[Story of a boy and the cow-house.] It reminded me of the story in which a boy was trying to convince his friends that his uncle had a great many horses by saying, he had a whole cow-house full of horses. Of course any intelligent person could at once see that a cow-house was not the same as a stable and that horses are never kept in a cow-house. What would people think after hearing such absurd statements? They would laugh and come to the conclusion that the uncle had no horses at all. See how absurd it is to say that God is devoid of sweetness, God I who is the Fountain-head of all sweet and tender qualities!

Then turning to Mozoomdar the Bhagavan said: You are an educated and intelligent man,

you are a deep thinker. Keshab and yourself were like the brothers Gour [**] (Chaitanya) and Netai. [*+] You have had enough of this world--enough of lectures, controversies, schisms and the rest. Do you still care for them? Now, it is high time for you to collect your scattered mind and turn towards God. Plunge into the ocean of Divinity.

Mozoomdar: Yes, Revered Sir, that I ought to do. There is no doubt about it. But all this I do simply to preserve Keshab's name and reputation.

[Story of a man and his cottage.] Ramakrishna (smiling): You believe that you are doing all this, as you say, for Keshab, but after a while this idea will change and you will think differently, Let me tell you a story. A man built a cottage on a mountain-top. It cost him hard labor and much money. After a few days there arose a cyclone and the cottage began to rock to and fro. He was very anxious to save

it, so he prayed to the Wind-god, saying: "Lord, I beseech thee, do not destroy this cottage"; but the Wind-god did not listen. He prayed again, but the cottage kept on rocking. Then he thought out a plan to save it. He remembered that in the mythology Hanuman was the son of the Wind-god. Instantly he cried out: "Lord, I beg of Thee, spare this cottage, for it belongs to Hanuman, Thy son." But the Wind-god did not listen. Then he said, "Lord, I pray Thee, spare this cottage, for it belongs to Hanuman's Lord, Rama." Still the Wind-god did not listen. Then, as the cottage was about to topple over, the man, to save his life, ran out of it and began to swear, saying: "Let it go to destruction! What is that to me?" You may now be anxious to preserve Keshab's name; but console yourself with the thought that it was after all owing to God's will that the religious movement connected with his name was set on foot, and that if the movement has had its day, it is also owing to that same Divine will. Therefore dive deep into the sea. And the Bhagavan sang:

1. Dive deep, dive deep, dive deep, O my mind! into the sea of Beauty.