Mr. Kishorilal, an officer of the Railway Board, Government of India, hails from Delhi. He looks simple, gentle and dignified in behaviour. He has gastric ulcer and has arranged for his board and lodging in the town. Five years ago he took up the study of devotional literature. He is a bhakta of Śrī Krishna. He could feel Krishna in all that he saw. Krishna often appeared to him and made him happy. His work was going on without any effort on his part. Everything seemed to be done for him by Krishna Himself.
Later he came in contact with a Mahatma who advised him to study Vedanta and take to nirākāra upāsana i.e. devotion to formless Being. He has since read about seven hundred books of philosophy and Vedanta, including the Upanishads, Ashtāvakra, Avadhuta and Śrīmad Bhagavad Gita. He has also studied Śrī Bhagavān’s works in English and is much impressed by them.
Once when he was in the jaws of death, no other thought haunted him but that he had not yet visited Śrī Bhagavan in his life. So he has come here on a short visit. He prays only for Śrī Bhagavān’s touch and His Grace.
The Master said to him: ātmaivāham, gudākeśa, i.e. I am ; ātman is the Guru; and ātman is Grace also. No one remains without the ātman. He is always in contact. No external touch is necessary.
D.: I understand. I do not mean external touch.
M.: Nothing is more intimate than the .
D.: Again Śrī Krishna appeared to me three months back and said, “Why do you ask me for nirākāra upāsana? It is only sarva bhuteśu cha ātmānam sarva bhutāni cha ātmani. (The Self in all and all in the Self.)
M.: That contains the whole truth. Even this is oupachārika (indirect). There is in fact nothing but the . The world is only a projection of the mind. The mind originates from the ātman. So ātman alone is the One Being.
D.: Yet it is difficult to realise.
M.: There is nothing to realise. It is nitya śuddha buddha mukta (the Eternal, pure, aware and liberated) state. It is natural and eternal. There is nothing new to gain. On the other hand a man must lose his ignorance. That is all.
This ignorance must be traced to its origin. To whom is this ignorance? Of what is one ignorant? There are the subject and the object. Such duality is characteristic of the mind. The mind is from the .
D.: Yes. Ignorance itself cannot exist. (He finally surrendered saying, “Just as a doctor learns what is wrong with the patient and treats him accordingly, so may Śrī Bhagavān do with me”. He also said that he had lost all inclination to study books and learn from them.)