Page:The Gospel of Râmakrishna.djvu/75

 and attached to lust and wealth is the cause of bondage. The difference between the Supreme and the individual soul is created by this sense of "I" which stands between. If you hold a stick on the surface of a stream, the water will appear to be divided into two parts, but in reality the water is one. It appears as two because of the stick. The sense of "I" may be compared to this stick. Remove this limiting adjunct and the current will be one and unbroken. What is this sense of "I" which clings to man? That which says: "I am this, I am that. I possess so much wealth. I am great and powerful; who is greater than I?" If a thief has stolen ten Rupees and been detected, the owner takes his money first, then beats him, then hands him over to the police and finally puts him in jail. The worldly "I" says : "Doesn't he know that he stole ten Rupees which belonged to me ? How dared he?" Devotee: Bhagavan, if we cannot get rid of worldliness except by losing the sense of "I" in Samadhi, is it not better to follow the path of wisdom which leads to Samadhi, since in the path, of devotion the sense of "I" still remains?