Page:The Gospel of Râmakrishna.djvu/414

 being humble instruments in His hands. How shall we reconcile these two things? Sri Ramakrishna: You talk like a gold -mer- chant weighing things with his delicate balance. Vivekananda: What the Bhagavan means to

say is that you are talking like one who has a calculating intellect. Sri Ramakrishna: I say, O Podo, eat these man- goes! What is the use of counting how many mango-trees there are in the garden, how many thousands of branches, how many millions of leaves, and so on? You are here to eat the man- goes. Eat them and go away. (To Syam Babu) You have come into this world to realize God by means of religious works. Your first effort should be to acquire love (Bhakti) for the lotus feet of the Almighty. Why do you trouble yourself with other things? What will you gain by discussing philosophy? Do you not see that four ounces of wine are quite enough to intoxicate you? Why do you then inquire how many barrels of wine there are in the wine- shop? Of what use is such vain calcula- tion? Doctor: God's wine, again, is beyond all measure. The supply can never be exhausted. Sri Ramakrishna (to Syam Babu): Further-