After some time the Master asked Subodh, “Mahendra’s house is very close to yours, then why did you not call on him?” Subodh replied: “He hasn’t been able to renounce his family. What could I learn about God from him?” Immediately the Master said with a laugh, “O Rakhal, did you hear what this rascal Khoka said?” He was pleased to see Subodh so stern in his renunciation; but he said: “He won’t talk about himself; he will only tell you what he has learned from me. Don’t hesitate to go to him.” After a couple of days when Subodh finally went to see M., he relayed this conversation in his blunt way. M. said humbly: “It is quite true. I am nobody, but I live beside the ocean of knowledge and bliss, and I keep a few pitchers of that water with me. When a guest comes, I offer that to him. What else am I to talk about?”
M. continued talking and shared his experiences with his young student: “You see, after I met the Master, all my university education became insignificant. When I got my degrees, I felt I had learned everything in this world. But after I talked to the Master, I realized that all my academic knowledge was nothing but ignorance. ‘That knowledge is true knowledge which removes ignorance and helps one to attain Brahman’: This one sentence of the Master’s removed my pride of learning. I wondered how people could become proud of these trivial university degrees!” After some pleasant hours Subodh took his leave. Thus did Sri Ramakrishna seal the bond of friendship and love among his disciples. (Source: God Lived with Them)