Page:The Gospel of Râmakrishna.djvu/206

 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, how- ever 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