Page:The Gospel of Râmakrishna.djvu/437

 seamless ochre robe of the Sannyasin and to take

up the begging-bowl. Being Him- self a perfect Sannyasin, He loved to see His disciples following Him in the path of renunciation. On different occa- sions He sent them out, as Buddha and San- kara had done with their disciples, to beg food from door to door. One morning He called certain among His beloved ones, — Narendra, Sarat, Jogen, Niranjan, Kali, — and asked them whether they could go forth with the Sannyasin 's begging-bowl and beg uncooked food for Him. It was indeed a great blow to the caste pride as well as to the sense of self-respect of these young disciples. Obeying the Master's wish, however, they took the begging-bowl in their hands, walked from door to door in the neigh- borhood, collected various articles of food, brought them before their Master and offered them at His holy feet. Bhagavan Ramakrishna blessed them and rejoiced at their sincere and earnest devotion. This was the manner in which the Bhagavan initiated His disciples in the life of absolute renunciation.