Spiritual ego is so subtle that it is very difficult to wipe out. After practising a little japa, Hazra developed a superiority complex. He did not have the depth of true scriptural knowledge, but he nonetheless pretended that he had the authority of the scriptures. This often created confusion among the devotees. Sri Ramakrishna corrected him on many occasions. Once he said to Hazra: “Why do you address the Pure Atman as ‘Ishvara’? The Pure Atman is inactive and is the witness of three states. When I think of the acts of creation, preservation, and destruction, then I call the Pure Atman ‘Ishvara.’ What is the Pure Atman like? It is like a magnet lying at a great distance from a needle. The needle moves, but the magnet lies motionless, inactive.”
On another occasion Hazra started to explain Tattvajnana (knowledge of Reality) to the devotees in front of the Master. Hazra told them: “The meaning of Tattvajnana is the knowledge of the existence of the twenty-four tattvas, or cosmic principles.” He was wrong, however, about the meaning of the word.
A devotee: “What are they?”
Hazra: “The five elements, the six passions, the five organs of perception, the five organs of action, and so forth.”
M. (to the Master, smiling): “He says that the six passions are included in the twenty-four cosmic principles.”
Master (smiling): “Listen to him! Notice how he explains Tattvajnana! The word really means ‘knowledge of Self.’ The word ‘Tat’ means the Supreme Self, and the word ‘Tvam’, the embodied soul. One attains Supreme Knowledge, Tattvajnana, by realizing the identity of the embodied soul and the Supreme Self.” (Source: They Lived with God)