Page:The Gospel of Râmakrishna.djvu/302

 is not the same as the roof. After coming out on the roof, however, one can easily see that both roof and staircase are of the same material. The same Infinite Brahman appears as the Per- sonal God, Jiva, and the twenty-four categories of nature. You may ask why this earth is so hard and solid, if it has come out of Brahman? His omnipotence can make everything possible.

iv

Ramakrishna (to old Gopal, Swami Advai-tananda): What! Do you still wish to visit holy places ? Gopal: Yes, Bhagavan, I would like to travel a little more. Ram Babu (to Gopal): The Bhagavan says, after travelling to many places one should settle down in one spot. This he explains by the parable of the bird on a ship's mast. A bird wag sitting on the mast of a vessel as it sailed out to sea. After a long time the bird realized that there were no trees around or land in sight. He flew towards the north to find land, but being disappointed, he returned to the mast, rested a while and flew towards the south. Still finding no shore, he came back again, tired and exhausted. In the