Just as a cookbook does not appease the hunger of the stomach, so also scriptural study, dry religious discussions, and lifeless, mechanical prayers cannot satisfy the spiritual hunger of the heart. Manomohan at last found the spiritual food that he was seeking from Sri Ramakrishna.
On Sunday, 13 November 1879, the day after Manomohan’s strange dream, he, Ram Chandra Datta, and their friend Gopal Chandra Mitra left for Dakshineswar by boat to visit Sri Ramakrishna. Manomohan thought that Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa would be like other monks — with shaven head, wearing an ochre cloth, and sitting on a tiger skin. He was very much surprised when an ordinary-looking man in a plain white cloth welcomed them to his room and motioned for them to sit on his bed. Manomohan was deeply impressed with Sri Ramakrishna’s simplicity and humility.
Since Manomohan was an ardent devotee of Keshab Chandra Sen and the Brahmo Samaj, he was averse to image worship. Sri Ramakrishna understood Manomohan’s attitude and said to him: “As an imitation custard apple reminds one of the real fruit, so the divine images enkindle the presence of God. He is all-powerful. It is possible for Him to manifest in anything.” Manomohan, Ram, and Gopal had a long conversation with Sri Ramakrishna, and they returned to Calcutta in the evening full of peace and joy.
After that first visit, Manomohan decided to see the Master every Sunday. On his second visit he asked Sri Ramakrishna: “Some people say God is formless, others say He is with form, and again others call Him Krishna, Shiva, or Kali. Could you tell us what the real nature of God is?”
Sri Ramakrishna smiled and said: “He is sometimes with form, He is sometimes formless, and again He is beyond both. He is all-pervading. It is difficult to ascertain His real nature. Just as there is nothing to compare gold with except gold, so there is nothing equal to God. He is the cause of the gross objects as well as of the subtle mind and intellect. For example: The same substance in its solid form is ice, in its liquid form is water, and in its gaseous form is vapour. According to the mental attitude of the spiritual aspirant, God manifests Himself. A jnani experiences God as all-pervading, formless space, and a devotee perceives God with a particular form. So, if you sincerely want to know the real nature of God, meditate on Him in solitude. Have patience. Surrender yourself to Him and pray. When the right time comes you will see Him.”
Manomohan: “We get peace when we feel the presence of God in our hearts; otherwise mere intellectual understanding of God and atheism are the same.”
Sri Ramakrishna: “In the beginning one should move forward on the spiritual path holding to an initial faith [i.e., faith in the words of the scriptures and the guru]. One then attains direct perception. There are two kinds of faith — initial faith and real faith [i.e., faith that comes from direct experience]. Be steadfast in the first one and then you will see God.”
Another day Sri Ramakrishna said in a gathering, “This world is a ‘framework of illusion.’” Manomohan laughed at this, but the Master’s words penetrated into his heart and he realized the truth of them — that the world is indeed impermanent. Sri Ramakrishna continued, “This world again is a ‘mansion of mirth,’ but one should know how to get joy here.
“Try to live in God, and then you will not suffer from misery. Living in God means that one offers one’s body and mind to Him. Have constant recollectedness of God. Life in the world is fraught with fear, and moreover there are many ways in which the mind can get polluted. But if you can somehow keep your mind in God, all obstacles will go away. There is tremendous power in the name of God. Sing His name and glories.”
Manomohan: “Does God listen to our prayers?”
Sri Ramakrishna: “What are you saying? You will call on God and He will not listen? He is omnipresent and omniscient. How do you know that He does not listen to your prayers? You have no faith, so you are doubting Him.”
Manomohan: “Sir, would you tell us how to increase our longing for God?”
Sri Ramakrishna (with a smile): “As hunger and thirst arise spontaneously, so does longing for God. Everything depends upon time. Mere thinking cannot make a person hungry. In the same way longing for God does not come simply by saying, ‘Let there be longing.’ Yearning is awakened in the mind automatically when a person feels the need for God. Yearning for God does not come until and unless a person has satisfied his cravings for mundane objects, renounced all attachment to lust and gold, and shunned worldly comforts and enjoyments like filth. How many people are restless for God-realization? People shed jugfuls of tears for their wives, children, or money, but who weeps for God? He who longs for Him certainly will find Him. Cry to Him. Call on Him with a longing heart. You will see Him.”
Manomohan: “Sir, I do not know God, but I have taken refuge in you. Please accept my responsibility.”
Sri Ramakrishna was quiet for some time. It was evening and Manomohan would be returning home soon. The Master went into an ecstatic mood and said: “Listen. He who comes here for God-realization or to attain knowledge, his desire will be fulfilled. Let me say again: his desire will definitely be fulfilled.”
Sri Ramakrishna’s words made Manomohan jubilant, and in great relief he fell at the Master’s feet. Thenceforth he accepted Sri Ramakrishna as his guru. (Source: They Lived with God)