Page:The Gospel of Râmakrishna.djvu/79

 laws of sacrifice and worship is preparatory. As in hot weather one fans oneself for a breath of air so long as the breeze is not blowing, but when the breeze springs up, the fan is no longer needed; so when the breeze of intense love begins to blow in the soul, all devotional exercises like repetition of the Name of the Lord, sacrifice, prayers and asceticism become unnecessary. Devotion without intense love is the sign of unripe Bhakti. When it ripens, it leads into Divine Love, which is perfect and which brings the highest realization. A disciple: Bhagavan, how can God be realized? Ramakrishna: God can be realized by the purified heart alone. Ordinarily the mind is stained with worldliness.The mind may be compared to a needle. If a needle be covered with thick mud, it is not attracted by the magnet; but when a magnet he mud is washed off, the magnet attracts it. Similarly, when the mind is covered with the mud of worldliness, it does not feel the attraction of the Lord ; but whosoever repents, saying: "0 Lord, I shall never again commit such an act," and sheds tears of true repentance, washes off