Striving towards Excellence

Let’s look at an incident in the life of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He was an enlightened master. People from all over the country flocked to him in Calcutta. There was a famous pandit during his time. This man was very learned. He was an expert in many areas of learning, but had no faith in God. He was very jealous of Paramahamsa’s popularity.

He wanted to have a debate with Ramakrishna Paramahamsa to prove that there was no God. The pandit argued well, citing many examples.

All the disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa listened with rapt attention. The disciples feared that the non-existence of God was going to be proved. He argued his case eloquently. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa listened to him – even if his attitude was nonchalant.

Finally, he smiled and said, "Excellent. Wonderful. Your point of view was fantastic. You spoke with great eloquence. In every single word you uttered, I could see God’s radiance reflected ... My heartfelt thanks to you for showing me God through your logic." The pandit was dumbfounded.

The Vedas describe God as a being without a beginning and an end. What is it that is without a beginning or an end? Existence itself. In this way, existence is God.

Once upon a time there lived a farmer. He died of some illness. He had three sons. After completing the funeral rites of their father, the sons wanted to read his will and final testament. His will read: "One half of my property should go to my first son; one-third should go to my second son and one-ninth should go to my third son."

After reading the will, the sons were confused. The farmer had left behind 17 elephants, nothing more. How could 17 elephants be divided into half, or one-third, or one-ninth? As they grappled with the problem, a sage came by and offered to help them. He read the will carefully and smiled. He made the elephants stand in a row. He said, "There is one elephant in my ashram. Please go and bring it, make it stand alongside the other elephants left behind by your father. The total number would then be 18. Let the eldest son take one-half of the total number of elephants — that is, nine."

The eldest son got nine elephants.

Then he called the second son and gave him six elephants, one-third of the share, and to the third son, two elephants.

Then he said, "My children. Now according to your father’s will, I have divided the elephants among you all. Now all three of you together have 17 elephants. One elephant remains, which is mine... which was just added for the purpose of calculation. So now I will take back my elephant."

Instead of endlessly debating whether God exists or not, we must realize the divine potential within us. Focus on strengthening this potential in yourself.

There is no stronger divine power other than this truth.