Story #1: Does God Exist? Ramakrishna’s Astonishing Answer
Sadhguru: Vivekananda was the first Yogi to go to the United States in 1893 for the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago, where he caused a spiritual wave.
When Vivekananda was a fiery youth of just eighteen years of age, one day, someone told him, “There is this mystic called Ramakrishna. You have so many questions. He has all the answers. You must see him.” So he went. He was a bright intellect with strong arguments about everything. He was not a spiritual seeker as such but more like an activist who demolished all the mumbo jumbo that was going on around him.
He went to Ramakrishna and asked, “You are talking about God all the time. Can you prove there is God?” Ramakrishna said, “I am the proof.” He expected some head-spinning arguments, but Ramakrishna’s response deflated him completely. Then he asked, “Can you make me experience whatever it is?” Ramakrishna asked, “Do you have the courage?” Vivekananda was known to be a very brave young man. But he hesitated for a moment, and then he said, “Yes, I want to see.”
Ramakrishna just put his foot on his chest and Vivekananda went into a samadhi state for hours. When he came out, all his questions had completely evaporated. He saw something that he had never imagined in his life. After that, he did not ask a single question.
Story #2: The Ultimate Test: Be Careful Not to Ask for Anything
Sadhguru: One day, Vivekananda’s mother was very ill and on her deathbed. It suddenly struck Vivekananda that there was no money for medicine or food. It made him very angry that he was unable to take care of his mother when she was really sick. When a man like Vivekananda gets angry, he gets really angry. He went to Ramakrishna.
He told Ramakrishna, “Where is all this nonsense getting me? If I was still employed, today I could have taken care of my mother. I could have given her food, medicine, and comfort. Where has this spirituality gotten me?”
Ramakrishna, being a worshiper of Kali, had a Kali shrine in his house. He said, “Does your mother need medicine and food? Why don’t you go and ask the Mother for what you want?” It sounded like a good idea to Vivekananda, and he went into the shrine.
After about an hour, he came out and Ramakrishna asked, “Did you ask the Mother for food, money, and whatever else your mother needs?”
Vivekananda replied, “No, I forgot.”
Ramakrishna said, “Go back inside again and ask.”
Vivekananda went into the shrine again and came back after four hours. Ramakrishna questioned him, “Did you ask the Mother?”
Vivekananda said “No, I forgot.”
Ramakrishna again said. “Go inside again and this time, don’t forget to ask.”
Vivekananda went inside and after almost eight hours, he came out. Ramakrishna again asked him, “Did you ask the Mother?”
Vivekananda said “No, I will not ask. I have no need to ask.”
Ramakrishna replied, “That’s good. If you had asked for anything in the shrine today, this would have been the last day between you and me. I would not have wanted to see your face ever again because an asking fool does not understand the very fundamentals of life.”
Prayerfulness is a certain quality. If you become prayerful and worshipful, it is a fantastic way to be. But if you are praying with an expectation to get something, then it is not going to work for you.
Story #3: Why How You Hold a Knife Makes All the Difference
Vivekananda decided to go to the West to spread his Guru’s message. In those days, overseas travel was almost like going to another planet. So, he came to seek the blessing of Sharada Devi, Ramakrishna's wife. Sharada was cooking in the kitchen, and when Vivekananda said that he wanted to go to the West to spread Ramakrishna's message, she just nodded. She used to call him by his old name “Naren.” She said, “Naren, give me that knife.”
Vivekananda handed over the knife to her, holding it with the blade in his palm and the handle toward Sharada Devi. Then she said, “You can go and spread the message in the West.” Then he observed that she had already cut the vegetables, and they were cooking in the pot. He asked, “Why did you ask for the knife?” She said, “I just wanted to see how you will give the knife, whether you are fit to go the West or not.”
Story #4: The Important Life Lesson that Playing Football Can Teach You
Swami Vivekananda once said, “You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita.” It is true because you cannot play football unless you are absolutely involved. There is no personal intention in this, just involvement. What you can and cannot do is already set, and you have been trained for many years. Now it is just a question of involvement, no intention.
Studying scriptures, after some time, you might think of so many other things. A football game gets you into that level of involvement where you cannot do anything else at all. This is because you have to dodge people; you have to take the ball; you have to be running at full speed. To direct the ball at that speed takes a phenomenal amount of skill. It takes a certain level of involvement where you are almost mindless.
If you do something with total involvement, you will see there is just action, and the mind is somewhere else. In a football match, the players reach that kind of a state very often. That is the reason why football grabs half the world when it is being played intensely. There is a certain kind of transcendence. It is not really a spiritual transcendence, but there is a certain going beyond one’s limitations.
Story #5: Can You Know What’s in a Book Just by Holding It?
Swami Vivekananda was a guest in a well-known German philosopher’s home. After dinner, they met in his study where there was a big book on the table with over eight hundred pages. That man eulogized this book, how fantastic it was, and so difficult to understand that he read a few pages at a time to get it. Vivekananda said, “Give me this book for an hour. Let me see what’s there in it.” That man laughed, “How will you understand this book in one hour? That too, it is in German.” Vivekananda said, “Just give it to me for an hour. Let me see.” As a joke, that man gave the book to him.
Vivekananda held the closed book between his two hands for about an hour. Then he gave it back and said, “There is nothing worthwhile in this book.” That man got really angry. “This is arrogance. You did not even open the book and make a comment about it.” Then Vivekananda said, “Do not get angry. Just ask me whatever you want about the book. I will tell you.”
He asked Vivekananda, “What is on page number six hundred and seventy-two?” Vivekananda repeated it verbatim. Then that man looked at him and said, “What is this? You did not even open the book.” Vivekananda said, “That is why I am Vivekananda.” His name was Naren; his Guru named him Vivekananda – viveka means perception. Perception can be in many different dimensions. Unfortunately, most human beings never strive to explore these things.
