GOSPEL OF RAMAKRISHNA
small minds. They think that they have known the Absolute, not realizing that Brahman is beyond the reach of mind and thought. However great the mind may be it cannot fully comprehend the Absolute Brahman. Sukadeva[1] and other great spiritual teachers may be compared to large ants. They could carry in their mouth at utmost eight or ten grains from the mountain of sugar. It is as absurd to say that Brahman has been fully comprehended by a great man as it is absurd to say that the whole mountain of sugar was carried away by a large ant.
What the Vedas and other Scriptures have said about the Absolute is like the description of the ocean given by a man who saw the vast ocean. When asked what the ocean was like, he exclaimed in utter amazement: “Oh! what I have seen; how vast is the expanse! How big are the waves! What a thundering roar!”
Like unto this is the talk about the Absolute Brahman. The Vedas declare that Brahman is
- ↑ Sukadeva was the son of Vyâsâ, the author of the Vedanta Sutras and many of the Purânas. He was born with the Brahma Jnâna, or the knowledge of the Absolute. He, in his childhood, renounced the world with all its pleasures and attractions. He is regarded by the Hindus as the Ideal Jnâni, or Knower of Brahman.
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