But an Incarnation, constituted as he is of pure Sattva (light and wisdom), does not always have a widespread effect on humanity. Another personality is required, with more Rajas (activity), who is capable of giving the ideas of the Perfect One to the world. The inscrutable power which brings the Lord down from His high abode to take birth as an Incarnation also projects a portion of Him as a complementary being for the fulfilment of His mission. At the right time, the Incarnation seeks him out and makes him the conduit for his Gospel. The spiritual history of the world demonstrates the truth of this.

Though having a number of disciples and devotees, Christ chose Peter as the rock on which to build his Church. Shri Krishna had Arjuna, Buddha had Ananda, Gauranga had Nityananda-all giving further evidence of this phenomenon. For Shri Ramakrishna, Narendranath played this complementary role.

At their first meeting Shri Ramakrishna instantly knew that Naren was the one who was to carry his message to the world. Through his Nirvikalpa Samadhi, Shri Ramakrishna had gained the power to identify himself with the Cosmic Mind in which this universe rises and disappears like a bubble in the ocean. Past, present and future held no secrets for him. It was thus that Shri Ramakrishna knew of the devoted souls who were born specially to assist him, and of the measure of help he would get from each.

Shri Ramakrishna represented traditional India, with its spiritual perspective, its asceticism and its realizations-the India of the Upanishads. To him came Naren with all the doubts and scepticism of the modern age, unwilling to accept even the highest truths of religion without verification, yet with a zeal for Truth burning within him. Naren had yet to learn that reason, though the best instrument in the relative world, could not carry one beyond relativity to the Absolute where the truth of religion abides. The result of this contact of Shri Ramakrishna with Narendranath was Swami Vivekananda-¬he who was to become the heart and mind of a New India, its ancient spiritual perspective heightened, widened, and strengthened to include modern learning. The intense activity of the West was to be combined with the deep meditation of the East. Asceticism and retirement were to be supplemented by work and service to others. From the merging of these two currents came the New Hinduism-the faith of a glorious Tomorrow, in which all should be fulfilment and nothing denial.

All this happened in less time than it takes me to narrate it; but it revolutionized my mind. Amazed, I wondered what it could possibly be. It came and went at the mere wish of this amazing man! I began to question whether it was mesmerism or hypnotism. But that was not likely, for these acted only on weak minds, and I prided myself on having just the reverse. I had not as yet surrendered myself to the stronger personality of the man. Rather I had taken him to be a monomaniac. So to what might this sudden transformation of mine be due? I could not come to any conclusion. It was an enigma, I thought, which I had better not attempt to solve. I was determined, however, to be on my guard and not to give him another chance to exert a similar influence over me.

The next moment I thought, how can a man who shatters to pieces a resolute and strong mind like mine be dismissed as a lunatic? Yet that was just the conclusion at which one would arrive from his effusiveness on our first meeting unless he were an Incarnation of God, which was indeed a far cry. So I was in a dilemma about the real nature of my experience as well as about the truth of this wonderful man, who was obviously as pure and simple as a child. My rationalistic mind received an unpleasant rebuff at this failure in judging the true state of things. But I was determined to fathom the mystery somehow.

Thoughts like these occupied my mind during the whole of that day. But he became quite another man after that incident and, as on the previous occasion, treated me with great kindness and cordiality. His behaviour towards me was like that of a man who meets an old friend or relative after long separation. He seemed not to be satisfied with entertaining and taking all possible care of me. This remarkably loving treatment drew me all the more to him. At last, finding that the day was coming to a dose, I asked leave to go. He seemed very dejected at this and gave me permission only after I had promised to come again at my earliest convenience.

A few days after the above experience, Narendranath paid his third visit to the Master at Dakshineswar. Though he was determined not to be overpowered this time, yet he fared no better than previously. Shri Ramakrishna took him that day to the adjacent garden of Jadunath Mallik. After a stroll they _x000d_ sat down in the parlour. Soon Shri Ramakrishna went into a trance and in that state touched Narendranath. In spite of his precautions Naren was totally overwhelmed and immediately lost all outward consciousness. When he came to himself after a while, he found the Master stroking his chest. Naren had no idea of what had happened during this period; but it was then that the Master learned many strange things about him.

Referring to this incident, Shri Ramakrishna later said: "I put several questions to him while he was in that state. I asked him about his antecedents and where he lived, his mission in this world and the duration of his mortal life. He dived deep into himself and gave fitting answers to my questions. They only confirmed what I had seen and inferred about him. Those things shall be a secret, but I came to know that he was a sage who had attained perfection, a past master in meditation, and that the day he knew his real nature, he would give up the body through Yoga, by an act of will."

These revelations did not come as a surprise to the Master; for wonderful things had been revealed to him about Naren even before this great disciple came to Dakshineswar. This is how Ramakrishna spoke of them:_x000d_ _x000d_ One day I found that my mind was soaring high in Samadhi along a luminous path. It soon transcended the stellar universe and entered the subtler region of ideas. As it ascended higher and higher I found on both sides of the way ideal forms of gods and goddesses. The mind then reached the outer limits of that region, where a luminous barrier separated the sphere of relative existence from that of the Absolute. Crossing that barrier, the mind entered the transcendental realm where no corporeal being was visible. Even the gods dared not peep into that sublime realm, but had to be content to keep their seats far below. The next moment I found seven venerable sages seated there in Samadhi. It occurred to me that these sages must have surpassed not only men, but even the gods, in knowledge and holiness, in renunciation and love. Lost in admiration I was reflecting on their greatness, when I saw a portion of that undifferentiated luminous region condense into the form of a divine child. The child came to one of the sages, tenderly clasped his neck with his lovely little arms, and addressing him in a sweet voice attempted to drag his mind down from the state of Samadhi. The magic touch roused the sage from his super conscious state, and he fixed his unmoving, half open gaze upon that wonderful child. His beaming countenance showed that the child must have been the treasure of his heart. In great joy the strange child said to him, "I am going down. You too must go with me." The sage remained mute, but his tender look expressed his assent. As he kept gazing on the child, he was again immersed in Samadhi. I was surprised to find that a fragment of the sage's body and mind was descending on earth in the form of an effulgent light. No sooner had I seen Naren than I recognized him to be that sage. [Subsequent inquiry elicited from Shri Ramakrishna the admission that the divine child was none other than himself].

It would seem that Naren's inability to discover what had happened during his trance was due to the will of the Master, who thought it best that his disciple should not know of the highest state too soon. He was not as yet prepared for it and would only have been terrified by it. And when Naren was in that state of Samadhi, the Master turned the subconscious currents of Naren's nature by force as it were into the super conscious channel, working a great transformation in his mind. So it was that, little by little, he began to regard Shri Ramakrishna not as a madman, but as the only sane man among the myriad lunatics of the world, who dwell in an asylum of selfishness and desire, bound down in a prison house of lust and gold. Still, the strange words Shri Ramakrishna addressed to him during the first meeting at Dakshineswar were an anomaly to him. The full significance of the part he was to play with the Master dawned on him only later, after repeated tests and trials.

Naren was the Master's, from the moment the latter touched him. It was a possession, however, which meant the highest freedom for Naren's soul. He lost many of his cherished convictions: for instance, that a Guru (spiritual teacher) was not necessary. How could a man; he had reasoned, necessarily weak and short-visioned, be the unerring guide that the principle of implicit obedience implied! Now he realized that it was possible for such a man to exist and for his help and influence to be of inestimable value. His faith in asceticism and renunciation was strengthened by coming in contact with the Master. He devoted himself heart and soul to the endeavour of realizing God. After a searching analysis of the Master's realizations and mode of life, he accepted from him the advice and help which appealed to his (Naren's) reason.

Narendra was at that time a sceptic, with no faith in the Hindu gods. He laughed at many of the injunctions of the Hindu scriptures. Nor was he one to silence the questionings of his mind, or drive off a doubt with the lash of a fanatic creed. His soul was open to all that might come to it. At first came darkness, appalling darkness, intensified by anguish. Even here he tried to see; and, when the gloom was blackest and he was beginning to ask himself whether he might not be chasing phantoms, a faint light as of the dawning of Truth became apparent. This gave him hope to go on in the face of failures and persisting darkness. To allay his doubts he demanded direct vision. The more Naren struggled against doubt, the more insistently it arose within the silence of the soul. He was, however, a born sailor on the ocean of the struggle for Reality, and his sailor's instinct kept him afloat. He was confident that the beatific knowledge would come as a triumphant climax to all his struggles and sufferings.

Shri Ramakrishna understood and loved Naren the better for all this turmoil, for he himself had had to pass through upheavals which, though they were tempests of the soul rather than of the mind as in Naren's case, were similar in their cause and intensity. He saw that Naren's intellect, because of the very intensity of his desire for the Truth, would for long doubt; but he saw also that Naren would conquer in the end, that he would transcend all limitations and become a spiritual giant. So he continued to guide and instruct him with love and patience.

Hereafter Naren's life is that of the saint-in-the-making. It is no longer his mind to which one's attention is chiefly drawn, though that does indeed become more and more luminous as the years go on: it is his heart, his soul, his vision, that captures attention. A time was to come when the orb of his soul was to shine with the radiance and glory of the full moon. He was to attain to the highest possibilities of the mystical consciousness, wherein the soul and the Supreme Reality are revealed as a perfect and distinctionless Unity. In the imperious question asked by Naren of the Maharshi Devendranath-"Mahashaya [Venerable Sir], have you seen God?"-was the dawn of his spiritual life. Prior to that the intellect ruled and doubt was supreme; though even then were to be seen, if faintly, the streaks of an approaching dawn. These grew into the day of glorious vision in the effulgent presence of Shri Ramakrishna, the Sun of Truth.

The Incarnations bear a special message for the world. Moved by compassion at the sight of the sorrows and miseries of humanity, the Lord, who is beyond the contamination of ignorance, incarnates Himself in this world, acknowledging a temporary allegiance, as it were, to all-powerful Maya, His own inscrutable Power. His is only a translucent veil, and he is aware, even from his very birth, of the special mission he has for the world. After intense spiritual practices of some years the veil is rent and his real self shines forth, a consummation which takes an ordinary mortal thousands of births to attain. Then his power becomes irresistible. He revolutionizes the world. His very presence radiates spirituality; his look and touch work miracles.

On the personal level the meeting was also extraordinary. Here is Shri Ramakrishna's own account of it:_x000d_ Narendra entered this room by the western door. He seemed careless about his body and dress, and unlike other people, not mindful of the external world. His eyes bespoke an introspective mind, as if some part of it were always concentrated on something within. I was surprised to find such a spiritual soul coming from the material atmosphere of Calcutta. A mat was spread on the floor. He sat on it just near the place where you now see the big jar containing Ganga water. The friends with whom he had come appeared to be ordinary young men with the usual tendencies towards enjoyment. On inquiry, I came to know that he had learnt three or four Bengali songs only. I asked him to sing them. He began singing the Brahmo song which begins:_x000d_ O my mind, go to your own abode. _x000d_ In the foreign land of this world _x000d_ Why roam uselessly like a stranger!_x000d_ He sang the song with his whole heart and put such pathos into it that I could not control myself, but fell into an ecstatic mood._x000d_ Then he took leave. But after that I felt such a constant agonizing desire to see him! At times the pain would be so excruciating that I felt as if my heart were being squeezed like a wet towel! Then I could no longer check myself. I ran to the northern quarter of the garden, a rather unfrequented place, and there cried at the top of my voice, "O my darling, come to me! I cannot live without seeing you!" After some time, I felt better. This state of things continued for six months. There were other boys who also came here; I felt greatly drawn to some of them, but nothing like the way I was attracted to Narendra.

Narendra too was profoundly moved on his first visit to the Master at Dakshineswar. He told some of his friends of it later, though with a touch of reserve:_x000d_ Well, I sang the song; but shortly after, he suddenly rose and, taking me by the hand, led me to the northern veranda, shutting the door behind him. It was locked from the outside; so we were alone. I thought that he would give me some private instructions; but to my utter surprise he began to shed profuse tears of joy as he held my hand, and, addressing me moat tenderly as one long familiar to him, said, "Ah, you come so late! How could you be so unkind as to keep me waiting so long! My ears are well-nigh burnt by listening to the profane talk of worldly people. Oh, how I yearn to unburden my mind to one who can appreciate my innermost experience!" Thus he went on amid sobs. The next moment he stood before me with folded hands and began to address me, "Lord, I know you are that ancient sage, Nara, the Incarnation of Narayana, born on earth to remove the miseries of mankind," and so on!_x000d_ I was altogether taken aback by his conduct. "Who is this man whom I have come to see " I thought, "he must be stark mad! Why, I am just the son of Vishwanath Datta, and yet he dares to address me thus!" But I kept quiet, allowing him to go on. Presently he went back to his room, and bringing some sweets, sugar candy, and butter, began to feed me with his own hands, In vain did I say again and again, "Please give the sweets to me, I shall share them with my friends!" He simply said, "They may have some afterwards", and desisted only after I had eaten all. Then he seized me by the hand and said, "Promise that you will come alone to me at an early date." At his importunity I had to say "yes" and returned with him to my friends.

To the other devotees the Master said, "See! how Naren beams with the light of Saraswati (the Goddess of learning] !" Those who heard him say this looked upon Naren with wonder. Not only was it strange that the Master should speak thus, it was still more strange that he should have seen such profound spirituality in the boy. "Do you see a light before falling asleep?" asked Shri Ramakrishna. Narendra said, "Yes, sir." The Master cried, "Ah! everything is tallying. He is a Dhyana¬ Siddha [an adept in meditation] even from his very birth."

Regarding his conflicting thoughts about the strange words and conduct of Shri Ramakrishna, Narendranath used to say:_x000d_ I sat and watched him. There was nothing wrong in his words, movements or behaviour towards others. Rather, from his spiritual words and ecstatic states he seemed to be a man of genuine renuncia¬tion; and there was a marked consistency between his words and life. He used the most simple language, and I thought, "Can this man be a great teacher?"

I crept near him and asked him the question which I had asked so often: "Have you seen God, sir?" "Yes, I see Him just as I see you here, only in a much intenser sense." "God can be realized," he went on; "one can see and talk to Him as I am seeing and talking to you. But who cares? People shed torrents of tears for their wife and children, for wealth or property, but who does so for the sake of God? If one weeps sincerely for Him, He surely manifests Himself" That impressed me at once. For the first time I found a man who dared to say that he had seen God, that religion was a reality to be felt, to be sensed in an infinitely more intense way than we can sense the world. As I heard these things from his lips, I could not but believe that he was saying them not like an ordinary, preacher, but from the depths of his own realizations.

But I could not reconcile his words with his strange conduct with me. So I concluded that he must be a monomaniac. Yet I could not help acknowledging the magnitude of his renunciation. "He may be a madman," I thought, "but only the fortunate few can have such renunciation. Even if insane, this man is the holiest of the holy, a true saint, and for that alone he deserves the reverent homage of mankind!" With such conflicting thoughts I bowed before him and begged leave to return to Calcutta.

Though Naren considered Shri Ramakrishna to be a mad-man, he was at a loss to account for the strange feeling of blessedness that came over him as he sat near the Master. But it was all strange-the number of adoring devotees, the unaccountable religious ecstasy of the Master, his return from ecstasy, the atmosphere of intense blessedness, his words, the uplifting of his own soul-all these were bewildering to Naren. But in spite of the impression made on him, Naren was slow to accept the Master as a teacher. He allowed the various preoccupations of his daily life to prevent him from keeping his promise to repeat the visit; and it was not until nearly a month later that he set` out alone on foot to the temple-garden of Dakshineswar.

The following is the description of this meeting given by Narendra to some of his brother-disciples:_x000d_ I did not realize then that the temple-garden of Dakshineswar was so far from Calcutta, since on the previous occasion I had gone there in a carriage. The road seemed to me so long as to be almost endless. However I reached the garden somehow and went straight to Shri Ramakrishna's room. I found him sitting alone on the small bedstead. He was glad to see me and, calling me affectionately to his side, made me sit beside him on the bed. But the next moment I found him over come with a sort of emotion. Muttering something to himself, with his eyes fixed on me, he slowly drew near me. I thought he might do something queer as on the previous occasion. But in the twinkling of an eye he placed his right foot on my body. The touch at once gave rise to a novel experience within me. With my eyes open I saw that the walls, and everything in the room, whirled rapidly and vanished into naught, and the whole universe together with my individuality was about to merge in an all-encompassing mysterious void! I was terribly frightened and thought that I was facing death, for the loss of individuality meant nothing short of that. Unable to control myself I cried out, "What is it that you are doing to me! I have my parents at home!" He laughed aloud at this and stroking my chest said, "All right, let it rest now. Everything will come in time!" The wonder of it was that no sooner had he said this than that strange experience of mine vanished. I was myself again and found everything within and without the room as it had been before