universe with form. But the mirror should be thoroughly polished; if there be a speck of dirt the reflection will not be perfect. When the sun is to be seen on the water of the ego and when there is no other means of getting a view of the real Sun, so long the reflected image of the sun should be considered as absolutely real. As long as the ego is real, so long the reflected image of the sun is real, not partially but absolutely. That reflected image of the sun is the Divine Mother. If you wish to reach the Absolute Brahman, which is impersonal and without attributes, then start from that reflected image and march towards the real Sun. The Personal God or Brahman with attributes is the one who listens to prayers. Pray to Him and He will grant the highest wisdom, because the same Personal God has the Impersonal aspect also, which is the Absolute Brahman. Divine Energy, which is the Mother of the universe, is another aspect of the same Brahman. All these merge into absolute oneness. The Mother can give Brahma-Jnana, the knowledge of the Absolute, as also true devotion and absolute love. God is the internal ruler of all. Forsaking egotism, resign your will to His will; you will get every-thing you desire. When you mix

[Become one with all.] with other people, you should love them all, become absolutely one with them. Do not hate anyone. Do not recognize caste or creed. Do not say that this man believes in a Personal God, that man believes in an Impersonal God; this man worships God with form, that man worships God without form; this man is a Hindu, that one is a Christian or a Mohammedan. Saying this, do not condemn one another. These distinctions exist because God has made different people understand Him in different ways. The difference lies in the nature of the individuals. Knowing this you will mix with all as closely as possible and love them as dearly as you can. Then when you go home, you will enjoy blissful happiness in your soul. Light the candle of wisdom in the secret chamber of your heart. By that light see the face of my Absolute Mother, and by that light you will also see the true nature of your real Self. [All sects of one family.] When cowherds drive the cattle to a pasture from different quarters, the cows form themselves into one herd as if of the same family; but when they return at night, they separate, each going to its own home. So the Bhaktas of different sects and creeds, when they

meet, are like members of one family, but when they are by themselves, they show their peculiar beliefs and different creeds.

It was late in the evening, and Ramakrishna, entering the carriage accompanied by a few devotees, returned to Dakshineswara.

Footnotes

^319:* Sinti, a village about four miles north of Calcutta.

^319:+ Veni Babu was a follower of the Brahmo-Samaj. He regarded Ramakrishna as the most Divine man of the age.