GOSPEL OF RAMAKRISHNA
off the branches of the Aswatthwa tree, so long as the root is alive new branches will sprout; Sense of "I". similarly you may try to get rid of the sense of "I," but so long as the root is alive it will sprout up again and again. Even after acquiring Brahma-Jnâna the emancipated soul is forced back to the plane of this "Aham" sense of "I."
If you dream of a tiger you will tremble in every limb and your heart will throb violently. When you wake up you may realize that it was a mere dream, but still your heart will go on palpitating all the same. Similarly the sense of "I" remains even after the realization of the Absolute.
Thus, if the sense of "I" is the cause of all troubles and it is impossible to be free from it, let it stay on as "I," the servant of the Lord.
Râma Chandra (the God Incarnate) once asked his great devotee Hanumân: "My son, in what relation do you regard me?" The devotee replied: "When I think of myself as embodied, I am Thy servant and Thou art the Lord. When I think of myself as the Jiva (Ego) I am Thy part and Thou art the Universal Whole; but when I think of myself as the
118
