[Difficult to be rid of "I."] Ramakrishna: Very few can get rid of the sense of "I" through Samadhi. It generally clings to us. We may discriminate a thousand times, but the sense of "I" is bound to return again and again. You may cut the branches of a fig-tree to-day, but to-morrow you will see that new twigs are sprouting. If this sense of "I" will not leave, then let it stay as the servant of God. "O God! Thou art my Lord, I am Thy servant!" [Servant "I" of a Bhakta.] Think in this way: "I am His servant, I am His Bhakta, devotee." There is no harm in this kind of "I." Sweet things cause dyspepsia and acidity, but crystallized sugar-candy is harmless. The path of wisdom is very difficult. It cannot be followed so long as the sense of "I" is connected with the body. In this age the consciousness of the body and the sense of "I" cannot be overcome easily. But in the path of devotion, through prayer and the repetition of His Holy Name with extreme longing, God can be reached without fail.

Devotee: Bhagavan, dost Thou teach us to renounce the worldly "I" and not the sense of the servant "I"?

Ramakrishna: Yes, the servant "I" or "I am the servant of God," "I am His devotee,"

this egoism is not bad but on the contrary it helps us to realize God.

Devotee: Bhagavan, does he who has the sense of the servant "I" possess passion and anger?

Ramakrishna: If this attitude of a servant be genuine and perfect, then passion and anger will drop off leaving only a scar in the mind. This "I" of a Bhakta or devotee does no harm to any living creature. It is like a sword which, after touching the Philosopher's Stone, is turned to gold. The sword retains the same form but it cannot cut or injure anyone. The dry leaves of the cocoanut-tree drop off in the wind, leaving a mark on the trunk; that mark proves that there was a leaf there at one time. Similarly, the scar of the sense of "I" remains in the mind of one who has realized God, but his whole nature is transformed into that of an innocent child. [A child's "I"] The child's sense of "I" is not attached to worldly objects. He may like a thing at one moment, but the next moment he may dislike it. You can take from him an object of great value by giving him a doll worth a penny. To a child everyone is equal, there is none greater or smaller. Therefore a child has no sense of caste or creed. If his

mother says: "He is your brother," however low his caste may he, the child will sit with him and eat with him without feeling dislike or difference of any kind.