BIOGRAPHY OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

Ramakrishna fell into a deep ecstasy. The eyes of the congregation turned tohim, and soon a commotion followed. Narendra hurried to his side. One of theBrahmo leaders, in order to stop the excitement, put out the lights. The youngdisciple, realizing that the Master's sudden appearance was the cause of thedisturbance, sharply took him to task. The latter answered, with tears in hiseyes, that he had simply not been able to keep himself away from Narendra.On another occasion, Sri Ramakrishna, unable to bear Narendra's absence, wentto Calcutta to visit the disciple at his own home. He was told that Naren wasstudying in an attic in the second floor that could be reached only by a steepstaircase. His nephew Ramlal, who was a sort of caretaker of the Master, hadaccompanied him, and with his help Sri Ramakrishna climbed a few steps.Narendra appeared at the head of the stair, and at the very sight of him SriRamakrishna exclaimed, 'Naren, my beloved!' and went into ecstasy. Withconsiderable difficulty Naren and Ramlal helped him to finish climbing thesteps, and as he entered the room the Master fell into deep samadhi. A fellowstudent who was with Naren at the time and did not know anything of religioustrances, asked Naren in bewilderment, 'Who is this man?''Never mind,' replied Naren. 'You had better go home now.'Naren often said that the 'Old Man,' meaning Ramakrishna, bound the disciplefor ever to him by his love. 'What do worldly men,' he remarked, 'know aboutlove? They only make a show of it. The Master alone loves us genuinely.' Naren,in return, bore a deep love for Sri Ramakrishna, though he seldom expressed itin words. He took delight in criticizing the Master's spiritual experiences asevidences of a lack of self-control. He made fun of his worship of Kali.'Why do you come here,' Sri Ramakrishna once asked him, 'if you do not acceptKali, my Mother?''Bah! Must I accept Her,' Naren retorted, 'simply because I come to see you? Icome to you because I love you.''All right,' said the Master, 'ere long you will not only accept my blessed Mother,but weep in Her name.'Turning to his other disciples, he said: 'This boy has no faith in the forms of Godand tells me that my visions are pure imagination. But he is a fine lad of puremind. He does not accept anything without direct evidence. He has studied muchand cultivated great discrimination. He has fine judgement.'