In March 1905 Ramakrishnananda went to celebrate the Ramakrishna festival in Burma, at the invitation of the Rangoon Ramakrishna-Sevak- Samiti. Every day he performed worship, lectured, and talked about the Master. On the festival day the swami walked four miles to pick nageswar champa flowers, which were the Master’s favourite. Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the celebrated Bengali novelist (then an unknown young man) accompanied Ramakrishnananda on this walk. Sharat had read Darwin, Tyndall, Mill, and other Western thinkers and considered himself an atheist.
On the way, Sharat asked: “Why do you worship so much?”
Swami Ramakrishnananda: “Because I derive immense joy from it.”
Sharat: “Is ritual then the highest form of worship?”
Swami: “To see God everywhere is the highest worship; the second best is meditation; the third, prayer and japam; and the last, external worship.”
Sharat: “Then why do people perform such pompous worship?”
Swami: “Worship is not at all an external affair; it comes from the heart. Ordinary people perform worship either to escape from the displeasure of God or in expectation of fulfilling some desires. All these are low motives. Real worship is not done till devotion overflows the heart and tears roll down from the eyes for a glimpse of God.”