GOSPEL OF RAMAKRISHNA
some places. Hazra went farther and higher Pilgrimages. up, to Hrishikesha [1] in the Hima-layas. I did not go so far or so high up. The vulture and the kite soar very high, but their eyes are all the while directed to the charnel-pits below. Do you know what the charnel-pits are? Lust and gold. If in going on a pilgrimage a man does not acquire Bhakti, then his pilgrimage is fruitless; for Bhakti is the end of all; it is the one thing needful. Do you know what the vulture and the kite are? They are those who talk on lofty subjects and say: "We have performed most of the works enjoined in the Holy Scriptures," but whose minds are immersed in worldliness and strongly attached to wealth, name, fame, and sense- pleasures.
Pandit: Yes, Revered Sir, that is true. Go-ing on a pilgrimage is like casting aside the precious stone worn on the breast of Vishnu and wandering about in search of other jewels. Ramakrishna: Again, you should know that although you may give thousands of instruc- tions, still they will not produce results until
- ↑ Hrishikesha is a sacred place of pilgrimage on the banks of the holy, river Ganges at the foot of the Himalayas.
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