Page:The Gospel of Râmakrishna.djvu/219

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GOSPEL OF RAMAKRISHNA

down at His feet. The Bhagavan had known him before and loved him because he was sin-cere and simple. He had studied Vedanta in Benares, the seat of great learning. Rama- krishna said to him: Well, you have not been here for a long time. How are you? The Brahmin, smiling, replied: "Revered Sir, the duties of the world, as Thou knowest, take most of my time." He then took his seat and Ramakrishna con- tinued: You remained in Benares for a long time. Tell us what you saw there. Let us hear something about Dayananda.[1] Brahmin: Yes, I met Dayananda. Thou hast also seen him.

Ramakrishna: Yes, I went to see him once. He was staying in a garden-house not very far from here. That day he had an appointment with Keshab Sen. He was a great scholar; he also believed in the Devas (perfected spirits), but Keshab did not, whereupon he said: "If


  1. Dayananda Saraswati was a Sannyasin of the Advaita Vedanta School. He was a great Vedic scholar, speaker and a Hindu reformer of the nineteenth century. He wrote Sanskrit Commentaries on the Vedas and was the founder of a reformed Hindu Sect known as the "Arya Samaj," which is now in a flourishing condition. He died in 1883 A.D.

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