One of these visitors, Gadashankar, was a follower of Keshab Chandra Sen. The Master talked with him on the eastern veranda while I (Swami Akhandananda) was there.
“Do you practise the brahminical rites daily?” the Master asked him.
“I do not like all these rituals,” he said.
“You see,” the Master went on, “do not give up anything by force. If the blossoms of gourds and pumpkins are plucked off, their fruits rot, but when the fruits are ripe the flowers fall off naturally. Do you believe in a God with form or in a formless God?”
“In the formless aspect,” was the reply.
“But how can you grasp the formless aspect all at once?” the Master asked. “When the archers are learning to shoot, they first aim at the plantain tree, then at a thin tree, then at a fruit, then at the leaves, and finally at a flying bird. First meditate on the aspect with form. This will enable you to see the formless later.” (Source: God Lived with Them)