Sri Ramakrishna (to the devotees): "Chaitanya means 'Undivided Consciousness'. Vaishnavcharan used to say that Gauranga was like a bubble in the Ocean of Undivided Consciousness (To the elder Gopal) "Do you intend to go on a pilgrimage now?"
Gopal: "Yes, sir. I should like to wander about a little."
Ram (to Gopal): "He [meaning the Sri Ramakrishna] says that one becomes a kutichaka after being a vahudaka. The sadhu that visits many holy places is called a vahudaka. He whose craving for travel has been satiated and who sits down in one place is called a kutichaka.
"He also tells us a parable. Once a bird sat on the mast of a ship. When the ship sailed through the mouth of the Ganges into the 'black waters' of the ocean, the bird failed to notice the fact. When it finally became aware of the ocean, it left the mast and flew north in search of land. But it found no limit to the water and so returned.
After resting awhile it flew south. There too it found no limit to the water. Panting for breath the bird returned to the mast. Again, after resting awhile, it flew east and then west. Finding no limit to the Water in any direction, at last it settled down on the mast of the ship."
Sri Ramakrishna (to the elder Gopal and the other devotees): "As long as a man feels that God is 'there', he is ignorant. But he attains Knowledge when he feels that God is 'here'. "A man wanted a smoke. He went to a neighbour's house to light his charcoal. It was the dead of night and the household was asleep. After he had knocked a great deal, someone came down to open the door.
At sight of the man he asked, 'Hello! What's the matter?' The man replied: 'Can't you guess? You know how fond I am of smoking. I have come here to light my charcoal.' The neighbour said: 'Ha! Ha! You are a fine man indeed! You took the trouble to come and do all this knocking at the door! Why, you have a lighted lantern in your hand!' (All laugh.) "What a man seeks is very near him. Still he wanders about from place to place."
Ram: "Sir, I now realize why a guru asks some of his disciples to visit the four principal holy places of the country. Once having wandered about, the disciple discovers that it is the same here as there. Then he returns to the guru. All this wandering is only to create faith in the guru's words."
-- With Regards and Prayers (D. Bhanudas) 89035 36440 Visit: www.vkendra.org See : http://dbhanudas.wordpress.com See :The Ideal of Self-Confidence
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