GOSPEL OF RAMAKRISHNA
world is unreal, and that all names and forms are like dreams. What Brahman is cannot be described by word of mouth nor can one even say that He is personal. Such is the point of view of a non-dualist. The dualistic devotees and lovers of the Personal God (Bhaktas),on the contrary, accept Bhakta's attitude. all states as real. Unlike the nondualists, they look upon the waking state as a reality and they do not hold that the external world is like a dream. They say that the external world is the glory of the Lord. The heavens, stars, moon, mountains, ocean, men, birds and beasts, all these He has created. He manifests His glory by these. He is both within and without. He dwells in our hearts. The most advanced Bhaktas say that the Lord Himself manifests as the twenty-four categories of the Sankhya philosophy, that He appears as the individual soul and the external world. A Bhakta wishes to enjoy communion with his Lord and not to become one with Him. His desire is not to become sugar, but to taste of The innermost feelings of a true Bhakta. it. Do you know what are the innermost thoughts and feelings of a true devotee? He says "O Lord! Thou art the Master, I am Thy servant.
147
