Being pure is essential

Many devotees would come to Sri Ramakrishna, those leading the life of a householder as well as those wanting to embrace monasticism.  Sri Ramakrishna would speak very highly about the extraordinary spiritual nature of some of his disciples who were to become monks in future.  The householder devotees would also wonder at and admire the spiritual qualities of those disciples.  Sri Ramakrishna would explain the nature of such future monastics who were very pure and spiritually oriented.  He would use two analogies from daily life in this regard.  He would say that such devotees are meant to be offered to God and one has to be very careful about such offerings.  However, ripe a mango might be, still in spite of belonging to one of the best varieties of mangoes it cannot be offered to God if it had been pecked by a crow or any bird.  Only the purest and the best can be offered to deities.  That is why in Bengal there is a custom of marking out fruits for offering.  Suppose there is a mango tree and it is full of unripe mangoes during season.  Discerning owners of such trees would identify some of the best mangoes for offering to God.  They would mark them with lime and also by a covering of straw around them.  This is to ensure that birds, etc don’t peck them and also to avoid being plucked unknowingly by someone.  These mangoes, when they ripen, are plucked and offered to deities.  Although all Sadhakas, irrespective of the station of their life, can worship God and realize Him, still the unsullied devotees are very special.  Those who are pure from birth and who show signs of longing for God even from a very young age are especially dear to the Lord.  They come to earth for a very special purpose, namely to work for the redemption of mankind.  They are in a sense liberated even from birth and their advent is only for the welfare of others.

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