As the mother bird protects her fledglings, so the Master guarded his young disciples from various evil influences. One day at Dakshineswar the Master said to Baburam: “I can’t touch you today. Did you do anything wrong?” “No, sir.” “Then why can’t I touch you?” After a while Baburam remembered that in the morning while chatting with his friend he had said something which was not true. He confessed it to the Master. Baburam realized that Sri Ramakrishna’s life was established in truth, and that truthfulness is the key to God-realization. (Source: God Lived with Them)
In the middle of 1885 Sri Ramakrishna developed throat cancer, and began to withdraw his divine play from Dakshineswar. His feet also began to swell, and Dr. Mahendranath Pal advised the Master to drink some lemon juice every day. Jogin took the responsibility of supplying fresh lemons from their family garden. The Master took the juice regularly, but one day he could not drink it. Jogin wondered why. Later after investigation he learned that their lemon grove had been leased to a party on that very day and they had lost ownership. As a result, the Master could not drink the lemon juice that Jogin brought without informing the owner, as that would have been considered theft. The disciples were amazed to see how the Master’s body and mind were established in truth. (Source: God Lived with Them)
Another day the Master said to a devotee (pointing to Niranjan): “Look at this boy. He is absolutely guileless. But he has one fault: he is slightly untruthful nowadays. The other day he said that he would visit me again very soon, but he didn’t come.” Hearing this, Niranjan immediately apologized.
Subodhananda was a moderate eater. Once a devotee invited him to dine and he asked about the menu. The devotee humbly said: “What could we offer you, swami? We have arranged simple food — rice and lentils.” Subodhananda went to the dining room and found that the devotee was actually serving various delicacies, but he ate only rice and lentils. In spite of the devotee’s fervent request, he did not change his mind. The swami said to him, “The Master taught us that one should hold to the truth and keep his word.”
Sri Ramakrishna made his life a model for his disciples to follow. Gopal (Swami Advaitananda), though older than the other disciples, tried very hard to follow the ideal the Master set for them. Even his brother disciples praised his sincerity, love, and steadfast dedication to the Master. One day he heard the Master say, “Never tell a lie — even jokingly or casually.”14 Gopal followed this teaching to the letter and encouraged others to do the same. Once a doctor prescribed the juice of three lemons for the Master’s upset stomach, and Gopal was entrusted to collect them. Instead of only three he brought several additional lemons, but the Master accepted only three and asked him to return the extras. Gopal realized that the Master was an embodiment of truth and his speech and action were always congruous. (Source: God Lived with Them)
After returning from the temple, the Master asked Tarak (Swami Shivananda) to stay overnight with him, but Tarak declined because he had already promised to stay with his friend who lived in Dakshineswar. The Master was pleased and remarked: “One should keep one’s word. Speaking the truth is the austerity in this kaliyuga.” After a pause the Master said, “All right, come tomorrow.”
Ramakrishna was a hard taskmaster. He always insisted that his disciples unite their mind and speech. One day when Rakhal (Swami Brahmananda) returned from Calcutta, the Master asked: “Why can’t I look at you? Have you done anything wrong?” “No,” Rakhal replied; because he understood “wrong action” to mean stealing, robbery, or adultery. The Master again asked, “Did you tell any lies?” Then Rakhal remembered that the day before, while chatting and joking with two friends, he had told a fib. The Master told him: “Never do it again. Truthfulness alone is the spiritual discipline in the kaliyuga [the dark age].”
Ramakrishna demonstrated his teachings through his life and actions. Rakhal later recalled:
Oh, how deep was the Master’s devotion to truth! If he happened to say that he would not eat any more food, he could not eat more, even if he was hungry. Once he said that he would go to visit Jadu Mallick [whose garden house was adjacent to the Dakshineswar temple garden] but later forgot all about it. I also did not remind him. After supper he suddenly remembered the appointment. It was quite late at night, but he had to go. I accompanied him with a lantern in my hand. When we reached the house we found it closed and all apparently asleep. The Master pushed back the door of the living room a little, placed his foot inside the room, and then left. (Source: God Lived with Them)
Rajchandra (Rani Rasmani‘s Husband) was known for his truthfulness as well as his generosity. At the request of his brother-in-law, he once promised to lend 100,000 rupees to an English merchant. That night he heard that the company was going to be liquidated and the merchant would therefore have to return to England. But in the morning when the merchant came to him for the money, Rajchandra gave it to him. Someone asked him why he did not refuse when he knew of the merchant’s insolvency, and Rajchandra replied, “I have not learned to say no after having said yes.” (Source: They Lived with God)
Durga Charan’s love of truth was so great that, even in play or fun, he would never speak a lie. Once some mischievous boys insisted that he lie so they could win a game, but Durga Charan refused and consequently they lost. Enraged, they dragged him through a rice field until his body was covered with cuts and bruises. He returned home in the evening in pain but without a word of complaint against anyone. (Source: They Lived with God)
From boyhood Devendra was truthful. Once a relative complained about his naughtiness to Surendra, his elder brother. Surendra replied: “Devi [Devendra’s nickname]may be naughty now, but one day he will be great, because he never tells a lie.”4 Knowing Devendra’s trust worthiness, a neighbour once asked him to watch his grocery shop while he went on an errand. The neighbour was late in returning, and Devendra, having grown hungry, ate a handful of puffed rice from the shop. Immediately he was overwhelmed by fear and guilt. As soon as the grocer came back, Devendra confessed, but the man merely laughed and told him it was all right. The painful memory of this incident convinced Devendra that the path of untruth causes much suffering. Many years later he recounted this story to his followers.
….. Although Devendra had no desire to get involved in family life, in 1870 his mother forced him to marry Meghambari, the nine-year-old daughter of Harish Chandra Chattopadhyay. His young wife was very pure, simple, and devoted to her husband. Since Surendra was supporting the whole family, Devendra led a carefree life. In 1878, however, Surendra died from cholera at the age of forty-one. The entire responsibility for the family fell on Devendra, now thirty-five, who did not have a job. The family suffered terribly from poverty. Indeed, Devendra’s mother, wife, and sister-in-law were often close to starvation. Devendra moved to an inexpensive apartment on Nimu Goswami Lane in the western part of Calcutta, and finally got a clerical job in the Tagore family’s estate in Jorasanko, Calcutta. The job paid very little, but it was easy to make extra money by cheating and by exploiting the poor peasants. Devendra was upright, however, and would not accept an extra penny from anyone, even though he was living in debt. One day he mentioned his condition to his employer, who was so impressed with Devendra’s honesty that he cleared up all his debts. (Source: They Lived with God)