[Qualified non-dualism.] Ramakrishna: There is a doctrine called Visishtadvaitavada, the view of Ramanuja; that is, the Absolute (Brahman) must not be considered apart from the world and the soul. The three form one: three in one and one in three. Let us take a Bel-fruit. Let the shell, the seeds and the kernel be kept separate. Now suppose some one wished to know the weight of the fruit. Surely

it would not do to weigh the kernel alone. The shell, the seeds and the kernel are all weighed with a view to knowing the real weight of the fruit. No doubt we reason at the outset that the all-important thing is the kernel--not either the shell or the seeds. In the next place, we go on reasoning that the shell and the seeds belong to the same substance to which the kernel belongs. At the first stage of the reasoning we say, "Not this, not this." Thus the Absolute (Brahman) is not the individual soul. Again, it is not the phenomenal world. The Absolute (Brahman) is the only Reality, all else is unreal. At the next stage we go a little farther. We see that the kernel belongs to the same substance as that to which the shell and the seeds belong; hence the Substance from which we derive our negative conception of the Absolute Brahman is the identical Substance from which we derive our negative conceptions of the finite soul and the phenomenal world. Our relative phenomena (Lila) must be traced to that eternal Being which is also called the Absolute. Hence, says Ramanuja, the Absolute (Brahman) is qualified by the finite soul and the phenomenal world. This is the doctrine of the qualified non-dualistic Vedanta.

[Spiritual awakening necessary to see the Reality.] I see that Being as a Reality before my very eyes! Why should I reason? I do actually see that the Absolute has become all things about us. It appears as the individual soul and the phenomenal see the Reality. world. One must have an awakening of the spirit within to How long must one reason and discriminate, saying, "Not this, not this"? So long as one has not realized the Absolute Reality. It is not in mere words such as "I see that God has become everything"; mere saying is not enough. By the Lord's Grace the spirit must be quickened. Spiritual awakening is followed by Samadhi. In this state one forgets that one has a body; one loses all attachment to things of this world; one likes no other words than those relating to God; one is sorely troubled if called upon to listen to worldly matters. The spirit within being awakened, the next step is the realization of the Universal Spirit. It is the spirit that can realize the Spirit.

After the discussion was over the Bhagavan said. I have observed that discrimination brings only intellectual apprehension of the Absolute, which is far from true realization. The latter can be acquired by meditation in solitude