On 28 July 1885, Sri Ramakrishna went to the home of Nanda Basu, a wealthy man of Calcutta, to see his collection of pictures of gods and goddesses. He was very much impressed. He said to Nanda: “Though you are a householder, still you have kept your mind on God. Is that a small thing? The man who has renounced the world will pray to Him as a matter of course. Is there any credit in that? But blessed indeed is he who, while leading a householder’s life, prays to God. He is like a man who finds an object after removing a stone weighing twenty maunds.” (A maund is approximately eighty-two pounds.)
On this same occasion, Nanda Basu served sweets to Sri Ramakrishna and then offered him betel-leaf on a tray. But the other guests had already taken some from that tray. It is the custom that something can be offered to God only if no one else has partaken of it beforehand, so the Master would not accept any. Nanda noticed this and questioned him about it. Sri Ramakrishna replied: “Before I eat anything I offer it to God. It is a notion of mine.” Nanda was a little proud of his knowledge of Vedanta philosophy. Trying to evaluate Sri Ramakrishna’s actions intellectually, he said, “But the betel-leaf would have gone to God all the same.” He said further: “You are a paramahamsa. Why do you abide by the injunction or prohibition of the scriptures? They are meant for ignorant people.” Sri Ramakrishna smiled and again remarked, “It is just a notion of mine.”
Nanda concluded from this that Sri Ramakrishna had not attained the highest nondualistic state of realization, beyond the pairs of opposites and the law of causation. Girish came to know of this and felt bad. He was convinced that the Master had not revealed his divine nature to Nanda because of the man’s pride of learning. Wanting to test this himself, Girish invited the Master to his house. Without any comment, Girish brought in a tray of betel-leaf, took one himself, and then offered the tray to the Master. The Master immediately understood Girish’s intent and, with a smile, took a betel-leaf from the tray. Mad with joy, Girish saluted the Master again and again and then disclosed the whole story to others who were present. He who makes the rules can also change them. Girish’s love had set aside all rules of religious observance. Moreover, the great teachers observe scriptural rules in order to set an example for others, and not for their own benefit.
Thus, Girish came to have firm faith in the redeeming power of Sri Ramakrishna. Years later he would say, “Had I known that there was such a huge pit in which to throw one’s sins, I would have committed many more.”
Once Sri Ramakrishna asked Girish to take a bath in the Ganges, but Girish was reluctant to do so. It is a common belief that if a person takes a bath in the Ganges he becomes pure. Girish considered this to be mere superstition. Finally the Master persuaded him, saying, “If you [being a great devotee] do not abide by these religious customs, who else will follow them?” Girish obeyed. Later he would bathe in the Ganges on auspicious occasions. One day the thought came to his mind that if the Master had taken on all his responsibilities, why should he have to bathe in the Ganges to be purified? And again, he wondered why the Master had asked him to do it. However, his analytical mind soon found an answer: When sinners take a bath in the Ganges, the goddess Ganges absorbs their sin and makes them pure. On the other hand, it is believed that when holy people bathe, She gains virtue by offering peace and delight to them. He concluded that through the Master’s grace he had become so pure that by his bathing the redeeming power of Mother Ganges would increase a hundredfold! (Source: They Lived with God)