GOSPEL OF RAMAKRISHNA
They may go so far as to make him swallow the medicine by force if necessary. Similarly the best spiritual masters use force on their dis- ciples to bring them into the path of the Lord. These teachers belong to the highest class. Pandit: Revered Sir, if there are such spirit- ual teachers, like the physicians of the highest class, then why dost Thou say that the spiritual awakening cannot come before the time is ripe ? Bhagavan: Yes, it is true; but suppose the medicine does not get into the stomach ? What will the physician do then? Even the best of them are quite helpless. To give proper instruc- tion one must first choose fit vessels. Fit vessels. You do not examine the capabili- ties of your pupils. But I ask those who come to me: "Whom have you to care for you?" Suppose a young man has no father or that his father has left him with debts; how is it possible for him to give his heart and soul to God? Do you hear, my child? Pandit: Yes, Bhagavan, I am all attention. The conversation then passed to another sub- ject, — the Grace of God. The Bhagavan said: Once a number of Shikh soldiers Grace of God. came to the Temple. I met them before the Temple of the Divine Mother. One
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