The true knowledge is – Everything is gold

Once a God-intoxicated sadhu came to the Kali temple of Rani Rasmani, where Sri Ramakrishna lived. One day, he did not get food. Seeing a dog eating the remnants of a feast, he embraced the dog, said, ‘Brother, how is it that you eat alone, without giving me a share?’ and began eating along with the dog. After the meal, he entered the Kali temple and prayed with such devotion that it sent a thrill throughout the temple.

When he was leaving after his prayers, Sri Ramakrishna asked his nephew Hriday to follow the man, and to tell him what the man might say. After Hriday had followed him for some distance, the sage turned around and asked, ‘Why do you follow me?’ Hriday said, ‘Sir, give me some teaching!’ The sage replied, ‘When the water of this ditch and yonder glorious Ganga appear as one and the same in your sight, when the sound of this flageolet and the noise of that crowd have no distinction to your ear, then you will reach the state of true knowledge.’

The Master, upon hearing this, remarked, ‘That man has reached the true state of ecstasy, the true state of knowledge. The Siddhas roam about like children or unclean spirits – or even like madmen. Indeed, they wander in many disguises.’

‘This is gold, this is brass,’ is ignorance. ‘Everything is gold,’ is knowledge.