Even before he started giving this is all the answer he gave. It was a double edged answer. The man who did not understand at that point, later he understood and we know it from him. He said, his purpose was name and glory. Till that time the Belur Math was an unknown, small place, a few monks but all living for God.
A very hard life but they did not mind. The joy of hard life but sincere God thought. The life was wonderful in the monastery. Now this man thought “if I can help this organization I will be a very important person no doubt, because nobody has come forward.”
Yet it is the beginning of the Ramakrishna Order. But then Maharaj could read that man’s intention. He said “no he is not at all serious about spiritual life.” And so, by this gift he is not going to reap any benefit and it will not be good for us too. So it helped the monks not to be attached to the money and it helped the individual to think over “why am I giving these things? what do I see in them? What do I want from this charity?” And much later he became more and more drawn and he became initiated and he was a wonderful disciple of one of the later Presidents.
You see, unless a man is ready don’t tell him even about God. It’s a good thing. But then when a person is ready he will seek God and that is what Vedanta says. That as a person tired of the world seeks comforts in some corner, every individual, after a few years of life will come to a point when life means nothing without God.
“Where shall I find peace of mind? I have everything around me. Most of the things I wanted I get but peace of mind, joy in life, does not seem to be with me ever. Always I miss something, I lack something and that is the position where you seek the Lord. Then the spiritual teacher will say “now have you thought of God and God in you, in your heart?” “No I never thought of it. I thought of priests and temples and so many things and I failed to get God everywhere.”
Then Vedanta says “God is in you, inside, in the very depth of your heart. He is always with you ever. You never miss him and he never leaves you but then you are seeking outside but seek within.” So the teaching is “dive deep then you get what you want – joy and peace within, not out but in.” Now how can we do the Diving within
instead of out?
You have, as a spiritual aspirant, a desire to die, do you have that desire I want to meditate in the heart, the Lord is in the heart, He is the innermost being. You tell him something, he will listen to you. This is the teaching “the Lord in the heart will listen to you if you pray intensely to him. He will show you the way. Don’t worry how.” How? How shall I do it? Pray to the Lord? Ask Him how shall I find the right type of teacher, the right type of teaching. And how shall I see you approach?
You see that is the teaching of Shri Ramakrishna – any aspirant who wants to progress, what he has to do is not to run around but sit down and pray to the Lord in the heart. Tell Him, I want to see you, I want to be near you, to have some feeling of you. To that extent if a teacher is needed lead me to the teacher. If something else I have to do lead me to that.