Page:The Gospel of Râmakrishna.djvu/324

 solves the most difficult problems of life and soul as the simplest things in the world. His ex- position of the most intricate questions in which humanity is interested is such as a child can follow. He is the sun of Divine Knowledge whose light dispels the accumulated ignorance of ages. So long as the man is immersed in worldli- ness he cannot attain to Knowledge Divine and cannot see God. Does muddy water ever reflect the sun or any sur- rounding object? Spiritual knowledge is occasionally visible in worldly peo- ple, but very seldom. It does not last long. It is like the light of a lamp. No, no, it is like a ray of the sun — as if a ray were coming through a very small hole in the wall. Worldly people repeat the Holy Name of the Lord, but there is no longing in the heart. They have no per- sistence. Whether they attain or not, they do not care. They are bound by Karma and must reap the results of their works. Is there no remedy for this state, no hope for the worldly man? Yes, there is. Drop a purifying agent, say a piece of alum, into muddy water; the water is purified and the impurities settle down at the bottom of the vessel. Discrimination of