and is happy; let him enjoy his belief.'" [The Absolute and the Divine Mother.] I also told him to believe in the Divine Mother, that the Absolute and the Divine Mother are one. The Divine Mother is the eternal Energy. They are inseparable. They appear as separate so long as we are conscious of the body and as we try to describe them by words. Eventually Keshab believed in the Divine Mother. Once he came with his disciples to see me. I asked him to give a lecture, so he delivered his lecture and after it I had a long talk with him. [God, His devotee and His word one.] I said: He who is the Personal God manifests in one form as His devotee and in another form as His word." Then I went on to say to him: "You are living in the realm of Maya (worldliness). This Maya does not let anyone know God. It keeps all in ignorance."

[Delusive power of Maya.] How wonderful is its power! It entangles even a Divine Incarnation and makes Him suffer from hunger, thirst, sorrow, misery, like an ordinary mortal. Do you not see how Rama, the Divine Incarnation, suffered for Sita? How with great sorrow, He wept bitterly when Sita was stolen away from Him? In the Hindu mythology there is a story

[Vishnu as a boar.] that Vishnu incarnated in the form of a boar to destroy the demons; but after destroying the demons, He did not care to return to his Heaven, He wanted to live as a boar. He had some little ones and He was happy with them. The Devas of the heaven thought: "How is it that our Lord does not come back? What has happened?" Then they went to Shiva and asked Him to persuade Vishnu to return to His heaven. Shiva came and entreated Him, but He was taking care of His young ones and paid no heed. Then Shiva tore open His body with His triad and freed Him from His self-delusion. Vishnu then laughed and returned to His heavenly abode. Such is the power of Maya! To go beyond its realm and rise above the Gunas (qualities) is extremely difficult. He who has attained to God has transcended Maya with its qualities.

Footnotes

^225:* See note page <page 177>.

^226:* See note page <page 191>.

^232:* Tulsi Das was a great Hindu poet who lived between 1544 and 1624 A.D. He was a devoted worshipper of Rama. His Hindi poem, "Ramayana," or history of Rama, as well as Proverbs and other verses, are to this day household words in every town and rural district where the Hindi language is spoken. He is regarded by the people as a Hindu saint of the Vaishnava sect.