GOSPEL OF RAMAKRISHNA
Divine Love. Hanuman showed the madness of true devotion. When Sit a was forced by Rama to prove her chastity by going through the ordeal of fire, Hanuman, although a devotee of Rama, was so maddened that he wished to kill his Lord, the Divine Incarnation. I saw a true Jnani, who wandered like a madman. He came to the Temple garden. He had so realized the oneness of the Spirit in every living creature that when he saw a dog eating the remains of a dish, he held him by the ears and said: "Brother, wilt thou eat all?" He then took a portion and ate with the dog. He said to Hridrai: "When the holy waters of the Ganges and the water of the gutter appear the same, then will come the realization of Divine oneness."
At one time I had this madness. I used to walk like a madman, seeing the same Spirit everywhere and recognizing neither high nor low in caste or creed. I could eat even with a Pariah. I had the constant realization that Brahman is Truth and the world is unreal like a dream. Once Mathura Babu took me in a boat. The Mohammedan crew were cooking and I was about to eat with them, but Mathura Babu would not let me. In that state I used to
229
