The Master's ways are inscrutable

Sri Ramakrishna was a great Master of the highest heights. He would tell one person, “Go and eat meat. Nothing will happen.” To another person he would say, “All restlessness will enter into you if you eat meat. You must never eat meat!” If the first person ate meat, his consciousness would not be disturbed in the slightest. If the second person ate meat, the restlessness of the animals would enter into him instantly and take him into the abysmal abyss of his consciousness.

After he realised God, Swami Vivekananda used to eat meat and fish. His brother-disciples and other critics used to say, “O my God, he is eating meat! He has definitely fallen.”

Swami Vivekananda would answer, “When I was poverty-stricken, you did not give me even one rupee. Such kind-hearted people you were! Now I am in a position to eat meat and you are criticising me mercilessly. Is eating meat taking away my spirituality? Am I descending? You are such well-wishers! Where was your sympathy when I was without money for weeks on end?”

Sri Aurobindo used to eat chicken quite regularly for a year, even when he was in his high, higher, highest consciousness. Nothing affected him. And while he was writing his magnum opus, The Life Divine, his servant used to come to him with a very large Burmese cigar. Sri Aurobindo would smoke to get inspiration. This is all written in official books on Sri Aurobindo’s life.

Sri Ramakrishna used to smoke a hookah frequently before he entered into his highest meditation. In most cases, if people smoke, they cannot raise their consciousness even an iota. Even if someone is smoking next to another person who does not smoke, it is all finished for the non-smoker! That person will not be able to go higher at all.

In our spiritual life, we all have to know how much capacity we have.