This story begins with the loss of a gold watch. Sarada Prasanna, the son of a rich landlord, was admitted to the Metropolitan Institution in North Calcutta when he was in the seventh grade. For four years Sarada studied in that school, where M., the recorder of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, was headmaster. Sarada was a talented boy, and his teachers expected him to achieve a brilliant score in the Entrance examination and thereby obtain a scholarship; Sarada was also contemplating his bright future. But who can change Divine Providence? On the second day of the examination, someone stole Sarada’s gold watch while he was having refreshments. Sarada was extremely upset; he felt that because of his carelessness a highly valuable thing had been stolen. He could not concentrate on the remaining subjects of the test, and he failed to place in the first division.
The loss of the gold watch caused Sarada prolonged agony. M., who was very fond of Sarada, noticed his depression and on 27 December 1884 brought him to Dakshineswar. This was Sarada’s first visit to Sri Ramakrishna. There is no record of what the Master said to him that day, but the Gospel entry indicates that Sri Ramakrishna talked about some important aspects of human life. Referring to Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s famous novel Devi Chaudhurani, the Master said: “People like the author of this book believe that knowledge is impossible without the study of books. In order to know God one must read books! But if I want to know Jadu Mallick, must I first know the number of his houses and the amount of money he has in government securities? Do I really need all this information? … He who seeks God plunges headlong; he doesn’t calculate about how much or how little he needs for the protection of his body… . It is the pure mind that perceives God, and at that time this ordinary mind does not function. A mind that has the slightest trace of attachment to the world cannot be called pure.” The Master’s teachings worked on Sarada’s mind. He came to realize that spiritual treasures were far more valuable than a gold watch. This seemingly trivial incident was the turning point of his life. (Source: God Lived with Them)