[paragraph continues] They placed a heavy stone upon his breast. Yet Kalu was the favorite child of the Mother of the universe. Pleasure and pain, happiness and misery, come with the body. How great a devotee was Srimanta! How fondly the goddess loved his mother Khullana! But what an amount of trouble he had to go through! They took him to the scaffold to be executed. A certain woodman, a great devotee, was fortunate enough to see the goddess, and the goddess loved him very much and showed her kindness towards him; but he had to go on with the trade of woodcutter all the same. He had to sell firewood to get his livelihood. It does not follow that a devoted lover of God must be very well off in the world. [A devotee is rich in spirit.] But he is rich in spirit, though he may be poor in worldly things. Devaki in prison saw God in the form of a human being holding the conch-shell, discus, mace and lotus in His four hands; but she could not get out of the prison for all her God-vision.

Disciple: But she should have got rid, not only of imprisonment, but of her body, that being the source of all her troubles.

[Body result of past actions.] Bhagavan: One's body is the result of one's past actions. Therefore one must bear with it so long as the past actions are not cleared up. A blind man taking a bath in the holy water of the Ganges has his sins washed off, but his blindness continues all the same. It is the result of the actions of his previous life. But however the body may be under the influence of pleasure and pain, however the body may be happy or miserable, the true devotee is all the same rich in spirit, rich in knowledge (Jnana) and the love of God (Bhakti). Take for instance the Pandavas. How many dangers and difficulties they had to face! What wants and miseries to bear! But amidst all these they never lost their wisdom. Can you find others equally wise and devoted to God?

At this time Narendra (Swami Vivekananda) and Visvanatha Upadhyaya, [**] the Nepaulese Resident in Calcutta, entered. Bowing down to Sri Ramakrishna, they took their seats. Sri Ramakrishna asked Narendra to sing. There

was hanging on the western wall of the room a Tanpura (a stringed musical instrument). Narendra took it down and began to tune it. Everyone was intently looking upon his face, eager to listen to his songs.

Bhagavan to Narendra: This instrument no longer sounds as before.

Visvanatha: It is filled, therefore there is no sound, as with a vessel filled with water.

Sri Ramakrishna: But how do you explain the life of Narada and of other Divine Teachers? They had realized God, but still spoke. They were filled, but they gave forth sounds.

Visvanatha: They spoke for the good of mankind.

Bhagavan: Yes, Narada and Sukadeva came down from the highest state of Samadhi. Their hearts went out to those who were weary and heavy-laden and knew not God. They spoke for the good of others.