[Degrees of knowledge.] Jnana (knowledge) varies in degree and kind. There is first the knowledge belonging to men of the world--ordinary mortals. This knowledge is not sufficiently powerful. It may be compared to the light of a lamp which illumines only the inside of a room. The knowledge of a Bhakta (devotee) is a stronger light and may be compared to the light of the moon which causes to be visible things outside the room as well as those inside of it. But the Jnana of an Incarnation of God is still more powerful and it thus may be likened to a yet stronger light,--the resplendent glory of the sun. Such light is the illuminator of the moon as well as of the whole world. Nothing is problematic. to the Divine Incarnation (Avatara). He

solves the most difficult problems of life and soul as the simplest things in the world. His exposition of the most intricate questions in which humanity is interested is such as a child can follow. He is the sun of Divine Knowledge whose light dispels the accumulated ignorance of ages.

[Spiritual knowledge and the worldly.] So long as the man is immersed in worldliness he cannot attain to Knowledge Divine and cannot see God. Does muddy water ever reflect the sun or any surrounding object? Spiritual knowledge is occasionally visible in worldly people, but very seldom. It does not last long. It is like the light of a lamp. No, no, it is like a ray of the sun--as if a ray were coming through a very small hole in the wall. Worldly people repeat the Holy Name of the Lord, but there is no longing in the heart. They have no persistence. Whether they attain or not, they do not care. They are bound by Karma and must reap the results of their works. Is there no remedy for this state, no hope for the worldly man? Yes, there is. Drop a purifying agent, say a piece of alum, into muddy water; the water is purified and the impurities settle down at the bottom of the vessel. Discrimination of

the Real from the unreal phenomenal universe and non-attachment to the world are the two purifying agents. Thus it is that the worldly man ceases to be worldly and becomes pure.

Worldly people have the knowledge of diversity, which is the same as ignorance. But true knowledge makes one realize the unity of existence. "This is gold, that is brass" is ignorance, while "all is gold" is true knowledge. All differentiation ceases, when true knowledge comes.