GOSPEL OF RAMAKRISHNA
are some of the means of seeing God: Going from Means of God-vision. time to time into solitude; singing forth His name and His attributes; discrimination. The disciple: Bhagavan, what state of mind leads to God-vision ? Sri Ramakrishna: Cry to God with a yearning heart and then you will see Him. People will shed a jugful of tears for the sake of their wife or children; they will be carried away by a stream of their own tears for the sake of money; but who sheds a tear for God? Cry for Him, not for show, but with a longing and yearning heart. The rosy light of the dawn comes before the rising sun; likewise a longing and yearning heart is the sign of God-vision that comes after. Extreme longing is the surest way to God- vision. Through extreme longing the mind remains fixed on the Supreme Being. One should have faith like that of an innocent child and such longing as a child has when it wants to see its mother. There was a boy named Jatila. He used to go to school alone through the woods. Often he felt lonely and afraid. He told his mother about it and she said to him; "Why art thou fearful, my child? Thou
71
