Page:The Gospel of Râmakrishna.djvu/96

 holders; please give us some further instructions. Sri Ramakrishna : First know God, then perform the duties of a householder. Householder: Revered Sir, is this world unreal? Sri Ramakrishna: So long as a man does not realize God, so long it is real; because at that time he makes mistakes and through self-delusion says: "Me and mine." Being fettered by this self-delusion, he drowns in the sea of lust and worldliness, and becomes so blinded by ignorance that he cannot see the way out. You yourself can notice how transitory the world is. Look at this house; how many people have come and gone; how many people have been born and have died in it ! Now it exists, now it does not ; it is ephemeral. Those whom you call your own will vanish when your eyes are closed. If you have no one in the household, still you are bound and cannot go anywhere because of some distant relative. The way is open, but the fish cannot escape from the net. The silkworm makes its own cocoon, but does not know how to get out and consequently dies in it. A householder should take care of his children,