GOSPEL OF RAMAKRISHNA
jects are and remain in solitude for a time. Then when the disease is cured, you may live in the world without being tempted by it. It is then that you will live like Raja Janaka." But in the first stage you must be very watch-ful. In solitude steadily practise devotional exercises. When a fig-tree is young, it must be protected by a hedge, otherwise it may be eaten up by sheep and cattle; but when the trunk has grown thick, the hedge is no longer neces-sary. You may tie an elephant to it without hurting it. If after practising in solitude you have acquired true Bhakti (devotion to God) and have gained spiritual strength, then you can go home and live in the world; nothing can corrupt you. Sub-Judge (with great delight): Revered Sir, these are most beautiful teachings. We need to practise in solitude, but we always forget it and think that we have at once become Raja Janaka. It has given me great peace and joy to hear that it is not absolutely necessary to leave the world and that God can be realized even at home.
Sri Ramakrishna: Renunciation, why should you practise it? When you have to fight, it is better to do so from within the fort. You will
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