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manently with the Absolute was in order to remain in the phenomenal world for the sake of humanity,

because loving humanity is the same as loving another form of God. 

Sri Ramakrishna's way of perceiving God changed; he combined the bhakti, the philosophy of

the Bhairavi nun, and the jnana, the philosophy of Totapuri. Sri Ramakrishna now adored the Personal

God and worshiped the Impersonal Absolute, both while being dedicated to his Divine Mother, Kali. Sri

Ramakrishna became a master of appropriating certain aspects of a spiritual path as well as seeing the

limitations of that path. The jnanis concentrated almost solely on the transcendental aspect of Brahman,

the rest being an aspect of illusion. The bhaktas focused on the immanence of God and ignored the tran 

scendental, which they felt would restrain their love for God. They loved the taste of sugar, but did not

see why one would need to become one with it. According to Swami Nirvedananda, however, Sri

Ramakrishna combined the two.19 Back from nirvikalpa samadhi, Sri Ramakrishna understood both the

transcendental and immanent aspects of the Divine. God is both with form and without form. According

to Sri Ramakrishna:

God the absolute and God the personal are one and the same. A belief in the one

implies a belief in the other. Fire cannot be thought of apart from its burning power;

nor can its burning power be thought of apart from it. But you must hold on to your

particular view until you realize God; and then everything would be clear.

20

VVII

Sri Ramakrishna had two options: either to stay permanently in nirvikalpa samadhi and attain

moksha or to give that all up and come back from nirvikalpa samadhi to stay on earth and help human

suffering. Most would pick the first option, but Sri Ramakrishna chose what he believed was the greater

enlightenment of staying on this plane of consciousness, enjoying the manifestations of Kali (Brahman),

thus helping humankind. We may infer that this was even greater than nirvikalpa samadhi itself. `I love

to eat sugar, I do not want to become sugar.' The sugar is Brahman. Sri Ramakrishna could not let him 

self be permanently lost in nirvikalpa samadhi, because he would then no longer be able to see the

shade of dualism that allowed him to have love and devotion to both Kali and humankind. He realized

something that made him take the lesser enlightenment and pass up moksha. To do this, however, he

had (to some extent) to stay within the realm of dualism in order to see God everywhere. If he became

one with God, thus permanently attaining moksha, the dualistic love would be lost. But Sri Ramakrishna

could love this way only after returning from nirvikalpa samadhi, only after looking upon Maya as Vidya

Maya. He retained the ego, the `I,' to serve and to worship God. He stayed immersed in the world so as

to be immersed in God, but not to be God. Immersion with the world can be immersion with God if

looked upon through the Vidya Maya knowledge. For even he himself knew that he was a form of God,

but only under savikalpa samadhi could he love and devote himself to God through the eyes of dualism.

He viewed his Divine Mother and all humanity on the same plane of reality, and toward them he kept

an equal attitude of love and devotion. Sri Ramakrishna's hunger for Brahman was finally replenished. 

Different devotees from different philosophies guided him as he took elements from each. Little

"I Love to Eat Sugar, I Do Not Want to Become Sugar"      Scott Douglas Niedfeldt

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