[Human soul, the child of God.] The human soul is the child of God, but it does not know it, and therefore it lives like an ordinary mortal (sheep); but when, by the grace of the Guru, he realizes his true nature, he becomes free from all fear and attains to perfection. Therefore I say, when the grace of the Guru comes, all fear vanishes. He will make you know who you are and what you are in reality. You will have to do very little for yourself after you have received that grace. You will then be able to distinguish between the Real and the unreal and to realize that God is Truth and the world is unreal.

[ Parable of the false Sadhu.] A fisherman came to a garden at night and threw his net in the pond to catch some fish. Hearing the noise, the owner sent his men to capture him. The men came with torches in their hands to discover the thief. In the meantime the fisherman dropped his net, covered his face with ashes and sat under a tree, pretending to be a holy man absorbed in meditation. The men could not find the thief; they simply noticed that a holy man was meditating under a tree, so they returned to the owner and told him what they had seen. Everybody then brought flowers, fruits, and sweets to the holy man and paid him great honor and respect. Next morning crowds of people came to see the Sadhu and offered to him money and various other things. The fisherman thought: "How strange it is! I am not a holy man, still people have so much respect for me and I have received so many gifts. If I become a genuine Sadhu (Anchoret), how much more I shall get! Undoubtedly I shall see God." If merely feigning to be a holy man could so far awaken him, what can be said of him who has practised all virtues in order to become a true holy man! He will realize what is Real and what is

unreal, that God is Truth and the world is unreal.

A devotee: Where shall I meditate on God? Ramakrishna: The heart is the best place. Meditate on Him in your heart.

Footnotes

^179:* Sannyasins are those who have renounced the world and its pleasures for the sake of the Lord.

^179:+ Paramahamsas are those who have attained to Nirvikalpa Samadhi, or Brahma-Jnana.

^180:* Astavakra Samhita is a work containing the highest exposition of the Advaita Vedanta, written by the ancient sage Astavakra, who was the preceptor of King Janaka.

^181:* Hridaya Mukerji was an old servant of Sri Ramakrishna and served Him for nearly thirty years in the Temple of Dakshineswara--till 1881. He was a remote nephew of Sri Ramakrishna. His birthplace was in the village of Siore, in the district of Hughly. He breathed his last towards the end of April, 1889. "Hridai" was a pet abbreviation of his name used by Sri Ramakrishna.