "Yes, sir, that is so."

MASTER: "Further, there are the unmana samdhi and the sthita samdhi. Isn't that true, sir?"

The pundit remained silent. He did not venture an opinion.

MASTER: "Well, sir, through the practice of japa and austerity one can get occult powers, such as walking on the water of the Ganges. Isn't that true?"

PUNDIT: "Yes, one can. But a devotee doesn't want them." The conversation continued for some time. The pundit said he would visit the Master at Dakshineswar the next ekadasi day.

MASTER: "Ah! Your boy is very nice."

PUNDIT: "Well, revered sir, all this is transitory. It is like the waves in a river-one goes down and another comes up."

MASTER: "You have substance in you."

After a few minutes the pundit saluted Sri Ramakrishna. He said: "I shall have to perform my daily devotions. Please let me go."

MASTER: "Oh, sit down! Sit down!"

The pundit sat down again. The conversation turned to hathayoga. The pundit discussed the subject with the Master in Hindusthani. Sri Ramakrishna said: "Yes, that is also a form of austerity. But the hathayogi identifies himself with his body. His mind dwells on his body alone." The pundit took leave of the Master. Sri Ramakrishna conversed with the pundit's son.

MASTER: "One can understand the Bhagavata well if one has already studied the Nyaya, the Vednta , and the other systems of philosophy. Isn't that so?"

PUNDIT'S SON: "Yes, sir. It is very necessary to study the Samkhya philosophy."

The conversation went on. Sri Ramakrishna was leaning against a big pillow; the devotees were sitting on the floor. Lying in that position, the Master began to sing: Brother, joyfully cling to God;

Thus striving, some day you may attain Him.

Their host entered the room and saluted Sri Ramakrishna. He was a pious man and devoted to the Master. The pundit's son was still there. The Master asked if the Panini, the Sanskrit grammar, was taught in the schools. He further asked about the Nyaya and the Vednta philosophies. The host did not show much interest in the discussion and changed the subject.

HOST: "Revered sir, what is the way for us?"

MASTER: "Chanting the name and glories of God, living in the company of holy men, and earnestly praying to God."

HOST: "Please bless me, sir, that I may pay less and less attention to worldly things."

MASTER (smiling): "How much attention do you give to the world? Fifty per cent?"

(Laughter.)

HOST: "You know that, sir. We cannot achieve anything without the grace of a holy person like yourself."

MASTER: "If you please God, everyone will be pleased. It is God alone that exists in the heart of the holy man."

HOST: "Nothing, of course, remains unrealized when one attains God. If a man attains God, he can give up everything else. If a man gets a rupee, he gives up the joy of a penny."

MASTER: "A little spiritual discipline is necessary. Through the practice of discipline one gradually obtains divine joy. Suppose a jar with money inside is hidden deep under the earth and someone wants to possess it. In that case he must take the trouble of digging for it. As he digs, he perspires. After much digging the spade strikes the metal jar. He feels a thrill at the sound. The more sound the spade makes, striking against the jar, the more joy he feels. "Pray to Rma. Meditate on Him. He will certainly provide you with everything."

HOST: "Revered sir, you are Rma Himself."

MASTER: "How is that? The waves belong to the river; does the river belong to the waves?"

HOST: "Rma dwells only in the hearts of holy men. He cannot be seen in any other way. There is no Incarnation of God at the present time."

MASTER (smiling): "How do you know there is no Divine Incarnation?"

The host remained silent.

MASTER: "All cannot recognize an Incarnation. When Nrada visited Rma, Rma prostrated Himself before Nrada and said: 'We are worldly creatures. How can we be sanctified unless holy men like you visit us?' Further, Rma went into exile in the forest to redeem His father's pledges. He saw that, since hearing of His exile, the rishis of the forest had been fasting. Many of them did not know that Rma was none other than the Supreme Brahman."

HOST: "You too are that same Rma."

MASTER: "For heaven's sake! Never say that."

As, Sri Ramakrishna spoke these words, he bowed down to the host and said, with folded hands: "'That Rma dwells in all beings; He exists everywhere in the universe. "I am your servant. It is Rma Himself who has become all men, animals, and other living beings."

HOST: "But sir, we do not know that."

MASTER: "Whether you know it or not, you are Rma."

HOST: "You are free from love and hatred."

MASTER: "How so? I engaged a carriage to bring me to Calcutta and advanced the coachman three nns. But he didn't turn up. I became very angry with him. He is a very wicked man. He made me suffer a lot."

Sri Ramakrishna was resting. The Mrwri devotees had been singing bhajan on the roof. They were celebrating the Krishna festival. Arrangements had been made for worship and food offering. At the host's request the Master went to see the image. He bowed down before the Deity.

Sri Ramakrishna was profoundly moved as he stood before the image. With folded hands he said: "O Govinda, Thou art my soul! Thou art my life! Victory to Govinda! Hallowed be the name of Govinda! Thou art the Embodiment of Satchidananda! Oh, Krishna! Ah, Krishna! Krishna is knowledge. Krishna is mind. Krishna is life. Krishna is soul. Krishna is body. Krishna is caste. Krishna is family. O Govinda, my life and soul!"

Uttering these words," Sri Ramakrishna went into samdhi. He remained standing. Ram Chatterji supported him.

After a long time the Master regained consciousness of the world. The Mrwri devotees were about to take out the image. The offering of food was to take place outside the room. The Master joined the procession of devotees. The food was offered with rati and music. Sri Ramakrishna fanned the image.

Then began the ceremony of feeding the brahmins. They were seated on the roof. The Master and his devotees also partook of the prasad.

Sri Ramakrishna took leave of the host. It was evening and the street was jammed as before with people and vehicles. He said: "Let us get out of the carriage. It can go by a back street." Proceeding on foot, he found that a betel-leaf seller had opened his stall in front of a small room that looked like a hole. One could not possibly enter it without bending one's head. The Master said: "How painful it is to be shut in such a small space!

That is the way of worldly people. And they are happy in such a life."

The carriage came up after making the detour. The Master entered it with Baburam, M., and Ram Chatterji. The younger Gopal sat on the roof of the carriage.

A beggar woman with a baby on her arm stood in front of the carriage waiting for alms.

The Master said to M., "Have you any money?" Gopal gave her something.

The carriage rolled along Burra bazar. Everywhere there were signs of great festivity.

The night was dark but illuminated with myriads of lights. The carriage came to the Chitpur road, which was also brightly lighted. The people moved in lines like ants. The crowd looked at the gaily decorated stores and stalls on both sides of the road. There were sweetmeat store and perfume stalls. Pictures, beautiful and gaudy, hung from the walls. Well-dressed shopkeepers sprayed the visitors with rose-water. The carriage stopped in front of a perfume stall. The Master looked at the pictures and lights and felt happy like a child. People were talking loudly. He cried out; "Go forward! Move on!" He laughed. He said to Baburam with a loud laugh: "Move on! What are you doing?" The devotees laughed too. They understood that the Master wanted them to move forward to God and not to be satisfied with their present state.

The carriage drove on. The Master noticed that M. had brought some cloths for him. M.

had with him two pieces of unbleached and two pieces of washed cloth. But the Master had asked him only for the unbleached ones. He said to M.: "Give me the unbleached ones. You may keep the others. All right. You may give me one of them."

M: "Then shall I take back one piece?"

MASTER: "Then take both."

M: "As you please, sir."

MASTER: "You can give me those when I need them. You see, yesterday Beni Pl wanted me to carry away some food for Ramlal. I told him I couldn't. It is impossible for me to lay up for the future."

M: 'That's all right, sir. I shall take back the two pieces of washed cloth."

MASTER (tenderly): "Don't you see, if any desire arises in my mind, it is for the good of you all? You are my own. I shall tell you if I need anything."

M. (humbly): "Yes, sir."

Referring to a devotee, Sri Ramakrishna said: "I said to him yesterday, 'Tomorrow I shall go to Burra bazar; please meet me there.' Do you know what he said? He said: The tram fare will be one nn. Where shall I get it?' He had been to Beni Pl's garden yesterday and had officiated there as priest. No one had asked him to do it. He had put on the show himself. He wanted people to know that he was a member of the Brahmo Samaj.

(To M.) Can you tell me what he meant when he said that the tram would cost him one nn?"

The conversation turned to the Annakuta festival of the Mrwris.

MASTER (to the devotees): "What you have seen here one sees at Vrindvan too.

Rkhl has been seeing the same thing there. But the mound of food at Vrindvan is higher, and more people gather there. There you also see the Govardhan hill. That's the only difference.

"Did you notice the Mrwris' devotion? That is the real Hindu ideal. That is the Sanatana Dharma. Did you notice their joy when they carried the image in procession?

They were happy to think that they bore the throne of God on their shoulders.

"The Hindu religion alone is the Sanatana Dharma. The various creeds you hear of nowadays have come into existence through the will of God and will disappear again through His will. They will not last forever. Therefore I say, 'I bow down at the feet of even the modern devotees.' The Hindu religion has always existed and will always exist."

M. was going home. He saluted the Master and got out of the carriage near Sobha bazar.

Sri Ramakrishna proceeded to Dakshineswar in a happy mood.

--------------------

Chapter 33

WITH VARIOUS DEVOTEES

Sunday, October 26, 1884

IT WAS AFTERNOON, and many devotees were present in the Master's room. Among them were Manomohan, Mahimacharan, and M. They were joined later by Ishan and Hazra. Balarm and Rkhl were still staying at Vrindvan. The many young boys who at this time began to seek the Master's company later became his intimate disciples. Ltu lived with the Master, and Jogin, who lived in the village, was a frequent visitor.

Sri Ramakrishna, happy child of the Divine Mother that he was, radiated a joy and peace that were reflected in the hearts of his devotees and found expression in their happy faces. They were seated on the floor and had their eyes fixed on the Master, who was standing in a pensive mood, like a boy.

God in all beings

MASTER (to Manomohan): "I see Rma in all things. You are all sitting here, but I see only Rma in everyone of you."

MANOMOHAN: "Yes, sir. It is Rma who has become everything. But, as you say, though all water is Narayana, yet some water is fit for drinking, some for washing the hands and face, and some only for cleaning pots and pans."

MASTER: "It is true. But I see that it is God Himself who has become everything-the universe and its living beings."

Presently the Master sat down on the small couch near his bed.

MASTER (to Mahimacharan): "There is no question of my being truthful; but must I develop a mania for it? If I once say that I shall not eat, then it is impossible for me to eat, even if I am hungry. Again, if I ask a particular man to take my water-jug to the pine-grove, he alone must carry it. If another man carries it, he will have to take it back.

What a fix I am in! Is there no way out of it?

"Besides, I can't carry anything with me, neither food nor betel-leaf; for that means laying up for the future. I can't carry a little clay in my hand."

Just then a man entered the room and told the Master that Hriday was waiting to see him in Jadu Mallick's garden, near the gate.

The Master said to the devotees: "I shall have to see Hriday. Please don't leave the room." He put on his slippers and went toward the east gate of the temple garden, M.

accompanying him. The road through the garden was covered with red brick-dust. The manager of the temple, who was standing on the road, saluted Sri Ramakrishna. The Master passed the north entrance of the temple compound, where the bearded sentries sat. On his left he passed the kuthi, the building used by the proprietors of the temple.

Then he walked on down the road which was lined on both sides with flowering trees, passing the reservoir on his right, and went outside the temple garden. He found Hriday waiting for him near the gate of Jadu Mallick's garden.

God in all beings

At the sight of the Master, Hriday, who had been standing there with folded hands, prostrated himself before him. When the Master told him to get up, he rose and began to cry like a child. How strange! Tears also appeared in the Master's eyes. He wiped them away with his hands. Hriday had made him suffer endless agonies, yet the Master wept for him.

MASTER: "Why are you here now?"

HRIDAY (weeping): "I have come to see you. To whom else shall I tell my sorrows?"

Sri Ramakrishna smiled and said to him by way of consolation: "One cannot avoid such sorrows in the world. Pleasure and pain are inevitable in worldly life. (Pointing to M.) That is why they come here now and then. They get peace of mind by hearing about God. What is your trouble?"

HRIDAY (weeping): "I am deprived of your company and so I suffer."

MASTER: "Why, was it not you who said to me, 'You follow your ideal and let me follow mine'?"

HRIDAY: "Yes, I did say that. But what did I know?"

MASTER: "I shall say good-bye to you now. Come another day and we shall talk together. Today is Sunday and many people have come to see me. They are waiting in my room. Have you had a good crop in the country?"

HRIDAY: 'It isn't bad."

MASTER: "Let me say good-bye. Come another day."

Hriday again prostrated himself before the Master, who started back to his room with M.

MASTER (to M.): "He tormented me as much as he served me. When my stomach trouble had reduced my body to a couple of bones and I couldn't eat anything, he said to me one day: 'Look at me-how well I eat! You've just taken a fancy that you can't eat.'

Again he said: 'You are a fool! If I weren't living with you, where would your profession of holiness be?' One day he tormented me so much that I stood on the embankment ready to give up my body by jumping into the Ganges, which was then at flood-tide."

M. became speechless at these words of the Master. For such a man he had shed tears a few minutes before!

MASTER (to M.): "Well, he served me a great deal; then why should he have fallen on such evil days? He took care of me like a parent bringing up a child. As for me, I would remain unconscious of the world day and night. Besides, I was ill for a long time. I was completely at his mercy."

M. did not know how to answer Sri Ramakrishna; so he kept silent.

Sri Ramakrishna returned to his room and sat on the small couch. The devotees had been waiting for him eagerly. Several devotees from Konnagar had arrived. One of them came forward to question the Master.

Bhava and Mahabhava

DEVOTEE: "Sir, we hear that you go into samdhi and experience ecstasy. Please explain why and how you get into that mood."

MASTER: "Sri Radha used to experience Mahabhava. If any of her companions wanted to touch her while she was in that state, another of them would say: 'Please do not touch that body, the playground of Sri Krishna. Krishna is now sporting in her body.' It is not possible to experience bhava or mahabhava without the realization of God. When a fish comes up from a great depth, you see a movement on the surface of the water; and if it is a big one there is much splashing about. That is why a devotee 'laughs and weeps and dances and sings in the ecstasy of God'.

"One cannot remain in bhava very long. People take a man to be crazy if he sits before a mirror and looks at his face all the time."

Discipline for God-vision

DEVOTEE: "Sir, we hear that you see God. If you do, please show Him to us."

MASTER: "Everything depends on God's will. What can a man do? While chanting God's name, sometimes tears flow and at other times the eyes remain dry. While meditating on God, some days I feel a great deal of inner awakening, and some days I feel nothing.

"A man must work. Only then can he see God. One day, in an exalted mood, I had a vision of the Haldrpukur. I saw a low-caste villager drawing water after pushing aside the green scum. Now and then he took up the water in the palm of his hand and examined it. In that vision it was revealed to me that the water cannot be seen without pushing aside the green scum that covers it; that is to say, one cannot develop love of God or obtain His vision without work. Work means meditation, japa, and the like. The chanting of God's name and glories is work too. You may also include charity, sacrifice, and so on.

"If you want butter, you must let the milk turn to curd. It must be left in a quiet place.

When the milk becomes curd, you must work hard to churn it. Only then can you get butter from the milk."

Futility of mere study

MAHIMACHARAN: "That is true, sir. Work is certainly necessary. One must labour hard.

Only then does one succeed. There is so much to read! The scriptures are endless."

MASTER (to Mahimacharan): "How much of the scriptures can you read? What will you gain by mere reasoning? Try to realize God before anything else. Have faith in the guru's words, and work. If you have no guru, then pray to God with a longing heart. He will let you know what He is like.

"What will you learn of God from books? As long as you are at a distance from the marketplace you hear only an indistinct roar. But it is quite different when you are actually there. Then you hear and see everything distinctly. You hear people saying: 'Here are your potatoes. Take them and give me the money.' "From a distance you hear only the rumbling noise of the ocean. Go near it and you will see many boats sailing about, birds flying, and waves rolling.

"One cannot get true feeling about God from the study of books. This feeling is something very different from book-learning. Books, scriptures, and science appear as mere dirt and straw after the realization of God.

"The one thing needful is to be introduced to the master of the house. Why are you so anxious to know beforeh and how many houses and gardens, and how many government securities, the master possesses? The servants of the house would not allow you even to approach these, and they would certainly not tell you about their master's investments.

Therefore, somehow or other become acquainted with the master, even if you have to jump over the fence or take a few pushes from the servants. Then the master himself will tell you all about his houses and gardens and his government securities. And what is more, the servants and the door-keeper will salute you when you are known to the master.' (All laugh.)

Yearning for God

DEVOTEE: "Now the question is how to become acquainted with the master." (Laughter.) MASTER: "That is why I say that work is necessary. It will not do to say that God exists and then idle away your time. You must reach God somehow or other. Call on Him in solitude and pray to Him, 'O Lord! reveal Thyself to me.' Weep for Him with a longing heart. You roam about in search of 'woman and gold' like a madman; now be a little mad for God. Let people say, 'This man has lost his head for God.' Why not renounce everything for a few days and call on God in solitude?

Work hard for His realization

"What will you achieve by simply saying that God exists and doing nothing about it?

There are big fish in the Haldrpukur; but can you catch them by merely sitting idly on the bank? Prepare some spiced bait and throw it into the lake. Then the fish will come from the deep water and you will see ripples. That will make you happy. Perhaps a fish will jump with a splash and you will get a glimpse of it. Then you will be so glad!

"Milk must be turned to curd and the curd must be churned. Only then will you get butter. (To Mahima) What a nuisance! Someone must show God to a man, while he himself sits idly by all the while! Someone must extract the butter and hold it in front of his mouth! (All laugh.) What a bother! Someone else must catch the fish and give it to him!

"A man wanted to see the king. The king lived in the inner court of the palace, beyond seven gates. No sooner did the man pass the first gate than he exclaimed, 'Oh, where is the king?' But there were seven gates, and he must pass them one after another before he could see the king."

MAHIMACHARAN: "By what kind of work can one realize God?"

MASTER: "It is not that God can be realized by this work and not by that. The vision of God depends on His grace. Still a man must work a little with longing for God in his heart. If he has longing he will receive the grace of God.

Favourable conditions for realization of God

"To attain God a man must have certain favourable conditions: the company of holy men, discrimination, and the blessings of a real teacher. Perhaps his elder brother takes the responsibility for the family; perhaps his wife has spiritual qualities and is very virtuous; perhaps he is not married at all or entangled in worldly life. He succeeds when conditions like these are fulfilled.

"In a certain family a man lay seriously ill. He was at the point of death. Someone said: 'Here is a remedy: First it must rain when the star Svati is in the ascendant; then some of that rain-water must collect in a human skull; then a frog must come there and a snake must chase it; and as the frog is about to be bitten by the snake, it must jump away and the poison of the snake must drop into the skull. You must prepare a medicine from this poison and give it to the patient. Then he will live.' The head of the family consulted the almanac about the star and set out at the right moment. With great longing of heart he began to search for the different ingredients. He prayed to God, 'O

Lord, I shall succeed only if You bring together all the ingredients.' As he was roaming about he actually saw a skull lying on the ground. Presently there came a shower of rain. Then the man exclaimed: 'O gracious Lord, I have got the rain-water under Svati, and the skull too. What is more, some of the rain has fallen into the skull. Now be kind enough to bring together the other ingredients.' He was reflecting with a yearning heart when he saw a poisonous snake approaching. His joy knew no bounds. He became so excited that he could feel the thumping of his own heart. 'O God,' he prayed, 'now the snake has come too. I have procured most of the ingredients. Please be gracious and give me the remaining ones.' No sooner did he pray thus than a frog hopped up. The snake pursued it. As they came near the skull and the snake was about to bite the frog, the frog jumped over the skull and the snake's poison fell into it. The man began to dance, clapping his hands for joy. So I say that one gets everything through yearning.

"A man cannot realize God unless he renounces everything mentally. A sdhu cannot lay things up. 'Birds and wandering monks do not make provision for the morrow.' Such is the state of my mind that I cannot carry even clay in my hand. Once, when Hriday tormented me, I thought of leaving this place and going to Benares. I thought of taking some clothes with me. But how could I take money? So I could not go to Benares. (All laugh.)

(To Mahima) "You are a householder. Therefore you should hold both to 'this' and to 'that'-both to the world and to God."

MAHlMA: "Sir, can one who holds to 'that' also hold to 'this'?"

MASTER: "Once, sitting on the bank of the Ganges neat the Panchavati, holding a rupee in one hand and clay in the other, I discriminated, 'The rupee is the clay-the clay is verily the rupee, and the rupee is verily the clay', and then threw the rupee into the river. But I was a little frightened. 'How foolish of me to offend the goddess of fortune!' I thought.

'What shall I do if she doesn't provide me with food any more?' Then, like Hazra, I sought help in a ruse. I said to the goddess, 'Mother, may you dwell in my heart.' Once the Divine Mother was pleased with a man's austerities and said to him, 'You may ask a favour of Me.' 'O Mother,' said he, 'if You are so pleased. with me, then grant that I may eat from a gold plate with my grandchildren.' Now, in one boon the man got everything: grandchildren, wealth, and gold plate. (All laugh.) "When the mind is freed from 'woman and gold', it can be directed to God and become absorbed in Him. It is the bound alone who can be freed.

The moment the mind 'turns away from God, it is bound. When does the lower needle of a pair of scales move away from the upper one? When one pan is pressed down by a weight. 'Woman and gold' is the weight.

"Why does a child cry on coming out of its mother's womb? With its cry it says, as it were: 'Just see where I am now! In my mother's womb I was meditating on the Lotus Feet of God; but see where I am now!'

(To Mahima) "You should renounce mentally. Live the life of a house holder in a spirit of detachment."

MAHIMA: "Can a man live in the world if his mind is once directed to God?"

See God in the world

MASTER: "Why not? Where will he go away from the world? I realize that wherever I live I am always in the Ayodhya of Rma. This whole world is Rma's Ayodhya. After receiving instruction from His teacher, Rma said that He would renounce the world.

Daaratha sent the sage Vasishtha to Rma to dissuade Him. Vasishtha found Him filled with intense renunciation. He said to Rma: 'First of all, reason with me, Rma; then You may leave the world. May I ask You if this world is outside, God? If that is so, then You may give it up.' Rma found that it is God alone who has become the universe and all its living beings. Everything in the world appears real on account of God's reality behind it.

Thereupon Rma became silent.

"In the world a man must fight against passions like lust and anger, against many desires, against attachment. It is convenient to fight from inside a fort-from his own home. At home he gets his food and other help from his wife. In the Kaliyuga the life of a man depends entirely on food. It is better to get food at one place than to knock at seven doors for it. Living at home is like facing the battle from a fort.

"Live in the world like a cast-off leaf in a gale. Such a leaf is sometimes blown inside a house and sometimes to a rubbish heap. The leaf goes wherever the wind blows-sometimes to a good place and sometimes to a bad. Now God has put you in the world.

That is good. Stay here. Again, when He lifts you from here and puts you in a better place, that will be time enough to think about what to do then.

"God has put you in the world. What can you do about it? Resign everything to Him.

Surrender yourself at His feet. Then there will be no more confusion. Then you will realize that it is God who does everything. All depends on 'the will of Rma'."

Story of "the will of Rma"

A DEVOTEE: "What is that story about 'the will of Rma'?"

MASTER: "In a certain village there lived a weaver. He was a very pious soul. Everyone trusted him and loved him. He used to sell his goods in the marketplace. When a customer asked him the price of a piece of cloth, the weaver would say: 'By the will of Rma the price of the yarn is one rupee and the labour four nns; by the will of Rma the profit is two nns . The price of the cloth, by the will of Rma, is one rupee and six nns.' Such was the people's faith in the weaver that the customer would at once pay the price and take the cloth. The weaver was a real devotee of God. After finishing his supper in the evening, he would spend long hours' in the worship hall meditating on God and chanting His name and glories. Now, late one night the weaver couldn't get to sleep.

He was sitting in the worship hall, smoking now and then, when a band of robbers happened to pass that way. They wanted a man to carry their goods and said to the weaver, 'Come with us.' So saying, they led him off by the hand. After committing a robbery in a house, they put a load of things on the weaver's head, commanding him to carry them. Suddenly the police arrived and the robbers ran away. But the weaver, with his load, was arrested. He was kept in the lock-up for the night. Next day he was brought before the magistrate for trial. The villagers learnt what had happened and came to court. They said to the magistrate, 'Your Honour, this man could never commit a robbery.' Thereupon the magistrate asked the weaver to make his statement.

'The weaver said: 'Your Honour, by the will of Rma I finished my meal at night. Then by the will of Rma I was sitting in the worship hall. It was quite late at night by the will of Rma. By the will of Rma I had been thinking of God and chanting His name and glories, when by the will of Rma a band of robbers passed that way. By the will of Rma they dragged me with them; by the will of Rma they committed a robbery in a house; and by the will of Rma they put a load on my head. Just then, by the will of Rma the police arrived, and by the will of Rma I was arrested. Then by the will of Rma the police kept me in the lock-up for the night, and this morning by the will of Rma I have been brought before Your Honour.' The magistrate realized that the weaver was a pious man and ordered his release. On his way home the weaver said to his friends, 'By the will of Rma I have been released.'

"Whether a man should be a householder or a monk depends on the will of Rma.

Surrender everything to God and do your duties in the world. What else can you do? A clerk was once sent to prison. After the prison term was over he was released. Now, what do you think he did? Cut capers or do his old clerical work?

"If the householder becomes a jivanmukta, then he can easily live in the world if he likes. A man who has attained Knowledge does not differentiate between 'this place' and 'that place'. All places are the same to him. He who thinks of 'that place' also thinks of 'this place'.

Master's first meeting with Keshab

"When I first met Keshab at Jaygopal's garden house, I remarked, 'He is the only one who has dropped his tail.' At this people laughed. Keshab said to them: 'Don't laugh.

There must be some meaning in his words. Let us ask him.' Thereupon I said to Keshab: The tadpole, so long as it has not dropped its tail, lives only in the water. It cannot move about on dry land. But as soon as it drops its tail it hops out on the bank; then it can live both on land and in water. Likewise, as long as a man has not dropped his tail of ignorance, he can live only in the water of the world. But when he drops his tail, that is to say, when he attains the Knowledge of God, then he can roam about as a free soul, or live as a householder if he likes.' "

Mahimacharan and. the other devotees remained spellbound, listening to the Master's words.

Master and Devendra Tagore

MASTER: "Once I visited Devendranath Tagore with Mathur Babu. I said to Mathur: 'I have heard that Devendra Tagore thinks of God. I should like to see him.' 'All right,' said Mathur, 'I will take you to him. We were fellow students in the Hindu College and. I am very friendly with him.' We went to Devendra's house. Mathur and Devendra had not seen each other for a long time. Devendra said to Mathur: 'You have changed a little.

You have grown fat around the stomach.' Mathur said, referring to me: 'He has come to see you. He is always mad about God.' I wanted to see Devendra's physical marks and said to him, 'Let me see your body.' He pulled up his shirt, and I found that he had very fair skin tinted red. His hair had not yet turned grey.

"At the outset I noticed a little vanity in Devendra. And isn't that natural? He had such wealth, such scholarship, such name and fame! Noticing that streak of vanity, I asked Mathur: 'Well, is vanity the outcome of knowledge or ignorance? Can a knower of Brahman have such a feeling as, "I am a scholar; I am a Jnni; I am rich"?'

"While I was talking to Devendra, I suddenly got into that state of mind in which I can see a man as he really is. I was convulsed with laughter inside. In that state I regard scholars and the book-learned as mere straw. If I see that a scholar has no discrimination and renunciation, I regard him as worthless straw. I see that he is like a vulture, which soars high but fixes its look on a charnel-pit down below.

"I found that Devendra had combined both yoga and bhoga in his life. He had a number of children, all young. The family physician was there. Thus, you see, though he was a Jnni, yet he was preoccupied with worldly life. I said to him: 'You are the King Janaka of this Kaliyuga.

Holding to one as well as the other,

He drank his milk from a brimming cup!

I have heard that you live in the world and think of God; so I have come to see you.

Please tell me something about God.'

"He recited some texts from the Vedas. He said, 'This universe is like a chandelier and each living being is a light in it.' Once, meditating in the Panchavati, I too, had had a vision like that. I found his words agreed with my vision, and I thought he must be very great man. I asked him to explain his words. He said: 'God has created men to manifest His own glory; otherwise, who could know this universe? Everything becomes dark without the lights in the chandelier. One cannot even see the chandelier itself.'

"We talked a long time. Devendra was pleased and said to me, 'You must come to our Brahmo Samaj festival.' 'That', I said, 'depends on the will of God. You can see the state of my mind. There's no knowing when God will put me into a particular state.' Devendra insisted: 'No, you must come. 'But put on your cloth and wear a shawl over your body.

Someone might say something. unkind about your untidiness, and that would hurt me.'

'No,' I replied, 'I cannot promise that. I cannot be a babu.' Devendra and Mathur laughed.

"The very next day Mathur received a letter from Devendra forbidding me to go to the festival. He wrote that it would be ungentlemanly of me not to cover my body with a shawl. (All laugh.)

Colonel Viswanath

"There is another big man: Captain. Though a man of the world, he is a great lover of God. (To Mahima) Talk to him some time. He knows the Vedas, the Vednta, the Bhagavata, the Git, the Adhytma Rmyana, and other scriptures by heart. You will find that out when you talk to him.

"He has great piety. Once I was going along a street in Baranagore and he held an umbrella over my head. He invites me to his house and shows me great attention. He fans me, massages my feet, and feeds me with various dishes. Once at his house I went into samdhi in the toilet; and he took care of me there though he is so particular about his orthodox habits. He didn't show any abhorrence for the place.

"He has many expenses. He supports his brothers who live in Benares. His wife was a miserly woman at first. Now she is so burdened by the expenses of the family that she cannot spend all the money she would like to.

"Captain's wife said to me: 'He doesn't enjoy worldly life. That is why he once said he would renounce the world.' True, every now and then he expressed that desire.

"Captain was born in a family of devotees. His father was a soldier. I have heard that on the battlefield he would worship iva with one hand and hold a naked sword in the other.

"Captain is a strong upholder of orthodox conventions. Because of my visiting Keshab Chandra Sen, he stopped coming here for a month. He said to me that Keshab had violated the social conventions: he dined with the English, had married his daughter into another caste, and had lost his own caste. I said to Captain: 'What do I care for such things? Keshab chants the name of God; so I go to him to hear about God. I eat only the plum; what do I care about the thorns?' But Captain remained stubborn. He said to me, 'Why do you see Keshab?' I answered him rather sharply: 'But I don't go to him for money; I go there to hear the name of God; And how is it that you visit the Viceroy's house? He is a mlechchha. How can you be in his company?' That silenced him a little.

"But he is a great devotee. When he worships he performs rati with camphor. When he recites hymns he becomes a totally different person. He becomes absorbed.

Essence of Vednta

(To Mahimacharan) "In the light of Vedantic reasoning the world is illusory, unreal as a dream. The Supreme Soul is the Witness-the witness of the three states of waking, dream, and deep sleep. These things are in your line of thought. The waking state is only as real as the dream. Let me tell you a story that agrees with your attitude.

"There was a farmer who lived in the countryside. He was a real Jnni. He earned his living by farming. He was married, and after many years a son was born to him, whom he named Haru. The parents loved the boy dearly. This was natural, since he was the one precious gem in the family. On account of his religious nature the farmer was loved by the villagers. One day he was working in the field when a neighbour came and told him that Haru had had an attack of cholera. The farmer at once returned home and arranged for treatment for the boy. But Haru died. The other members of the family were grief-stricken, but the farmer acted as if nothing had happened. He consoled his family and told them that grieving was futile. Then he went back to his field. On returning home he found his wife weeping even more bitterly. She said to him: "How heartless you are! You haven't shed one tear for the child.' The farmer replied quietly: 'Shall I tell you why I haven't wept? I had a very vivid dream last night. I dreamt I had become a king; I was the father of eight sons and was very happy with them. Then I woke up. Now I am greatly perplexed. Should I weep for those eight sons or for this one Haru?'

'The farmer was a Jnni; therefore he realized that the waking state is as unreal as the dream state. There is only one eternal Substance, and that is the tman.

"But for my part I accept everything: Turiya and also the three states of waking, dream; and deep sleep. I accept all three states. I accept all-Brahman and also my, the universe, and its living beings. If I accepted less I should not get the full weight."

A DEVOTEE: "The full weight? How is that?" (All laugh.) Qualified Advaita

MASTER: "Brahman is qualified by the universe and its living beings. At the beginning, while following the method of 'Not this, not this', one has to eliminate the universe and its living beings. But as long as 'I-consciousness' remains, one cannot but feel that it is God Himself who has become everything. He alone has become the twenty-four cosmic principles.

"When a man speaks of the essential part of the bel-fruit, he means its flesh only, and not the seeds and shell. But if he wants to speak of the total weight of the fruit, it will not do for him to weigh only the flesh. He must accept the whole thing: seeds and shell and flesh. Seeds and shell and flesh belong to one and the same fruit.

Synthesis of Sankara and Ramanuja

"The Nitya and the Lila belong to the same Reality. Therefore I accept everything, the Relative as well as the Absolute. I don't explain away the world as my. Were I to do that I should get short weight."

MAHIMACHARAN: "It is a good synthesis: from the Absolute to the Relative, and from the Relative to the Absolute."

MASTER: 'The jnanis regard everything as illusory, like a dream; but the bhaktas accept all the states. The milk flows only in dribblets from the Jnni. (All laugh.) There are some cows that pick and choose their fodder; hence their milk flows only in dribblets. But cows that don't discriminate so much, and eat whatever they get, give milk in torrents. A superior devotee of God accepts both the Absolute and the Relative; therefore he is able to enjoy the Divine even when his mind comes down from the Absolute. Such a devotee is like the cows that give milk in torrents." (All laugh.) MAHIMA: "But the milk of a cow that eats without discrimination smells a little."

(Laughter.)

MASTER (with a smile): "That's true, no doubt: Therefore that milk should be boiled.

One should boil such milk over the fire a little while; there will be no smell whatever if you boil the milk over the fire of Knowledge. (All laugh.)

Explanation of "Aum"

(To Mahima) "You explain 'Aum' with reference to 'a', 'u', and 'm' only."

AHIMA: "'A', 'u', and 'm' mean creation, preservation, and destruction."

MASTER: "But I give the illustration of the sound of a gong: 'tom', t-o-m. It is the merging of the Lila in the Nitya: the gross, the subtle, and the causal merge in the Great Cause; waking, dream, and deep sleep merge in Turiya. The striking of the gong is like the falling of a heavy weight into a big ocean. Waves begin to rise: the Relative rises from the Absolute; the causal, subtle, and gross bodies appear out of the Great Cause; from Turiya emerge the states of deep sleep, dream, and waking. These waves arising from the Great Ocean merge again in the Great Ocean. From the Absolute to the Relative, and from the Relative to the Absolute. Therefore I give the illustration of the gong's sound, 'tom'. I have clearly perceived all these things. It has been revealed to me that there exists an Ocean of Consciousness without limit. From It come all things of the relative plane, and in It they merge again. Millions of Brahmandas rise in that Chidakasa and merge in It again. All this has been revealed to me; I don't know, much about what your books say."

MAHlMA: "Those to whom such things were revealed did not write the scriptures. They were rapt in their own experiences; when would they write? One needs a somewhat calculating mind to write. Others learnt these things from the seers and wrote the books."

MASTER: "Worldly people ask why one does not get rid of attachment to 'woman and gold'. That attachment disappears after the realization of God. If a man once tastes the Bliss of Brahman, then his mind no longer runs after the enjoyment of sense pleasures or wealth or name and fame. If the moth once sees the light, it no longer goes into the darkness.

"Some friends said to Ravana: You have been assuming different forms for Sita. Why don't you go to her in the form of Rma?' Ravana replied: 'When I contemplate Rma, even the position of Brahma appears insignificant to me, not to speak of the company of another man's wife! How could I take the form of Rma for such a purpose?'

"All worship and spiritual discipline are directed to one end alone, namely, to get rid of worldly attachment. The more you meditate on God, the less you will be attached to the trifling things of the world. The more you love the Lotus Feet of God, the less you will crave the things of the world or pay heed to creature comforts. You will look on another man's wife as your mother and regard your own wife as your companion in spiritual life.

You will get rid of your bestial desires and acquire godly qualities. You will be totally unattached to the world. Though you may still have to live in the world, you will live as a jivamnukta. The disciples of Sri Chaitanya lived as householders in a spirit of detachment. "You may quote thousands of arguments from Vednta philosophy to a true lover of God, and try to explain the world as a dream, but you cannot shake his devotion to God. In spite of all your efforts he will come back to his devotion.

"A man born with an element of iva becomes a Jnni; his mind is always inclined to the feeling that the world is unreal and Brahman alone is real. But when a man is born with an element of Vishnu he. develops ecstatic love of God. That love can never be destroyed. It may wane a little now and then, when he indulges in philosophical reasoning, but it ultimately returns to him increased a thousandfold."

After the devotees had left the Master, Mahimacharan brought Hazra to the room. M.

was present. Mahima said to Sri Ramakrishna: "Sir, I have a complaint against you. Why have you asked Hazra to go home? He has no desire to return to his family."

Duty to one's mother

MASTER: "His mother has told Ramlal how much she is suffering on account of his being away from home; so I have asked Hazra to go home, at least for three days, and see her. Can anyone succeed in spiritual discipline if it causes suffering for, his mother?

While visiting Vrindvan, I had almost made up my mind to live there. But, when I remembered my mother, I said to myself, 'My mother will weep if I stay away from her.'

So I returned here with Mathur Babu. Besides, why should a Jnni like Hazra be afraid of going back to the world?"

MAHIMA, (with a smile): "Sir, that would be a pertinent question if Hazra were a Jnni."

MASTER (smiling): "Oh, Hazra has attained everything. He has just a little attachment to the world because of his children and a small debt. As people say, my aunt is now in perfect health, only she is slightly ill!"

MAHIMA: "Where, sir, is Hazra's knowledge?"

MASTER (smiling): "Oh, you don't know! Everybody says Hazra is quite a man.

Everybody knows that he lives in the Dakshineswar temple garden. People talk of nothing but Hazra. Who would bother to mention my name?" (All laugh.) AZRA: "You, sir, are incomparable. You have no peer in the world. Therefore nobody understands you."

MASTER: "There you are! To be sure, no one can have dealings with the incomparable.

So why should people mention me at all?"

MAHIMA: "What does he know, sir? He will do your bidding."

MASTER: "That is not so. You had better ask him about it. He said to me, 'You and I are on even terms.'"

MAHIMA: "He argues a great deal."

MASTER: "Now and then he teaches me a lesson. (All laugh.) Sometimes I scold him when he argues too much. Later, when I am lying in bed inside the mosquito curtain, I feel unhappy at the idea of having offended him. So I leave the bed, go to Hazra, and salute him. Then I feel peace of mind.

(To Hazra) "Why do you address the Pure tman as 'Isvara'? The Pure tman is inactive and is the Witness of the three states. When I think of the acts of creation, preservation, and destruction, then I call the Pure tman 'Isvara'. What is the Pure tman like? It is like a magnet lying at a great distance from a needle. The needle moves, but the magnet lies motionless, inactive."

Toward evening Sri Ramakrishna was pacing the room. M. was sitting alone, thinking.

Suddenly the Master said to him tenderly: "Please give me a couple of linen shirts. As you know, I cannot use everybody's things. I thought of asking Captain for the shirts, but you had better give them to me." M. felt highly gratified and said, "As you please, sir."

At dusk incense was burnt in Sri Ramakrishna's room, and, as usual, he bowed before the pictures of gods and goddesses on the walls and chanted their names softly. From outside one could hear the murmuring of the Ganges and the music of the evening worship in the temples of Kli, Vishnu, and iva. Through the door one could see the priest at a distance moving from one temple to another, a bell in his left hand and a light in his right, an attendant carrying the gong. The evening melody was in harmony with the spirit of the hour and place and with the innermost thoughts of the worshippers. For the time being the sordid things of daily life were forgotten.

Later Sri Ramakrishna was seated in his room in his usual blissful mood. Ishan had come from Calcutta. He had burning faith in God. He used to say, "If a man leaves the house with the hallowed name of Durga on his lips, then iva Himself protects him with His celestial weapons."

MASTER (to Ishan): "You have great faith. But I haven't so much. (All laugh.) God can be realized only through faith."

ISHAN; "Yes, sir."

MASTER: "You practise religious rites-japa, fasting, and the like. That is very good. If a man feels sincerely drawn to God, then God makes him practise all these disciplines. The devotee will certainly realize God if he practises them without desiring their results. A devotee observes many rites because of the injunctions of the scriptures. Such devotion is called vaidhibhakti. But there is a higher form of devotion known as raga-bhakti, which springs from yearning and love for God. Prahlada had such devotion. When the devotee develops that love, he no longer needs to perform prescribed rites.

November 9, 1884

Sri Ramakrishna was in his room, seated on the small couch and facing the east. The devotees were sitting on the floor. It was about midday when M. arrived and took a seat after saluting the Master. Gradually other devotees began to gather. Vijaykrishna Goswami was there with several Brahmo devotees. The priest Ram Chakravarty was present also. Mahimacharan, Narayan, and Kishori arrived a few minutes later.

It was the beginning of winter. Sri Ramakrishna had felt the need of some shirts and had asked M. to bring them. Besides two broad cloth shirts, M. had brought another of a heavy material, for which Sri Ramakrishna had not asked.

MASTER (to M.): "You had better take that one back with you. You can use it yourself.

There is nothing wrong in that. Tell me, what kind of shirt did I ask you to bring?"

M: "Sir, you told me to get you plain ones. You didn't ask me to buy the heavier one."

MASTER: "Then please take that one back. (To Vijay and the others) You see, Dwarika Babu gave me a shawl. The Mrwri devotees also brought one for me. I couldn't accept."

Vijay interrupted the Master, saying: "That is right, sir. If a man needs a thing, he must accept it. And there must be a man to give it. Who but a man will give?"

God supplies the needs of devotees

MASTER: 'The giver is the Lord Himself. The mother-in-law said to her daughter-in-law: 'My child, I see that everybody has someone to render him a little personal service. It would be so nice if you could find someone to massage your feet.' The daughter-in-law said: 'Mother, God Himself will massage my feet. I don't need anyone else.' She spoke thus because she was a sincere lover of God.

"Once a fakir went to the Emperor Akbar to ask for money. The Emperor was saying his prayers. He prayed, 'O Lord, give me money; give me wealth.' The fakir started to leave the palace, but the Emperor motioned to him to wait. After finishing his prayers, Akbar came to the holy man and said, 'Why were you going away?' The fakir replied, 'You yourself were begging for money and wealth; so I thought that if I must beg, I would beg of God and not of a beggar.'"

VIJAY: "I saw a sdhu at Gaya. He did not take the initiative in anything. One day he wanted to feed some devotees. Suddenly we found that butter, flour, fruits, and other foodstuff had arrived from no one knew where."

Three classes of sdhus

MASTER (to Vijay and the others): 'There are three classes of sdhus: good, mediocre, and bad. The good sdhu makes no effort to get his food. The dandis, among others, belong to the mediocre and bad classes. To get food the mediocre sdhu will knock at the door of a house and say, 'Namo Narayana'. The bad sdhu starts a quarrel if he doesn't get his alms.

"The good sdhu behaves like a python. He sits in one place and the food comes to him.

The python doesn't move from where it is. A young sdhu, who had been a am Brahmachari from his boyhood, went out to beg. A young girl offered him alms. The sdhu saw her breasts and thought she had abscesses. He asked about them. The elderly women of the family explained that she would some day be a mother and that God had given her breasts to give milk to her children; God had provided for all this beforehand. At these words the sdhu was struck with wonder. He said: Then 1 don't need to beg. God must have provided for me too."

Some of the devotees thought that in that case they should not take any initiative either.

MASTER: "But those who think that an effort is needed must make the effort."

VIJAY: 'There is a nice story about that in the Bhaktamala."

MASTER: "Tell it to us."

VIJAY: "Please tell us yourself."

MASTER: "No, you tell it. 1 don't remember it very well. "One should hear these things at the beginning. That is why I listened to them years ago. But now I am no longer in that mood. Hanuman said: 'I don't know the position of the stars or the phase of the moon. I only think of Rma.'

'The chatak bird craves only rain-water. Even when it is dying of thirst, it turns its beak upward and wants only water from the sky. The Ganges, the Jamuna, and the seven oceans are filled to the brim, but still it will not touch the water of the earth.

'Rma and Lakshmana visited Pampa Lake. Lakshmana saw a crow very eager for water.

Again and again it went to the edge of the water but would not drink. Lakshmana asked Rma about it. Rma said: 'Brother, this crow is a great devotee of God. Day and night it repeats the name of Rma. Its throat is parched with thirst, but still it won't drink for fear of missing a repetition of Rma's name.'

"On a full-moon night I said to Haladhri, 'Brother, is it the night of the new moon?' (All laugh.)

(Smiling) "Yes, it is true. Once I was told that a characteristic of a man of Perfect Knowledge is that he cannot distinguish between the full moon and the new moon. But how could one convince Haladhri of that? He said: This is certainly the dark Kaliyuga.

He cannot distinguish the full moon from the new moon! And people respect him!"

Mahimacharan entered the room.

MASTER (respectfully): "Come in. Come in, sir. Please take a seat.

(To Vijay and the other devotees) "In the ecstatic state of mind I cannot remember a date. The other day there was a religious festival at Beni Pl's garden. I forgot the date.

I can no longer remember the last day of the month, when it is very auspicious to repeat the name ofGod."

Sri Ramakrishna remained thoughtful a few minutes.

MASTER: "But I remember if a man makes an engagement to visit me.

"A man attains this state when his mind is one hundred per cent absorbed in God. When Hanuman returned from Ceylon, Rma said to him: 'You have seen Sita. Tell me, how did you find her?' Hanuman said: 'O Rma, I saw that only the body of Sita lay there; it held neither her mind nor her soul. She has indeed consecrated her mind and soul to Your Lotus Feet. Therefore I saw only her body in Ceylon. Further, I saw the King of Death prowling about. But what could he do? It was only a body; it had neither mind nor soul.'

"If you meditate on an ideal you will acquire its nature. If you think of God day and night, you will acquire the nature of God. A salt doll went into the ocean to measure its depth. It became one with the ocean. What is the goal of books or scriptures? The attainment of God. A man opened a book belonging to a sdhu. He saw the word 'Rma'

written on every page. There was nothing else.

"If a man loves God, even the slightest thing kindles spiritual feeling in him. Then, repeating the name of Rma but once, he gets the fruit of ten million sandhyas. At the sight of a cloud the peacock's emotion is awakened: he dances, spreading his tail.

Radha had the same experience. Just the sight of a cloud recalled Krishna to her mind.

"Chaitanyadeva was passing a village. He heard that drums were made from the earth of that place. At once he was overwhelmed with ecstasy because drums are used in kirtan.

"But who can have this spiritual awakening? Only he who has renounced his attachment to worldly things. If the sap of attachment is totally dried up in a man, the slightest suggestion kindles his spiritual emotion. Though you strike a wet match a thousand times, it will not produce a spark. But if it is dried, the slightest rubbing will set it aflame.

"Pain and pleasure are inevitable in a body. He who has realized God dedicates his mind and life, his body and soul, to God. When Rma and Lakshmana went to take their bath in Pampa Lake, they thrust their bows into the ground. Coming out of the water, Lakshmana took out his bow and found its tip stained with blood. Rma said to him: 'Look, brother! Look. Perhaps we have hurt some creature." Lakshmana dug in the earth and found a big bullfrog. It was dying. Rma said to the frog in a sorrowful voice: 'Why didn't you croak? We should have tried to save you. You croak lustily enough when you are in the jaws of a snake.' The frog said: 'O Lord, when I am attacked by a snake I croak, saying: "O Rma, save me! O Rma, save me!" This time I found that it was Rma who was killing me; so I kept still.'"

Sri Ramakrishna remained silent a few moments watching the devotees. He had heard that Mahimacharan did not believe in following a guru. He began the conversation again.

Faith in guru

MASTER: "A man should have faith in the words of his guru. He doesn't have to look into his guru's character. 'Though my guru visits the grog-shop, still he is the Embodiment of Eternal Bliss.'

"A man who used to give recitals of the Chandi and the Bhagavata once said, 'A broomstick is itself unclean, but it cleans dirty places.' "

Mahimacharan studied the Vednta. His aim was to attain Brahmajnana. He followed the path of knowledge and was always reasoning.

MASTER (to Mahima): "The aim of the Jnni is to know the nature of his own Self. This is Knowledge; this is liberation. The true nature of the Self is that It is the Supreme Brahman: I and the Supreme Brahman are one. But this Knowledge is hidden on account of my.

"I said to Harish; 'This is the whole thing: the gold is hidden under a few basketfuls of earth, and you must remove the earth.'

"I-consciousness"

"The bhaktas retain 'I-consciousness'; the jnanis do not. Nangta used to teach how to establish oneself in the true Self, saying, 'Merge the mind in the buddhi and the buddhi in the tman; then you will be established in your true Self."

"But the 'I' persists. It cannot be got rid of. Imagine a limitless expanse of water: above and below, before and behind, right and left, everywhere there is water. In that water is placed a jar filled with water. There is water inside the jar and water outside, but the jar is still there. The 'I' is the jar.

"Even after attaining Knowledge, the Jnni keeps his body as before. But the fire of Knowledge burns away his lust and other passions. Many days ago, during an electric storm, a thunderbolt struck the Kli temple. We saw that no injury had been done to the doors; only the points of the screws were broken. The doors are the body, and the passions-lust and so forth-are the screws.

"A Jnni loves to talk only about God. He feels pained if one talks about worldly things.

But a worldly man belongs to a different class. He always has the turban of ignorance on his head. He always comes back to worldly topics.

"The Vedas speak of the 'seven planes' of mind. When the Jnni's mind ascends to the fifth plane, he cannot listen to anything or talk of anything but God. At that stage only words of wisdom come from his lips.

"The Vedas speak of Satchidananda Brahman. Brahman is neither one nor two; It is between one and two. It cannot be described either as existence or as non-existence; It is between existence and non-existence.

Sincere and formal devotion

"When the devotee develops raga-bhakti, passionate love of God, he realizes Him. But one loses vaidhibhakti, formal devotion, as easily as one gains it. This is formal devotion: so much japa, so much meditation, so much sacrifice and homa, so many articles of worship, and the recitation of so many mantras, before the Deity. Such devotion comes in a moment and goes in a moment. Many people say: 'Well, friend, we have lived on havishya for so many days! How many times we have worshipped the Deity at our home! And what have we achieved?' But there is no falling away from raga-bhakti. And who gets this passionate love for God? Those who have performed many meritorious deeds in their past births, or those who are eternally perfect. Think of a dilapidated house, for instance: while clearing away the undergrowth and rubbish one suddenly discovers a fountain fitted with a pipe. It has been covered with earth and bricks, but as soon as they are removed the water shoots up.

Sign of a true devotee

"Those who have passionate love for God do not say any such thing as: 'O brother, how strict I have been about food! But what have I achieved?' New farmers give up cultivating if their fields do not yield any crops. But hereditary farmers will continue to cultivate their fields whether they get a crop or not. Their fathers and grandfa thers were farmers; they know that they too must accept farming as their means of livelihood.

"Only those who have developed raga-bhakti for God may be called His sincere devotees. God becomes responsible for them. If you enter your name in a hospital register, the doctor will not discharge you until you are cured. Those who are held by God have nothing to fear. The son who holds to his father, while walking along the narrow ridge of a paddy-field, may slip if he absent-mindedly lets go his father's hand; but if the father holds the son by the hand, there is no such danger.

"Is there anything that is impossible for faith? And a true devotee has faith in everything: the formless Reality, God with form, Rma, Krishna and the Divine Mother.

"Once, while going to Kamarpukur, I was overtaken by a storm. I was in the middle of a big meadow. The place was haunted by robbers. I began to repeat the names of all the deities: Rma, Krishna, and Bhagavati. I also repeated the name of Hanuman. I chanted the names of them all. What does that mean? Let me tell you. While the servant is counting out the money to purchase supplies, he says, 'These pennies are for potatoes these for eggplants, these for fish.' He counts the money separately, but after the list is completed, he puts the coins together.

"When one develops love of God, one likes to talk only of God. If you love a person, you love to talk and hear about him. A worldly person's mouth waters while he talks about his son. If someone praises his son, he will at once say to the boy, 'Go and get some water for your uncle to wash his feet.

"Those who love pigeons are highly pleased if you praise pigeons before them. But if you speak ill of pigeons, they will at once exclaim, 'Has anyone in your line for fourteen generations ever raised pigeons?'"

Advantage of a householder's life

Sri Ramakrishna now addressed Mahimacharan, who was a householder.

MASTER: "What need is there of renouncing the world altogether? It is enough if you can rid yourself of attachment. But you must have sdhan you have to fight the sense-organs.

"It is a great advantage to fight from inside a fort. You get much help from the fort. The world is the place for enjoyment. After enjoying different things, you should give them up one by one. Once I had a desire to put a gold chain around my waist. I obtained one at last and put it on, but I had to take it off immediately.

"Once I ate some onion. While eating it I discriminated, 'O mind, this is onion.' Then I moved it to different places in my mouth and at last spat it out."

A musician was expected. He was to sing with his party. Sri Ramakrishna asked the devotees every now and then, "Where is the musician?"

MAHIMA: "We are quite all right as we are."

MASTER: "No, sir. You get this all through the year."

A devotee outside the room said, "The musician has come."

Sri Ramakrishna was filled with joy and said, "Ah! Has he?"

Mats were spread on the floor of the long verandah northeast of the Master's room. Sri Ramakrishna said: "Sprinkle a little Ganges water on the mats. Many worldly people have sat on them."

The ladies of Pyari Babu's family, from Bali, had come to visit the temples. They wanted to listen to the kirtan. A devotee said to Sri Ramakrishna: "These ladies have been inquiring whether there would be any place in the room for them. Can they have seats?"

The kirtan had already begun. The Master said, "No, no! Where is any room here?"

Master and Narayan

Narayan arrived and saluted Sri Ramakrishna. The latter said tenderly: "Why have you come? Your people at home have beaten you so much!" He signed to Baburam to give Narayan something to eat. Narayan entered the Master's room. Suddenly Sri Ramakrishna followed him. He wanted to feed Narayan with his own hands. Afterwards he returned to the verandah.

Many devotees were present, including Vijay, Mahimacharan, Narayan, M., and the younger Gopal. Soon Narayan came back to the verandah and took his seat by the Master.

About three o'clock Adhar arrived. At the sight of him Sri Ramakrishna appeared excited.

The devotee saluted the Master and sat on the floor. Sri Ramakrishna beckoned to him to come nearer.

When the music was over the gathering of devotees broke up. Some began to stroll in the garden and some went to the temples to watch the evening service.

In the evening arrangements were made for kirtan inside the Master's room. Sri Ramakrishna eagerly asked a devotee to have an extra lamp. The two lamps lit the room brightly.

Sri Ramakrishna said to Vijay: "Why are you sitting there? Come nearer to me." This time the kirtan created an intense atmosphere. The Master danced in an ecstasy of joy; the devotees also danced encircling him. While Vijay was dancing his cloth dropped. He was unconscious.

When the music was over, Vijay began to look for his key, which had fallen somewhere.

The Master said to him with a laugh, "Why bother about it any more?"

He meant that Vijay should have nothing more to do with boxes and keys.

Kishori saluted Sri Ramakrishna and was about to take his leave. The Master blessed him, touching his chest tenderly, and bade him good-bye. His words were full of love. M.

and Gopal saluted the Master. They too were about to take their leave. He said to them with the same affection: "Couldn't you go tomorrow morning? You may catch cold at night."

M. and Gopal decided to spend the night with Sri Ramakrishna. They sat on the floor with a few other devotees.

Sri Ramakrishna had had no rest the whole day: the devotees had been with him all the time. He went out for a few minutes. Returning to the room he saw M. taking down a song from Ramlal.

MASTER: "What are you doing?"

M. said that he was writing down a song. On being told what the song was, the Master remarked that it was a rather long song. M. wrote a line or two and then stopped writing.

A little later Sri Ramakrishna took his supper of farina pudding and one or two luchis. A lighted lamp stood on a stand by his side. M. sat near him. The Master asked if there were any sweets in the room. M. had brought some sandesh which he had put on the shelf. Sri Ramakrishna asked M. to give him a sweet. M. searched for the sweets but could not find them. He was embarrassed. They had been given to the devotees.

After finishing his supper, Sri Ramakrishna sat on the small couch and M. seated himself on the foot-rug. The Master, talking about Narayan, was overcome with emotion.

MASTER: "I saw Naran today."

M: "Yes, sir. His eyes were moist. When I looked at his face I felt like weeping."

MASTER: 'The sight of him arouses a mother's love in me, as it were. His relatives beat him at home because he comes here. There is none to defend him."M : 'The other day he left his books at Haripada's house and fled to you.

MASTER: "It was not good for him to do that."

Sri Ramakrishna was silent. After a few minutes he continued.

MASTER: "You see, he has much substance in him. Otherwise, how could I be attracted to him even though I was listening to the kirtan at the time? I had to leave the music and go into the room. That never happened before."

Again Sri Ramakrishna fell silent. A few minutes later he began to talk.

MASTER: "In an ecstatic state I asked him how he was feeling. He just said he was happy. (To M.) Feed him now and then-as parents do their child."

Sri Ramakrishna then spoke about Tejchandra.

MASTER (to M.): "Please ask him what he thinks of me. Does he thinkof me as a Jnni?

Or what does he say about me? I understand that he is very reticent. (To Gopal) Ask Tejchandra to come here Saturdays and Tuesdays. (To M.) Suppose I go to your school and look for-"

M. thought that Sri Ramakrishna wanted to go to his school to see Narayan. He said to the Master, "You might as well wait at our house."

MASTER: "No, I have something else in mind. I should like to see whether there are other worth-while boys in the school."

M: "Of course you can go. Other visitors come to the school. You cancome too."

Sri Ramakrishna was smoking. M. and Gopal finished their supper. They decided to sleep in the nahabat. M. again sat on the floor near Sri Ramakrishna.

MASTER (to M.): 'There may be some pots and pans in the nahabat.Why not sleep here in this room?"

M: "Very well, sir."

It was ten or eleven o'clock at night. Sri Ramakrishna was sitting on the small couch, resting against a pillow. M. sat on the floor. The Master was conversing with him. A lamp burnt on a stand near the wall. The Master felt great compassion for his devotees. He wanted to bless M. by accepting his personal service.

MASTER: "My feet ache. Please rub them gently."

M. seated himself on the small couch and took the Master's feet on his lap. He stroked them. Now and then Sri Ramakrishna would ask his disciple a question.

MASTER (smiling): "How did you like today's conversation?"

M: "Very much indeed."

MASTER (smiling): "How I spoke about the Emperor Akbar!"

M: "It was very good."

MASTER: "Repeat it to me."

M: "A fakir came to visit Akbar. The Emperor was saying his prayers. In his prayers he was asking God to give him wealth and riches. Thereupon the fakir was about to leave the room quietly. Later, when the Emperor asked him about it, the fakir said, 'If I must beg, why should I beg of a beggar?'"

MASTER: "What else did we talk about?"

M: "You told us a great deal about saving up for the future."

MASTER (smiling): "What did I say?"

M: "As long as a man feels that he must try, he should make an effort. How well you told us about it at Sinthi!"

MASTER: "What did I say?"

M: "God takes upon Himself complete responsibility for one who totally depends upon Him. It is like a guardian taking charge of a minor. You also told us that at a feast a child cannot by himself find a place to eat his meal; someone finds a place for him."

MASTER: "No, that is not quite to the point. I said that the child doesn't fall if the father leads him and holds his hand."

M: "You also described the three classes of sdhus. The best sdhu does not move about to get his food; he lives in one place and gets his food there, You told us about that young sdhu who said, when he saw the breasts of a young girl, 'Why has she those abscesses?' You told us many other things."

MASTER (smiling): "What else?"

M: "About the crow of Pampa Lake. He repeated the name of Rma day and night. That is why he couldn't drink the water though he went to its edge. And about the holy man in whose book was written only 'Om Rma'. And what Hanuman said to Rma."

MASTER: "What did he say?"

M: "Hanuman said to Rma: 'I saw Sita in Ceylon; but it was only her body. Her mind and soul were lying at Your feet.'

"And about the chatak bird. He will not drink anything but rain-water. And about jnanayoga and bhaktiyoga."

MASTER: "What did I say about them?"

M: "As long as one is conscious of the 'jar', the ego will certainly remain. As long as one is conscious of 'I', one cannot get rid of the idea, 'I am the devotee and Thou art God'."

MASTER: "No, it is not that; the 'jar' doesn't disappear whether one is conscious of it or not. One cannot get rid of the 'I'. You may reason a thousand times; still it will not go."

M. remained silent a few moments.

M: "You had that talk with Ishan Mukherji in the Kli temple. We were very lucky to be there."

MASTER (smiling): "Yes, yes. Tell me, what did I say?"

M: "You said that work is only the first step. You told us that you said to Sambhu Mallick, 'If God appears before you, will you ask Him for a number of hospitals and dispensaries?'

"You said another thing: God does not reveal Himself to a person as long as he is attached to work. You said that to Keshab Sen."

MASTER: "What did I say?"

M: "As long as the baby plays with the toy and forgets everything else, its mother looks after her cooking and other household duties; but when the baby throws away the toy and cries, then the mother puts down the rice-pot and comes to the baby.

"You said another thing that day: Lakshmana asked Rma where one could find God; after a great deal of explanation, Rma said to him, 'Brother, I dwell in the man in whom you find ecstatic love-a love which makes him laugh and weep and dance and sing.' "

MASTER: "Ah me! Ah me!"

Sri Ramakrishna sat in silence a few minutes.

M: "That day you spoke only words of renunciation to Ishan. Since then many of us have come to our senses. Now we are eager to reduce our duties. You said that day, 'Ravana died in Ceylon and Behula wept bitterly for him.'"

Sri Ramakrishna laughed aloud.

M. (humbly): "Sir, isn't it desirable to reduce the number of one's duties and entanglements?"

MASTER: "Yes. But it is a different thing if you happen to come across a sdhu or a poor man. Then you should serve him."

M: "And. that day you spoke very rightly to Ishan about flatterers. They are like vultures on a carcass. You once said that to Padmalochan also."

MASTER: "No, to Vamandas of Ulo."

After a while M. sat on the floor near the small couch. Sri Ramakrishna felt sleepy; he said to M.: "Go to sleep. Where is Gopal? Please shut the door."

Next morning Sri Ramakrishna left his bed very early. As usual, he chanted the holy names of the different gods and goddesses. Now and then he looked at the sacred river.

The morning worship began in the temples of Radhakanta and Mother Kli. M. had spent the night on the floor of the Master's room. He left his bed and watched the worship in.

the different temples.

Sri Ramakrishna finished his bath and went with M. to the Kli temple. He asked the disciple to lock the door of his room.

In the temple he took the seat in front of the image of Kli and offered flowers, sometimes at Her feet and sometimes on his own head. He fanned the Deity. Then he returned to his room and asked M. to unlock the door. Entering the room, he sat on the small couch. He was completely overwhelmed with divine fervour and began to chant the name of God. M. sat alone on the floor. Sri Ramakrishna began to sing about the Divine Mother:

Who is there that can understand what Mother Kli is?

Even the six darsanas are powerless to reveal Her.

It is She, the scriptures say, that is the Inner Self Of the yogi, who in Self discovers all his joy; She that, of Her own sweet will, inhabits every living thing. .

Then he sang:

All creation is the sport of my mad Mother Kli; By Her my the three worlds are bewitched. . . .

He continued:

O Kli, who can know Thee? Numberless are Thy forms. . .

Again he sang:

O Mother, redeem me speedily!

From terror of the King of Death I am about to die.

M. said to himself, "I wish he would sing: Mother, Thou canst not trick me any more,

For I have seen Thy crimson Lotus Feet."

Strangely enough, no sooner had the thought passed through M.'s mind than Sri Ramakrishna sang the song. A few minutes later he said to M., "What do you think of the present state of my mind?"

M. (smiling): "It is your simple and natural state."

Sri Ramakrishna sang to himself the following refrain of a song: Unless a man is simple, he cannot recognize God, the Simple One.

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Chapter 34

BANKIM CHANDRA

Saturday, December 6, 1884

Adhar

ADHAR, A GREAT DEVOTEE of Sri Ramakrishna, lived in Sobha bazar in the northern section of Calcutta. Almost every day, after finishing his hard work at the office and returning home in the late afternoon, he paid Sri Ramakrishna a visit. From his home in Calcutta he would go to Dakshineswar in a hired carriage. His sole delight was to visit the Master. But he would hear very little of what Sri Ramakrishna said; for, after saluting the Master and visiting the temples, he would lie down, at the Master's request, on a mat spread on the floor and would soon fall asleep. At nine or ten O'clock he would be awakened to return home. However, he considered himself blessed to be able to visit the God-man of Dakshineswar. At Adhar's request Sri Ramakrishna often visited his home.

His visits were occasions for religious festivals. Devotees in large numbers would assemble, and Adhar would feed them sumptuously. One day, while Sri Ramakrishna was visiting his home, Adhar said to him: "Sir, you haven't come to our house for a long time. The rooms seemed gloomy; they had a musty smell. But today the whole house is cheerful; the sweetness of your presence fills the atmosphere. Today I called on God earnestly. I even shed tears while praying. "Is that so?" the Master said tenderly, casting a kindly glance on his disciple.

Sri Ramakrishna arrived at Adhar's house with his attendants. Everyone was in a joyous mood. Adhar had arranged a rich feast. Many strangers were present. At Adhar's invitation, several other deputy magistrates had come; they wanted to watch the Master and judge his holiness. Among them was Bankim Chandra Chatterji, perhaps the greatest literary figure of Bengal during the later part of the nineteenth century. He was one of the creators of modern Bengali literature and wrote on social and religious subjects. Bankim was a product of the contact of India with England. He gave modern interpretations of the Hindu scriptures and advocated drastic social reforms.

Sri Ramakrishna had been talking happily with the devotees when Adhar introduced several of his personal friends to him.

ADHAR (introducing Bankim): "Sir, he is a great scholar and has written many books. He has come here to see you. His name is Bankim Babu."

MASTER (smiling): "Bankim! Well, what has made you bent?"

BANKIM (smiling): "Why, sir, boots are responsible for it. The kicks of our white masters have bent my body."

Meaning of Radha and Krishna

MASTER: "No, my dear sir! Sri Krishna was bent on account of His ecstatic love. His body was bent in three places owing to His love for Radha. That is how some people explain Sri Krishna's form. Do you know why He has a deep-blue complexion? And why He is of such small stature-only three and a half cubits measured by His own hand? God looks so as long as He is seen from a distance. So the water of the ocean looks blue from afar.

But if you go near the ocean and take the water in your hand, you will no longer find it blue; it will be very clear, transparent. So the sun appears small because it is very far away; if you go near it, you will no longer find it small. When one knows the true nature of God, He appears neither blue nor small. But that is a far-off vision;one does not see it except in samdhi. As long as 'I' and 'you' exist, name and form will also exist.

Everything is God's lila. His sportive pleasure. As long as a man is conscious of 'I' and 'you', he will experience the manifestations of God through diverse forms.

Purusha and Prakriti imply and, Their inner harmony "Sri Krishna is the Purusha; Srimati is His akti, the Primal Power. The two are Purusha and Prakriti. What is the meaning of the Yugala Murti, the conjoined images of Radha and Krishna? It is that Purusha and Prakriti are not different; there is no difference between them. Purusha cannot exist without Prakriti, and Prakriti cannot exist without Purusha. If you mention the one, the other is understood. It is like fire and its power to burn; one cannot think of fire without its power to burn; again, one cannot think of fire's power to burn without fire. Therefore in the conjoined images of Radha and Krishna, Krishna's eyes are fixed on Radha and Radha's on Krishna. Radha's complexion is golden, like lightning; so Krishna wears yellow apparel. Krishna's complexion is blue, like a dark cloud; so Radha wears a blue dress; she has also decked herself with blue sapphires. Radha has tinkling anklets; so Krishna has them too. In other words, there is inner and outer harmony between Purusha and Prakriti."

As Sri Ramakrishna finished these words, Bankim and his friends began to whisper in English.

MASTER (smiling, to Bankim and the others): "Well, gentlemen! What are you talking about in English?"

ADHAR: "We are discussing what you have just said, your explanation of Krishna's form."

MASTER (smiling): "That reminds me of a funny story. It makes me want to laugh. Once a barber was shaving a gentleman. The latter was cut slightly by the razor. At once he cried out, 'Damn!' But the barber didn't know the meaning of the word. He put his razor and other shaving articles aside, tucked up his shirt-sleeves-it was winter-, and said: 'You said "damn" to me. Now you must tell me its meaning.' The gentleman said: 'Don't be silly. Go on with your shaving. The word doesn't mean anything in particular; but shave a little more carefully.' But the barber wouldn't let him off so easily. He said, 'If "damn" means something good, then I am a "damn", my father is a "damn", and all my ancestors are "damns". (All laugh.) But if it means something bad, then you are a "damn", your father is a "damn", and all your ancestors are "damns". (All laugh.) They are not only "damns", but "damn-damn-damn-da-damn-damn".'"(Loud laughter.) As the laughter stopped, Bankim began the conversation.

Master and preaching

BANKIM: "Sir, why don't you preach?"

MASTER (smiling): "Preaching? It is only a man's vanity that makes him think of preaching. A man is but an insignificant creature. It is God alone who will preach-God who has created the sun and moon and so illumined the universe. Is preaching such a trifling affair? You cannot preach unless God reveals Himself to you and gives you the comm and to preach. Of course, no one can stop you from preaching. You haven't received the command, but still you cry yourself hoarse. People will listen to you couple of days and then forget all about it. It is like any other sensation; as long as you speak, people will say, 'Ah! He speaks well'; and the moment you stop, everything will disappear.

"The milk in the pot hisses and swells as long as there is heat under it. Take away the heat, and the milk will quiet down as before.

Preaching without God's command

"One must increase one's strength by sdhan; otherwise one cannot preach. As the proverb goes: 'You have no room to sleep yourself and you invite a friend to sleep with you.' There is no place for you to lie down and you say: 'Come, friend! Come and lie down with me.' (Laughter.)

"Some people used to befoul the bank of the Haldrpukur at Kamarpukur every morning.

The villagers would notice it and abuse the offenders. But that didn't stop it. At last the villagers filed a petition with the Government. An officer visited the place and put up a sign: 'Commit no nuisance. Offenders will be punished.' That stopped it completely.

Afterwards there was no more trouble. It was a government order, and everyone had to obey it.

"Likewise, if God reveals Himself to you and gives you the command, then you can preach and teach people. Otherwise, who will listen to you?"

The visitors were listening seriously.

Life after death

MASTER (to Bankim): "I understand you are a great pundit and have written many books. Please tell me what you think about man's duties? What will accompany him after death? You believe in the hereafter, don't you?"

BANKIM: "The hereafter? What is that?"

MASTER: "True. When a man dies after attaining Knowledge, he doesn't have to go to another plane of existence; he isn't born again. But as long as he has not attained Knowledge, as long as he has not realized God, he must come back to the life of this earth; he can never escape it. For such a person there is a hereafter. A man is liberated after attaining Knowledge, after realizing God. For him there is no further coming back to earth. If a boiled paddy-grain is sown, it doesn't sprout. Just so, if a man is boiled by the fire of Knowledge, he cannot take part any more in the play of creation; he cannot lead a worldly life, for he has no attachment to 'woman and gold'. What will you gain by sowing boiled paddy?"

BANKIM (smiling): "Sir, neither does a weed serve the purpose of a tree.'

MASTER: "But you cannot call a Jnni a weed. He who has realized God has obtained the fruit of Immortality-not a common fruit like a gourd or a pumpkin. He is free from rebirth. He is not born anywhere-on earth, in the solar world, or in the lunar world.

"Analogy is one-sided. You are a pundit; haven't you read logic? Suppose you say that a man is as terrible as a tiger. That doesn't mean that he has a fearful tail or a tiger's pot-face! (All laugh.) "I said the same thing to Keshab. He asked me, 'Sir, is there an after-life?' I didn't commit myself either way. I said that the potters put their pots in the sun to bake.

Among them you see both baked and soft pots. Sometimes cattle trample over them.

When the baked pots are broken, the potters throw them away; but when the soft ones are broken they keep them. They mix them with water and put the clay on the wheel and make new pots. They don't throwaway the unbaked pots. So I said to Keshab: 'The Potter won't let you go as long as you are unbaked. He will put you on the wheel of the world as long as you have not attained Knowledge, as long as you have not realized Him.

He won't let you go. You will have to return to the earth again and again; there is no escape. You will be liberated only when you realize God. Then alone will the Potter let you go. It is because then you won't serve any purpose in this world of my.' The Jnni has gone beyond my. What will he do in this world of my?

"But God keeps some jnanis in the world of my to be teachers of men. In order to teach others the Jnni lives in the world with the help of Vidy-my. It is God Himself who keeps the Jnni in the world for His work. Such was the case with Sukadeva and Sankaracharya.

Duties of life

(To Bankim, smiling) "Well, what do you say about man's duties?"

BANKIM (smiling): "If you ask me about them, I should say they are eating, sleeping, and sex-life."

Master scolds Bankim

MASTER (sharply): "Eh? You are very saucy! What you do day and night comes out through your mouth. A man belches what he eats. If he eats radish, he belches radish; if he eats green coconut, he belches green coconut. Day and night you live in the midst of 'woman and gold'; so your mouth utters words about that alone. By constantly thinking of worldly things a man becomes calculating and deceitful. On the other hand, he becomes guileless by thinking of God. A man who has seen God will never say what you have just said. What will a pundit's scholarship profit him if he does not think of God and has no discrimination and renunciation? Of what use is erudition if the mind dwells on 'woman and gold'?

"Kites and vultures soar very high indeed, but their gaze is fixed only on the charnel-pit.

The pundit has no doubt studied many books and scriptures; he may rattle off their texts, or he may have written books. But if he is attached to women, if he thinks of money and honour as the essential things, will you call him a pundit? How can a man be a pundit if his mind does not dwell on God?

Devotees and the worldly-minded

"Some may say about the devotees: 'Day and night these people speak about God. They are crazy; they have lost their heads. But how clever we are! How we enjoy pleasure-money, honour, the senses!' The crow, too thinks he is a clever bird; but the first thing he does when he wakes up in the early morning is to fill his stomach with nothing but others' filth. Haven't you noticed how he struts about? Very clever indeed!"

There was dead silence.

Sri Ramakrishna continued: "But like the swan are those who think of God, who pray day and night to get rid of their attachment to worldly things and their love for 'woman and gold', who do not enjoy anything except the nectar of the Lotus Feet of the Lord, and to whom worldly pleasures taste bitter. If you put a mixture of milk and water before the swan, it will leave the water and drink only the milk. And haven't you noticed the gait of a swan? It goes straight ahead in one direction. So it is with genuine devotees: they go toward God alone. They seek nothing else; they enjoy nothing else.

(Tenderly, to Bankim) "Please don't take offence at my words."

BANKIM: "Sir, I haven't come here to hear sweet things."

MASTER (to Bankim): "'Woman and gold' alone is the world; that alone is my. Because of it you cannot see or think of God. After the birth of one or two children, husb and and wife should live as brother and sister and talk only of God. Then both their minds will be drawn to God, and the wife will be a help to the husb and on the path of spirituality. None can taste divine bliss without giving up his animal feeling. A devotee should pray to God to help him get rid of this feeling. It. must be a sincere prayer. God is our Inner Controller; He will certainly listen to our prayer if it is sincere.

"And 'gold'. Sitting on the bank of the Ganges below the Panchavati, I used to say, 'Rupee is clay and clay is rupee;' Then I threw both into the Ganges."

BANKIM: "Indeed! Money is clay! Sir, if you have a few pennies you can help the poor. If money is clay, then a man cannot give in charity or do good to others."

Charity -The sannysi's duty

MASTER (to Bankim): "Charity! Doing good! How dare you say you can do good to others? Man struts about so much; but if one pours foul water into his mouth when he is asleep, he doesn't even know it; his mouth overflows with it. Where are his boasting, his vanity, his pride, then?

"A sannysi must give up 'woman and gold'; he cannot accept it any more. One must not swallow one's own spittle. When a sannysi gives something to another, he knows that it is not himself who gives. Kindness belongs to God alone. How can a man lay claim to it? Charity depends on the will of Rma. A true sannysi renounces 'woman and gold'

both mentally and outwardly. He who eats no molasses must not even keep molasses about. If he does, and yet tells others not to eat it, they won't listen to him.

"A householder, of course, needs money, for he has a wife and children. He should save up to feed them. They say that the bird and the sannysi should not provide for the future. But the mother bird brings food in her mouth for her chicks; so she too provides.

A householder needs money. He has to support his family.

The householder's duty

"If a householder is a genuine devotee he performs his duties without attachment; he surrenders the fruit of his work to God-his gain or loss, his pleasure or pain-and day and night he prays for devotion and for nothing else. This is called motiveless work, the performance of duty without attachment. A sannysi, too, must do all his work in that spirit of detachment; but he has no worldly duties to attend to, like a householder.

"If a householder gives in charity in a spirit of detachment, he is really doing good to himself and not to others. It is God alone that he serves-God, who dwells in all beings; and when he serves God, he is really doing good to himself and not to others. If a man thus serves God through all beings, not through men alone but through animals and other living beings as well; if he doesn't seek name and fame, or heaven after death; if he doesn't seek any return from those he serves; if he can carry on his work of service in this spirit-then he performs truly selfless work, work without attachment. Through such selfless work he does good to himself. This is called karma yoga. This too is a way to realize God. But it is very difficult, and not suited to the Kaliyuga.

"Therefore I say, he who works in such a detached spirit-who is kind and charitable-benefits only himself. Helping others, doing good to others-this is the work of God alone, who for men has created the sun and moon, father and mother, fruits, flowers, and corn.

The love that you see in parents is God's love: He has given it to them to preserve His creation. The compassion that you see in the kind-hearted is God's compassion: He has given it to them to protect the helpless. Whether you are charitable or not, He will have His work done somehow or other. Nothing can stop His work.

"What then is man's duty? What else can it be? It is just to take refuge in God and to pray to Him with a yearning heart for His vision.

Difficulty of karmayoga

"Sambhu said to me: 'It is my desire to build a large number of hospitals and dispensaries. Thus I can do much good to the poor.' I said to him: 'Yes, that is not bad if you can do it in a detached spirit. But to be detached is very difficult unless you sincerely love God. And further, if you entangle yourself in many activities, you will be attached to them in a way unknown to yourself. You may think you have no motive behind your work, but perhaps there has already grown a desire for fame and the advertising of your name. Then again, if you are entangled in too many activities, the pressure of them will make you forget God.' I also said to him: 'Sambhu, let me ask you one thing. If God appears before you, will you want Him or a number of hospitals and dispensaries?' If one realizes God, one doesn't enjoy anything else. One who has tasted syrup of sugar candy cannot enjoy a drink made from common treacle.

"Those who build hospitals and dispensaries, and get pleasure from that, are no doubt good people; but they are of a different type. He who is a real devotee of God seeks nothing but God. If he finds himself entangled in too much work, he earnestly prays, 'Lord, be gracious and reduce my work; my mind, which should think of Thee day and night, has been wasting its power; it thinks of worldly things alone.' Pure-souled devotees are in a class by themselves. You cannot have real love of God unless you know that God alone is real and all else illusory. You cannot have real love of God unless you know that the world is impermanent, only of two days' existence, while its Creator alone is real and eternal. "Janaka and sages like him worked in the world at the comm and of God.

Spirituality and book-learning

(To Bankim) "Some people think that God cannot be realized without the study of books and scriptures. They think that first of all one should learn of this world and its creatures; that first of all one should study 'science'. (All laugh.) They think that one cannot realize God without first understanding His creation. Which comes first, 'science'

or God? What do you say?"

BANKIM: "I too think that we should first of all know about the different things of the world. How can we know of God without knowing something of this world? We should first learn from books."

MASTER: "That's the one cry from all of you. But God comes first and then the creation.

After attaining God you can know everything else, if it is necessary.

"If you can somehow get yourself introduced to Jadu Mallick, then you will be able to learn, if you want to, the number of his houses and gardens and the amount of his money invested in government securities. Jadu Mallick himself will tell you all about them. But if you haven't met him and if you are stopped by his door-keepers when you try to enter his house, then how will you get the correct information about his houses, gardens, and government securities? When you know God you know all else; but then you don't care to know small things. The same thing is stated in the Vedas. You talk about the virtues of a person as long as you haven't seen him, but no sooner does he appear before you than all such talk stops. You are beside yourself with joy simply to be with him. You feel overwhelmed by simply conversing with him. You don't talk about his virtues any more.

"First realize God, then think of the creation and other things. Valmiki was given the name of Rma to repeat as his mantra, but was told at first to repeat 'mara'. 'Ma' means God and 'ra' the world. First God and then the world. If you know one you know all. If you put fifty zeros after a one, you have a large sum; but erase the one and nothing remains. It is the one that makes the many. First one, then many. First God, then His creatures and the world.

God and the world

"The one thing you need is to realize God. Why do you bother so much about the world, creation, 'science', and all that? Your business is to eat mangoes. What need have you to know how many hundreds of trees there are in the orchard, how many thousands of branches, and how many millions of leaves? You have come to the garden to eat mangoes. Go and eat them. Man is born in this world to realize God; it is not good to forget that and divert the mind to other things. You have come to eat mangoes. Eat the mangoes and be happy."

BANKIM: "Where do we get the mangoes?"

MASTER: "Pray to God with a longing heart. He will surely listen to your prayer if it is sincere. Perhaps He will direct you to holy men with whom you can keep company; and that will help you on your spiritual path. Perhaps someone will tell you, 'Do this and you will attain God.'"

BANKIM: "Who? The guru? He enjoys all the good mangoes himself and gives us the bad ones!" (Laughter.)

MASTER: "Why should that be so? The mother knows what food suits the stomachs of her different children. Can all of them digest pilau and Kalia? Suppose a fish has been procured. The mother doesn't give pilau and Kalia to all the children. For the weak child with a poor stomach she prepares simple soup. But does that mean she loves him the less?

Faith in guru

"One must have faith in the guru's words. The guru is none other than Satchidananda.

God Himself is the Guru. If you only believe his words like a child, you will realize God.

What faith a child has! When a child's mother says to him about a certain man, 'He is your brother', the child believes he really is his brother. The child believes it one hundred and twenty-five percent, though he may be the son of a brahmin, and the man the son of a blacksmith. The mother says to the child, 'There is a bugaboo in that room', and the child really believes there is a bugaboo in the room. Such is the faith of a child! One must have this childlike faith in the guru's words. God cannot be realized by a mind that is hypocritical, calculating, or argumentative. One must have faith and sincerity.

Hypocrisy will not do. To the sincere, God is very near; but He is far, far away from the hypocrite.

Yearning for God-vision

"One must have for God the yearning of a child. The child sees nothing but confusion when his mother is away. You may try to cajole him by putting a sweetmeat in his hand; but he will not be fooled. He only says, 'No, I want to go to my mother.' One must feel such yearning for God. Ah, what yearning! How restless a child feels for his mother!

Nothing can make him forget his mother. He to whom the enjoyment of worldly happiness appears tasteless, he who takes no delight in anything of the world-money, name, creature comforts, sense pleasure-, becomes sincerely grief-stricken for the vision of the Mother. And to him alone the Mother comes running, leaving all Her other duties.

"Ah, that restlessness is the whole thing. Whatever path you follow-whether you are a Hindu, a Mussalman, a Christian, a Sakta, a Vaishnava, or a Brahmo-the vital point is restlessness. God is our Inner Guide. It doesn't matter if you take a wrong path-only you must be restless for Him. He Himself will put you on the right path.

"Besides, there are errors in all paths. Everyone thinks his watch is right; but as a matter of fact no watch is absolutely right. But that doesn't hamper one's work. If a man is restless for God he gains the company of sdhus and as far as possible corrects his own watch with the sdhu's help."

Trailokya of the Brahmo Samaj began to sing. Presently Sri Ramakrishna stood up and lost consciousness of the outer world. He became completely indrawn, absorbed in samdhi. The devotees stood around him in a circle. Pushing aside the crowd, Bankim came near the Master and began to watch him attentively. He had never seen anyone in samdhi.

After a few minutes Sri Ramakrishna regained partial consciousness and began to dance in an ecstatic mood. It was a never-to-be-forgotten scene. Bankim and his Anglicized friends looked at him in amazement. Was this the God-intoxicated state? The devotees also watched him with wondering eyes.

The singing and dancing over, the Master touched the ground with his forehead, saying, 'Bhagavata - Bhakta - Bhagavan! Salutations to the jnanis, yogis, and bhaktas!

Salutations to all!" He sat down again and all sat around him.

BANKIM (to the Master): "Sir, how can one develop divine love?"

MASTER: "Through restlessness-the restlessness a child feels for his mother. The child feels bewildered when he is separated from his mother, and weeps longingly for her. If a man can weep like that for God he can even see Him.

"At the approach of dawn the eastern horizon becomes red. Then one knows it will soon be sunrise. Likewise, if you see a person restless for God, you can be pretty certain that he hasn't long to wait for His vision.

"A disciple asked his teacher, 'Sir, please tell me how I can see God.' 'Come with me,'

said the guru, 'and I shall show you.' He took the disciple to a lake, and both of them got into the water. Suddenly the teacher pressed the disciple's head under the water. After a few moments he released him and the disciple raised his head and stood up. The guru asked him, 'How did you feel?' The disciple said, 'Oh! I thought I should die; I was panting for breath.' The teacher said, 'When you feel like that for God, then you will know you haven't long to wait for His vision.'

(To Bankim) "Let me tell you something. What will you gain by floating on the surface?

Dive a little under the water. The gems lie deep under the water; so what is the good of throwing your arms and legs about on the surface? A real gem is heavy. It doesn't float; it sinks to the bottom. To get the real gem you must dive deep."

BANKIM: "Sir, what can we do? We are tied to a cork. It prevents us from diving." (All laugh.)

MASTER: "All sins vanish if one only remembers God. His name breaks the fetters of death. You must dive; otherwise you can't get the gem. Listen to a song."

The Master sang in his sweet voice:

Dive deep, O mind, dive deep in the Ocean of God's Beauty; If you descend to the uttermost depths,

There you will find the gem of Love.

Go seek, O mind, go seek Vrindvan in your heart, Where with His loving devotees

Sri Krishna sports eternally.

Light up, O mind, light up true wisdom's shining lamp, And let it burn with steady flame

Unceasingly within your heart.

Who is it that steers your boat across the solid earth?

It is your guru, says Kubir;

Meditate on his holy feet.

All listened spellbound. Again Sri Ramakrishna began to talk.

MASTER (to Bankim): "There are some who do not want to dive. They say, 'Won't we become deranged if we go to excess about God?' Referring to those who are intoxicated with divine love, they say, 'These people have lost their heads.' But they don't understand this simple thing: God is the Ocean of Amrita, Immortality. Once I said to Narendra: 'Suppose there were a cup of syrup and you were a fly. Where would you sit to drink the syrup?' Narendra said, 'I would sit on the edge of the cup and stretch out my neck to drink it.' 'Why?' I asked. 'What's the harm of plunging into the middle of the cup and drinking the syrup?' Narendra answered, 'Then I should stick in the syrup and die.' 'My child,' I said to him, 'that isn't the nature of the Nectar of Satchidananda. It is the Nectar of Immortality. Man does not die from diving into It. On the contrary he becomes immortal.'

"Therefore I say, dive deep. Don't be afraid. By diving deep in God one becomes immortal."

Bankim bowed low before the Master. He was about to take his leave.

BANKIM: "Sir, I am not such an idiot as you may think. I have a prayer to make. Please be kind enough to grace my house with the dust of your holy feet."

MASTER: "That's nice. I shall go if God wills."

BANKIM: "There too you will see devotees of God."

MASTER (smiling):"How so? What kind of devotees are they? Are they like those who said, 'Gopal! Gopal! Kesava! Kesava!'?"(All laugh.) A DEVOTEE: "What is the story of 'Gopal', sir?"

MASTER (smiling): "Let me tell you. At a certain place there is a goldsmith's shop. The workers there are known as pious Vaishnavas: they have strings of beads around their necks, religious marks on their foreheads, and bags containing rosaries in their hands.

They repeat the names of God aloud. One can almost call them sdhus; only they have to work as goldsmiths to earn their bread and support their wives and children. Many customers, hearing of their piety, come to the shop because they believe that in that shop there will be no trickery with their gold or silver. When the customers enter the shop, they see the workers repeating the name of Hari with their tongues and doing their work with their hands. No sooner do the customers take seats in the shop than one of the workers cries out, 'Kesava! Kesava! Kesava!' A few minutes later another says, 'Gopal! Gopal! Gopal!' After they talk a little while, the third man cries out, 'Hari! Hari!

Hari!' In the mean time the customers have almost finished their transactions. Then the fourth exclaims, 'Hara! Hara! Hara!' The customers are very much impressed with the devotion and fervour of the owners and feel themselves quite secure in handing them the money. They are sure they won't be cheated.

"But do you know what lies behind all this? The man who says 'Kesava! Kesava!' after the arrival of the customers means, 'Who are they?' In other words, he wants to know how intelligent they are. The man who says 'Gopal! Gopal!' means to say he finds them no better than a herd of cows. The man saying 'Hari! Hari!' means, 'May I rob them?'; he suggests that since they are like a herd of cows they can be robbed. And the last man, who says 'Hara! Hara!', replies, 'Yes, rob them.' He means that since the customers are like a herd of cows, they can certainly be robbed. Here, too, you see a group of pious men, very much devoted to God!" (All laugh.) Bankim took his leave; but he was absent-minded. When he reached the door he discovered that he had dropped his shawl in the room; he was in his short-sleeves. A gentleman handed him his shawl.

Of the devotees at Adhar's house, Sarat and Sannyal were brahmins. But Adhar belonged to the lower caste of the goldsmiths, and so the two brahmins quickly left, lest they should be pressed by their host to take their meal there. Sarat and Sannyal had been coming to the Master only a short time and did not know how fond the Master was of Adhar. The Master used to say that the devotees formed a separate caste by themselves; among them there could be no caste distinction.

Adhar entertained the Master and the devotees with a feast. It was quite late in the evening when the devotees returned home, cherishing in their hearts the image of the Master in his spiritual ecstasy and remembering his words of great wisdom.

Since Bankim had invited Sri Ramakrishna to visit his home, the Master a few days later sent Girish and M. to his Calcutta residence. At that time Bankim had a long discussion with these two devotees about the Master. He told them that he wanted to visit Sri Ramakrishna again. But his desire was not fulfilled.

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Chapter 35

AT THE STAR THEATRE (II)

Sunday, December 14, 1884

SRI RAMAKRISHNA arrived at the Star Theatre on Beadon Street in Calcutta to see a play about the life of Prahlada. M., Baburam, Narayan, and other devotees were with him. The hall was brightly lighted. The play had not yet begun. The Master was seated in a box, talking with Girish.

MASTER (smiling): "Ah! You have written nice plays."

Assimilation of spiritual ideas

GIRISH: "But, sir, how little I assimilate! I just write."

MASTER: "No, you assimilate a great deal. The other day I said to you that no one could sketch a divine character unless he had love of God in his heart.

"Yes, one needs to assimilate spiritual ideas. I went to Keshab's house to see the play, Nava-Vrindvan. I saw a deputy magistrate there who earned eight hundred rupees a month. Everyone said that he was a very learned man; but I found him restless because of a boy, his son. He was very anxious to find a good seat for the boy; he paid no attention to the spiritual conversation of the players. The boy was pestering him with questions: 'Father! What is this? What is that?' He was extremely busy with the boy. You see, he merely read books; but he didn't assimilate their ideas."

GIRISH: "I often ask myself, 'Why bother about the theatre any more?'"

MASTER: "No, no! Let things be as they are. People will learn much from your plays."

Master sees a performance

The performance began. Prahlada was seen entering the schoolroom as a student. At the sight of him Sri Ramakrishna uttered once or twice the word "Prahlada" and went into samdhi.

During another scene Sri Ramakrishna wept to see Prahlada under an elephant's feet. He cried when the boy was thrown into the fire.

The scene changed. Lakshmi and Narayana were seen seated in Goloka. Narayana was worried about Prahlada. This scene, too, threw Sri Ramakrishna into an ecstatic mood.

After the performance Girish conducted Sri Ramakrishna to his private room in the theatre. He said to the Master, "Would you care to see the farce, Vivaha Vibhrata [The Confusion of Marriage']?"

MASTER: "Oh, no! Why something like that after the life of Prahlada? I once said to the leader of a theatrical troupe, 'End your performance with some religious talk.' We have been listening to such wonderful spiritual conversation; and now to see 'The Confusion of Marriage'! A worldly topic! We should become our old selves again. We should return to our old mood."

GIRISH: "How did you like the performance?"

MASTER: "I found that it was God Himself who was acting the different parts. Those who played the female parts seemed to me the direct embodiments of the Blissful Mother, and the cowherd boys of Goloka the embodiments of Narayana Himself. It was God alone who had become all these.

Signs of God-vision & Different moods of liberated souls "There are signs by which you can know whether a man has truly seen God. One of these is joy; there is no hesitancy in him. He is like the ocean: the waves and sounds are on the surface; below are profound depths. The man who has seen God behaves sometimes like a madman; sometimes like a ghoul, without any feeling of purity or impurity; sometimes like an inert thing, remaining speechless because he sees God within and without; sometimes like a child, without any attachment, wandering about unconcernedly with his cloth under his arm. Again, in the mood of a child, he acts in different ways: sometimes like a boy, indulging in frivolity; sometimes like a young man, working and teaching with the strength of a lion.

"Man cannot see God on account of his ego. You cannot see the sun when a cloud rises in the sky. But that doesn't mean there is no sun; the sun is there just the same.

"But there is no harm in the 'ego of a child'. On the contrary, this ego is helpful. Greens are bad for the stomach; but hinche is good. So hinche cannot properly be called greens.

Sugar candy, likewise, cannot be classed with other sweets. Other sweets are injurious to the health, but not sugar candy.

"So I said to Keshab, 'If I tell you more than I have already said, you won't be able to keep your organization together.' That frightened him. Then I said to him, 'There is no harm in the "ego of a child" or the "ego of a servant".'

"He who has seen God finds that God alone has become the world and all its living beings; it is He who has become all. Such a person is called a superior devotee."

The ego of the devotee & Three classes of devotees GIRISH (smiling); "Yes, God is everything. But the devotee keeps a trace of ego; that is not harmful."

MASTER (smiling): "Yes, there is no harm in that. That trace of ego is kept in order to enjoy God. You can enjoy divine bliss only when you make a distinction between yourself and God-the distinction between the servant and the Master.

"There is also the devotee of the mediocre class: he sees that God dwells in all beings as their Inner Guide. But the inferior devotee says, 'God exists; He is up there', that is to say, beyond the sky. (All laugh.)

"When I saw the cowherd, boys of Goloka in your performance I felt that God has become all. He who has seen God knows truly that God alone is the Doer, that it is He who does everything."

GIRISH: "Sir, I know truly that it is God who does everything."

MASTER: "I say, 'O Mother, I am the machine and You are the Operator; I am inert and You make me conscious; I do as You make me do; I speak as You make me speak.' But the ignorant say, 'I am partly responsible, and God is partly responsible.' "

GIRISH: "Sir, I am not really doing anything. Why should I bother about work at all?"

MASTER: "No, work is good. When the ground is well cultivated and cleared of stones and pebbles, whatever you plant will grow. But one should work without any personal motive.

"There are two types of paramahamsas: the Jnni and the premi. The Jnni is self-centred; he feels that it is enough to have Knowledge for his own self. The premi, like Sukadeva, after attaining his own realization, teaches men. Some eat mangoes and wipe off the traces from their mouths; but some share their mangoes with others. Spades and baskets are needed to dig a well. After the digging is over, some throw the spades and baskets into the well. But others put them away; for a neighbour may use them.

Sukadeva and a few others kept the spades and baskets for the benefit of others. (To Girish) You should do the same."

GIRISH: "Please bless me, sir."

MASTER: "Have faith in the Divine Mother and you will attain everything."

GIRISH: "But I am a sinner."

MASTER: "The wretch who constantly harps on sin becomes a sinner."

GIRISH: "Sir, the very ground where I used to sit would become unholy."

MASTER: "How can you say that? Suppose a light is brought into a room that has been dark a thousand years; does it illumine the room little by little, or all in a flash?"

GIRISH: "Then you have blessed me."

MASTER: "If you sincerely believe it. What more shall I say? I eat and drink and chant the name of God."

GIRISH: "I have no sincerity. Please give it to me."

MASTER: "I? Sages like Nrada and Sukadeva could have done that."

GIRISH: "I don't see Nrada and Sukadeva. 'But you are here before me."

MASTER (smiling): "All right. You have faith."

All remained silent. The conversation began again.

GIRISH: "I have one desire: love of God for its own sake."

MASTER: "Only the Isvarakotis have such love. It is not for ordinary men."

All sat in silence. The Master began to sing in an absent-minded mood, his gaze turned upward:

Can everyone have the vision of Syama? Is Kli's treasure for everyone?

Oh, what a pity my foolish mind will not see what is true!

Even with all His penances, rarely does iva Himself behold The mind-bewitching sight of Mother Syama's crimson feet.

To him who meditates on Her the riches of heaven are poor indeed;

If Syama casts Her glance on him, he swims in Eternal Bliss.

The Prince of yogis, the King of the gods, meditate on Her feet in vain;

Yet worthless Kamalakanta yearns for the Mother's blessed feet!

Girish repeated:

Yet worthless Kamalakanta yearns for the Mother's blessed feet!

Restlessness for God-vision

MASTER (to Girish): "One can realize God through intense renunciation. But the soul must be restless for Him, as restless as one feels for a breath of air when one's head is pressed under water.

"A man can see God if he unites in himself the force of these three attractions: the attraction of worldly possessions for the worldly man, the husband's attraction for the chaste wife, and the child's attraction for its mother. If you can unite these three forms of love and give it all to God, then you can see Him at once.

Cry to your Mother Syama with a real cry, O mind!

And how can She hold Herself from you?

"If a devotee prays to God with real longing, God cannot help revealing Himself to him.

"The other day I told you the meaning of bhakti. It is to adore God with body, mind, and words. 'With body' means to serve and worship God with one's hands, go to holy places with one's feet, hear the chanting of the name and glories of God with one's ears, and behold the divine image with one's eyes. 'With mind' means to contemplate and meditate on God constantly and to remember and think of His lila. 'With words' means to sing hymns to Him and chant His name and glories.

"Devotion as described by Nrada is suited to the Kaliyuga. It means to chant constantly the name and glories of God. Let those who have no leisure worship God at least morning and evening by whole-heartedly chanting His name and clapping their hands.

"The 'ego of a devotee' begets no pride; it does not create ignorance. On the contrary it helps one realize God. This ego is no more like the ordinary ego than hinche is like ordinary greens. One generally becomes indisposed by eating greens; but hinche removes excessive bile; it does one good. Sugar candy is not like ordinary sweets.

Sweets are generally harmful, but sugar candy removes acidity.

"Nishtha leads to bhakti; bhakti, when mature, becomes bhava; bhava, when concentrated, becomes mahabhava; and last of all is prema. Prema is like a cord: by prema God is bound to the devotee; He can no longer run away. An ordinary man can at best achieve bhava. None but an Isvarakoti attains mahabhava and prema.

Chaitanyadeva attained them.

"What is the meaning of jnanayoga? It is the path by which a man can realize the true nature of his own Self; it is the awareness that Brahman alone is his true nature.

Prahlada sometimes was aware of his identity with Brahman. And sometimes he would see that God was one and he another; at such times he would remain in the mood of bhakti.

"Hanuman said, 'O Rma, sometimes I find that You are the whole and I a part, sometimes that You are the Master and I Your servant; but, O Rma, when I have the Knowledge of Reality, I see that You are I and I am You.'"

GIRISH: "Ah!"

Worldly man's spiritual discipline

MASTER: "Why shouldn't a man be able to realize God in the world? But he must have discrimination and dispassion; he must have the unshakable awareness that God alone is real and all else is unreal and has but a two days' existence. It will not do to float on the surface. You must dive deep."

With these words, the Master sang:

Dive deep, O mind, dive deep in the Ocean of God's Beauty; If you descend to the uttermost depths,

There you will find the gem of Love. . . .

MASTER: "You must remember another thing: in the ocean there is danger of alligators, that is to say, of lust and the like."

GIRISH: "I am not afraid of the King of Death."

MASTER: "But I am speaking of the danger of the alligators of lust and the like. Because of them one should smear one's body with turmeric before diving in-the turmeric of discrimination and dispassion.

"Some attain knowledge of God in the world. Mention is made of two classes of yogis: the hidden and the known. Those who have renounced the world are 'known' yogis: all recognize them. But the 'hidden' yogis live in the world. They are not known. They are like the maidservant who performs her duties in the house but whose mind is fixed on her children in the country. They are also, as I have told you, like the loose woman who performs her household duties zealously but whose mind constantly dwells on her lover.

It is very hard to cultivate discrimination and dispassion. It is not easy to get rid of the idea, 'I am the master and all these are mine.' I saw a deputy magistrate, who earns a salary of eight hundred rupees, paying no attention to a religious discourse. He had brought one of his children with him and was busy finding a good place for him to sit. I know another man, whom I shall not name, who used to devote a great deal of time to japa; but he bore false witness in court for the sake of ten thousand rupees. Therefore I say that a man can realize God in the world, too, but only if he has discrimination and dispassion."

Master and Girish

GIRISH: "What will happen to this sinner?"

Sri Ramakrishna sang in a tender voice, turning his eyes upward: Meditate on the Lord, the Slayer of hell's dire woes, He who removes the fear of death;

Thinking of Him, the soul is freed from worldly grief And sails across the sea of life in the twinkling of an eye.

Consider, O my mind, why you have come to earth; What gain is there in evil thoughts and deeds?

Your way lies not through these: perform your penance here By meditating long and deep on the everlasting Lord.

MASTER: "'Sails across the sea of life in the twinkling of an eye.' One attains the vision of God if Mahamaya steps aside from the door. Mahamaya's grace is necessary: hence the worship of akti. You see, God is near us, but it is not possible to know Him because Mahamaya stands between. Rma, Lakshmana, and Sita were walking along. Rma walked ahead, Sita in the middle, and Lakshmana last. Lakshmana was only two and a half cubits away from Rma, but he couldn't see Rma because Sita-Mahamaya-was in the way.

"While worshipping God, one should assume a definite attitude. I have three attitudes: the attitude of a child, the attitude of a maidservant, and the attitude of a friend. For a long time I regarded myself as a maidservant and a woman companion of God; at that time I used to wear skirts and ornaments, like a woman. The attitude of a child is very good.

"The attitude of a 'hero' is not good. Some people cherish it. They regard themselves as Purusha and woman as Prakriti; they want to propitiate woman through intercourse with her. But this method often causes disaster."

GIRISH: "At one time I too cherished that idea."

Sri Ramakrishna looked at Girish pensively.

GIRISH: "I still have that twist in my mind. Tell me what I should do."

Sri Ramakrishna reflected a minute and said, "Give God your power of attorney. Let Him do whatever He likes."

The conversation then turned to Sri Ramakrishna's young devotees.

MASTER (to Girish and the others): "In meditation I see the inner traits of these youngsters. They have no thought of acquiring house and property. They do not crave sex pleasure. Those of the youngsters who are married do not sleep with their wives.

The truth is that unless a man has got rid of rajas and has acquired sattva, he cannot steadily dwell in God; he cannot love God and realize Him."

GIRISH: "You have blessed me."

MASTER: "How is that? I said that you would succeed if you were sincere."

Saying this, the Master exclaimed, "nandamayi!" and went into samdhi. He remained in that state a long time. Regaining partial consciousness, he said, "Where are those rascals?" M. brought Baburam to him. Sri Ramakrishna looked at Baburam and the other devotees and said, still in ecstasy.

"The bliss of Satchidananda is indeed good; but what about the bliss of divine inebriation?"

He began to sing:

Once for all, this time, I have thoroughly understood; From One who knows it well, I have learnt the secret of bhava...

Again he sang:

Why should I go to Ganga or Gaya, to Kasi, Kanchi, or Prabhas,

So long as I can brea the my last with Kli's name upon my lips?

The Master continued, saying, "While praying to the Divine Mother, I said, 'O Mother, I don't seek anything else: give me only pure love for Thee.' "

Sri Ramakrishna was pleased with Girish's calm mood. He said to him, "This mood of yours is good; the calm mood is the best."

The Master was seated in the manager's room. A man entered and said, "Will you see the farce. 'The Confusion of Marriage'? It is being played now."

Sri Ramakrishna said to Girish: "What have you done? This farce after the life of Prahlada! First sweets and rice pudding and then a dish of bitter herbs!"

After the theatre, the actresses, following Girish's instructions, came to the room to salute Sri Ramakrishna. They bowed before him, touching the ground with their foreheads. The devotees noticed that some of the actresses, in saluting the Master, touched his feet. He said to them very tenderly, "Please don't do that, mother!"

After the actresses had left the room, Sri Ramakrishna said to the devotees, "It is all He, only in different forms."

The carriage was ready at the door. Girish and the others came to the street to see the Master off. As soon as Sri Ramakrishna stepped into the carriage, he went into deep samdhi. Narayan and several other devotees were with him. The carriage started for Dakshineswar.

Saturday, December 27, 1884

It was the Christmas season. Taking advantage of the holiday, many devotees came to the temple garden to visit the Master, some of them arriving in the morning. Among these were Kedr, Ram, Nityagopal, Trak, Surendra, M., Sarada Prasanna, and a number of young devotees. This was Sarada Prasanna's first visit.

MASTER (to M.): "Where is Bankim? Haven't you brought him with you?"

Bankim was a school boy whom Sri Ramakrishna had met in Bagh bazar. Noticing him even from a distance, the Master had said that he was a fine boy.

After a while Sri Ramakrishna went to the Panchavati with the devotees. They surrounded him, some sitting and some standing. He was seated on the cement platform around the tree, facing the southwest. He asked M. with a smile, "Have you brought the book?"

M: "Yes, sir."

MASTER: "Read a little to me."

The devotees were eager to know the name of the book. It was called Devi Choudhurani. The Master had heard that the book dealt with motiveless action. He had also heard of the great renown of its author, Bankim Chandra Chatterji, whom he had met some days before, and he wanted to gauge the author's mind from the book.

M. said: "A young girl-the heroine-fell into the hands of a robber named Bhavani Pathak.

Her name had been Prafulla, but the robber changed it to 'Devi Choudhurani'. At heart Bhavani was a good man. He made Prafulla go through many spiritual disciplines; he also taught her how to perform selfless action. He robbed wicked people and with that money fed the poor and helpless. He said to Prafulla, 'I chastise the wicked and protect the virtuous.'"

MASTER: "But that is a king's duty."

M: "In one place the author writes of bhakti. Bhavani Pathak sent a girl named Nishi to keep Prafulla company. Nishi was full of piety and looked on Krishna as her husband.

Prafulla was already married; she had lost her father and lived with her mother. The neighbours had created a scandal about her character and avoided her, and so her father-in-law had not allowed her to live with his son. Later her husb and had married again; but Prafulla was extremely devoted to her husband.

(To Sri Ramakrishna) "Now, sir, you can follow the story."

M. read:

NISHI: "I am a daughter of Bhavani Pathak. He is my father. He has also, in a way, given me in marriage."

PRAFULLA: "What do you mean?"

NISHI: "I have surrendered my all to Krishna."

PRAFULLA: "How is that?"

NISHI: "My beauty, youth, and soul."

PRAFULLA: "Then He is your husband."

NISHI: "Yes, because he alone is my husb and who completely possesses me."

PRAFULLA (with a sigh): "I do not know. You talk that way because you do not know what a husb and is. If you had a real husband, you could never have liked Sri Krishna.

The foolish Brajeswar-Prafulla's husband-was unaware that his wife loved him so much.

NISHI: "All can love Sri Krishna, because He has infinite beauty, infinite youth, and infinite splendour."

This young lady was a disciple of Bhavani and well-versed in logic. But Prafulla was illiterate; she could not answer Nishi's arguments.But the writers of the Hindu social laws knew the reply. God is infinite, no doubt; but one cannot keep the infinite in the small cage of the heart. One can do so only with the finite. Therefore the infinite Creator of the universe is worshipped by the Hindu in the cage of his heart as Sri Krishna, the finite Personal God. The husb and of a woman has a still more definite form. Therefore if the wife cherishes pure conjugal love, the husb and becomes the first step toward God.

Hence the husb and is the only Deity to the Hindu woman. Other societies are inferior to Hindu society in this respect.

Prafulla was an ignorant girl; she could not understand Nishi's arguments. She said, "Friend, I do not understand all these arguments; but you haven't yet told me your name."

NISHI: "Bhavani Pathak has given me the name of Nishi, Night. I am the sister of Diva, Day. One day I shall introduce my sister to you. Let me continue what I was saying. God alone is the real Husband; and to a woman the husb and is her only God. Sri Krishna is the God of all. Why should we cherish two Deities, two Gods? If you divide to little bhakti of this small heart, how little there will be!"

PRAFULLA: "Don't be silly. Is there any limit to a woman's bhakti?"

NISHI: "There is no end to a woman's love. But bhakti is one thing, and love another"

Summarizing part of the book, M. said that Bhavani initiated Prafulla into spiritual life.

He continued reading:

During the first year Bhavani did not allow any man to enter Prafulla's house nor did he allow her to speak to any man outside the house. During the second year the rule about speaking was withdrawn, but no man was allowed inside her house. In the third year Prafulla shaved her head. Now Bhavani allowed his select disciples to see her. The shaven-headed disciple would converse with them on scriptural topics, keeping her eyes cast on the ground.

M. then read that Prafulla began the study of the scriptures; that she finished grammar and read Raghuvamsa, Kumara Sambhava, Sakuntala, and Naishadha; and that she studied a little of the Samkhya, Vednta, and Nyaya philosophies.

Master and book-learning

MASTER: "Do you know what that means? People like the author of this book believe that knowledge is impossible without the study of books. They think that first comes the knowledge of books and then comes the knowledge of God. In order to know God one must read books! But if I want to know Jadu Mallick, must I first know the number of his houses and the amount of money he has in government securities? Do I really need all this information? Rather I should somehow enter his house, be it by flattering his gate-keepers or by disregarding their rough treatment, and talk to Jadu Mallick himself. Then, if I want to know about his wealth or possessions, I shall only have to ask him about them. Then it will be a very easy matter for me.

First God and then the world

First comes Rma, then His riches, that is, the universe, This is why Valmiki repeated the mantra, 'mara'. 'Ma' means God, and 'ra' the world, that is to say, His riches."

The devotees listened to the Master's words with rapt attention.

M. continued with the story of Prafulla:

Prafulla finished her studies and then practised spiritual austerity for many days. Then one day Bhavani visited her; he wanted to instruct her about selfless work. He quoted to her from the Git: "Therefore do thou always perform obligatory actions without attachment; by performing action without attachment one attains to the highest."

He told her the three characteristics of disinterested action: first, control of the sense-organs; second, absence of egotism; and third, surrendering the fruit of action to Sri Krishna. He further told her that no dharma is possible for the egotistic person. Quoting from the Git, he said: "The Guns of Prakriti perform all action. With the understanding deluded by egotism, man thinks, I am the doer."

Bhavani next spoke to her about surrendering the fruit of action to Sri Krishna. Again he quoted from the Git : "Whatever thou doest, whatever thou eatest, whatever thou givest away, whatever austerity thou practisest, O son of Kunti, do that as an offering unto Me."

MASTER: "This is fine. These are the words of the Git; one cannot refute them. But something else must be noted. The author speaks about surrendering the fruit of action to Sri Krishna, but not about cultivating bhakti for Him."

M: "No, that is not especially mentioned here.

"Next Prafulla and Bhavani talked about the use of money. Prafulla said that she offered all her wealth to Krishna."

M. read from the book again.

PRAFULLA: "Like my actions, I offer all my wealth to Sri Krishna."

BHAVANI: "All?"

PRAFULLA: "Yes, all."

BHAVANI: "In that case you won't he able to perform action in a detached spirit. If you have to work to earn your food, you will be attached to that work. Hence there are two alternatives before you: either you will have to get your food by begging, or you will have to live on your money. Even a beggar becomes attached to the alms he receives; therefore you must use your own money to maintain your body."

M. (to the Master, smiling): "That is the nature of the calculating mind."

MASTER: "Yes, that is the nature of the calculating mind; that is the way the worldly man thinks. But he who seeks God plunges headlong; he doesn't calculate about how much or how little he needs for the protection of his body."

M: "Next Bhavani asked Prafulla, 'How will you offer all this money to Sri Krishna?'

Prafulla said: 'Why, Sri Krishna dwells in all beings. I shall distribute the money among them.' Bhavani answered, 'Good! Good!'

"Quoting from the Git , Bhavani said: 'He who sees Me in all things and all things in Me, never becomes separated from Me, nor do I become separated from him. That yogi who, established in unity, worships Me dwelling in all beings, abides in Me, whatever his mode of life. O Arjuna, that yogi is regarded as the highest who judges the pleasure and pain of all beings by the same standard that he applies to himself."

MASTER: "These are the characteristics of the highest bhakta."

M. again read from the book:

A man must work hard if he wants to help all beings with charity. Hence it is necessary for him to make a little display of clothes, of pomp and luxury. Therefore Bhavani said, "A little shopkeeping is necessary."

MASTER (sharply): "'A little shopkeeping is necessary!' One speaks as one thinks. If a man thinks of worldly things day and night, and deals with people hypocritically, then his words are coloured by his thoughts. If one eats radish, one belches radish. Instead of talking about 'shopkeeping', he should rather have said, 'A man should act as if he were the doer, knowing very well that he is really not the doer.' The other day a man was singing here. The song contained words like 'profit' and 'loss'. I stopped him. If one contemplates a particular subject day and night, one cannot talk of anything else."

The reading continued. The author was describing the realization of God. Prafulla had become Devi Choudhurani. It was the month of Vaikh. Devi was seated on the roof of her house-boat talking with Diva and another woman companion. The moon was up. The boat had cast anchor in the Ganges. The conversation turned to the question of whether one could see God. Devi said, "As the aroma of a flower is directly perceived by the nose, so God is directly perceived by the mind."

At this point the Master interrupted and said: "Yes, God is directly perceived by the mind, but not by this ordinary mind. It is the pure mind that perceives God, and at that time this ordinary mind does not function. A mind that has the slightest trace of attachment to the world cannot be called pure. When all the impurities of the mind are removed, you may call that mind Pure Mind or Pure tman."

M: "The author says a little later that God cannot easily be perceived by the mind.

He says that one needs a telescope to have that direct vision. Yoga is the telescope.

Yoga, as it is described in the Git, is of three kinds: jnna, bhakti, and karma. One is able to see God through this telescope of yoga."

MASTER: "That is very good. These are the words of the Git."

M: "At last Devi Choudhurani met her husband. She showed him great devotion and said to him: 'You are my God. I wanted to learn the worship of another God but I did not succeed. You have taken the place of all gods.' "

MASTER (smiling): "'I did not succeed.' This is the dharma of a woman totally devoted to her husband. This also is a path."

The reading was over. The Master was smiling. The devotees looked at him, eagerly waiting to hear what he would say.

MASTER (to the devotees, smiling): "This is not so bad; it is called the dharma of chastity, the single-minded devotion of a wife to her husband. If God can be worshipped through an image, why shouldn't it be possible to worship Him through a living person?

It is God Himself who sports in the world as men.

Master's spiritual experiences

"Oh, what a state I passed through! I passed some days absorbed in iva and Durga; some days absorbed in Radha and Krishna, and some days absorbed in Sita and Rma.

Assuming Radha's attitude, I would cry for Krishna, and assuming Sita's attitude, I would cry for Rma.

"But lila is by no means the last word. Passing through all these states, I said to the Divine Mother: 'Mother, in these states there is separation. Give me a state where there is no separation.' Then I remained for some time absorbed in the Indivisible Satchidananda. I removed the pictures of the gods and goddesses from my room. I began to perceive God in all beings. Formal worship dropped away. You see that bel-tree. I used to go there to pluck its leaves. One day, as I plucked a leaf, a bit of the bark came off. I found the tree full of Consciousness. I felt grieved because I had hurt the tree. One day I tried to pluck some Durva grass, but I found I couldn't do it very well.

Then I forced myself to pluck it.

"I cannot cut a lemon. The other day I managed to cut one only with great difficulty; I chanted the name of Kli and cut the fruit as they slaughter an animal before the Goddess. One day I was about to gather some flowers.

They were everywhere on the trees. At once I had a vision of Virat; it appeared that His worship was just over. The flowers looked like a bouquet placed on the head of the Deity. I could not pluck them.

"God sports through man as well. I see man as the embodiment of Narayana. As fire is kindled when you rub two pieces of wood together, so God can be seen in man if you have intense devotion. If there is suitable bait, big fish like carp gulp it down at once.

When one is intoxicated with prema, one sees God in all beings. The gopis saw Krishna in everything; to them the whole world was filled with Krishna. They said that they themselves were Krishna. They were then in a God-intoxicated state. Looking at the trees, they said, 'These are hermits absorbed in meditation on Krishna.' Looking at the grass they said, 'The hair of the earth is standing on end at the touch of Krishna.'

"Devotion to the husb and is also a dharma. The husb and is God. Why shouldn't it be so?

If God can be worshipped through an image, why not also through a living man? But three things are necessary in order to feel the presence of God in an image: first, the devotion of the priest; second, a beautiful image; and third, the devotion of the householder. Vaishnavcharan once said that in the end the mind of the devotee is absorbed in the human manifestation of God.

"But you must remember one thing. One cannot see God sporting as man unless one has had the vision of Him. Do you know the sign of one who has God-vision? Such a man acquires the nature of a child. Why a child? Because God is like a child. So he who sees God becomes like a child.

"God-vision is necessary. Now the question is, how can one get it? Intense renunciation is the means. A man should have such intense yearning for God that he can say, 'O

Father of the universe, am I outside Your universe? Won't You be kind to me, You wretch?'.

"You partake of the nature of him on whom you meditate. By worshipping iva you acquire the nature of iva. A devotee of Rma meditated on Hanuman day and night. He used to think he had become Hanuman. In the end he was firmly convinced that he had even grown a little tail. Jnna is the characteristic of iva, and bhakti of Vishnu. One who partakes of iva's nature becomes a Jnni, and one who partakes of Vishnu's nature becomes a bhakta."

Chaitanya & The Divine Incarnation and the ordinary man M: "But what about Chaitanyadeva? You said he had both knowledge and devotion."

MASTER (sharply): "His case was different. He was an Incarnation of God. There is a great difference between him and an ordinary man. The fire of Chaitanya's renunciation was so great that when Sarvabhauma poured sugar on his tongue, instead of melting, it evaporated into air. He was always absorbed in samdhi. How great was his conquest of lust! To compare him with a man! A lion eats meat and yet it mates only once in twelve years; but a sparrow eats grain and it indulges in sex-life day and night. Such is the difference between a Divine Incarnation and an ordinary human being. An ordinary man renounces lust; but once in a while he forgets his vow. He cannot control himself.

(To M):"He who has realized God looks on man as a mere worm. 'One cannot succeed in religious life if one has shame, hatred, or fear.' These are fetters. Haven't you heard of the eight fetters?

"How can one who is eternally perfect be afraid of the world? He knows how to play his game. An eternally perfect soul can even lead a worldly life if he desires. There are people who can fence with two swords at the same time; they are such expert fencers that, if stones are thrown at them, the stones hit the swords and come back."

Yoga and God-vision

A DEVOTEE: "Sir, how can one see God?"

MASTER: "Can you ever see God if you do not direct your whole mind toward Him? The Bhagavata speaks about Sukadeva. When he walked about he looked like a soldier with fixed bayonet. His gaze did not wander; it had only one goal and that was God. This is the meaning of yoga.

"The chatak bird drinks only rain-water. Though the Ganges, the Jamuna, the Godavari, and all other rivers are full of water, and though the seven oceans are full to the brim, still the chatak will not touch them. It will drink only the water that falls from the clouds.

"He who has developed such yoga can see God. In the theatre the audience remains engaged in all kinds of conversation, about home, office, and school, till the curtain goes up; but no sooner does it go up than all conversation comes to a stop, and the people watch the play with fixed attention. If after a long while someone utters a word or two, it is about the play.

"After a drunkard has drunk his liquer, he talks only about the joy of drunkenness."

Nityagopal was seated in front of Sri Ramakrishna. He was always in ecstasy. He sat there in silence.

MASTER (to Nityagopal, smiling): "Gopal! Why are you always silent?" Nityagopal answered like a child, "I-do-not-know."

MASTER: "I understand why you don't say anything; perhaps you are afraid of committing a transgression. You are right. Jaya and Vijaya were gate-keepers for Narayana. They refused Sanaka, Santana, and other rishis' admission into His palace.

For this transgression, Jaya and Vijaya had to be born three times on earth.

"Again, there is the instance of Sridm; he was Viraja's gate-keeper in Goloka. Sri Krishna was in Viraj's house. Rdhika went there to surprise Krishna and wanted to enter the house. Sridm would not admit her, and so Radhika cursed him to be born as a demon on earth. But Sridm, too, cursed her.

"But there is one thing you should remember. When a boy walks holding his father's hand, he may fall into the gutter; but what has he to fear if the father holds him by the hand?"

The story of Sridm is narrated in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana.

Kedr, who was a government official, had been living at Dcc for sometime. He had been transferred there from Calcutta. He was a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna and had gathered together at Dcc many devotees, who came to him regularly for spiritual instruction. As one should not come empty handed to a religious man, the devotees would bring Kedr sweets and other offerings.

KEDR (to the Master, humbly): "Should I eat those offerings?"

MASTER: "It won't injure you if the offerings are given out of love for God. But they are harmful if they are given with any selfish motive."

KEDR: "I have explained everything to the devotees and now I feel relieved. I have told them that he who has given me his blessing knows all."

MASTER (smiling): "That is true. You see, people of all sorts come here. So they find here different things."

KEDR: "I do not need to know different things."

MASTER (smiling): "Why not? One should know a little of everything. If a man starts a grocery-shop, he keeps all kinds of articles there, including a little lentil and tamarind.

An expert musician knows how to play a little on all instruments."

Sri Ramakrishna left the room and went toward the pine-grove. The devotees began to walk about in the garden. Several went to the Panchavati. Sri Ramakrishna met them there and said: "I have indigestion. I took a meal at the Mallicks'. They are very worldly people."

A few of the Master's personal things lay scattered on the cement platform of the Panchavati, and he asked M. to bring them. He proceeded to his room and the devotees followed.

In the afternoon the Master rested awhile. Afterwards a few devotees arrived. The Master sat on the small couch reclining against a pillow.

A DEVOTEE: "Sir, can one know God's attri butes through the intellect?"

MASTER: "Certainly not by this ordinary intellect. Can one know God so easily? One must practise sdhan. One must also adopt a particular attitude toward God, for instance, the attitude of a servant toward his master. The rishis of old had the attitude of nta. Do you know the attitude of the jnanis? It is to meditate on one's own Self. (To a devotee, with a smile) What is your attitude?"

The devotee gave no answer.

MASTER (smiling): "You have two attitudes: you meditate on your own Self and also cherish toward God the attitude of a servant. Am I not right?"

DEVOTEE (hesitating and smiling): "Yes, sir."

MASTER (smiling): "You see, as Hazra says, I can read people's thoughts.

"One can maintain those two attitudes only at a very advanced stage. Prahlada maintained them. But one must work hard in order to practise this ideal.

"Let me give an illustration. Suppose a man is grasping the thorny branch of a plum-tree. His hand bleeds profusely; but he says, 'There is nothing the matter with me; I am not hurt.' If you ask him about his wound, he will say, 'It's all right; I am quite well.'

Now is there any meaning in the mere utterance of these words? One must practise discipline in keeping with this ideal."

The devotees were giving their whole attention to what the Master was saying.

--------------------

Chapter 36

THE MASTER'S BIRTHDAY

Sunday, February 22, 1885

SRI RAMAKRISHNA was sitting on the northeast verandah outside his room at Dakshineswar. It was about eight o'clock in the morning. Many devotees, including Narendra, Rkhl, Girish, Baburam, and Surendra, were present. They were celebrating the Master's birthday, which had fallen on the previous Monday. M. arrived and saluted him. The Master signed to him to take a seat near him.

Narottam was singing kirtan. Sri Ramakrishna was in partial ecstasy. The subject was Krishna's meeting with His cowherd friends in the meadow. Krishna had not yet arrived.

The cowherd boys were restless for Him. One of them said that Mother Yaoda was preventing Krishna from coming. Bali [Balaram's pet name] said in a determined voice that he would bring Krishna with the sound of his horn. Bali's love for Krishna knew no bounds. The music went on. The cowherd boys and girls heard Krishna's flute and were filled with spiritual emotion.

Master's love for Narendra

Suddenly Sri Ramakrishna's eyes fell on Narendra, who was sitting very near him. He stood up and went into samdhi; he stood there touching Narendra's knee with his foot.

Regaining consciousness he took his seat again. Narendra left the room. The music went on.

Sri Ramakrishna whispered to Baburam: "There is Kshir [sweet milk preparation] in the room. Give Narendra some."

Did the Master see Narendra as the embodiment of God?

After the kirtan Sri Ramakrishna returned to his room. Tenderly he began to feed Narendra with sweets. It was Girish's belief that God Himself had been born in the person of Sri Ramakrishna.

GIRISH (to the Master): "Your ways are like Krishna's. He too pretended many things to His mother Yaoda."

MASTER: "True. It was because Krishna was an Incarnation of God. When God is born as a man He acts that way. You see, Krishna easily lifted the hill of Govardhan with His hand, but He made Nanda believe that He found it very hard to carry a footstool."

GIRISH: "Yes, sir, I have understood you now."

Sri Ramakrishna was sitting on the small couch. It was about eleven o'clock. Ram and the other devotees wanted to dress him in a new cloth. The Master said, "No, no."

Pointing to an English-educated man, he said "What will he say about it?" At the earnest request of the devotees he said "Well, since you insist, I shall have to agree."

The devotees were arranging the Master's meal in the room. He asked Narendra to sing.

Narendra sang:

In dense darkness, O Mother, Thy formless beauty sparkles; Therefore the yogis meditate in a dark mountain cave.

In the lap of boundless dark, on Mahanirvana's waves upborne, Peace flows serene and inexhaustible.

Taking the form of the Void, in the robe of darkness wrapped, Who art Thou, Mother, seated alone in the shrine of samdhi?

From the Lotus of Thy fear-scattering Feet flash Thy love's lightnings;

Thy Spirit-Face shines forth with laughter terrible and loud!

Master's samdhi

As Narendra sang the line, "Who art Thou, Mother, seated alone in the shrine of samdhi?", Sri Ramakrishna went into deep samdhi and lost all outer consciousness.

After a long time, when he was regaining partial consciousness, the devotees seated him on the carpet and placed a plate of food before him. Still overcome with divine emotion, he began to eat the rice with both hands. He said to Bhavanth, "Feed me." Because of his ecstatic mood he could not use his own right hand. Bhavanth began to feed him Sri Ramakrishna could eat very little. Rm said to him, "Nityagopl will eat from your plate."

MASTER: "Why from my plate? Why?"

RAM: "Why not?"

Nityagopal was also in an ecstatic mood. The Master put a morsel or two into his mouth with his own hand.

Some devotees from Konnagar arrived by boat. They entered Sri Ramakrishna's room singing kirtan; afterwards they went out to take some refreshments. Narottam was in the room. The Master said to him and the other devotees: "The music of the Konnagar devotees was dull. Music should be so lively as to make everyone dance. One should sing a song like this:

See how all Nadia is shaking

Under the waves of Gaurnga's love!

And along with it these lines:

Behold, the two brothers have come, who weep while chanting Hari's name,

The brothers who, in return for blows, offer to sinners Hari's love. . . .

And these too:

Gaur and Nitai, ye blessed brothers!

I have heard how kind you are,

And therefore I have come to you.

The devotees were taking the prasad. It was a sumptuous feast. Sri Ramakrishna said to M.: "Haven't you invited the Mukherjis? Ask Surendra to feed the musicians."

Bepin Sarkar arrived. The devotees introduced him to the Master. Sri Ramakrishna sat up and said to the devotees, "Give him a seat and some betel-leaf." He said to Bepin humbly: "I am sorry not to be able to talk to you. There is a great crowd today."

Pointing to Girindra, Sri Ramakrishna said to Baburam, "Give him a carpet." Nityagopal was sitting on the floor. The Master asked a devotee to give him a carpet too.

Physician Mahendra of Sinthi arrived. The Master, smiling, asked Rkhl by a sign to have the physician examine his pulse.

Turning to Ramlal, the Master said, "Be friendly with Girish Ghosh; then you will get a free ticket to the theatre."

Narendra had been talking a long time with Hazra on the porch. Since his father's death Narendra had been having financial worries. He entered the room and took a seat.

Hazra's eccentricities

MASTER (to Narendra): "Were you with Hazra? Both of you are in the same boat. You know the saying about the two friends: 'You are away from your country and he is away from his beloved.' Hazra, too, needs fifteen hundred rupees. (Laughter.) "Hazra says: 'Narendra has acquired one hundred per cent sattva, though still there is in him a pink glow of rajas. But I have one hundred and twenty-five per cent pure sattva.'

(All laugh.)

"I say to Hazra, 'You indulge in reasoning only: that is why you are so dry.' He retorts, 'No, I am dry because I drink the nectar of the sun.'

"Speaking of pure bhakti, I say to Hazra, 'A real devotee does not pray to God for money or riches.' Hazra replies: 'When the flood of divine grace descends, the rivers overflow; and further, the pools and canals are filled. By the grace of God one gets not only pure devotion but also the six supernatural powers, and money too.' "

Narendra and many other devotees were seated on the floor. Girish entered the room and joined them.

MASTER (to Girish): "I look on Narendra as tman. I obey him."

GIRISH: "Is there anyone you don't obey?"

MASTER (smiling): "He has a manly nature and I have the nature of a woman. He is a noble soul and belongs to the realm of the Indivisible Brahman."

Girish went out to have a smoke.

NARENDRA (to the Master): "I had a talk with Girish Ghosh. He is indeed a great man.

We talked about you."

MASTER: "What did you say about me?"

NARENDRA: "That you are illiterate and we are scholars. Oh, we talked in that vein!"

(Laughter.)

MANI MALLICK (to the Master): "You have become a pundit without reading a book."

Goal of scriptural study

MASTER (to Narendra and the others): "Let me tell you this: really and truly I don't feel sorry in the least that I haven't read the Vednta or the other scriptures. I know that the essence of the Vednta is that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory. And what is the essence of the Git? It is what you get by repeating the word ten times. Then it is reversed into, 'Tagi', which refers to renunciation. The pupil should hear the essence of the scriptures from the guru; then he should practise austerity and devotions. A man needs the letter he has received from home as long as he has not learnt its contents.

After reading it, however, he sets out to get the thing he has been asked to send.

Likewise, what need is there of the scriptures if you know their essence? The next thing is the practice of spiritual discipline."

Girish entered the room.

MASTER (to Girish): "Hello! What were you saying about me? I eat, drink, and make merry."

GIRISH: "What should we have been saying about you? Are you a holy man?"

MASTER: "No, nothing of the sort. Truly I do not feel I am a holy man.

GIRISH: "I am not your equal even in joking."

MASTER: "I once went to Jaygopal Sen's garden house wearing a red bordered cloth.

Keshab was there. Looking at the red borders Keshab said: 'What's this? Such a flash of colour today! Such a display of red border I said, 'I have to cast a spell on Keshab; hence this display.' "

Narendra was going to sing again. Sri Ramakrishna asked M. to take down the Tnpura from the wall. Narendra was a long time tuning it. The Master and the devotees became impatient. Binode said, "He will tune it today and sing another day." (Laughter.) Sri Ramakrishna laughed. He said: "I feel like breaking the Tnpura to pieces! What is this? Only 'Tong-tong'! Then he will practise: 'Tana-nana -nere-num'!"

BHAVANTH: "Everybody feels annoyed like this before a musical performance begins."

NARENDRA (still tuning): "If you don't understand it."

MASTER (smiling): "There! He explains away our complaints!"

Narendra began to sing. Sri Ramakrishna was seated on the small couch. Nityagopal and the other devotees were on the floor.

Narendra sang:

O Mother, Thou my Inner Guide, ever awake within my heart!

Day and night Thou holdest me in Thy lap.

Why dost Thou show such tenderness to this unworthy child of Thine?..

Then he sang:

O my lute of a single string!

Sing the blessed Mother's name,

For She is the solace of my soul. . . .

And again:

In dense darkness, O Mother, Thy formless beauty sparkles; Therefore the yogis meditate in a dark mountain cave. . . .

In an ecstatic mood Sri Ramakrishna came down and sat by Narendra's side. He began to talk, still in ecstasy.

MASTER: "Shall I sing? Fie! (To Nityagopal) What do you say? One should listen to singing to awaken the inner spirit. Nothing matters afterwards. "He has kindled the fire.

That is nice. Now all is silence. That's nice too. I am silent; you be silent too. The thing is to dive into the Elixir of Bliss.

"Shall I sing? Well, I may. Water is water whether it is still or in waves."

Narendra was seated near the Master. He was constantly worried about his financial difficulties at home. He was now twenty-three years old. Sri Ramakrishna looked at him intently.

MASTER (to Narendra, smiling): "Undoubtedly you are 'Kha'. But you have to worry about 'taxes'; that's the trouble." By "taxes" the Master meant Narendra's financial difficulties at home.

MASTER: "Krishnakishore used to say that he was 'Kha'. One day I visited him at his home and found him worried. He wouldn't talk to me freely. I asked him: 'What's the matter? Why are you brooding like this?' Krishna kishore said: 'The tax-collector came today. He said my pots and pans would be sold at auction if I didn't pay my taxes. That's what I am worrying about.' I laughed and said: 'How is that? You are surely 'Kha', the ka. Let the rascals take away your pots and pans. What is that to you?'

Occult powers

(To Narendra) "So I am saying that you are 'Kha'. Why are you so worried? Don't you know that Sri Krishna said to Arjuna, 'If you have one of the eight siddhis, you may get a little power, but you will not realize Me.' By siddhis one may acquire powers, strength, money, and such things, but not God.

Go beyond duality

"Let me tell you something else. Go beyond knowledge and ignorance. People say that such and such a one is a Jnni; but in reality it is not so. Vasishtha was a great Jnni, but even he was stricken with grief on account of the death of his sons. At this Lakshmana said to Rma: 'This is amazing, Rma. Even Vasishtha is so grief-stricken!'

Rma said: 'Brother, he who has knowledge has ignorance as well. He who is aware of light is also aware of darkness. He who knows good also knows bad. He who knows happiness also know misery. Brother, go beyond duality, beyond pleasure and pain, beyond knowledge and ignorance.' (To Narendra) So I am asking you to go beyond both knowledge and ignorance."

Sri Ramakrishna went back to his small couch. The devotees were seated on the floor.

Surendra sat by his side. The Master cast an affectionate look on him and began to give him advice.

Advice to Surendra

MASTER (to Surendra): "Come here every now and then. Nangta used to say that a brass pot must be polished every day; otherwise it gets stained. One should constantly live in the company of holy men.

"The renunciation of 'woman and gold' is for sannysis. It is not for you.

Now and then you should go into solitude and call on God with a yearning heart. Your renunciation should be mental.

"Unless a devotee is of the heroic type he cannot pay attention to both God and the world. King Janaka lived a householder's life only after attaining perfection through austerity and prayer. He fenced with two swords, the one of Knowledge and the other of action."

The Master sang:

This very world is a mansion of mirth;

Here I can eat, here drink and make merry.

Janaka's might was unsurpassed; What did he lack of the world or the Spirit?

Holding to one as well as the other,

He drank his milk from a brimming cup!

Duties of householders

MASTER: "For you, as Chaitanya said, the disciplines to be practised are kindness to living beings, service to the devotees, and chanting the name of God.

(To Surendra) "Why do I say all this to you? You work in a merchant's office. I say this to you because you have many duties to perform there.

"You tell lies at the office. Then why do I eat the food you offer me? Because you give your money in charity; you give away more than you earn. 'The seed of the melon is bigger than the fruit', as the saying goes.

"I cannot eat anything offered by miserly people. Their wealth is squandered in these ways: first, litigation; second, thieves and robbers; third, physicians; fourth, their wicked children's extravagance. It is like that.

Master praises charity

"Your giving money away in charity is very good. Those who have money should give in charity. The miser's wealth is spirited away, but the money of the charitable person is saved. He spends it for a righteous purpose. At Kamarpukur I have seen the farmers cutting channels to irrigate their fields. Sometimes the water rushes in with such force that the ridges around the fields are washed away and the crops destroyed. For this reason the farmers make holes here and there in the ridges. Since the water escapes through the holes, the ridges are not destroyed by the rush of the water. Furthermore, the escaping water deposits soft clay in the fields, which increases their fertility and gives a richer crop. He who gives away in charity achieves great results. He achieves the four fruits: dharma, artha, kama, and moksha."

The devotees listened with great attention to Sri Ramakrishna's words.

SURENDRA: "I cannot meditate well. I repeat the Divine Mother's name now and then.

Lying in bed, I repeat Her name and fall asleep."

MASTER: "That is enough. You remember Her, don't you?

"There are two kinds of yoga: Mano Yoga and Karma Yoga. To perform, following the guru's instructions, such pious acts as worship, pilgrimage, and service to living beings is called karmayoga. The duties that Janaka performed are also called karmayoga. The meditation and contemplation of the yogis is called manoyoga."

"Sometimes I say to myself in the Kli temple, 'O Mother, the mind is nothing but Yourself.' Therefore Pure Mind, Pure Buddhi, and Pure tman are one and the same thing."

It was about dusk. Many of the devotees saluted Sri Ramakrishna and started to go home. The Master went to the west porch. Bhavanth and M. were with him.

MASTER (to Bhavanth): "Why do you come here so seldom?"

BHAVANTH (smiling): "Sir, I visit you once in a fortnight. I saw you in the street the other day, so I didn't come here."

MASTER: "What do you mean? What can you gain by mere seeing? Touch and talk are also necessary."

The evening worship had begun in the temples. It was the eighth day of the bright fortnight of the moon; the temple domes, the courtyard, the gardens, and the trees were shining in the moonlight. The Ganges was flowing north with a murmuring sound.

Sri Ramakrishna sat on the small couch in his room absorbed in contemplation of the Divine Mother.

The evening worship was over. One or two devotees were still in the temple garden.

Narendra had left. Sri Ramakrishna was pacing the verandah northeast of his room. M.

stood there looking at him. Suddenly he said to M., "Ah, how sweet Narendra's music is!"

M: "Yes, sir. That song beginning with 'In dense darkness' is particularly beautiful."

MASTER: "You are right. That song has a deep meaning. A part of my mind is still drawn to it."

M: "Yes, sir."

MASTER: "Meditation in darkness is prescribed in the Tantra."

Master and Girish

Girish Ghosh came and stood by Sri Ramakrishna, who had started to sing:

Is Kli, my Mother, really black?

The Naked One, of blackest hue,

Lights the Lotus of the Heart. . . .

Sri Ramakrishna was filled with divine fervour. Standing with one arm resting on Girish's body he sang:

Why should I go to Ganga or Gaya, to Kasi, Kanchi, or Prabhas,

So long as I can brea the my last with Kli's name upon my lips?

What need of rituals has a man, what need of devotions any more,

If he repeats the Mother's name at the three holy hours?

Rituals may pursue him close, but never can they overtake him.

. . .

Then he sang:

Once for all, this time, I have thoroughly understood; From One who knows it well, I have learnt the secret of bhava.

A man has come to me from a country where there is no night, And now I cannot distinguish day from night any longer; Rituals and devotions have all grown profitless for me.

My sleep is broken; how can I slumber any more?

For now I am wide awake in the sleeplessness of yoga.

O Divine Mother, made one with Thee in yoga-sleep at last, My slumber I have lulled asleep for evermore.

I bow my head, says Prasad, before desire and liberation; Knowing the secret that Kli is one with the highest Brahman, I have discarded, once for all, both righteousness and sin.

As Sri Ramakrishna looked at Girish, his ecstatic fervour became more intense.

He sang:

I have surrendered my soul at the fearless feet of the Mother; Am I afraid of Death any more?

Unto the tuft of hair on my head

Is tied the almighty mantra, Mother Kli's name.

My body I have sold in the marketplace of the world And with it have bought Sri Durga's name. . .

Intoxicated with God, Sri Ramakrishna repeated the lines:

My body I have sold in the marketplace of the world And with it have bought Sri Durga's name.

Looking at Girish and M. he said, "'Divine fervour fills my body and robs me of consciousness.'

"Here 'consciousness' means consciousness of the outer world. One needs the Knowledge of Reality and Brahman.

Selfless divine love

"Bhakti, love of God, is the only essential thing. One kind of bhakti has a motive behind it. Again, there is a motiveless love, pure devotion, a love of God that seeks no return.

Keshab Sen and the members of the Brahmo Samaj didn't know about motiveless love.

In this love there is no desire; it is nothing but pure love of the Lotus Feet of God.

"There is another kind of love, known as urjhitabhakti, an ecstatic love of God that overflows, as it were. When it is awakened, the devotee 'laughs and weeps and dances and sings'. Chaitanyadeva is an example of this love. Rma said to Lakshmana, 'Brother, if anywhere you see the manifestation of urjhita bhakti, know for certain that I am there.'"

GIRlSH: "Everything is possible through your grace. What was I before? And see what I am now."

MASTER: "You had latent tendencies; so they are manifesting themselves now. Nothing happens except at the proper time. Take the case of a patient. Nature has almost cured him, when the physician prescribes a herb and asks him to drink its juice. After taking the medicine he is completely cured. Now, is the patient cured by the medicine, or does he get well by himself? Who can tell?

"Lakshmana said to Lava and Kusa: 'You are mere children; you don't know Rma's power. At the touch of His feet, Ahaly, who had been turned into a stone, got back her human form.' Lava and Kusa said: 'Revered sir, we know that. We have heard the story.

The stone became Ahaly because of the power of the holy man's words. The sage Gautama said to her: "In the Tretayuga, Rma will pass this hermitage. You will become Hanuman being again at the touch of His feet."' Now, who can tell whether the miracle happened in order that the sage's words should be fulfilled or on account of Rma's holiness?

"Everything happens by the will of God. If your spiritual consciousness has been awakened at this place, know that I am only an instrument. 'Uncle Moon is everybody's uncle.' All happens by the will of God."

GIRISH (smiling): "Did you say 'by the will of God'? What I am saying is the very same thing." (All laugh.)

MASTER (to Girish): "By being guileless one can speedily realize God. There are several kinds of people who do not attain divine knowledge. First, a man with a perverse mind; he is not guileless. Second, one who is very fastidious about outer purity. Third, a doubting person."

Sri Ramakrishna spoke highly of Nityagopal's ecstasy.

Three or four devotees stood near Sri Ramakrishna on the verandah and listened to his words about the exalted state of the paramahamsa. The Master said: "A Paramahamsa is always conscious that God alone is real and all else illusory. Only the swan has the power to separate milk from a mixture of milk and water. The swan's tongue secretes an acid that separates the milk from the mixture. The paramahamsa also possesses such a juice; it is his ecstatic love for God. That separates the Real from the mixture of the Real and the unreal. Through it one becomes aware of God and sees Him."

Wednesday, February 25, 1885

Knowledge of Brahman

Sri Ramakrishna was at the house of Girish Ghosh in Bosepara Lane, Calcutta. It was about three o'clock when M. arrived and prostrated himself before him. The Master was going to see a play at the Star Theatre. He was talking with the devotees about the Knowledge of Brahman.

MASTER: "Man experiences three states of consciousness: waking, dream, and deep sleep. Those who follow the path of knowledge explain away the three states. According to them, Brahman is beyond the three states. It is also beyond the gross, the subtle, and the causal bodies, and beyond the three Guns-sattva, rajas, and tamas. All these are my, like a reflection in a mirror. The reflection is by no means the real substance.

Brahman alone is the Substance and all else is illusory.

"The knowers of Brahman say, further, that it is the identification of the soul with the body that creates the notion of duality. In that state of identification the reflection appears real. When this identification disappears, a man realizes, 'I am He; I am Brahman.'

Two paths of Brahmajnana

A DEVOTEE: "Then shall we all follow the path of reasoning?"

MASTER: "Reasoning is one of the paths; it is the path of the Vedantists. But there is another path, the path of bhakti. If a bhakta, weeps longingly for the Knowledge of Brahman, he receives that as well. These are the two paths: jnna and bhakti.

The ego of the Divine Incarnation

"One may attain the Knowledge of Brahman by either path. Some retain bhakti even after realizing Brahman, in order to teach humanity. An Incarnation of God is one of these.

"A man cannot easily get rid of the ego and the consciousness that the body is the soul.

It becomes possible only when, through the grace of God, he attains samdhi-nirvikalpa samdhi, jada samdhi.

"The ego of the Incarnations returns to them when they come down from the plane of samdhi; but then it is the 'ego of Knowledge' or the 'ego of Devotion'. Through the 'ego of Knowledge' they teach men. Sankaracharya kept the 'ego of Knowledge'.

"Through the 'ego of Devotion' Chaitanyadeva tasted divine love and enjoyed the company of the devotees. He talked about God and chanted His name.

The path of bhakti

"Since one cannot easily get rid of the ego, a bhakta does not explain away the states of waking, dream, and deep sleep. He accepts all the states. Further, he accepts the three Guns-sattva, rajas, and tamas. A bhakta sees that God alone has become the twenty-four cosmic principles, the universe, and all living beings. He also sees that God reveals Himself to His devotees in a tangible form, which is the embodiment of Spirit.

"The bhakta takes shelter under Vidy-my. He seeks holy company, goes on pilgrimage, and practises discrimination, devotion, and renunciation. He says that, since a man cannot easily get rid of his ego, he should let the rascal remain as the servant of God, the devotee of God.

Meaning of liberation

"But a bhakta also attains the Knowledge of Oneness; he sees that nothing exists but God. He does not regard the world as a dream, but says that it is God Himself who has become everything. In a wax garden you may see various objects, but everything is made of wax.

"But a man realizes this only when his devotion to God has matured. One gets jaundice when too much bile accumulates. Then one sees everything as yellow. From constantly meditating on Krishna, Radhika saw everything as Krishna; moreover, she even felt that she herself had become Krishna. If a piece of lead is kept in a lake of mercury a long time, it turns into mercury. The cockroach becomes motionless by constantly meditating on the kumira worm; it loses the power to move. At last it is transformed into a kumira.

Similarly, by constantly meditating on God the bhakta loses his ego; he realizes that God is he and he is God. When the cockroach becomes the kumira everything is achieved.

Instantly one obtains liberation.

"As long as God retains the ego in a man, he should establish a definite relationship with God, calling on Him as Master, Mother, Friend, or the like. I spent one year as a handmaid-the handmaid of the Divine Mother, the Embodiment of Brahman. I used to dress myself as a woman. I put on a nose-ring. One can conquer lust by assuming the attitude of a woman.

Master warns against lust

"One must worship the dyakti. She must be propitiated. She alone has assumed all female forms. Therefore I look on all women as mother. The attitude of looking on woman as mother is very pure. The Tantra mentions the Vamachara method also. But that is not a good method; it causes the aspirant's downfall. A devotee keeping an object of enjoyment near him has reason to be afraid.

"Looking on woman as mother is like fasting on the Ekadasi day without touching even a drop of water; in this attitude there is not the slightest trace of sensual enjoyment.

Another way of observing the Ekadasi allows the taking of fruit and the like. One can also observe the day by eating luchi and curries! But my attitude is not to touch even a drop of water while I observe the fast. I worshipped the Shorasi as my mother; I looked on all parts of her body as those of my mother. This attitude of regarding God as Mother is the last word in sdhan. 'O God, Thou art my Mother and I am Thy child'-this is the last word in spirituality.

Sannysi's discipline

"The sannysi's way of living is like observing the ekadasi fast without taking even a drop of water. If he clings to enjoyment, then he has reason to be afraid. 'Woman and gold' is enjoyment. If a monk enjoys it, he is swallowing his own spittle, as it were.

There are different kinds of enjoyment: money, wealth, name, fame, and sense pleasures. It is not good for a sannysi to sit in the company of a woman devotee, or even to talk to her. This injures him and others as well. Then others cannot learn from him; he cannot set an example to humanity. A sannysi keeps his body in order to teach mankind.

"To sit with a woman or talk to her a long time has also been described as a kind of sexual intercourse. There are eight kinds. To listen to a woman and enjoy her conversation is one kind; to speak about a woman is another kind; to whisper to her privately is a third kind; to keep something belonging to a woman and enjoy it is a fourth kind; to touch her is a fifth. Therefore a sannysi should not salute his guru's young wife, touching her feet. These are the rules for sannysis.

Householders discipline

"But the case is quite different with householders. After the birth of one or two children, the husb and and wife should live as brother and sister. The other seven kinds of sexual intercourse do not injure them much.

"A householder has various debts: debts to the gods, to the fathers, and to the rishis. He also owes a debt to his wife. He should make her the mother of one or two children and support her if she is a chaste woman.

"Householders do not know who is a good wife and who is a bad wife, who is a vidyaakti and who is an avidyaakti. A vidyaakti, a good wife, has very little lust and anger. She sleeps little. She pushes her husband's head away from her. She is full of affection, kindness, devotion, modesty, and other noble qualities. Such a wife serves all, looking on all men as her children. Further, she helps increase her husband's love of God. She doesn't spend much money lest her husb and should have to work hard and thus not get leisure to think of God.

"Mannish women have different traits. These are bad traits: squint eyes and hollow eyes, catlike eyes, lantern jaws like a calf's, and pigeon-breast."

GIRISH: "What is the way for people like us?"

Different aspects of bhakti

MASTER: "Bhakti is the only essential thing. Bhakti has different aspects: the sattvic, the rajasic, and the tamasic. One who has sattvic bhakti is very modest and humble. But a man with tamasic bhakti is like a highwayman in his attitude toward God. He says: 'O

God, I am chanting. Your name; how can I be a sinner? O God, You are my own Mother; You must reveal yourself to me.' "

GIRISH (smiling): "It is you, sir, who teach us tamasic bhakti."

Different kinds of samdhi

MASTER (smiling): "There are certain signs of God-vision. When a man sees God he goes into samdhi. There are five kinds of samdhi. First, he feels the Mahvyu rise like an ant crawling up. Second, he feels It rise like a fish swimming in the water. Third, he feels It rise like a snake wriggling along. Fourth, he feels It rise like a bird flying-flying from one branch to another. Fifth, he feels It rise like a monkey making a big jump; the Mahvyu reaches the head with one jump, as it were, and samdhi follows.

"There are two other kinds of samdhi. First, the sthita samdhi, when the aspirant totally loses outer consciousness: he remains in that state a long time, it may be for many days. Second, the Unmana Samdhi: it is to withdraw the mind suddenly from all sense-objects and unite it with God.

(To M.) "Do you understand this?"

M: "Yes, sir."

GIRISH: "Can one realize God by sdhan?"

MASTER: "People have realized God in various ways. Some through much austerity, worship, and devotion; they have attained perfection through their own efforts. Some are born perfect, as for example Nrada and Sukadeva; they are called nityasiddha, eternally perfect. There are also those who have attained perfection all of a sudden; it is like a man's unexpectedly coming into a great fortune. Again, there are instances of people's realizing God in a dream and by divine grace."

Saying this, Sri Ramakrishna sang, intoxicated with divine fervour: Can everyone have the vision of Syama? Is Kli's treasure for everyone?

Oh, what a pity my foolish mind will not see what is true! . . .

Sri Ramakrishna remained in ecstasy a few moments. Girish and the other devotees were seated before him. A few days earlier Girish had been very rude to the Master at the Star Theatre; but now he was in a calm state of mind.

MASTER (to Girish): "This mood of yours is very good; it is peaceful. I prayed about you to the Divine Mother, 'O Mother, make him peaceful so that he won't abuse me.' "

GIRISH (to M.): "I feel as if someone were pressing my tongue. I can't talk."

Sri Ramakrishna was still in an indrawn mood; he seemed to be gradually forgetting the men and the objects around him. He tried to bring his mind down to the relative world.

He looked at the devotees.

Looking at M., he said: "They all come to Dakshineswar. Let them. Mother knows everything." To a young man of the neighbourhood he said: "Hello! What do you think?

What is the duty of man?" All sat in silence. To Narayan he said: "Don't you want to pass the examinations? But, my dear child, a man freed from bondage is iva; entangled in bondage, he is jiva."

Sri Ramakrishna was still in the God-intoxicated mood. There was a glass of water near him. He drank the water. He said to himself, "Why, I have drunk water in this mood!"

It was not yet dusk. Sri Ramakrishna was talking to Atul, who was seated in front of him. Atul was Girish's brother and a lawyer of the High Court of Calcutta. A brahmin neighbour was also seated near him.

MASTER (to Atul): "All I want to tell you is this. Follow both; perform your duties in the world and also cultivate love of God."

BRAHMIN: "Can anyone but a brahmin achieve perfection?"

MASTER: "Why should you ask that? It is said that in the Kaliyuga the sudras achieve love of God. There are the instances of Savari, Ruhidas, the untouchable Guhaka, and others."

NARAYAN (smiling): "Brahmins and sudras-all are one."

BRAHMIN: "Can a man realize God in one birth?"

MASTER: "Is anything impossible for the grace of God? Suppose you bring a light into a room that has been dark a thousand years; does it remove the darkness little by little?

The room is lighted all at once. (To Atul) Intense renunciation is what is needed. One should be like an unshea thed sword. When a man has that renunciation, he looks on his relatives as black cobras and his home as a deep well.

"One should pray to God with sincere longing. God cannot but listen to prayer if it is sincere."

All sat in silence, pondering Sri Ramakrishna's words.

MASTER (to Atul): "What is worrying you? Is it that you haven't that grit, that intense restlessness for God?"

How to cultivate longing for God

ATUL: "How can we keep our minds on God?"

MASTER: "Abhysa Yoga, the yoga of practice. You should practise calling on God every day. It is not possible to succeed in one day; through daily prayer you will come to long for God.

"How can you feel that restlessness if you are immersed in worldliness day and night?

Formerly Jadu Mallick enjoyed spiritual talk; he liked to engage in it himself. But nowadays he doesn't show that much interest. He surrounds himself with flatterers day and night and indulges in worldly talk."

It was dusk. The lamp was lighted in the room. Sri Ramakrishna chanted the divine names. He was singing and praying. He said, "Chant the name of Hari, repeat the name of Hari, sing the name of Hari." Again he said, "Rma! Rma! Rma!" Then: "O Mother!

Thou dost ever enjoy Thine eternal Sports. Tell us, O Mother, what is the way? We have taken refuge in Thee; we have taken shelter at Thy feet."

Finding Girish restless, Sri Ramakrishna remained silent a moment. He asked Tejchandra to sit near him. The boy sat near the Master. He whispered to M. that he would have to leave soon.

MASTER (to M.): "What did he say?"

M: "He said he would have to go home."

MASTER: "Why do I attract these boys to me so much? They are pure vessels untouched by worldliness. A man cannot assimilate instruction if his mind is stained with worldliness. Milk can be safely kept in a new pot; but it turns sour if kept in a pot in which curd has been made. You may wash a thousand times a cup that has held a solution of garlic, but still you cannot remove the smell."

Master at the theatre

Sri Ramakrishna arrived at the Star Theatre, on Beadon Street, to see a performance of Vrishaketu He sat in a box, facing the south. M. and other devotees were near him.

MASTER (to M.): "Has Narendra come?"

M: "Yes, sir."

The performance began. Karna and his wife Padmavati sacrificed their son to please God, who had come to them in the guise of a brahmin to test Karna's charity. During this scene one of the devotees gave a suppressed sigh. Sri Ramakrishna also expressed his sorrow.

After the play Sri Ramakrishna went to the recreation room of the theatre. Girish and Narendra were already there. The Master stood near Narendra and said, "I have come."

Sri Ramakrishna took a seat. The orchestra was playing in the auditorium.

MASTER (to the devotees): "I feel happy listening to the concert. The musicians used to play on the sanai at Dakshineswar and I would go into ecstasy. Noticing this, a certain sdhu said, 'This is a sign of the Knowledge of Brahman.'"

The orchestra stopped playing and Sri Ramakrishna began the conversation.

MASTER (to Girish): "Does this theatre belong to you?"

GIRISH: "It is ours, sir."

MASTER: "'Ours' is good; it is not good to say 'mine'. People say 'I' and 'mine'; they are egotistic, small-minded people."

NARENDRA: "The whole world is a theatre."

MASTER: "Yes, yes, that's right. In some places you see the play of vidy and in some, the play of avidy."

NARENDRA: "Everything is the play of vidy."

MASTER: "True, true. But a man realizes that when he has the Knowledge of Brahman; But for a bhakta, who follows the path of divine love, both exist-Vidy-my and Avidy-

my.

"Please sing a little."

Narendra sang:

Upon the Sea of Blissful Awareness waves of ecstatic love arise:

Rapture divine! Play of God's Bliss!

Oh, how enthralling!

Wondrous waves of the sweetness of God, ever new and ever enchanting,

Rise on the surface, ever assuming

Forms ever fresh.

Then once more in the Great Communion all are merged, as the barrier walls

Of time and space dissolve and vanish:

Dance then, O mind!

Dance in delight with hands upraised, chanting Lord Hari's holy name.

As Narendra sang the words, "Then once more in the Great Communion all are merged", Sri Ramakrishna said to him, "One realizes this after attaining the Knowledge of Brahman; then all is vidy, Brahman, as you said." As Narendra sang the line, "Dance in delight with hands upraised, chanting Lord Hari's holy name", the Master said to him, "Sing that line twice."

After the song Sri Ramakrishna resumed the conversation.

GIRISH: "Devendra Babu hasn't come. He says in a mood of wounded pride: 'We haven't any stuff inside us, no filling of thickened milk. We are filled only with worthless lentil-paste. Why should we go there?"

MASTER (surprised): "Does he say that? He never said so before."

Sri Ramakrishna took some refreshments and handed some to Narendra.

JATIN DEVA (to the Master): "You always say: 'Narendra, eat this! Eat that!' Are the rest of us fools? Are we like straw washed ashore by the flood-tide?"

Sri Ramakrishna loved Jatin dearly. Jatin visited the Master now and then at Dakshineswar and occasionally spent the night there. He belonged to an aristocratic family of Sobhabazar. The Master said laughingly to Narendra, "He is talking about you."

Sri Ramakrishna laughed and showed his affection to Jatin by touching his chin. He said to Jatin, "Come to Dakshineswar; I'll give you plenty to eat."

The Master went into the auditorium to see a farce. He sat in a box. He laughed at the conversation of the maidservant. After a while he became absent-minded and whispered a few words to M.

MASTER (to M.): "Well, is what Girish Ghosh says true?"

Girish had lately been speaking of Sri Ramakrishna as an Incarnation of God.

M: "Yes, sir, it must be true. Otherwise why should it appeal to our minds?"

MASTER: "You see, a change is coming over me. The old mood has changed. I am not able to touch any metal now."

M. listened to these words in wonder.

MASTER: "There is a very deep meaning in this new mood." Was the Master hinting that a God-man cannot bear any association with worldly treasure?

MASTER (to M.): "Well, do you notice any change in me?"

M: "In what respect, sir?"

MASTER: "In my activities."

M: "Your activities are increasing as more people come to know about you."

MASTER: "Do you see? What I said before is now coming true."

After a few moments he said, "Can you tell me why Paltu can't meditate well?"

Sri Ramakrishna was ready to leave for Dakshineswar. He had remarked to a devotee about Girish, "You may wash a thousand times a cup that has held a solution of garlic; but is it ever possible to get rid of the smell altogether?" Girish was offended by this remark. When the Master was about to leave, Girish spoke.

GIRISH: "Will this smell of garlic go?"

MASTER: "Yes, it will."

GIRISH: "So you say it will."

MASTER: "All smell disappears when a blazing fire is lighted. If you heat the cup smelling of garlic, you get rid of the smell; it becomes a new cup.

"The man who says he will not succeed will never succeed. He who feels he is liberated is indeed liberated; and he who feels he is bound verily remains bound. He who forcefully says, 'I am free' is certainly free; and he who says day and night, 'I am bound' is certainly bound."

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Chapter 37

THE MASTER AND NARENDRA

Sunday, March 1, 1885

SRl RAMAKRISHNA was seated on the small couch in his room, absorbed in deep samdhi. Mahimacharan, Ram, Manomohan, Nabai Chaitanya, M., and other devotees were sitting on a mat spread on the floor. They were watching the Master intently.

It was the day of the Dolayatra, a Hindu religious festival. Sri Krishna and Radha are the central figures of this celebration, their images being placed on a swing, which is rocked now and then. A red powder is showered on the images. Later, friends and relatives throw the powder at one another. This festival is celebrated when winter passes into spring, on a full-moon day rendered doubly sacred by its association with the birth of Sri Chaitanya.

The devotees saw that the Master was returning to consciousness of the world, though his mind still lingered in the realm of God-vision.

The Master said to Mahimacharan, "My dear sir, please tell us something about love of God."

What need is there of penance if God is worshipped with love?

What is the use of penance if God is not worshipped with love?

What need is there of penance if God is seen within and without?

What is the use of penance if God is not seen within and without?

O Brahman! O my child! Cease from practising further penances.

Hasten to Sankara, the Ocean of Heavenly Wisdom; Obtain from Him the love of God, the pure love praised by devotees, which snaps in twain the shackles that bind you to the world.

Mahima said, "Once while the great sage Nrada was practising austerity, he suddenly heard a heavenly voice repeating those lines."

Two kinds of devotion

MASTER; "There are two classes of devotees: jivakotis, or ordinary men, and Isvarakotis, or Divine Messengers. The jivakoti's devotion to God is called vaidhi, formal; that is, it conforms to scriptural laws. He worships God with a fixed number of articles, repeats God's holy name a specified number of times, and so on and so forth. This kind of devotion, like the path of knowledge, leads to the Knowledge of God and to samdhi.

The jivakoti does not return from samdhi to the relative plane.

"But the case of the Isvarakoti is different. He follows the process of 'negation' and 'affirmation'. First he negates the world, realizing that it is not Brahman; but then he affirms the same world, seeing it as the manifestation of Brahman. To give an illustration: a man wanting to climb to the roof first negates the stairs as not being the roof, but on reaching the roof he finds that the stairs are made of the same materials as the roof: brick, lime, and brick-dust. Then he can either move up and down the stairs or remain on the roof, as he pleases.

Vision of God

"Sukadeva was absorbed in samdhi-nirvikalpa samdhi, jada samdhi. Since Suka was to recite the Bhagavata to King Parikshit, the Lord sent the sage Nrada to him.

Nrada saw him seated like an inert thing, absolutely unconscious of the world around him. Thereupon Nrada sang four couplets on the beauty of Hari, to the accompaniment of the vina. While the first couplet was being sung the hair on Suka's body stood on end.

Next he shed tears; for he saw the form of God, the Embodiment of Spirit, within himself, in his heart. Thus Sukadeva saw the form of God even after jada samdhi. He was an Isvarakoti.

How a liberated soul lives in the world

"Hanuman, after having the vision of God both with form and without, remained firmly devoted to the form of Rma, the Embodiment of Consciousness and Bliss.

"Prahlada sometimes realized, 'I am He'; sometimes he felt that he was the servant of God. How can such a person live without love of God? That is why he must accept the relationship of master and servant, feeling that God is the Master and himself the servant. This enables him to enjoy the Bliss of Hari. In this attitude he feels that God is the Bliss and he himself is the enjoyer.

"The 'ego of Devotion', the 'ego of Knowledge', and the 'ego of a child' do not harm the devotee. Sankaracharya kept the ego of Knowledge'.

Detachment of a child

The 'ego of a child' is not attached to anything. The child is beyond the three Guns; he is not under the control of any of them. One moment you find him angry; the next moment it is all over. One moment you see him building his play house; the next moment he forgets all about it. Now you see him love his playmates; but if they are out of his sight a few days he forgets all about them. A child is not under the control of any of the Guns-sattva, rajas, or tamas.

"I-consciousness"after God-realization "The bhakta feels, 'O God, Thou art the Lord and I am Thy devotee.' This 'I' is the 'ego of bhakti'. Why does such a lover of God retain the 'ego of Devotion'? There is a reason.

The ego cannot begot rid of; so let the rascal remain as the servant of God, the devotee of God.

"You may reason a thousand times, but you cannot get rid of the ego. The ego is like a pitcher, and Brahman like the ocean-an infinite expanse of water on all sides. The pitcher is set in this ocean. The water is both inside and out; the water is everywhere; yet the pitcher remains. Now, this pitcher is the 'ego of the devotee'. As long as the ego remains, 'you' and 'I' remain, and there also remains the feeling, 'O God, Thou art the Lord and I am Thy devotee; Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant.' You may reason a million times, but you cannot get rid of it. But it is different if there is no pitcher."

Narendra entered the room and saluted the Master. They began to talk together.

Presently the Master came down from the couch and sat on the floor, on which a mat had been spread. In the mean time the room had become filled with people, both devotees and visitors.

Master warns Narendra about householders

MASTER (to Narendra): "Are you well? I hear that you often visit Girish Ghosh at his house. Is it true?"

NARENDRA: "Yes, sir, I go there now and then."

Girish had been visiting Sri Ramakrishna for some months. The Master said that none could fathom the depth of Girish's faith. And his longing for God was as intense as his faith was deep. At home, he was always absorbed in the thought of Sri Ramakrishna.

Many of the Master's devotees visited him; they talked only about Sri Ramakrishna. But Girish was a householder who had had varied experiences of worldly life, and the Master knew that Narendra would renounce the world, that he would shun "woman and gold"

both mentally and outwardly.

MASTER: "Do you visit Girish frequently? No matter how much one washes a cup that has contained a solution of garlic, still a trace of the smell will certainly linger. The youngsters who come here are pure souls-untouched by 'woman and gold'. Men who have associated a long time with 'woman and gold' smell of the garlic, as it were. They are like a mango pecked by crows. Such a fruit cannot be offered to the Deity in the temple, and you would hesitate to eat it yourself. Again, take the case of a new pot and another in which curd has been made. One is afraid to keep milk in the second pot, for the milk very often turns sour.

"Householder devotees like Girish form a class by themselves. They desire yoga and also bhoga. Their attitude is that of Ravana, who wanted to enjoy the maidens of heaven and at the same time realize Rma. They are like the asuras, the demons, who enjoy various pleasures and also realize Narayana."

NARENDRA: "But Girish has given up his old associates."

MASTER: "Yes, yes. He is like a bull castrated in old age. In Burdwan I once saw an ox moving about the cows. I asked a bullock-cart driver: 'what is this? an ox? How strange!'

He said to me: 'True, sir. But it was castrated in old age, and so it hasn't altogether shaken off the old tendencies.'

"In a certain place there sat some sannysis. A young woman happened to pass by. All continued as before to meditate on God, except one of them, who cast sidelong glances at her. Before becoming a monk he had been the father of three children.

"If you make a solution of garlic in a cup, won't it be hard to remove the smell from it?

Can a worthless tree like the babui produce mangoes? Of course such a thing may become possible through the occult powers of a yogi; but can everyone acquire such powers?

Worldly people have no time for spiritual practice "When have worldly people time to think of God? A man wanted to engage a pundit who could explain the Bhagavata to him. His friend said: 'I know of an excellent pundit. But there is one difficulty: he does a great deal of farming. He has four ploughs and eight bullocks and is always busy with them; he has no leisure.' Thereupon the man said: 'I don't care for a pundit who has no leisure. I am not looking for a Bhagavata scholar burdened with ploughs and bullocks. I want a pundit who can really expound the sacred book to me.'

"There was a king who used to listen daily to a pundit's exposition of the Bhagavata.

Every day at the end of their study the pundit would ask the king, 'O King, have you understood what I have read?' To this question the king would daily give the same reply: 'Sir, you had better understand it first yourself.' Each day, when the pundit returned home, he would ponder the meaning of the king's words. He was a pious man, devoted to prayer and meditation. Gradually he came to his senses and realized that the only real thing in the world is the Lotus Feet of God, and that all else is illusory. He felt dispassion for the world and took up the life of a monk. As he was leaving the world he sent a man to the king with the message: 'Yes, O King! Now I have understood.'

"But do I look down on worldly people? Of course not. When I see them, I apply the Knowledge of Brahman, the Oneness of Existence. Brahman itself has become everything; all are Narayana Himself. Regarding all women as so many forms of the Divine Mother, I see no difference between a chaste woman and a streetwalker.

"Alas! I find no customers who want anything better than kalai pulse. No one wants to give up 'woman and gold'. Man, deluded by the beauty of woman and the power of money, forgets God. But to one who has seen the beauty of God, even the position of Brahma, the Creator, seems insignificant.

"A man said to Ravana, 'You have been going to Sita in different disguises; why don't you go to her in the form of Rma?' 'But', Ravana replied 'when I meditate on Rma in my heart, the most beautiful women-celestial maidens like Rambha and Tilottama-appear no better than ashes of the funeral pyre. Then even the position of Brahma appears trivial to me, not to speak of the beauty of another man's wife.'

"Alas! I find that all the customers here seek worthless Kalai Pulse. Unless, the soul is pure, it cannot have genuine love of God and single-minded devotion to the ideal. The mind wanders away to various objects.

(To Manomohan) "You may take offence at my words; but I said to Rkhl, 'I would rather hear that you had drowned yourself in the Ganges than learn that you had accepted a job under another person and become his servant.'

"One day a Nepalese girl came here. She sang devotional songs to the accompaniment of the esraj. When someone asked her if she was married, she said sharply: 'What? I am the handmaid of God! Whom else could I serve?'

"How can a man living in the midst of 'woman and gold' realize God? It is very hard for him to lead an unattached life. First, he is the slave of his wife, second, of money, and third, of the master whom he serves.

Akbar and the holy man

"When Akbar was Emperor of Delhi there lived a hermit in a hut in the forest. Many people visited the holy man. At one time he felt a great desire to entertain his visitors.

But how could he do so without money? So he decided to go to the Emperor for help, for the gate of Akbar's palace was always open to holy men. The hermit entered the palace while the Emperor was at his daily devotions and took a seat in a corner of the room. He heard the Emperor conclude his worship with the prayer, 'O God, give me money; give me riches', and so on and so forth. When the hermit heard this he was about to leave the prayer hall; but the Emperor signed to him to wait. When the prayer was over, Akbar said to him, 'You came to see me; how is it that you were about to leave without saying anything to me?' 'Your Majesty need not trouble yourself about it', answered the hermit.

'I must leave now.' When the Emperor insisted, the hermit said, 'Many people visit my hut, and so I came here to ask you for some money.' 'Then', said Akbar, 'why were you going away without speaking to me?' The hermit replied: 'I found that you too were a beggar; you too prayed to God for money and riches. Thereupon I said to myself, "Why should I beg of a beggar? If I must beg, let me beg of God." ' "

NARENDRA: "Nowadays Girish Ghosh thinks of nothing but spiritual things."

MASTER: "That is very good. But why is he so abusive? Why does he use such vulgar language to me? In my present state of mind I cannot bear such rudeness. When a thunderbolt strikes near a house, the heavy things inside the house are not much affected; but the window-panes rattle. Nowadays I cannot bear such roughness. A man living on the plane of sattva cannot bear noise and uproar. That is why Hriday was sent away. It was the Divine Mother who sent him away. During the later part of his stay he went to extremes; he became very rough and abusive. (To Narendra) Do you agree with Girish about me?"

NARENDRA: "He said he believed you to be an Incarnation of God. I didn't say anything in answer to his remarks."

MASTER: "But how great his faith is! Don't you think so?"

The devotees listened intently to the Master's words. He was still seated on the mat spread on the floor, with M. by his side and Narendra in front of him. The devotees were sitting around.

After a few minutes silence he said to Narendra tenderly, "My child, you will not attain God without renouncing 'woman and gold'." As he said this, great emotion welled up in his heart. Fixing on Narendra an earnest and tender look, he sang: We are afraid to speak, and yet we are afraid to keep still; Our minds, O Radha, half believe that we are about to lose you!

We tell you the secret that we know-

The secret whereby we ourselves, and others, with our help, Have passed through many a time of peril;

Now it all depends on you.

Sri Ramakrishna seemed to be afraid lest Narendra should leave him. Narendra looked at the Master with tears in his eyes.

A visitor who was there for the first time heard and saw all this. He said to the Master, "Sir, if one must renounce 'woman and gold', then what shall a householder do?"

MASTER: "You may enjoy 'woman and gold'. What has passed between us is no concern of yours." Mahimacharan, a householder devotee, heard everything and sat speechless.

MASTER (to Mahima): "Go forward. Push on. You will discover the forest of sandalwood.

Go farther and you will find the silver-mine. Go farther still and you will see the gold-mine. Do not stop there. Go forward, and you will reach the mines of rubies and diamonds. Therefore I say, go forward."

MAHIMA: "But, sir, something holds us back. We can't move."

MASTER (with a smile): "Why? Cut the reins. Cut them with the sword of God's name.

'The shackles of Kala, Time, are cut by Kli's name.'

"Every now and then, the Master cast his gracious look on Narendra. He said, "Have you now become an experienced physician?" Quoting a Sanskrit verse he said, "He who has killed only a hundred patients is a novice in medicine; but he becomes an expert after killing a thousand!"

Was the Master hinting that Narendra, even though still young, had had many painful experiences of life? Narendra smiled and kept silent.

It was afternoon. The devotees were seated around the Master, listening to Nabai Chaitanya's singing.

Suddenly the Master left the room, but the music continued. M. accompanied the Master.

Sri Ramakrishna walked across the courtyard and entered the temple of Radhakanta. He bowed down before the images, M. following him. There was some red powder in a tray.

The Master offered a little powder to the images and bowed down again. Next he proceeded to the Kli temple. Passing up the seven steps, he stood on the open porch and looked at the image. Then he entered the shrine, offered red powder to the Divine Mother, and saluted Her. As he left the temple he asked M., "Why didn't you Bring Baburam with you?"

Sri Ramakrishna returned to his room accompanied by M. and another devotee carrying the tray of red powder. He offered a little of it to all the pictures of gods and goddesses in his room, but not to those of Jesus Christ and himself. Then he threw the powder on the bodies of Narendra and the other devotees. They all took the dust of his feet.

In the cool shade of the late afternoon the devotees walked about in the temple garden, leaving the Master and M. in the room. The Master whispered to M.: "All say that they meditate well. But why is it different with Paltu? What do you think of Narendra? He is utterly guileless. Just now he is faced with many difficult family problems and so his spiritual progress is a little checked; but it will not be so for long."

Narendra was arguing on the verandah with a Vedantist. Now and then the Master went out to look at them. As the devotees gathered in the room he asked Mahima to recite a hymn. Mahima chanted a verse from the Mahanirvana Tantra: We worship the Brahman-Consciousness in the Lotus of the Heart,

The Undifferentiated, who is adored by Hari, Hara, and Brahma. . . .

Mahima recited a few more hymns and at last one to iva, by Sankaracharya, that compared the world to a deep well and a wilderness. Mahima was a householder.

The hymn ran thus:

O Great God! O Thou Auspicious One, with the moon shining in Thy crest!

Slayer of Madana! Wielder of the trident! Unmoving One! Lord of the Himalayas!

O Consort of Durga, Lord of all creatures! Thou who scatterest the distress of the fearful!

Rescue me, helpless as I am, from the trackless forest of this miserable world.

O Beloved of Parvati's heart! O Thou moon-crested Deity!

Master of every being! Lord of hosts! O Thou, the Lord of Parvati!

O Vamadeva, Self-existent One! O Rudra, Wielder of the bow!

Rescue me, helpless as I am, from the trackless forest of this miserable world.

O blue-throated God! iva, whose ensign is the bull! O Five-faced One!

Lord of the worlds, who wearest snakes upon Thy wrists! O Thou Auspicious One!

O iva! O Pasupati! O Thou, the Lord of Parvati!

Rescue me, helpless as I am, from the trackless forest Of this miserable world.

O Lord of the Universe! O iva Sankara! OGod of Gods!

Thou who dost bear the river Ganges in Thy matted locks!

Thou, the Master of Pramatha and Nandika! O Hara, Lord of the world!

Rescue me, helpless as I am, from the trackless forest of this miserable world.

O King of Kasi, Lord of the cremation ground of Manikarnika!

O mighty Hero, Thou the Destroyer of Daksha's sacrifice! O All-pervasive One!

O Lord of hosts! Omniscient One, who art the sole Indweller in every heart! O Lord!

Rescue me, helpless as I am, from the trackless forest of this miserable world.

O Great God! Compassionate One! O Benign Deity!

O Byomakesa! Blue-throated One! O Lord of hosts!

Thy body is smeared with ashes! Thou art garlanded with human skulls!

Rescue me, helpless as I am, from the trackless forest of this miserable world.

O Thou who dwellest on Mount Kailas! Thou whose carrier is thebull!

O Conqueror of death! O Three-eyed One! Lord of the three worlds!

Beloved of Narayana! Conqueror of lust! Thou, akti's Lord!

Rescue me, helpless as I am, from the trackless forest of this miserable world.

Lord of the Universe! Refuge of the whole world! O Thou of infinite forms!

Soul of the Universe! O Thou in whom repose the infinite virtues of the world!

O Thou adored by all! Compassionate One! O Friend of the poor!

Rescue me, helpless as I am, from the trackless forest of this miserable world.

MASTER (to Mahima): "Why do you call the world a deep well or a trackless forest? An aspirant may think so in the beginning; but how can he be frightened by the world if he holds fast to God? Then he finds that-

This very world is a mansion of mirth;

Here I can eat, here drink and make merry.

"Why should you be frightened? Hold fast to God. What if the world is like a forest of thorns? Put on shoes and walk on the thorns. Whom should you fear? You won't have to play again the part of the 'thief' in the game of hide-and-seek, once you touch the granny'.

"King Janaka used to fence with two swords-the one of Knowledge and the other of action. Nothing can frighten an expert player. (To M.) "My mind is still drawn to what he just recited."

Sri Ramakrishna referred to the hymns chanted by Mahima.

Nabai Chaitanya and the other devotees began to sing. They were joined by the Master, who danced, drunk with divine love. Afterwards he said: "This is the one thing needful, the chanting of God's name. All else is unreal. Love and devotion alone are real, and other things are of no consequence."

Later Sri Ramakrishna went out in the direction of the Panchavati. He asked M. about Binode, a student in M.'s school, who now and then experienced ecstasy while thinking of God. The Master loved him dearly. As he was returning to his room with M., he asked: "Well, some speak of me as an Incarnation of God. What do you think about it?" The Master came back to his room and sat on the small couch. He repeated the question to M. The other devotees were seated at a distance and could not follow the conversation.

MASTER: "What do you say?"

M: "I think so too. You are like Sri Chaitanya."

MASTER: "Is it a full manifestation of God, or a part? Tell me how much.'

M: "I don't know, sir. But it is true that there is in you an Incarnation of the Divine Power. There is no doubt that God alone dwells in you."

MASTER: "That is true. Chaitanya also wanted to realize akti, the Divine Power."

Narendra was engaged in a heated discussion. Ram, who had recently recovered from, an illness, joined him.

MASTER (to M.): "I don't like such discussions. (To Ram) Will you stop that? You haven't been well. All right, go on softly; don't get so excited. (To M.) I don't like these discussions. I used to weep and pray to the Divine Mother saying: 'O Mother, any man says it is this, while another says it is that. Do Thou tell me, O Mother, what is the truth.'"

Saturday, March. 7, 1885

At three o'clack in the afternoon Sri Ramakrishna was in his room at Dakshineswar conversing happily with his devotees. Baburam, the younger Naren, Paltu, Haripada, Mohinimohan, and others were present. A young brahmin who had been staying with the Master a few days was also there.The Holy Mother, Sri Ramakrishna's wife, was living in the nahabat. Occasianally she would come to Sri Ramakrishna's room to attend to his needs. Mohinimohan had braught his wife and Nabin's mother with him to the temple garden from Calcutta. The ladies were with the Holy Mother; they were waiting far an opportunity to visit the Master when the men devotees would leave the room.

Master talks about his young disciples

Sri Ramakrishna was sitting on the small couch. As he looked at the young devotees his face beamed with joy.

Rkhl was not then liying at Dakshineswar with the Master. Since his return from Vrindvan he had been living at home.

MASTER (smjling): "Rkhl is now enjoying his 'pension'. Since his return from Vrindvan he has been staying at home. His wife is there. But he said to me that he would not accept any work even if he were offered a salary of a thousand rupees.

"Rkhl would lie down here and say to me that he didn't care even for my campany. He was then passing through such an exalted state.

"Bhavanth is married; but he spends the whole night in spiritual conversation with his wife. The couple passes their time talking of God alone: I said to him, 'Have a little fun with your wife now and then.' 'What?' he retorted angrily. 'Shall we too indulge in frivolity?' "

Sri Ramakrishna began to talk about Narendra.

MASTER (to the devotees): "I haven't felt the same strong longing for the younger Naren that I felt for Narendra.

(To Haripada) "Do you go to Girish Ghosh's house?"

HARIPADA: "Yes, I go there very often. He is our neighbour."

MASTER: "Does Narendra, too, go there?"

HARIPADA: "Yes, I see him there occasionally."

MASTER: "What does he say in reply to Girish?" [Girish Ghosh spoke of Sri Ramakrishna as an Incarnation of God.]

HARIPADA: "Narendra has been defeated in the argument."

MASTER: "No, Narendra says, 'Girish Ghosh has such strong faith; why should I contradict him?' "

The brother of Judge Anukal Mukhopadhyaya's son-in-law was in the room. The Master asked him, "Do you know Narendra?"

BROTHER: "Yes, sir. He is a very intelligent young man."

MASTER (to the devotees): "He must be a good man because he speaks highly of Narendra. Narendra was here the other day and sang with Trailokya Sannyal. But that day his singing seemed flat to me."

Baburam was a student in the Entrance Class in the school where M. taught.

MASTER (to Baburam): "Where are your books? Aren't you attending to your studies?

(To M.) He wants to stick to both.

"That is very difficult. What will you gain by knowing God partially? Vasishthadeva, great sage that he was, was overcome at the death of his sons. That amazed Lakshmana and he asked Rma the reason. Rma said: 'Brother, what is there to wonder at? He who has knowledge has ignorance also. Brother, go beyond both knowledge and ignorance.' If a thorn enters the sole of your foot, you get anothet thorn to take out the first one.

Afterwards you throw both away. Likewise, one procures the thorn of knowledge to remove the thorn of ignorance; then one goes beyond both knowledge and ignorance."

BABURAM (smiling): "That's what I want."

MASTER (smiling): "But, my child, can you attain it by holding to both? If you want that, then come away."

BABURAM (smiling): "Take me away from the world."

MASTER (to M.): "Rkhl lived with me, but that was different; his father agreed to it. If these boys stay here there will be trouble.

(To Baburam) "You have no strength of mind; you haven't much courage. Just see how the younger Naren says, 'I will come away for good."

Sri Ramakrishna came down from the small couch and sat among the youngsters on the floor. M. sat by his side.

Master's eagerness for a spiritual companion MASTER (to M.): "I have been seeking one who has totally renounced woman and gold.

When I find a young man, I think that perhaps he will live with me; but everyone raises some objection or other.

"A ghost sought a companion. It is said that a man who dies on a Saturday or Tuesday becomes a ghost. Therefore, whenever the ghost saw anybody fall from a roof or stumble and faint on the road on either of those days, he would run to him, hoping that the man, through an accidental death, would become a ghost and be his companion. But such was his ill luck that everyone revived. The poor thing could not get a companion.

"Just see, Rkhl always gives his wife as an excuse. He says, 'What will become of her?'

When I touched Narendra on the chest, he became unconscious; then he cried out: 'Oh, what have you done to me? Don't you know that I have a father and mother?'

"Why has God made me lead this kind of life? Chaitanyadeva became a sannysi so that all would salute him. Whoever salutes an Incarnation, even once, obtains liberation."

Mohinimohan had brought a basket of sweetmeats for Sri Ramakrishna.

MASTER: "Who has brought these sweets?"

Baburam pointed to Mohinimohan.

Sri Ramakrishna touched the sweets, uttering the word "Om", and ate a little. Then he distributed them among the devotees. To the surprise of the others, he fed the younger Naren and a few of the boys with his own hand.

MASTER (to M): "This has a meaning. There is a greater manifestation of God in men of pure heart. In former years, when I used to go to Kamarpukur, I would feed some of the young boys with my own hand. Chine Sankhari would say, 'Why doesn't he feed us that way?' But how could I? They led an immoral life. Who would feed them?"

Sri Ramakrishna was in the happiest mood with his young and pure-souled devotees. He was seated on the small couch and was doing funny imitations of a kirtani. The devotees laughed heartily. The kirtani is dressed lavishly and covered with ornaments. She sings standing on the floor, a coloured kerchief in her hand. Now and then she coughs to draw people's attention and blows her nose, raising her nose-ring. When a respectable gentleman enters the room she welcomes him with appropriate words, still continuing her song. Now and then she pulls her sari from her arms to show off her jewels.

The devotees were convulsed, with laughter at this mimicry by Sri Ramakrishna. Paltu rolled on the ground. Pointing to him, the Master said to M.: "Look at that child! He is rolling with laughter." He said to Paltu with a smile: "Don't report this to your father, or he will lose the little respect he has for me. You see, he is an 'Englishman."

False piety

MASTER (to the devotees): "There are people who indulge in all kinds of gossip at the time of their daily devotions. As you know, one is not permitted to talk then; so they make all kinds of signs, keeping their lips closed. In order to say, 'Bring this', 'Bring that', they make sounds like 'Huh', 'Uhuh'. All such things they do! (Laughter.) "Again, there are some who bargain for fish while telling their beads. As they count the rosary, with a finger they point out the fish, indicating, That one, please.' They reserve all their business for that time! (Laughter.)

"There are women who come to the Ganges for their bath and, instead of thinking of God, gossip about no end of things. 'What jewels did you offer at the time of your son's marriage?'- 'Has so-and-so returned from her father-in law's house?' - 'So-and-so is seriously ill.' - 'So-and-so went to see the bride; we hope that they will offer a magnificent dowry and that there will be a great feast.' - 'Harish always nags at me; he can't stay away from me even an hour.' - 'My child, I couldn't come to see you all these days; I was so busy with the betrothal of so-and-so's daughter.'

"You see, they have come to ba the in the holy river, and yet they indulge in all sorts of worldly talk."

The Master began to look intently at the younger Naren and went into samdhi. Did he see God Himself in the pure-souled devotee?

The devotees silently watched the figure of Sri Ramakrishna motionless in samdhi. A few minutes before there had been so much laughter in the room; now there was deep silence, as if no one were there. The Master sat with folded hands as in his photograph.

After a short while his mind began to come down to the relative plane. He heaved a long sigh and became aware of the outer world. He looked at the devotees and began to talk with them of their spiritual progress.

MASTER (to the younger Naren): "I have been eager to see you. You will succeed. Come here once in a while. Well, which do you prefer-jnna or bhakti?"

THE YOUNGER NAREN: "Pure bhakti."

MASTER: "But how can you love someone unless you know him? (Pointing to M, with a smile) How can you love him unless you know him? (To M.) Since a pure-souled person has asked for pure bhakti, it must have some meaning.

Genuine bhakti

"One does not seek bhakti of one's own accord without inborn tendencies. This is the characteristic of prema-bhakti. There is another kind of bhakti, called jnna-bhakti, which is love of God based on reasoning.

(To the younger Naren) "Let me look at your body; take off your shirt. Fairly broad chest. You will succeed. Come here now and then."

Sri Ramakrishna was still in the ecstatic mood. He spoke tenderly to the other devotees about their future.

MASTER (to Paltu): "You will succeed, too, but, it will take a little time.

(To Baburam) "Why don't I attract you to me? It is just to avoid trouble.

(To Mohinimohan) "As for you you are all right. There is a little yet to be done. When that is achieved, nothing will remain-neither duty nor work nor the world itself. Is it good to get rid of everything?"

As Sri Ramakrishna spoke these words he looked at Mohini affectionately, as if scanning his inmost feelings. Was Mohini really wondering whether it would, be wise to renounce all for God? After a while Sri Ramakrishna said, "God binds the Bhagavata pundit to the world with one tie; otherwise, who would remain to explain the sacred book? He keeps the pundit bound for the good of men. That is why the Divine Mother has kept you in the world."

Now Sri Ramakrishna spoke to the young brahmin.

MASTER: "Give up knowledge and reasoning; accept bhakti. Bhakti alone is the essence.

Is this the third day of your stay here?"

BRAHMIN (with folded hands): "Yes, sir."

MASTER: "Have faith. Depend on God. Then you will not have to do anything yourself.

Mother Kli will do everything for you.

"Jnna goes as far as the outer court, but bhakti can enter the inner court. The Pure Self is unattached. Both vidy and avidy are in It, but It is unattached. Sometimes there is a good and sometimes a bad smell in the air, but the air itself is unaffected.

Nature of tman

"Once Vyasadeva was about to cross the Jamuna. The gopis also were there. They wanted to go to the other side of the river to sell curd, milk, and cream. But there was no ferry at that time. They were all worried about how to cross the river, when Vysa said to them, 'I am very hungry.' The milkmaids fed him with milk and cream. He finished almost all their food. Then Vysa said to the river, 'O Jamuna, if I have not eaten anything, then your waters will part and we shall walk through.' It so happened.

The river parted and a pathway was formed between the waters. Following that path, the gopis and Vysa crossed the river. Vysa had said, 'If I have not eaten anything'. That means, the real man is Pure tman. tman is unattached and beyond Prakriti. It has neither hunger nor thirst; It knows neither birth nor death; It does not age, nor does It die. It is immutable as Mount Sumeru.

Jeevanmukta & Separation of body and soul "He who has attained this Knowledge of Brahman is a jivanmukta, liberated while living in the body. He rightly understand that the tman and the body are two separate things.

After realizing God one does not identify the tman with the body. These two are separate, like the kernel and the shell of the coconut when its milk dries up. The tman moves, as it were, within the body. When the 'milk' of worldly-mindedness has dried up, one gets Self-knowledge. Then one feels that tman and body are two separate things.

The kernel of a green almond or betel-nut cannot be separated from the shell; but when they are ripe the juice dries up and the kernel separates from the shell. After the attainment of the Knowledge of Brahman, the 'milk' of worldly-mindedness dries up.

"But it is extremely difficult to attain the Knowledge of Brahman. One doesn't get it by merely talking about it. Some people feign it. (Smiling) There was a man who was a great liar; but, on the other hand, he used to say he had the Knowledge of Brahman.

When someone took him to task for telling lies, he said: 'Why, this world is truly like a dream. If everything is unreal, then can truth itself be real? Truth is as unreal as falsehood.'" (All laugh.)

Sri Ramakrishna sat with the devotees on the mat on the floor. He was smiling. He said to the devotees, "Please stroke my feet gently." They carried out his request. He said to M., "There is great significance in this." Placing his hand on his heart, the Master said, "If there is anything here, then through this service the ignorance and illusion of the devotees will be completely destroyed."

Suddenly Sri Ramakrishna became serious, as if about to reveal a secret.

Revelation about himself

MASTER (to M.): "There is no outsider here. The other day, when Harish was with me, I saw Satchidananda come out of this sheath, It said, 'I incarnate Myself in every age.' I thought that I myself was saying these words out of mere fancy. I kept quiet and watched. Again Satchidananda Itself spoke, saying, 'Chaitanya, too, worshipped akti.' "

The devotees listened to these words in amazement. Some wondered whether God Himself was seated before them in the form of Sri Ramakrishna. The Master paused a moment. Then he said, addressing M., "I saw that it is the fullest manifestation of Satchidananda; but this time the Divine Power is manifested through the glory of sattva."

The devotees sat spellbound.

MASTER (to M.): "Just now I was saying to the Mother, 'I cannot talk much.' I also said to Her, 'May people's inner consciousness be awakened by only one touch!' You see, such is the power of Yogamaya that She can cast a spell. She did so at Vrindvan. That is why Subol was able to unite Sri Krishna and Radhika. Yogamaya, the Primal Power, has a power of attraction. I applied that power myself.

(To M.) "Well, do you think that those who come here are realizing anything?"

M: "Yes, sir, it must be so."

MASTER: "How do you know?"

M. (smiling): "Everyone says, 'Whoever goes to him doesn't return to the world.'

MASTER (smiling): "A bullfrog was caught by a water-snake. The snake could neither swallow the frog nor let it go. As a result the frog suffered very much; he croaked continuously. And the snake suffered too. But if the frog had been seized by a cobra, he would have been quiet after one or two croaks. (All laugh.) (To the young devotees) "Read the Bhaktichaitanya-chandrika by Trailokya. Ask Trailokya for a copy. He has written well about Chaitanyadeva."

A DEVOTEE: "Will he give it to us?"

MASTER (smiling): "Why not? If a farmer has a good crop of melons he can easily give away two or three. (All laugh.) Won't Trailokya give you the book free?

(To Paltu) "Come here now and then."

PALTU: "I shall come whenever I can."

MASTER: "Will you see me in Calcutta when I go there?"

PALTU: "Yes, I shall try."

MASTER; "That's the answer of a calculating mind."

PALTU: "If I don't say, 'I shall try', I may be a liar."

MASTER (to M.): "I don't mind the lies of these boys. They are not free.

(To Haripada) "Why hasn't Mahendra Mukherji come here lately?"

HARlPADA: "I'm not quite sure why."

M. (smiling): "He's practising jnanayoga!"

MASTER: "No, it's not that. The other day he promised to send me in his carriage to the theatre to see a play about the life of Prahlada; but he didn't send the carriage. Perhaps that is why he doesn't come."

M: "One day I saw Mahima Chakravarty and had a talk with him. It seems that Mahendra visits him."

MASTER: "But Mahima talks about bhakti also. He loves to recite the hymn: 'what need is there of penance if God is worshipped with love?' "

M. (smiling): "He says that because you make him say it."

About Girish

Girish Chandra Ghosh was always talking to the devotees about the Master.

HARIPADA: "Girish Ghosh sees many visions nowadays. After going home from here he remains absorbed in spiritual moods and sees many things."

MASTER: 'That may be true. Coming to the Ganges, one sees many things-boats, ships, and what not."

HARIPADA: "Girish Ghosh says: 'From now on I shall occupy myself only with my work.

In the morning, on the stroke of the clock, I shall sit down with my pen and ink-pot and write for the whole day.' He makes the resolve, no doubt, but cannot carry it out. No sooner do we visit him than he begins to talk about you. You asked him to send Narendra here in a carriage. He said, 'I shall hire a carriage for Narendra.' "

At five o'clock the younger Naren was ready to go home. Sri Ramakrishna stood by his side on the northeast verandah and gave him various instructions. Then the boy saluted the Master and departed. Many of the devotees also took their leave.

Sri Ramakrishna was sitting on the small couch talking to Mohini. Mohini's wife was almost mad with grief on account of her son's death. Sometimes she laughed and sometimes she wept. But she felt peaceful in Sri Ramakrishna's presence.

MASTER: "How is your wife now?"

MOHINI: "She becomes quiet whenever she is here; but sometimes at home she becomes very wild. The other day she was going to kill herself."

When Sri Ramakrishna heard this he appeared worried. Mohini said to him humbly, "Please give her a few words of advice."

MASTER: "Don't allow her to cook. That will heat her brain all the more. And keep her in the company of others so that they may watch her."

It was dusk. Preparations were going on in the temples for the evening worship. The lamp was lighted in the Master's room and incense was burnt. Seated on the small couch, Sri Ramakrishna saluted the Divine Mother and chanted Her name in a tender voice. There was nobody in the room except M, who was sitting on the floor.

Sri Ramakrishna rose from the couch. M also stood up. The Master asked him to shut the west and north doors of the room. M obeyed and stood by Sri Ramakrishna on the porch.

The Master said that he wanted to go to the Kli temple. Leaning on M.'s arm, he came down to the terrace of the temple. He asked M. to call Baburam and sat down.

After visiting the Divine Mother, the Master returned to his room across the court, chanting, "O Mother! Mother! Rajarajesvari!"

Sri Ramakrishna entered his room and sat on the small couch. He had been passing through an extraordinary state of mind: he could not touch any metal. He had said a few days before, "It seems that the Divine Mother has been removing from my mind all ideas of possession." He had been eating from plantain-leaves and drinking water from an ear then tumbler. He could not touch a metal jar; so he had asked the devotees to get a few ear then jars for him. If he touched metal plates or pots, his hand ached as if stung by a horned fish.

Prasanna had brought a few ear then pots, but they were very small. The Master said with a smile: These pots are too small. But he is a nice boy. Once I asked him to take off his clothes, and he stood naked in front of me. What a child he is!"

Trak of Belgharia arrived with a friend and bowed low before Sri Ramakrishna, who was sitting on the small couch. The room was lighted by an oil lamp. A few devotees were sitting on the floor.

Trak was about twenty years old, and married. His parents did not allow him to come to Sri Ramakrishna. He lived mostly at his home near Bowbazar. The Master was very fond of him. Trak's friend had a tamasic nature; he rather scoffed at the Master and religious ideas in general.

MASTER (to Trak's friend): "Why don't you go and visit the temples?"

FRIEND: "Oh, I've seen them before."

MASTER: "Is it wrong for Trak to come here?"

FRIEND: "You know best."

MASTER (pointing to M.): "He is a headmaster."

FRIEND: "Oh!"

Master warns Trak

Sri Ramakrishna asked about Tatak's health and talked with him at length. Trak was ready to leave. Sri Ramakrishna asked him to be careful about many things.

MASTER: "My good man, beware. Beware of 'woman and gold'. Once you sink in the my of a woman, you will not be able to rise. It is the whirlpool of the Vilki. He who has fallen into it cannot pull himself out again. Come here now and then."

TRAK: "My people at home don't let me."

A DEVOTEE: "Suppose someone's mother says to him, 'Don't go to Dakshineswar.'

Suppose she curses him, saying, 'If you go there you will be drinking my blood!'"

MASTER: "A mother who says that is no mother; she is the embodiment of avidy. There is no sin in disobeying such a mother. She obstructs her son's path to God. There is no harm in disobeying your elders for the sake of God. For Rma's sake Bharat did not obey his mother Kaikeyi. The gopis did not obey their husbands when they were forbidden to visit Krishna. Prahlada disobeyed his father for God. Vali disregarded the words of Sukracharya, his teacher, in order to please God. Bibhishana went against the wishes of Ravana, his elder brother, to please Rma. But you must obey your elders in all other things. Let me see your hand."

Sri Ramakrishna took Trak's hand into his own and seemed to feel its weight. A few moments later he said: "There is a little crookedness in your mind; but that will go. Pray to God a little and come here now and then. Yes, that twist will go. Is it you that have hired the house at Bowbazar?"

TRAK: "Not I, sir, but my parents."

MASTER (smiling): "They or you? Is it because you are afraid of the 'tiger'?" Trak had a young wife. Did the Master mean that a woman is like a tiger to a man?

Trak saluted Sri Ramakrishna and took his leave. The Master lay down on the small couch. He seemed worried about Trak. Suddenly he said to M., "Why do I worry so much about these young boys?" M. kept still. He was thinking over a reply. The Master asked him, "Why don't you speak?"

Mohini's wife entered the room and sat at one side. Sri Ramakrishna spoke to M. about Trak's friend.

MASTER: "Why did Trak bring that fellow with him?"

M: "Perhaps he wanted a companion for the road. It is a long way from Calcutta; so he brought a friend with him."

The Master suddenly addressed Mohini's wife and said: "By unnatural death one becomes an evil spirit. Beware. Make it clear to your mind. Is this what you have come to after hearing and seeing so much?" Mohini was about to take his leave. He saluted Sri Ramakrishna. His wife also saluted the Master, who stood near the north door of the room. Mohini's wife spoke to him in a whisper.

MASTER: "Do you want to stay here?"

MOHINI'S WIFE: "Yes, I want to spend a few days with the Holy Mother at the Nahabat.

May I?"

MASTER: "That will be all right. But you talk of dying. That frightens me. And the Ganges is so near!"

--------------------

Chapter 38

WITH THE DEVOTEES IN CALCUTTA

March 11, 1885

Balarm Bose

ON THE MORNING of Wednesday, March 11, Sri Ramakrishna and some of his disciples visited Balarm Bose's house. Balarm was indeed blessed among the householder disciples of the Master. Sri Ramakrishna often described him as a rasaddar, or supplier of stores, appointed by the Divine Mother to take care of his physical needs. Balarm's house in Calcutta had been sanctified many times by the Master's presence. There he frequently lost himself in samdhi, dancing, singing, or talking about God. Those of the Master's disciples and devotees who could not go to Dakshineswar visited him there and received his instruction. He often asked Balarm to invite young disciples such as Rkhl, Bhavanth, and Narendra to his house, saying: "These pure souls are veritable manifestations of God. To feed them is to feed God Himself. They are born with special divine attri butes. By serving them you will be serving God." And so it happened that whenever the Master was at Balarm's house the devotees would gather there. It was the Master's chief vineyard in Calcutta. It was here that the devotees came to know each other intimately.

M taught in a school in the neighbourhood. He often brought his young students to visit the Master at Balarm's house. On this day, having learnt of Sri Ramakrishna's arrival, M. went there at noon during the recess hour of the school. He found the Master resting in the drawing room after his midday meal. Several young boys were in the room. M

prostrated himself before the Master and sat by his side.

MASTER (tenderly): "How could you come now? Have you no school work?"

M: "I have come directly from school. Just now I have no important work to do."

A DEVOTEE: "No, sir; he is playing truant today." (All laugh.) M. said to himself, "Alas! It is indeed as if some invisible power had drawn me here."

The Master, looking a little thoughtful, asked M. to come nearer. He said, "Please wring out my wet towel and put my coat in the sun." Then he continued: "My legs and feet ache. Please rub them gently."

M. felt very happy to be given the privilege of rendering these services to the Master.

Master's exalted spiritual state

Sri Ramakrishna said to M.: "Can you tell me why I have been feeling like this the past few days? It is impossible for me to touch any metal. When I touched a metal cup I felt as if I had been stung by a horned fish. There was an excruciating pain all over my arm.

But I must use a brass water-jar, and so I tried to carry it after covering it with my towel. But the moment I touched the jar I felt the same acute pain in my arm. It was an unbearable pain! At last I prayed to the Divine Mother: 'O Mother, I shall never do it again. Please forgive me this time.'

The younger Naren

"The younger Naren often visits me. Do you think his people at home will object? He is very pure and doesn't know what carnal pleasure is."

M: "He is a 'large receptacle'."

MASTER: "That is true. Further, he says he remembers spiritual things after hearing them once only. He told me, 'I used to weep in my boyhood because I couldn't see God.'"

The Master and M. were thus talking about the young devotee when someone reminded M. of his school.

MASTER: "What is the time now?"

A DEVOTEE: "It is ten minutes to one."

MASTER (to M.): "You had better go now. It is getting late for you. You have left your duties. (To Ltu) Where is Rkhl?"

LTU: "He has gone home."

MASTER: "What? Has he gone away without seeing me?"

After school-hours M. returned to Balarm's house and found the Master sitting in the drawing-room, surrounded by his devotees and disciples. Among them were Girish, Suresh, Balarm, Ltu, and Chunilal. The Master's face was beaming with a sweet smile, which was reflected in the happy faces of those in the room. M. was asked to take a seat by the Master's side.

MASTER (to Girish): "You had better argue this point with Narendra and see what he has to say."

GIRISH: "Narendra says that God is infinite; we cannot even so much as say that the things or persons we perceive are parts of God. How can Infinity have parts? It cannot."

Mystery of Divine Incarnation

MASTER: "However great and infinite God may be, His Essence can and does manifest itself through man by His mere will. God's Incarnation as a man cannot be explained by analogy. One must feel it for oneself and realize it by direct perception. An analogy can give us only a little glimpse. By touching the horns, legs, or tail of a cow, we in fact touch the cow herself; but for us the essential thing about a cow is her milk, which comes through the udder. The Divine Incarnation is like the udder. God incarnates Himself as man from time to time in order to teach people devotion and divine love."

GIRISH: "Narendra says: 'Is it ever possible to know all of God? He is infinite.' "

MASTER (to Girish): "Who can comprehend everything about God? It is not given to man to know any aspect of God, great or small. And what need is there to know everything about God? It is enough if we only realize Him. And we see God Himself if we but see His Incarnation. Suppose a person goes to the Ganges and touches its water. He will then say, 'Yes, I have seen and touched the Ganges.' To say this it is not necessary for him to touch the whole length of the river from Hardwar to Gangasagar. (Laughter.) "If I touch your feet, surely that is the same as touching you. (Laughter.) If a person goes to the ocean and touches but a little of its water, he has surely touched the ocean itself. Fire, as an element, exists in all things, but in wood it is present to a greater degree."

GIRISH (smiling): "I am looking for fire. Naturally I want to go to a place where I can get it."

Seek God in man

MASTER (smiling): "Yes, fire, as an element, is present more in wood than in any other object. If you seek God, then seek Him in man; He manifests Himself more in man than in any other thing. If you see a man endowed with ecstatic love, overflowing with prema, mad after God, intoxicated with His love, then know for certain that God has incarnated Himself through that man.

(To M.) "There is no doubt that God exists in all things; but the manifestations of His Power are different in different beings. The greatest manifestation of His Power is through an Incarnation. Again, in some Incarnation there is a complete manifestation of God's Power. It is the akti, the Power of God, that is born as an Incarnation."

GIRISH: "Narendra says that God is beyond our words and thought."

God known to the pure mind

MASTER: "That is not altogether true. He is, no doubt, unknowable by this ordinary mind, but He can indeed be known by the pure mind. The mind and intellect become pure the moment they are free from attachment to 'woman and gold'. The pure mind and pure intellect are one and the same. God is known by the pure mind. Didn't the sages and seers of olden times see God? They realized the All-pervading Consciousness by means of their inner consciousness."

GIRISH (with a smile): "I defeated Narendra in the argument."

MASTER: "Oh, no! He said to me: 'When Girish Ghosh has so much faith in God's Incarnation as man, what can I say to him? It is not proper to meddle with such faith.'"

GIRISH (with a smile): "Sir, we are very free and easy with our words.

But M. is sitting there with his lips shut tight. What in the world is passing through his mind? What do you say about it, sir?"

MASTER (with a laugh): "There is a common adage that tells people to beware of the following: a man with a loose tongue, a man whose mind cannot be fathomed even by an expert diver, a man who sticks the sacred tulsi-leaf in his ears as a sign of holiness, a woman wearing a long veil to proclaim her chastity, and the cold water of a reservoir covered with green scum, by bathing in which one gets typhoid fever. These are all dangerous things. (With a smile) But it is different with M. He is a serious man." (All laugh.)

CHUNILAL: "People have begun to whisper about M.'s conduct. The younger Naren and Baburam are his students, as are Naran, Paltu, Purna, and Tejchandra. The rumour is that he brings these boys to you and so they neglect their studies. The boys' guardians hold M. responsible."

MASTER: "But who would believe their words?"

Master's love for Narayan

They were thus talking when Naran entered the room and bowed low before the Master.

He was a student seventeen or eighteen years old and of fair complexion. He was dearly loved by the Master, who was very eager to see the boy and feed him. Many a time at the temple garden at Dakshineswar the Master wept silently for Naran. He looked on him as the manifestation of Narayana Himself.

GIRISH (at the sight of Naran): "There! Who told him about this? Now we realize that M.

is at the root of all the mischief." (All laugh.) MASTER (smiling): "Stop! Hold your tongue. There is already an evil rumour about him."

The conversation next turned to Narendra.

A DEVOTEE: "Why doesn't he come to you so frequently nowadays?"

MASTER (quoting a proverb): "Man's worries over bread and butter are simply amazing; they make even Kalidasa lose his wits."

BALARM: "Narendra frequently visits his friend Annada Guha of the family of Shiva Guha."

MASTER: "Yes, I have heard that too. Narendra and his friends meet at the house of a government officer and conduct meetings of the Brahmo Samaj there."

A DEVOTEE: "The officer's name is Tarapada."

BALARM (smiling): "The brahmins say that Annada Guha is a very egotistic man."

MASTER: "Never listen to what the brahmins say. You know their nature very well. If a man doesn't give them money, they will call him bad; on the other hand, if a man is generous to them, they will call him good. (All laugh.) I know Annada. He is a good man."

The drawing-room was full of devotees. The Master wanted to hear some songs. At his request Tarapada sang about Krishna:

O Kesava, bestow Thy grace

Upon Thy luckless servants here!

O Kesava, who dost delight

To roam Vrindvan's glades and groves!

O Madhava, our mind's Bewitcher!

Sweet One, who dost steal our hearts,

Sweetly playing on Thy flute!

(Chant, O Mind, the name of Hari,

Sing aloud the name of Hari,

Praise Lord Hari's name!)

O Thou Eternal Youth of Braja,

Tamer of fierce Kaliya,

Slayer of the afflicted's fear!

Beloved, with the arching eyes

And crest with arching peacock feather,

Charmer of Sri Radha's heart!

Govardhan's mighty Lifter, Thou,

All garlanded with sylvan flowers!

O Damodara, Kamsa's Scourge!

O Dark One, who dost sport in bliss

With sweet Vrindvan's gopi maids.

(Chant, O mind, the name of Hari,

Sing aloud the name of Hari,

Praise Lord Hari's name!)

MASTER (to Girish): "Ah! It is a beautiful song. Did you write it?"

A DEVOTEE: "Yes, sir, he wrote all the songs for his play, the Chaitanyalila."

MASTER: "This one has really hit the mark."

At Sri Ramakrishna's request Tarapada sang two more songs. In the first, Nitai exhorts people to share Radha's love for Sri Krishna:

Come one and all! Take Radha's love!

The high tide of her love flows by;

It will not last for very long.

Oh, come then! Come ye, one and all!

In countless streams it flows from her;

As much as you desire is yours.

Made all of love, she pours out love

Unstintingly for everyone;

Her love intoxicates the heart

With heavenly bliss, and thrills the soul.

Oh, come and sing Lord Hari's name,

Drawn by her love. Oh, come ye all!

Next he sang about Gaurnga:

Who art Thou, Gaur of the golden hue,

That quenchest the thirst of my soul?

Thou raisest a storm in the sea of Love,

And scarcely can I steady my boat.

Once as a cowherd boy in Vrindvan

Thou didst tend the cows;

In Thy hands Thou heldest the flute

That so bewitched the gopi maids;

Lifting Govardhan's mount in Thine arms,

Thou shieldedst Vrindvan from ill;

And at the wounded gopis' feet

Humbledst Thyself in repentant love.

The devotees pressed M. to sing; but M. was shy and asked them in a whisper to excuse him.

GIRISH (to the Master): "Sir, we can't find a way to persuade M. to sing."

MASTER (annoyed): "Yes, he can bare his teeth at school, but shyness overpowers him when he is asked to sing!"

M., feeling greatly distressed, remained speechless. Suresh Mitra, a beloved householder disciple of the Master, was seated at a distance, The Master cast an affectionate glance at him and said to him, pointing to Girish, "You talk of having lived a wild life but here is one you could not surpass."

SURESH (with a smile): "Yes, sir, he is my elder brother in that respect."(All laugh.) GIRISH (to the Master): "Well, sir, I didn't have any education during my boyhood, but still people say I am a learned man."

MASTER: "Mahimacharan has studied many scriptures. A big man. (To M.) Isn't that so?"

M: "Yes, sir."

GIRISH: "What? Book-learning? I have seen enough of it. It can't fool me any more."

The purpose of the scriptures

MASTER (with a smile): "Do you know my attitude? Books, scriptures, and things like that only point out the way to reach God. After finding the way, what more need is there of books and scriptures? Then comes the time for action.

"A man received a letter from home informing him that certain presents were to be sent to his relatives. The names of the articles were given in the letter. As he was about to go shopping for them, he found that the letter was missing. He began anxiously to search for it, several others joining in the search. For a long time they continued to search.

When at last the letter was discovered, his joy knew no bounds. With great eagerness he opened the letter and read it. It said that he was to buy five seers of sweets, a piece of cloth, and a few other things. Then he did not need the letter any more, for it had served its purpose. Putting it aside, he went out to buy the things. How long is such a letter necessary? As long as its contents are not known. When the contents are known one proceeds to carry out the directions. "In the scriptures you will find the way to realize God. But after getting all the information about the path, you must begin to work, Only then can you attain your goal.

Mere scholarship condemned

"What will it avail a man to have mere scholarship? A pundit may have studied many scriptures, he may recite many sacred texts, but if he is still attached to the world and if inwardly he loves 'woman and gold', then he has not assimilated the contents of the scriptures. For such a man the study of scriptures is futile.

"The almanac forecasts the rainfall for the year. You may squeeze the book, but you won't get a drop of water-not even a single drop." (Laughter.) GIRISH (sniiling): "What did you say, sir, about squeezing the almanac? Won't a single drop of water come out of it?" (All laugh.)

MASTER (with a s1Ilile): "The pundits talk big, but where is their mind fixed? On 'woman and gold', on creature comforts and money. The vulture soars very high in the sky, but its eyes are fixed on the charnel-pit. It is continually looking for charnel-pits, carcasses, and dead bodies.

Narendra's many virtues

(To Girish) "Narendra is a boy of a very high order. He excels in everything: vocal and instrumental music and studies. Again, he has control over his sense-organs. He is truthful and has discrimination and dispassion. So many virtues in one person! (To M.) What do you say? Isn't he unusually good?"

M: "Yes, sir, he is."

MASTER (aside to M.): "He [meaning Girish] has great earnestness and faith."

M. looked at Girish, and marvelled at his tremendous faith. Girish had been coming to Sri Ramakrishna only a short time and had already recognized his spiritual power. To M. he seemed a familiar friend and kinsman, related to him by the strong bond of spirituality.

Girish was one of the gems in the necklace of the Master's devotees.

Narayan asked the Master whether he would sing. Sri Ramakrishna sang of the Divine Mother:

Cherish my precious Mother Syama

Tenderly within, O mind;

May you and I alone behold Her,

Letting no one else intrude.

O mind, in solitude enjoy Her,

Keeping the passions all outside;

Take but the tongue, that now and again

It may cry out, "O Mother! Mother!"

Suffer no breath of base desire

To enter and approach us there,

But bid true knowledge stand on guard,

Alert and watchful evermore.

Then he sang, as if he were one of the afflicted souls of the world: O Mother, ever blissful as Thou art,

Do not deprive Thy worthless child of bliss!

My mind knows nothing but Thy Lotus Feet

The King of Death scowls at me terribly;

Tell me, Mother, what shall I say to him? . . .

Again he sang about the bliss of the Divine Mother: Behold my Mother playing with iva, lost in an ecstasy of joy!

Drunk with a draught of celestial wine, She reels and yet She does not fall . . .

The devotees listened to the songs in deep silence. After a few moments Sri Ramakrishna said, "I have a slight cold; so I couldn't sing well."

Gradually it became dusk. The shadow of evening fell on Calcutta. For the moment the noise of the busy metropolis was stilled. Gongs and conchshells proclaimed the evening worship in many Hindu homes. Devotees of God set aside their worldly duties and turned their minds to prayer and meditation. This joining of day and night, this mystic twilight, always created an ecstatic mood in the Master.

Master's prayer

The devotees seated in the room looked at Sri Ramakrishna as he began to chant the sweet name of the Divine Mother. After the chanting he began to pray. What was the need of prayer to a soul in constant communion with God? Did he not rather want to teach erring mortals how to pray? Addressing the Divine Mother, he said, "O Mother, I throw myself on Thy mercy; I take shelter at Thy Hallowed Feet. I do not want bodily comforts; I do not crave name and fame; I do not seek the eight occult powers. Be gracious and grant that I may have pure love for Thee, a love unsmitten by desire, untainted by any selfish ends-a love craved by the devotee for the sake of love alone.

And grant me the favour, O mother, that I may not be deluded by Thy world-bewitching my, that I may never be attached to the world, to 'woman and gold', conjured up by Thy inscrutable my! O mother, there is no one but thee whom I may call my own.

Mother, I do not know how to worship; I am without austerity; I have neither devotion nor knowledge. Be gracious, Mother, and out of Thy infinite mercy grant me love for Thy Lotus Feet." Every word of this prayer, uttered from the depths of his soul, stirred the minds of the devotees. The melody of his voice and the childlike simplicity of his face touched their hearts very deeply.

Girish invited the Master to his house, saying that he must go there that very night.

MASTER: "Don't you think it will be late?"

GIRISH: "No, sir. You may return any time you like. I shall have to go to the theatre tonight to settle a quarrel there."

It was nine o'clock in the evening when the Master was ready to start for Girish's house.

Since Balarm had prepared supper for him, Sri Ramakrishna said to Balarm: "Please send the food you have prepared for me to Girish's, I shall enjoy it there." He did not want to hurt Balarm's feelings.

As the Master was coming down from the second floor of Balarm's house, he became filled with divine ecstasy. He looked as if he were drunk.

Narayan and M. were by his side; a little behind came Ram, Chuni, and the other devotees. No sooner did he reach the ground floor than he became totally overwhelmed.

Narayan came forward to hold him by the hand lest he should miss his footing and fall.

The Master expressed annoyance at this. A few minutes later he said to Narayan affectionately: "If you hold me by the hand people may think I am drunk. I shall walk by myself."

Girish's house was not far away. The Master passed the crossing at Bosepara Lane.

Suddenly he began to walk faster. The devotees were left behind. Presently Narendra was seen coming from a distance. At other times the Master's joy would have been unbounded at the thought of Narendra or at the mere mention of his name; but now he did not even exchange a word with his beloved disciple.

As the Master and the devotees entered the lane where Girish lived, he was able to utter words. He said to Narendra: "Are you quite well, my child? I could not talk to you then."

Every word the Master spoke was full of infinite tenderness. He had not yet reached the door of Girish's house, when suddenly he stopped and said, looking at Narendra: "I want to tell you something.'This' is one and 'that' is another." Who could know what was passing through his innermost soul at that moment?

At Girish's house

Girish stood at the door to welcome the Master. As Sri Ramakrishna entered the house, Girish fell at his feet and lay there on the floor like a rod. At the Master's bidding he stood up, touching the Master's feet with his forehead. Sri Ramakrishna was taken to the drawing-room on the second floor. The devotees followed him and sat down, eager to get a view of the Master and listen to every word that fell from his lips.

As Sri Ramakrishna was about to take the seat reserved for him, he saw a newspaper lying near it. He signed to someone to remove the paper. Since a newspaper contains worldly matters-gossip and scandal-, he regarded it as unholy. After the paper was removed he took his seat. Nityagopal came forward and bowed low before the Master.

MASTER: "Well! You haven't been to Dakshineswar for a long time."

NITYAGOPAL: "True, sir. I haven't been able to go there. I haven't been well. I have had pains all over my body."

MASTER: "How are you now?"

NITYAGOPAL: "Not so well, sir."

MASTER: "Bring your mind down one or two notes."

NITYAGOPAL: "I don't like people's company. They say all kinds of things about me. That sometimes frightens me, but again I feel great strength within."

MASTER: "That's only natural. Who lives with you?"

NITYAGOPAL: "Trak. He is always with me. But sometimes he too gets on my nerves."

MASTER: "Nangta told me that there lived at his monastery an ascetic who had acquired occult powers. He used to go about with his eyes fixed on the sky. But when one of his companions left him, he became disconsolate."

Again the Master went into an ecstatic mood. Strange thoughts seemed to stir his mind and he remained speechless. After a while he said: "Art Thou come? I too am here."

Who could pretend to understand these words?

Narendra and Girish argue about God Many of his devotees were in the room: Narendra, Girish, Ram, Haripada, Chuni, Balarm, and M. Narendra did not believe that God could incarnate Himself in a human body. But Girish differed with him; he had the burning faith that from time to time the Almighty Lord, through His inscrutable Power, assumes a human body and descends to earth to serve a divine purpose.

The Master said to Girish, "I should like to hear you and Narendra argue in English."

The discussion began; but they talked in Bengali. Narendra said: "God is Infinity. How is it possible for us to comprehend Him? He dwells in every human being. It is not the case that He manifests Himself through one person only."

SRI RAMAKRISHNA (tenderly): "I quite agree with Narendra. God is everywhere. But then you must remember that there are different manifestations of His Power in different beings. At some places there is a manifestation of His avidyaakti, at others a manifestation of His vidyaakti. Through different instruments God's Power is manifest in different degrees, greater and smaller. Therefore all men are not equal."

RAM: "What is the use of these futile arguments?"

MASTER (sharply): "No! No! There is a meaning in all this."

GIRISH (to Narendra): "How do you know that God does not assume a human body?"

NARENDRA: "God is beyond words or thought."

MASTER: "No, that is not true. He can be known by the pure buddhi, which is the same as the Pure Self. The seers of old directly perceived the Pure Self through their pure buddhi."

GIRISH (to Narendra): "Unless God Himself teaches men through, His human Incarnation, who else will teach them spiritual mysteries? God takes a human body to teach men divine knowledge and divine love. Otherwise, who will teach?"

NARENDRA: "Why, God dwells in our own heart; He will certainly teach us from within the heart."

MASTER (tenderly): "Yes, yes. He will teach us as our Inner Guide."

Gradually Narendra and Girish became involved in a heated discussion. If God is Infinity, how can He have parts? What did Hamilton say? What were the views of Herbert Spencer, of Tyndall, of Huxley? And so forth and so on.

MASTER (to M.): "I don't enjoy these discussions. Why should I argue at all? I clearly see that God is everything; He Himself has become all. I see that whatever is, is God. He is everything; again, He is beyond everything. I come to a state in which my mind and intellect merge in the Indivisible. At the sight of Narendra my mind loses itself in the consciousness of the Absolute. (To Girish) What do you say to that?"

GIRISH (with a smile): "Why ask me? As if I understood everything except that one point!" (All laugh.)

MASTER: "Again, I cannot utter a word unless I come down at least two steps from the plane of samdhi. Sankara's Non-dualistic explanation of Vednta is true, and so is the Qualified Non-dualistic interpretation of Ramanuja."

Qualified Monism

NARENDRA: "What is Qualified Non-dualism?"

MASTER: "It is the theory of Ramanuja. According to this theory, Brahman, or the Absolute, is qualified by the universe and its living beings: These three-Brahman, the world, and living beings-together constitute One. Take the instance of a bel-fruit. A man wanted to know the weight of the fruit. He separated the shell, the flesh, and the seeds.

But can a man get the weight by weighing only the flesh? He must weigh flesh, shell, and seeds together. At first it appears that the real thing in the fruit is the flesh, and not its seeds or shell. Then by reasoning you find that the shell, seeds, and flesh all belong to the fruit; the shell and seeds belong to the same thing that the flesh belongs to.

Likewise, in spiritual discrimination one must first reason, following the method of 'Not this, not this': God is not the universe; God is not the living beings; Brahman alone is real, and all else is unreal. Then one realizes, as with the bel-fruit, that the Reality from which we derive the notion of Brahman is the very Reality that evolves the idea of living beings and the universe. The Nitya and the Lila are the two aspects of one and the same Reality; therefore, according to Ramanuja, Brahman is qualified by the universe and the living beings. This is the theory of Qualified Non-dualism.

Futility of mere reasoning

(To M.) "I do see God directly. What shall I reason about? I clearly see that He Himself has become everything; that He Himself has become the universe and all living beings.

"But without awakening one's own inner consciousness one cannot realize the All-pervading Consciousness. How long does a man reason? So long as he has not realized God. But mere words will not do. As for myself, I clearly see that He Himself has become everything. The inner consciousness must be awakened through the grace of God.

Through this awakening a man goes into samdhi. He often forgets that he has a body.

He gets rid of his attachment to 'woman and gold' and does not enjoy any talk unless it is about God. Worldly talk gives him pain. Through the awakening of the inner consciousness one realizes the All-pervading Consciousness."

The discussion came to a close. Sri Ramakrishna said to M.: "I have observed that a man acquires one kind of knowledge about God through reasoning and another kind through meditation; but he acquires a third kind of Knowledge about God when God reveals Himself to him, His devotee. If God Himself reveals to His devotee the nature of Divine Incarnation-how He plays in human form-, then the devotee doesn't have to, reason about the problem or need an explanation. Do you know what it is like? Suppose a man is in a dark room. He goes on rubbing a match against a match-box and all of a sudden light comes. Likewise, if God gives us this flash of divine light, all our doubts are destroyed. Can one ever know God by mere reasoning?"

Sri Ramakrishna asked Narendra to sit by his side. He tenderly inquired about his health and showed him much affection.

NARENDRA (to the Master): "Why, I have meditated on Kli for three or four days, but nothing has come of it."

Kli and Brahman

MASTER: "All in good time, my child. Kli is none other than Brahman That which is called Brahman is really Kli. She is the Primal Energy. When that Energy remains inactive, I call It Brahman, and when It creates. preserves, or destroys, I call It akti or Kli. What you call Brahman I call Kli.

"Brahman and Kli are not different. They are like fire and its power to burn: if one thinks of fire one must think of its power to burn. If one recognizes Kli one must also recognize Brahman; again, if one recognizes Brahman one must recognize Kli. Brahman and Its Power are identical. It is Brahman whom I address as akti or Kli."

It was late at night: Girish asked Haripada to call a cab, for he had to go to the theatre.

As Haripada was about to leave the room the Master said with a smile: "Mind, a cab.

Don't forget to bring one." (All laugh.)

HARIPADA (smiling): "Yes, sir. I am going out just for that. How can I forget it?"

GIRISH: "That I should have to go to the theatre and leave you here!"

MASTER: "No, no. You must hold to both. King Janaka paid attention to both religious and worldly duties and 'drank his milk from a brimming cup'." (All laugh.) GIRISH: "I have been thinking of leaving the theatre to the youngsters."

MASTER: "No, no. It is all right. You are doing good to many."

Narendra said in a whisper, "Just a moment ago he [meaning Girish] was calling him [meaning Sri Ramakrishna] God, an Incarnation, and now he is attracted to the theatre!"

Master's love for Narendra

Narendra was sitting beside the Master. The latter looked at him intently and suddenly moved closer to his beloved disciple. Narendra did not believe in God's assuming a human body; but what did that matter? Sri Ramakrishna's heart overflowed with more and more love for his disciple. He touched Narendra's body and said, quoting from a song:

Do you feel that your pride is wounded?

So be it, then; we too have our pride.

Then the Master said to Narendra: "As long as a man argues about God, he has not realized Him. You two were arguing. I didn't like it.

"How long does one hear noise and uproar in a house where a big feast is being given?

So long as the guests are not seated for the meal. As soon as food is served and people begin to eat, three quarters of the noise disappears. (All laugh.) When the dessert is served there is still less noise. But when the guests eat the last course, buttermilk, then one hears nothing but the sound 'soop, sup'. When the meal is over, the guests retire to sleep and all is quiet.

"The nearer you approach to God, the less you reason and argue. When you attain Him, then all sounds-all reasoning and disputing-come to an end. Then you go into samdhi-sleep-, into communion with God in silence."

The Master gently stroked Narendra's body and affectionately touched his chin, uttering sweetly the holy words, "Hari Om! Hari Om! Hari Om!" He was fast becoming unconscious of the outer world. His hand was on Narendra's foot. Still in that mood he gently stroked Narendra's body. Slowly a change came over his mind. With folded hands he said to Narendra: "Sing a song, please; then I shall be all right. How else shall I be able to stand on my own legs?" Again he became speechless. He sat motionless as a statue. Presently he became intoxicated with divine love and said: "O Radha, watch your step! Otherwise you may fall into the Jamuna. Ah! How mad she is with love of Krishna!"

The Master was in a rapturous mood. Quoting from a song, he said: Tell me, friend, how far is the grove

Where Krishna, my Beloved, dwells?

His fragrance reaches me even here,

But I am tired and can walk no farther.

Then the Master completely forgot the outer world. He did not notice anyone in the room, not even his beloved Narendra seated by his side. He did not know where he himself was seated. He was totally merged in God.

Suddenly he stood up, shouting, "Deep drunk with the Wine of Divine Love!" As he took his seat again, he muttered, "I see a light coming, but I know not whence it comes."

Now Narendra sang:

Lord, Thou hast lifted all my sorrow with the vision of Thy face, And the magic of Thy beauty has bewitched my mind; Beholding Thee, the seven worlds forget their never-ending woe;

What shall I say, then, of myself, a poor and lowly soul? . . .

Listening to the song, Sri Ramakrishna again went into deep samdhi. His eyes were closed and his body was transfixed.

Coming down from the ecstatic mood he looked around and said, "Who will take me to the temple garden?" He appeared like a child who felt confused in the absence of his companion.

It was late in the evening. The night was dark. The devotees stood by the carriage that had been brought to take the Master to Dakshineswar. They helped him in gently, for he was still in deep ecstasy. The carriage moved down the street and they looked after it with wistful eyes. Soon the devotees turned homeward, a gentle south wind blowing in their faces. Some were humming the lines of the song:

Lord, Thou hast lifted all my sorrow with the vision of Thy face, And the magic of Thy beauty has bewitched my mind.

April 6, 1885

Sri Ramakrishna sat in the drawing-room of Balarm's house talking to M. It was a very hot day and long past three o'clock. He had come to Calcutta to see some of his young disciples and also to visit Devendra's house.

MASTER (to M.): "I gave my word that I would be here at three o'clock; so I have come.

But it is very hot."

M: "Yes, sir, you must have suffered very much."

The devotees were fanning Sri Ramakrishna.

About Puma

MASTER: "I have come here for Baburam and the younger Naren. Why haven't you brought Purna?"

M: "He doesn't like to come to a gathering of people. He is afraid you might praise him before others and his relatives might then hear about it."

MASTER: "Yes, that's true. I won't do it in the future. Well, I understand that you are giving Purna religious instruction. That is fine."

M: "As a matter of fact, the same thing is written in one of the textbooks of the school.

It says:

With all thy soul love God above;

And as thyself thy neighbour love.

If their guardians are displeased with such teachings, it can't be helped."

MASTER: "No doubt many things like that are written in those books; but the authors themselves do not assimilate what they write. This power of assimilation comes from associating with holy men. People listen to instruction only when it is given by a sdhu who has truly renounced the world; they are not much impressed by the writings or the words of a mere scholar. Suppose a physician has a big jar of molasses by his side, and he asks his patients not to eat molasses; the patients won't pay much attention to his advice.

"Well, how do you find Purna? Does he go into ecstatic moods?"

M: "No, I haven't noticed in him any outer sign of such emotion. One day I told him those words of yours."

MASTER: "What words?"

M: "You told us that if a man is a 'small receptacle' he cannot control spiritual emotion; but if he is a 'large receptacle' he experiences intense emotion without showing it outwardly. You said that a big lake does not become disturbed when an elephant enters it; but when the elephant enters a pool, one sees tremendous confusion and the water splashes on the banks."

MASTER: "Purna will not show his emotion outwardly; he hasn't that kind of temperament. His other signs are good. What do you say?"

M: "His eyes are very bright and prominent."

MASTER: "Mere bright eyes are not enough. The eyes of a godly person are different.

Did you ask him what he felt after meeting me?"

M: "Yes, sir, we talked about that. He has been telling me for the last four or five days that whenever he thinks of God or repeats His name, tears flow from his eyes and the hair on his body stands on end-such is his joy."

MASTER: "Indeed! That's all he needs."

The Master and M: were silent a few moments. Then M. said, "He is waiting"

MASTER: "Who?"

M: "Purna. Perhaps he has been standing at the door of his house. When any of us passes that way he will come running and salute us."

MASTER: "Ah! Ah!"

Sri Ramakrishna was resting, reclining against a bolster. M had brought with him a twelve year-old boy who was a student in his school. His name was Kshirode.

M: "He is a nice boy. He finds great joy in spiritual talk."

MASTER (smiling): "He has eyes like a deer's."

The boy saluted Sri Ramakrishna, touching his feet. Then he gently stroked the Master's feet.

MASTER (to M.): "Rkhl is staying at home now; he has an abscess and is not well. I understand that his wife expects a baby."

Paltu and Binode were seated in front of Sri Ramakrishna.

MASTER (to Paltu, smiling): "What did you say to your father? (To M.)He answered back when his father told him not to come here. (To Paltu) What did you say?"

PALTU: "I said to him: 'Yes, I go to him. Is that wrong?' (The Master and M. laugh.) I shall say more if necessary."

MASTER (to M., smiling): "No, no! Should he go so far?"

M: "No, sir, he should not go too far." (Sri Ramakrishna laughs.) MASTER (to Binode): "How are you? Why haven't you come to Dakshineswar?"

BINODE: "I almost came, but then I was afraid of falling ill again. I have been ill and am not doing well."

MASTER: "Come to Dakshineswar with me. The air is very good there. You will recover."

The younger Naren entered the room. Sri Ramakrishna was going out to wash his hands and face. The younger Naren followed him with a towel; he wanted to pour water for the Master. M was with them.

MASTER: "It's very hot today."

M: "Yes, sir."

MASTER: "How do you live in that small room of yours? Doesn't it get very hot on the upper floor?"

M: "Yes, sir, it gets very hot."

MASTER: "Besides, your wife has been suffering from brain trouble. You should keep her in a cool room."

M: "Yes, sir. I have asked her to sleep downstairs."

Sri Ramakrishna returned to the drawing-room and took his seat.

MASTER (to M.): "Why didn't you come to Dakshineswar last Sunday?"

M: "Sir, there was no one else at home. My wife was not well and no one was there to look after her."

Sri Ramakrishna was on his way in a carriage to Devendra's house in Nimu Goswami's Lane. The younger Naren, M, and one or two other devotees were with him. The Master felt great yearning for Purna. He began to talk of the young disciple.

MASTER (to M.): "A great soul! Or how could he make me do japa for his welfare? But Purna doesn't know anything about it."

M and the other devotees were amazed at these words.

MASTER: "It would have been nice if you had brought him here with you today. Why didn't you?"

Seeing the younger Naren laugh, the Master and the other devotees laughed too. The Master said to M., laughing and pointing to Naren: "Look at him! Look! How naive he looks when he laughs, as if he knew nothing. He never thinks of these three things: land, wife, and money. God cannot be realized unless the mind is totally free from 'woman and gold'."

Master at Devendra's house

The carriage proceeded to Devendra's house. Once Sri Ramakrishna had said to Devendra at Dakshineswar, "I have been thinking of visiting your house one day."

Devendra had replied: "The same idea came to my mind today, and I have come here to ask that favour of you. You must grace my house this Sunday." "But", the Master had said, you have a small income. Don't invite many people. The carriage hire will also run to a big amount." Devendra had answered, laughing: "What if my income is small? 'One can run into debt to eat butter!' "At these words Sri Ramakrishna had laughed a long time.

Soon the carriage reached Devendra's house. Sri Ramakrishna said to him: "Devendra, don't make elaborate arrangements for my meal. Something very simple will do. I am not very well today."

Sri Ramakrishna seated himself in the drawing-room on the ground floor of Devendra's house. The devotees sat around him. It was evening. The room was well lighted. The younger Naren, Ram, M., Girish, Devendra, Akshay, Upendra, and some other devotees were present. As the Master cast his glance on a young devotee, his face beamed with joy. Pointing to the devotee, Sri Ramakrishna said to the others: "He is totally free from attachment to land, wife, and money, the three things that entangle one in worldliness.

The mind that dwells on these three cannot be fixed on God. He saw a vision, too. (To the devotee) Tell us, what did you see?"

DEVOTEE (laughing): "I saw a heap of dung. Some were seated on it, and some sat at a distance."

MASTER: "It was a vision of the plight of the worldly people who are forgetful of God. It shows that all these desires are disappearing from his mind. Need one worry about anything if one's mind is detached from 'woman and gold'? How strange! Only after much meditation and japa could I get rid of these desires; and how quickly he could banish them from his mind! Is it an easy matter to get rid of lust? I myself felt a queer sensation in my heart six months after I had begun my spiritual practice. Then I threw myself on the ground under a tree and wept bitterly. I said to the Divine Mother, 'Mother, if it comes to that, I shall certainly cut my throat with a knife!'

(To the devotees) "If the mind is free from 'woman and gold', then what else can obstruct a man? He enjoys then only the Bliss of Brahman."

ai had recently been visiting Sri Ramakrishna. He was studying at the Vidysgar College for his Bachelor's degree. The Master began to talk about him.

MASTER (to the devotees): "That boy will think of money for some time. But there are some who will never do so. Some of the youngsters will not marry."

The devotees listened silently to the Master.

MASTER : "It is hard to recognize an Incarnation of God unless the mind is totally free from 'woman and gold'. A man asked a. seller of eggplants the value of a diamond. He said, 'I can give nine seers of eggplants in exchange, and not one more.'"

At these words all the devotees laughed. The younger Naren laughed very loudly. Sri Ramakrishna noticed that he had quickly understood the implication of these words.

MASTER: "What a subtle mind he has! Nangta also could understand things that way, in a flash-the meaning of the Git, the Bhagavata, and other scriptures.

Master praises renunciation

"Renunciation of 'woman and gold' from boyhood! Amazing indeed! It falls to the lot of a very few. A person without such renunciation is like a mango struck by a hail-stone. The fruit cannot be offered to the Deity, and even a man hesitates to eat it.

"There are people who during their youth committed many sins, but in old age chant the name of God. Well, that is better than nothing.

"The mother of a certain Mallick, who belonged to a very noble family, asked me if prostitutes would ever be saved. She herself had led that kind of life; that is why she asked the question. I said: 'Yes, they too will be saved, if only they cry to God with a yearning heart and promise not to repeat their sins.' What will the mere chanting of Hari's name accomplish? One must weep sincerely."

The kirtan began to the accompaniment of drums and cymbals. The singer was a professional. He sang about Sri Gaurnga's initiation as a monk by Keshab Bharati: Oh, what a vision I have beheld in Keshab Bharati's hut!

Gora, in all his matchless grace,

Shedding tears in a thousand streams! . . .

Sri Ramakrishna went into ecstasy when he heard the song. The musician sang again, describing the suffering of a milkmaid of Vrindvan at her separation from Sri Krishna.

She was seeking her Krishna in the madhavi bower: O madhavi, give me back my Sweet One!

Give me, give me back my Sweet One!

Give Him back, for He is mine,

And make me your slave for ever.

He is my life, as water is to the fish;

O madhavi, you have hidden Him in your bosom!

I am a simple, guileless girl,

And you have stolen my Beloved.

O madhavi, I die for my Sweet One;

I cannot bear to live without Him.

Without my Madhava I shall die;

Oh, give Him, give Him back to me!

Now and then Sri Ramakrishna sang with the musicians, improvising Lines: How far from here is Mathura,

Where dwells the Beloved of my soul?

Sri Ramakrishna went into samdhi. His body was motionless. He remained in that state a long time.

Gradually he came down to the consciousness of the outer world. Still in a spiritual mood, he began to talk, sometimes addressing the devotees, sometimes the Divine Mother.

MASTER: "Mother, please attract him to Thee. I can't worry about him any more. (To M.) My mind is inclined a little to your brother-in-law.

About Girish

(To Girish) "You utter many abusive and vulgar words; but that doesn't matter. It is better for these things to come out. There are some people who fall ill on account of blood-poisoning; the more the poisoned blood finds an outlet, the better it is for them.

At the time when the Updhi of a man is being destroyed, it makes a loud noise, as it were. Wood crackles when it burns; there is no more noise when the burning is over.

"You will be purer day by day. You will improve very much day by day. People will marvel at you.

"I may not come many more times; but that doesn't matter. You will succeed by yourself."

The Master's spiritual mood became very intense. Again he talked to the Divine Mother.

MASTER: "Mother, what credit is there in making a man good who is already good? O

Mother, what wilt Thou accomplish by killing one who is already dead? Only if Thou canst kill a person who is still standing erect wilt Thou show Thy glory."

Sri Ramakrishna remained silent a few moments. Suddenly he said in a slightly raised voice: "I have come from Dakshineswar. I am going, Mother!" It was as if a child had heard the call of its mother from a distance and was responding to it. He again became motionless, absorbed in samdhi. The devotees looked at him with unwinking eyes. Still in an ecstatic mood he said, "I shall not eat any more luchi." At this point a few Vaishnava priests, who had come from the neighbourhood, left the place.

Sri Ramakrishna began to talk with his devotees in a very joyous spirit. It was the month of April and the day was very sultry. Devendra had made ice-cream. He offered it to the Master and the devotees. M said in a low voice, "Encore! Encore!" The devotees laughed.

At the sight of the ice-cream.

Sri Ramakrishna was happy as a child.

MASTER: "The kirtan was very nice. The song described beautifully the gopis' state of mind: 'O madhavi, give me back my Sweet One!' The milkmaids of Vrindvan were drunk with ecstatic love for Krishna. How wonderful! Mad for Krishna!"

A devotee, pointing to another devotee, said, "He has the attitude of the gopis."

RAM: "No, he has both-the attitude of tender love and the attitude of austere knowledge."

MASTER: "What is it you are talking about?"

Sri Ramakrishna inquired about Surendra.

RAM: "I sent him word, but he hasn't come."

MASTER: "He gets very tired from his heavy office-work."

A DEVOTEE: "Ram Babu has been writing about you."

MASTER (smiling): "What is he writing?"

DEVOTEE: "He is writing an article on The Bhakti of the Paramahamsa'."

MASTER: "Good! That will make Ram famous."

GIRISH (smiling): "He says he is your disciple."

MASTER: "I have no disciple. I am the servant of the servant of Rma." Some people of the neighbourhood had dropped in; but they did not please the Master. He said: "What sort of place is this? I don't find a single pious soul here."

Devendra took Sri Ramakrishna into the inner apartments and offered him refreshments.

Afterwards the Master returned to the drawing-room with a happy face and took his seat. The devotees sat around him'. Upendra and Akshay sat on either side of him and stroked his feet. The Master spoke highly of the women of Devendra's family, saying: "They are very nice. They come from the country; so they are very pious."

The Master was absorbed in his own joy. In a happy mood he began to sing: Unless a man is simple, he cannot recognize God, the Simple One. . .

Again he sang:

Stay your step, O wandering monk

Stand there with begging-bowl in hand,

And let me behold your radiant face . . .

Once more:

A mendicant has come to us, ever absorbed in divine moods; Holy alike is he to Hindu and Musslman . . ..

Girish saluted the Master and took his leave. Devendra and the other devotees took the Master to his carriage. Seeing that one of his neighbours was sound asleep on a bench in the courtyard, Devendra woke him up. The neighbour rubbed his eyes and said, "Has the Paramahamsa come?" All burst into laughter. The man had come a long time before Sri Ramakrishna's arrival, and because of the heat had spread a mat on the bench, lain down, and gone sound asleep.

Sri Ramakrishna's carriage proceeded to Dakshineswar. He said to M. happily, "I have eaten a good deal of ice-cream; bring four or five cones for me when you come to Dakshineswar." Continuing, he said, "Now my mind is drawn to these few youngsters: the younger Naren, Purna, and your brother-in-law."

M: "Do you mean Dwija?"

MASTER: "No, he is all right; I mean his elder brother."

The carriage rolled on to the Kli temple at Dakshineswar.

--------------------

Chapter 39

THE MASTER'S REMINISCENCES

April 12, 1885

Master's own reminiscences

SRI RAMAKRISHNA was sitting with the devotees in Balarm's drawing room in Calcutta.

M. arrived at three o'clock. Girish, Balarm, the younger Naren, Paltu, Dwija, Purna, Mahendra Mukherji, and many other devotees were there. Shortly Trailokya Sannyal, Jaygopal Sen, and other members of the Brahmo Samaj arrived. Many woman devotees were present also, seated behind a screen. Among them was Mohini's wife, who had almost gone insane on account of her son's death. There were a few other afflicted souls like her who used to visit the Master to obtain peace of mind.

Sri Ramakrishna was describing to the devotees the various incidents of his sdhan and the phases of his spiritual realization.

Various forms of his meditation

MASTER: "During my sdhan, when I meditated, I would actually see a person sitting neat me with a trident in his hand. He would threaten to strike me with the weapon unless I fixed my mind on the Lotus Feet of God, warning me that it would pierce my breast if my mind strayed from God.

"The Divine Mother would put me in such a state that sometimes my mind would come down from the Nitya to the Lila, and sometimes go up from the Lila to the Nitya.

"Sometimes, when the mind descended to the Lila, I would meditate day and night on Sita and Rma. At those times I would constantly behold the forms of Sita and Rma.

Rmlla was my constant companion. Sometimes I would ba the Him and sometimes feed Him.

"Again, I used to be absorbed in the ideal of Radha and Krishna and would constantly see their forms. Or again, I would be absorbed in Gaurnga. He is the harmonization of two ideals: the Purusha and the Prakriti. At such times I would always see the form of Gaurnga.

Master's meditation on formless Spirit

"Then a change came over me. The mind left the plane of the Lila and ascended to the Nitya. I found no distinction between the sacred tulsi and the ordinary sajina plant. I no longer enjoyed seeing the forms of God; I said to myself, 'They come and go.' I lifted my mind above them. I removed all the pictures of gods and goddesses from my room and began to meditate on the Primal Purusha, the Indivisible Satchidananda, regarding myself as His handmaid.

Three kinds of sdhan

"I practised all sorts of sdhan. There are three classes of sdhan: sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic. In the sattvic sdhan the devotee calls on the Lord with great longing or simply repeats His name; he doesn't seek any result in return. The rajasic sdhan

prescribes many rituals: purascharana, pilgrimage, panchatapa, worship with sixteen articles, and so forth. The tamasic sdhan is a worship of God with the help of tamas.

The attitude of a tamasic devotee is this: 'Hail, Kli! What? Wilt Thou not reveal Thyself to me? If not, I will cut my throat with a knife!' In this discipline one does not observe conventional purity; it is like some of the disciplines prescribed by the Tantra.

"During my sdhan period I had all kinds of amazing visions. I distinctly perceived the communion of tman. A person exactly resembling me entered my body and began to commune with each one of the six lotuses. The petals of these lotuses had been closed; but as each of them experienced the communion, the drooping flower bloomed and turned itself upward. Thus blossomed forth the lotuses at the centres of Muladhara, Svadhisthana, Anhata, Visuddha, jn, and Sahasrara. The drooping flowers turned upward. I perceived all these things directly.

"When I meditated during my sdhan, I used to think of the unflickering flame of a lamp set in a windless place.

Nature of deep concentration

"In deep meditation a man is not at all conscious of the outer world. A hunter was aiming at a bird. A bridal procession passed along beside him, with the groom's relatives and friends, music, carriages, and horses. It took a long time for the procession to pass the hunter, but he was not at all conscious of it. He did not know that the bridegroom had gone by.

"A man was angling in a lake all by himself. After a long while the float began to move.

Now and then its tip touched the water. The angler was holding the rod tight in his hands, ready to pull it up, when a passer-by stopped and said, 'Sir, can you tell me where Mr. Bannerji lives?' There was no reply from the angler, who was just on the point of pulling up the rod. Again and again the stranger said to him in a loud voice, 'Sir, can you tell me where Mr. Bannerji lives?' But the angler was unconscious of everything around him. His hands were trembling, his eyes fixed on the float. The stranger was annoyed and went on. When he had gone quite a way, the angler's float sank under water and with one pull of the rod he landed the fish. He wiped the sweat from his face with his towel and shouted after the stranger. 'Hey!' he said. 'Come here! Listen!' But the man would not turn his face. After much shouting, however, he came back and said to the angler, 'Why are you shouting at me?' 'What did you ask me about?' said .the angler. The stranger said, 'I repeated the question so many times and now you art asking me to repeat it once more!' The angler replied, 'At that time my float was about to sink; so I didn't hear a word of what you said.'

Single-mindedness in meditation

"A person can achieve such single-mindedness in meditation that he will see nothing, hear nothing. He will not be conscious even of touch. A snake may crawl over his body, but he will not know it. Neither of them will be aware of the other.

"In deep meditation the sense-organs stop functioning; the mind does not look outward.

It is like closing the gate of the outer court in a house. There are five objects of the senses: form, taste, smell, touch, and sound. They are all left outside.

"At the beginning of meditation the objects of the senses appear before the aspirant. But when the meditation becomes deep, they no longer bother him. They are left outside.

How many things I saw during meditation! I vividly perceived before me a heap of rupees, a shawl, a plate of sweets, and two women with rings in their noses. 'What do you want?' I asked my mind. 'Do you want to enjoy any of these things?' 'No,' replied the mind, 'I don't want any of them. I don't want anything but the Lotus Feet of God.' I saw the inside and the outside of the women, as one sees from out side the articles in a glass room. I saw what is in them: entrails, blood, filth, worms, phlegm, and such things."

Girish Chandra Ghosh used to say now and then that he could cure illness by the strength of the Master's name.

Occult powers

MASTER (to Girish and the other devotees): "People of small intellect seek occult powers-powers to cure disease, win a lawsuit, walk on water, and such things. But the genuine devotees of God don't want anything except His Lotus Feet. One day Hriday said to me, 'Uncle, please ask the Mother for some powers, some occult powers.' I have the nature of a child. While I was practising japa in the Kli temple, I said to Kli, 'Mother, Hriday asked me to pray to You for some occult powers.' The Divine Mother at once showed me a vision. A middle-aged prostitute, about forty years old, appeared and sat with her back to me. She had large hips and wore a black-bordered sari. Soon she was covered with filth. The Mother showed me that occult powers are as abominable as the filth of that prostitute. Thereupon I went to Hriday and scolded him, saying: 'why did you teach me such a prayer? It is because of you that I had such an experience.'

A false teacher

"People with a little occult power gain such things as name and fame. Many of them want to follow the profession of guru, gain people's recognition, and make disciples and devotees. Men say of such a guru: 'Ah! He is having a wonderful time. How many people visit him! He has many disciples and followers. His house is overflowing with furniture and other things. People give him presents. He has such power that he can feed many people if he so desires.'

"The profession of a teacher is like that of a prostitute. It is the selling of oneself for the trifle of money, honour, and creature comforts. For such insignificant things it is not good to prostitute the body, mind, and soul, the means by which one can attain God. A man once said about a certain woman: 'Ah! She is having a grand time now. She is so well off! She has rented a room and furnished it with a couch, a mat, pillows, and many other things. And how many people she controls! They are always visiting her.' In other words, the woman has now become a prostitute. Therefore her happiness is unbounded.

Formerly she was a maidservant in a gentleman's house; now she is a prostitute. She has ruined herself for a mere trifle.

Master's visions during sdhan

"How many other visions I saw while meditating during my sdhan! Once I was meditating under the bel-tree when 'Sin' appeared before me and tempted me in various ways. He came to me in the form of an English soldier. He wanted to give me wealth, honour, sex pleasure, various occult powers, and such things. I began to pray to the Divine Mother. Now I am telling you something very secret. The Mother appeared. I said to Her, 'Kill him, Mother!' I still remember that form of the Mother, Her world bewitching beauty. She came to me taking the form of Krishnamayi. But it was as if her glance moved the world."

Sri Ramakrishna became silent. Resuming his reminiscences, he said: "How many other visions I saw! But I am not permitted to tell them. Someone is shutting my mouth, as it were. I used to find no distinction between the sacred tulsi and the insignificant sajina leaf. The feeling of distinction was entirely destroyed. Once I was meditating under the banyan when I was shown a Musslman with a long beard. He came to me with rice in an ear then plate. He fed some other Musslmans with the rice and also gave me a few grains to eat. The Mother showed me that there exists only One, and not two. It is Satchidananda alone that has taken all these various forms; He alone has become the world and its living beings. Again, it is He who has become food.

(To Girish, M., and the others) "I have the nature of a child. Hriday said to me, 'Uncle, ask the Mother for some occult powers.' At once I went to the temple to ask Her about them. At that time God had put me in such a state that I had to listen to those who lived with me. I felt like a child who sees darkness all around unless someone is with him. I felt as if I should die unless Hriday was near me. You see I am in that state of mind just now.While I am speaking to you my inner spirit is being awakened."

As Sri Ramakrishna uttered these words, he was on the point of plunging into samdhi and losing consciousness of time and space. But he was trying with the utmost difficulty to control himself. He said to the devotees in an ecstatic mood: "I still see you. But I feel as if you had been sitting here forever. I don't recall when you came or where you are."

Sri Ramakrishna was silent a few minutes. Then, regaining partial consciousness, he said, "I shall have a drink of water." He often said things like this after samdhi, in order to bring down his mind to the ordinary plane of consciousness. Girish was a newcomer and did not know this; so he started to bring some water. Sri Ramakrishna asked him not to, saying, "No, my dear sir, I cannot drink now."

The Master and the devotees were silent a while. Sri Ramakrishna resumed the conversation.

MASTER: (to M.):"Well,have I done any wrong in telling these secret experiences?"

M. did not know what to say and kept quiet.

MASTER: "Why should there be any harm in it? I have told these things to create faith in you all."

After a while he said to M. very humbly, "Will you kindly bring him here?" He referred to Purna.

M. (hesitating): "Yes, Sir. I shall send for him this very moment.

MASTER (eagerly): "In Purna I have reached the 'post'.

Was Sri Ramakrishna hinting that Purna was perhaps the last devotee of his inner circle?

Experience of mahabhava

Sri Ramakrishna then described to Girish, M., and the other devotees his own experience of mahabhava.

MASTER (to the devotees): "My joy after that experience was equal to the pain I suffered before it. Mahabhava is a divine ecstasy; it shakes the body and mind to their very foundation. It is like a huge elephant entering a small hut. The house shakes to its foundation. Perhaps it falls to pieces.

"The burning pain that one feels when one is separated from God is not an ordinary feeling. It is said that the fire of this anguish in Rupa and Sanatana scorched the leaves of the tree under which they sat. I was unconscious three days in that state. I couldn't move. I lay in one place. When I regained consciousness, the Brahmani took me out for a bath. But my skin couldn't bear the touch of her hand; so my body had to be covered with a heavy sheet. Only then could she hold me with her hand and lead me to the bathing-place. The earth that had stuck to my body while I was lying on the ground had become baked.

"In that state I felt as if a ploughshare were passing through my backbone. I cried out: 'Oh, I am dying! I am dying!' But afterwards I was filled with great joy."

The devotees listened breathlessly to these experiences of the Master.

MASTER (to Girish): "But it isn't necessary for you to go so far. My experiences are for others to refer to. You busy yourself with five different things, but I have one ideal only. I do not enjoy anything but God. This is what God has ordained for me. (Smiling) There are different trees in the forest, some shooting up with one trunk and others spreading out with five branches. (All smile.)

"Yes, my experiences are for others to refer to. But you should live in the world in a spirit of detachment. You will no doubt have dirt on your body, but you must shake it off as the mudfish shakes off the mud. You may swim in the black ocean of the world, but your body should not be stained."

GIRISH (smiling): "But you too had to marry." (Laughter.) MASTER (smiling): "Marriage is necessary for the sake of samskara. But how could I lead a worldly life? So uncontrollable was my divine fervour that every time the sacred thread was put around my neck it dropped off.

Some believe that Sukadeva also had to marry for the sake of samskara. They say he even had a daughter. (All laugh.)

Power of "woman and gold"

"'Woman and gold' alone is the world. It makes one forget God."

GIRISH: "But how can we get rid of 'woman and gold'?"

MASTER: "Pray to God with a yearning heart. Pray to Him for discrimination. 'God alone is real and all else illusory'-this is discrimination. One strains water through a fine sieve in order to separate the dirt from it. The clear water goes through the sieve leaving the dirt behind. Apply the sieve of discrimination to the world. Live in the world after knowing God. Then it will be the world of vidy.

"Just see the bewitching power of women! I mean the women who are the embodiment of avidy, the power of delusion. They fool men, as it were. They take away their inner substance. When I see a man and woman sitting together, I say to myself, 'Alas, they are done for' (Looking at M.) Haru, such a nice boy, is possessed by a witch. People ask: 'Where is Haru? Where is he?' But where do you expect him to be? They all go to the banyan and find him sitting quietly under it. He no longer has his beauty, power, or joy. Ah! He is possessed by the witch that lives in the banyan.

"If a woman says to her husband, 'Go there', he at once stands up, ready to go. If she says, 'Sit down here', immediately he sits down.

"A job-seeker got tired of visiting the manager in an office. He couldn't get the job. The manager said to him, 'There is no vacancy now; but come and see me now and then.'

This went on for a long time, and the candidate lost all hope. One day he told his tale of woe to a friend. The friend said: 'How stupid you are! Why are you wearing away the soles of your feet going to that fellow? You had better go to Golap. You will get the job tomorrow.' 'Is that so?' said the candidate. 'I am going right away.' Golap was the manager's mistress. The candidate called on her and said: 'Mother, I am in great distress. You must help me out of it. I am the son of a poor brahmin. Where else shall I go for help? Mother, I have been out of work many days. My children are about to starve to death. I can get a job if you but say the word.' Golap said to him, 'Child, whom should I speak to?' She said to herself: 'Ah, the poor brahmin! He has been suffering too much.' The candidate said to her, 'I am sure to get the job if you just put in a word about it to the manager.' Golap said, 'I shall speak to him today and settle the matter.' The very next morning a man called on the candidate and said, 'You are to work in the manager's office, beginning today.' The manager said to his English boss: 'This man is very competent. I have appointed him. He will do credit to the firm.'

"All are deluded by 'woman and gold'. But I do not care for it at all. And I swear to you that I do not know anything but God."

A DEVOTEE: "Sir, a new sect, named, 'Nava Hullol', has been started. Lalit Chatterji is one of the members."

MASTER: "There are different views. All these views are but so many paths to reach the same goal. But everyone believes that his view alone is right, that his watch alone keeps correct time."

GIRISH (to M.): "Do you remember what Pope says about it?

'Tis with our judgments as our watches, none

Go just alike, yet each believes his own."

MASTER (to M.): "What does it mean?"

M: "Every one thinks that his own watch keeps the correct time. But different watches do not give the same time."

MASTER: "But however wrong the watches may be, the Sun never makes a mistake.

One should check one's watch with the sun."

A DEVOTEE: Mr. X-tells lies.

Efficacy of truthfulness

MASTER: "Truthfulness in speech is the tapasya of the Kaliyuga. It is difficult to practise other austerities in this cycle. By adhering to truth one attains God. Tulsidas said: 'Truthfulness, obedience to God, and the regarding of others' wives as one's mother, are the greatest virtues. If one does not realize God by practising them, then Tulsi is a liar.'

"Keshab Sen assumed his father's debts. Others would have repudiated them. I visited Devendra's Samaj at Jorashanko and found Keshab meditating on the dais. He was then a young man. I said to Mathur Babu, 'Of all who are meditating here, this young man's "float" alone has sunk under water. The "fish" is biting at the hook.'

"There was a man-whom I shall not name-who for ten thousand rupees told a lie in court. In order to win the lawsuit he made me give an offering to the Divine Mother. He said to me, 'Father, please give this offering to the Mother.' Trusting him like a child, I gave the offering."

DEVOTEE: "A nice man indeed!"

MASTER: "But he had such faith in me that he believed the Mother would grant his prayer if I but made the offering."

Referring to Lalit Babu, Sri Ramakrishna said: "Is it an easy matter to get rid of pride?

There are very few who are without pride. Balarm is one of them. (Pointing to a devotee) And here is another. Other people in their position would have swelled with pride. They would have parted their hair and showed other traits of tamas. They would have been proud of their learning. The 'fat brahmin' [referring to Prankrishna] still has a little of it.

To M.) Mahima Chakravarty has read many books, hasn't he?"

M: "Yes, sir, he has read a great deal."

MASTER (smiling): "I wish he and Girish could meet. Then we could enjoy a little discussion."

GIRISH (smiling): "Doesn't he say that by means of sdhan all people can be like Sri Krishna?"

MASTER: "Not exactly that, but something like it."

DEVOTEE: "Sir, can all be like Sri Krishna?"

Special traits of a Divine Incarnation

MASTER: "An Incarnation of God or one born with some of the characteristics of an Incarnation is called an Isvarakoti. An ordinary man is called a jiva or jivakoti. By dint of sdhan a jivakoti can realize God; but after samdhi he cannot come back to the plane of relative consciousness.

"The Isvarakoti is like the king's son. He has the keys to all the rooms of the seven-storey palace; he can climb to all the seven floors and come down at will. A jivakoti is like a petty officer. He can enter some of the rooms of the palace; that is his limit.

"Janaka was a Jnni. He attained Knowledge by means of his sdhan. But Sukadeva was Knowledge itself."

GIRISH: "Ah!"

Nrada and Sukadeva

MASTER: "Sukadeva did not attain Knowledge through sdhan. Like Sukadeva, Nrada also had the Knowledge of Brahman. But he retained bhakti in order to teach people.

Prahlada sometimes assumed the attitude of 'I am He', sometimes that of a servant of God, and sometimes that of His child. Hanuman also was like that.

"All may wish for such a lofty state, but all cannot attain it. Some bamboos are hollower than others; some are more solid inside."

A DEVOTEE: "You say that your spiritual experiences are for others to refer to. Tell us what we should do."

Master urges intense dispassion MASTER: "If you want to realize God, then you must cultivate intense dispassion. You must renounce immediately what you feel to be standing in your way. You should not put it off till the future. 'Woman and gold' is the obstruction. The mind must be withdrawn from it.

"One must not be slow and lazy. A man was going to bathe; he had his towel on his shoulder. His wife said to him: 'You are worthless. You are getting old and still you cannot give up some of your habits. You cannot live a single day without me. But look at that man! What a renouncer he is!'

"HUSBAND: 'Why? What has he done?'

"WIFE: 'He has sixteen wives and he is renouncing them one by one. You will never be able to renounce.'

HUSBAND: 'Renouncing his wives one by one! You are crazy. He won't be able to renounce. If a man wants to renounce, does he do it little by little?'

WIFE (smiling): 'Still he is better than you.'

"HUSBAND: 'You are silly; you don't understand. He cannot renounce. But I can. See!

Here I go!' "

The Master continued: "That is called intense renunciation. No sooner did the man discriminate than he renounced. He went away with the towel on his shoulder. He didn't turn back to settle his worldly affairs. He didn't even look back at his home.

"He who wants to renounce needs great strength of mind. He must have a dare-devil attitude like a dacoit's. Before looting a house, the dacoits shout: 'Kill! Murder! Loot!'

"Cultivate devotion and love of God and so pass your days. What else can you do? When Krishna went away, Yaoda became insane with grief and visited Radha. Radha was moved by her sorrow and appeared before her as dyakti. She said, 'My child, ask a boon of Me.' Yaoda replied: 'Mother, what else shall I ask of You? Bless me that I may serve Krishna alone with my body, mind, and speech; that I may behold His devotees with these eyes; that I may go with these feet to the place where His divine sport is manifested; that I may serve Him and His devotees with these hands; and that I may devote all my sense-organs to His service alone.' "

As Sri Ramakrishna uttered these words, he was about to go into ecstasy.

Suddenly he exclaimed: "Kli, the Embodiment of Destruction! No, Nityakali, my eternal Divine Mother" With great difficulty he restrained himself. He was starting to say more about Yaoda, when Mahendra Mukherji arrived.

Advice to householders

Mahendra and his younger brother, Priya, had been visiting the Master for some time.

Mahendra owned a flour-mill and other businesses. His brother was an engineer. Both the brothers engaged people to manage their affairs and therefore had considerable leisure. Mahendra was thirty-six or thirty-seven and his brother two years younger.

Besides their country home at Kedeti, they had a house at Baghbazar, Calcutta. A young devotee named Hari accompanied them on their visits to Sri Ramakrishna. Hari was married but greatly devoted to the Master. Mahendra and Hari had not visited Dakshineswar for a long time. They saluted Sri Ramakrishna.

MASTER: "Hello! Why haven't you visited Dakshineswar for so long?"

MAHENDRA: "Sir, I have been away from Calcutta. I was at Kedeti."

MASTER: "You have no children. You don't serve anybody. And still you have no leisure!

Goodness gracious!"

The devotees remained silent. Mahendra was a little embarrassed.

MASTER (to Mahendra): "Why am I saying all this to you? You are sincere and generous.

You have love for God."

MAHENDRA: "You are saying these words for my good."

MASTER (smiling): "You see, we don't take any collection during the performance at our place. Jadu's mother says to me, 'Other sdhus always ask for money, but you do not.'

Worldly people feel annoyed if they have to spend money.

"A theatrical performance was being given at a certain place. A man felt a great desire to take a seat and see it. He peeped in and saw that a collection was being taken from the audience. Quietly he slipped away. Another performance was being given at some other place. He went there and, inquiring, found that no collection would be taken. There was a great rush of people. He elbowed his way through the crowd and reached the center of the hall. There he picked out a nice seat for himself, twirled his moustaches, and sat through the performance. (All laugh.)

"You have no children to divert your mind. I know a deputy magistrate who draws a salary of eight hundred rupees a month. He went to Keshab's house to see a performance. I was there too. Rkhl and a few other devotees were with me and sat beside me. After a while Rkhl went out for a few minutes. The deputy magistrate came over and made his young son take Rkhl's seat. I said, 'He can't sit there.' 'At that time I was in such a state of mind that I had to do whatever the person next to me would ask me to do; so I had seated Rkhl beside me. As long as the performance lasted the deputy did nothing but gibber with his son. The rascal didn't look at the performance even once. I heard, too, that he is a slave to his wife; he gets up and sits down as she tells him to. And he didn't see the performance for that snub-nosed monkey of a boy.

(To Mahendra) "Do you practise meditation?"

MAHENDRA: "Yes, sir. A little."

MASTER: "Come to Dakshineswar now and then."

MAHENDRA (smiling): "Yes, sir. I will. You know where my knots and twists are. You will straighten them out."

MASTER (smiling): "First come to Dakshineswar; then I shall press your limbs to see where your twists are. Why don't you come?"

MAHENDRA: "Because of the pressure of my duties. Besides, I have to go to my country home now and then."

MASTER (to Mahendra, pointing his finger at the devotees): "Have they no homes or dwelling-places? Have they no duties? How is it that they come?

(To Hari) "Why haven't you come to Dakshineswar? Is your wife living with you?"

HARI: "No, sir."

MASTER: "Then why did you forget me?"

HARI: "I haven't been well, sir."

MASTER (to the devotees): "He looks thin. He has no small measure of bhakti. He is overflowing with it, but it is of a rather troublesome nature." (Laughter.) Sri Ramakrishna used to address a certain devotee's wife by the name of "Habi's mother". Her brother, a college student aged about twenty, was there. He stood up, ready to go and play cricket. His younger brother, named Dwija, was also a devotee of the Master. Both brothers left the room. A few minutes later Dwija returned. The Master said, "Why didn't you go?" A devotee answered: "He wants to hear the music. Perhaps that is why he has come back."

Trailokya, the Brahmo devotee, was to sing for the Master. Paltu arrived. The Master said: "Who is this? Ah! It is Paltu."

Purna, another young devotee, also arrived. It was with great difficulty that Sri Ramakrishna had managed to have him come. His relatives strongly objected to his visiting the Master. Purna was a student in the fifth grade of the school where M. taught.

The boy prostrated himself before Sri Ramakrishna. The Master seated him by his side and was talking to him in a low voice. M. alone was sitting near them. The other devotees were talking about various things. Girish, sitting on the other side of the room, was reading a life of Keshab.

MASTER (to Purna): "Come nearer."

GIRISH(to M.): "Who is this boy?"

M. was afraid that others might notice the boy. This would make trouble for him at home and M would be responsible for it.

M. (Sharply): "Don't you see he is a boy?"

GIRISH (smiling): "I need no ghost to tell me that."

The Master and the boy were talking in low tones.

MASTER: "Do you practise what I asked you to?"

PURNA: "Yes, sir."

MASTER: "Do you dream? Do you dream of a flame? A lighted torch? A married woman?

A cremation ground? It is good to dream of these things."

PURNA: "I dreamt of you. You were seated and were telling me something."

MASTER: "What? Some instructions? Tell me some of it."

PURNA: "I don't remember now."

MASTER: "Never mind. But it is very good. You will make progress. You feel attracted to me, don't you?"

A few minutes later Sri Ramakrishna said to the boy, "Won't you come there?" He meant Dakshineswar. "I can't promise", answered the boy.

MASTER: "Why? Doesn't one of your relatives live there?"

PURNA: "Yes, sir. But it won't be very convenient for me to go." Girish was reading a life of Keshab written by Trailokya of the Brahmo Samaj. In it Trailokya said that at first Sri Ramakrishna had been very much opposed to the world but that after meeting Keshab he had changed his mind and had come to believe that, one could lead a spiritual life in the world as well. Several devotees had told the Master about this. They wanted to discuss it with Trailokya. Those passages in the book had been read to the Master.

Noticing the book in Girish's hand, Sri Ramakrishna said to Girish, M., Ram, and the other devotees: "Those people are busy with the world. That is why they set such a high value on worldly life. They are drowned in 'woman and gold'. One doesn't talk that way after realizing God. After enjoying divine bliss, one looks on the world as crow-droppings. At the very outset I utterly renounced everything. Not only did I renounce the company of worldly people, but now and then the company of devotees as well. I noticed that the devotees were dropping dead one by one, and that made my heart wri the with pain. But now I keep one or two of them with me."

Girish left for home, saying he would come back. Trailokya arrived with Jaygopal Sen.

They bowed before the Master and sat down. He inquired about their health. The younger Naren entered the room and saluted Sri Ramakrishna. The Master said to him, "Why didn't you see me last Saturday?"

Trailokya was ready to sing.

MASTER: "Ah! You sang that day about the Blissful Mother. How sweetly you sang!

Others' songs seem insipid to me. That day I didn't enjoy even Narendra's singing. Why don't you sing those same songs again?"

Trailokya sang:

Victory to Gora, Sachi's son!

Hail, Abode of every virtue,

Touchstone of Love, Ocean of Bliss,

Man's bewitcher, beauteous of form,

Enchanting the eye like shining gold!

His tender arms that reach to the knee,

Graceful and long as lotus stalks,

Are lovingly stretched to all mankind,

His lotus face of matchless beauty

Overflows with the nectar of Love;

His cheeks are covered with curling hair!

Alight with heavenly love, his beauty

Charms the eye! Beaming with fervour,

Radiant with Bliss, his body trembling

With Hari's joy, Gaurnga the golden

Dances like a mad elephant, shaking

In all his limbs with the frenzy of love!

Gaurnga, singer of Hari's glories,

Prize of every sdhu's heart,

Rarest of men, the Ocean of Love,

Embraces the outcaste, calls him brother,

Takes him in his arms in fervent love!

He dances with both his arms upraised,

And sings Hari's name; the tears are streaming Down his cheeks; he weeps, he cries,

He trembles, roars, and rages, saying,

"Where is Hari, the Jewel of my heart?"

The hair on his limbs is standing on end,

Like a kadamba flower is his body,

Covered with dust he rolls on the ground.

O Thou, the Abode of Hari's lila,

Fountain-head of Love's elixir,

Friend of the helpless, Glory of Banga,

Hail Chaitanya, Thou who shinest

Bright as the moon, in the bhakta's heart!

Sri Ramakrishna left the room for a minute. The women devotees were seated near the screen. They were eager to see Sri Ramakrishna. Trailokya went on with his music.

Sri Ramakrishna entered the room again and said to Trailokya, "Please sing a little about the Blissful Mother."

Trailokya sang:

O Mother, how deep is Thy love for men!

Mindful of it, I weep for joy. . . .

Listening to the song, the younger Naren went into deep meditation. He remained as still as a log. Sri Ramakrishna said to M.: "Look at him. He is totally unaware of the outer world."

The song was over. At Sri Ramakrishna's request, Trailokya sang: O Mother, make me mad with Thy love!

What need have I of knowledge or reason? . . .

Ram asked him to sing about Hari.

Trailokya sang:

Chant, O mind, the name of Hari,

Sing aloud the name of Hari,

Praise Lord Hari's name!

And praising Hari's name, O mind,

Cross the ocean of this world.

Hari dwells in earth, in water,

Hari dwells in fire and air;

In sun and moon He dwells.

Hari's ever living presence

Fills the boundless universe.

M. said in a low voice to Trailokya, "Please- 'Gaur and Nitai, ye blessed brothers'."

Sri Ramakrishna, too, asked him to sing the song. Trailokya and the devotees sang it in chorus, the Master joining them. When it was over, the Master sang: Behold, the two brothers have come, who weep while chanting Hari's name,

The brothers who, in return for blows, offer to sinners Hari's love,

Embracing everyone as brother, even the outcaste shunned by men.

Behold, the two brothers have come, who once were Kanai and Bali of Braja. . . .

Sri Ramakrishna sang again:

See how all Nadia is shaking

Under the waves of Gaurnga's love! . . .

Then:

Who are they that walk along, chanting Hari's name?

O Madhai, go out and see!

They seem to be Gaur and Nitai,

With golden anklets on their lovely feet;

Shaven of head and clad in rags,

They reel like madmen as they go. . . .

The younger Naren was about to leave.

MASTER: "Show great devotion to your parents; but don't obey them if they stand in your way to God. You must gird your loins with great determination and say, 'This rogue of a father!'"

NAREN: "Truly, I have no fear."

Girish arrived. Sri Ramakrishna introduced him to Trailokya. He asked them to talk to each other. A few minutes later the Master said, "That song again, please."

Trailokya sang:

Victory to Gora, Sachi's son!

Hail, Abode of every virtue,

Touchstone of Love, Ocean of Bliss,

Man's bewitcher, beauteous of form,

Enchanting the eye like shining gold! . . .

Sri Ramakrishna went into samdhi. He stood up, totally unconscious of the world.

Regaining partial consciousness, he begged Trailokya to sing "Oh, what a vision I have beheld".

Trailokya sang:

Oh, what a vision I have beheld in Keshab Bharati's hut!

Gora, in all his matchless grace

Shedding tears in a thousand streams!

Like a mad elephant

He dances in ecstasy and sings,

Drunk with an overwhelming love.

Rolling flat upon the ground and swimming in his tears, He weeps and shouts Lord Hari's name,

Piercing the very heavens with his cries,

Loud as a lion's roar;

Then most humbly he begs men's love,

To feel himself the servant of God.

Shorn of his locks, he has put on the yogi's ochre robe; Even the hardest heart must melt

To see his pure and heavenly love.

Smitten with man's deep woe,

He has abandoned everything

And pours out love unstintingly.

Oh, would that Premdas were his slave and, passing from door to door,

Might sing Gaurnga's endless praise!

The music was over. It was about dusk. Sri Ramakrishna was surrounded by the devotees.

MASTER (to Ram): "There were no instruments to accompany the songs. The singing creates an atmosphere when there is proper accompaniment. (Smiling) Do you know how Balarm manages a festival? He is like a miserly brahmin raising a cow. The cow must eat very little but give milk in torrents. (All laugh.) Sing your own songs and beat your own drums: that's Balarm's idea!" (All laugh.) Discussion with Trailokya

As evening came on, lamps were lighted in the drawing-room and on the verandah. Sri Ramakrishna bowed to the Divine Mother and began to chant the name of God. The devotees sat around and listened to his sweet chanting. They wanted to discuss with Trailokya his remarks about the Master's change of opinion on worldly life. Girish started the discussion.

GIRISH (to Trailokya): "You have written that, after coming in contact with Keshab, Sri Ramakrishna changed his views about worldly life; but it isn't true."

MASTER (to Trailokya and the other devotees): "If a man enjoys the Bliss of God, he doesn't enjoy the world. Having tasted divine bliss, he finds the world insipid. If a man gets a shawl, he doesn't care for broadcloth."

TRAILOKYA: "I referred to those who wanted to lead a worldly life. I didn't mean renouncers"

Divine bliss is the highest

MASTER: "What are you talking about? People talk about leading a religious life in the world. But if they once taste the bliss of God they will not enjoy anything else. Their attachment to worldly duties declines. As their spiritual joy becomes deeper, they simply cannot perform their worldly duties. More and more they seek that joy. Can worldly pleasures and sex pleasures be compared to the bliss of God? If a man once tastes that bliss he runs after it ever afterwards. It matters very little to him then whether the world remains or disappears.

"Though the chatak bird is about to die of a parched throat, and around it there are seven oceans, rivers, and lakes overflowing with water, still it will not touch that water.

Its throat is cracking with thirst, and still it will not drink that water. It looks up, mouth agape, for the rain to fall when the star Svati is in the ascendant. 'To the chatak bird all waters are mere dryness beside Swati water.'

Holding to both God and the world

"People say they will hold to both God and the world. After drinking an ounce of wine, a man may be pleasantly intoxicated and also conscious of the world; but can he be both when he has drunk a great deal more?"

After the bliss of God nothing else tastes good. Then talk about 'woman and gold' stabs the heart, as it were. (Intoning) 'I cannot enjoy the talk of worldly people.' When a man becomes mad for God, he doesn't enjoy money or such things."

TRAILOKYA: "But, sir, if a man is to remain in the world, he needs money and he must also save. He has to give in charity and-"

Worldly man's charity

MASTER: "What? Do you mean that one must first save money and then seek God? And you talk about charity and kindness! A worldly man spends thousands of rupees for his daughter's marriage. Yet, all the while, his neighbours are dying of starvation; and he finds it hard to give them two morsels of rice; he calculates a thousand times before giving them even that much. The People around him have nothing to eat; but what does he care about that? He says to himself: 'What can I do? Let the rascals live or die. All I care about is that the members of my family should live well.' And they talk about doing good to others!"

TRAILOKYA: "But, sir, there are good people in the world as well. Take the case of Pundarika Vidyanidhi, the devotee of Chaitanya. He lived in the world."

MASTER: "He had drunk wine up to his neck. If he had drunk a little more, he couldn't have led a worldly life."

Trailokya remained silent. M said aside to Girish, 'Then what he has written is not true."

GIRISH (to Trailokya): "Then what you have written is not true."

TRAILOKYA: "Why so? Doesn't he [meaning Sri Ramakrishna] admit that a man can lead a spiritual life in the world?"

MASTER: "Yes, he can. But such a man should first of all attain Knowledge and then live in the world. First he should realize God. Then 'he can swim in a sea of slander and not be stained.' After realizing God, a man can live in the world like a mudfish. The world he lives in after attaining God is the world of vidy. In it he sees neither woman nor gold.

He finds there only devotion, devotee, and God. You see, I too have a wife, and 'a few pots and pans in my room; I too feed a few vagabonds; I too worry about the devotees-Habi's mother for instance-when they come here."

A DEVOTEE (to Trailokya): "I have read in your book that you do not believe in the Incarnation of God. You said so in connection with Chaitanya."

TRAlLOKYA: "Why, Chaitanya himself protested against the idea of Divine Incarnation.

Once, in Puri, Advaita and the other devotees sang a song to the effect that Chaitanya was God. At this Chaitanya shut the door of his room. Infinite are the glories of God. As he [meaning Sri Ramakrishna] says, the devotee is the parlour of God. Suppose a parlour is very well furnished; does that mean that the master of the house has exhausted all his power and splendour in that one parlour?"

GIRISH: "He [meaning Sri Ramakrishna] says that prema alone is the essence of God; we need the man through whom this ecstatic love of God flows. He says that the milk of the cow flows through the udder; we need the udder; we do not care for the other parts of the cow-the legs, tail, or horns."

TRAILOKYA: "The milk of God's prema flows through an infinite number of channels. God has infinite powers."

GIRISH: "But what other power can stand before prema?"

TRAILOKYA: "It is possible if He who has the power wants it. Everything is in God's power."

GIRISH: "Yes, I admit that. But there is also a thing called the power of avidy."

TRAILOKYA: "Is avidy a thing? Does there exist a substance called avidy? It is only a negation, as darkness is the negation of light. There is no doubt that we prize prema most: what is a drop to God is an ocean to us. But if you say that prema is the last word about God, then you limit God Himself."

MASTER (to Trailokya and the other devotees): "Yes, yes, that is true. But an ounce of wine makes me drunk. What need have I to count the gallons of wine in the tavern?

What need have we to know about the infinite powers of God?"

GIRISH (to Trailokya): "Do you believe in the Incarnation of God?"

TRAILOKYA: "God incarnates Himself through His devotees alone. There cannot be a manifestation of infinite powers. It simply isn't possible. It is impossible for any man to manifest infinite powers."

GIRISH: "You can serve your children as 'Brahma Gopala'. Then why isn't it possible to worship a great soul as God?"

MASTER (to Trailokya): "Why all this bother about infinity? If I want to touch you, must I touch your entire body? If you want to ba the in the Ganges, must you touch the whole river from Hardwar down to the ocean?

" 'All troubles come to an end when the ego dies.' As long as a trace of 'I-consciousness'

remains, one is conscious of difference. Nobody knows what remains after the 'I'

disappears. Nobody can express it in words. That which is remains. After the 'I'

disappears one cannot say that a part manifests through this man and the rest through another. Satchidananda is the ocean. The pot of 'I' is immersed in it. As long as the pot exists, the water seems to be divided into two parts: one part inside the pot and the other part outside it. But when the pot is broken there is only one stretch of water. One cannot even say that. Who would say that?"

After the discussion Sri Ramakrishna became engaged in pleasant conversation with Trailokya.

MASTER: "You are happy. Isn't that so?"

TRAILOKYA: "But I shall become my old self again as soon as I leave this place. Here I feel very much the awakening of spiritual consciousness."

MASTER: "You don't have to be afraid of walking on thorns if you are wearing shoes. You needn't be afraid of 'woman and gold' if you know that God alone is real and all else illusory."

It was about nine o'clock in the evening. Balarm took Trailokya to another room and gave him refreshments. Sri Ramakrishna began to tell the devotees about Trailokya and people of his views.

MASTER (to Girish, M., and the other devotees): "Do you know what these people are like? They are like a frog living in a well, who has never seen the outside world. He knows only his well; so he will not believe that there is such a thing as the world.

Likewise, people talk so much about the world because they have not known the joy or God.

(To Girish) "Why do you argue with them so much? They busy themselves with both-the world and God. One cannot understand the joy of God unless one has tasted it. Can anybody explain sex pleasure to a five-year-old boy? Worldly people talk about God only from hearsay. Children, hearing their old aunts quarrelling among themselves, learn to say, 'There is my God', 'I swear by God.'

"But that doesn't matter. I don't blame such people. Can all comprehend the Indivisible Satchidananda? Only twelve rishis could recognize Ramachandra. All cannot recognize an Incarnation of God. Some take him for an ordinary man, some for a holy person, and only a few recognize him as an Incarnation.

"One offers a price for an article according to one's capital. A rich man said to his servant: 'Take this diamond to the market and let me know how different people price it.

Take it, first of all, to the eggplant seller.' The servant took the diamond to the eggplant seller. He examined it, turning it over in the palm of his hand, and said, 'Brother, I can give nine seers of eggplants for it.' 'Friend,' said the servant, 'a little more-say, ten seers.' The eggplant seller replied: 'No, I have already quoted above the market price.

You may give it to me if that price suits you.' The servant laughed. He went back to his master and said: 'Sir, he would give me only nine seers of eggplants and not one more.

He said he had offered more than the market price.' The master smiled and said: 'Now take it to the cloth-dealer. The other man deals only in eggplants. What does he know about a diamond? The cloth-dealer has a little more capital. Let us see how much he offers for it.' The servant went to the cloth-dealer and said: 'Will you buy this? How much will you pay for it?' The merchant said: 'Yes, it is a good thing. I can make a nice ornament out of it. I will give you nine hundred rupees for it.' 'Brother,' said the servant, 'offer a little more and I will sell it to you. Give me at least a thousand rupees.'

The cloth-dealer said: 'Friend, don't press me for more. I have offered more than the market price. I cannot give a rupee more. Suit yourself.' Laughing the servant returned to his master and said: 'He won't give a rupee more than nine hundred. He too said he had quoted above the market price.' The master said with a laugh: 'Now take it to a jeweller. Let us see what he has to say.' The servant went to a jeweller. The jeweller glanced at the diamond and said at once, 'I will give you one hundred thousand rupees for it.'

"They talk of practising religion in the world. Suppose a man is shut up in a room. All the doors and windows are closed. Only a little light comes through a hole in the ceiling. Can he see the sun with that roof over his head? And what will he do with only one ray of light? 'Woman and gold' is the roof. Can he see the sun unless he removes the roof?

Worldly people are shut up in a room, as it were.

Discussion about Divine Incarnations

"The Incarnations of God belong to the class of the Isvarakotis. They roam about in the open spaces. They are never imprisoned in the world, never entangled by it. Their ego is not the 'thick ego' of worldly people. The ego, the 'I-consciousness', of worldly people is like four walls and a roof: the man inside them cannot see anything outside. The ego of the Incarnations and other Isvarakotis is a 'thin ego': through it they have an uninterrupted vision of God. Take the case of a man who stands by a wall on both sides of which there are meadows stretching to infinity. If there is a hole in the wall, through it he can see everything on the other side. If the hole is a big one, he can even pass through it. The ego of the Incarnations and other Isvarakotis is like the wall with a hole.

Though they remain on this side of the wall, still they can see the endless meadow on the other side. That is to say, though they have a human body, they are always united with God. Again, if they will, they can pass through the big hole to the other side and remain in samdhi. And if the hole is big enough, they can go through it and come back again. That is to say, though established in samdhi, they can again descend to the worldly plane."

The devotees listened breathlessly to these words about the mystery of Divine Incarnation.

--------------------

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10019916-the-experience-of-divine-guidance

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1023945.Sensory_Perceptual_Issues_in_Autism_Different_Sensory_Experiences_Different_Perceptual_Worlds_by_Bogdashina_Olga_Author_ON_Jun_11_2003_Paperback

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1041655.The_Immigrant_Experience_The_Anguish_of_Becoming_American

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1046841.Experience_into_Thought

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10772316-the-varieties-of-religious-experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1081835.E_Commerce_User_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1086205.The_Companion_Guide_To_The_Mathematical_Experience_Study_Edition

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1113522.The_Mathematical_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11225501-the-love-respect-experience

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4125963-nocilla-experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41563890-designing-the-digital-experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42084.Jimi_Hendrix_Experience_Smash_Hits

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42094.Jimi_Hendrix_Are_You_Experienced_

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4214368-the-ultimate-experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42651050-escape-rooms-and-other-immersive-experiences-in-the-library

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/432223.This_is_It___Other_Essays_on_Zen___Spiritual_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/432223.This_is_It_Other_Essays_on_Zen_Spiritual_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/434039.Chapel_of_Extreme_Experience

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/441179.The_Evangelical_Mind_and_the_New_School_Presbyterian_Experience

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/470016.Are_You_Experienced_

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/499351.The_Female_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/499351.The_Female_Experience_An_American_Documentary

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/515417.The_Mormon_Experience

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/551319.Worlds_Of_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/552795.The_Military_Experience_in_the_Age_of_Reason

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/554157.Breakthrough_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5595760-working-with-children-who-have-experienced-neglect-or-abuse

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57416.The_D_Day_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6046457-the-akashic-experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6081786-haunting-experiences

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/616246.The_East_Asian_Development_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61661.The_Varieties_of_Scientific_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6217016-the-african-american-experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6619064-the-experience-of-god

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66339.Optimal_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6754132-the-boss-s-inexperienced-secretary

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6781568-information-is-an-alienated-experience

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7007741-novel-experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7119306-experienced

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/729941.The_Tibetan_Book_of_the_Dead_or_The_After_death_Experiences_on_the_Bardo_Plane

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/739202.Experience_and_Education

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75291.Art_as_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7550993-experiences-in-self-healing

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/765426.Notes_on_a_Near_Life_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/769765.After_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/793918.Songs_of_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/796470.Consciousness_and_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/796481.Conscious_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/799266.The_Sorrows_of_Satan_or_The_Strange_Experience_of_One_Geoffrey_Tempest_Millionaire

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8014393-sketching-user-experiences

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/804469.Harper_s_Encyclopedia_of_Mystical_and_Paranormal_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/814662.Painting_and_Experience_in_Fifteenth_Century_Italy

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/828458.Songs_of_Spiritual_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/834936.Experience_Strength_and_Hope

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/835504.Testament_of_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/837038.Experience_and_Judgment

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/845151.The_Italian_s_Inexperienced_Mistress

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8651742-between-reason-and-experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/866800.The_Price_of_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/886147.An_Imaginative_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8867252-the-akashic-experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9088771-the-gateway-experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/913324.The_Experience_of_God

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/913330.Vedic_Experience_of_Mantramanjari

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/913334.The_Cosmotheandric_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9195171-the-punany-experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/929412.The_Vedic_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/93317.The_Get_Fuzzy_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/933669.The_Experience_of_God

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9514580-supernatural-experiences

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/980280.Sketching_User_Experiences

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/984873.Learning_from_Experience

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9970784-the-experience-economy

https://familypedia.wikia.org/wiki/Experience_Mitchell_(1609-1689)

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Buddhism#Speculation_versus_direct_experience:_Buddhist_epistemology

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Category:Christian_behaviour_and_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Category:Hindu_behaviour_and_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Category:Islamic_behaviour_and_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Category:Jain_behaviour_and_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Category:Jewish_behaviour_and_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Category:Religious_behaviour_and_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Category_talk:Christian_behaviour_and_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Category_talk:Religious_behaviour_and_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Deep_meditation_experience_by_Tan_Dtoon

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Early_retreat_experiences_by_Ven._Jamal

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/First_meditation_experiences_by_U_Rewata

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Mysticism#Types_of_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Peak_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Peak_experience#Drug_Culture

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Peak_experience#Origins

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Peak_experience#Quotes

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Peak_experience#Recent_developments

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Peak_experience#References

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Peak_experience#See_also

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Peak_experience#Sustained_Peak_Experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Peak_experience#The_nature_of_peak_experiences

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Psilocybin#Mystical_experiences

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Carl_Jung

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Causes_of_religious_experiences

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Christian_mysticism

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Classical_definitions

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Definitions

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Explanations_of_religious_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#External_links

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Further_reading

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Genetic_studies

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Hesychasm

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#History_of_modern_science_and_religion_view

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Neoplatonism

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Neuroscience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Neurotheology

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Norman_Habel.27s_definition

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Notes

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Psychology

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Psychology_of_religion

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#References

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Religious_and_mystical_points_of_view

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_Experience_Research_Centre

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Richard_Swinburne.27s_definition

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Scientific_studies_on_religious_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#See_also

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Studies_of_the_brain_and_religious_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Sufism

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#Transpersonal_psychology

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Religious_experience#William_James.27_definition

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Scary_meditaton_experiences_by_U_Rewata

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Spirituality#Near-death_experience_.28NDE.29

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Talk:Peak_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/Talk:Religious_experience

https://religion.wikia.org/wiki/The_Experience_Machine

Kheper - intellect_or_experience -- 15

Kheper - kundalini_experience -- 42

auromere - sharing-spiritual-experiences-with-others

auromere - explaining-out-of-body-and-near-death-experiences

auromere - explaining-out-of-body-and-near-death-experiences

auromere - sharing-spiritual-experiences-with-others

auromere - ascent-experience

auromere - descent-experience

auromere - descent-experience

auromere - early-mystic-experiences-of-sri-aurobindo

auromere - symbols-seen-during-spiritual-experiences

auromere - can-a-brain-stroke-victim-experience-nirvana

auromere - why-spiritual-experiences-do-not-repeat

auromere - dharana-shakti-the-capacity-to-sustain-spiritual-experiences

auromere - synthesis-of-yoga

auromere - physical-culture

auromere - ascent-experience

auromere - descent-experience

auromere - difference-between-vision-experience-and-realization

auromere - symbols-seen-during-spiritual-experiences

Integral World - Humour and Related Experience, Peter Collins

Integral World - Spiritual Experience, Integral Religious Studies, Chapter 5, Dustin DiPerna

Integral World - Does Descartes' Metaphysics Allow For Out of Body & Near Death Experiences?, Joseph Wayne Komrosky

Integral World - The Golden Globes, The Reality/Non-Reality of Out-of-Body Experiences, David Lane and Andrea Diem-Lane

Integral World - The Quantum Mind, Closing the Gap between Concrete Reality and Subjective Experience, Brandon Gillett and David Lane in Dialogue

Integral World - The Material Basis of Near-Death Experiences, Exploring the Patricia Churchland and the Alex Tsakiris Controversy, David Christopher Lane and Andrea Diem-Lane

Integral World - Faqir Chand and the Quest for Hidden Variables in Paranormal Experiences, David Lane

Integral World - Depths of Emptiness, An Integral Metaphysical Map of Experience, Milos Petrovic

Integral World - Jimi Hendrix Live In Maui:, A Vibratory Sound-Color Experience, Part One, Brad Reynolds

Integral World - Jimi Hendrix Live Shows In Maui:, A Vibratory Sound-Color Experience, Part Two, Brad Reynolds

Integral World - The Dimensions of Experience, essay by Andrew Smith

Integral World - WHO'S CONSCIOUS?: Agency/Communion and Access to Interior Experience in the Holarchy, essay by Andrew Smith

Integral World - New light on the near-death experience? Unique research of Dutch cardiolgist Van Lommel gets worldwide attention, Frank Visser

Integral Cinema Studio: A Comprehensive Guide to the Cinematic Experience

Meditation for the Love of It: Enjoying Your Own Deepest Experience

Patterns of Resistance: What Stands Between You and Spiritual Experience?

The Varieties of Integral Spiritual Experience

Welcome to the Party! Celebrating Race as a Mutually-Shared Experience

selforum - science of inner experience

selforum - experience expression understanding

selforum - experience in integral way

selforum - experience of subjects

selforum - foundationalism based in experience

selforum - we first experience all men are created

selforum - experience indias enlightenment in

selforum - my life experience has led me to

selforum - why and how purusa can experience but

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2010/10/inner-experiences-and-coded-diaries-of.html

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2012/08/near-death-experiences-between-science.html

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2012/09/out-of-body-experience-oobe.html

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2012/09/religious-experience.html

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2012/10/mystical-experiences-prove-nothing.html

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2012/10/science-and-afterlife-experience.html

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-mystical-experience-registry.html

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2014/01/is-this-proof-near-death-experiences.html

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2014/02/subjective-spiritual-experiences-can-be.html

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2014/06/subjective-mental-experience-and.html

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2014/06/varieties-of-mystical-experiences.html

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2014/10/our-inner-experiencesq.html

https://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com/2014/12/projectiology-panorama-of-experiences.html

dedroidify.blogspot - near-death-experiences-scientific

dedroidify.blogspot - alex-grey-explains-mystical-experience

dedroidify.blogspot - tips-and-tricks-for-physical-experience

dedroidify.blogspot - eddie-huang-on-his-experience-of-ted

dedroidify.blogspot - joe-rogan-experience-331-steven-greer

dedroidify.blogspot - kevin-bridges-work-experience

dedroidify.blogspot - the-joe-rogan-experience-wake-up-call

dedroidify.blogspot - jason-silva-on-joe-rogan-experience

dedroidify.blogspot - the-joe-rogan-experience-jason-silva

https://circumsolatious.blogspot.com/2009/11/vedic-in-real-sense-mothers-experience.html

https://circumsolatious.blogspot.com/2012/08/old-and-new-experience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2012/11/esoteric-experiences.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2012/11/recording-other-worldly-experiences.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2012/11/relgious-experience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-varieties-of-religious-experience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/01/apparitional-experience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/01/hypnagogic-light-experience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/01/qualia-subjective-experience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/02/out-of-body-experience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/02/out-of-body-experiences-oobe-astral.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/02/shamanic-experience-psychosis-and.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/03/203-out-of-body-experience-expert.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/03/induction-of-mystical-experiences.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/03/memories-of-near-death-experiences-more.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/03/near-death-experience-all-in-mind.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/03/out-of-body-experience-recreated-near_12.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/03/reconstructing-visual-experiences-from.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/03/what-is-out-of-body-experience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/04/mental-health-and-anomalous-experience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/05/psychic-experiences-psychic-illusions.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/06/near-death-experiences-occur-when-soul.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/07/bibliography-of-out-of-body-experience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/07/mystical-experiences-of-arthur-koestler.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/11/inner-experience-and-neuroscience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/11/religious-behaviour-and-experience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/11/spiritual-experiences-consortium.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/11/subjective-experience.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2013/12/experiences-of-cosmic-conciousness.html

https://esotericotherworlds.blogspot.com/2014/03/psychic-experiences-psychic-illusions.html

wiki.auroville - Doubting_experiences

wiki.auroville - Experiences_fading

wiki.auroville - Out-of-body_experiences

wiki.auroville - Ritam_"From_teacher_to_servant:_A_personal_experience_with_'Play_of_Painting'"

wiki.auroville - Spiritual_experience

wiki.auroville - Supramental_consciousness_as_experienced_by_Mother

Dharmapedia - Near-death_experience

Dharmapedia - Out-of-body_experience

Dharmapedia - The_Varieties_of_Religious_Experience

Psychology Wiki - Category:Experience:Depression

Psychology Wiki - Category:Religious_experiences

Psychology Wiki - Clin:Users'Area:_Our_experiences

Psychology Wiki - Experience

Psychology Wiki - Near_death_experience

Psychology Wiki - Psychology_Wiki:Community_Portal#Call_for_childhood_experiences

Psychology Wiki - Psychology_Wiki:Community_Portal#Personal_Experiences

Psychology Wiki - Psychology_Wiki:Community_Portal#User_Experiences

Psychology Wiki - Religious_experience

Psychology Wiki - Religious_experiences

Psychology Wiki - Spirituality#Near-death_experience_.28NDE.29

Psychology Wiki - Sri_Aurobindo#Early_experiences

Psychology Wiki - Subjective_character_of_experience

Psychology Wiki - The_Varieties_of_Religious_Experience

Psychology Wiki - User:Unhappy_Larry/Experience

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - religious-experience

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - time-experience

Occultopedia - outofbody_experience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ARG/TheLostExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Blog/TheJeanetteExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/THEPETEPETERSONEXPERIENCE

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/InnocenceAndExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/TheGirlfriendExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/WorkExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/SongsOfExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/SongsOfInnocenceAndOfExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BestedByTheInexperienced

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CastFromExperiencePoints

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExperienceBooster

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExperiencedProtagonist

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExperienceEntitlement

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExperiencePenalty

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExperiencePoint

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ExperiencePoints

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InexperiencedKiller

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LeakedExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LevelsAndExperienceTropes

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LiteralTransformativeExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NearDeathExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NearRapeExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OutOfBodyExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OutOfClothesExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OutOfGenreExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PastExperienceNightmare

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RookieMaleExperiencedFemale

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TaughtByExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheMovingExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UnconventionalLearningExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/MyLesbianExperienceWithLoneliness

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/ShioriExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/AreYouExperienced

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/DoubleExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/Experience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Podcast/InhumanEXperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Radio/TheMaryWhitehouseExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/KilianExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/TheAtheistExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/TheJeffCorwinExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Theatre/NouvelleExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Webcomic/FurryExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WebVideo/TheFifteenExperience

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/TheBremenAvenueExperience

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Experience

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Experienced

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Experiences

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/File:Blake_Experience_frontispiece.jpg

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/File:Doctor_Who_Experience_(3997967893).jpg

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/File:Doctor_Who_Experience_London_Olympia_(5502759139).jpg

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lived_experience

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Atheist_Experience

The Big Comfy Couch (1992 - 2006) - This show is about a clown named Loonette and her doll named Molly. They live on a big comfy couch in Clown Town and experience fun times with their neighbors Granny Garbonzo and her cat Snickelfritz, Major Bedhead, the clown mail delivery man, and Auntie Macassar and Uncle Chester. Most of the time...

The Babysitters Club (1990 - 1990) - Set in the small, fictional town of Stoneybrook,Connecticut seven best friends run a highly organized baby-sitting service. The show follows them as they experience the ups and downs of babysitting as well as handling pre-teen issues in a family show format.

The Equalizer (1985 - 1989) - Robert McCall is "The Equalizer", a private detective with a lot of contacts who is available for hire if you have a problem that you don't know how to solve. His no-nonsense attitude, compassion, and experience with dealing with a wide variety of situations makes him a powerful and useful detective...

Breaker High (1997 - 1998) - Join the students of Breaker High, a high school on a cruise ship, while they experience fun and adventure, love and heartache, with good times and bad as they explore the high seas and get an education.

Bionic Woman (1976 - 1978) - Starring Lindsay Wagner as Jamie Sommers. A retired pro tennis player turned Californian middle school teacher experiences a parachute failure and the accident renders her a tomato. The government takes the opportunity to turn her into a government project and replaces her most damaged limbs and p...

Ned's Newt (1997 - 1998) - Seven-year-old Ned Flemkin has a newt hungry for adventure (sort of). Ned has a very-rich fantasy in his life and finds himself and Newton in the craziest situations ever experienced. Especially when Newton reverses back to his normal size.

Freaks and Geeks (1999 - 2000) - The universal experience of teenagehood as lived by the regular old freaks and geeks in a Michigan high school, circa 1980, is the subject of this wistful comedy-drama executive-produced by Emmy-winner Judd Apatow and series creator Paul Feig.

Sherlock Hound (1984 - 1985) - Sherlock Hound and his faithful friend, Dr. Watson, experience many great adventures of mystery against the wicked Professor Moriarty. Most of the plots are based off of the original Sherlock Holmes mysteries, except in the show there is more comedy, and the characters are all dogs!

Space: 1999 (1975 - 1978) - Sci-fi series about the crew of Moonbase Alpha. Our Moon was being used as a nuclear waste disposal site. Somehow a chain reaction caused an explosion large enough to knock the Moon out of Earth's orbit and into deep space! Unable to return to Earth, the crew experiences one disaster after another i...

Little Rosey (1990 - 1991) - A 1990 ABC Saturday morning cartoon series based on Roseanne Barr's childhood experiences.

Spenser: For Hire (1985 - 1988) - Mystery/suspense series based on Robert Parker's "Spenser" novels. Spenser, a private investigator living in Boston, gets involved in a new murder mystery each episode. Using his years of experience, his natural talents for observation and reasoning, and the occasional bit of help from his friend Ha...

American Experience (1988 - Current) - Documentary series on PBS about the great American history. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American history. A trademark of the series is its ability to take lesser-known events in history, such as the history of Con...

Medical Center (1969 - 1976) - Medical Center was a medical drama set in a metropolitan hospital & the stories about the doctors, nurses & patients & their experiences. James Daly starred as Dr. Paul Lochner, the hospital's chief of staff. Chad Everett was Dr. Joe Gannon, a colleague of Dr. Lochner.

Mr. Merlin (1981 - 1982) - Merlin the Magician is alive and well and living as an auto mechanic in San Francisco. Upon orders from his boss Alexandra, Merlin attempts to train his teenage employee at the garage, Zac, to be his heir apparent. Most of the show's comedy comes from Zac's inexperience with his powers and the chara...

Milo (2003 - 2005) - Milo is a funny young rabbit with human characteristics similar to those of a 6 years-old child at whom his stories are aimed. Milos adventures illustrate a typical child in his everydays life: the games, the feelings, the new experiences, the dreams and small kids dramas. His play-friend Judith...

Corduroy (2000 - 2001) - Based on two of author/illustrator Don Freeman's best-selling children's books, Corduroy and A Pocket for Corduroy, this animated show follows Corduroy and his best friend Lisa. Together, they experience the world from the point-of-view of urban children, with the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and...

Have Faith (1989 - 1989) - Short lived sitcom about a group of priests(Joel Higgins,Stephen Furst,Ron Carey) and their often humorous daily experiences at a Chicago parish.

Strawberry 100% (2005 - 2005) - One day, Manaka Junpei walks to the roof of his school and encounters a beautiful girl falling down from above him and accidentally exposing her strawberry panties. The embarrassed girl runs away before Junpei can find out whom she is. He wishes to become a filmmaker, and this whole experience seeme...

Felicity (1998 - 2012) - The series revolved around the fictional college experiences of the title character, Felicity Porter, as she attended the "University of New York", based on New York University, across the country from her home of Palo Alto, California. The show ran for four seasons from 1998 to 2002, with each seas...

It's A Miracle (1998 - 2004) - a nonfiction tv show about people who experienced real-life miracles. The show was hosted by various celebrities during it's run-time, including Roma Downey and Richard Thomas.

Guiding Light (1952 - 2009) - Guiding Light first began in 1937 as a radio drama. In 1952 it moved to television broadcasting on CBS. The show was created by Irma Bradley as based on personal experience. From 1952 to 1956 it aired both on radio and television before becoming a television show in 1956. in the 57 years it aired it...

Timothy Goes to School (2000 - 2001) - A young raccoon, Timothy, who attends a fictional primary school. It explores the experiences and feelings of children in kindergarten. Based on a series of children's books by acclaimed author/illustrator Rosemary Wells, the charming animated television program aims to assuage kid's fears about sta...

Still Standing (2002 - 2006) - A working-class couple in Chicago tries to instill good values in their three kids, Brian (Taylor Ball), Lauren (Renee Olstead), and Tina (Soleil Borda), but their own past experiences often conflict with the lessons they teach their children. Judy Miller (Jami Gertz) is the attractive wife who was...

Mickey's Farm (2009 - 2012) - Mickey, a new farm dog, has just moved from the city to the farm with his best friend, Megan. Each episode follows Mickey as he experiences new things on the farm and sometimes gets himself into troublesome situations. With the help of Megan, his friends Guy the Goat and Fiona the Ferret and their M...

Vitaminix (2013 - 2016) - Vitaminix is an animated series introduces that kids to the interesting world of food and the benefits of healthy eating. Each episode features one animal associated with the food, vitamin or mineral in question in an entertaining and dynamic way to create a fun learning experience!

Tijuana Toads (1969 - 1972) - Poncho, a pushy but experienced toad, shows his apprentice Toro how to catch flies and otherwise survive the pitfalls of being a toad.

Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story(2005) - Stewie Griffin Is Distracted From His Plans For World Domination After A Near Death Experience, Stewie Play's Nice Thus Creating An Alternate Goody Two Shoes Version Of Himself, Stewie Convinced That A Man On TV Must Be His Real Father, Stewie And Brian Set Off On A Cross Country Road Trip To Find H...

Fritz The Cat(1972) - Mavrick writer/director Ralph Bakshi made his feature-length film debut created the first rated X cartoon ever it's the age of awakening and fritz one way-cool cat and NYU student loves to embrace every experimental experience that crosses his path embarking on a fantastic journey of self-discovery...

Twilight Zone: The Movie(1983) - A big screen adaptation of the science fiction TV show that features 4 stories:In one a redneck bigot, learns what it's like to be the people he hates; a group of old people in a senior citizens home turn into little kids, after play a game of "Kick the can" to experience being young again; A boy wi...

The Watcher in the Woods(1980) - When an American composer and his family rent a foreboding house in England from an eccentric recluse, Mrs. Aylwood (Bette Davis), a series of terrifying events occur, primarily to 17-year-old Jan. It turns out the eerie experiences are connected to Mrs. Aylwood's teenage daughter's disappearance un...

Powder(1995) - When sheriff Barnum investigates the death of an elderly rural resident, he discovers a teenage grandson living in the basement. Raised by his grandparents, he has experienced the world only through books, never leaving the family farm. He is sent to a state home for boys where he has trouble fittin...

There's Something About Mary(1998) - This movie was my first real experience of Ben Stiller and in the numerous times I have seen it, I have yet to tire of it. It endures as one of my favourite movies, and I hate romantic comedies as a rule! However, this is not your usual romantic comedy by any stretch of th

Twister(1996) - Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, and Carey Elwes may be billed as the stars of Twister, but the film's real attractions are the tornadoes themselves. Best experienced in a theater, the nail-biting blow-the-audience-out-of-their-seats computer generated graphics, cutting edge sound, and other special effects...

The Godfather(1972) - Generally acknowledged as a bona fide classic, this Francis Ford Coppola film is one of those rare experiences that feels perfectly right from beginning to end--almost as if everyone involved had been born to participate in it. Based on Mario Puzo's bestselling novel about a Mafia dynasty, Coppola's...

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives(1986) - After years of struggling with the trauma experienced from having to kill Jason Voorhees and the crazzy copycat guy in Part 5, Tommy Jarvis has decided to end the madness once and for all by burning the buried body of the killer. For the first time since ending Jasons reign of terror Tommy sees the...

Man of the House(1995) - Ben Archer is not happy. His mother, Sandy, has just met a man, and it looks like things are pretty serious. Driven by a fear of abandonment, Ben tries anything and everything to ruin the "love bubble" which surrounds his mom. However, after Ben and Jack's experiences in the Indian Guides, the two b...

Brainscan(1994) - A lonely teenage horror-movie fan discovers a mysterious computer game that uses hypnosis to custom-tailor the game into the most terrifying experience imaginable. When he emerges from the hypnotic trance he is horrified to find evidence that the brutal murder depicted in the game actually happened...

Platoon(1986) - A boy in enlists in the army and travels to Vietnam. This serious war a terrible experience for, descubrira or will at least try to discover its true I and to compredender a little to the worl

White Water Summer(1987) - An experienced guide (Vic) accompanies a city boy (Alan) and his three friends on their first wilderness experience. Hoping to teach the four boys lessons not only about the wilderness, but about themselves, Vic pushes them to the limit. Soon after alienating the boys, Vic finds himself in desperate...

Crooklyn(1994) - Find a seat on the stoop and make yourself at home with the carmichael family as they experience one very special summer in their crowded but cozy brooklyn neighborhood. it's a time and place so magical and crazy that they nickname their hometown, "crooklyn", scarcely noting that every passing day b...

The River Wild(1994) - Gail, an expert at white water rafting, takes her family on a trip down the river to their family's house. Along the way, the family encounters two men who are unexperienced rafters that need to find their friends down river. Later, the family finds out that the pair of men are armed robbers. The me...

The Reincarnation Of Peter Proud(1975) - When college professor Peter Proud begins to experience flashbacks from a previous incarnation, he is mysteriously drawn to a place he has never been before but which is troublingly familiar. As if drawn to her by cosmic force, he soon finds himself unwittingly in the company of his previous incarna...

Flatliners(1990) - Medical students begin exploring the world of near death experiences, wanting to know what's beyond. Each has their heart stopped and is revived. They begin having intense flashes of nightmares from their childhood that become more real each time, reflecting sins they committed or had committed aga...

From Beyond(1986) - Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Combs) has been developing a machine called "the resonator", which will allow humans to experience an extra dimension. However, there are creatures inhabiting the extra dimension, creatures from beyond our dimension. Crawford's supervisor, Dr. Pretorius (Ted Sorel), has...

Punchline(1988) - Sally Field goes the Roseanne route in Punchline. Field plays a housewife and mother who suddenly develops the urge to be a comedienne. Her comic instincts are on target, but her timing and delivery stinks. Tom Hanks, a stand-up comic with a few years' experience under his belt, offers to teach Fiel...

Gulliver's Travels(1996) - The adventure of a man named Gulliver who tells the story of how he got back home after a long adventure. He talks about all different forms of governments and cultures he experiences on his journey, and how it made him wonder about his own humanity and way of life.

Rush(1991) - Raynor is an undercover narcotics cop. For his next assignment he chooses the more inexperienced but tough and good-looking Kristen.Their ultimate target is Gaines, a renowned but very elusive drug dealer. While doing their work they unexpectedly fall into a morase of drug-addiction and fall in love...

Clara's Heart(1988) - David is a teenager whose parents are in a deteriorating marriage; Clara is the woman from the poor side of town whom they hire to be a housekeeper. She and David develop a close bond, opening his eyes and heart to new experiences, and eventually leading to a disturbing secret in Clara'

Robin of Locksley(1996) - After his parents win the lottery Robin McAllister is sent to the prestigious Locksley Hall. There he experiences how the sons of the school's benefactors, John Prince and his associates Warner and Gibson, are treated like royalty. Robin can't join archery club, he gets in trouble when he stands up...

The Negotiator(1998) - Expierenced hostage netogiator Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson) is framed for embezzlement and the murder of his partner. In a desperate attempt to avoid an unjust prison sentence, he becomes a hostage taker to help discover the actual guilty parties, and faces off with equally experienced hostage ne...

On Golden Pond(1981) - Chelsea Thayer (Jane Fonda) has had a contentious relationship with her parents Ether (Katherine Hepburn) and Norman (Henry Fonda). Chelsea visits them one day, and that experience leads to the release of emotions that had been bubbling in the family for years.

Having Babies(1976) - Labor is the hardest thing a woman can endure in her life; and for four expectant mothers they hope to get through with the help of their spouses as they experience the Lamaze method of natural childbirth. First, we meet Sally who is expecting her first and wants her husband, George to support her...

The Alligator People(1959) - Jane Marvin is a nurse who has gone through a horrible experience but can't recall the memories at all. psychiatrists Dr. Erik Lorimer and Dr. Wayne McGregor decide to give her a drug to help restore the lost memory. It turns out that she was married to a man named Paul Webster. He receives a urgent...

The First Turn-On!!(1983) - A group of young campers trapped in a cave tell each other tales of their first lustful experiences.

The Killer Shrews(1959) - Captain Thorne Sherman is delivering a shipment of supplies to isolated island where a scientist, his daughter and the assistants are conducting experience. They unfortunately have created a new breed of large man eating shrew that have eaten all the small creatures of the island and now have their...

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait(1988) - A documentary chronicling the events of filming the 1974 horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It includes interviews with Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface), Edwin Neal (The Hitchhiker), John Dugan (Grandpa) and Jim Seidow (The Old Man) each of them giving their experiences during filming and how th...

Brainstorm(1983) - Government employees Michael Brace (Christopher Walken) and Lillian Reynolds (Louise Fletcher) have created a new technology that allows experiences to be recorded so that people can have the opportunity to get into other people's heads, if you will. Some people use it for fun, others use it for sex...

Altered States(1980) - Research scientist Eddie Jessup (William Hurt) believes other states of consciousness are as real as everyday reality. Using sensory deprivation, then adding powerful, hallucinogenic drugs, he explores these altered states...and endures experiences that make madness seem a blessing.

Indian Summer(1993) - A group of childhood friends, now in their thirties, reunite at Camp Tamakwa. Only a few of the original campers show up, but they still have a good time reminiscing. The people share experiences and grow while at the camp. They are dismayed to discover that the camp's owner, Unca Lou, is going to c...

84 Charlie Mopic(1989) - 84 Charlie Mopic offers the Vietnam experience as seen through the eyes of a combat photographer (Mopic is slang for the Army Motion Picture Unit). Byron Thames plays a combat cameraman who has already been on two tours of duty; he goes on a third because he is intrigued by a reel of film found on t...

Femalien(1996) - An advanced alien civilization that has evolved into a community of beings comprising pure light energy sends a representative to Earth to record something precious they've lost--the ability to experience sensual pleasure. Femalien really gets into her work in this erotic sci-fi fantasy.

The Crow: City Of Angels(1996) - The second film in the series follows Ashe, who with the help of Sarah who has experience with the Crow, to take down Judah Earl and his gang of thugs. Also, just like in the original he has the same powers and emotions as Eric Draven. The Film stars Vincet Perez, Mia Kerscher, Iggy Pop, Richard Br...

The Fury(1978) - "An experience in terror and suspens

Missing(1982) - Based on the real-life experiences of Ed Horman. A conservative American businessman travels to a South American country to investigate the sudden disappearance of his son after a right-wing military takeover. Accompanied by his son's wife he uncovers a trail of cover-ups that implicate the US State...

Hooper(1978) - Aging stuntman Sonney Hooper is still on top as one of the best stuntmen in the business. But up and coming Ski is starting to do bigger and better stunts. Hooper has the experience to setup a stunt safely, and Ski lacks the common sense to know when a stunt is too dangerous. Maybe together, along w...

Being Julia(2004) - Set in '30s London, the film involves stage actors and their experiences with love and revenge.

Gay Purr-ee(1962) - Mouser Jaune Tom and house cat Mewsette are living in the French countryside, but Mewsette wants to experience the refinement and excitement of the Paris living. But upon arrival she falls into the clutches of Meowrice. Jaune Tom and his friend Robespierre set off to Paris to find her.

Being Human(1994) - Being Human is a 1994 epic fantasy drama film written and directed by Bill Forsyth, and starring Robin Williams. The film portrays the experience of a single human soul, portrayed by Williams, through various incarnations. Williams is the only common actor throughout the stories that span man's hist...

The Naked Kiss(1964) - Kelly, a prostitute, finds redemption in the town of Grantville, where she arrives working as a medium-time seller. There, she meets Griff, the police captain of the town, with whom she spends a romantic afternoon. The woman, traumatized by an experience in the past called "The Naked Kiss" by psychi...

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters(2013) - Fifteen years after a horrific experience in a deceptively inviting gingerbread house, an orphan Hansel and Gretel have become famous for ridding the countryside of witches. Despite their stellar success record, the brother and sister face a unique challenge when an extremely powerful witch is ident...

Prophecy(1979) - This schlock horror classic from the 1970s is a product of the career ebb experienced by director John Frankenheimer. Robert Foxworth stars as Dr. Robert Verne, an inner-city physician renowned for his compassion and fairness. So he's asked by the EPA to mediate a dispute between Native American tri...

The Empire of the Corpses(2015) - By the 19th century, humanity has cultivated technology enabling the reanimation of corpses. Unable to experience individual thoughts or emotions, the corpses are programmed by humans to act as laborers in variou

Asylum Of Satan(1972) - A young woman finds herself held against her will in an eerie mental asylum by the sinister "Dr. Specter" and his masculine-looking assistant, Martine. She begins to suspect that the visions of horror she experiences are not nightmares and that she is due to be sacrificed to The Evil One.

Jeremy(1973) - Jeremy Jones is learning Cello at an arts school in New York. At school he spots Susan Rollins, who practices for a ballet audition, and he falls in love on first sight. He's very diffident in nearing her, so he gets some help of his experienced friend Ralph. Susan's first impression isn't great, un...

The Depraved(1971) - Lena is alone in the city when her parents are on vacation. She's torn between her innocent boyfriend and the older, more experienced, and sadistic sociopath Helge. She tells Jan about Helge, who gets angry and slaps her, she thereafter runs away and hitchhikes with the promiscuous and friendly coup...

Maid In Sweden(1971) - Maid in Sweden tells the story of Inga, a 16-year-old Swedish girl who leaves her rural home to spend a weekend in the Swedish capital. An innocent with no experience, but with prodigious physical attributes, she has a series of romantic adventures as she throws off the frustrations of her small-tow...

The Business of Being Born(2008) - Inspired by their own unique birthing experiences, executive producer Ricki Lake and director Abby Epstein team up for this documentary that provides a nation of mothers-to-be with insight into the process of childbirth and the various options available when preparing for the miraculous event of lif...

Trapped(2002) - When their daughter is kidnapped by experienced nappers, the Jennings turn the tables on this seemingly foolproof plan.

Broken Vessels(1998) - A young Pennsylvania man moves to Los Angeles to begin work for an ambulance service. There he is teamed with a supremely confident vet who seemingly has gone through a large number of partners. Initially the novice is awed by the more experienced man's capabilities to deal with the high pressure si...

Somersault(2004) - A young girl runs away from home when she is caught out kissing her mother's boyfriend by her mother. She goes to a ski town, where she experiences sexual awareness after falling in love with a local farmer's son.

The Illustrated Man(1969) - A man, whose body is almost completely covered in tattoos, is looking for the woman who drew all the intricate designs on him. Each tattoo hides a futuristic story, which you experience when you stare at it. Written

Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience(2009) - Concert documentary film chronicling the July 13 and 14, 2008 concerts of Nick, Kevin, and Joe Jonas in Anahiem on their Burnin' Up Tour. This concert film also features special guests Demi Lovato on "This Is Me", Taylor Swift on "Should've Said No" and Robert "Big Rob" Feggans (their bodyguard).

The Package(1989) - Experienced Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher is escorting a prisoner, Airborne Ranger Thomas Boyette, back to the US, but Boyette escapes and Gallagher must risk life and limb to catch him.

RKO 281(1999) - Based in part on PBS/WGBH's The American Experience special "The Battle Over Citizen Kane".

The Family Man(2000) - The Family Man is a 2000 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Brett Ratner, written by David Diamond and David Weissman, and starring Nicolas Cage and Ta Leoni. Cage's production company, Saturn Films, helped produce the film. The film centers on a man who experiences what his life might...

Zachariah(1971) - Two gunfighters separate and experience surreal visions on their journey through the west.

Gardens Of Stone(1987) - A Sergeant must deal with his desires to save the lives of young soldiers being sent to Viet Nam. Continuously denied the chance to teach the soldiers about his experiences, he settles for trying to help the son of an old Army buddy.

Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling(1986) - After severely burning himself in a drug incident, a comedian has a near death experience in which he reviews his life.

Assassin's Creed(2016) - Cal Lynch travels back in time to 15th-century Spain through a revolutionary technology that unlocks the genetic memories contained in his DNA. There, he lives out the experiences of Aguilar de Nerha, a distant relative who's also a member of the Assassins, a secret society that fights to protect fr...

Scary Movie 5(2013) - A couple begin to experience some unusual activity after bringing their lost nieces and nephew home. With the help of home-surveillance cameras, they learn they're being stalked by a nefarious demon. The fifth in the series that gives a tongue-in-cheek touch to stalker films.

The Beast Within(1982) - A teenage boy experiences bad behavior after turning seventeen.

Surviving Christmas(2004) - Directed by Mike Mitchell, Surviving Christmas finds Drew Latham uneager to spend another lonely Christmas in his own home. Longing for holidays past, Drew travels to his childhood home intending to relive the experience of a family Christmas -- unfortunately, his family no longer lives there. This...

The Internship(2013) - When Billy McMahon's sales firm goes out of business he and his friend Nick Campbell sign up to become interns at Google despite their lack of experience in the field. They must now spend the summer engaged in a series of tasks along with other prospective interns where the winners of the contest of...

Where to Invade Next(2015) - Where to Invade Next is a 2015 American documentary film written and directed by Michael Moore. The film, in the style of a travelogue, has Moore spending time in countries such as Italy, France, Finland, Tunisia, Slovenia, Germany, and Portugal where he experiences those countries' alternative meth...

Death Wish (2017)(2018) - Based on the 1974 motion picture "Death Wish", screenplay by Wendell Mayes from Brain Garfield's dramatic novel. Dr. Paul Kersey is an experienced trauma surgeon, a man who has spent his life saving lives. After an attack on his family, Paul embarks on his own mission for justice. Directed by Eli Ro...

https://myanimelist.net/anime/33148/Detective_Conan__Lets_Experience_the_Jomon_Period -- Historical, Kids

https://myanimelist.net/anime/8839/Gundam_Neo_Experience_0087__Green_Divers -- Adventure, Space, Mecha

https://myanimelist.net/manga/87397/Shiori_Experience__Jimi_na_Watashi_to_Hen_na_Ojisan

3rd Rock from the Sun ::: TV-PG | 1h | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi | TV Series (19962001) -- A group of aliens are sent to Earth, disguised as a human family, to experience and report life on the third planet from the sun. Creators: Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner

9-1-1 ::: TV-14 | 43min | Action, Drama, Thriller | TV Series (2018 ) -- Explores the high-pressure experiences of the first responders who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping situations. Creators:

A Home at the End of the World (2004) ::: 6.7/10 -- R | 1h 37min | Drama, Romance | 14 October 2004 (Netherlands) -- A boy who has experienced many losses in his life grows to manhood and enters into a love triangle with a woman and his boyhood friend. Director: Michael Mayer Writers: Michael Cunningham (novel), Michael Cunningham (screenplay)

Angela's Ashes (1999) ::: 7.3/10 -- R | 2h 25min | Biography, Drama | 21 January 2000 (USA) -- Based on the best-selling autobiography by Irish expatriate Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes follows the experiences of young Frankie and his family as they try against all odds to escape the ... S Director: Alan Parker Writers:

Anomalisa (2015) ::: 7.3/10 -- R | 1h 30min | Animation, Comedy, Drama | 11 March 2016 (UK) -- A man crippled by the mundanity of his life experiences something out of the ordinary. Directors: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman Writer: Charlie Kaufman

Appropriate Behavior (2014) ::: 6.6/10 -- Not Rated | 1h 26min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 16 January 2015 (USA) -- Shirin is struggling to become an ideal Persian daughter, politically correct bisexual and hip young Brooklynite but fails miserably in her attempt at all identities. Being without a clich to hold onto can be a lonely experience. Director: Desiree Akhavan Writer:

Australia (2008) ::: 6.6/10 -- PG-13 | 2h 45min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | 26 November 2008 (USA) -- Set in northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly pacts with a stock-man in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drive 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by Japanese forces firsthand. Director: Baz Luhrmann

Beasts of No Nation (2015) ::: 7.7/10 -- Not Rated | 2h 17min | Drama, War | 16 October 2015 (USA) -- A drama based on the experiences of Agu, a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country. Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga Writers: Cary Joji Fukunaga (written for the screen by), Uzodinma Iweala (based

Beautiful Boy (2018) ::: 7.3/10 -- R | 2h | Biography, Drama | 25 October 2018 (Israel) -- Based on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years. Director: Felix van Groeningen Writers:

Being Julia (2004) ::: 7.0/10 -- R | 1h 44min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 18 February 2005 (USA) -- Set in 1930s London, this movie involves stage actors and actresses and their experiences with love and revenge. Director: Istvn Szab Writers: W. Somerset Maugham (novel), Ronald Harwood (screenplay)

Blood In, Blood Out (1993) ::: 8.0/10 -- Bound by Honor (original title) -- Blood In, Blood Out Poster -- Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on step-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. Director: Taylor Hackford Writers:

Brat 2 (2000) ::: 7.8/10 -- 2h 2min | Action, Crime, Thriller | 11 May 2000 (Russia) -- Arriving in Moscow, Danila discovers Konstantin dead and he sets out to avenge his death; a journey that leads him to Chicago and a whole new experience. Director: Aleksey Balabanov Writer: Aleksey Balabanov Stars:

Brat 2 (2000) ::: 7.8/10 -- 2h 2min | Action, Crime, Thriller | 11 May 2000 (Russia) -- Arriving in Moscow, Danila discovers Konstantin dead and he sets out to avenge his death; a journey that leads him to Chicago and a whole new experience. Director:

Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972) ::: 7.2/10 -- Fratello sole, sorella luna (original title) -- Brother Sun, Sister Moon Poster Dramatization of events in the life of St. Francis of Assisi from before his conversion experience through his audience with the pope, including his friendship with St. Clare. Director: Franco Zeffirelli Writers: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Kenneth Ross | 2 more credits

Bull Durham (1988) ::: 7.1/10 -- R | 1h 48min | Comedy, Romance, Sport | 15 June 1988 (USA) -- A fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him. Director: Ron Shelton Writer:

Bullet in the Head (1990) ::: 7.6/10 -- Dip huet gai tau (original title) -- Kong) Bullet in the Head Poster When three close friends escape from Hong Kong to war-time Saigon to start a criminal's life, they all go through a harrowing experience which totally shatters their lives and their friendship forever. Director: John Woo Writers: Janet Chun, Patrick Leung | 1 more credit

Cheers ::: TV-PG | 22min | Comedy, Drama | TV Series (19821993) -- The regulars of the Boston bar "Cheers" share their experiences and lives with each other while drinking or working at the bar where everybody knows your name. Creators:

Cleopatra (1963) ::: 7.0/10 -- G | 3h 12min | Biography, Drama, History | 31 July 1963 (Canada) -- Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt experiences both triumph and tragedy as she attempts to resist the imperial ambitions of Rome. Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Writers: Joseph L. Mankiewicz (screenplay), Ranald MacDougall (screenplay) | 5

Colors (1988) ::: 6.8/10 -- R | 2h | Action, Crime, Drama | 29 April 1988 (USA) -- An experienced cop and his rookie partner patrol the streets of East Los Angeles while trying to keep the gang violence under control. Director: Dennis Hopper Writers: Michael Schiffer (screenplay), Michael Schiffer (story) | 1 more

Come as You Are (2011) ::: 7.4/10 -- Hasta la Vista (original title) -- Come as You Are Poster -- Three guys in their twenties love wine and women but they are still virgins. Under the guise of a wine tour they embark on a journey to Spain hoping to have their first sexual experience. ... S Director: Geoffrey Enthoven

Condor ::: TV-MA | 1h | Action, Drama, Thriller | TV Series (2018 ) -- A brilliant, young, idealistic CIA analyst finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy that kills everyone else at his office. Can he, with no field experience, stay alive long enough to get to the bottom of it? Creators:

Corpus Christi (2019) ::: 7.7/10 -- Boze Cialo (original title) -- Corpus Christi Poster -- Daniel experiences a spiritual transformation in a detention center. Although his criminal record prevents him from applying to the seminary, he has no intention of giving up his dream and decides to minister a small-town parish. Director: Jan Komasa

Craziwise ::: 8.4/10 -- Crazywise Poster -- into a positive transformative experience? During a quarter-century documenting indigenous cultures, human-rights ... S Directors: Phil Borges, Kevin Tomlinson Writers: Phil Borges (story), Phil Borges Stars:

Danger Close (2019) ::: 6.8/10 -- Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (original title) -- Danger Close Poster -- In August 1966, in a Vietnamese rubber plantation called Long Tan, 108 young and inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers are fighting for their lives against 2500 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers. Director: Kriv Stenders

Das Boot ::: TV-MA | 1h | Drama, War | TV Series (2018 ) -- An inexperienced U-boat crew has to survive a secret mission and a young German woman is torn between loyalty for her home country and the French resistance in the WWII drama. Creators:

David Copperfield (1935) ::: 7.4/10 -- The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David -- Passed | 2h 10min | Adventure, Drama, Romance | 20 June 1935 (Argentina) David Copperfield Poster -- A gentle orphan discovers life and love in an indifferent adult world. Director: George Cukor Writers:

Death Wish (2018) ::: 6.4/10 -- R | 1h 47min | Action, Crime, Drama | 2 March 2018 (USA) -- Dr. Paul Kersey is an experienced trauma surgeon, a man who has spent his life saving lives. After an attack on his family, Paul embarks on his own mission for justice. Director: Eli Roth Writers:

Dhobi Ghat (2010) ::: 7.0/10 -- TV-14 | 1h 40min | Drama | 21 January 2011 (India) -- The lives of four people intersect in Mumbai: a washer-man who wants to become an actor, a banker-turned-photographer, a painter looking for inspiration, and a newly-married immigrant who journals her experiences on home video. Director: Kiran Rao Writer:

Doctor Zhivago (1965) ::: 8.0/10 -- PG-13 | 3h 17min | Drama, Romance, War | 31 December 1965 (USA) -- The life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution. Director: David Lean Writers:

Elsa & Fred (2014) ::: 6.5/10 -- PG-13 | 1h 33min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 7 November 2014 (USA) -- A withdrawn senior experiences life in new ways when he begins spending time with the free-spirited woman who lives across the hall. Director: Michael Radford Writers: Marcos Carnevale (original screenplay), Marcela Guerty (original

Fanny and Alexander (1982) ::: 8.1/10 -- Fanny och Alexander (original title) -- Fanny and Alexander Poster Two young Swedish children experience the many comedies and tragedies of their family, the Ekdahls. Director: Ingmar Bergman Writer: Ingmar Bergman Stars:

Fat Girl (2001) ::: 6.5/10 -- ma soeur! (original title) -- Fat Girl Poster Two sisters confront their sexual attitudes and experiences while on a family holiday. Director: Catherine Breillat Writer: Catherine Breillat Stars:

Flatliners (1990) ::: 6.6/10 -- R | 1h 55min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | 10 August 1990 (USA) -- Five medical students experiment with "near death" experiences, until the dark consequences of past tragedies begin to jeopardize their lives. Director: Joel Schumacher Writer: Peter Filardi Stars:

Fort Apache the Bronx (1981) ::: 6.7/10 -- R | 2h 5min | Crime, Drama | 6 February 1981 (USA) -- In New York City, South Bronx's main police precinct is nicknamed Fort Apache by its employees who feel like troopers surrounded by hostiles in a wild west isolated outpost. Director: Daniel Petrie Writers: Heywood Gould, Thomas Mulhearn (suggested by the experiences of) | 1 more credit

Gardens of Stone (1987) ::: 6.4/10 -- R | 1h 51min | Drama, Romance, War | 8 May 1987 (USA) -- A Sergeant must deal with his desires to save the lives of young soldiers being sent to Viet Nam. Continuously denied the chance to teach the soldiers about his experiences, he settles for trying to help the son of an old Army buddy. Director: Francis Ford Coppola (as Francis Coppola) Writers:

Geography Club (2013) ::: 6.6/10 -- PG-13 | 1h 24min | Comedy, Drama | 5 February 2014 (Philippines) -- At Goodkind High School, a group of students with varying sexual orientations form an after-school club as a discreet way to share their feelings and experiences. Director: Gary Entin Writers:

Girls ::: TV-MA | 28min | Comedy, Drama | TV Series (20122017) -- A comedy about the experiences of a group of girls in their early 20s. Creator: Lena Dunham

Glass Jaw (2018) ::: 6.8/10 -- TV-MA | 1h 38min | Drama, Sport, Thriller | 26 October 2018 (USA) -- Glass Jaw is the redemption story of Travis Austin, a one time champion boxer who goes to prison and loses everything. After his release, he experiences the trials and tribulations of redeeming his reputation, his belt, and his true love. Director: Jeff Celentano Writers:

Greyhound (2020) ::: 7.0/10 -- PG-13 | 1h 31min | Action, Drama, History | 10 July 2020 (USA) -- Several months after the U.S. entry into World War II, an inexperienced U.S. Navy commander must lead an Allied convoy being stalked by a German submarine wolf pack. Director: Aaron Schneider Writers:

High Sierra (1941) ::: 7.5/10 -- Passed | 1h 40min | Action, Adventure, Crime | 25 January 1941 (USA) -- After being released from prison, notorious thief Roy Earle is hired by his old boss to help a group of inexperienced criminals plan and carry out the robbery of a California resort. Director: Raoul Walsh Writers:

Hope and Glory (1987) ::: 7.3/10 -- PG-13 | 1h 53min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 19 February 1988 (USA) -- Bill, a young boy living on the outskirts of London experiences the exhilaration of World War II. During this period, Bill learns about sex, death, love, hypocrisy, and the faults of adults as he prowls the ruins of bombed houses. Director: John Boorman Writer:

Huff ::: TV-MA | 55min | Comedy, Drama | TV Series (20042006) Psychiatrist Craig Huffstodt (Azaria) experiences his own midlife crisis. Creator: Bob Lowry Stars:

If I Stay (2014) ::: 6.7/10 -- PG-13 | 1h 47min | Drama, Fantasy, Music | 22 August 2014 (USA) -- Life changes in an instant for young Mia Hall after a car accident puts her in a coma. During an out-of-body experience, she must decide whether to wake up and live a life far different than she had imagined. The choice is hers if she can go on. Director: R.J. Cutler Writers:

Insecure ::: TV-MA | 30min | Comedy, Romance | TV Series (2016 ) Season 5 Premiere 2021 -- Follows the awkward experiences and racy tribulations of a modern-day African-American woman. Creators:

In the Heart of the Sea (2015) ::: 6.9/10 -- PG-13 | 2h 2min | Action, Adventure, Biography | 11 December 2015 (USA) -- A recounting of a New England whaling ship's sinking by a giant whale in 1820, an experience that later inspired the great novel Moby-Dick. Director: Ron Howard Writers: Charles Leavitt (screenplay), Charles Leavitt (story) | 3 more

In Your Eyes (2014) ::: 7.0/10 -- Not Rated | 1h 46min | Fantasy, Romance | 20 April 2014 (USA) -- Two seemingly unconnected souls from different corners of the United States make a telepathic bond that allows them to see, hear and feel the other's experiences, creating a bond that apparently can't be broken. Director: Brin Hill Writer:

Kamikaze Girls (2004) ::: 7.2/10 -- Shimotsuma monogatari (original title) -- Kamikaze Girls Poster Momoko, a strange and seemingly emotionless girl obsessed with 18th century France, befriends a Yanki biker and the two experience the ups and downs of their unusual lives in a rural Japanese town. Director: Tetsuya Nakashima Writers: Nobara Takemoto (novel), Tetsuya Nakashima (screenplay)

Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971) ::: 6.4/10 -- GP | 1h 29min | Drama, Horror, Mystery | 27 August 1971 (USA) -- A recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse and fears she may be losing her sanity once again. Director: John D. Hancock (as John Hancock) Writers:

Lights Out (2016) ::: 6.3/10 -- PG-13 | 1h 21min | Drama, Horror, Mystery | 22 July 2016 (USA) -- Rebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother's experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with a supernatural spirit attached to their mother. Director: David F. Sandberg Writers:

Looking ::: TV-MA | 30min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | TV Series (20142015) -- The experiences of three close friends living and loving in modern-day San Francisco. Creator: Michael Lannan

Lucas (1986) ::: 6.9/10 -- PG-13 | 1h 40min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 28 March 1986 (USA) -- A socially inept fourteen-year-old experiences heartbreak for the first time when his two best friends - Cappie, an older-brother figure, and Maggie, the new girl with whom he is in love - fall for each other. Director: David Seltzer Writer:

Manifest ::: TV-14 | 43min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi | TV Series (2018 ) -- After being presumed dead, passengers onboard Flight 828 return and discover the world has aged five years. As they reintegrate into society, they begin to experience guiding voices and visions, and soon a deeper mystery unfolds. Creator:

Man's Favorite Sport? (1964) ::: 7.2/10 -- Approved | 2h | Comedy, Romance | 31 January 1964 (USA) -- The author of a best-selling fishing guide is actually incredibly inexperienced when it comes to the sport, which causes mayhem when he is entered into a competition. Director: Howard Hawks Writers:

Max (2015) ::: 6.7/10 -- PG | 1h 51min | Adventure, Drama, Family | 26 June 2015 (USA) -- A military dog that helped American Marines in Afghanistan returns to the United States and is adopted by his handler's family after suffering a traumatic experience. Director: Boaz Yakin Writers:

Meet the Feebles (1989) ::: 6.7/10 -- Not Rated | 1h 37min | Comedy, Music, Musical | 1 September 1995 (USA) -- Multiple animals and insects experience the sleazier side of show business while working on a variety show. Director: Peter Jackson Writers: Fran Walsh (as Frances Walsh), Stephen Sinclair | 2 more credits

My Cousin Vinny (1992) ::: 7.6/10 -- R | 2h | Comedy, Crime | 13 March 1992 (USA) -- Two New Yorkers accused of murder in rural Alabama while on their way back to college call in the help of one of their cousins, a loudmouth lawyer with no trial experience. Director: Jonathan Lynn Writer:

My Dinner with Andre (1981) ::: 7.8/10 -- PG | 1h 50min | Biography, Comedy, Drama | 11 October 1981 (USA) -- Two old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews. Director: Louis Malle Writers: Wallace Shawn (screenplay), Andre Gregory (screenplay)

Nathan for You ::: TV-14 | 30min | Documentary, Comedy | TV Series (20132017) -- Nathan Fielder uses his business degree and life experiences to help real small businesses turn a profit. But because of his unorthodox approach, Nathan's genuine efforts to do good often draw real people into an experience far beyond what they signed up for. Creators:

Nymphomaniac: Vol. I (2013) ::: 6.9/10 -- Not Rated | 1h 57min | Drama | 6 March 2014 (USA) -- A self-diagnosed nymphomaniac recounts her erotic experiences to the man who saved her after a beating. Director: Lars von Trier Writer: Lars von Trier

Operation Cicero (2019) ::: 6.6/10 -- iero (original title) -- Operation Cicero Poster -- Ilyas Bazna works as a butler in the British Embassy in Turkey during WW2. After Bazna starts to work as a German spy he is going to experience a series of unexpected events. Director: Serdar Akar Writers:

Pokmon the Movie: I Choose You! (2017) ::: 6.3/10 -- Pokmon the Movie: I Choose You (original title) -- Pokmon the Movie: I Choose You! Poster Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town is 10 years old today. This means he is now old enough to become a Pokmon Trainer. Ash dreams big about the adventures he will experience after receiving his first Pokmon from Professor Oak. Director: Kunihiko Yuyama Writers: Takeshi Shudo (earlier screenplay), Takeshi Shudo | 3 more credits

Promised Land (2012) ::: 6.6/10 -- R | 1h 46min | Drama | 4 January 2013 (USA) -- A salesman for a natural gas company experiences life-changing events after arriving in a small town, where his corporation wants to tap into the available resources. Director: Gus Van Sant Writers:

Red Band Society ::: TV-14 | 43min | Comedy, Drama | TV Series (20142015) -- A group of teenagers live together as patients at a hospital's pediatric ward and learn how to deal with their illnesses, the experiences that they have, and the people that they meet. Creator:

Review ::: TV-14 | 30min | Comedy | TV Series (20142017) -- In this spoof of review shows, Forrest MacNeil, a critic obsessed with his work, experiences whatever the viewers ask him to review including divorce, anonymous sex, and all manner of criminal activity. Creators:

Room (2015) ::: 8.1/10 -- R | 1h 58min | Drama, Thriller | 22 January 2016 (USA) -- Held captive for 7 years in an enclosed space, a woman and her young son finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time. Director: Lenny Abrahamson Writers:

Rory O'Shea Was Here (2004) ::: 7.8/10 -- Inside I'm Dancing (original title) -- Rory O'Shea Was Here Poster When the kinetic Rory moves into his room in the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, his effect on the home is immediate. Most telling is his friendship with Michael, a young man with cerebral palsy and nearly unintelligible speech. Somehow, Rory understands Michael, and encourages him to experience life outside the confines of home. Director: Damien O'Donnell Writers:

Screwed in Tallinn (1999) ::: 7.9/10 -- Torsk p Tallinn - en liten film om ensamhet (original title) -- Screwed in Tallinn Poster Percy Nilegaard collects Swedish single men and embarks on a bus trip to Tallinn with a so-called "highly-experienced driver". Director: Tomas Alfredson Writers: Robert Gustafsson, Jonas Inde | 4 more credits Stars:

She and Her Cat: Everything Flows ::: Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko: Everything Flows (original title) 8min | Animation, Drama | TV Mini-Series (2016- ) Episode Guide 4 episodes She and Her Cat: Everything Flows Poster The simple, charming serie fallows Kanojo as she job hunts and experience various changes in her life, all while her cat Daru remains the supportive constant. Stars: Madeleine Morris, Shintar Asanuma, Kana Hanazawa

Shoeshine (1946) ::: 8.0/10 -- Sciusci (original title) -- Shoeshine Poster -- Two shoeshine boys in postwar Rome, Italy, save up to buy a horse, but their involvement as dupes in a burglary lands them in juvenile prison where the experience take a devastating toll on their friendship. Director: Vittorio De Sica Writers:

Somersault (2004) ::: 6.7/10 -- Not Rated | 1h 46min | Drama, Romance | 16 September 2004 (Australia) -- A young girl flees her hometown and arrives in the Australian Alps, where new experiences help her learn the differences between sex and love. Director: Cate Shortland Writer:

Spare Parts (2015) ::: 7.3/10 -- PG-13 | 1h 54min | Biography, Drama, History | 5 June 2015 (Mexico) -- Four Hispanic high school students form a robotics club. With no experience, 800 bucks, used car parts and a dream, this rag tag team goes up against the country's reigning robotics champion, MIT. Director: Sean McNamara Writers:

Speak (2004) ::: 7.3/10 -- PG-13 | 1h 29min | Drama | 20 January 2004 (USA) -- After a blurred trauma over the summer, Melinda enters high school a selective mute. Struggling with school, friends, and family, she tells the dark tale of her experiences, and why she has chosen not to speak. Director: Jessica Sharzer Writers: Laurie Halse Anderson (novel), Jessica Sharzer (screenplay) | 1 more credit

Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007) ::: 7.8/10 -- TV-MA | 1h 32min | Biography, Drama | TV Movie 23 September 2007 -- A writer takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend Stuart, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic event in his childhood. Director: David Attwood Writer: Alexander Masters (biography) Stars:

Sullivan's Travels (1941) ::: 7.9/10 -- Not Rated | 1h 30min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama | 6 February 1942 (USA) -- A Hollywood director, John L Sullivan, sets out to experience life as a poor, homeless person in order to gain relevant life experience for his next movie. Director: Preston Sturges Writer:

Tales from the Loop ::: TV-MA | 50min | Drama, Sci-Fi | TV Series (2020 ) -- The townspeople who live above "The Loop," a machine built to unlock and explore the mysteries of the universe, experience things previously consigned to the realm of science fiction. Creator:

Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002) ::: 7.2/10 -- 1h 32min | Drama | 19 December 2002 (Germany) -- This series of vignettes offers ruminations on time, fate and other human mysteries, Each of the film's seven directors conjures a scenario that speaks to some facet of universal experience. Directors: Kaige Chen, Vctor Erice | 5 more credits Writers: Vctor Erice (segment), Werner Herzog (segment) | 4 more credits Stars:

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) ::: 7.2/10 -- PG | 2h 6min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy | 10 March 1989 (USA) -- An account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences with his band of misfits. Director: Terry Gilliam Writers: Charles McKeown (screenplay), Terry Gilliam (screenplay) Stars:

The Bang Bang Club (2010) ::: 7.0/10 -- R | 1h 46min | Biography, Drama, History | 22 July 2011 (South Africa) -- A drama based on the true-life experiences of four combat photographers capturing the final days of apartheid in South Africa. Director: Steven Silver Writers: Steven Silver, Greg Marinovich (based on the book by) | 2 more

The Climb (2017) ::: 6.9/10 -- L'ascension (original title) -- (France) The Climb Poster -- A young man from the suburbs with no mountaineering experience decides to climb Mt Everest to show a woman he'd do anything for her. Director: Ludovic Bernard Writers:

The Cowboys (1972) ::: 7.4/10 -- GP | 2h 14min | Adventure, Drama, Western | 13 January 1972 (USA) -- Rancher Wil Andersen is forced to hire inexperienced boys as cowhands in order to get his herd to market on time but the rough drive is full of dangers and a gang of cattle rustlers is trailing them. Director: Mark Rydell Writers:

Theeb (2014) ::: 7.2/10 -- Not Rated | 1h 40min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller | 19 March 2015 -- Theeb Poster -- In the Ottoman province of Hijaz during World War I, a young Bedouin boy experiences a greatly hastened coming-of-age as he embarks on a perilous desert journey to guide a British officer to his secret destination. Director: Naji Abu Nowar

The Encounter (2010) ::: 6.8/10 -- 1h 25min | Drama | 3 May 2011 (USA) -- The supernatural experience of five people sat an abandoned diner with the King of Kings...Jesus Christ. Director: David A.R. White Writers: Jason Cusick (story), Sean Paul Murphy | 3 more credits

The Enemy Below (1957) ::: 7.5/10 -- Approved | 1h 38min | Action, Adventure, Drama | 17 January 1958 (West -- The Enemy Below Poster -- During World War II, an American destroyer discovers a German U-boat, thus ensuing in a deadly duel between the two ships. The American Captain must draw upon all his experience to defeat the equally experienced German commander. Director: Dick Powell

The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) ::: 6.9/10 -- R | 1h 50min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller | 11 October 1996 (USA) -- A bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter begin a hunt for two lions after they start attacking local construction workers. Director: Stephen Hopkins Writer: William Goldman

The Girlfriend Experience ::: TV-MA | 27min | Drama | TV Series (2016 ) -- Anthology television series based on Steven Soderbergh's "The Girlfriend Experience." Creators: Lodge Kerrigan, Amy Seimetz, Anja Marquardt

The Good Earth (1937) ::: 7.5/10 -- Passed | 2h 18min | Drama, Romance | 6 August 1937 (USA) -- Although married Chinese farmers Wang and O-Lan initially experience success, their lives are complicated by declining fortunes and lean times, as well as the arrival of the beautiful young Lotus. Directors: Sidney Franklin, Victor Fleming (uncredited) | 2 more credits Writers:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) ::: 7.4/10 -- TV-14 | 2h 4min | Drama, Romance, War | 10 August 2018 (USA) -- In the aftermath of World War II, a writer forms an unexpected bond with the residents of Guernsey Island when she decides to write a book about their experiences during the war. Director: Mike Newell Writers:

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret ::: TV-MA | 25min | Comedy | TV Series (20092016) -- Todd Margaret is an American who takes a job running the London sales team for an energy drink. He has no experience with British culture, knows nothing about sales and has only one employee, Dave. Creator:

The Jerk (1979) ::: 7.2/10 -- R | 1h 34min | Comedy | 14 December 1979 (USA) -- A simpleminded, sheltered country boy suddenly decides to leave his family home to experience life in the big city, where his naivete is both his best friend and his worst enemy. Director: Carl Reiner Writers:

The Joe Rogan Experience ::: 3h | Comedy, Talk-Show | TV Series (2009 ) Joe Rogan hosts long form conversations with friends and guests that include comedians, actors, musicians, MMA instructors and commentators, authors and artists. Creator: Joe Rogan Stars:

The Package (1989) ::: 6.4/10 -- R | 1h 48min | Action, Crime, Drama | 25 August 1989 (USA) -- Experienced Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher is escorting a prisoner, Airborne Ranger Thomas Boyette, back to the US, but Boyette escapes and Gallagher must risk life and limb to catch him. Director: Andrew Davis Writer: John Bishop Stars:

The Tin Star (1957) ::: 7.3/10 -- Approved | 1h 33min | Western | 6 November 1957 (USA) -- A cynical former sheriff turned bounty hunter helps a young, recently appointed acting sheriff with his advice, his experience and his gun. Director: Anthony Mann Writers: Joel Kane (story), Dudley Nichols (screenplay) | 1 more credit

The United States of Leland (2003) ::: 7.1/10 -- R | 1h 48min | Drama | 25 March 2005 (Italy) -- A young man's experience in a juvenile detention center that touches on the tumultuous changes that befall his family and the community in which he lives. Director: Matthew Ryan Hoge Writer:

The Void (2016) ::: 5.9/10 -- Not Rated | 1h 30min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi | 7 April 2017 (USA) -- Shortly after delivering a patient to an understaffed hospital, a police officer experiences strange and violent occurrences seemingly linked to a group of mysterious hooded figures. Directors: Jeremy Gillespie, Steven Kostanski Writers:

The Vow ::: TV-MA | 1h | Documentary, Crime | TV Series (2020 ) -- A look at the experiences of the members of the NXIVM, an organization and sex cult who made headlines for being charged with sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. Stars:

The Whistleblower (2010) ::: 7.1/10 -- R | 1h 52min | Biography, Crime, Drama | 27 October 2011 (Germany) -- A drama based on the experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska cop who served as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and outed the U.N. for covering up a sex trafficking scandal. Director: Larysa Kondracki Writers:

To Sir, with Love (1967) ::: 7.7/10 -- Approved | 1h 45min | Drama | 14 June 1967 (USA) -- Idealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London's East End. Director: James Clavell Writers:

Ulzana's Raid (1972) ::: 7.1/10 -- R | 1h 43min | Adventure, Western | 27 October 1972 (USA) -- After fierce war chief Ulzana and a small war party jump the reservation bent on murder and terror, an inexperienced young lieutenant is assigned to track him down. Director: Robert Aldrich Writer: Alan Sharp Stars:

Undeclared ::: TV-14 | 22min | Comedy | TV Series (20012003) -- College freshman Steve Karp, his girlfriend and their fellow dormmates embark on one the greatest experiences of their lives. Unfortunately for Steve, his lonely and recently divorced father is tagging along for the ride. Creator:

Unsolved Mysteries ::: TV-MA | 45min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery | TV Series (2020 ) -- Immersive, character-driven stories are rooted in the experiences of ordinary people who have lived the unthinkable. Families, detectives and journalists hope viewers hold the clues to solving these mysteries. Stars:

Vikings: Athestan's Journal ::: Connections -- Episode Guide 13 episodes Vikings: Athelstan's Journal Poster Viking culture is seen from a first-hand experience through Athelstan's perspective. Athelstan reflects his inner thoughts on the ways of the Northmen including all their customs, values, ... S Stars: George Blagden, Travis Fimmel, Jennie Jacques

Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) ::: 6.7/10 -- R | 1h 39min | Biography, Comedy | 25 April 1980 (USA) -- Semi-biographical film based on the experiences of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Director: Art Linson Writers: Hunter S. Thompson (stories) (as Dr. Hunter S. Thompson), John Kaye

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4.Eyes -- -- - -- 1 ep -- Original -- Dementia -- 4.Eyes 4.Eyes -- The human eye, a well-known motif in psychedelic culture, is duplicated and intensified in this cinematic trip. Drawing from his experiences designing discotheques, Tanaami presents two prints of the same film in double projection with a time delay ––one projected a few seconds earlier than the other–– to suggest the mind slipping out of consciousness. -- -- (Source: Collaborative Cataloging Japan) -- Movie - ??? ??, 1975 -- 805 4.14

A3! Season Spring & Summer -- -- P.A. Works, Studio 3Hz -- 12 eps -- Game -- Slice of Life Drama -- A3! Season Spring & Summer A3! Season Spring & Summer -- Home to countless street acts and performances, Veludo Way attracts those interested in watching professional actors. After receiving a mysterious letter, Izumi Tachibana arrives at the venue where her father directed a once-popular theater group, Mankai Company, but learns that the building is about to be repurposed due to excessive debt. At the last minute, she convinces the debt collector to give the ensemble one more chance. He is willing to accept but on three conditions: their debut show must be successfully produced by the following month, the four all-male sub-troupes must be reinstated, and the debt must be paid off within a year. To top it off, Izumi herself must become the director. -- -- With no time to lose, Izumi quickly gathers five people for the Spring Troupe: Sakuya Sakuma, an enthusiastic high school student; Masumi Usui, a boy infatuated with Izumi; Tsuzuru Minagi, an aspiring playwright; Itaru Chigasaki, a mature office worker; and Citron, a friendly foreigner. Though they have little or no experience in acting, it's up to Izumi to train and prepare them for a performance that will restore Mankai Company to its former glory. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 22,135 7.13

Akai Shouzou: Char, Soshite Frontal e -- -- Sunrise -- 1 ep -- - -- Drama Mecha Military Sci-Fi Shounen Space -- Akai Shouzou: Char, Soshite Frontal e Akai Shouzou: Char, Soshite Frontal e -- A recap of Gundam, Gundam Z, Gundam ZZ, and Char's Counterattack as experienced by Char Aznable, as well as a precursor to Gundam Unicorn. -- -- Originally a live event consisting of a public recitation done by Char's voice actor with simultaneous screenings of the anime, the DVD version fades to and from the recitation and the anime. -- Special - Aug 13, 2010 -- 1,616 6.02

Akame ga Kill! -- -- White Fox -- 24 eps -- Manga -- Action Adventure Drama Fantasy Shounen -- Akame ga Kill! Akame ga Kill! -- Night Raid is the covert assassination branch of the Revolutionary Army, an uprising assembled to overthrow Prime Minister Honest, whose avarice and greed for power has led him to take advantage of the child emperor's inexperience. Without a strong and benevolent leader, the rest of the nation is left to drown in poverty, strife, and ruin. Though the Night Raid members are all experienced killers, they understand that taking lives is far from commendable and that they will likely face retribution as they mercilessly eliminate anyone who stands in the revolution's way. -- -- This merry band of assassins' newest member is Tatsumi, a naïve boy from a remote village who had embarked on a journey to help his impoverished hometown and was won over by not only Night Raid's ideals, but also their resolve. Akame ga Kill! follows Tatsumi as he fights the Empire and comes face-to-face with powerful weapons, enemy assassins, challenges to his own morals and values, and ultimately, what it truly means to be an assassin with a cause. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 1,503,646 7.50

Akatsuki no Yona OVA -- -- Studio Pierrot -- 3 eps -- Manga -- Action Comedy Fantasy Shoujo -- Akatsuki no Yona OVA Akatsuki no Yona OVA -- At a remote hot springs lodge, Yona and the team rest. The boys are taking a bath with the exception of Ki-ja, who looks troubled. Jae-ha takes this chance to tease him, unwittingly finding a mark linked to the previous White Dragon—whom coincidentally is also Ki-ja's father—prompting Ki-ja to recall their complicated relationship. -- -- In another time and place, Son Hak and the dragons banter as they hold a drinking contest. As they start to doze off one-by-one, Zeno dreams of his past, where his abilities and experiences, both as a person and as the Yellow Dragon, are revealed. -- -- OVA - Sep 18, 2015 -- 100,613 8.09

Amaenaide yo!! Katsu!!: Damasarenaide yo!! -- -- Studio Deen -- 1 ep -- - -- Ecchi Comedy Romance Supernatural -- Amaenaide yo!! Katsu!!: Damasarenaide yo!! Amaenaide yo!! Katsu!!: Damasarenaide yo!! -- A behind the scenes special of all the main characters in Amaenaide yo!! Katsu!!, where they give their own personal feelings about their past experiences with the show, as well as their working experiences with their fellow cast members. -- -- Licensor: -- Media Blasters, Nozomi Entertainment -- Special - Jun 21, 2006 -- 12,594 6.62

Angel Beats!: Another Epilogue -- -- P.A. Works -- 1 ep -- Original -- Supernatural Drama School -- Angel Beats!: Another Epilogue Angel Beats!: Another Epilogue -- Disillusioned with the afterlife, a new student causes a scene during a classroom test and expresses his doubts about whether getting good grades can really lead to escaping the school and ascending to Heaven. Afterwards, he is confronted by the new student council president—a familiar face whose past experiences give him powerful insight into the true nature of the school and first-hand knowledge regarding the futility of rebellion. -- -- Special - Dec 22, 2010 -- 212,399 7.49

Angel Heart -- -- TMS Entertainment -- 50 eps -- Manga -- Action Mystery Drama Romance Seinen -- Angel Heart Angel Heart -- A young Taiwanese assassin codenamed "Glass Heart" committed suicide by jumping off a building, and her heart was pierced by metal fence. Miraculously, her life was saved by heart transplantation. During her recovery she began to experience strange dreams, which lead her to Japan looking for the donor of her heart, who happens to be Kaori Makimura, former partner of City Hunter Ryo Saeba. -- -- The author mentioned in the first tankoubon volume that Angel Heart only shares the same characters of City Hunter but not its continuation. The events are all parallel universe, therefore it has nothing to do with City Hunter. (Source: Wikipedia) -- TV - Oct 4, 2005 -- 14,852 7.29

Aoi Bungaku Series -- -- Madhouse -- 12 eps -- Novel -- Drama Historical Psychological Seinen Thriller -- Aoi Bungaku Series Aoi Bungaku Series -- Ningen Shikkaku -- A high school student seeks solace in narcotics to escape the dispiritedness that has come over his life. As he goes through the different stages of his life, it culminates in the questioning of his existence in the world. -- -- Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita -- The adaptation of Ango Sakaguchi's literary work deals with the love story of a woman abducted by a mountain bandit. -- -- Kokoro -- While trying to fill the void in his life, a university student in Tokyo encounters a charismatic older man, whom he addresses as "Sensei," who offers him advice on life. However, the man is apprehensive to share his life experience, deepening the student's curiosity. Through this peculiar relationship, the student comes to ponder about the distance between him and his family and the growing desolation in his heart filled with ego and guilt. -- -- Hashire, Melos! -- The story portrays the unbreakable bond between two friends, Melos and Selinuntius, and their faith in protecting each other, all while dangling on a thread which hovers over death and misery. -- -- Kumo no Ito -- Kandata is a coldhearted criminal who, while being punished in Hell for his misdeeds, is noticed by the Buddha Shakyamuni. Despite maintaining a record of committing ruthless atrocities, Kandata had once shown mercy to a spider he encountered in the forest by letting it live. Moved by this, Shakyamuni offers him redemption by dropping a spider's thread into the searing pits of Hell, and it is up to Kandata to seize the opportunity. -- -- Jigokuhen -- Yoshihide is a great painter in the land ruled by Horikawa, a tyrant. Offered a commission to paint the "Buddhist Hell" by the lord, Yoshihide declines, as he cannot paint anything he has not witnessed himself. In an attempt to make Yoshihide understand the magnitude of his request, the lord tortures his subjects to provide inspiration for the artist, descending his domain into utter despair and darkness. -- -- TV - Oct 11, 2009 -- 174,861 7.74

Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm -- -- Gonzo -- 12 eps -- Visual novel -- Sci-Fi Sports Drama School -- Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm -- With the invention of anti-gravitational shoes known as Grav-Shoes, the ability to fly freely has become an everyday experience for the people inhabiting a four-island archipelago south of Japan. This invention has brought the people new ways of living and also a new sport known as "Flying Circus," where participants gain points by either touching floating buoys or their opponent's back. -- -- The gullible and clumsy Asuka Kurashina, newly transferred to Kunahama High School, enters this world of flight unknowingly when she is able to pull off a difficult maneuver the first time she participates in a Flying Circus match. Eventually, this leads her to join her school’s Flying Circus club. Led by their coach, Masaya Hinata, their members consist of the experienced Misaki Tobisawa and her overprotective friend, Mashiro Arisaka. Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm follows this rookie group soaring high above the skies and toward their dreams, armed only with their unwavering passion against an uncertain future. -- -- 129,466 6.69

Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm -- -- Gonzo -- 12 eps -- Visual novel -- Sci-Fi Sports Drama School -- Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm -- With the invention of anti-gravitational shoes known as Grav-Shoes, the ability to fly freely has become an everyday experience for the people inhabiting a four-island archipelago south of Japan. This invention has brought the people new ways of living and also a new sport known as "Flying Circus," where participants gain points by either touching floating buoys or their opponent's back. -- -- The gullible and clumsy Asuka Kurashina, newly transferred to Kunahama High School, enters this world of flight unknowingly when she is able to pull off a difficult maneuver the first time she participates in a Flying Circus match. Eventually, this leads her to join her school’s Flying Circus club. Led by their coach, Masaya Hinata, their members consist of the experienced Misaki Tobisawa and her overprotective friend, Mashiro Arisaka. Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm follows this rookie group soaring high above the skies and toward their dreams, armed only with their unwavering passion against an uncertain future. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Crunchyroll, Funimation -- 129,466 6.69

Azumanga Daioh -- -- J.C.Staff -- 26 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Slice of Life Comedy School -- Azumanga Daioh Azumanga Daioh -- Chiyo Mihama begins her high school career as one of the strangest students in her freshman class—a tiny, 10-year-old academic prodigy with a fondness for plush dolls and homemade cooking. But her homeroom teacher, Yukari Tanizaki, is the kind of person who would hijack a student's bike to avoid being late, so "strange" is a relative word. -- -- There certainly isn't a shortage of peculiar girls in Yukari-sensei's homeroom class. Accompanying Chiyo are students like Tomo Takino, an energetic tomboy with more enthusiasm than brains; Koyomi Mizuhara, Tomo's best friend whose temper has a fuse shorter than Chiyo; and Sakaki, a tall, athletic beauty whose intimidating looks hide a gentle personality and a painful obsession with cats. In addition, transfer student Ayumu Kasuga, a girl with her head stuck in the clouds, fits right in with the rest of the girls—and she has a few interesting theories about Chiyo's pigtails! -- -- Together, this lovable group of girls experience the ups and downs of school life, their many adventures filled with constant laughter, surreal absurdity, and occasionally even touching commentary on the bittersweet, temporal nature of high school. -- -- 268,177 7.97

Azumanga Daioh -- -- J.C.Staff -- 26 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Slice of Life Comedy School -- Azumanga Daioh Azumanga Daioh -- Chiyo Mihama begins her high school career as one of the strangest students in her freshman class—a tiny, 10-year-old academic prodigy with a fondness for plush dolls and homemade cooking. But her homeroom teacher, Yukari Tanizaki, is the kind of person who would hijack a student's bike to avoid being late, so "strange" is a relative word. -- -- There certainly isn't a shortage of peculiar girls in Yukari-sensei's homeroom class. Accompanying Chiyo are students like Tomo Takino, an energetic tomboy with more enthusiasm than brains; Koyomi Mizuhara, Tomo's best friend whose temper has a fuse shorter than Chiyo; and Sakaki, a tall, athletic beauty whose intimidating looks hide a gentle personality and a painful obsession with cats. In addition, transfer student Ayumu Kasuga, a girl with her head stuck in the clouds, fits right in with the rest of the girls—and she has a few interesting theories about Chiyo's pigtails! -- -- Together, this lovable group of girls experience the ups and downs of school life, their many adventures filled with constant laughter, surreal absurdity, and occasionally even touching commentary on the bittersweet, temporal nature of high school. -- -- -- Licensor: -- ADV Films, Sentai Filmworks -- 268,177 7.97

Azur Lane -- -- Bibury Animation Studios -- 12 eps -- Game -- Action Military Sci-Fi -- Azur Lane Azur Lane -- When the "Sirens," an alien force with an arsenal far surpassing the limits of current technology, suddenly appeared, a divided humanity stood in complete solidarity for the first time. Four countries—Eagle Union, Royal Navy, Sakura Empire, and Iron Blood—formed Azur Lane, paving the way for the improvement of modern warfare, which led to an initial victory against the common threat. However, this tenuous union was threatened by opposing ideals, dividing the alliance into two. Sakura Empire and Iron Blood broke away and formed the Red Axis, and humanity became fragmented once again. -- -- As a seasoned and experienced fighter, the "Grey Ghost" Enterprise shoulders Azur Lane's hope for ending the war. But behind her stoic persona hides a frail girl, afraid of the ocean. Even so, she continues to fight as she believes that it's the only purpose for her existence. Meanwhile, Javelin, Laffey, and Unicorn—three ships from the union—stumble upon Ayanami, a spy from the Red Axis. Strange as it may seem, they try to befriend her, but as enemies, their efforts are for naught. Still, they persevere in hopes of succeeding one day. -- -- Amidst the neverending conflict within humankind, the keys that could unite a fragmented race might exist: a soldier coming to terms with her mysterious personality and camaraderie between those with different ideals. -- -- 112,848 6.27

Azur Lane -- -- Bibury Animation Studios -- 12 eps -- Game -- Action Military Sci-Fi -- Azur Lane Azur Lane -- When the "Sirens," an alien force with an arsenal far surpassing the limits of current technology, suddenly appeared, a divided humanity stood in complete solidarity for the first time. Four countries—Eagle Union, Royal Navy, Sakura Empire, and Iron Blood—formed Azur Lane, paving the way for the improvement of modern warfare, which led to an initial victory against the common threat. However, this tenuous union was threatened by opposing ideals, dividing the alliance into two. Sakura Empire and Iron Blood broke away and formed the Red Axis, and humanity became fragmented once again. -- -- As a seasoned and experienced fighter, the "Grey Ghost" Enterprise shoulders Azur Lane's hope for ending the war. But behind her stoic persona hides a frail girl, afraid of the ocean. Even so, she continues to fight as she believes that it's the only purpose for her existence. Meanwhile, Javelin, Laffey, and Unicorn—three ships from the union—stumble upon Ayanami, a spy from the Red Axis. Strange as it may seem, they try to befriend her, but as enemies, their efforts are for naught. Still, they persevere in hopes of succeeding one day. -- -- Amidst the neverending conflict within humankind, the keys that could unite a fragmented race might exist: a soldier coming to terms with her mysterious personality and camaraderie between those with different ideals. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 112,848 6.27

Baby Steps 2nd Season -- -- Studio Pierrot -- 25 eps -- Manga -- Sports Romance School Shounen -- Baby Steps 2nd Season Baby Steps 2nd Season -- After having decided to play tennis at the professional level, Eiichirou Maruo now needs to convince his parents to support his decision. To do so, he makes a wager: if he cannot win the All-Japan Junior Tennis Tournament, he will give up on his dream. However, he will need to improve his skills quickly if he wants to qualify for the tournament and have any chance of defeating the best players in the country. For this reason, his new coach Ryuuhei Aoi suggests that Eiichirou travel abroad to train at the Florida Tennis Academy. -- -- Baby Steps 2nd Season takes the action to America as Eiichirou begins his two-week training program, getting a taste of what tennis is like outside of Japan. With this exciting experience awaiting him, Eiichirou hopes that his training will get him closer to his goal of becoming a professional player. -- -- 77,606 8.05

Bakugan Battle Brawlers -- -- TMS Entertainment -- 52 eps -- Original -- Action Fantasy Game -- Bakugan Battle Brawlers Bakugan Battle Brawlers -- Mysterious cards came down from the sky one day. Capable of summoning powerful creatures from another dimension, they became the centerpiece of a new game called Bakugan. The game gained instant popularity among children and teenagers, with the best of them competing in a worldwide ranking. -- -- Meanwhile, war for domination over Vestroia, the homeland of Bakugan cards, rages on. Invaded by the White Dragon Naga and his servants, the Doom Beings, the realm becomes increasingly destabilized. Dimensions begin to merge and many Bakugan players come to realize that their pastime is not merely a game. -- -- Danma Kuusou, one such Bakugan player, intends to become the World Ranking's leader someday. However, during one of his fights he experiences a vision of a clash in Vestroia. The fight suddenly moves to Earth, where Danma comes into possession of a talking, mighty fire Bakugan, Pyrus Dragonoid. -- -- He soon gets dragged into the conflict, and together with his Bakugan Brawlers team, must traverse the dimensions and restore balance in a ravaged world. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Warner Bros. Pictures -- 79,215 6.33

Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Gundalian Invaders -- -- TMS Entertainment -- 39 eps -- Original -- Action Adventure Fantasy Game Shounen -- Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Gundalian Invaders Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Gundalian Invaders -- Bakugan Interspace is a virtual reality system, where players can brawl against each other and take part in tournaments. Initially designed to help practice and enhance Bakugan skills, it quickly became a meeting place for many enthusiasts. During one of Danma Kuusou's duels, the Interspace crashes, and he gets knocked out cold. Before regaining consciousness, he experiences a vision of Bakugan at war with each other once again. -- -- The explosion of energy that accompanied Danma's fight and caused the shutdown of the system sends shock waves across the galaxy, attracting the attention of the Twelve Orders, a Gundalian organization. They infiltrate Bakugan Interspace, looking for strong brawlers to join them in their upcoming war with another alien race, the Neathians. -- -- Danma and his companions—Shun Kazami and Chouji Marukura—soon find themselves caught up in an extraterrestrial war. However, distant as it may seem, the conflict threatens the very sovereignty of Earth and the future of the Bakugan race as well. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Nelvana -- TV - May 23, 2010 -- 34,701 6.23

Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Mechtanium Surge -- -- TMS Entertainment -- 46 eps -- - -- Action Adventure Fantasy Game Shounen -- Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Mechtanium Surge Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Mechtanium Surge -- After returning from the feuding realms of Gundalia and Neathia, Danma Kuusou and his companions continue their lives on Earth. Now, a year later, the virtual reality world of Bakugan Interspace has finally recovered from the alien invasion and has once again become a place for brawlers to gather and challenge themselves. -- -- It turns out, however, that whenever Danma's Bakugan, Pyrus Dragonoid, unleashes his might in battle, the Interspace experiences new disruptions. Unable to harness the incredible powers granted to him by Code Eve—the Bakugan Mother spirit—he struggles to maintain control over the Mechtogan contained within him. When it goes out of control, the mysterious mechanical entity wreaks havoc on the battlefield, attacking friends and foes alike. -- -- To make matters worse, Bakugan Interspace is at risk of being infiltrated again. An unknown mastermind is sending mutated Chaos Bakugan into the system in order to brainwash brawlers and take control of the virtual realm. In anticipation of the inevitable confrontation, Danma must find a way to keep the Mechtogan's destructive force at bay and rally the Battle Brawlers once again. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Nelvana -- TV - Feb 13, 2011 -- 33,952 6.16

Bakuon!! -- -- TMS Entertainment -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Seinen Slice of Life -- Bakuon!! Bakuon!! -- Every day Hane Sakura makes the arduous trip to school, cycling up a large hill on her bicycle. After encountering the motorcycle enthusiast Onsa Amano one morning, she is introduced to the motorcycle club, led by the ever-silent Raimu Kawasaki. New to motorcycles, Sakura experiences firsthand the difficulty of learning to ride again. However, through this, she hopes to once again recreate her first biking experience, which was filled with both horror and exhilaration. -- -- Alongside Baita, the talking motorcycle; Rin Suzunoki, a Suzuki model enthusiast; Hijiri Minowa, a wealthy girl who dreams of being a thug; and professional racer Chisame Nakano, Sakura strives toward getting her bike license and experiencing the joys and hardships of motorcycles. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 53,371 6.48

Bananya -- -- Gathering -- 13 eps -- Original -- Slice of Life Comedy Kids -- Bananya Bananya -- Above a nondescript kitchen counter quietly hangs a bunch of ripe, yellow bananas. Suddenly, one of the slender fruits begins to shake, gently at first but slowly increasing in ferocity until it tears itself away from the rest. With a graceful landing, the long and curvy edible gradually rolls back its golden peels, revealing what lies beneath its firm covering to be... a cat? -- -- This mysterious feline-fruit hybrid is named Bananya. Carefree and gentle, the adorable creature dreams of one day becoming a luscious bananya bathed in chocolate. Together with his fellow bananya, this kitten cloaked in yellow passes its days without a care in the world, enjoying a rather calm and peaceful existence as it experiences what the world has to offer. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Discotek Media -- 55,806 6.73

Battle Spirits: Kakumei no Galette -- -- Bandai Namco Pictures -- ? eps -- Card game -- Game Military Sci-Fi Adventure Demons -- Battle Spirits: Kakumei no Galette Battle Spirits: Kakumei no Galette -- Centuries after the events of Saga Brave, a third race called the Mauve has emerged alongside Humans and Mazoku. Identified by their purple blood and immense intelligence, the Mauve are shunned by the other two races and are viewed as a threat to the peace of the world. Having experienced this prejudice first-hand, a teenage Mauve named Galette Revolt journeys forth to find a way for all races to understand each other by playing Battle Spirits. However, other factions from each race aim to maintain the peace/reform the world through more nefarious ways... -- ONA - Aug 28, 2020 -- 682 N/A -- -- Future Card Buddyfight Recap -- -- OLM, Xebec -- 1 ep -- Card game -- Game -- Future Card Buddyfight Recap Future Card Buddyfight Recap -- Recap episode aired between episodes 23 and 24. -- Special - Jun 14, 2014 -- 645 6.01

Battle Spirits: Kakumei no Galette -- -- Bandai Namco Pictures -- ? eps -- Card game -- Game Military Sci-Fi Adventure Demons -- Battle Spirits: Kakumei no Galette Battle Spirits: Kakumei no Galette -- Centuries after the events of Saga Brave, a third race called the Mauve has emerged alongside Humans and Mazoku. Identified by their purple blood and immense intelligence, the Mauve are shunned by the other two races and are viewed as a threat to the peace of the world. Having experienced this prejudice first-hand, a teenage Mauve named Galette Revolt journeys forth to find a way for all races to understand each other by playing Battle Spirits. However, other factions from each race aim to maintain the peace/reform the world through more nefarious ways... -- ONA - Aug 28, 2020 -- 682 N/A -- -- Shinkai no Kantai: Submarine 707 -- -- J.C.Staff, Toei Animation -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Action Adventure Military Sci-Fi -- Shinkai no Kantai: Submarine 707 Shinkai no Kantai: Submarine 707 -- A mysterious object attacks and destroys any ship or submarine. Submarine 707 has the mission to search for that mysterious object, when summoned by a whale to follow it. The whale leads them to the world of Mu. But on their way they meet the mysterious object. They find out , it is Commander Red Silver, who had attacked the world of Mu to get Mu's magma sources. Submarine takes up the battle to defeat Red Silver and save Mu, and the world for that matter. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- OVA - Jan 10, 1997 -- 680 5.64

Berserk -- -- GEMBA, Millepensee -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Action Adventure Demons Drama Fantasy Horror Military Romance Seinen Supernatural -- Berserk Berserk -- Now branded for death and destined to be hunted by demons until the day he dies, Guts embarks on a journey to defy such a gruesome fate, as waves of beasts relentlessly pursue him. Steeling his resolve, he takes up the monstrous blade Dragonslayer and vows to exact vengeance on the one responsible, hunting down the very man he once looked up to and considered a friend. -- -- Along the way, he encounters some unlikely allies, such as a small elf named Puck, and Isidro, a young thief looking to learn swordsmanship from the former mercenary. As the ragtag group slowly comes together after having decided to join Guts in his quest, they will face incredible danger unlike anything they have ever experienced before. -- -- 266,685 6.35

Berserk -- -- GEMBA, Millepensee -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Action Adventure Demons Drama Fantasy Horror Military Romance Seinen Supernatural -- Berserk Berserk -- Now branded for death and destined to be hunted by demons until the day he dies, Guts embarks on a journey to defy such a gruesome fate, as waves of beasts relentlessly pursue him. Steeling his resolve, he takes up the monstrous blade Dragonslayer and vows to exact vengeance on the one responsible, hunting down the very man he once looked up to and considered a friend. -- -- Along the way, he encounters some unlikely allies, such as a small elf named Puck, and Isidro, a young thief looking to learn swordsmanship from the former mercenary. As the ragtag group slowly comes together after having decided to join Guts in his quest, they will face incredible danger unlike anything they have ever experienced before. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Crunchyroll, Funimation -- 266,685 6.35

B-gata H-kei -- -- Hal Film Maker, TYO Animations -- 12 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Comedy Ecchi Romance School Seinen -- B-gata H-kei B-gata H-kei -- Most people, including the girl herself, would say that first year high school student Yamada is beautiful and perfect. Despite this, she is working towards a peculiar goal: to have sex with one hundred men by the end of high school. -- -- Trying to put some sense into her head, Yamada's best friend, Miharu Takeshita, points out a major flaw in that plan—she is completely inexperienced with men. However, the reason behind this is that Yamada thinks her lady parts look strange and believes others will judge her for it. As a result, Yamada decides that her first time must be with a fellow virgin, since they will not hurt or scare her. After a fateful encounter, she sets her sights on the shy and average Takashi Kosuda, an aspiring photographer with a heart of gold. -- -- With contending rivals for his affection and her own raging hormones, Yamada must find ways to seduce Kosuda and take his cherry. However, as she gets closer to Kosuda, she finds herself increasingly enjoying their time spent together. -- -- 330,273 6.92

Binzume Yousei -- -- Xebec -- 13 eps -- Original -- Comedy Fantasy Magic Slice of Life -- Binzume Yousei Binzume Yousei -- Set in the year 2004, Binzume Yousei is a slice-of-life fairy tale that revolves around four fairies, each represented by four unique colors as seen with their magical bottle jars. These fairies are the extremely peppy Kururu, the reserved and feminine Chiriri, the samurai-loving tomboy Sarara, and the quiet yet quirky Hororo. -- -- Fascinated by the human world, these fairies arrived from the fairy world in hopes of participating in the annual traditions and overall way of human life. However, they have a very limited understanding of the human world. Luckily, they are befriended and guided by two humans—"Sensei-san," a university student who they live with, and a first-grade girl they call "Tama-chan," who is sometimes as naive as the fairies themselves. -- -- Though these bottle fairies have strange ideas and sometimes have difficulty understanding this new world, they try to make the most of the human experience in their own cute little ways. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Geneon Entertainment USA -- TV - Oct 3, 2003 -- 16,654 6.44

Bloody Date -- -- - -- 1 ep -- Original -- Horror -- Bloody Date Bloody Date -- While enjoying their first date, a young couple experiences a nasty surprise when they're interrupted by an axe-wielding murderer! The girl manages to escape and finds refuge in a strange family's house, where she urges the people inside to call the police. However, she is knocked out and awakens inside a nightmarish room. Her real struggle for survival is only just beginning! -- -- ONA - ??? ??, 2006 -- 3,474 4.17

Boku no Hero Academia the Movie 2: Heroes:Rising -- -- Bones -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Action Super Power Shounen -- Boku no Hero Academia the Movie 2: Heroes:Rising Boku no Hero Academia the Movie 2: Heroes:Rising -- Izuku "Deku'' Midoriya and his fellow students in Class 1-A of UA High's hero course have been chosen to participate in a safety program on Nabu Island. To further improve their skills and gain experience in more ordinary heroics, the students aid the kind citizens with small services and everyday chores. With the low crime rate in the quiet community, all seems well and good, but the rise of a new villain threatens to put the students' courage to the test and challenge their capabilities as heroes. -- -- A merciless villain by the name of Nine is in search of a certain "quirk" needed to fulfill his diabolical plan—creating a society where only those with the strongest quirks reign supreme. As his attack on Nabu Island endangers the lives of the residents, securing the citizens becomes the first priority for Class 1-A; defeating Nine along with his wicked accomplices is also imperative. A straightforward strategy is formulated until a young boy named Katsuma Shimano, whom Deku had befriended, suddenly requires particular protection. Concerned for the boy's wellbeing, Deku and his classmates must now devise a plan to ensure Katsuma's safety at all costs. -- -- With Nine wreaking havoc to find the catalyst for his ill-intended schemes and the heroes desperate to defend Katsuma from harm, will Deku and his friends be able to come out victorious, or will they find themselves unable to escape a hopeless situation? -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- Movie - Dec 20, 2019 -- 311,218 8.07

Boku no Hero Academia the Movie 2: Heroes:Rising -- -- Bones -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Action Super Power Shounen -- Boku no Hero Academia the Movie 2: Heroes:Rising Boku no Hero Academia the Movie 2: Heroes:Rising -- Izuku "Deku'' Midoriya and his fellow students in Class 1-A of UA High's hero course have been chosen to participate in a safety program on Nabu Island. To further improve their skills and gain experience in more ordinary heroics, the students aid the kind citizens with small services and everyday chores. With the low crime rate in the quiet community, all seems well and good, but the rise of a new villain threatens to put the students' courage to the test and challenge their capabilities as heroes. -- -- A merciless villain by the name of Nine is in search of a certain "quirk" needed to fulfill his diabolical plan—creating a society where only those with the strongest quirks reign supreme. As his attack on Nabu Island endangers the lives of the residents, securing the citizens becomes the first priority for Class 1-A; defeating Nine along with his wicked accomplices is also imperative. A straightforward strategy is formulated until a young boy named Katsuma Shimano, whom Deku had befriended, suddenly requires particular protection. Concerned for the boy's wellbeing, Deku and his classmates must now devise a plan to ensure Katsuma's safety at all costs. -- -- With Nine wreaking havoc to find the catalyst for his ill-intended schemes and the heroes desperate to defend Katsuma from harm, will Deku and his friends be able to come out victorious, or will they find themselves unable to escape a hopeless situation? -- -- Movie - Dec 20, 2019 -- 311,218 8.07

Boku no Kanojo ga Majimesugiru Sho-bitch na Ken -- -- Diomedéa, Studio Blanc -- 10 eps -- Web manga -- Harem Comedy Romance Ecchi School -- Boku no Kanojo ga Majimesugiru Sho-bitch na Ken Boku no Kanojo ga Majimesugiru Sho-bitch na Ken -- Haruka Shinozaki has been interested in the class representative, Akiho Kousaka, since his first year in high school. She is attractive, good at sports, and is an all-around model student. Since they are in the same class this year, Shinozaki decides to confess his feelings—and, to his shock, Kousaka agrees to be his girlfriend! -- -- However, he finds that Kousaka is a bit stranger than he first thought: this seemingly perfect girl has never been in a relationship. But even though she is inexperienced, she vows to please Shinozaki in every way she can... such as learning multiple sex positions or his fetishes. Shinozaki tries to assure her that her studies into such subjects aren't necessary, but Kousaka devotes herself to making him happy in more ways than one. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 192,145 6.27

Boruto: Naruto the Movie -- -- Studio Pierrot -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Action Comedy Martial Arts Shounen Super Power -- Boruto: Naruto the Movie Boruto: Naruto the Movie -- The spirited Boruto Uzumaki, son of Seventh Hokage Naruto, is a skilled ninja who possesses the same brashness and passion his father once had. However, the constant absence of his father, who is busy with his Hokage duties, puts a damper on Boruto's fire. Upon learning that his father will watch the aspiring ninjas who will participate in the upcoming Chunin exams, Boruto is driven to prove to him that he is worthy of his attention. In order to do so, he enlists the help of Naruto's childhood friend and rival, Sasuke Uchiha. -- -- The Chunin exams begin and progress smoothly, until suddenly, the Konohagakure is attacked by a new foe that threatens the long-standing peace of the village. Now facing real danger, Naruto and his comrades must work together to protect the future of their cherished home and defeat the evil that terrorizes their world. As this battle ensues, Boruto comes to realize the struggles his father once experienced—and what it truly means to be a ninja. -- -- -- Licensor: -- VIZ Media -- Movie - Aug 7, 2015 -- 338,945 7.48

Boruto: Naruto the Movie -- -- Studio Pierrot -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Action Comedy Martial Arts Shounen Super Power -- Boruto: Naruto the Movie Boruto: Naruto the Movie -- The spirited Boruto Uzumaki, son of Seventh Hokage Naruto, is a skilled ninja who possesses the same brashness and passion his father once had. However, the constant absence of his father, who is busy with his Hokage duties, puts a damper on Boruto's fire. Upon learning that his father will watch the aspiring ninjas who will participate in the upcoming Chunin exams, Boruto is driven to prove to him that he is worthy of his attention. In order to do so, he enlists the help of Naruto's childhood friend and rival, Sasuke Uchiha. -- -- The Chunin exams begin and progress smoothly, until suddenly, the Konohagakure is attacked by a new foe that threatens the long-standing peace of the village. Now facing real danger, Naruto and his comrades must work together to protect the future of their cherished home and defeat the evil that terrorizes their world. As this battle ensues, Boruto comes to realize the struggles his father once experienced—and what it truly means to be a ninja. -- -- Movie - Aug 7, 2015 -- 338,945 7.48

Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV -- -- A-1 Pictures -- 5 eps -- Game -- Action -- Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV -- Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Lucis, Noctis Lucis Caelum, sets out on a journey to Caem. His purpose is to meet with Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, an oracle and Noctis' childhood friend, in order to marry her. A strong and silent type, Noctis is accompanied by his friends and Royal Guard Gladiolus, Prompto, and Ignis. The four young men set out on a road trip across the continent in the king's personal convertible, the Regalia. Along the journey, each of them experience various situations which allow them to reflect on their past together, and strengthen their bonds for the future. -- -- A prequel to the 2016 video game Final Fantasy XV, Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV explores the relationships of its four main protagonists and the challenges awaiting them. -- -- ONA - Mar 31, 2016 -- 66,049 6.96

Buddha Saitan -- -- Group TAC -- 1 ep -- Book -- Psychological Supernatural Romance -- Buddha Saitan Buddha Saitan -- 17-year-old Sayako Amanokawa aspires to become a journalist, just like Kanemoto, an elite newspaper writer she looks up to. But Kanemoto, shamed from an erroneous report about a corruption scandal, jumps in front of a train and commits suicide. Since that incident, Sayako suddenly becomes able to see spirits and almost loses her life. However, from that near-fatal incident she experiences something extraordinary. The journalist inside her stirred, she embarks to find out about the truth. But the forces that stand in her way turn out to be much more formidable than she ever imagined. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- Movie - Oct 17, 2009 -- 5,858 5.94

Buddy Complex -- -- Sunrise -- 13 eps -- Original -- Action Sci-Fi Mecha -- Buddy Complex Buddy Complex -- When ordinary high school student Aoba Watase is suddenly targeted by a giant robot known as a "Valiancer," he is saved by his mysterious classmate Hina Yumihara. After revealing that she and their robotic enemy are from the future, Hina suddenly propels Aoba 70 years forward in order to prevent his death. -- -- Upon arrival, Aoba finds himself in the cockpit of a Valiancer called "Luxon," stuck in the midst of a firefight between the military forces of the Free Pact Alliance (FPA) and Zogilia Republic. After he shows high compatibility with an FPA pilot named Dio Weinberg, the two perform a successful "coupling," allowing them to share experiences and subsequently increase their capabilities and skills. Although Aoba is able to survive this unexpected battle, he is taken into custody by the FPA ship Cygnus, who wishes to interrogate him. While the student's main concern is whether he will ever be able to return home, what he doesn't realize is that he is about to get caught up in a war to protect the world. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 73,802 7.16

Butlers: Chitose Momotose Monogatari -- -- SILVER LINK. -- 12 eps -- Original -- Comedy School Supernatural -- Butlers: Chitose Momotose Monogatari Butlers: Chitose Momotose Monogatari -- The anime centers on two protagonists. Koma Jinguji (Jay) is the smart and handsome student council president. His elegant smile captures the hearts of women. Tsubasa Hayakawa is a multi-talented and gentle shop assistant at a café. His cafe latte with owl latte art is very popular with female customers. The two men travel through time to fight their archenemy. The charming "Butlers," as they are called, fight supernatural battles and also experience a slapstick comedic life at their academy. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- 21,292 5.64

Byulbyul Iyagi -- -- - -- 6 eps -- - -- Psychological Drama -- Byulbyul Iyagi Byulbyul Iyagi -- Six animated shorts about discrimination and being different. -- -- 1. "Daydream" talks about dealing with people with disability. It homes in on the daily life of a father with a daughter whose hands and feet are deformed. -- -- 2. "Animal Farm" relies on the rough-and-ready feel of stop-motion clay animation to create a satire of bullying and mob dynamics. -- -- 3. "At Her House" paints a devastating picture of gender inequality within a marriage. -- -- 4. "Flesh and Bone" gently pillories superficiality and the obsession with outward appearance. -- -- 5. "Bicycle Trip" focuses on the discrimination experienced by foreign workers in Korea. -- -- 6. "Be a Human Being" looks at the way young Koreans are barely treated as human beings before they get to university. -- -- (Source: ANIWEBLOG, ASIANDB, Jeonju) -- Movie - Sep 23, 2005 -- 402 N/A -- -- Paradise -- -- - -- 1 ep -- - -- Adventure Psychological Space -- Paradise Paradise -- "A highly energetic story told from outer space, battlefields, and dentist offices, over and around time and space." -- -- (Source: Image Forum Festival 2014 program) -- Movie - ??? ??, 2013 -- 381 N/A -- -- Ninja & Soldier -- -- - -- 1 ep -- - -- Psychological -- Ninja & Soldier Ninja & Soldier -- Two eight-year-old boys compete in a game of childish bravado. Ken is a Ninja, Nito a child soldier from the Congo who was forced to kill his own mother. Their naïve game addresses cruel realities, and they talk about their differences and what they have in common. Accompanied by contrasting graphics, the film explores the types of acts of which humankind is capable. -- -- (Source: Berlinale) -- Movie - ??? ??, 2012 -- 374 5.90

ChäoS;HEAd -- -- Madhouse -- 12 eps -- Visual novel -- Sci-Fi Harem Mystery Psychological Supernatural -- ChäoS;HEAd ChäoS;HEAd -- Throughout Shibuya, a series of murders dubbed the "New Generation Madness" gained widespread attention As these crimes gained infamy, they became a hot topic of discussion among the people of the area. Nonetheless, these "New Gen" murders do not capture the interest of Takumi Nishijou, a high school otaku who frequently experiences delusions and feels that he is constantly being watched. -- -- Having no concern for the real world, Takumi spends his time playing online games and watching anime. However, his ordinary life is disrupted when he receives a horrifying image of a man staked to a wall from a user named Shogun. After calming himself at an internet cafe, Takumi sees the exact same murder scene as the image portrayed happen right before his eyes, along with a pink-haired girl covered in blood calling out his name. -- -- Conflicted with the nature of reality, Takumi finds it difficult to judge where to place his trust as he gets caught up in the "New Gen" murders, believing that the murderer is out to get him. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- TV - Oct 9, 2008 -- 260,693 6.36

Choukou Tenshi Escalayer -- -- - -- 3 eps -- Visual novel -- Demons Hentai Sci-Fi Super Power -- Choukou Tenshi Escalayer Choukou Tenshi Escalayer -- Sayuka Kouenji, is the Escalayer, guardian of the Earth against the dark forces of the Dielast. By her side is the android Madoka, and it is Madoka's job to track and recharge the source of Sayuka's power, the Doki Doki Dynamo. Located within Sayuka's body, the Doki Doki Dynamo can only be recharged when Sayuka experiences a high level of sexual arousal which, until recently, Madoka has been able to provide her. With unacceptably low energy levels facing them, Madoka brings in the assistance of Kyohei Yanase, a boy from Sayuka's school. Kyohei once harboured a crush for Sayuka, and his sexual prowess could not have come sooner. For now arrayed against these three defenders of the Earth is the Dielast version of the escalayer, the FM77, who is ruthless in combat, and brimming with violent desire. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- -- Licensor: -- Kitty Media, Media Blasters -- OVA - Sep 27, 2002 -- 9,733 6.53

Circlet Princess -- -- SILVER LINK. -- 12 eps -- Game -- Action School Sci-Fi Sports -- Circlet Princess Circlet Princess -- Virtual Reality and the arrival of Circlet Technology has changed people's lives. A new competitive electronic sport called Circlet Bout emerges, and schools duel to determine the strongest Circlet Bout Club and player. One day, Yuuka Sasaki gets mistaken for a challenger and battles against Chikage Fujimura, the best player in Japan, tying the intense fight despite her inexperience. These events lead to her passion for the sport, deciding to become a Circlet Bout player. -- -- Two years later, Yuuka moves to Tokyo and enrolls in Union School, a place where she can practice and pursue her dream of fighting Chikage again. After her arrival at the Union School, she discovers the club closed. Now her first goal is to help the athletic Miyuki Kasahara and club manager Ayumu Aizawa reopen Union's Circle Bout Club and return it to its former glory. -- -- 14,404 5.97

Citrus -- -- Passione -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Drama Romance School Shoujo Ai -- Citrus Citrus -- During the summer of her freshman year of high school, Yuzu Aihara's mother remarried, forcing her to transfer to a new school. To a fashionable socialite like Yuzu, this inconvenient event is just another opportunity to make new friends, fall in love, and finally experience a first kiss. Unfortunately, Yuzu's dreams and style do not conform with her new ultrastrict, all-girls school, filled with obedient shut-ins and overachieving grade-skippers. Her gaudy appearance manages to grab the attention of Mei Aihara, the beautiful and imposing student council president, who immediately proceeds to sensually caress Yuzu's body in an effort to confiscate her cellphone. -- -- Thoroughly exhausted from her first day, Yuzu arrives home and discovers a shocking truth—Mei is actually her new step-sister! Though Yuzu initially tries to be friendly with her, Mei's cold shoulder routine forces Yuzu to begin teasing her. But before Yuzu can finish her sentence, Mei forces her to the ground and kisses her, with Yuzu desperately trying to break free. Once done, Mei storms out of the room, leaving Yuzu to ponder the true nature of her first kiss, and the secrets behind the tortured expression in the eyes of her new sister. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 364,268 6.51

Clannad: After Story -- -- Kyoto Animation -- 24 eps -- Visual novel -- Slice of Life Comedy Supernatural Drama Romance -- Clannad: After Story Clannad: After Story -- Clannad: After Story, the sequel to the critically acclaimed slice-of-life series Clannad, begins after Tomoya Okazaki and Nagisa Furukawa graduate from high school. Together, they experience the emotional rollercoaster of growing up. Unable to decide on a course for his future, Tomoya learns the value of a strong work ethic and discovers the strength of Nagisa's support. Through the couple's dedication and unity of purpose, they push forward to confront their personal problems, deepen their old relationships, and create new bonds. -- -- Time also moves on in the Illusionary World. As the plains grow cold with the approach of winter, the Illusionary Girl and the Garbage Doll are presented with a difficult situation that reveals the World's true purpose. -- -- Based on the visual novel by Key and produced by Kyoto Animation, Clannad: After Story is an impactful drama highlighting the importance of family and the struggles of adulthood. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 946,989 8.96

Dakaretai Otoko 1-i ni Odosarete Imasu. -- -- CloverWorks -- 13 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Drama Romance Shounen Ai -- Dakaretai Otoko 1-i ni Odosarete Imasu. Dakaretai Otoko 1-i ni Odosarete Imasu. -- Takato Saijou has held the title of "Sexiest Man of the Year" for five years running. He is an accomplished actor, with 20 years of experience under his belt, and is aware his good looks are well above average. Proud of his career, Takato regards the title as an appropriate indicator of his success. -- -- But when his reign is ended by acting newbie Junta Azumaya, who debuted only three years ago, Takato's initial shock gives way to jealous hostility. Even in the new drama that he has been cast in, Junta seems to have suddenly surpassed him; snatching Takato's usual spot of lead actor, Junta continually manages to get on his nerves. Most infuriating of all are the bright smile and kind words that accompany everything Junta does. -- -- All this animosity comes to a head, however, when Junta catches Takato in a rather vulnerable drunken state. Endangering his own public image, Takato confronts the junior actor with harsh words and angry comments—an opportunity Junta takes every advantage of. With the famous actor Takato Saijou now on video picking a fight with a co-star, Junta has the perfect means to blackmail him. -- -- Asking the price of his enemy's silence, Takato is shocked to find that his motivation lies far from advancing his career; instead, Junta's terms are those that can only be realized in the bedroom! -- -- 90,579 7.38

Danball Senki -- -- OLM -- 44 eps -- Game -- Action Kids Mecha -- Danball Senki Danball Senki -- In 2046, a revolutionary 80% shock-absorbing reinforced cardboard has been developed, rapidly transforming the world's exports. The reinforced cardboard would soon become the battleground for a popular children's hobby called "LBX" (Little Battler eXperience). -- -- Four years later, a boy named Yamano Ban who loves to play with LBX (although without a mecha himself) is given a case containing the model AX-00 by a mysterious woman. He is told that he now holds the hopes and despairs of mankind in his hands. -- -- Licensor: -- Dentsu Entertainment USA -- TV - Mar 2, 2011 -- 7,541 6.99

Darwin's Game -- -- Nexus -- 11 eps -- Manga -- Action Sci-Fi Mystery Super Power Shounen -- Darwin's Game Darwin's Game -- High school student Kaname Sudou receives an invitation from a classmate to play Darwin's Game, a mobile game he has never heard of. However, as soon as he opens the application, a green snake suddenly pops out from his phone screen and bites his neck, leaving him unconscious. Waking up in the infirmary without any signs of a snake bite, he is told by the school to take the rest of the day off. Although he is puzzled by what has happened, he dismisses the surreal experience as a hallucination and boards the train home. -- -- Unfortunately, his curiosity gets the better of him and he uses the application once again. As the application appears to be just like any other battle game, Kaname breathes out a sigh of relief and decides to start his first match. However, the pleasant surprise is short-lived, as his in-game opponent unexpectedly appears right in front of him and attempts to hunt him down with a knife. -- -- As he desperately runs for his life, Kaname puts two and two together and realizes that Darwin's Game is not an ordinary game, but rather, it's a brutal fight for survival. -- -- 330,327 7.28

Darwin's Game -- -- Nexus -- 11 eps -- Manga -- Action Sci-Fi Mystery Super Power Shounen -- Darwin's Game Darwin's Game -- High school student Kaname Sudou receives an invitation from a classmate to play Darwin's Game, a mobile game he has never heard of. However, as soon as he opens the application, a green snake suddenly pops out from his phone screen and bites his neck, leaving him unconscious. Waking up in the infirmary without any signs of a snake bite, he is told by the school to take the rest of the day off. Although he is puzzled by what has happened, he dismisses the surreal experience as a hallucination and boards the train home. -- -- Unfortunately, his curiosity gets the better of him and he uses the application once again. As the application appears to be just like any other battle game, Kaname breathes out a sigh of relief and decides to start his first match. However, the pleasant surprise is short-lived, as his in-game opponent unexpectedly appears right in front of him and attempts to hunt him down with a knife. -- -- As he desperately runs for his life, Kaname puts two and two together and realizes that Darwin's Game is not an ordinary game, but rather, it's a brutal fight for survival. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Aniplex of America -- 330,327 7.28

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko -- -- Shaft -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Sci-Fi Slice of Life Comedy -- Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko -- Makoto Niwa meticulously tallies the amount of positive and negative youthful experiences he engages in as if to grade his own life. When his parents go overseas, he moves to a new town to live with his aunt, welcoming the change and ready for a fresh start. However, as ordinary as he had imagined his adolescence to be, he could never have taken the existence of an enigmatic long-lost cousin into account. -- -- Upon moving into his aunt's house, he discovers the cousin he never knew about: Erio Touwa. Despite being Makoto's age, she couldn't be more different: Erio chooses to wrap herself in a futon all day rather than to go to school. She even claims to be an alien, and with a speech pattern and personality to back it up, any chance of Makoto's dreamt-of normal life is instantly tossed out the window. -- -- As he meets a string of other eccentric girls in town, Makoto must face the possibility of seeing his youth points in the red. However, he might be surprised by how thrilling an abnormal youth can be. -- -- -- Licensor: -- NIS America, Inc. -- TV - Apr 15, 2011 -- 254,924 7.17

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko -- -- Shaft -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Sci-Fi Slice of Life Comedy -- Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko -- Makoto Niwa meticulously tallies the amount of positive and negative youthful experiences he engages in as if to grade his own life. When his parents go overseas, he moves to a new town to live with his aunt, welcoming the change and ready for a fresh start. However, as ordinary as he had imagined his adolescence to be, he could never have taken the existence of an enigmatic long-lost cousin into account. -- -- Upon moving into his aunt's house, he discovers the cousin he never knew about: Erio Touwa. Despite being Makoto's age, she couldn't be more different: Erio chooses to wrap herself in a futon all day rather than to go to school. She even claims to be an alien, and with a speech pattern and personality to back it up, any chance of Makoto's dreamt-of normal life is instantly tossed out the window. -- -- As he meets a string of other eccentric girls in town, Makoto must face the possibility of seeing his youth points in the red. However, he might be surprised by how thrilling an abnormal youth can be. -- -- TV - Apr 15, 2011 -- 254,924 7.17

Diabolik Lovers More,Blood -- -- Zexcs -- 12 eps -- Visual novel -- Harem School Shoujo Vampire -- Diabolik Lovers More,Blood Diabolik Lovers More,Blood -- Yui Komori, still held captive by the Sakamaki brothers—pureblood vampires after her blood—experiences yet more bizarre twists to her life following her stay at their household. Though haunted by enigmatic dreams, Yui soon deciphers their meaning when caught in a car crash, which subsequently leads to meeting four new vampires: the Mukami brothers, Ruki, Azusa, Kou, and Yuuma, who themselves capture the bewildered girl. -- -- Yui later awakens in the Mukami mansion, where the brothers reveal their plans for her: she is their "Eve," and her blood will find the "Adam" among them; together, they will have the power to rule the world. However, with the Sakamaki brothers hot on their heels, things might not go quite as smoothly as they had imagined. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 109,892 5.62

Diamond no Ace: Act II -- -- Madhouse -- 52 eps -- Manga -- Comedy School Shounen Sports -- Diamond no Ace: Act II Diamond no Ace: Act II -- The hallowed ground of Koshien Stadium is the "field of dreams," where the ambitions of high school baseball players come true. After emerging victorious in the autumn tournament last year, Seidou High School baseball's team has finally earned the right to compete there for the first time in seven years. Beyond the spring tournament looms the battle to decide who is the best team in the nation — the Summer Koshien. -- -- With the third-year players due to retire after the summer tournament, the team has to integrate the experience of the seniors and the potential of the newcomers to overcome familiar and new opponents alike and win the coveted national title. -- -- Meanwhile, pitcher Eijun Sawamura is as determined as ever to earn jersey No. 1 and seize the position of "ace" from his persistent rival, Satoru Furuya. As the team prepares for their greatest challenge yet, Sawamura and Furuya carry on their struggle to lead their team to glory and become the star of the game: the true "Ace of the Diamond." -- -- 58,455 8.23

Domestic na Kanojo -- -- Diomedéa -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Drama Romance School Shounen -- Domestic na Kanojo Domestic na Kanojo -- In their teenage years, few things can hurt people more than the heartaches that come with unrequited love. Such is the case for Natsuo Fujii, who has found himself entranced by his school's ever-cheerful teacher Hina. Deflated by this unreachable desire, Natsuo humors his friends and attends a mixer. There he meets Rui, a girl whose lack of excitement rivals that of himself. After bonding over their mutual awkwardness, Rui takes Natsuo to her house and asks him to have sex with her, hoping that the experience will stop her friends from treating her like a clueless child. With his hopeless feelings towards Hina still on his mind, Natsuo hesitantly agrees. -- -- Equally unfulfilled by their "first times," the two decide to part ways as strangers. However, before he even has a chance to process this experience, Natsuo's father drops a major bombshell: he is getting remarried, and his new wife Tsukiko Tachibana is coming over now to meet Natsuo. As if that was not enough of a shock, her daughters—and, in turn, Natsuo's new sisters—are Hina and Rui Tachibana, the woman he's in love with and the girl with whom he shared his first night. Now, Natsuo must come to terms with the feelings he has for his step-siblings as his eyes open to a darker side of love. -- -- 451,362 6.75

Domestic na Kanojo -- -- Diomedéa -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Drama Romance School Shounen -- Domestic na Kanojo Domestic na Kanojo -- In their teenage years, few things can hurt people more than the heartaches that come with unrequited love. Such is the case for Natsuo Fujii, who has found himself entranced by his school's ever-cheerful teacher Hina. Deflated by this unreachable desire, Natsuo humors his friends and attends a mixer. There he meets Rui, a girl whose lack of excitement rivals that of himself. After bonding over their mutual awkwardness, Rui takes Natsuo to her house and asks him to have sex with her, hoping that the experience will stop her friends from treating her like a clueless child. With his hopeless feelings towards Hina still on his mind, Natsuo hesitantly agrees. -- -- Equally unfulfilled by their "first times," the two decide to part ways as strangers. However, before he even has a chance to process this experience, Natsuo's father drops a major bombshell: he is getting remarried, and his new wife Tsukiko Tachibana is coming over now to meet Natsuo. As if that was not enough of a shock, her daughters—and, in turn, Natsuo's new sisters—are Hina and Rui Tachibana, the woman he's in love with and the girl with whom he shared his first night. Now, Natsuo must come to terms with the feelings he has for his step-siblings as his eyes open to a darker side of love. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 451,362 6.75

Doujin Work -- -- Remic -- 12 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Slice of Life Comedy -- Doujin Work Doujin Work -- Doujin Work follows the life of a young girl named Najimi Osana and her exposure into the doujin world. She was first tempted into becoming a doujin artist after seeing how much one of her friends can make at a convention. Najimi loves to draw, though soon learns contrary to what she expected that this new world is anything but easy. As she attends more conventions and meets more people, Najimi eventually manages to find a group of very interesting friends. These friends already have some experience in the field and help her out along the way so that she can someday make a name for herself creating doujinshi. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- -- Licensor: -- Media Blasters -- 25,522 6.79

Dragon Ball Kai -- -- Toei Animation -- 97 eps -- Manga -- Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Martial Arts Shounen Super Power -- Dragon Ball Kai Dragon Ball Kai -- Five years after the events of Dragon Ball, martial arts expert Gokuu is now a grown man married to his wife Chi-Chi, with a four-year old son named Gohan. While attending a reunion on Turtle Island with his old friends Master Roshi, Krillin, Bulma and others, the festivities are interrupted when a humanoid alien named Raditz not only reveals the truth behind Gokuu's past, but kidnaps Gohan as well. -- -- With Raditz displaying power beyond anything Gokuu has seen before, he is forced to team up with his old nemesis, Piccolo, in order to rescue his son. But when Gokuu and Piccolo reveal the secret of the seven mystical wish-granting Dragon Balls to Raditz, he informs the duo that there is more of his race, the Saiyans, and they won’t pass up an opportunity to seize the power of the Dragon Balls for themselves. -- -- These events begin the saga of Dragon Ball Kai, a story that finds Gokuu and his friends and family constantly defending the galaxy from increasingly more powerful threats. Bizarre, comical, heartwarming and threatening characters come together in a series of battles that push the powers and abilities of Gokuu and his friends beyond anything they have ever experienced. -- 283,006 7.72

Dragon Ball Kai -- -- Toei Animation -- 97 eps -- Manga -- Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Martial Arts Shounen Super Power -- Dragon Ball Kai Dragon Ball Kai -- Five years after the events of Dragon Ball, martial arts expert Gokuu is now a grown man married to his wife Chi-Chi, with a four-year old son named Gohan. While attending a reunion on Turtle Island with his old friends Master Roshi, Krillin, Bulma and others, the festivities are interrupted when a humanoid alien named Raditz not only reveals the truth behind Gokuu's past, but kidnaps Gohan as well. -- -- With Raditz displaying power beyond anything Gokuu has seen before, he is forced to team up with his old nemesis, Piccolo, in order to rescue his son. But when Gokuu and Piccolo reveal the secret of the seven mystical wish-granting Dragon Balls to Raditz, he informs the duo that there is more of his race, the Saiyans, and they won’t pass up an opportunity to seize the power of the Dragon Balls for themselves. -- -- These events begin the saga of Dragon Ball Kai, a story that finds Gokuu and his friends and family constantly defending the galaxy from increasingly more powerful threats. Bizarre, comical, heartwarming and threatening characters come together in a series of battles that push the powers and abilities of Gokuu and his friends beyond anything they have ever experienced. -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 283,006 7.72

Een -- -- - -- 1 ep -- Original -- Dementia -- Een Een -- Synchronized the irritation of the baby’s cries and the frustration I have ever experienced. Everyone was born while crying and grew crying. I grew up to be an adult, but I strongly want to be a baby again. -- -- Short film by Sawako Kabuki. -- ONA - Feb 12, 2018 -- 528 5.01

Enzai -- -- - -- 2 eps -- Visual novel -- Hentai Historical Horror Drama Yaoi -- Enzai Enzai -- The protagonist is Guys, a young boy from a poor family, who gets caught for stealing candy from a Paris store. -- -- However, after being railroaded by a city detective named Guildias, Guys finds himself accused, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a man he never met. -- -- From that point on, most Enzai takes place inside a dark, claustrophobic, dirty prison, in there, Guys experiences humiliation and torture of various kinds, much of it involving sexual acts such as rape and forcible sodomy. -- OVA - Apr 23, 2004 -- 20,117 5.25

Fragtime -- -- Tear Studio -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Sci-Fi Slice of Life Romance School Shoujo Ai -- Fragtime Fragtime -- Misuzu Moritani is an introvert who has always had difficulty interacting with her classmates, quickly becoming flustered whenever someone tries to talk to her. Sometimes, she will use her ability to stop time for three minutes to escape troublesome social situations. -- -- One day, as Misuzu watches the suspended environment around her, she observes that her classmate, Haruka Murakami, is somehow able to move despite her temporal influence. From that moment on, Misuzu experiences new wonders as she explores more of the world she has long avoided; no matter where time may take her, Misuzu can count on Haruka to always be at her side. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- Movie - Nov 22, 2019 -- 25,209 6.52

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos -- -- Bones -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Action Adventure Comedy Drama Fantasy Magic Military Shounen -- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos -- Chasing a runaway alchemist with strange powers, brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric stumble into the squalid valley of the Milos. The Milosians are an oppressed group that seek to reclaim their holy land from Creta: a militaristic country that forcefully annexed their nation. In the eye of the political storm is a girl named Julia Crichton, who emphatically wishes for the Milos to regain their strength and return to being a nation of peace. -- -- Befriending the girl, Edward and Alphonse find themselves in the midst of a rising resistance that involves the use of the very object they have been seeking all along—the Philosopher's Stone. However, their past experiences with the stone cause them reservation, and the brothers are unwilling to help. -- -- But as they discover the secrets behind Creta's intentions and questionable history, the brothers are drawn into the battle between the rebellious Milos, who desire their liberty, and the Cretan military, who seek absolute power. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- Movie - Jul 2, 2011 -- 154,554 7.31

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos -- -- Bones -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Action Adventure Comedy Drama Fantasy Magic Military Shounen -- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos -- Chasing a runaway alchemist with strange powers, brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric stumble into the squalid valley of the Milos. The Milosians are an oppressed group that seek to reclaim their holy land from Creta: a militaristic country that forcefully annexed their nation. In the eye of the political storm is a girl named Julia Crichton, who emphatically wishes for the Milos to regain their strength and return to being a nation of peace. -- -- Befriending the girl, Edward and Alphonse find themselves in the midst of a rising resistance that involves the use of the very object they have been seeking all along—the Philosopher's Stone. However, their past experiences with the stone cause them reservation, and the brothers are unwilling to help. -- -- But as they discover the secrets behind Creta's intentions and questionable history, the brothers are drawn into the battle between the rebellious Milos, who desire their liberty, and the Cretan military, who seek absolute power. -- -- Movie - Jul 2, 2011 -- 154,554 7.31

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu -- -- Kyoto Animation -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Action Comedy School -- Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu -- Sergeant Sousuke Sagara returns to Jindai High School to protect the precious war asset, Kaname Chidori, from any threat. However, his lack of social skills and real-life experience result in comical yet dangerous situations, endangering the peaceful school life Kaname longs for. As Sousuke continues to bring a wide range of weapons to school as a means to solve threats—real or fake—Kaname struggles to fulfill her duty as the student council vice president all while keeping him in check. -- -- To ensure a successful mission, Sousuke is occasionally forced to use the costume of a famous amusement park mascot called Bonta-kun. With his technical expertise, he eventually transforms the exuberant uniform into a cutting-edge exoskeleton that has only one dysfunction: the voice translator can only produce the sound "mofu." -- -- Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu depicts the adventures of Kaname and Sousuke as they try to live their normal school lives despite the chaos they inadvertently cause. -- -- -- Licensor: -- ADV Films, Funimation -- TV - Aug 26, 2003 -- 258,935 8.06

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu -- -- Kyoto Animation -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Action Comedy School -- Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu -- Sergeant Sousuke Sagara returns to Jindai High School to protect the precious war asset, Kaname Chidori, from any threat. However, his lack of social skills and real-life experience result in comical yet dangerous situations, endangering the peaceful school life Kaname longs for. As Sousuke continues to bring a wide range of weapons to school as a means to solve threats—real or fake—Kaname struggles to fulfill her duty as the student council vice president all while keeping him in check. -- -- To ensure a successful mission, Sousuke is occasionally forced to use the costume of a famous amusement park mascot called Bonta-kun. With his technical expertise, he eventually transforms the exuberant uniform into a cutting-edge exoskeleton that has only one dysfunction: the voice translator can only produce the sound "mofu." -- -- Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu depicts the adventures of Kaname and Sousuke as they try to live their normal school lives despite the chaos they inadvertently cause. -- -- TV - Aug 26, 2003 -- 258,935 8.06

Fumetsu no Anata e -- -- Brain's Base -- 20 eps -- Manga -- Adventure Supernatural Drama Shounen -- Fumetsu no Anata e Fumetsu no Anata e -- It, a mysterious immortal being, is sent to the Earth with no emotions nor identity. However, It is able to take the shape of those around that have a strong impetus. -- -- At first, It is a sphere. Then, It imitates the form of a rock. As the temperature drops and snow falls atop the moss, It inherits the moss. When an injured, lone wolf comes limping by and lays down to die, It takes on the form of the animal. Finally, It gains consciousness and begins to traverse the empty tundra until It meets a boy. -- -- The boy lives alone in a ghost town, which the adults abandoned long ago in search of the paradise said to exist far beyond the endless sea of white tundra. However, their efforts were for naught, and now the boy is in a critical state. -- -- Acquiring the form of the boy, It sets off on a never-ending journey, in search of new experiences, places, and people. -- -- 217,744 8.74

Futari Ecchi -- -- Chaos Project -- 4 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Ecchi Romance Seinen Slice of Life -- Futari Ecchi Futari Ecchi -- Makoto and Yura Onoda are a newly-wed couple with zero sexual experience. Yura is a shy and naive 25-year-old woman whose good looks grab men's attention, something that she dislikes because she gets embarrassed very easily. Her husband Makoto is of the same age, but as opposed to his wife, he loves having dirty thoughts about other women. Physically though, Makoto is truly faithful to Yura. -- -- Both of them may be virgins, but now that they are married, they are ready to dive into the world of sex, "practicing" as often as possible. However, the world of sex is complex, so they need all the help they can get to find their way through it. Thankfully, their friends, acquaintances, and porn media lend them a helping hand. -- -- Licensor: -- Media Blasters -- OVA - Jul 26, 2002 -- 30,094 6.37

Fuuun Ishin Dai☆Shogun -- -- A.C.G.T., J.C.Staff -- 12 eps -- Original -- Action Historical Mecha -- Fuuun Ishin Dai☆Shogun Fuuun Ishin Dai☆Shogun -- In the late Edo period, Japan had experienced an unprecedented crisis by Kurofune (Black Ships), the ships from foreign countries. But a giant robot called Onigami, which has existed since ancient time, dispelled the Kurofune ships and the exclusion of foreigners was accomplished. The story begins in Japan where Meiji restoration in 1868 didn't happen. The tagline says, "I can be the greatest man in the world, because I am a virgin!!" -- -- (Source: Crunchyroll) -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- TV - Apr 10, 2014 -- 23,305 5.72

Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san -- -- DLE -- 12 eps -- Web manga -- Comedy Slice of Life -- Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san -- Honda is a skeleton, but more importantly, he is a bookseller. And he'll tell you from firsthand experience that the job of a bookstore employee is more challenging than it may seem to the average customer. -- -- Alongside his equally eccentric coworkers, Honda constantly deals with the stressful requirements of the bookselling industry. From the drama of receiving new titles without their bonus material to the struggle of providing quality service to customers who speak a different language, the work of a skeleton bookseller never ends. -- -- Nevertheless, despite the hardships he faces, Honda thoroughly enjoys his job and strives to bring the best book selections and service to his customers. -- -- 87,875 7.32

Gal to Kyouryuu -- -- Kamikaze Douga, Space Neko Company -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy Seinen -- Gal to Kyouryuu Gal to Kyouryuu -- Wasted from the night before, Kaede wakes up the next morning to find herself at home with a dinosaur she had brought along with her. The two start living together as an odd pair consisting of a typical gal girl and a mute dinosaur going about daily lives. Although not the most experienced paleontologist, Kaede begins to learn more about her new prehistoric roommate through a series of comedic gags and adventures. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 23,083 6.46

Gantz 2nd Stage -- -- Gonzo -- 13 eps -- Manga -- Action Sci-Fi Horror Psychological Supernatural Drama Ecchi -- Gantz 2nd Stage Gantz 2nd Stage -- Kurono Kei and his ex-elementary school classmate, Kato Masaru have survived the first two ordeals that the unknown black sphere Gantz has sent them through. Exploding body parts, struggling to stay alive till the last seconds and seeing your fellow comrades fall in a pile of blood and gore are norm to them now. They are aware now that Gantz can call them up along with any new deeds, at any time for another confrontation with aliens. -- -- Will Kato's experiences in the Gantz world give him the same courage in the real world? With fellow veteran Gantzer Kei Kishimoto currently staying at Kurono's home as his "adopted pet", can Kurono stave off his growing lust for her mammaries? -- -- What the heck is Gantz? -- -- (Source: anime-source.com) -- -- Licensor: -- ADV Films, Funimation -- TV - Aug 26, 2004 -- 138,168 7.08

Gantz 2nd Stage -- -- Gonzo -- 13 eps -- Manga -- Action Sci-Fi Horror Psychological Supernatural Drama Ecchi -- Gantz 2nd Stage Gantz 2nd Stage -- Kurono Kei and his ex-elementary school classmate, Kato Masaru have survived the first two ordeals that the unknown black sphere Gantz has sent them through. Exploding body parts, struggling to stay alive till the last seconds and seeing your fellow comrades fall in a pile of blood and gore are norm to them now. They are aware now that Gantz can call them up along with any new deeds, at any time for another confrontation with aliens. -- -- Will Kato's experiences in the Gantz world give him the same courage in the real world? With fellow veteran Gantzer Kei Kishimoto currently staying at Kurono's home as his "adopted pet", can Kurono stave off his growing lust for her mammaries? -- -- What the heck is Gantz? -- -- (Source: anime-source.com) -- TV - Aug 26, 2004 -- 138,168 7.08

Gantz:O -- -- Digital Frontier -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Action Sci-Fi Horror Psychological Supernatural Drama Ecchi Seinen -- Gantz:O Gantz:O -- Death does not have to be the end; one can live again, but only through beating the game posed by the black ball called Gantz. -- -- On his way home to celebrate his younger brother's birthday, brave and kind-hearted student named Masaru Katou is stabbed to death. He awakes in a small room with a cityscape view in the heart of Tokyo—and he is not alone. To his surprise, it is not the afterlife, but the waiting room for a high stakes game with their lives on the line. Before he has the chance to process the situation, Masaru is handed a gun and teleported into the center of Osaka to carry out one simple task: eliminate any alien on sight. -- -- Accompanied by the aged Yoshikazu Suzuki, the stunning idol Reika Shimohira, and the cold but experienced Jouichirou Nishi, Masaru must overcome his fears in order to survive the game and return home to his waiting brother. -- -- Movie - Oct 14, 2016 -- 74,402 7.44

Gendai Kibunroku Kaii Monogatari -- -- Toei Animation -- 1 ep -- - -- Horror -- Gendai Kibunroku Kaii Monogatari Gendai Kibunroku Kaii Monogatari -- The horrid stories that remain in many conversations, the chilling urban legends come to life thanks to the Ga-nime. -- -- The terrible anecdote of an old fridge thrown by a dried up river bed in “Refrigerator”. -- The grotesque encounter with an out of place sculpture standing on top of a building in “The Dharma Statue”. -- The ghost encounter experience by a boy on a long bridge at night in “The Night Bridge” -- A purchase at the flea market that brings a man to an ironic end in “US Army Surplus” -- The enigma of continuous deadly accidents near a railroad in “The Railroad Crossing” -- The mysterious experience of a boy on summer vacation in a peaceful countryside in “I Want Friends”. -- -- 6 pieces of horror put on 1 film. The Japanese urban legends, put on screen in the characteristic drawing of KIMURA Toshiyuki, whose fame reaches outside the borders of Japan, call for a scream, with the talented collaboration for the ending theme of an artist produced by SUDOH Akira, Leilani. -- -- (Source: Toei-anim.co.jp) -- OVA - Aug 1, 2006 -- 1,097 N/A -- -- Mirai Choujuu Fobia -- -- - -- 2 eps -- - -- Hentai Horror -- Mirai Choujuu Fobia Mirai Choujuu Fobia -- Iijima is no ordinary coed. She's a tempestuous time traveler from a future ruled by hideous replinoid monsters. She has come to this past to find a hero, a man strong enough to wield her futuristic sword and save the women of Earth from a grisly doom! -- -- (Source: AniDB) -- OVA - Oct 27, 1995 -- 1,065 4.88

Genius Party -- -- Studio 4°C -- 7 eps -- Original -- Action Sci-Fi Music Dementia Psychological Romance Fantasy Mecha -- Genius Party Genius Party -- A collection of seven individual and unique shorts which range from touching to downright bizarre. With each story different from the last, we encounter monsters going to school, a man who has a hard time dealing with himself, and a child who learns the hard way about the circle of life, as well as many other unique characters and experiences. -- -- A journey through the minds of the most prolific artists in Japan, this compilation truly is the setting of a Genius Party. -- -- Movie - Jul 7, 2007 -- 31,455 7.20

Giovanni no Shima -- -- Production I.G -- 1 ep -- Original -- Drama Historical -- Giovanni no Shima Giovanni no Shima -- In the aftermath of the most devastating conflict mankind had ever experienced, the tiny island of Shikotan became part of the Sakhalin Oblast... and on the unhealed border in this remote corner of the world, friendship among children from two different countries timidly blossomed, striving to overcome language barriers and the waves of history. Inspired by true events. -- -- On August 15th, they told us we had lost the war. At that time, we did not really understand. Then one day, everything changed. Many soldiers, wearing uniforms we had never seen before, arrived on the island. That was the day I met Tanya. -- -- (Source: Production I.G) -- Movie - Feb 22, 2014 -- 25,126 7.70

Goblin Slayer -- -- White Fox -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Action Adventure Fantasy -- Goblin Slayer Goblin Slayer -- Goblins are known for their ferocity, cunning, and rapid reproduction, but their reputation as the lowliest of monsters causes their threat to be overlooked. Raiding rural civilizations to kidnap females of other species for breeding, these vile creatures are free to continue their onslaught as adventurers turn a blind eye in favor of more rewarding assignments with larger bounties. -- -- To commemorate her first day as a Porcelain-ranked adventurer, the 15-year-old Priestess joins a band of young, enthusiastic rookies to investigate a tribe of goblins responsible for the disappearance of several village women. Unprepared and inexperienced, the group soon faces its inevitable demise from an ambush while exploring a cave. With no one else left standing, the terrified Priestess accepts her fate—until the Goblin Slayer unexpectedly appears to not only rescue her with little effort, but destroy the entire goblin nest. -- -- As a holder of the prestigious Silver rank, the Goblin Slayer allows her to accompany him as he assists the Adventurer's Guild in all goblin-related matters. Together with the Priestess, High Elf, Dwarf, and Lizard-man, the armored warrior will not rest until every single goblin in the frontier lands has been eradicated for good. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 751,943 7.45

Golden Boy -- -- APPP -- 6 eps -- Manga -- Adventure Comedy Ecchi -- Golden Boy Golden Boy -- Kintarou Ooe is a specialist in part-time work, riding all over the highways and byways of Japan on his trusty steed, the Mikazuki 5, and finding employment wherever he can. His adventures bring him knowledge and experience that can't be taught in a classroom, from political corruption to the delicacy of a young woman's heart. With nothing but the open road before him—not to mention the many beautiful women along the way—Kintarou pursues his spirit of education while attempting to hold down his various odd jobs, however undignified they may be. As he learns from each task he takes on, who knows what could happen? He might even be able to save the world one day. One thing is for sure—this will all be very educational! -- -- OVA - Oct 27, 1995 -- 264,015 8.02

Grand Blue -- -- Zero-G -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy Seinen -- Grand Blue Grand Blue -- Iori Kitahara moves to the coastal town of Izu for his freshman year at its university, taking residence above Grand Blue, his uncle's scuba diving shop. Iori has high hopes and dreams about having the ideal college experience, but when he enters the shop he is sucked into the alcoholic activities of the carefree members of the Diving Club who frequent the place. Persuaded by upperclassmen Shinji Tokita and Ryuujirou Kotobuki, Iori reluctantly joins their bizarre party. His cousin Chisa Kotegawa later walks in and catches him in the act, earning Iori her utter disdain. -- -- Based on Kenji Inoue and Kimitake Yoshioka's popular comedy manga, Grand Blue follows Iori's misadventures with his eccentric new friends as he strives to realize his ideal college dream, while also learning how to scuba dive. -- -- 459,147 8.41

Grisaia no Kajitsu -- -- 8bit -- 13 eps -- Visual novel -- Drama Harem Psychological Romance School -- Grisaia no Kajitsu Grisaia no Kajitsu -- Yuuji Kazami is a transfer student who has just been admitted into Mihama Academy. He wants to live an ordinary high school life, but this dream of his may not come true any time soon as Mihama Academy is quite the opposite. Consisting of only the principal and five other students, all of whom are girls, Yuuji becomes acquainted with each of them, discovering more about their personalities as socialization is inevitable. Slowly, he begins to learn about the truth behind the small group of students occupying the academy—they each have their own share of traumatic experiences which are tucked away from the world. -- -- Mihama Academy acts as a home for these girls, they are the "fruit" which fell from their trees and have begun to decay. It is up to Yuuji to become the catalyst to save them from themselves, but how can he save another when he cannot even save himself? -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 474,607 7.54

Gundam Build Divers -- -- Sunrise -- 25 eps -- Original -- Action Sci-Fi Mecha -- Gundam Build Divers Gundam Build Divers -- Gunpla Battle Nexus Online (GBN) is a new network game that lets people enjoy a variety of missions using Gunpla in a virtual cyberspace dimension. Middle-school students Riku Mikami and Yukio Hidaka recruit their classmate Momoka Yashiro and dive together into this vast world. Becoming "Divers," or inhabitants of GBN, they meet a mysterious girl named Sarah who has an amazing sensitivity to Gunpla. They begin playing alongside her, but... -- -- There are many other famous Divers, starting with Kyoya Kujo, the champion whom Riku admires. Multiple Divers can join to form a team called a "force." Meanwhile, the game is disrupted by Mass-Divers who use unofficial tools called break decals. Through many encounters and experiences, Riku and his friends will build not only Gunpla, but their own adventures as well! -- -- (Source: Official Website) -- 22,014 6.29

Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise -- -- Asatsu DK, Sunrise Beyond -- 13 eps -- Original -- Action Mecha Sci-Fi -- Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise -- Two years have passed since the EL-Divers incident, and the popularity of the game Gunpla Battle Nexus Online (GBN) has continued to skyrocket. With the addition of exciting new features such as missions and story events, the GBN experience is more immersive than ever before. Amidst the player base, a user known as Hiroto Kuga has been gaining notoriety for his top-notch skills. -- -- Through a series of coincidences, Hiroto meets three other players: the boastful Kazami Torimachi, the mysterious May, and the timid Parviz. Forming the "BUILD DiVERS," the unlikely group sets on a story mission rumored to carry bountiful in-game rewards. Together, the BUILD DiVERS must confront their own weaknesses as they join arms in a journey that may very well transcend the existence of GBN itself. -- -- ONA - Oct 10, 2019 -- 9,209 7.02

Gundam Neo Experience 0087: Green Divers -- -- Sunrise -- 1 ep -- - -- Adventure Space Mecha -- Gundam Neo Experience 0087: Green Divers Gundam Neo Experience 0087: Green Divers -- During the closing days of the Gryps conflict of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, two siblings—Asagi and Takuya—ride aboard a civilian transport bound for Earth. Caught in a battle between the Titans and AEUG, they must somehow guide their ship through atmospheric entry. Luckily, they're not completely alone, as they find aid from a custom-painted Zeta Gundam, whose pilot sounds a lot like One Year War ace Amuro Ray. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- Movie - Aug 10, 2001 -- 2,957 6.45

Gunjou no Magmell -- -- Pierrot Plus -- 13 eps -- Manga -- Action Adventure Super Power Fantasy Shounen -- Gunjou no Magmell Gunjou no Magmell -- A new era of exploration begins with the sudden appearance of a new continent known as Magmell. Magmell's vast trove of never-before-seen natural resources spurs on the exploration of its vast landscape. However, the unknown is not always docile. In order to sustain the expeditions, people known as "anglers" specialize in dealing with Magmell's dangerous wildlife. One such angler is the highly-skilled and experienced Inyou, who performs search and rescue operations for clients with the help of his assistant, Zero. -- -- 105,149 6.04

.hack//Intermezzo -- -- Bee Train -- 1 ep -- Original -- Adventure Fantasy Game Magic Mystery Sci-Fi -- .hack//Intermezzo .hack//Intermezzo -- A virtual multiplayer online role-playing game exists, known as "The World." In "The World," there is an event held in the Dungeon of Nankoflank that Mimiru, a character in the game, undertakes with Bear, another character of the game. Mimiru confesses to Bear that she's not doing the event for the treasures or experiences, but for the memories and experiences of when she had first started playing. The two later meet a certain character named Mimika and together, the three proceed through quests and events as Mimiru learns the meaning of the game. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Bandai Entertainment -- Special - Mar 28, 2003 -- 21,341 6.56

.hack//Intermezzo -- -- Bee Train -- 1 ep -- Original -- Adventure Fantasy Game Magic Mystery Sci-Fi -- .hack//Intermezzo .hack//Intermezzo -- A virtual multiplayer online role-playing game exists, known as "The World." In "The World," there is an event held in the Dungeon of Nankoflank that Mimiru, a character in the game, undertakes with Bear, another character of the game. Mimiru confesses to Bear that she's not doing the event for the treasures or experiences, but for the memories and experiences of when she had first started playing. The two later meet a certain character named Mimika and together, the three proceed through quests and events as Mimiru learns the meaning of the game. -- -- Special - Mar 28, 2003 -- 21,341 6.56

Hanada Shounen-shi -- -- Madhouse -- 25 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Drama Seinen Slice of Life Supernatural -- Hanada Shounen-shi Hanada Shounen-shi -- Ichiro Hanada is a hyperactive little boy who lives with his parents, sister, and grandfather in a rural town. He is always up to some kind of mischief, often teasing his sister or making rude comments to others. Consequently, his mother constantly scolds him, and even the neighbours express disturbance from time to time on how rowdy he can be. -- -- One day, after pulling a terrible prank, Ichiro sprints onto the streets as his mother chases him. He steals a nearby bicycle and takes on a dangerous route, eventually being hit by a truck. Miraculously, he survives the crash, requiring nine stitches to the back of his head and balding for the surgery. However, the near-death experience gains him the ability to see ghosts—the last thing he needs in his life. -- -- Since Ichiro is the only one who can communicate with them, several ghosts of people who have recently died come to him, seeking help to fulfill their last wishes before achieving enlightenment. Each adventure with a ghost leaves the young and curious boy with a different lesson that gradually makes him wiser. -- -- TV - Oct 2, 2002 -- 12,081 8.00

Hanasaku Iroha -- -- P.A. Works -- 26 eps -- Original -- Slice of Life Comedy Drama -- Hanasaku Iroha Hanasaku Iroha -- Ohana Matsumae is an energetic and wild teenager residing in Tokyo with her carefree single mother. Abruptly, her mother decides to run away with her new boyfriend from debt collectors, forcing the young girl to fend for herself—as per her mother's "rely only on yourself" philosophy—in rural Japan, where her cold grandmother runs a small inn. Driven to adapt to the tranquil lifestyle of the countryside, Ohana experiences and deals with the challenges of working as a maid, as well as meeting and making friends with enthralling people at her new school and the inn. -- -- 274,850 7.94

Hanasaku Iroha -- -- P.A. Works -- 26 eps -- Original -- Slice of Life Comedy Drama -- Hanasaku Iroha Hanasaku Iroha -- Ohana Matsumae is an energetic and wild teenager residing in Tokyo with her carefree single mother. Abruptly, her mother decides to run away with her new boyfriend from debt collectors, forcing the young girl to fend for herself—as per her mother's "rely only on yourself" philosophy—in rural Japan, where her cold grandmother runs a small inn. Driven to adapt to the tranquil lifestyle of the countryside, Ohana experiences and deals with the challenges of working as a maid, as well as meeting and making friends with enthralling people at her new school and the inn. -- -- -- Licensor: -- NIS America, Inc. -- 274,850 7.94

Hatena☆Illusion -- -- Children's Playground Entertainment -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Comedy Supernatural Romance Ecchi -- Hatena☆Illusion Hatena☆Illusion -- Years ago, many magical "Artifacts" were stolen and scattered throughout the world. They fell into the hands of people who were not supposed to know of their existence, causing misfortune to those who abused their power. The Hoshisato family of magicians has special access to the Artifacts, and they take it upon themselves to return them to their rightful place. -- -- Despite her inexperience, Kana "Hatena" Hoshisato wishes to aid her parents Mamoru and Maeve in their quest, doing her best to improve. Meanwhile, her childhood friend Makoto Shiranui has come to their mansion to study magic under her father's tutelage as part of a promise they made years ago. Hatena is excited to see her friend again, only to be utterly disappointed when the person she thought to be a girl all these years turns out to be a boy, leading to a bitter reunion. -- -- Before long, Makoto comes to know of the Artifacts and the true identities of the magicians he admires. Unfazed, he continues to strive to fulfill his promises and stay true to why he learns magic—to ease the sadness of people around him and, most importantly, to become a person worthy of being Hatena's partner. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 31,182 5.37

Hello!! Kiniro Mosaic -- -- Studio Gokumi -- 12 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Slice of Life Comedy School Seinen -- Hello!! Kiniro Mosaic Hello!! Kiniro Mosaic -- Although learning different languages continues to be an interest for Shinobu and her friends, the new school year brings unexpected difficulties. Not only is there always something new and different to distract them from their studies, but Alice and Yoko also are having trouble adjusting to being in a different class from Shinobu and Aya. -- -- Meanwhile, Karen isn't getting along at all with her new homeroom teacher, and it doesn't help that the teacher is having trouble figuring out how to make herself seem friendlier to her students as well. Craziness may ensue, but sometimes, all it takes is the right mutual experience to bring everyone together. -- -- While some of those experiences may not be as well-thought-out as others (like when Alice and Aya act like juvenile delinquents to seem more grown up), the gang's new adventures are certain to warm everyone's heart as the fun and friendships keep growing in HELLO!! KINMOZA! -- -- (Source: Sentai Filmworks) -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 67,078 7.52

High School DxD BorN -- -- TNK -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Action Comedy Demons Ecchi Harem Romance School -- High School DxD BorN High School DxD BorN -- The Red Dragon Emperor, Issei Hyoudou, and the Occult Research Club are back in action as summer break comes for the students of Kuoh Academy. After their fight with Issei’s sworn enemy, Vali and the Chaos Brigade, it is clear just how inexperienced Rias Gremory's team is. As a result, she and Azazel lead the club on an intense training regime in the Underworld to prepare them for the challenges that lie ahead. -- -- While they slowly mature as a team, Issei will once again find himself in intimate situations with the girls of the Occult Research Club. Meanwhile, their adversaries grow stronger and more numerous as they rally their forces. And with the sudden appearance of Loki, the Evil God of Norse Mythology, the stage is set for epic fights and wickedly powerful devils in High School DxD BorN! -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 604,761 7.44

Hino Hideshi Toukaidou Yotsuya Kaidan -- -- - -- 1 ep -- - -- Horror -- Hino Hideshi Toukaidou Yotsuya Kaidan Hino Hideshi Toukaidou Yotsuya Kaidan -- Based on Kaidan Yotsuya (Classic Japanese ghost story). -- OVA - Jul 20, 2000 -- 548 N/A -- -- Inagawa Junji no Sugoku Kowai Hanashi -- -- - -- 10 eps -- Book -- Horror Supernatural -- Inagawa Junji no Sugoku Kowai Hanashi Inagawa Junji no Sugoku Kowai Hanashi -- Short ghost stories by Inagawa Junji, an entertainer who is famous for his horror stories broadcasted on late night radio. He has gone on to write horror novels and directing live-action horror dramas and films. The anime is a spin-off of his Inagawa Junji no Chou: Kowai Hanashi (Inagawa Junji's Super Scary Stories) live-action direct-to-DVD series. -- ONA - Sep 5, 2017 -- 530 N/A -- -- Kyoufu Shinbun -- -- Studio Pierrot -- 2 eps -- Manga -- Horror Shounen -- Kyoufu Shinbun Kyoufu Shinbun -- For reasons unknown to him, Rei receives the Kyoufu Shinbun every morning, a newspaper which foresees deaths and catastrophes... -- -- Based on Tsunoda Jirou's classic horror manga "Kyoufu Shinbun", serialized in Weekly Shounen Champion. -- -- (Source: AniDB) -- OVA - Jul 21, 1991 -- 528 N/A -- -- Eko Eko Azarak -- -- Toei Animation -- 1 ep -- - -- Fantasy Horror Magic -- Eko Eko Azarak Eko Eko Azarak -- The worried owner of a luxury hotel hires high school student Kuroi Misa who has experience with necromancy. The reason is that a series of suicides carried out by guests have taken place in the garden which was once a place of execution. She agrees to use her knowledge of the black arts but demands a fee of ten million yen. -- OVA - Jan 30, 2007 -- 522 N/A -- -- Chainsaw Bunny: Deleted Scene -- -- - -- 1 ep -- Original -- Horror Supernatural Thriller -- Chainsaw Bunny: Deleted Scene Chainsaw Bunny: Deleted Scene -- A "deleted scene" from Chainsaw Bunny, where the monster becomes a giant pink faceless looming creature. -- ONA - Aug 1, 2018 -- 509 4.75

Houkago Teibou Nisshi -- -- Doga Kobo -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy School Seinen -- Houkago Teibou Nisshi Houkago Teibou Nisshi -- Hina Tsurugi and her family have just moved to a quaint seaside town. Hoping to savor the sight of the peaceful ocean, Hina stumbles upon a girl named Yuuki Kuroiwa—an upperclassman at her new school—who invites Hina to join her in fishing. Hina reels in an octopus, which falls onto her; being afraid of bugs and big creatures, she panics and begs Yuuki to remove it from her. Yuuki sees this as an opportunity to force Hina to join the school's Breakwater Club—a club where members gather, catch, and eat various types of marine life as their main activity. -- -- Although her attempts to refuse to join fail, Hina slowly begins to discover the hidden joy in fishing. Her view on the sport changes, now looking forward to all the delightful experiences she can take part in alongside her fellow club members. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 40,791 7.39

Ichigo 100% -- -- Madhouse -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Ecchi Harem Romance Shounen -- Ichigo 100% Ichigo 100% -- One day, Manaka Junpei walks to the roof of his school and encounters a beautiful girl falling down from above him and accidentally exposing her strawberry panties. The embarrassed girl runs away before Junpei can find out whom she is. He wishes to become a filmmaker, and this whole experience seemed like it would make the perfect scene in a movie. And so he goes on a search for the girl with the strawberry panties in order to reenact it all on film. But he will soon discover that finding that one girl will not be that easy... -- -- (Source: ANN) -- TV - Apr 6, 2005 -- 98,682 6.67

Inazuma Eleven Go: Galaxy -- -- OLM -- 43 eps -- Game -- Shounen Sports Super Power -- Inazuma Eleven Go: Galaxy Inazuma Eleven Go: Galaxy -- After fighting to free the game of soccer in Japan from the Fifth Sector, the country's soccer squads can once again look forward to stepping onto the field. However, a new challenge will emerge for Japanese players in the form of the Football Frontier International Vision 2, a new tournament that will bring together the best teams each country can assemble. -- -- Tenma Matsukaze and his Raimon teammates, Takuto Shindou and Kyousuke Tsurugi, are once again part of the action as they have been selected to play for the Japanese representative, Inazuma Japan. Much to their surprise, the coach selects eight other players that have no previous experience playing soccer! -- -- Team Inazuma Japan will have a huge mountain to climb, building chemistry and skills as they go along. What they don’t know is that the tournament will set the stage for something much bigger, something out of this world in Inazuma Eleven Go: Galaxy! -- TV - May 8, 2013 -- 33,690 6.63

Infinite Dendrogram -- -- NAZ -- 13 eps -- Light novel -- Game Fantasy -- Infinite Dendrogram Infinite Dendrogram -- In the year 2043, , the world's first successful full-dive VRMMO was released. In addition to its ability to perfectly simulate the five senses, along with its many other amazing features, the game promised to offer players a world full of infinite possibilities. Nearly two years later, soon-to-be college freshman, Reiji Mukudori, is finally able to buy a copy of the game and start playing. With some help from his experienced older brother, Shuu, and his partner Embryo, Reiji embarks on an adventure into the world of . Just what will he discover and encounter in this game world known for its incredible realism and infinite possibilities? -- -- (Source: J-Novel Club) -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 119,919 6.14

Ingress the Animation -- -- Craftar Studios -- 11 eps -- Game -- Action Game Sci-Fi Mystery -- Ingress the Animation Ingress the Animation -- A project was launched where scientists discovered a mysterious substance that can interface directly with the human brain. This substance, called "Exotic Matter (XM)," has existed since ancient times, influencing human minds and the progress of humanity. In the wake of this discovery, a battle of powerful nations and corporate giants has been unleashed. Organizations across the globe have embarked on a secret race to exploit XM. It represents both an opportunity and a threat to humanity. Two Factions seeks to control the XM. The Enlightened view XM's power as a gift that enhances human experience and discovery. The Resistance sees XM as a hostile takeover of the human mind, choosing technology as humanity's best path forward. XM, and the mystery behind it lie at the center of this battle for the fate of humanity. -- -- 2018—Now, a new struggle is about to unfold in Tokyo and across the globe. Dangerous and powerful forces seeking to exploit the potential of XM will collide. This groundbreaking project will mark the beginning of an epic augmented-reality experience combining the three elements of animation, location-based gaming, and the real world. -- -- (Source: MAL News) -- ONA - Oct 18, 2018 -- 22,463 6.36

Initial D First Stage -- -- Gallop, Studio Comet -- 26 eps -- Manga -- Action Cars Drama Seinen Sports -- Initial D First Stage Initial D First Stage -- Unlike his friends, Takumi Fujiwara is not particularly interested in cars, with little to no knowledge about the world of car enthusiasts and street racers. The son of a tofu shop owner, he is tasked to deliver tofu every morning without fail, driving along the mountain of Akina. Thus, conversations regarding cars or driving in general would only remind Takumi of the tiring daily routine forced upon him. -- -- One night, the Akagi Red Suns, an infamous team of street racers, visit the town of Akina to challenge the local mountain pass. Led by their two aces, Ryousuke and Keisuke Takahashi, the Red Suns plan to conquer every racing course in Kanto, establishing themselves as the fastest crew in the region. However, much to their disbelief, one of their aces is overtaken by an old Toyota AE86 during a drive back home from Akina. After the incident, the Takahashi brothers are cautious of a mysterious driver geared with remarkable technique and experience in the local roads—the AE86 of Mount Akina. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation, Tokyopop -- 242,578 8.28

Isekai Cheat Magician -- -- Encourage Films -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Action Adventure Fantasy -- Isekai Cheat Magician Isekai Cheat Magician -- Regular high schooler Taichi Nishimura and his childhood friend, Rin Azuma, are on their way to school one ordinary morning. Suddenly, a glowing light envelops them, transporting them to a fantasy world full of magical creatures. -- -- Upon their arrival, Taichi and Rin are threatened by a beast. They are promptly saved by a group of adventurers, who advise the pair that traveling unarmed and inexperienced makes them vulnerable to the recently increasing monster attacks. Taichi and Rin are directed to the Guild, where they can determine their magical aptitude and register as adventurers. However, the test they take reveals an unprecedented result: Taichi and Rin possess extraordinary powers that far surpass the standard mage, instantly transforming them from typical high school students to the ultimate cheat magicians. -- -- Taichi and Rin learn to grasp the full extent of their powers and familiarize themselves with their new world. However, while the duo seeks to uncover the reason behind their transportation and a possible way back to their original world, unexpected trouble lurks in the shadows. -- -- 203,921 5.37

Ishuzoku Reviewers -- -- Passione -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Ecchi Fantasy -- Ishuzoku Reviewers Ishuzoku Reviewers -- Countless diverse races, from perky fairies to oozing slimes, inhabit the world. Naturally, such a melting pot of creatures has a broad and alluring variety of brothels. With so many options to choose from, it is hard to decide with which succu-girl to have a meaningful, interpersonal experience. -- -- Fortunately, a tight group of brave warriors has come together to enlighten the public. These perverted adventurers take it upon themselves to assess the appeal of all types of succu-girls through hands-on research. Whether it be the scorchingly hot salamanders or the udderly hu-moo-ngous cow-girls, the Yoruno Gloss reviewers leave no species behind. -- -- Directed by the mastermind behind Miru Tights, Ishuzoku Reviewers seeks to answer one of the most pressing questions there is: which species is the sexiest? -- -- 332,880 7.55

Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 cm Datta. -- -- Lay-duce -- 6 eps -- Music -- Comedy Drama Romance School -- Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 cm Datta. Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 cm Datta. -- Miou Aida and Haruki Serizawa might seem like polar opposites to those around them, but as the two third-years prepare to end their high school experience, they couldn't have been been closer. While Miou is a shy and reserved member of the school art club that prefers to stay out of the limelight, Haruki is the boisterous and confident ace of the movie club, already winning awards for his directing prowess. However, after a previous chance encounter during their school entrance ceremony, they quickly become friends despite their stark differences in personality. But although their closeness might be growing, they've never become anything more than just that, much to the bewilderment of their friends. -- -- As their time in high school draws to a close, Miou and Haruki, along with their friends in the art and movie clubs, have just one year left to face their hidden feelings and the daunting task of deciding their future careers. The two might always be only an arm's reach away, but as Haruki chases his dream of becoming a professional movie director and Miou struggles with choosing a path for herself, they'll learn just how hard it is to get past those last 10 centimeters. -- -- 151,533 7.51

Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 cm Datta. -- -- Lay-duce -- 6 eps -- Music -- Comedy Drama Romance School -- Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 cm Datta. Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 cm Datta. -- Miou Aida and Haruki Serizawa might seem like polar opposites to those around them, but as the two third-years prepare to end their high school experience, they couldn't have been been closer. While Miou is a shy and reserved member of the school art club that prefers to stay out of the limelight, Haruki is the boisterous and confident ace of the movie club, already winning awards for his directing prowess. However, after a previous chance encounter during their school entrance ceremony, they quickly become friends despite their stark differences in personality. But although their closeness might be growing, they've never become anything more than just that, much to the bewilderment of their friends. -- -- As their time in high school draws to a close, Miou and Haruki, along with their friends in the art and movie clubs, have just one year left to face their hidden feelings and the daunting task of deciding their future careers. The two might always be only an arm's reach away, but as Haruki chases his dream of becoming a professional movie director and Miou struggles with choosing a path for herself, they'll learn just how hard it is to get past those last 10 centimeters. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Aniplex of America -- 151,533 7.51

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 5: Ougon no Kaze -- -- David Production -- 39 eps -- Manga -- Action Adventure Shounen -- JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 5: Ougon no Kaze JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 5: Ougon no Kaze -- In the coastal city of Naples, corruption is teeming—the police blatantly conspire with outlaws, drugs run rampant around the youth, and the mafia governs the streets with an iron fist. However, various fateful encounters will soon occur. -- -- Enter Giorno Giovanna, a 15-year-old boy with an eccentric connection to the Joestar family, who makes a living out of part-time jobs and pickpocketing. Furthermore, he is gifted with the unexplained Stand ability to give and create life—growing plants from the ground and turning inanimate objects into live animals, an ability he has dubbed "Gold Experience." Fascinated by the might of local gangsters, Giorno has dreamed of rising up in their ranks and becoming a "Gang-Star," a feat made possible by his encounter with Bruno Buccellati, a member of the Passione gang with his own sense of justice. -- -- JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Ougon no Kaze follows the endeavors of Giorno after joining Bruno's team while working under Passione, fending off other gangsters and secretly plotting to overthrow their mysterious boss. -- -- -- Licensor: -- VIZ Media -- 592,526 8.60

Jujutsu Kaisen (TV) -- -- MAPPA -- 24 eps -- Manga -- Action Demons Supernatural School Shounen -- Jujutsu Kaisen (TV) Jujutsu Kaisen (TV) -- Idly indulging in baseless paranormal activities with the Occult Club, high schooler Yuuji Itadori spends his days at either the clubroom or the hospital, where he visits his bedridden grandfather. However, this leisurely lifestyle soon takes a turn for the strange when he unknowingly encounters a cursed item. Triggering a chain of supernatural occurrences, Yuuji finds himself suddenly thrust into the world of Curses—dreadful beings formed from human malice and negativity—after swallowing the said item, revealed to be a finger belonging to the demon Sukuna Ryoumen, the "King of Curses." -- -- Yuuji experiences first-hand the threat these Curses pose to society as he discovers his own newfound powers. Introduced to the Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School, he begins to walk down a path from which he cannot return—the path of a Jujutsu sorcerer. -- -- 1,008,447 8.79

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen 3rd Season -- -- - -- ? eps -- Manga -- Comedy Psychological Romance School Seinen -- Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen 3rd Season Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen 3rd Season -- Third season of Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen. -- TV - ??? ??, ???? -- 138,754 N/AGantz 2nd Stage -- -- Gonzo -- 13 eps -- Manga -- Action Sci-Fi Horror Psychological Supernatural Drama Ecchi -- Gantz 2nd Stage Gantz 2nd Stage -- Kurono Kei and his ex-elementary school classmate, Kato Masaru have survived the first two ordeals that the unknown black sphere Gantz has sent them through. Exploding body parts, struggling to stay alive till the last seconds and seeing your fellow comrades fall in a pile of blood and gore are norm to them now. They are aware now that Gantz can call them up along with any new deeds, at any time for another confrontation with aliens. -- -- Will Kato's experiences in the Gantz world give him the same courage in the real world? With fellow veteran Gantzer Kei Kishimoto currently staying at Kurono's home as his "adopted pet", can Kurono stave off his growing lust for her mammaries? -- -- What the heck is Gantz? -- -- (Source: anime-source.com) -- -- Licensor: -- ADV Films, Funimation -- TV - Aug 26, 2004 -- 138,168 7.08

Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen OVA -- -- A-1 Pictures -- 3 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Psychological Romance School Seinen -- Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen OVA Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen OVA -- (No synopsis yet.) -- OVA - May 19, 2021 -- 70,875 N/A -- -- Koufuku Graffiti -- -- Shaft -- 12 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Slice of Life Comedy Seinen -- Koufuku Graffiti Koufuku Graffiti -- The path to becoming a fine wife begins with being an accomplished cook—at least, that is what Ryou Machiko's late grandmother had led her to believe. For a middle schooler, Ryou's cooking skills are incomparable; but recently, though Ryou's food looks appetizing and smells inviting, the taste has not been delicious. Just when the dejected art student comes to terms with the possibility that she might continue living alone for the rest of her life, her aunt tells her that Kirin Morino—Ryou's second cousin—will begin staying with her every weekend since the younger girl has joined a cram school in Tokyo and aims to attend the same school as Ryou. -- -- Surprisingly, with her cousin's arrival, Ryou finds that her cooking has vastly improved—apparently, it is not her prowess in the kitchen, but the sharing of the experience with those closest to her that seems to make the flavors shine. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 70,861 6.80

Kamisama ni Natta Hi -- -- P.A. Works -- 12 eps -- Original -- Drama Fantasy -- Kamisama ni Natta Hi Kamisama ni Natta Hi -- Dressed in a conspicuous outfit and armed with an eccentric spirit, Hina Satou goes around insisting that she is the Asgardian god "Odin." When she crosses paths with a boy named Youta Narukami, she uses her precognition abilities to warn him about an impending catastrophe threatening the end of the world. But being a teenager preoccupied with his problems, Youta finds it hard to believe such a preposterous claim. -- -- Somehow forced to tag along with her antics, he witnesses the effectiveness of Hina's skills with his own eyes and realizes that she truly is capable of divination. Nevertheless, despite her persistence in being a god, Hina is still a child who desires to see and experience the wonders life has to offer. With the world ending in 30 days, Hina, Youta, and their friends venture forward to create lasting memories they will cherish forever. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Aniplex of America -- 176,477 6.83

Kanashimi no Belladonna -- -- Mushi Production -- 1 ep -- Book -- Dementia Drama Hentai Historical -- Kanashimi no Belladonna Kanashimi no Belladonna -- The beautiful Jeanne marries a man named Jean, and the happy newlyweds make their way to the Lord's castle with a cow's worth of money for his blessings. However, the demonic Lord is unmoved by their offering, ignoring their desperate, impoverished pleas. The Lord's wife offers an alternative: Jeanne must become the Lord's conquest for the night in a ritual deflowering. -- -- Scarred by the experience, the shaken Jeanne receives no sympathy from her husband. Instead, she is neglected. But as Jeanne drifts off to sleep, she is met by a strange spirit that encourages her to deliver retribution to those who wronged her. And with a mysterious surge of pleasure and an unquenching libido, Jeanne agrees. -- -- Kanashimi no Belladonna is a captivating, psychosexual adventure that tells a story of cunning witchcraft and deceitful superstition in a poor, rural village of medieval France. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Cinelicious Pics -- Movie - Jun 30, 1973 -- 25,287 7.12

Kanashimi no Belladonna -- -- Mushi Production -- 1 ep -- Book -- Dementia Drama Hentai Historical -- Kanashimi no Belladonna Kanashimi no Belladonna -- The beautiful Jeanne marries a man named Jean, and the happy newlyweds make their way to the Lord's castle with a cow's worth of money for his blessings. However, the demonic Lord is unmoved by their offering, ignoring their desperate, impoverished pleas. The Lord's wife offers an alternative: Jeanne must become the Lord's conquest for the night in a ritual deflowering. -- -- Scarred by the experience, the shaken Jeanne receives no sympathy from her husband. Instead, she is neglected. But as Jeanne drifts off to sleep, she is met by a strange spirit that encourages her to deliver retribution to those who wronged her. And with a mysterious surge of pleasure and an unquenching libido, Jeanne agrees. -- -- Kanashimi no Belladonna is a captivating, psychosexual adventure that tells a story of cunning witchcraft and deceitful superstition in a poor, rural village of medieval France. -- -- Movie - Jun 30, 1973 -- 25,287 7.12

Kanojo, Okarishimasu -- -- TMS Entertainment -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Romance School Shounen -- Kanojo, Okarishimasu Kanojo, Okarishimasu -- Kazuya Kinoshita is a 20-year-old college student who has a wonderful girlfriend: the bright and sunny Mami Nanami. But suddenly, he doesn't. Without warning, Mami breaks up with him, leaving him utterly heartbroken and lonely. Seeking to soothe the pain, he hires a rental girlfriend through an online app. His partner is Chizuru Mizuhara, who through her unparalleled beauty and cute demeanor, manages to gain Kazuya's affection. -- -- But after reading similar experiences other customers had had with Chizuru, Kazuya believes her warm smile and caring personality were all just an act to toy with his heart, and he rates her poorly. Aggravated, Chizuru lambastes him for his shameless hypocrisy, revealing her true pert and hot-tempered self. This one-sided exchange is cut short, however, when Kazuya finds out that his grandmother has collapsed. -- -- They dash toward the hospital and find Kazuya's grandmother already in good condition. Baffled by Chizuru's presence, she asks who this girl might be. On impulse, Kazuya promptly declares that they are lovers, forcing Chizuru to play the part. But with Kazuya still hung up on his previous relationship with Mami, how long can this difficult client and reluctant rental girlfriend keep up their act? -- -- 519,024 7.37

Kantai Collection: KanColle -- -- Diomedéa -- 12 eps -- Game -- Action Military Sci-Fi Slice of Life School -- Kantai Collection: KanColle Kantai Collection: KanColle -- With the seas under constant threat from the hostile "Abyssal Fleet," a specialized naval base is established to counter them. Rather than standard naval weaponry, however, the base is armed with "Kanmusu"—girls who harbor the spirits of Japanese warships—possessing the ability to don weaponized gear that allows them to harness the powerful souls within themselves. Fubuki, a young Destroyer-type Kanmusu, joins the base as a new recruit; unfortunately for her, despite her inexperience and timid nature, she is assigned to the famous Third Torpedo Squadron and quickly thrust into the heat of battle. When she is rescued from near annihilation, the rookie warship resolves to become as strong as the one who saved her. -- -- 190,735 6.87

Kantai Collection: KanColle -- -- Diomedéa -- 12 eps -- Game -- Action Military Sci-Fi Slice of Life School -- Kantai Collection: KanColle Kantai Collection: KanColle -- With the seas under constant threat from the hostile "Abyssal Fleet," a specialized naval base is established to counter them. Rather than standard naval weaponry, however, the base is armed with "Kanmusu"—girls who harbor the spirits of Japanese warships—possessing the ability to don weaponized gear that allows them to harness the powerful souls within themselves. Fubuki, a young Destroyer-type Kanmusu, joins the base as a new recruit; unfortunately for her, despite her inexperience and timid nature, she is assigned to the famous Third Torpedo Squadron and quickly thrust into the heat of battle. When she is rescued from near annihilation, the rookie warship resolves to become as strong as the one who saved her. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Crunchyroll, Funimation -- 190,735 6.87

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 2 -- -- Shin-Ei Animation -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy Romance School Shounen -- Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 2 Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 2 -- Even after spending a considerable amount of time with Takagi, Nishikata is still struggling to find a perfect plan to defeat the expert teaser. A battle of wits, a contest of physical prowess, a test of courage—any strategy he employs to expose her weaknesses is to no avail. On the contrary, Nishikata's pitiful attempts only reveal more of his own flaws, which Takagi takes advantage of to become increasingly daring in her teasing attempts. To make things worse for Nishikata, rumors about him and Takagi may have spread in class due to the frequent interactions between them. -- -- However, the optimistic Nishikata believes that wisdom comes with age and that as the days go by, his experience with her constant teasing will eventually bear fruit, leading him to the awaited moment of victory. Thus, Nishikata continues to strive for the seemingly impossible—to outsmart Takagi and make her blush with embarrassment. -- -- 197,501 8.13

Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e -- -- MAPPA -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Action Drama Fantasy Military Shounen -- Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e -- With the initiation of the Patrian civil war came the creation of half-beast, half-human soldiers—a development of the outnumbered Northerners in a desperate attempt to counter the overwhelming Southern forces. Able to quickly dominate battlefields and achieve victory with ease, the soldiers' godlike abilities earned them the name "Incarnates." However, as the war raged on, the Incarnates encountered a problem involving the beasts inside them that they were unable to rectify by ordinary means. -- -- Once the war was over, mysteries and accounts of the Incarnates submitting to the misfortune of their war days surfaced. Aware of the horrors they faced during the war, Special Sergeant Major and former captain of the Incarnates Hank Henriette becomes a Beast Hunter—those who take the lives of Incarnates who have succumbed to the issues they experienced on the battlefields. -- -- After witnessing her father, a former Incarnate soldier, meet his end at the hands of one such Beast Hunter, Nancy Schaal Bancroft resolves to hunt the man who took her father's life. However, Nancy's eye-opening encounter with the Beast Hunter influences her to instead seek the reason behind her father's death and the Incarnates' problematic existence in society. -- -- 95,746 6.40

Kaze Tachinu -- -- Studio Ghibli -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Drama Historical Romance -- Kaze Tachinu Kaze Tachinu -- Although Jirou Horikoshi's nearsightedness prevents him from ever becoming a pilot, he leaves his hometown to study aeronautical engineering at Tokyo Imperial University for one simple purpose: to design and build planes just like his hero, Italian aircraft pioneer Giovanni Battista Caproni. His arrival in the capital coincides with the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, during which he saves a maid serving the family of a young girl named Naoko Satomi; this disastrous event marks the beginning of over two decades of social unrest and malaise leading up to Japan's eventual surrender in World War II. -- -- For Jirou, the years leading up to the production of his infamous Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter aircraft will test every fiber of his being. His many travels and life experiences only urge him onward⁠—even as he realizes both the role of his creations in the war and the harsh realities of his personal life. As time marches on, he must confront an impossible question: at what cost does he chase his beautiful dream? -- -- -- Licensor: -- Walt Disney Studios -- Movie - Jul 20, 2013 -- 219,577 8.11

Kekkai Sensen: Soresaemo Saitei de Saikou na Hibi -- -- Bones -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Action Fantasy Shounen Super Power Supernatural Vampire -- Kekkai Sensen: Soresaemo Saitei de Saikou na Hibi Kekkai Sensen: Soresaemo Saitei de Saikou na Hibi -- A recap episode of episodes 1 through 10 of Kekkai Sensen. Leonardo Watch reflects on his experiences at Libra. -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- Special - Jun 14, 2015 -- 32,688 6.82

Kiitarou Shounen no Youkai Enikki -- -- Creators in Pack -- 12 eps -- Web manga -- Comedy Supernatural -- Kiitarou Shounen no Youkai Enikki Kiitarou Shounen no Youkai Enikki -- This is the visual diary of Kiitarou's experience with youkai. He's a boy with a very strong spirit sense, but when he entered a forbidden storehouse, he was kicked out of his home. He soon found a new place to live, where he met a zashiki warashi (house spirit) named Suzu. He and Suzu soon began to attract all kinds of spirit creatures, starting with a nurikabe (appears as a wall that impedes travelers) and mokumokuren (appears as eyes in a torn paper wall). What kind of folkloric creature will he meet next? -- -- (Source: MangaHelpers) -- 25,720 6.45

Kimi ni Todoke -- -- Production I.G -- 25 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Drama Romance School Shoujo -- Kimi ni Todoke Kimi ni Todoke -- Known for her semblance to the Sadako character of The Ring series, Sawako Kuronuma is given the nickname "Sadako" and misunderstood to be frightening and malicious like her fictional counterpart, despite having a timid and sweet nature. Longing to make friends and live a normal life, Sawako is naturally drawn to the cheerful and friendly Shouta Kazehaya, the most popular boy in her class. From their first meeting, Sawako has admired Kazehaya's ability to be the center of attention and aspires to be like him. -- -- When Kazehaya organizes a test of courage for the entire class and encourages her to attend, Sawako sees this as an opportunity to get along with her classmates, starting with Ayane Yano and Chizuru Yoshida. Through each new encounter and emotion she experiences, Sawako believes that meeting Kazehaya has changed her for the better. Little does Sawako know, her presence has also changed Kazehaya. -- -- -- Licensor: -- NIS America, Inc. -- 679,229 8.01

Kimi to Boku. -- -- J.C.Staff -- 13 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Drama Romance School Shounen Slice of Life -- Kimi to Boku. Kimi to Boku. -- Four childhood friends are in their second year at Homare High School: kind and cheerful Shun Matsuoka, hot-tempered Kaname Tsukahara, and the Asaba twins, gentle Yuuta and lazy Yuuki. When a dynamic transfer student, Chizuru Tachibana, joins their group, the friends get caught up in his creative yet troublesome ideas that end up bringing excitement to their everyday lives. With new encounters and experiences, they begin to learn more about each other and themselves. -- -- TV - Oct 4, 2011 -- 153,311 7.69

Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - Byouki no Kuni - For You -- -- Shaft -- 1 ep -- Light novel -- Adventure Drama Fantasy -- Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - Byouki no Kuni - For You Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - Byouki no Kuni - For You -- After a long journey, Kino and Hermes finally arrive at their destination—a very beautiful and clean country with many skyscrapers. Unlike the other places they have visited so far, the country's landscape is a little peculiar. Although the countryside appears to be farmland, the area seems to be abandoned. Filled with old and damaged buildings, there is no sign of life. In contrast, the city is hidden within a mountain, confined under a fabricated sky that is generated by advanced technology. The highly developed city is focused on healthcare, practicing strict hygiene regulations and aiming to turn its citizens into the healthiest of people. -- -- However, despite being in a beautiful and clean environment, Kino cannot help but feel a sense of uneasiness. The town's air slightly contains a peculiar smell, and there are no birds to be seen flying in the skies, bringing a sense of mystery and dizziness to the scenery. After all, as an experienced traveler, Kino knows that looks can be deceiving and that the town may not be what they had initially expected. -- -- Movie - Apr 21, 2007 -- 42,187 7.71

Koe de Oshigoto! The Animation -- -- Studio Gokumi -- 2 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Ecchi Seinen -- Koe de Oshigoto! The Animation Koe de Oshigoto! The Animation -- Being asked to work as a voice actress at a game company might not be so bad, unless you are Kanna Aoyagi. On her 16th birthday, her older sister Yayoi guilts Kanna into doing voice work for her at Blue March, a game company that specializes in eroge: erotic games with lots of sexual content. -- -- Sweet and innocent, Kanna has no idea how she can possibly succeed at such an occupation when she has no sexual experience. But as she plays eroge for research, uses her vivid imagination, and receives unorthodox help from her coworkers, Kanna slowly becomes more comfortable with her new, embarrassing profession. -- -- OVA - Nov 17, 2010 -- 82,054 6.93

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni -- -- Wit Studio -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Drama Romance Seinen -- Koi wa Ameagari no You ni Koi wa Ameagari no You ni -- Akira Tachibana, a reserved high school student and former track runner, has not been able to race the same as she used to since she experienced a severe foot injury. And although she is regarded as attractive by her classmates, she is not interested in the boys around school. -- -- While working part-time at the Garden Cafe, Akira begins to develop feelings for the manager—a 45-year-old man named Masami Kondou—despite the large age gap. Kondou shows genuine concern and kindness toward the customers of his restaurant, which, while viewed by others as soft or weak, draws Akira to him. Spending time together at the restaurant, they grow closer, which only strengthens her feelings. Weighed down by these uncertain emotions, Akira finally resolves to confess, but what will be the result? -- -- 207,337 7.53

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni -- -- Wit Studio -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Drama Romance Seinen -- Koi wa Ameagari no You ni Koi wa Ameagari no You ni -- Akira Tachibana, a reserved high school student and former track runner, has not been able to race the same as she used to since she experienced a severe foot injury. And although she is regarded as attractive by her classmates, she is not interested in the boys around school. -- -- While working part-time at the Garden Cafe, Akira begins to develop feelings for the manager—a 45-year-old man named Masami Kondou—despite the large age gap. Kondou shows genuine concern and kindness toward the customers of his restaurant, which, while viewed by others as soft or weak, draws Akira to him. Spending time together at the restaurant, they grow closer, which only strengthens her feelings. Weighed down by these uncertain emotions, Akira finally resolves to confess, but what will be the result? -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 207,337 7.53

Kokoro Connect -- -- SILVER LINK. -- 13 eps -- Light novel -- Slice of Life Comedy Supernatural Drama Romance School -- Kokoro Connect Kokoro Connect -- When five students at Yamaboshi Academy realize that there are no clubs where they fit in, they band together to form the Student Cultural Society, or "StuCS" for short. The club consists of: Taichi Yaegashi, a hardcore wrestling fan; Iori Nagase, an indecisive optimist; Himeko Inaba, a calm computer genius; Yui Kiriyama, a petite karate practitioner; and Yoshifumi Aoki, the class clown. -- -- One day, Aoki and Yui experience a strange incident when, without warning, they switch bodies for a short period of time. As this supernatural phenomenon continues to occur randomly amongst the five friends, they begin to realize that it is not just fun and games. Now forced to become closer than ever, they soon discover each other's hidden secrets and emotional scars, which could end up tearing the StuCS and their friendship apart. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 660,720 7.81

K-On! -- -- Kyoto Animation -- 13 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Music Slice of Life Comedy School -- K-On! K-On! -- A fresh high school year always means much to come, and one of those things is joining a club. Being in a dilemma about which club to join, Yui Hirasawa stumbles upon and applies for the Light Music Club, which she misinterprets to be about playing simple instruments, such as castanets. Unable to play an instrument, she decides to visit to apologize and quit. -- -- Meanwhile, the Light Music Club faces disbandment due to a lack of members. This causes the club members to offer anything, from food to slacking off during club time, in order to convince Yui to join. Despite their efforts, Yui insists on leaving due to her lack of musical experience. As a last resort, they play a piece for Yui, which sparks her fiery passion and finally convinces her to join the club. -- -- From then onward, it's just plain messing around with bits and pieces of practice. The members of the Light Music Club are ready to make their time together a delightful one! -- -- -- Licensor: -- Bandai Entertainment, Sentai Filmworks -- 811,001 7.84

K-On!! -- -- Kyoto Animation -- 26 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Comedy Music School Slice of Life -- K-On!! K-On!! -- It is the new year, which means that the senior members of the Light Music Club are now third-years, with Azusa Nakano being the only second-year. The seniors soon realize that Azusa will be the only member left once they graduate and decide to recruit new members. Despite trying many methods of attracting underclassmen—handing out fliers, bringing people into the clubroom, and performing at the welcoming ceremony—there are no signs of anyone that plans to join. -- -- While heading to the clubroom, Azusa overhears Yui Hirasawa say that the club is fine with only five people and that they can do many fun things together. Changing her mind, she decides that they do not need to recruit any members for the time being. -- -- K-On!! revolves around the members of the Light Music Club as they experience their daily high school life. From rehearsing for concerts to just messing around, they are ready to make their last year together an exciting one! -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 530,529 8.15

Konohana Kitan -- -- Lerche -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Fantasy Seinen Shoujo Ai -- Konohana Kitan Konohana Kitan -- In a bustling village of spirits, Yuzu, a cheerful fox girl, starts her first job as an attendant at the traditional hot springs inn Konohanatei. Though Yuzu has no experience working at such a high-class establishment, Kiri, the affable and reliable head attendant, immediately puts her to work learning the basics. -- -- While Yuzu's eagerness initially proves to be more of a hindrance than a blessing, her playful nature brings a unique charm to the inn, as both customers and her fellow workers quickly warm up to her clumsy yet well-meaning mistakes. Under the guidance of the other foxes—the rigid Satsuki, the carefree Natsume, the critical Ren, and the quiet Sakura—Yuzu steadily learns the trade of an inn attendant while learning to love the magical world surrounding her. -- -- Konohana Kitan presents the heartwarming tale of a simple fox girl forging bonds with others and finding a home amidst the mysterious, beautiful world of spirits. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 112,579 7.54

Kono Oto Tomare! 2nd Season -- -- Platinum Vision -- 13 eps -- Manga -- Drama Music Romance School Shounen -- Kono Oto Tomare! 2nd Season Kono Oto Tomare! 2nd Season -- The Tokise High School Koto Club has courageously pushed through their fractured and unsynchronized performance at the Kanto Region Traditional Japanese Music Festival. Clubmembers Chika Kudou, Satowa Houzuki, Takezou Kurata, Hiro Kurusu, Kouta Mizuhara, Saneyasu Adachi, and Michitaka Sakai are devastated to learn the negative results of their performance, leaving them crushed. Nonetheless, the group recognizes their potential and enthusiastically agree to collectively sharpen their skills, improve their flaws, and develop higher caliber playing to succeed in the upcoming national qualifiers in winter. -- -- With the help of their now willing club advisor Suzuka Takinami, the group's goal gradually becomes achievable as they begin to grasp the foundations of good music and refine their koto-playing abilities, with the suggestion of performing more often to gain what they lack most—experience. -- -- However, as their journey to nationals is underway, the koto club members face challenges that obstruct their focus and progress. Not only does the threat of other powerhouse schools and musicians remain, but the high school issues of budding romance and soon-to-be-graduating seniors also begin to push the limits of the determined group of teenagers and the future of the koto club. -- -- 90,539 8.42

Kotoura-san -- -- AIC Classic -- 12 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Comedy Drama Romance School -- Kotoura-san Kotoura-san -- Since childhood, Haruka Kotoura's classmates have seen her as a creepy and monstrous person. This is due to her ability to read other people's minds—the same ability that drove her parents away, leaving her alone with her grandfather. As a result, she has grown accustomed to the bitter treatment by the people around her, becoming completely cold and unsociable to others. -- -- However, everything starts to change when Haruka transfers to a new school. While most are off put by her as usual, she meets Yoshihisa Manabe, who finds her power astonishing. Yoshihisa then proceeds to befriend Haruka, promising to never leave her no matter what happens. -- -- Haruka's new experiences of social belonging thus begin, meeting new friends and learning to open herself along the way. -- -- -- Licensor: -- NIS America, Inc. -- TV - Jan 11, 2013 -- 275,232 7.21

Kotoura-san -- -- AIC Classic -- 12 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Comedy Drama Romance School -- Kotoura-san Kotoura-san -- Since childhood, Haruka Kotoura's classmates have seen her as a creepy and monstrous person. This is due to her ability to read other people's minds—the same ability that drove her parents away, leaving her alone with her grandfather. As a result, she has grown accustomed to the bitter treatment by the people around her, becoming completely cold and unsociable to others. -- -- However, everything starts to change when Haruka transfers to a new school. While most are off put by her as usual, she meets Yoshihisa Manabe, who finds her power astonishing. Yoshihisa then proceeds to befriend Haruka, promising to never leave her no matter what happens. -- -- Haruka's new experiences of social belonging thus begin, meeting new friends and learning to open herself along the way. -- -- TV - Jan 11, 2013 -- 275,232 7.21

Koufuku Graffiti -- -- Shaft -- 12 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Slice of Life Comedy Seinen -- Koufuku Graffiti Koufuku Graffiti -- The path to becoming a fine wife begins with being an accomplished cook—at least, that is what Ryou Machiko's late grandmother had led her to believe. For a middle schooler, Ryou's cooking skills are incomparable; but recently, though Ryou's food looks appetizing and smells inviting, the taste has not been delicious. Just when the dejected art student comes to terms with the possibility that she might continue living alone for the rest of her life, her aunt tells her that Kirin Morino—Ryou's second cousin—will begin staying with her every weekend since the younger girl has joined a cram school in Tokyo and aims to attend the same school as Ryou. -- -- Surprisingly, with her cousin's arrival, Ryou finds that her cooking has vastly improved—apparently, it is not her prowess in the kitchen, but the sharing of the experience with those closest to her that seems to make the flavors shine. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 70,861 6.80

Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? -- -- Millepensee -- 24 eps -- Light novel -- Action Adventure Mystery Comedy Magic Fantasy -- Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? -- The day is as normal as it can be in high school as the students peacefully go about their everyday activities until an unprecedented catastrophe strikes the school, killing every person in its wake. Guided by what seems to be a miracle, a handful of students are fortunate enough to be reincarnated into another world as nobles, princes, and other kinds of people with prestigious backgrounds. -- -- One girl, however, is not so lucky. Being reborn as a spider of the weakest kind, she immediately experiences the hardships of her dire situation. Even so, she must press on to survive the numerous threats that endanger her life. Discovering that her new world has a system like that of an RPG, she tries her best to hunt prey and defeat monsters to level up and evolve. As she gradually grows stronger, she hopes one day her efforts will be rewarded, and that she will be granted a better life. -- -- 182,578 7.26

Kyokou Suiri 2nd Season -- -- - -- ? eps -- Manga -- Mystery Demons Supernatural Romance Shounen -- Kyokou Suiri 2nd Season Kyokou Suiri 2nd Season -- Second season of Kyokou Suiri. -- TV - ??? ??, ???? -- 34,015 N/A -- -- Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Mechtanium Surge -- -- TMS Entertainment -- 46 eps -- - -- Action Adventure Fantasy Game Shounen -- Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Mechtanium Surge Bakugan Battle Brawlers: Mechtanium Surge -- After returning from the feuding realms of Gundalia and Neathia, Danma Kuusou and his companions continue their lives on Earth. Now, a year later, the virtual reality world of Bakugan Interspace has finally recovered from the alien invasion and has once again become a place for brawlers to gather and challenge themselves. -- -- It turns out, however, that whenever Danma's Bakugan, Pyrus Dragonoid, unleashes his might in battle, the Interspace experiences new disruptions. Unable to harness the incredible powers granted to him by Code Eve—the Bakugan Mother spirit—he struggles to maintain control over the Mechtogan contained within him. When it goes out of control, the mysterious mechanical entity wreaks havoc on the battlefield, attacking friends and foes alike. -- -- To make matters worse, Bakugan Interspace is at risk of being infiltrated again. An unknown mastermind is sending mutated Chaos Bakugan into the system in order to brainwash brawlers and take control of the virtual realm. In anticipation of the inevitable confrontation, Danma must find a way to keep the Mechtogan's destructive force at bay and rally the Battle Brawlers once again. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Nelvana -- TV - Feb 13, 2011 -- 33,952 6.16

Long Riders! -- -- Actas -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy Sports Shounen -- Long Riders! Long Riders! -- Falling in love at first sight with a collapsible bicycle outside the station, Ami Kurata, first-year university student empties her account without a second thought and buys the bicycle. Now she enjoys weekend cycling trips with Aoi, her childhood friend, and Hinako, a senior at her university. "Owning a road bike may change your view of the world completely." Prompted by the comment, Ami purchased a road bike, and she is really impressed with the traveling performance. As soon as she places her feet on the pedals and presses down, everything about riding a road bicycle—the lightness of the pedal, the speed, the acceleration—is nothing like she has ever experienced. Ami's cycle life gets going with the new road cycle as her partner! -- -- (Source: Showgate, edited) -- 23,310 6.65

Long Riders! -- -- Actas -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy Sports Shounen -- Long Riders! Long Riders! -- Falling in love at first sight with a collapsible bicycle outside the station, Ami Kurata, first-year university student empties her account without a second thought and buys the bicycle. Now she enjoys weekend cycling trips with Aoi, her childhood friend, and Hinako, a senior at her university. "Owning a road bike may change your view of the world completely." Prompted by the comment, Ami purchased a road bike, and she is really impressed with the traveling performance. As soon as she places her feet on the pedals and presses down, everything about riding a road bicycle—the lightness of the pedal, the speed, the acceleration—is nothing like she has ever experienced. Ami's cycle life gets going with the new road cycle as her partner! -- -- (Source: Showgate, edited) -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 23,310 6.65

Macross -- -- Tatsunoko Production -- 36 eps -- Original -- Action Mecha Military Music Romance Sci-Fi Space -- Macross Macross -- After a mysterious spaceship crashes into Earth, humanity realizes that they are not alone. Fearing a potential threat from space, the world pushes aside their nationalism, conflicting interests, and cultural differences, unifying under the banner of the United Nations. The newly formed UN forces decide to repurpose the alien spacecraft, naming it SDF-1 Macross. Unfortunately, on the day of its maiden voyage, a fleet of spaceships belonging to a race of aliens known as the Zentradi descend upon Earth, and the SDF-1 Macross, acting of its own accord, shoots down the incoming squadron, sparking an intergalactic war. -- -- In an attempt to escape, the Macross tries to launch itself into the Moon's orbit, but the ship—as well as the city it was in—is teleported to the far reaches of space. Caught up in this mess are Hikaru Ichijou, a free-spirited acrobatic pilot, and Minmay Lynn, an aspiring singer. These two, alongside Macross' crew, experience an epic journey rife with grief and drama, coming face-to-face with the cruelties of war along the way. -- -- 85,330 7.93

Macross -- -- Tatsunoko Production -- 36 eps -- Original -- Action Mecha Military Music Romance Sci-Fi Space -- Macross Macross -- After a mysterious spaceship crashes into Earth, humanity realizes that they are not alone. Fearing a potential threat from space, the world pushes aside their nationalism, conflicting interests, and cultural differences, unifying under the banner of the United Nations. The newly formed UN forces decide to repurpose the alien spacecraft, naming it SDF-1 Macross. Unfortunately, on the day of its maiden voyage, a fleet of spaceships belonging to a race of aliens known as the Zentradi descend upon Earth, and the SDF-1 Macross, acting of its own accord, shoots down the incoming squadron, sparking an intergalactic war. -- -- In an attempt to escape, the Macross tries to launch itself into the Moon's orbit, but the ship—as well as the city it was in—is teleported to the far reaches of space. Caught up in this mess are Hikaru Ichijou, a free-spirited acrobatic pilot, and Minmay Lynn, an aspiring singer. These two, alongside Macross' crew, experience an epic journey rife with grief and drama, coming face-to-face with the cruelties of war along the way. -- -- -- Licensor: -- ADV Films, AnimEigo -- 85,330 7.93

Made in Abyss Movie 2: Hourou Suru Tasogare -- -- Kinema Citrus -- 1 ep -- Web manga -- Sci-Fi Adventure Mystery Drama Fantasy -- Made in Abyss Movie 2: Hourou Suru Tasogare Made in Abyss Movie 2: Hourou Suru Tasogare -- The movie is a compilation of episodes 9-13 of the 2017 television series. Riko and Reg descend to the third layer where Riko has her first experience of the Curse. They descend to the fourth layer where Riko's arm is injured by an Orbed Piercer and Reg tries to save her. Nanachi comes to their aid and saves Riko's poisoned arm. In return Nanachi asks Reg to kill her immortal companion Mitty. Nanachi then joins Riko and Reg in their quest to reach the bottom of the Abyss. -- -- (Source: Wikipedia) -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- Movie - Jan 18, 2019 -- 66,597 8.33

Made in Abyss Movie 2: Hourou Suru Tasogare -- -- Kinema Citrus -- 1 ep -- Web manga -- Sci-Fi Adventure Mystery Drama Fantasy -- Made in Abyss Movie 2: Hourou Suru Tasogare Made in Abyss Movie 2: Hourou Suru Tasogare -- The movie is a compilation of episodes 9-13 of the 2017 television series. Riko and Reg descend to the third layer where Riko has her first experience of the Curse. They descend to the fourth layer where Riko's arm is injured by an Orbed Piercer and Reg tries to save her. Nanachi comes to their aid and saves Riko's poisoned arm. In return Nanachi asks Reg to kill her immortal companion Mitty. Nanachi then joins Riko and Reg in their quest to reach the bottom of the Abyss. -- -- (Source: Wikipedia) -- Movie - Jan 18, 2019 -- 66,597 8.33

Mahoutsukai no Yome: Hoshi Matsu Hito -- -- Wit Studio -- 3 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Magic Fantasy Shounen -- Mahoutsukai no Yome: Hoshi Matsu Hito Mahoutsukai no Yome: Hoshi Matsu Hito -- After many hardships in her life, Chise Hatori ended up at an auction, where she was purchased and then freed by the renowned Thorn Sorcerer, Elias Ainsworth, only to stay and become his apprentice. Though her life is wonderful now, the arrival of a picture book, "The Lonely Little Star," brings back memories of those trying times and the loneliness she endured. -- -- As a child, Chise experienced a great tragedy: her mother's death. Shunned and unwanted by peers and relatives alike, she has lived a detached and pitiful life. However, the unexpected discovery of a mysterious library in the forest provides her with a temporary place of solace. Through reading countless books and spending time with the kindhearted librarian, Chise slowly begins to feel less alone in the world. But could this peculiar library have a darker side? -- -- -- Licensor: -- Crunchyroll -- OVA - Sep 10, 2016 -- 225,972 8.13

Mahoutsukai no Yome: Hoshi Matsu Hito -- -- Wit Studio -- 3 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Magic Fantasy Shounen -- Mahoutsukai no Yome: Hoshi Matsu Hito Mahoutsukai no Yome: Hoshi Matsu Hito -- After many hardships in her life, Chise Hatori ended up at an auction, where she was purchased and then freed by the renowned Thorn Sorcerer, Elias Ainsworth, only to stay and become his apprentice. Though her life is wonderful now, the arrival of a picture book, "The Lonely Little Star," brings back memories of those trying times and the loneliness she endured. -- -- As a child, Chise experienced a great tragedy: her mother's death. Shunned and unwanted by peers and relatives alike, she has lived a detached and pitiful life. However, the unexpected discovery of a mysterious library in the forest provides her with a temporary place of solace. Through reading countless books and spending time with the kindhearted librarian, Chise slowly begins to feel less alone in the world. But could this peculiar library have a darker side? -- -- OVA - Sep 10, 2016 -- 225,972 8.13

Maid of the Dead -- -- - -- 1 ep -- Original -- Comedy Horror -- Maid of the Dead Maid of the Dead -- It's just another normal day at a maid café until one of the customers turn out to be a zombie! Disrupting business and infecting some of the maids, everything suddenly descends into chaos as people are attacked. As one of the more experienced maids comes to deal with the unruly customer and newly-made zombie maids, perhaps there's a bright side to this unbelievable turn of events after all? -- -- ONA - Oct 7, 2013 -- 3,430 4.07

Maison Ikkoku -- -- Studio Deen -- 96 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy Drama Romance Seinen -- Maison Ikkoku Maison Ikkoku -- In the town of Clock Hill, there is an old boarding house called Maison Ikkoku. While the residence itself is fairly normal, most of its occupants are not. Yuusaku Godai, its most quiet tenant, has finally reached his limit with his neighbors' constant disruptions and boisterous partying. Wanting a calmer place to call home so that he can study in peace, he prepares to move away. -- -- However, his plans to leave are suddenly interrupted when he meets the new boarding house manager, Kyoko Otonashi. Falling madly in love with her, he decides that the boarding house may not be such a bad place to live after all. Unfortunately for him, Kyoko has her own romantic troubles: she is a widow whose husband died six months into their marriage. And despite her blossoming feelings for Godai, Kyoko still cherishes her dearly departed husband, and she believes that no other man could possibly fill the void in her heart. But with Godai's persistence and some help of the other eccentric tenants, she may experience true love once again. -- -- -- Licensor: -- VIZ Media -- 52,561 8.19

Majo no Tabitabi -- -- C2C -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Adventure Magic Fantasy -- Majo no Tabitabi Majo no Tabitabi -- Since childhood, Elaina has always been fascinated by the stories written within her favorite book, especially those about Nike, a renowned witch who had numerous great travels across the world. Wanting to experience the awe of adventure herself, Elaina strives to become a witch, and despite the numerous trials that come her way, she eventually succeeds. -- -- Now a full-fledged witch, Elaina finally embarks on her long-awaited journey, in which she meets many people along the way, learning their various stories. Through all of this, she explores the world at its fullest—experiencing both its bright and dark sides—starting her legendary tale. -- -- 224,142 7.55

Majo no Tabitabi -- -- C2C -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Adventure Magic Fantasy -- Majo no Tabitabi Majo no Tabitabi -- Since childhood, Elaina has always been fascinated by the stories written within her favorite book, especially those about Nike, a renowned witch who had numerous great travels across the world. Wanting to experience the awe of adventure herself, Elaina strives to become a witch, and despite the numerous trials that come her way, she eventually succeeds. -- -- Now a full-fledged witch, Elaina finally embarks on her long-awaited journey, in which she meets many people along the way, learning their various stories. Through all of this, she explores the world at its fullest—experiencing both its bright and dark sides—starting her legendary tale. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 224,142 7.55

Majo no Takkyuubin -- -- Studio Ghibli -- 1 ep -- Novel -- Adventure Comedy Drama Magic Romance Fantasy -- Majo no Takkyuubin Majo no Takkyuubin -- Kiki, a 13-year-old witch-in-training, must spend a year living on her own in a distant town in order to become a full-fledged witch. Leaving her family and friends, Kiki undertakes this tradition when she flies out into the open world atop her broomstick with her black cat Jiji. -- -- As she settles down in the coastal town of Koriko, Kiki struggles to adapt and ends up wandering the streets with no place to stay—until she encounters Osono, who offers Kiki boarding in exchange for making deliveries for her small bakery. Before long, Kiki decides to open her own courier service by broomstick, beginning her journey to independence. In attempting to find her place among the townsfolk, Kiki brings with her exciting new experiences and comes to understand the true meaning of responsibility. -- -- -- Licensor: -- GKIDS, Walt Disney Studios -- Movie - Jul 29, 1989 -- 400,205 8.23

Majo no Takkyuubin -- -- Studio Ghibli -- 1 ep -- Novel -- Adventure Comedy Drama Magic Romance Fantasy -- Majo no Takkyuubin Majo no Takkyuubin -- Kiki, a 13-year-old witch-in-training, must spend a year living on her own in a distant town in order to become a full-fledged witch. Leaving her family and friends, Kiki undertakes this tradition when she flies out into the open world atop her broomstick with her black cat Jiji. -- -- As she settles down in the coastal town of Koriko, Kiki struggles to adapt and ends up wandering the streets with no place to stay—until she encounters Osono, who offers Kiki boarding in exchange for making deliveries for her small bakery. Before long, Kiki decides to open her own courier service by broomstick, beginning her journey to independence. In attempting to find her place among the townsfolk, Kiki brings with her exciting new experiences and comes to understand the true meaning of responsibility. -- -- Movie - Jul 29, 1989 -- 400,205 8.23

Major 2nd (TV) 2nd Season -- -- OLM -- 25 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Sports Drama Shounen -- Major 2nd (TV) 2nd Season Major 2nd (TV) 2nd Season -- After recovering from the inner struggles he faced in the past, Daigo Shigeno continues to play baseball and is now the captain of Fuurin Private Academy Middle School's baseball team. Alongside Mutsuko Sakura, his classmate from elementary school, he aims to lead the team to glory. However, due to unexpected circumstances, Fuurin's baseball team is left with only six members: Daigo, Mutsuko, Yayoi Sawa, Tao Sagara, Seira Kandori, and Hiromu Tanba. Left with mostly female players and lacking in experience, the team struggles to gain confidence and trust from the new recruits—Akira Nishina, Anita Kabashima, and Chisato Fujii. Facing challenges such as having no proper coach, problematic recruits, and a limited number of members, Daigo's resolution is put to the test as he tries to bring the team together in time to participate in their first ever tournament. -- -- 14,548 7.57

Major 2nd (TV) -- -- OLM -- 25 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Drama Shounen Sports -- Major 2nd (TV) Major 2nd (TV) -- Daigo, the son of renowned baseball player Gorou Shigeno, believes he has to live up to his father's name by becoming an all-star player himself. With great dreams, as soon as he reaches fourth-grade, he promptly joins the same little league baseball team his dad played on, the Mifune Dolphins. However, things don't go as planned. After only the first couple of practices, Daigo's lack of talent and inherent baseball sense shows, and his confidence is crushed. Unable to bear the pressure of living up to his father, a baseball prodigy, he quits the team in less than a year. -- -- Two years later, now in sixth-grade, a transfer student joins Daigo's class. This student turns out to be Hikaru, the son of Gorou's lifelong friend and fellow baseball star, Toshiya Satou. One day, Daigo's mother receives a call from the Dolphins requesting players for a game, so she forces Daigo to attend. To Daigo's surprise, he finds Hikaru there. Even more shocking is that despite his father's occupation, Hikaru has never played baseball before! -- -- Unlike Daigo, though, Hikaru immediately picks up the game demonstrating excellent performance. Needless to say, Daigo and Hikaru are polar opposites of each other. But this friction will inevitably thrust both of these inexperienced children into the world their fathers cherish—the world of baseball. -- -- 26,091 7.46

Makura no Danshi -- -- feel. -- 12 eps -- Original -- Slice of Life -- Makura no Danshi Makura no Danshi -- Whispering sweet lullabies into the ears of the viewers, Makura no Danshi presents the watcher with an experience of comfort. Each short episode features a different boy who will listen to the audience and hold them when they need it. -- -- There are boys to suit all tastes: Merry is a gentle brown-haired boy; Sousuke Tanaka is a mature working man; Kanade Hanamine is a high school student who acts tough, but is frightened by mere spiders; Eiji Kijinami is a sore loser who looks like a punk, but has a tender heart; the shy Ryuushi Theodore Emori loves stargazing; Yuu Maiki is a freshman with delusions of grandeur; Haruto Enokawa is an energetic 5-year-old who refuses to sleep without a bedtime story; Nao Sasayama is a hip college student that is addicted to his smartphone; Shirusu Mochizuki is a librarian that treasures both books and book lovers; Yonaga and Yayoi Chigiri are siblings who are learning flower arrangement; and Yuuichirou Iida is a humorous old man who runs an oden stall. -- -- Though the watchers may be troubled with various issues in life, these boys will softly talk about themselves and coax the audience members into revealing their problems. All the boys have kind hearts and will make the viewers feel special and loved. -- -- 35,741 4.50

Mangirl! -- -- Doga Kobo -- 13 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Slice of Life -- Mangirl! Mangirl! -- "We're going to launch a manga magazine!" -- -- A team of girls with zero experience in manga editing are off and running toward their dream of creating the biggest manga magazine in Japan! They seem to do nothing but run into problems and failures... But still they're working hard every day! -- -- (Source: Crunchyroll) -- TV - Jan 3, 2013 -- 28,292 5.85

Masou Gakuen HxH -- -- Production IMS -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Action Sci-Fi Harem Comedy Romance Ecchi Fantasy School -- Masou Gakuen HxH Masou Gakuen HxH -- Hida Kizuna possesses the HHG (Heart Hybrid Gear) ability, but it is not strong enough to make him particularly important. His older sister calls him to transfer to a strategic defense school, where many of the students (many of which are large-breasted girls) use their HHG abilities to fight invaders from another world while wearing extremely skimpy pilot outfits. Kizuna's fighting ability doesn't measure up, but his sister has another plan—apparently having erotic experiences with Kizuna will allow the girls to replenish their energy or power-up. It looks like his new school life is going to be full of embarrassment. -- -- (Source: MangaHelpers) -- -- Licensor: -- Crunchyroll, Funimation -- 213,500 6.17

Memory (ONA) -- -- - -- 1 ep -- - -- Drama Military Sci-Fi Slice of Life -- Memory (ONA) Memory (ONA) -- Set in a post-apocalyptic world destroyed by nuclear war, it tells the story of a damaged robot found by futuristic soldiers investigating a devastated area. -- -- The humanoid appeared to be household robot, reminiscent of Asimov, and when the soldiers booted it up, they were able to see what was left of videos recorded inside its memory as seen by the robot throughout the years. -- -- In just under seven minutes and with no dialogue, the film poignantly reminds us that all our experiences, the things that we hold dear in our lives, are in constant threat. -- -- (Source: Bouncing Red Ball.com) -- ONA - Apr ??, 2009 -- 2,278 6.21

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 The Movie: A Wakening of the Trailblazer -- -- Sunrise -- 1 ep -- Original -- Action Mecha Sci-Fi Space -- Mobile Suit Gundam 00 The Movie: A Wakening of the Trailblazer Mobile Suit Gundam 00 The Movie: A Wakening of the Trailblazer -- In the year 2314 AD, the world is at peace. Thanks to the sacrifices of Celestial Being and its mobile suit pilots, the people of Earth experience a time of prosperity and unity, enjoying tranquil lives once thought impossible. Celestial Being, an organization once painted as villains by the Earth Sphere Federation, now exists in public perception as a group of heroes, celebrated in film and culture. -- -- When an extraterrestrial threat arrives on Earth, threatening the newly acquired calm stasis, Celestial Being springs back into action. Led by ace pilot Setsuna F. Seiei, the Gundam Meisters of the group battle the hostile alien forces, teaming up with old rivals to protect the human race from certain doom. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Bandai Entertainment -- Movie - Sep 18, 2010 -- 53,047 7.31

Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War -- -- Sunrise -- 3 eps -- - -- Mecha Military Sci-Fi Space -- Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War -- The year is Universal Century 0079. Oliver May is a technical officer in the Zeon 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit , in charge of testing new military technology. Stationed in the Jotunheim, a civilian transport ship that was converted into military use, Oliver must head into battle and experience the One Year War, only this time from the perspective of a weapon tester who struggles to make an impact on an evolving war during changing times. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- -- Licensor: -- Bandai Visual USA, Nozomi Entertainment -- OVA - Jul 19, 2004 -- 12,892 6.68

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED -- -- Sunrise -- 50 eps -- Original -- Action Drama Mecha Military Romance Sci-Fi Space -- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Mobile Suit Gundam SEED -- In the year Cosmic Era 0071, the space colony Heliopolis remains neutral in the great war raging across the galaxy between Coordinators, human beings whose biological traits have been altered before birth, and Naturals, unaltered people who remain on the planet Earth. The Naturals' deep hatred of the Coordinators drove the advanced beings into space, seeking shelter in man-made colonies. -- -- Kira Yamato is a Coordinator and university student on Heliopolis, when his life is thrown into disarray as ZAFT, the military organization composed of rebellious Coordinators, attacks the colony in an effort to steal a set of five state-of-the-art military mobile suits known as Gundams. -- -- While ZAFT manages to make off with four of the mobile suits, Kira take control of the final Gundam, the Strike. Surviving the battle, Kira and his college friends join the crew of the Archangel, a ship run by the Earth Alliance, and the young soldiers experience the horrors of war and the loss that comes with it. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Bandai Entertainment, NYAV Post -- 142,536 7.78

Mob Psycho 100 II -- -- Bones -- 13 eps -- Web manga -- Action Slice of Life Comedy Supernatural -- Mob Psycho 100 II Mob Psycho 100 II -- Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama is now maturing and understanding his role as a supernatural psychic that has the power to drastically affect the livelihood of others. He and his mentor Reigen Arataka continue to deal with supernatural requests from clients, whether it be exorcizing evil spirits or tackling urban legends that haunt the citizens. -- -- While the workflow remains the same, Mob isn't just blindly following Reigen around anymore. With all his experiences as a ridiculously strong psychic, Mob's supernatural adventures now have more weight to them. Things take on a serious and darker tone as the dangers Mob and Reigen face are much more tangible and unsettling than ever before. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 909,828 8.83

Momokuri -- -- Satelight -- 26 eps -- Web manga -- Comedy Romance Slice of Life -- Momokuri Momokuri -- After taking one hundred secret photos and observing him from afar for months, second-year high schooler Yuki Kurihara has finally mustered up the courage to ask out her first-year crush Shinya "Momo" Momotsuki. Although taken by surprise, the bashful Momo accepts; however, he does not know the profoundly abnormal truth. As her strait-laced friend, Norika Mizuyama, has observed, Yuki has developed some unnerving—but nonetheless sincere—habits: taking pictures of Momo in secret, doing extensive research into his personal life, collecting his used straws, and even going "Momo watching." -- -- Though Momo remains blissfully unaware of his new girlfriend's peculiar habits, he does notice some oddities in their daily conversations. Still unsure and nervous about his first relationship, Momo finds himself regularly getting into awkward interactions due to his inexperience, but nevertheless resolves to make his new girlfriend happy. -- -- Momokuri follows Yuki and Momo as they shyly explore their newfound love, and also deal with the problems that arise from it. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- ONA - Dec 24, 2015 -- 74,971 7.09

Momokuri -- -- Satelight -- 26 eps -- Web manga -- Comedy Romance Slice of Life -- Momokuri Momokuri -- After taking one hundred secret photos and observing him from afar for months, second-year high schooler Yuki Kurihara has finally mustered up the courage to ask out her first-year crush Shinya "Momo" Momotsuki. Although taken by surprise, the bashful Momo accepts; however, he does not know the profoundly abnormal truth. As her strait-laced friend, Norika Mizuyama, has observed, Yuki has developed some unnerving—but nonetheless sincere—habits: taking pictures of Momo in secret, doing extensive research into his personal life, collecting his used straws, and even going "Momo watching." -- -- Though Momo remains blissfully unaware of his new girlfriend's peculiar habits, he does notice some oddities in their daily conversations. Still unsure and nervous about his first relationship, Momo finds himself regularly getting into awkward interactions due to his inexperience, but nevertheless resolves to make his new girlfriend happy. -- -- Momokuri follows Yuki and Momo as they shyly explore their newfound love, and also deal with the problems that arise from it. -- -- ONA - Dec 24, 2015 -- 74,971 7.09

Natsume Yuujinchou Roku -- -- Shuka -- 11 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Demons Supernatural Drama Shoujo -- Natsume Yuujinchou Roku Natsume Yuujinchou Roku -- Takashi Natsume has grown accustomed to his encounters with youkai through the Book of Friends, which contains the names of youkai whom his grandmother, Reiko Natsume, has sealed in contracts. These encounters allow Natsume to better understand the youkai, Reiko, and himself. -- -- The Book of Friends is a powerful tool that can be used to control youkai; it is sought after by both youkai and exorcists alike. Natsume just wants to live out his daily life in peace but is constantly disrupted by these experiences. If he is to end this torment, Natsume must explore more about the book and the world of exorcism, as well as begin to open his heart to those who can help him. -- -- 140,412 8.64

New Game!! -- -- Doga Kobo -- 12 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Game Slice of Life Comedy -- New Game!! New Game!! -- It has been a year since Aoba Suzukaze started working at the Eagle Jump game company. In that time, she and her eccentric coworkers in the character design department have worked hard to release the company's newest game: Fairies Story 3. With their latest title now complete, a new project must begin—starting with a contest to decide the character designs for the upcoming game. Through hard work, dedication, and some guidance from the previous character designer, Kou Yagami, Aoba wins the contest and begins her new role as lead character designer. -- -- However, her new job is not an easy one. In addition to having extra work and longer hours, Aoba questions whether she is the right fit for the job. New Game!! continues as Aoba overcomes her inexperience with the help of her friends and coworkers, willing to face any challenge to make Eagle Jump's newest creation, a cutesy game called Peco. -- -- 205,895 7.74

New Game!! -- -- Doga Kobo -- 12 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Game Slice of Life Comedy -- New Game!! New Game!! -- It has been a year since Aoba Suzukaze started working at the Eagle Jump game company. In that time, she and her eccentric coworkers in the character design department have worked hard to release the company's newest game: Fairies Story 3. With their latest title now complete, a new project must begin—starting with a contest to decide the character designs for the upcoming game. Through hard work, dedication, and some guidance from the previous character designer, Kou Yagami, Aoba wins the contest and begins her new role as lead character designer. -- -- However, her new job is not an easy one. In addition to having extra work and longer hours, Aoba questions whether she is the right fit for the job. New Game!! continues as Aoba overcomes her inexperience with the help of her friends and coworkers, willing to face any challenge to make Eagle Jump's newest creation, a cutesy game called Peco. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Crunchyroll, Funimation -- 205,895 7.74

New Game!: Watashi, Shain Ryokou tte Hajimete nano de... -- -- Doga Kobo -- 1 ep -- 4-koma manga -- Comedy Ecchi Slice of Life -- New Game!: Watashi, Shain Ryokou tte Hajimete nano de... New Game!: Watashi, Shain Ryokou tte Hajimete nano de... -- The staff of Eagle Jump take a long awaited vacation to a ski resort, celebrating the release of their latest iteration of the 'Fairies Story' game. Being her first company trip, Aoba Suzukaze is excited for it, but is also apprehensive as she has no prior skiing experience. Join Aoba and her colleagues as they de-stress and enjoy their time at the resort. -- -- OVA - May 3, 2017 -- 61,587 7.41

Nichijou -- -- Kyoto Animation -- 26 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy School Shounen -- Nichijou Nichijou -- Nichijou primarily focuses on the daily antics of a trio of childhood friends—high school girls Mio Naganohara, Yuuko Aioi and Mai Minakami—whose stories soon intertwine with the young genius Hakase Shinonome, her robot caretaker Nano, and their talking cat Sakamoto. With every passing day, the lives of these six, as well as of the many people around them, experience both the calms of normal life and the insanity of the absurd. Walking to school, being bitten by a talking crow, spending time with friends, and watching the principal suplex a deer: they are all in a day's work in the extraordinary everyday lives of those in Nichijou. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Bandai Entertainment, Funimation -- 672,644 8.47

Noblesse: Awakening -- -- Production I.G -- 1 ep -- Web manga -- Action Supernatural Vampire School -- Noblesse: Awakening Noblesse: Awakening -- Long ago lived the "nobles," an ancient race of immortal supernatural beings. They were revered as rulers and gods. Among the nobles was the "Noblesse," a powerful individual shrouded in mystery named Cadis Etrama di Raizel, or "Rai." Upon awakening in South Korea after an 820-year-long sleep, Rai sets to find his loyal and devoted servant, Frankenstein, whom he discovers to be the current director of Ye Ran High School. In his wish to learn more about modern civilization, Rai enrolls as a student to better experience life in the modern world. -- -- Noblesse: Awakening details the beginning of Rai's new life as a high school student as he spends time with friends and fights threats both human and supernatural in order to prevent their schemes from harming Korea. -- -- ONA - Feb 4, 2016 -- 94,149 7.44

Nobunaga Concerto -- -- Fuji TV -- 10 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Historical Romance Shounen -- Nobunaga Concerto Nobunaga Concerto -- "Who cares about what happened in Japan's past? It has nothing to do with my life." -- -- With these words, carefree high school student Saburou finds himself unceremoniously thrown back in time to the Sengoku Era, landing directly in front of the legendary general Nobunaga Oda. Nobunaga, on the run from his retainers and wishing to rest due to his frailty, beseeches Saburou to take his place, as the two bear an uncanny resemblance. Although Saburou is still confused by his surroundings, Nobunaga hurriedly provides the boy with the necessary items to prove that he is the bona fide feudal lord and makes a hasty getaway. -- -- Now a stand-in for someone he doesn't even know all that much about—though his modern experiences and knowledge are sure to help him—Saburou begins his unexpected quest to pose as the man who attempted to unite all of Japan. -- -- TV - Jul 12, 2014 -- 48,530 7.59

Non Non Biyori: Okinawa e Ikukoto ni Natta -- -- SILVER LINK. -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy School Seinen -- Non Non Biyori: Okinawa e Ikukoto ni Natta Non Non Biyori: Okinawa e Ikukoto ni Natta -- While spending a summer day at the department store, Suguru Koshigaya wins the lottery’s grand prize—four tickets to Okinawa! Filled with awe and excitement, the girls of Asahigaoka do various things to prepare for the trip. From practicing how to ride on an airplane to buying travel essentials at the convenience store, they do everything beforehand so they can enjoy their time in Okinawa to the fullest extent. -- -- A departure from the familiar scenery of Asahigaoka is a new experience for Renge Miyauchi, but that does not stop her from pondering how her perspective of the world may change. As the day of the trip draws near, a promise is made. -- -- OVA - Jul 23, 2014 -- 50,070 7.62

Otsukimi Recital -- -- - -- 1 ep -- Music -- Music Psychological -- Otsukimi Recital Otsukimi Recital -- Hibiya Amamiya has experienced the worst loss possible: the life of a friend. For him, the world no longer holds a glimmer, but high school idol Momo Kisaragi has taken it upon herself to show him that there is a reason to go on. Although sadness clings to Hibiya like the full moon which shines through the night, perhaps Momo will be able to brighten his eyes once again. -- -- Music - Jul 2, 2013 -- 3,815 7.08

Persona 3 the Movie 4: Winter of Rebirth -- -- A-1 Pictures -- 1 ep -- Game -- Action Supernatural Fantasy -- Persona 3 the Movie 4: Winter of Rebirth Persona 3 the Movie 4: Winter of Rebirth -- "The time of destruction is coming ever closer without a doubt. It cannot be stopped." -- To know death, to gaze at death, to face death. -- -- Makoto and his allies have grown through the many meetings and partings they have experienced. -- -- Their fight might not be for the sake of the world, but for themselves. Even so, they have continued to fight, believing that there are peaceful days waiting at the end of the battle. -- -- However, a boy says that destruction is the fate that humanity must shoulder. The boy they believed to be their friend tells them the truth of the situation without an emotion on his face. -- -- The season changes to winter. Makoto makes a decision in order to greet the spring that is waiting beyond... -- -- (Source: ANN) -- Movie - Jan 23, 2016 -- 53,182 8.02

Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live -- -- Dongwoo A&E, Tatsunoko Production -- 51 eps -- Game -- Slice of Life Sports Music Shoujo -- Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live -- Naru Ayase is an 8th grader who can see the colors of music when she listens to it. For Naru, who is extremely good at decorating, becoming the owner of a shop like Dear Crown was her dream. One day, she finds out that the manager of a newly-opened shop is recruiting middle school girls who can do Prism Dance, and immediately applies. Naru begins to Prism Dance at the audition, and an aura she's never experienced spreads out in front of her. At that moment, a mysterious girl named Rinne asks her if she can see "rainbow music." -- -- (Source: ANN) -- 10,286 7.52

Princess Principal -- -- Actas, Studio 3Hz -- 12 eps -- Original -- Action Mystery Historical -- Princess Principal Princess Principal -- In the early 20th century, the discovery of the substance Cavorite allowed the production of advanced military technology and steered the country toward conflict. London is now divided by a wall, and the Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Albion battle a silent war where espionage is the only weapon that can destabilize the enemy. A group of girls from the prestigious Queen's Mayfaire school work as undercover spies for the Commonwealth. -- -- Led by Dorothy, an experienced driver with a striking personality, their group includes the talents of Ange le Carré, a cold-blooded liar and expert sharpshooter; Chise, a proficient samurai; and Beatrice, a voice-mimicking specialist. They use their unique individual skills for the Commonwealth to survive in a dark world filled with conspiracy, mystery, and infiltration. In the shadow of the war, they have only one goal in mind: completing their mission. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 159,821 7.72

Quanzhi Gaoshou -- -- B.CMAY PICTURES -- 12 eps -- Novel -- Action Game -- Quanzhi Gaoshou Quanzhi Gaoshou -- Widely regarded as a trailblazer and top-tier professional player in the online multiplayer game Glory, Ye Xiu is dubbed the "Battle God" for his skills and contributions to the game over the years. However, when forced to retire from the team and to leave his gaming career behind, he finds work at a nearby internet café. There, when Glory launches its tenth server, he throws himself into the game once more using a new character named "Lord Grim." -- -- Ye Xiu's early achievements on the new server immediately catch the attention of many players, as well as the big guilds, leaving them to wonder about the identity of this exceptional player. However, while he possesses ten years of experience and in-depth knowledge, starting afresh with neither sponsors nor a team in a game that has changed over the years presents numerous challenges. Along with talented new comrades, Ye Xiu once again dedicates himself to traversing the path to Glory's summit! -- -- ONA - Apr 7, 2017 -- 289,745 7.96

Queen's Blade: Rurou no Senshi -- -- Arms -- 12 eps -- Other -- Action Adventure Ecchi Fantasy -- Queen's Blade: Rurou no Senshi Queen's Blade: Rurou no Senshi -- In a land where a queen is chosen every few years solely by winning a tournament, there can be no short supply of formidable opponents. For one woman warrior however, an early defeat clearly shows her that she is lacking in experience though she may be bountiful in body. -- -- Fortunately, while defeat could spell one's doom, her life is saved by a powerful stranger. But unfortunately for this savior, less-than-pure motives and shrewd family members mean her reward is a prison cell. Her release is prompt when the unseasoned warrior she saved, tired of her current lifestyle of nobility, sets off to prove herself. -- -- (Source: Media Blasters) -- -- Licensor: -- Media Blasters -- TV - Apr 2, 2009 -- 80,249 6.17

Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry -- -- Nexus, SILVER LINK. -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Action Romance Ecchi Fantasy School -- Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry -- There exist few humans in this world with the ability to manipulate their souls to form powerful weapons. Dubbed "Blazers," these people study and train at the prestigious Hagun Academy to become Mage-Knights; among the students is so-called failure Ikki Kurogane, the sole F-rated Blazer. However, when the worst student in the academy sees Stella Vermillion, an A-ranked Blazer who also happens to be a princess, naked, she challenges him to a duel with dire stakes—the loser becomes the slave of the winner. There’s no possible way that Stella can lose, right? -- -- Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry follows the story of Ikki as he tries to prove his strength to a world that believes him to be the weakest, all the while gaining new friends, wisdom, and experience. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 680,772 7.51

Reikenzan: Eichi e no Shikaku -- -- Studio Deen -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Comedy Magic Fantasy -- Reikenzan: Eichi e no Shikaku Reikenzan: Eichi e no Shikaku -- After two years of studying within the Reiken clan, Ouriku and other inexperienced disciples are ordered to descend to the temporal world for further studies, and Ouriku embarks the journey back to his birthplace. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- 37,805 6.92

ReLIFE -- -- TMS Entertainment -- 13 eps -- Web manga -- Slice of Life Romance School -- ReLIFE ReLIFE -- Dismissed as a hopeless loser by those around him, 27-year-old Arata Kaizaki bounces around from one job to another after quitting his first company. His unremarkable existence takes a sharp turn when he meets Ryou Yoake, a member of the ReLife Research Institute, who offers Arata the opportunity to change his life for the better with the help of a mysterious pill. Taking it without a second thought, Arata awakens the next day to find that his appearance has reverted to that of a 17-year-old. -- -- Arata soon learns that he is now the subject of a unique experiment and must attend high school as a transfer student for one year. Though he initially believes it will be a cinch due to his superior life experience, Arata is proven horribly wrong on his first day: he flunks all his tests, is completely out of shape, and can't keep up with the new school policies that have cropped up in the last 10 years. Furthermore, Ryou has been assigned to observe him, bringing Arata endless annoyance. ReLIFE follows Arata's struggle to adjust to his hectic new lifestyle and avoid repeating his past mistakes, all while slowly discovering more about his fellow classmates. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Crunchyroll, Funimation -- 754,980 8.02

Rikei ga Koi ni Ochita no de Shoumei shitemita. -- -- Zero-G -- 12 eps -- Web manga -- Comedy Romance -- Rikei ga Koi ni Ochita no de Shoumei shitemita. Rikei ga Koi ni Ochita no de Shoumei shitemita. -- It is widely believed that science can provide rational explanations for the countless phenomena of our universe. However, there are many aspects of our existence that science has not yet found a solution to and cannot decipher with numbers. The most notorious of these is the concept of love. While it may seem impossible to apply scientific theory to such an intricate and complex emotion, a daring pair of quick-witted Saitama University scientists aim to take on the challenge. -- -- One day the bold and beautiful Ayame Himuro outwardly declares that she is in love with Shinya Yukimura, her fellow logical and level-headed scientist. Acknowledging his own lack of experience with romance, Yukimura questions what factors constitute love in the first place and whether he is in love with Himuro or not. Both clueless in the dealings of love, the pair begin to conduct detailed experiments on one another to test the human characteristics that indicate love and discern whether they demonstrate these traits towards each other. -- -- As Himuro and Yukimura begin their intimate analysis, can the two scientists successfully apply scientific theory, with the help of their friends, to quantify the feelings they express for one another? -- -- ONA - Jan 11, 2020 -- 185,005 7.35

Rosario to Vampire -- -- Gonzo -- 13 eps -- Manga -- Harem Comedy Romance Ecchi Vampire Fantasy School Shounen -- Rosario to Vampire Rosario to Vampire -- Youkai Academy is a seemingly normal boarding school, except that its pupils are monsters learning to coexist with humans. All students attend in human form and take normal academic subjects, such as literature, gym, foreign language, and mathematics. However, there is one golden rule at Youkai Academy—all humans found on school grounds are to be executed immediately! -- -- Tsukune Aono is an average teenager who is unable to get into any high school because of his bad grades. His parents inadvertently enroll him into Youkai Academy as a last-ditch effort to secure his education. As Tsukune unknowingly enters this new world, he has a run-in with the most attractive girl on campus, Moka Akashiya. Deciding to stay in the perilous realm in order to further his relationship with Moka, he does not realize that beneath her beauty lies a menacing monster—a vampire. -- -- Rosario to Vampire is a supernatural school comedy that explores Tsukune's romantic exploits, experiences, and misadventures with a bevy of beautiful but dangerous creatures. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 561,832 6.82

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata -- -- A-1 Pictures -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Harem Comedy Romance Ecchi School -- Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata -- Tomoya Aki, an otaku, has been obsessed with collecting anime and light novels for years, attaching himself to various series with captivating stories and characters. Now, he wants to have a chance of providing the same experience for others by creating his own game, but unfortunately, Tomoya cannot do this task by himself. -- -- He successfully recruits childhood friend Eriri Spencer Sawamura to illustrate and literary elitist Utaha Kasumigaoka to write the script for his visual novel, while he directs. Super-group now in hand, Tomoya only needs an inspiration to base his project on, and luckily meets the beautiful, docile Megumi Katou, who he then models his main character after. -- -- Using what knowledge he has, Tomoya creates a new doujin circle with hopes to touch the hearts of those who play their game. What he does not realize, is that to invoke these emotions, the creators have had to experience the same feelings in their own lives. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Aniplex of America -- 475,684 7.52

Samurai 7 -- -- Gonzo -- 26 eps -- Other -- Historical Mecha Samurai Sci-Fi -- Samurai 7 Samurai 7 -- In the far distant future, on a planet that might have been called "earth", there was a war between samurai who mechanized their bodies. After the long war, people enjoyed a modest peace. -- -- Facing starvation and abductions at the hands of fearsome mechanized bandits (Nobuseri), the farmers of Kanna Village make the dangerous choice to hire samurai for protection. The village's water priestess, Kirara, her younger sister, Komachi, and a heartbroken villager, Rikichi, set off to hire willing samurai with nothing to offer but rice from their meager harvests. Through dangerous encounters and a bit of luck, seven samurai of varying specialties and experience are gathered for an epic battle against the bandits and the merchants that influence them. -- -- Samurai 7 is based loosely upon Kurosawa Akira's famous movie "Seven Samurai"/"Shichinin no Samurai" -- TV - Jun 12, 2004 -- 112,688 7.48

Seikai no Senki -- -- Sunrise -- 13 eps -- Light novel -- Action Military Romance Sci-Fi Space -- Seikai no Senki Seikai no Senki -- Three years since the end of their intergalactic excursion, both Lafiel Abriel and Jinto Linn have reunited; Lafiel as the captain of the attack ship Basroil and Jinto as her supply officer. The restart of the war between the Abh Empire and the Triple Alliance thrusts the inexperienced duo into the forefront of the deadly conflict. -- -- As the catastrophic battle between pure humankind and their greatest creation, the Abh, rages on, both sides accept that their conflict is not merely about territory, but about settling the inherent differences between themselves. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Bandai Entertainment, Funimation -- TV - Apr 14, 2000 -- 28,851 7.71

Seiken no Blacksmith -- -- Manglobe -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Action Adventure Fantasy -- Seiken no Blacksmith Seiken no Blacksmith -- Forty-four years ago, the surviving nations of the Valbanil War declared peace and forbade the use of the devastating demon contracts that ravaged the land. Now, inexperienced knight Cecily Cambell is eager to follow the example of her family and protect the people of the city using the sword she inherited from her father. -- -- Her first challenge arises in the market. A crazed swordsman wreaks havoc upon civilians and Cecily jumps into action to restore order. Overwhelmed, her weapon shatters, but a skilled stranger wielding a strange-looking sword intervenes. With the situation diffused, Cecily heads to a local blacksmith in an effort to restore her family heirloom. However, she finds out that her savior—the blacksmith Luke Ainsworth—may be the only person capable of such intricate repairs. Determined to have her treasured sword repaired, she seeks out the man who rescued her. -- -- However, a group of bandits suddenly attack a convoy headed for the city. The assailants look inhuman, and an ice demon appears. Luke suspects the use of a demon contract and calls upon a sacred power to defeat them. Meanwhile, a shadowy hooded figure lurks, watching from a distance. Who is this mysterious evildoer, and what does his appearance mean for the pair? -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- TV - Oct 3, 2009 -- 152,067 6.73

Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai -- -- CloverWorks -- 13 eps -- Light novel -- Comedy Supernatural Drama Romance School -- Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai -- The rare and inexplicable Puberty Syndrome is thought of as a myth. It is a rare disease which only affects teenagers, and its symptoms are so supernatural that hardly anyone recognizes it as a legitimate occurrence. However, high school student Sakuta Azusagawa knows from personal experience that it is very much real, and happens to be quite prevalent in his school. -- -- Mai Sakurajima is a third-year high school student who gained fame in her youth as a child actress, but recently halted her promising career for reasons unknown to the public. With an air of unapproachability, she is well known throughout the school, but none dare interact with her—that is until Sakuta sees her wandering the library in a bunny girl costume. Despite the getup, no one seems to notice her, and after confronting her, he realizes that she is another victim of Puberty Syndrome. As Sakuta tries to help Mai through her predicament, his actions bring him into contact with more girls afflicted with the elusive disease. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Aniplex of America -- 1,045,880 8.35

Sekai no Yami Zukan -- -- ILCA -- 13 eps -- Original -- Horror Supernatural -- Sekai no Yami Zukan Sekai no Yami Zukan -- Tucked away in the darkest depths of this world, tales of the bizarre and the supernatural quietly unfold. These inexplicable stories are chronicled throughout the pages of a certain strange encyclopedia, sheltered within a crumbling, decrepit building. Do you dare to open its cover and experience the horrors firsthand? -- -- Each of the macabre tales held within the book's pages details some unusual, surreal experiences that often come to a gruesome end. A man searches for his adulterous wife, only to find himself at the mercy of otherworldly visitors; a boy befriends a snowman who harbors a sinister secret; crop circles suddenly form on a family farm, created by some unexpected visitors; hidden in plain sight, menacing mechanical beings continue on undetected. In all of these horrifying stories, nothing is as simple as it seems, revealing a terrifying darkness that perhaps might have been best left alone. -- -- 19,834 4.68

Serial Experiments Lain -- -- Triangle Staff -- 13 eps -- Original -- Dementia Drama Mystery Psychological Sci-Fi Supernatural -- Serial Experiments Lain Serial Experiments Lain -- Lain Iwakura, an awkward and introverted fourteen-year-old, is one of the many girls from her school to receive a disturbing email from her classmate Chisa Yomoda—the very same Chisa who recently committed suicide. Lain has neither the desire nor the experience to handle even basic technology; yet, when the technophobe opens the email, it leads her straight into the Wired, a virtual world of communication networks similar to what we know as the internet. Lain's life is turned upside down as she begins to encounter cryptic mysteries one after another. Strange men called the Men in Black begin to appear wherever she goes, asking her questions and somehow knowing more about her than even she herself knows. With the boundaries between reality and cyberspace rapidly blurring, Lain is plunged into more surreal and bizarre events where identity, consciousness, and perception are concepts that take on new meanings. -- -- Written by Chiaki J. Konaka, whose other works include Texhnolyze, Serial Experiments Lain is a psychological avant-garde mystery series that follows Lain as she makes crucial choices that will affect both the real world and the Wired. In closing one world and opening another, only Lain will realize the significance of their presence. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation, Geneon Entertainment USA -- 506,288 8.04

Servant x Service -- -- A-1 Pictures -- 13 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Comedy Seinen Slice of Life -- Servant x Service Servant x Service -- Frustrating, insufficient, and irritating is how most citizens would describe civil servants. However, three new employees are about to discover what really happens behind the scenes. Lucy Yamagami, bent on revenge against the civil servant who allowed her comically long name to be put on her birth certificate; Yutaka Hasebe, an easygoing guy always on the lookout for a place to slack off; and Saya Miyoshi, a nervous first-time worker, are about to experience the underwhelming satisfaction of being government employees. -- -- They are supposed to be trained by Taishi Ichimiya, but he has no idea how to do so, even though he has worked there for eight years. With an incompetent senior colleague and unfavorable confrontations with clients, the trio starts to lose faith in their chosen occupation but encourage each other to do their best. -- -- TV - Jul 5, 2013 -- 175,099 7.67

Shadowverse (TV) -- -- Zexcs -- 48 eps -- Card game -- Game Fantasy -- Shadowverse (TV) Shadowverse (TV) -- The hottest battle is about to begin! While attending Tensei Academy, Hiro Ryugasaki ends up acquiring a mysterious smartphone. It comes installed with the popular card game, Shadowverse! Meeting new rivals, facing major tournaments, forging bonds with friends... Shadowverse leads Hiro to all sorts of new experiences, all that serve to "evolve" him. -- -- (Source: Crunchyroll) -- 10,772 5.70

Shingeki no Kyojin: Lost Girls -- -- Wit Studio -- 3 eps -- Novel -- Action Horror Supernatural Drama Fantasy -- Shingeki no Kyojin: Lost Girls Shingeki no Kyojin: Lost Girls -- Wall Sina, Goodbye -- Annie Leonhart has a job to do—and a resulting absence that must stay off her record at all costs. With no one else to turn to, she asks her comrade Hitch Dreyse to cover for her. She agrees but puts forward a single condition: Annie must solve the fruitless missing person case Hitch was assigned. The case revolves around Carly Stratmann, a university graduate and the daughter of wealthy businessman Elliot Stratmann. With only a single day to solve the case and the underground of the Stohess District crawling with thugs, Annie must put her all into finding this girl. Yet, every answer she uncovers only leads to further questions—how has the illegal drug coderoin found its way to Stohess, what is Elliot hiding, and where has Carly disappeared to? -- -- Lost in the Cruel World -- With worry for Eren Yeager gripping her heart, Mikasa Ackerman begins to remember. She remembers her conversations with Armin Arlert, her concern for her friends, and most painfully, the time she had almost lost everything. As fear takes control, she begins to experience an alternate version of her past—some things can be changed, but are there events so inescapable that she can't even prevent them in her dreams? -- -- OVA - Dec 8, 2017 -- 196,647 7.77

Shisha no Teikoku -- -- Wit Studio -- 1 ep -- Novel -- Sci-Fi Historical Psychological -- Shisha no Teikoku Shisha no Teikoku -- By the 19th century, humanity has cultivated technology enabling the reanimation of corpses. Unable to experience individual thoughts or emotions, the corpses are programmed by humans to act as laborers in various occupations. -- -- This newfound technology, however, comes with a catch. Science may be able to restore the corpses' ability to move, yet it cannot return what every corpse loses at death: the soul. But Doctor Victor Frankenstein, who vanished shortly after his revolutionary work on corpse reanimation, is said to have revived the only corpse in possession of a soul. -- -- In pursuit of this scientific knowledge, London medical student John Watson hopes to fulfill his promise to his late partner, Friday. After being scouted by a government agency, Watson is on a hunt to obtain Frankenstein's notes, which he believes hold the key to the secrets of the soul. During his search, Watson uncovers the harsh realities of the developing corpse technology and the price he must pay to advance his research. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- Movie - Oct 2, 2015 -- 66,504 6.91

Shishou Series -- -- Pierrot Plus -- ? eps -- Novel -- Horror Supernatural School Seinen -- Shishou Series Shishou Series -- The story of the original novels revolves around a protagonist who experiences various spiritual encounters due to his upperclassman at his college's club, the "master teacher" in the series title that has spiritual sensitivity. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- TV - ??? ??, ???? -- 6,354 N/A -- -- Devilman: Crybaby - Digest Eizou -- -- Science SARU -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Action Demons Horror Supernatural -- Devilman: Crybaby - Digest Eizou Devilman: Crybaby - Digest Eizou -- A short web recap of the Devilman: Crybaby series, posted on Aniplex's official YouTube channel. -- ONA - Mar 24, 2018 -- 6,211 5.93

Shishou Series -- -- Pierrot Plus -- ? eps -- Novel -- Horror Supernatural School Seinen -- Shishou Series Shishou Series -- The story of the original novels revolves around a protagonist who experiences various spiritual encounters due to his upperclassman at his college's club, the "master teacher" in the series title that has spiritual sensitivity. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- TV - ??? ??, ???? -- 6,354 N/A -- -- Mouryou no Hako: Chuuzenji Atsuko no Jikenbo - Hako no Yurei no Koto -- -- Madhouse -- 1 ep -- Novel -- Mystery Seinen Supernatural Thriller -- Mouryou no Hako: Chuuzenji Atsuko no Jikenbo - Hako no Yurei no Koto Mouryou no Hako: Chuuzenji Atsuko no Jikenbo - Hako no Yurei no Koto -- A side story that reveals the investigative notes that Atsuko, the younger sister of the main character Akihiko Chuzenji, wrote about the brutal dismembering incidents in the main story. -- -- (Source: ANN) -- Special - May 22, 2009 -- 6,339 6.65

Shokugeki no Souma: Shin no Sara -- -- J.C.Staff -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Ecchi School Shounen -- Shokugeki no Souma: Shin no Sara Shokugeki no Souma: Shin no Sara -- At Tootsuki Culinary Academy, a heated eight-on-eight Shokugeki known as the Régiment de Cuisine rages on between Central and the rebel forces led by Souma Yukihira and Erina Nakiri. Though they won a stunning perfect victory in the first bout, the rebels face an uphill battle ahead, as they must now face off against the rest of the Elite Ten Council. With the future of Tootsuki at stake, Souma and Erina must push far beyond the limits of their abilities, using everything they learned from their mentors and ultimately drawing from their experiences cooking together as friends. -- -- 392,186 7.75

Shuang Yue Zhi Cheng -- -- - -- 13 eps -- Original -- Military Sci-Fi -- Shuang Yue Zhi Cheng Shuang Yue Zhi Cheng -- In the year 2200, a new Cold War between two forces is set to end with a peace treaty. However, one side is hiding a dark secret, which results in numerous tragedies in the following months. In the wake of a crisis, a paramilitary team is founded to steal information at the center of the conflict. -- ONA - Mar 30, 2016 -- 553 N/A -- -- Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor - The Beyond Part 4 -- -- I.Gzwei, Production I.G -- 3 eps -- Original -- Action Military Sci-Fi Drama Mecha -- Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor - The Beyond Part 4 Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor - The Beyond Part 4 -- Episodes 10-12 of the Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor - The Beyond series. -- Movie - ??? ??, 2021 -- 542 N/A -- -- Koutetsu no Vendetta Episode 0 -- -- - -- 1 ep -- - -- Action Mecha Military Sci-Fi -- Koutetsu no Vendetta Episode 0 Koutetsu no Vendetta Episode 0 -- The doujin (self-published) creators of the Koutetsu no Vendetta (Iron Vendetta) military robot anime project released a preview DVD at Tokyo's Comic Market 75 convention. The DVD included the unedited versions of the project's pilot film, special supplemental videos, and a collection of key animation drawings. The running times of the pilot and the supplemental video collection are each under five minutes long. -- -- Note: The project is on hold due to the dissolution of the production division of its sponsor Ankama Japan. -- -- (Source: AniDB) -- ONA - Feb 22, 2013 -- 509 N/A -- -- Dalam-iwa Goseumdochi -- -- - -- 32 eps -- - -- Military Historical -- Dalam-iwa Goseumdochi Dalam-iwa Goseumdochi -- Squirrel and Hedgehog documents various animal communities warring and in conflict against one another, each animal being a symbolic representation of real life countries and sometimes political events. -- -- A North Korean propaganda anime that was developed and produced in North Korea to be aired on state television. -- TV - ??? ??, 1977 -- 475 N/AAoi Kioku: Manmou Kaitaku to Shounen-tachi -- -- - -- 1 ep -- - -- Drama Historical Military -- Aoi Kioku: Manmou Kaitaku to Shounen-tachi Aoi Kioku: Manmou Kaitaku to Shounen-tachi -- A class of Japanese youths volunteer for the war effort during WWII, but then get stranded in Manchuria. -- Movie - Dec 18, 1993 -- 439 N/A -- -- Guan Hai Ce -- -- Tong Ming Xuan -- 16 eps -- Original -- Action Military Historical Martial Arts Fantasy -- Guan Hai Ce Guan Hai Ce -- (No synopsis yet.) -- ONA - Jun 17, 2018 -- 396 N/A -- -- Konpeki no Kantai: Sourai Kaihatsu Monogatari -- -- J.C.Staff -- 1 ep -- - -- Military Historical -- Konpeki no Kantai: Sourai Kaihatsu Monogatari Konpeki no Kantai: Sourai Kaihatsu Monogatari -- A special which tells the story of the development of the japanese Sourai interceptor plane. -- Special - ??? ??, 1997 -- 392 N/AZhen Gyi Hong Shi -- -- - -- 52 eps -- - -- Action Military Sci-Fi Adventure Mecha -- Zhen Gyi Hong Shi Zhen Gyi Hong Shi -- This series, which is set in the future, is about several events that break out after troops successfully rescued a teenager who was kidnapped by the mysterious Black Armors. -- Ever since Marty had his first contact with the Black Armors and was subsequently rescued, he has been found to possess mysterious prophetic abilities as he is able to see the future in fragmented visions portraying an avalanche, a tsunami, a storm and other catastrophes. These disasters will always come true after Marty experiences the prophetic visions, but he is unable to predict accurately when and where they will occur. -- When the government learns about this, a unit is sent to protect Marty, and World Peacekeepers, abbreviated as WPK, is established to fight against the Black Armors. In order to defeat the Black Armors, the government grants permission for World Peacekeepers to use Ammobots – mechanical armors which have been developed over many years. -- -- After several battles with the Black Armors, the World Peacekeepers realizes that they are actually linked to the unusual natural disasters and discovers that they originate from a small planet called Mirzam, which is outside the solar system. -- -- Their real intention is to seize the abundant ecological resources on Earth and when these resources are seized, the ecosystem will lose its balance, thus leading to natural disasters. -- -- (Source: Official Site) -- TV - Oct 4, 2014 -- 389 N/A -- -- Spy Gekimetsu -- -- - -- 1 ep -- Original -- Military Historical -- Spy Gekimetsu Spy Gekimetsu -- A war propaganda film which begins with Roosevelt and Churchill in a secret meeting preparing their spy plans. Western spies in fancy suits and top hats parachute into Japan, disturbing innocent farmers. The Japanese civilians manage to thwart the spy activities. -- -- (Source: AniDB) -- Movie - Jul 16, 1942 -- 351 N/A -- -- Malay Oki Kaisen -- -- - -- 1 ep -- Original -- Historical Military -- Malay Oki Kaisen Malay Oki Kaisen -- A war propaganda film by Oofuji Noburou. -- Movie - Nov 26, 1943 -- 345 5.42

SK∞ -- -- Bones -- 12 eps -- Original -- Comedy Sports -- SK∞ SK∞ -- High school student Reki Kyan is passionate about one thing: skateboarding. When night falls, he heads to "S," an illegal underground race inside a mine where skaters compete in highly dangerous situations. After a loss that results in his skateboard being destroyed and his arm being broken, Reki is now incapable of practicing at all. -- -- While working, Reki runs into his new classmate, Langa Hasegawa, a half-Canadian and half-Japanese boy with no skateboarding experience whatsoever. Langa is in desperate need of money. After they both visit "S" when tasked by Reki's boss, they get into trouble and are forced into a bet that requires Langa to skate in a race. However, the mysterious transfer student holds a trump card that Reki is unaware of, one which might help him win the race in the most unexpected way. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Aniplex of America -- 245,982 8.03

Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level Max ni Nattemashita -- -- Revoroot -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Comedy Fantasy -- Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level Max ni Nattemashita Slime Taoshite 300-nen, Shiranai Uchi ni Level Max ni Nattemashita -- Suddenly dying from overwork, salarywoman Azusa Aizawa finds herself before an angel, who allows her to reincarnate into a new world as an immortal witch, where she spends her days killing slimes for money on an otherwise eternal vacation. But even the minimal experience points from slimes will add up after hundreds of years, and Azusa discovers that she accidentally reached the maximum level! Fearing that her strong abilities will attract work and force her back to a life of overexertion, she decides to hide her strength in order to preserve her peaceful lifestyle. -- -- Despite her efforts, tales of the max level "Witch of the Plateau" spread across the land, and a proud dragon named Raika shows up looking to test their strength against her. Even though Azusa defeats and befriends Raika, problems arise as both friends and foes come looking for the secluded witch. -- -- 116,142 7.31

So Ra No Wo To -- -- A-1 Pictures -- 12 eps -- Original -- Military Sci-Fi Music Slice of Life -- So Ra No Wo To So Ra No Wo To -- On the outskirts of the country of Helvetia rests the tranquil town of Seize. Upon its cobbled streets, citizens go about their daily lives, undisturbed by the increasingly tense military relations between Helvetia and the neighboring Roman Empire. -- -- It is under these circumstances that the 1121st platoon of the Helvetian army, stationed at the Clocktower Fortress in Seize, receives a new recruit in the young and spirited Kanata Sorami. Having joined the military to fulfill her dream of learning to play the bugle, she excitedly accepts the tutelage of the Sergeant Major, Rio Kazumiya, who happens to be a skilled trumpeter. Working alongside them are the aloof mechanic, Noël Kannagi, the feisty gunner, Kureha Suminoya, and the compassionate Captain Felicia Heideman; together, they experience the beauty of life in Seize and the lasting joy of a community that has persevered in spite of the crumbling world around them. -- -- 138,496 7.55

So Ra No Wo To -- -- A-1 Pictures -- 12 eps -- Original -- Military Sci-Fi Music Slice of Life -- So Ra No Wo To So Ra No Wo To -- On the outskirts of the country of Helvetia rests the tranquil town of Seize. Upon its cobbled streets, citizens go about their daily lives, undisturbed by the increasingly tense military relations between Helvetia and the neighboring Roman Empire. -- -- It is under these circumstances that the 1121st platoon of the Helvetian army, stationed at the Clocktower Fortress in Seize, receives a new recruit in the young and spirited Kanata Sorami. Having joined the military to fulfill her dream of learning to play the bugle, she excitedly accepts the tutelage of the Sergeant Major, Rio Kazumiya, who happens to be a skilled trumpeter. Working alongside them are the aloof mechanic, Noël Kannagi, the feisty gunner, Kureha Suminoya, and the compassionate Captain Felicia Heideman; together, they experience the beauty of life in Seize and the lasting joy of a community that has persevered in spite of the crumbling world around them. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Nozomi Entertainment -- 138,496 7.55

Soushin Shoujo Matoi -- -- White Fox -- 12 eps -- Original -- Supernatural Magic -- Soushin Shoujo Matoi Soushin Shoujo Matoi -- Matoi Sumeragi wishes for nothing more than to lead a normal life away from the spotlight. She is quite satisfied alternating between school and her part-time job at her best friend Yuma Kusanagi's family shrine. But this routine life is permanently disturbed when a Night—an evil extra-dimensional entity—attacks the shrine. Matoi is able to drive it off after unwittingly calling upon the powers of a god, the natural enemies of the Nights. -- -- Matoi and Yuma are soon joined by Claris Tonitolus, an experienced exorcist from the Vatican, and agent Haruka Luciela, who works for the secretive Night defense organization IATO. Despite not knowing the perpetrator behind these attacks nor their motive, Matoi must come to master this newfound power in order to protect both the people around her and the once normal life she holds so dear. -- -- 22,454 6.71

Steins;Gate 0 -- -- White Fox -- 23 eps -- Visual novel -- Sci-Fi Psychological Drama Thriller -- Steins;Gate 0 Steins;Gate 0 -- The eccentric, self-proclaimed mad scientist Rintarou Okabe has become a shell of his former self. Depressed and traumatized after failing to rescue his friend Makise Kurisu, he has decided to forsake his mad scientist alter ego and live as an ordinary college student. Surrounded by friends who know little of his time travel experiences, Okabe spends his days trying to forget the horrors of his adventures alone. -- -- While working as a receptionist at a college technology forum, Okabe meets the short, spunky Maho Hiyajo, who -- later turns out to be the interpreter at the forum's presentation, conducted by Professor Alexis Leskinen. In front of a stunned crowd, Alexis and Maho unveil Amadeus—a revolutionary AI capable of storing a person's memories and creating a perfect simulation of that person complete with their personality and quirks. Meeting with Maho and Alexis after the presentation, Okabe learns that the two were Kurisu's colleagues in university, and that they have simulated her in Amadeus. Hired by Alexis to research the simulation's behavior, Okabe is given the chance to interact with the shadow of a long-lost dear friend. Dangerously tangled in the past, Okabe must face the harsh reality and carefully maneuver around the disastrous consequences that come with disturbing the natural flow of time. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 622,458 8.51

Steins;Gate Movie: Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà vu -- -- White Fox -- 1 ep -- Visual novel -- Sci-Fi Drama -- Steins;Gate Movie: Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà vu Steins;Gate Movie: Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà vu -- After a year in America, Kurisu Makise returns to Akihabara and reunites with Rintarou Okabe. However, their reunion is cut short when Okabe begins to experience recurring flashes of other timelines as the consequences of his time traveling start to manifest. These side effects eventually culminate in Okabe suddenly vanishing from the world, and only the startled Kurisu has any memory of his existence. -- -- In the midst of despair, Kurisu is faced with a truly arduous choice that will test both her duty as a scientist and her loyalty as a friend: follow Okabe's advice and stay away from traveling through time to avoid the potential consequences it may have on the world lines, or ignore it to rescue the person that she cherishes most. Regardless of her decision, the path she chooses is one that will affect the past, the present, and the future. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- Movie - Apr 20, 2013 -- 463,060 8.49

Thermae Romae: Kodai Romajin ga Uchuu e -- -- DLE -- 1 ep -- Manga -- Space Comedy Seinen -- Thermae Romae: Kodai Romajin ga Uchuu e Thermae Romae: Kodai Romajin ga Uchuu e -- Lucius ends up in a space station, where he experiences zero gravity and learns about heliocentricism. -- Special - Apr 20, 2012 -- 1,221 5.98

Toki-iro Kaima -- -- - -- 4 eps -- - -- Horror Shounen -- Toki-iro Kaima Toki-iro Kaima -- Anime adaptation of the same name horror manga by Suzumiya Wayu, serialized in Shogakuan's Weekly Shonen Sunday special issue. -- OVA - Apr 20, 1989 -- 343 N/A -- -- Mechano: Scientific Attack Force -- -- - -- 3 eps -- - -- Comedy Dementia Fantasy Horror Music Parody -- Mechano: Scientific Attack Force Mechano: Scientific Attack Force -- Three 10-minute videos present a trippy view into the minds of their creators. Brought together by Pierre Taki of Denki Groove, Mechano: Scientific Attack Force features three shorts done in very different styles. -- -- The three short films are: -- -- "Plastic Gun Man" - a 3D Western spoof -- "World Meccano Triangle" - a music video reminiscent of '90s era screensavers -- "Haiirogaoka no Soridaijin" (translated as "Prime Minister of Gray Hill") - an anime-style animated video parody of Akira Mochizuki's famous 1977 manga, Yuuhi ga Oka no Souri Daijin -- OVA - Sep 1, 1995 -- 334 N/A -- -- Hwasan Golae -- -- - -- 1 ep -- Original -- Horror Thriller -- Hwasan Golae Hwasan Golae -- In the year 2070, mankind faces a life threatening crisis due to huge earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Korea is in a state of anarchy and Busan is swarming with refugees. Young street dealer Ha-jin has the ability to communicate with whales – a fact she keeps hidden from everyone. One day, a onearmed woman named Baek Sang-won asks Ha-jin to join her in the gules whale hunt. Painful memories lead Ha-jin to turn down the offer initially, but she eventually ends up joining Baek. As she makes friends on the ship, she grows curious about the gules whale and learns that every crew member has a sad gules story. The madness in the crews’ eyes as they try to kill the gules brings Ha-jin’s trauma to the forefront of her mind – and she experiences her own madness. -- -- (Source: Korean Film Biz Zone) -- Movie - Sep 10, 2015 -- 322 N/A -- -- Shin Gakkou no Yuurei -- -- - -- 1 ep -- Original -- Horror Demons Supernatural Thriller School -- Shin Gakkou no Yuurei Shin Gakkou no Yuurei -- Following the popularity of the original omnibus OVA, this release offers 4 more stories but in animation only. -- OVA - Jun 11, 1999 -- 316 N/A -- -- Burning Village -- -- - -- 10 eps -- - -- Fantasy Horror -- Burning Village Burning Village -- Animal folk tales set in the titular community, in which local eccentric Ohahai retells several popular fairy tales with considerable license. -- -- (Source: AniDB) -- OVA - May 1, 1989 -- 314 N/A -- -- Petit Petit Muse -- -- - -- 26 eps -- Original -- Cars Horror Kids -- Petit Petit Muse Petit Petit Muse -- Two twins, Ara and Ari, aspire into the world of fashion. Ara wants to become a fashion model, while her sister, Ari, wants to become a fashion designer. They meet a man named Yorang, who is the fashion designer in Heaven. -- 311 N/A -- -- Kaibutsu-kun: Demon no Ken -- -- Shin-Ei Animation -- 1 ep -- - -- Comedy Horror Kids Shounen -- Kaibutsu-kun: Demon no Ken Kaibutsu-kun: Demon no Ken -- Based on the shounen manga by Fujiko Fujio. -- -- Note: Screened as a triple feature with Doraemon: Nobita no Daimakyou and Ninja Hattori-kun: Nin Nin Ninpo Enikki no Maki. -- -- (Source: AniDB) -- Movie - Mar 13, 1982 -- 307 N/A -- -- Fire Emblem Heroes Book III Movie：Cohort of the Dead -- -- - -- 1 ep -- Game -- Action Game Horror Supernatural Fantasy -- Fire Emblem Heroes Book III Movie：Cohort of the Dead Fire Emblem Heroes Book III Movie：Cohort of the Dead -- A mini movie released on the Fire Emblem Heroes website in honor of a major plot twist in Book 3. -- Special - Jul 21, 2019 -- 292 6.23

Tokyo Ghoul: "Pinto" -- -- Studio Pierrot -- 1 ep -- Light novel -- Action Drama Horror Mystery Psychological Supernatural -- Tokyo Ghoul: "Pinto" Tokyo Ghoul: "Pinto" -- Shuu Tsukiyama is a "ghoul": a creature who eats human flesh, and he likes to enjoy his meals to the fullest. One night, while relishing in the premeditated murder of his dinner, Shuu's much anticipated first bite is disturbed by a sudden flash of light. -- -- The flash turns out to be from the camera of high schooler Chie Hori, who presents Shuu with the perfect picture capturing his true nature; the extremely clear shot of a bloody corpse and an overly excited Shuu threatens to expose his ghoul identity, thus Shuu needs to sort out this situation quickly. -- -- After Shuu discovers that Chie attends the same high school as him and is even in the same class, the reason behind his feelings of obsession changes from self-preservation to morbid curiosity. As he grows closer to the absent-minded and extremely odd photographer, he challenges them both to learn more about each other's conflicting worlds; Shuu promises that Chie will come out of this experience with a photograph superior to the one she already has. -- -- OVA - Dec 25, 2015 -- 158,029 7.25

Tomie -- -- Studio Deen -- 2 eps -- Manga -- Drama Horror Josei Supernatural -- Tomie Tomie -- Memories, both good and bad, suffuse the high school experience. Whether it's hanging out with friends or cramming for tests, everyone has something they will remember from that time in their lives. At a certain high school, one class is faced with an event that can cause people to look back on their high school days in sadness: the death of a student. -- -- The deceased is not just any student—she's Tomie Kawakami, a popular girl with an almost otherworldly beauty. Her death was particularly gruesome: her body was dismembered and the pieces scattered. As the class tries to make sense of the situation, they are shocked when a familiar voice calls out to them from the doorway, apologizing for being late. -- -- With raven hair and a beauty mark under her left eye, this girl is the spitting image of their murdered classmate. But she can't actually be Tomie, right? -- -- Special - Apr 27, 2018 -- 19,452 5.97

Top Secret: The Revelation -- -- Madhouse -- 26 eps -- Manga -- Sci-Fi Mystery Police Psychological Shoujo -- Top Secret: The Revelation Top Secret: The Revelation -- A newly developed method allows to display the memories of dead people. It is used to solve difficult murder cases. But at what cost? What of the dead's privacy as strangers poke about in their most private memories? What about the effects the imageries may have on the persons whose jobs require going through psychotic murderers' minds and experience whatever emotions and feelings these murderers felt as they skin and disembowel their victims? -- -- (Source: Adapted from manga description) -- TV - Apr 9, 2008 -- 16,796 7.32

Tsurezure Children -- -- Studio Gokumi -- 12 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Comedy Romance School Shounen -- Tsurezure Children Tsurezure Children -- Young love—it takes many unique and fascinating forms that flourish as children begin to mature into adults. From being unable to confess to not knowing what real love actually feels like, various obstacles can arise when learning about romantic attraction for the first time. But underneath all that, young love is something truly beautiful to behold, leading to brand new experiences for those young and in love. -- -- Tsurezure Children depicts various scenarios of young love coming to fruition, along with the struggles and joys that it entails. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 512,132 7.64

Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 -- -- AIC, Xebec -- 26 eps -- Original -- Action Military Sci-Fi Space Drama -- Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 -- In the year 2199, Earth faces its greatest crisis. Due to unrelenting bombings by the alien race known as "Gamilas," the planet can no longer sustain its inhabitants. In exactly one year, humanity is set to become extinct. -- -- In desperation, the people of Earth establish the Earth Defense Force, their last defense against the power-hungry Gamilas Empire. However, humanity finds a glimmer of hope after receiving a message from the mysterious planet Iscandar, which offers them a device that would restore Earth to its former glory. With salvation in sight, the Earth Defense Force calls on the prolific Space Battleship Yamato and swiftly assembles a crew to make the 168,000 light-year trek to Iscandar and receive their aid. -- -- Among the crew are young officers Susumu Kodai and Daisuke Shima, along with several other newly promoted leaders, all under the command of the distinguished Captain Juuzou Okita. Forced to learn how to handle the ship's innovative technology while dealing with the onslaught of Gamilas fleets, the inexperienced cast of Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 must summon every inch of their resolve to survive the many hardships aboard the Yamato and complete their mission: to save humanity before it's too late. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- OVA - May 25, 2012 -- 94,501 8.36

Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 -- -- AIC, Xebec -- 26 eps -- Original -- Action Military Sci-Fi Space Drama -- Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 -- In the year 2199, Earth faces its greatest crisis. Due to unrelenting bombings by the alien race known as "Gamilas," the planet can no longer sustain its inhabitants. In exactly one year, humanity is set to become extinct. -- -- In desperation, the people of Earth establish the Earth Defense Force, their last defense against the power-hungry Gamilas Empire. However, humanity finds a glimmer of hope after receiving a message from the mysterious planet Iscandar, which offers them a device that would restore Earth to its former glory. With salvation in sight, the Earth Defense Force calls on the prolific Space Battleship Yamato and swiftly assembles a crew to make the 168,000 light-year trek to Iscandar and receive their aid. -- -- Among the crew are young officers Susumu Kodai and Daisuke Shima, along with several other newly promoted leaders, all under the command of the distinguished Captain Juuzou Okita. Forced to learn how to handle the ship's innovative technology while dealing with the onslaught of Gamilas fleets, the inexperienced cast of Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199 must summon every inch of their resolve to survive the many hardships aboard the Yamato and complete their mission: to save humanity before it's too late. -- -- OVA - May 25, 2012 -- 94,501 8.36

Usagi Drop -- -- Production I.G -- 11 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Josei -- Usagi Drop Usagi Drop -- Daikichi Kawachi is a 30-year-old bachelor working a respectable job but otherwise wandering aimlessly through life. When his grandfather suddenly passes away, he returns to the family home to pay his respects. Upon arriving at the house, he meets a mysterious young girl named Rin who, to Daikichi’s astonishment, is his grandfather's illegitimate daughter! -- -- The shy and unapproachable girl is deemed an embarrassment to the family, and finds herself ostracized by her father's relatives, all of them refusing to take care of her in the wake of his death. Daikichi, angered by their coldness towards Rin, announces that he will take her in—despite the fact that he is a young, single man with no prior childcare experience. -- -- Usagi Drop is the story of Daikichi's journey through fatherhood as he raises Rin with his gentle and affectionate nature, as well as an exploration of the warmth and interdependence that are at the heart of a happy, close-knit family. -- -- -- Licensor: -- NIS America, Inc. -- 402,371 8.42

Video Girl Ai -- -- Production I.G -- 6 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Drama Ecchi Romance -- Video Girl Ai Video Girl Ai -- After a crushing rejection, the heartbroken Youta Moteuchi trudges home. On his way, a dimly lit video store catches his eye, and he ends up purchasing a "video girl" tape meant to ease the hearts of lonely men. However, when he tries to play it in his broken VCR, a beautiful girl leaps out of his TV and lands on his bed. Calling herself Ai Amano, she looks like a golden opportunity for Youta to finally experience true love—that is, until her personality, now troubling thanks to the broken VCR, shows through. Despite her flaws, however, Ai wholeheartedly promises she will ensure Youta finds happiness and true love in his life. -- -- Video Girl Ai follows the daily life of a teenage boy and his pursuit of a fulfilling romance. With the help of his virtual guardian angel, Youta sets forth to find the girl of his dreams. -- -- OVA - Mar 27, 1992 -- 23,522 7.21

Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidou Shuki Ningyou -- -- Kyoto Animation -- 1 ep -- Light novel -- Slice of Life Drama Fantasy -- Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidou Shuki Ningyou Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidou Shuki Ningyou -- Isabella, the daughter of the noble York family, is enrolled in an all-girls academy to be groomed into a dame worthy of nobility. However, she has given up on her future, seeing the prestigious school as nothing more than a prison from the outside world. Her family notices her struggling in her lessons and decides to hire Violet Evergarden to personally tutor her under the guise of a handmaiden. -- -- At first, Isabella treats Violet coldly. Violet seems to be able to do everything perfectly, leading Isabella to assume that she was born with a silver spoon. After some time together, Isabella begins to realize that Violet has had her own struggles and starts to open up to her. Isabella soon reveals that she has lost contact with her beloved younger sister, Taylor Bartlett, whom she yearns to see again. -- -- Having experienced the power of words through her past clientele, Violet asks if Isabella wishes to write a letter to Taylor. Will Violet be able to help Isabella convey her feelings to her long-lost sister? -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- Movie - Sep 6, 2019 -- 209,316 8.40

Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidou Shuki Ningyou -- -- Kyoto Animation -- 1 ep -- Light novel -- Slice of Life Drama Fantasy -- Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidou Shuki Ningyou Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidou Shuki Ningyou -- Isabella, the daughter of the noble York family, is enrolled in an all-girls academy to be groomed into a dame worthy of nobility. However, she has given up on her future, seeing the prestigious school as nothing more than a prison from the outside world. Her family notices her struggling in her lessons and decides to hire Violet Evergarden to personally tutor her under the guise of a handmaiden. -- -- At first, Isabella treats Violet coldly. Violet seems to be able to do everything perfectly, leading Isabella to assume that she was born with a silver spoon. After some time together, Isabella begins to realize that Violet has had her own struggles and starts to open up to her. Isabella soon reveals that she has lost contact with her beloved younger sister, Taylor Bartlett, whom she yearns to see again. -- -- Having experienced the power of words through her past clientele, Violet asks if Isabella wishes to write a letter to Taylor. Will Violet be able to help Isabella convey her feelings to her long-lost sister? -- -- Movie - Sep 6, 2019 -- 209,316 8.40

Wakaba*Girl -- -- Nexus -- 13 eps -- 4-koma manga -- Comedy School Slice of Life -- Wakaba*Girl Wakaba*Girl -- Wakaba Kohashi, a sheltered rich girl, dreams of becoming a fashionable and trendy gyaru because she admires their outgoing and carefree nature. With this goal in mind, Wakaba begins the school year hoping to make her high school debut as a gyaru. On the first day of class, she meets the pure Moeko Tokita, the serious Nao Mashiba, and the eccentric Mao Kurokawa, and the four of them quickly become friends as they learn about and imitate each other's lifestyles. -- -- Wakaba*Girl follows the adventures of these four friends while they experience events like school festivals, waterpark trips, and gym class tests. Along the way, Wakaba discovers what it is like to live as a regular student while Nao, Moeka, and Mao catch a glimpse into the life of a rich family. With never a dull moment in their lives, the four girls make sure to live each day to the fullest. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Sentai Filmworks -- 37,406 6.89

Walkure Romanze -- -- 8bit -- 12 eps -- Visual novel -- Action Ecchi Romance Harem School Sports -- Walkure Romanze Walkure Romanze -- Taking place at Winford Academy located in an old town called Helen's Hill, the story is all about knights and the sport of jousting. At this school, students learn how to become knights, ride horses and joust properly. The main character is a young man named Takahiro Mizuno who was training to become a knight and jouster but after suffering an injury he dropped out of the knight program and joined the begleiter (assistant) program instead. Due to his animal handling skills and former experience as a jouster, this makes him a hot commodity. Multiple beautiful girls in the school want him to become their personal begleiter, though Takahiro always refuses their offers. -- -- One day a bizarre accident causes his friend, Mio Kisaski, to be challenged to a jousting duel despite her not actually being a knight. Takahiro agrees to become her temporary begleiter, but that ends up only being the beginning of their partnership as she enrolls in the annual tournament. -- 111,923 6.36

Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! -- -- Project No.9 -- 12 eps -- Light novel -- Comedy Fantasy -- Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne! -- Having stood out from others most of her life due to her exceptional character, Misato Kurihara has lived without neither the joy of having close friends nor the experience of having a regular life. However, after a sudden death, she was transported to a divine realm to be reincarnated—and granted one wish to top it off. Thinking about the ordinary life that she had always wanted, she wished to be born as a normal person, with abilities that are average for the world she will resurrect in. -- -- Reborn as Adele von Ascham—the daughter of a noble—she possesses magic powers completely exceeding what one would label average. Still desiring to carry out the life she wanted, she leaves her home and enrolls at a hunter school in a faraway kingdom using "Mile" as an alias. However, try as she might to hide her overpowering potential, attaining her goal will be difficult—especially when facing against the crazy situations that ensue! -- -- 116,130 6.84

Wave!!: Surfing Yappe!! -- -- Asahi Production -- 3 eps -- Other -- Slice of Life Sports -- Wave!!: Surfing Yappe!! Wave!!: Surfing Yappe!! -- Masaki Hinaoka, who grew up near the coast of Ooarai in Ibaraki Prefecture, meets a prince-like transfer student Shou Akitsuki before the summer break, who introduces him to the world of surfing. Through surfing, Masaki meets irreplaceable friends and experiences farewell as he becomes an adult. It is the beginning of a never-ending story of boys fascinated by the charm of surfing. -- -- (Source: MAL News) -- Movie - Oct 2, 2020 -- 17,379 6.05

Wave!!: Surfing Yappe!! (TV) -- -- Asahi Production -- 12 eps -- Other -- Slice of Life Sports -- Wave!!: Surfing Yappe!! (TV) Wave!!: Surfing Yappe!! (TV) -- Masaki Hinaoka, who grew up near the coast of Ooarai in Ibaraki Prefecture, meets a prince-like transfer student Shou Akitsuki before the summer break, who introduces him to the world of surfing. Through surfing, Masaki meets irreplaceable friends and experiences farewell as he becomes an adult. It is the beginning of a never-ending story of boys fascinated by the charm of surfing. -- -- (Source: MAL News) -- 30,291 5.86

White Album -- -- Seven Arcs -- 13 eps -- Visual novel -- Drama Harem Music Romance -- White Album White Album -- Can a relationship between a regular college student and an idol singer survive? That is the question that White Album tries to answer. Touya Fujii is a normal college student with normal worries—namely balancing his classes and his job he works to pay for school. He is also concerned about the amount of time he has to spend with Yuki Morikawa, or rather, the lack of it. -- -- Being an up and coming idol singer, Yuki has concerns of her own. Even though she's not yet as popular as experienced veteran Rina Ogata, Yuki is turning heads and landing interviews on television. This should be a good thing, but not everyone is happy about the attention she receives from the media and from Rina. The idol industry is surprisingly cutthroat, and rival singers have their eyes on Yuki. -- -- While it may seem exciting to watch your girlfriend on television, how does Touya really feel about all this? Between the challenges associated with Yuki's career and other people that Touya meets at his university, their relationship may not last… -- 97,888 6.54

Why -- -- - -- 1 ep -- Original -- Dementia -- Why Why -- A boxing ring turns into a stage for abstract animation where the punches thrown in the match and the halftone dots in reprographics gradually become indistinguishable. Tanaami shot a boxing match on a Motordrive camera, made two thousand offset prints, and rephotographed each of them. He explains his inspiration for the work being the experience of watching a boxing match on television but finding the newspaper print the next morning better capturing the exhilaration of the sport. -- -- (Source: Collaborative Cataloging Japan) -- Movie - ??? ??, 1975 -- 364 4.90

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. OVA -- -- Brain's Base -- 1 ep -- Light novel -- Comedy Romance School -- Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. OVA Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. OVA -- One morning, Hachiman Hikigaya contemplates the superfluous nature of marriage and its misleading image of happiness. However, he is forced into confronting his skepticism when the Volunteer Service Club is tasked with assisting a local municipal magazine advertise the allure of marriage to younger people. Unfortunately, neither the club's advisor, Shizuka Hiratsuka, nor the other club members have any firsthand experience with the subject. With only one week until the deadline, the group must quickly learn about the intricacies behind the special ceremony, even if they have to resort to more creative means! -- -- OVA - Sep 19, 2013 -- 206,248 7.60

Yakitate!! Japan -- -- Sunrise -- 69 eps -- Manga -- Comedy Shounen -- Yakitate!! Japan Yakitate!! Japan -- While countries such as France, England, and Germany all have their own internationally celebrated bread, Japan simply does not have one that can match in reputation. -- -- Thus after discovering the wonders of breadmaking at a young age, Kazuma Azuma embarks on a quest to create Japan's own unique national bread. And being blessed with unusually warm hands that allow dough to ferment faster, Azuma is able to bring his baking innovations to another level. -- -- As he begins working at the prestigious Japanese bakery chain, Pantasia, Azuma encounters other talented bakers and experiences firsthand the competitive world of baking. Along with his newfound friends and rivals, Azuma strives to create new and unparalleled bread that will start a baking revolution. -- -- TV - Oct 12, 2004 -- 81,617 7.95

Yesterday wo Utatte -- -- Doga Kobo -- 12 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Drama Romance Seinen -- Yesterday wo Utatte Yesterday wo Utatte -- Rikuo Uozumi has all but resigned himself to a bleak future, aimlessly working at a convenience store in Tokyo after graduating from college. His monotonous life is interrupted when the peculiar Haru Nonaka makes a lively appearance, frequently dropping by his workplace to befriend him. When Rikuo learns that an old college friend and crush, Shinako Morinome, has moved back into town, he reaches out to further their relationship. Unbeknownst to Rikuo however, Shinako is carrying painful memories from her past that were holding her back from accepting his feelings. Meanwhile, as Haru continually opens up to Rikuo, he discovers that she, much like him, is living by herself and wants to step out of her comfort zone into an uncertain future. -- -- The past lingers long in the mind, and the future remains elusive. At a crossroads along their intertwined paths, these three experience what it means to let go of their feelings of yesterday and embrace the change that tomorrow brings. -- -- 224,381 6.98

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei -- -- Madhouse -- 11 eps -- Novel -- Mystery Comedy Psychological Romance -- Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei -- One autumn evening at a mysterious ramen stand behind the Shimogamo Shrine, a lonely third-year college student bumps into a man with an eggplant-shaped head who calls himself a god of matrimony. Meeting this man causes the student to reflect upon his past two years at college—two years bitterly spent trying to break up couples on campus with his only friend Ozu, a ghoulish-looking man seemingly set on making his life as miserable as possible. Resolving to make the most out of the rest of his college life, the student attempts to ask out the unsociable but kind-hearted underclassman Akashi, yet fails to follow through, prompting him to regret not living out his college life differently. As soon as this thought passes through his head, however, he is hurtled through time and space to the beginning of his years at college and given another chance to live his life. -- -- Surreal, artistic, and mind-bending, Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei chronicles the misadventures of a young man on a journey to make friends, find love, and experience the rose-colored campus life he always dreamed of. -- -- 323,218 8.60

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei -- -- Madhouse -- 11 eps -- Novel -- Mystery Comedy Psychological Romance -- Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei -- One autumn evening at a mysterious ramen stand behind the Shimogamo Shrine, a lonely third-year college student bumps into a man with an eggplant-shaped head who calls himself a god of matrimony. Meeting this man causes the student to reflect upon his past two years at college—two years bitterly spent trying to break up couples on campus with his only friend Ozu, a ghoulish-looking man seemingly set on making his life as miserable as possible. Resolving to make the most out of the rest of his college life, the student attempts to ask out the unsociable but kind-hearted underclassman Akashi, yet fails to follow through, prompting him to regret not living out his college life differently. As soon as this thought passes through his head, however, he is hurtled through time and space to the beginning of his years at college and given another chance to live his life. -- -- Surreal, artistic, and mind-bending, Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei chronicles the misadventures of a young man on a journey to make friends, find love, and experience the rose-colored campus life he always dreamed of. -- -- -- Licensor: -- Funimation -- 323,218 8.60

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou -- -- Ajia-Do -- 2 eps -- Manga -- Sci-Fi Seinen Slice of Life -- Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou -- After a disaster leaves the world in a state of decline, the remaining human population lives out their lives peacefully and quietly in the twilight of the human age. Alpha Hatsuseno is an android who works at a cafe bordering Yokohama that rarely gets visitors, and is waiting for her owner to return. -- -- One day, another android, the courier Kokone Takatsu, brings Alpha a package from her master. Inside is a camera, given to Alpha so she can take pictures to reminisce about. -- -- Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is a slow and contemplative anime that follows an android girl as she takes beautiful pictures and experiences touching moments, all amidst a calming sense of peace. -- -- OVA - May 21, 1998 -- 27,854 7.36

Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome -- -- Science SARU -- 1 ep -- Novel -- Comedy Romance -- Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome -- On a mysterious night that seems to last for a year, an ordinary college student continues to chase one of his underclassmen, a girl with black hair—the girl of his dreams. Up until now, he has been relying on a simple plan, which is to calculatingly bump into her every day while making it seem like a meaningful coincidence. However, his efforts remain futile as their relationship is not progressing at all. -- -- Meanwhile, the black-haired girl believes that everything is connected by fate and endeavors to experience as many new things as possible, leaving it all for destiny to decide. While strolling along the lively streets of Kyoto, she discovers that the very beginning of her fateful journey—a book she had as a child—is currently being sold in a second-hand bookstore. Upon knowing this, the college student eyes another opportunity to run into her "by chance": this time, he hopes to get the book before she does and finally grasp the thread of fate that could connect their hearts. -- -- Movie - Apr 7, 2017 -- 84,515 8.23

Youkai Watch -- -- OLM -- 214 eps -- Game -- Comedy Demons Kids Supernatural -- Youkai Watch Youkai Watch -- Primary school student Keita Amano's curiosity is as innocent as any other child's his age. But when one day he decides to venture deeper into the forest, he encounters a small and mysterious capsule. Out from its depths comes Whisper. After 190 years of imprisonment, this ghost-like creature is glad that someone has been kind enough to set him free. He decides to reward Keita by becoming his guardian against supernatural forces. Whisper is one of many Youkai that exist in the world, and provides Keita with a special Youkai Watch, which enables him to see and interact with all the other Youkai. -- -- Youkai Watch follows Keita, Whisper and the cat spirit Jibanyan as they encounter Youkai, befriend them, fix all the trouble that they so often cause, and, with the help of the watch, use the powers of previously encountered Youkai to aid them. Young Keita may have been just an ordinary primary school student when he first encountered the Youkai, but the many adventures that follow his discovery provide him with invaluable experiences and precious life lessons that help him grow. -- 21,141 6.52

Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Zexal -- -- Gallop -- 73 eps -- Manga -- Action Game Fantasy Shounen -- Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Zexal Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Zexal -- In the bustling and futuristic city of Heartland, a young boy named Yuuma Tsukumo has a dream that everyone his age wants to achieve—earning the title of the greatest duelist! Sadly, due to his lackluster dueling skills, this dream is far from achievable. But when the school bully, Ryouga "Shark" Kamishiro, splits the key given to him by his father into two pieces, he inadvertently sets Yuuma on a collision course with his dream. -- -- Retaining one half of the key, Yuuma begins a duel with Shark, but soon realizes that his inexperienced skills are no match for him. In a sudden turn of events, Yuuma's key repairs itself, and the "Door of Destiny'' appears before him. Using the key to open it, Yuuma is greeted by an alien by the name of Astral—a being only he can see. -- -- The bewildered Yuuma soon learns that his memories have been divided into 100 "Number Cards," all of which he must retrieve. However, he is also not the only one looking for them. Bombarded by these revelations, Yuuma, alongside Astral, must defend the world from the upcoming threats that loom over Heartland City—regardless of any divine intervention that may occur. -- -- -- Licensor: -- 4Kids Entertainment, Konami -- TV - Apr 11, 2011 -- 57,016 6.34

Yuru Camp△ Season 2 -- -- C-Station -- 13 eps -- Manga -- Slice of Life Comedy -- Yuru Camp△ Season 2 Yuru Camp△ Season 2 -- Having spent Christmas camping with her new friends, Rin Shima embarks on a solo-camping trip to see the New Year sunrise by the sea. All goes according to plan until unforeseen weather blocks the roads back home, making a return trip impossible. Rin, who is now stranded for a few days, is invited by Nadeshiko Kagamihara to stay at her grandmother's house. -- -- What is supposed to be a two-day trip becomes an extended period of sightseeing and new experiences for Rin, and she encounters some new and old faces along the way. Yuru Camp△ Season 2 continues the story of Rin, Nadeshiko, and their friends as they further explore the joys of camping. -- -- 126,513 8.57

Zenonzard The Animation -- -- 8bit -- 9 eps -- Game -- Action Game Fantasy -- Zenonzard The Animation Zenonzard The Animation -- Hinaria is unemployed, gaming every day. One day she decides to hack the servers belonging to the Beholder Group for some money, and she stumbles across a carefully secured record of two witches, Alice and Rimel. The two women wished to coexist with mankind, and the history they experienced is connected to the modern ZENONZARD. -- -- (Source: Official Site) -- ONA - Jan 31, 2020 -- 11,370 6.06

Zoids Shinseiki/Zero -- -- Xebec -- 26 eps -- - -- Adventure Comedy Mecha Sci-Fi Shounen Sports -- Zoids Shinseiki/Zero Zoids Shinseiki/Zero -- Zoids—powerful animal-shaped combat mechs—are no longer used in warfare, but in organized sporting competitions. The Blitz Team, a group of pilots struggling to carve out a niche for themselves in the Zoid battling leagues, experience a stroke of luck when Bit Cloud, a vagrant junk dealer, wanders into their midst and proves himself capable of piloting the temperamental Liger Zero, a Zoid that refuses to let anyone else into its cockpit. Led by Bit and the Liger, the Blitz Team steadily make their way to the top—but along the way they attract the unwelcome attention of the Backdraft Group, an organization of Zoid pilots that operates outside the laws set down by the Zoid Battle Commission. The Backdraft want powerful Zoids to add to their ranks, and they have their eye on the Liger Zero... -- -- Licensor: -- VIZ Media -- TV - Jan 6, 2001 -- 24,602 7.34

Zoids Shinseiki/Zero -- -- Xebec -- 26 eps -- - -- Adventure Comedy Mecha Sci-Fi Shounen Sports -- Zoids Shinseiki/Zero Zoids Shinseiki/Zero -- Zoids—powerful animal-shaped combat mechs—are no longer used in warfare, but in organized sporting competitions. The Blitz Team, a group of pilots struggling to carve out a niche for themselves in the Zoid battling leagues, experience a stroke of luck when Bit Cloud, a vagrant junk dealer, wanders into their midst and proves himself capable of piloting the temperamental Liger Zero, a Zoid that refuses to let anyone else into its cockpit. Led by Bit and the Liger, the Blitz Team steadily make their way to the top—but along the way they attract the unwelcome attention of the Backdraft Group, an organization of Zoid pilots that operates outside the laws set down by the Zoid Battle Commission. The Backdraft want powerful Zoids to add to their ranks, and they have their eye on the Liger Zero... -- TV - Jan 6, 2001 -- 24,602 7.34

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2010 Andalucia Tennis Experience Singles

2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience Doubles

2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience Singles

2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience Singles Qualifying

Adirondack Experience

Adobe Experience Cloud

Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ)

Adverse Childhood Experiences movement

Adverse Childhood Experiences Study

A Hairdresser's Experience in High Life

Air Experience Flight

American Experience

Amsterdam Film eXperience

Andalucia Tennis Experience

Anomalous experiences

Apparitional experience

Apple Productivity Experience Group

Architectural Experience Program (AXP)

Arctic Experience McNaught Gallery

Are You Experienced

Are You Experienced? (song)

Argument from religious experience

Art as Experience

BBC Sessions (The Jimi Hendrix Experience album)

Call of Duty: Experience 2011

Call of Duty: Experience 2016

Cato Salsa Experience

Celestyal Experience

Chief experience officer

Children of Telepathic Experiences

Code Red Experience

Colour Experience

Comic Con Experience

Customer experience

Dave Brockie Experience

Daytona 500 Experience

Digital Technologies and the Museum Experience

Direct experience

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products

Draft:Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the consumer banking experience

DreamWorks Experience

Employee experience design

Enjoy the Experience

EWorkexperience

Experience

EXperience112

Experience 7

Experience and education

Experience API

Experience architecture

Experience (book)

Experience curve effects

Experience (disambiguation)

Experience (essay)

Experience-focused counselling

Experience Gloria Gaynor

Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix

Experience Hendrix Tour

Experience + Innocence Tour

Experience: Jill Scott 826+

Experience (Jimi Hendrix album)

Experience machine

Experience modifier

Experience point

Experience Project

Experience sampling method

Experience the Divine: Greatest Hits

Experience (The Prodigy album)

Experience Unlimited

Experience (World Saxophone Quartet album)

Experience (York album)

Figments of Experience

Fire (The Jimi Hendrix Experience song)

First Experience

First Nations Experience

First-time user experience

Fremont Street Experience

Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience

Girlfriend experience

Gold Experience (Idoling album)

Grammy Museum Experience

Hartlepool's Maritime Experience

Hatha Yoga: The Report of a Personal Experience

Her First Experience

Holy Land Experience

Hyper Reality Experience

IBM Quantum Experience

If I Were President: My Haitian Experience

Inner Experience

Innocence and Experience

Innocence + Experience: Live in Paris

Innocence + Experience Tour

International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience

Iron Man Experience

Jameson Experience, Midleton

Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio

Jean-Paul Sartre Experience

Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience

Lindsay Wildlife Experience

List of Canadian municipalities having experienced population decreases

List of Little Battlers Experience characters

List of presidents of India by previous experience

List of presidents of the Philippines by previous executive experience

Little Battlers Experience

Little Prayers and Finite Experience

Lived experience

Livin' Large (Experience Unlimited album)

Lost Experience

Love Is Dead (The Mr. T Experience album)

Macquarie University Campus Experience

Method (Experience Design Firm)

Michael Jackson: The Experience

Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience

More Experience

Music from the 3D Concert Experience

My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness

Near-death experience

Near Death Experience (disambiguation)

Near Death Experience (Spektr album)

New Miserable Experience

No. 10 Air Experience Flight RAF

No. 12 Air Experience Flight RAF

No. 1 Air Experience Flight RAF

No. 6 Air Experience Flight RAF

No. 8 Air Experience Flight RAF

No. 9 Air Experience Flight RAF

Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience

Openness to experience

Out-of-body experience

Out-of-box experience

Overseas experience

OxfordLiverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences

Patient experience

Peak experience

Perls Before Swne Experience

Persona (user experience)

Philosophy of experience

Psychedelic experience

Quality of experience

Quezon City Experience

Radiance: The Experience of Light

Real-life experience (transgender)

Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences

Religious experience

Religious Experience (book)

Religious Experience Research Centre

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

Richard III Experience at Monk Bar

Samsung Experience

Scotch Whisky Experience

Shared Experience

Sila and the Afrofunk Experience

Smash Hits (Jimi Hendrix Experience album)

Smithwick's Experience Kilkenny

Songs of Experience (David Axelrod album)

Songs of Experience (disambiguation)

Songs of Experience (U2 album)

Songs of Innocence and Experience (Allen Ginsberg album)

Songs of Innocence and of Experience

Songs of Innocence and of Experience (disambiguation)

Sonic Experience

Sound Experience

Star Trek: The Experience

Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 191145

Subjective character of experience

Super Bowl Experience

Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience

The 20/20 Experience

The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2

The 20/20 Experience World Tour

The 360 Degree Music Experience

The American Idol Experience

The Atacama Experience

The Atheist Experience

The Beatles Experience

The Beautiful Experience

The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience

The Beyonc Experience

The Beyonc Experience Live

The BJ Shea Morning Experience

The Black Eyed Peas Experience

The Breakthrough Experience Tour

The Clark Family Experience

The Clint Boon Experience

The Communal Experience

Thee Experience

The Experienced English Housekeeper

The Experience Economy

The Experience (film)

The Experience (gospel concert)

The Experiences of an Asylum Doctor

The Experience (Yolanda Adams album)

The First-Year Experience Program

The Fox Experience

The Girlfriend Experience

The Girlfriend Experience (TV series)

The Global Experience

The Gold Experience

The Hugh Beaumont Experience

The Jeff Corwin Experience

The Jimi Hendrix Experience (album)

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Lawhouse Experience, Volume One

The Mary Whitehouse Experience

The Mathematical Experience

The Mr. T Experience

The Orion Experience

The Politics of Experience and The Bird of Paradise

The Psychedelic Experience

The Return: A Hasidic Experience

The RZAInstrumental Experience

The Shetland Experience

The Ukulele Experience, Volume One

The Ultimate Experience

The Ultimate Live Experience

The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience

The Varieties of Religious Experience

The Varieties of Scientific Experience

The Varieties of the Meditative Experience

The Versace Experience: Prelude 2 Gold

The Wendy Williams Experience

The Whole Experience

The Woodstock Experience

The X Factor Digital Experience

To Love a Fool A Rooftop Experience

Total Experience Gospel Choir

TRIP Remix Your Experience

UR Experience Tour

User experience

User experience design

Validation des Acquis de l'Experience

Voodoo Music + Arts Experience

Windows Live Personalized Experience

Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience

World of McIntosh Experience Center

WWE Experience

X.O. Experience

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last updated: 2022-02-02 19:28:20
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