GOSPEL OF RAMAKRISHNA
and souls were His own to deal with just as He pleased! He was already to them the Pole- star of this enigmatical life. It was for them now to watch how in His great Soul the Su- preme Being, the Cause of causes, was reflected. Thus did some of the disciples think within themselves. They felt that they were truly blessed as they heard the Bhagavan chant the Name of the Divine Mother and of Hari, the Lord God who taketh away all trouble, all sin and iniquity.
The chanting of the Names being over, the Bhagavan prayed to the Mother. It seemed as if the God of Love had taken a human form in order to teach man how to pray. He said: Mother, I throw myself upon Thy mercy. May the Lotus of Thy Feet ever keep me from Prayer to the Divine Mother. whatever leadeth Thy children away from Thee! I seek not, good Mother, the pleasures of the senses; I seek not fame. Nor do I long for those Siddhis (Yoga powers) which enable one to perform miracles. What I pray for, O Good Mother, is pure love for Thee, love untainted by desires, love without alloy, love which seeketh not the things of this world, love for Thee that welleth up unbidden from the depths of the immortal soul. Grant like-
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