Page:The Gospel of Râmakrishna.djvu/345

 Brahmo devotees) Be firm only in devotion to one aspect, either in God with form or in God without form. Firmness in faith is the firgt thing necessary for realization. Nothing can be achieved with-out firmness. If you have firm faith in God with form you will attain to Him; similarly if you firmly believe in an impersonal and form-less Deity, you will reach Him. Candy will taste sweet whether you bite it straight or crooked. But you will have to be firm and you will have to call upon Him with extreme long-ing. When a worldly man speaks of God, do you know what it seems like to me? It is just like children quarrelling in their play and taking the name of God in vain; or like a fop walking in the garden, stick in hand, who picks a flower and idly exclaims: "What a beautiful flower God has made!" And even this mindfulness of God exists only for a moment, like drops of water on a red-hot iron. Firmness in devotion to one aspect is absolutely necessary. Dive deep. Without diving into the ocean no one can get the treasure. If you float on the sur-face, you cannot reach it. Learn to love God. Be absorbed in His love. I have heard your prayers and devotional exercises; but why do