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Tales and Parables of Sri Ramakrishna

Tales and Parables of Sri Ramakrishna

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<strong>Tales</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Parables</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Sri</strong> <strong>Ramakrishna</strong><br />

Christians <strong>and</strong> Sikhs— people irrespective <strong>of</strong> their<br />

race, creed, caste, or religious affiliation—came to<br />

him <strong>and</strong> felt themselves spiritually uplifted<br />

according to their inner evolution. Yet, <strong>Sri</strong><br />

<strong>Ramakrishna</strong> was no preacher <strong>of</strong> the ordinary type.<br />

He did not move from the little village <strong>of</strong><br />

Dakshineswar, did not mount upon a public<br />

platform to preach his message <strong>and</strong> did not<br />

advertise himself in the Press. He used to say that<br />

the bees come <strong>of</strong> their own accord in search <strong>of</strong><br />

honey when the flower is in full bloom.<br />

Among those who came to the saint was a young<br />

man who subsequently became world-famous as<br />

Swami Vivekan<strong>and</strong>a. Narendranath, as he was<br />

then known, represented the spirit <strong>of</strong> modern<br />

times; sceptical, inquisitive, dem<strong>and</strong>ing evidence<br />

for everything <strong>and</strong> yet alert <strong>and</strong> eager to learn<br />

Truth. <strong>Sri</strong> <strong>Ramakrishna</strong> was the embodiment <strong>of</strong> the<br />

spirit <strong>of</strong> his ancient religion, self-assured, serene<br />

<strong>and</strong> at peace with himself as the result <strong>of</strong> his<br />

experience <strong>of</strong> divine Wisdom. He stood at the<br />

confluence <strong>of</strong> these two streams <strong>of</strong> thought, the<br />

ancient <strong>and</strong> the modern. In answer to the first<br />

question <strong>of</strong> this young man, "Have you seen<br />

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