Once in Dakshineswar some nondualistic devotees came from Varanasi to visit the Master when Gangadhar was present. He later recorded their conversation in his memoirs:
One person asked, “Sir, how can He who is the Absolute Brahman, omnipresent and pervading the whole universe, incarnate Himself as man?”
“You see,” the Master replied, “He who is the Absolute Brahman is the witness and is immanent everywhere. The divine incarnation is an embodiment of His power. The power is incarnate somewhere a quarter, somewhere else a half, and very rarely in full. He in whom the full power is manifest is adored as Purna Brahman, like Krishna. And three quarters of the Divine were manifested in Rama.”
To this, one of the gentlemen said: “Sir, this body is the root of all evils. If it can be destroyed, all troubles will cease.”
“The raw earthen pots when broken are made into pots again,” the Master said, “but the burnt ones, once broken, can never be remade. So if you destroy the body before the attainment of Self-realization, you will have to be reborn and suffer similar consequences.”
“But, sir,” the gentleman objected, “why does one take so much care of his body?”
The Master answered: “Those who do the work of moulding, preserve the mould with care till the image is made. When the image is ready, it does not matter whether the mould is kept or rejected. So with this body. One has to realize the Supreme Self. One has to attain Selfknowledge. After that the body may remain or go. Till then the body has to be taken care of.” The gentleman was silenced. (Source: God Lived with Them)