GOSPEL OF RAMAKRISHNA
ments on her person and she was so vain that whenever she walked along the road, Vanity. if she found anyone near she would shout: "Get out of my way! Get out of my way!" What shall I say about the vanity of wealthy people of higher castes! A devotee: If God is the one Actor in the Universe, then whence come good and evil, virtue and vice? Do they exist by His will? Sri Ramakrishna : In this world of relativity, good and evil, virtue and vice, exist, but they The Lord untouched by good and evil. do not touch the Lord. God is un- attached to them — like the wind which is unaffected by the good or bad odor which it carries. His creation is of dual nature, consisting of good and evil, real and unreal. As among trees there are some which bear good fruits, others poisonous, so among human beings there are good men and wicked, sinful men. Wicked people have their place in the world. Do you not see that wicked people are necessary to govern the law-breakers and evil-doers of a community?
Syam Babu: Sir, we are told on the one hand that man is punished for his sins, and on the other that God is the sole Actor, all creatures
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