October 2011 - Advaita Ashrama

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as a mini parliament of religions. People belonging
to different religions—Brahmos, Vaishnavas,
Shaktas, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs—flocked
to his room. He was perfectly at home with all
of them, and they too felt that he belonged to
them. The way of harmony of religions that Sri
Ramakrishna lived and taught continues as a living
tradition in the Ramakrishna Order and in
the whole Ramakrishna movement.
The way of harmony shown by Sri Ramakrishna
is based on two principles. One is the
principle of acceptance. It is not enough to
somehow tolerate other religions as a social or
political expedient, as is usually done. What is
really necessary is to accept the right of every
religion to exist, to accept the differences of religions
as natural social processes, to accept the
right of everyone to follow one’s own religion,
to accept the good points of other religions and
assimilate them in one’s own life. The second
point is the awareness of the underlying unity. It
is necessary to understand that beneath all the
differences of religions there is the unity of the
divine consciousness, and that all religions are
different means of realizing that unity in diversity,
which is the basic principle of harmony. This
principle of harmony can be applied not only in
the field of religion but also in all fields of human
interaction—in family relationships, in places
of work, in social life, in national life, in international
relationships.
5. A Universal Scripture · For any religion,
sect, or movement to survive for centuries the destructive
forces of history the support of a scripture
is necessary. A scripture is an inexhaustible
source of inspiration. It is also a great unifying
force. Any religious movement that does not have
the support of a scripture will soon peter out.
The modern world needed a new scripture
in tune with the needs and conditions of the
present-day world. The spiritual renaissance
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Prabuddha Bharata
associated with Sri Ramakrishna brought into
existence that new scripture. Even during his lifetime,
a compilation of Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings
had been brought out by some Brahmo
leaders, who were not his disciples but admirers.
Later on one or two other compilations of Sri
Ramakrishna’s teachings appeared in print. They
were all, however, overshadowed by the magnum
opus of Mahendra nath Gupta, entitled Sri
Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, translated into
English as the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. This is
the new scripture of not only the Ramakrishna
movement but also of the present-day world. It
may indeed be regarded as a universal scripture.
Some of its unique features, which also justify
its claim to be the universal scripture for all, are
mentioned below.
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is not meant
to supplant any other scripture. On the contrary,
it helps the followers of different religions to
strengthen their faith in their own scriptures. It
enables them to see their scriptures in a broader
spiritual perspective. In fact, it enables them to
have a better understanding of their scriptures.
Each world scripture has its own historical,
cultural, mythological, and hermeneutical presuppositions.
Hence, the world scriptures appear
to be mutually exclusive or incompatible.
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, however, helps
us find harmony among them. It thus serves as a
‘link scripture’. In this role it has an assured place
among the great scriptures of the world.
An obvious feature of this new scripture of
Sri Ramakrishna is its ambience of modernity.
The people we meet in it are not strange or
mythological people of bygone ages. They are
not much different from the educated middleclass
people of present times. The conversations,
incidents, and occasions recorded; the various
topics discussed; the description of the places;
and other details given in this new scripture have
PB October 2011