Kathamrita Volume II - Swami Vivekananda

Narendra — He had such great faith in mywords that when I said to him, ‘The forms ofgods and goddesses that you see are allhallucinations,’ he went to the Divine Motherand asked Her, ‘Mother, Narendra said all thesethings. Are they all delusions of the mind?’Afterwards he told me, ‘The Divine Mother hassaid that all of them are true.’“He said – perhaps you can remember –‘Hearing you sing, (placing his hand on hisheart) what is here inside begins to steadilylisten to it – like a snake hissing and raising itshood when it hears the snake charmer.’“But Master Mahashay, though he said somany nice things about me, what have Iattained spiritually?”M. ­— You are now dressed as Shiva, so youdon’t have to touch money. Do you rememberThakur’s tale?Narendra — Please tell me.M. — A quick-change artist was playing therole of Shiva in someone’s house. The masterof the house where he went offered him arupee. He didn’t accept it. He went home,removed Shiva’s dress, and came back to askfor the rupee. The family asked him, ‘Whydidn’t you accept it before?’ He said, ‘I was