The Monastic Ideal

The Holy Mother began to speak in a low voice: “ Do you notice this human body Today it is and to-morrow it is not. And this world is full of misery and pain,

Why should one worry about taking another birth ? The body is never free from its accompanying troubles! The other day Bilas said to me,

Mother, we are to be always very alert. We always tremble with fear lest we should think any unholy thought,’ That is very true. A monk is like a bleached cloth, and the householder is like a black one. One does not notice the spots in a black cloth so much, but even a drop of ink looks so prominent on white linen. The monk’s life is always beset with dangers. The whole world is engrossed in lust and gold. The monk must always practice renunciation and dispassion. Therefore Sri Ramakrishna used to say, ‘ A monk must be always alert and careful.””