In Sri Ramakrishna's daily life we find : In the afternoon he rested only for a short while after the midday meal. Devotees from Calcutta would then arrive. Sometimes there would be singing of devotional songs, but there would always be unceasing talks on God. Many times during the singing of songs and in the midst of talks he would go into ecstasy, either being moved by the sentiment of the songs, or at the mention of a particular approach to God. Thus, in his company, it was all a veritable mart of joy-supreme, an awareness of God.
Sri Ramakrishna, the adept teacher that he was, discouraged all talks except on God among the devotees. Do not the Upanishads say, 'Know Him, the Atman, alone and give up all other vain speech. This is the way to Immortality, Blessedness, Liberation'? Sri Ramakrishna lived the truths of the Upanishads and helped others live up to them. To the youngsters he would say, You are pure and unsullied; untainted by the touch of the world; so you must be careful. Keep away from all attractions of the world.
'When the plant is young, one should protect it with hedges and keep off the cattle from trampling over it or eating it up. But when it grows into a tree even an elephant can be tied to its trunk.' Who would speak such plain words except a holy man?
The holy man is not at all bound by the conventions of society. He is no respecter of persons; where truths, higher values of life were concerned, he would be plain spoken. However, truth is sometimes bitter; but, like medicine though bitter should be administered to cure a patient of his disease, truth though unpalatable must be spoken to cure man of his worldly fever. And that, only a holy man has the right and courage to do. .. He never minced matters. That is the advantage of a holy man's company. He would correct you if you went wrong. He neither feared nor curried favour with any person.
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