No one, however, can avoid work (Karma). Every mental action is a Karma. "I am thinking," "I meditate," "I feel," each of these is a Karma. The more one attains to true devotion the less becomes one's worldly work. The pleasures of the world do not satisfy such a soul. They lose their charm. How can one who has tasted the Sherbet made with pure crystallized sugar be pleased with the taste of a drink made with molasses or treacle? On one occasion a Karma Yogi (Sambhu) said to me: "May Thy blessing be that my wealth be spent in building hospitals and dispensaries, in making roads, in sinking wells for travelers, in establishing schools, colleges, and in other good works." Whereupon I replied: "Sambhu, all these works are good when they are performed with non-attachment. But that is very difficult. In any case you should always keep in mind that the end and aim of your human existence is the attainment of God and not hospitals and dispensaries. Suppose the Lord appears before you and graciously offers to fulfill your desires. Will you then pray for dispensaries and hospitals, tanks and wells, roads and serais, or will you say: 'O Lord! Grant that I may have pure and unalloyed

[Attainment of God-vision.] love for Thee and unswerving devotion to Thy feet, that I may always feel Thy presence and realize Thee under all conditions'?" Hospitals, dispensaries and all these things are transitory; God alone is the Reality, all else is unreal. Once placed face to face with the Vision Divine, we see them as no better than dreams and then we pray for more light, more wisdom, more Divine Love, the love which lifts a man to God, the love which makes us realize that we are really sons of the Supreme Being, of whom all that can be said is that He exists, that He is Knowledge itself in the highest sense, and that He is the Eternal Fountain of Love and Bliss. Again, when one attains to God-vision, one feels that God alone is the real Actor in the universe, the Doer of all things, and that we can do nothing. If God does everything, then why, instead of realizing Him, shall we get entangled in the meshes of worldly works? First realize God; then, if it be His will, many hospitals and dispensaries may be established. Therefore, I say, never lose sight of this goal of life that I have pointed out for you, but move onward through the practices of devotion and love. When you have advanced far enough you will know that God alone is the Reality,

that all the things of the world are unreal and that the highest end and aim of life is the attainment of God.