Sheela Dhakane ▶ ‎Children of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi

Sunday,June 15,1884

Sri Ramakrishna arrived in the morning at the garden house of Surendra, one of his beloved householder disciples, in the village of Kankurgachi near Calcutta. Surendra had invited him and a large number of devotees to a religious festival.

After the devotional music was over, Sri Ramakrishna and all the devotees enjoyed the meal greatly. Afterwards he rested awhile. About two o'clock in the afternoon Pratap Chandra Mazumdar of the Brahmo Samaj arrived. And Sri Ramakrishna and he engaged in a conversation.

PRATAP: " Some women of our country have been to England. This Marhatta lady, who is very scholarly, also visited England. Later she embraced Christianity . Have you heard her name , sir ?"

MASTER : " No. But from what you say it seems to me that she has a desire for name and fame. That kind of egotism is not good. The feeling ' I am the doer ' is the outcome of ignorance . But the feeling that God does everything is due to knowledge. God alone is the Doer; all others are mere instruments in His hands.

" The misfortune that befalls a man on account of his egotism can be realized if you only think of the condition of the calf. The calf says, ' Hamma ! Hamma !', that is , ' I ' I ' and just look at its misfortune ! At times it is yoked to the plough and made to work in the field from sunup to sundown, rain or shine. Again, it may be slaughtered by the butcher. In that case the flesh is eaten and the skin tanned into hide. From the hide shoes are made. People put on these shoes and walk on the rough ground. Still that is not the end of its misfortunes. Drums are made from its skin and mercilessly beaten with sticks. At last its entrails are made into strings for the bow used in carding cotton. When used by the carder the string gives the sound ' Tuhu ! Tuhu !', ' Thou ! Thou !'--- that is , 'It is Thou, O Lord ! It is Thou !' It no longer says, Hamma ! Hamma !' , ' I ' I Only then does the calf's trouble come to an end, and it is liberated. It doesn't return to the world of action.

FROM: THE GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA-PAGE 450/451