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espiritual force that would later manifest itself in all the
noble aspirations oflife.He regarded himself as a brahmacharin, a
celibate student of the Hindutradition, who worked hard, prized
ascetic disciplines, held holy things inreverence, and enjoyed
clean words, thoughts, and acts. For according to theHindu
scriptures, a man, by means of purity, which is the greatest of all
virtue
s,can experience the subtlest spiritual perceptions. In Naren it
accounts for thegreat power of concentration, memory, and insight,
and for his indomitablemental energy and physical stamina.In his
youth Narendra used to see every night two visions, utterly
dissimilar innature, before falling asleep. One was that of a
worldly man with anaccomplished wife and children, enjoying wealth,
luxuries, fame, and socialposition; the other, that of a sannyasin,
a wandering monk, bereft of earthlysecurity and devoted to the
contemplation of God. Narendra felt that he had thepower to realize
either of these ideals; but when his mind reflected on
theirrespective virtues, he was inevitably drawn to the life of
renunciation. Theglamour of the world would fade and disappear. His
deeper self instinctively
chose the austere path.For a time the congregational prayers and
the devotional songs of the BrahmoSamaj exhilarated Narendra's
mind, but soon he found that they did not givehim any real
spiritual experience. He wanted to realize God, the goal of
religion,and so felt the imperative need of being instructed by a
man who had seen God.In his eagerness he went to Devendranath, the
venerable leader of the BrahmoSamaj, and asked him, even before the
latter had uttered a word, 'Sir, have youseen God?'Devendranath was
embarrassed and replied: 'My boy, you have the eyes of ayogi. You
should practise meditation.'The youth was disappointed and felt
that this teacher was not the man to helphim in his spiritual
struggle. But he received no better answer from the leaders
of other religious sects. Then he remembered having heard the
name ofRamakrishna Paramahamsa from Professor Hastie, who while
lecturing hisclass on Wordsworth's poem The Excursion, had spoken
of trances, remarkingthat such religious ecstasies were the result
of purity and concentration. He hadsaid, further, that an exalted
experience of this kind was a rare phenomenon,especially in modern
times. 'I have known,' he had said, 'only one person whohas
realized that blessed state, and he is Ramakrishna of Dakshineswar.
Youwill understand trances if you visit the saint.'Narendra had
also heard about Sri Ramakrishna from a relative, RamchandraDatta,
who was one of the foremost householder disciples of the
Master.Learning of Narendra's unwillingness to marry and ascribing
it to his desire tolead a spiritual life, Ramchandra had said to
him, 'If you really want to cultivatespirituality, then visit
Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar.'Narendra met Ramakrishna for the first
time in November 1881 at the house ofthe Master's devotee
Surendranath Mitra, the young man having been invitedthere to
entertain the visitors with his melodious music. The Paramahamsa
wasmuch impressed by his sincerity and devotion, and after a few
inquiries askedhim to visit him at Dakshineswar. Narendra accepted.
He wished to learn ifRamakrishna was the man to help him in his
spiritual quest.AT THE FEET
