Page:The Message and Ministrations of Dewan Bahadur R. Venkata Ratnam, volume 2.djvu/252

 into the Deity." That is the end and goal of our sadhana—to make and shape the devotee into the image of the Deity, that naught may remain of his own self. As Maeterlinck has Said, the great secret, the final mystery, of the universe is that the substance of all is one and that substance is not matter but spirit. The substance of all is one; only its manifestation is in myriad forms. But we very often mistake the forms for the substance, and thus we mislead ourselves and misjudge others; we mislead ourselves in making the passing phenomena permanent landmarks, and again, we misjudge others by magnifying the chance incident of the moment into an eternal characteristic of the soul. If we would know the true meaning of life, if our sadhana is to bear good fruit, if, in fact, the purpose of creation is to be realised, we should strive, ceaselessly, ardently, and with the hunger and thirst of an irrepressible passion, strive for the realisation of the one supreme end of our life, namely, to transform the devotee into the Deity.