From The Essence of Self-Realization,
by Paramhansa Yogananda
“If you want to escape ego-bondage, learn to be more impersonal where your own feelings are concerned. Love for God too easily becomes personal in the human sense. When it does so, you give emphasis to the very ego you need to transcend, in order to find Him.
“Therefore it is better to seek God for bliss, primarily, and only secondarily for love, lest your love for Him fall short of that impersonal quality which is the essence of divine love.
“Radha was a great devotee of Krishna. But once she fell briefly into the delusion of personal love. The thought entered her mind that she completely owned Krishna. Soon afterward they were walking together in the forest. Radha said, ‘I am very tired.’
“‘Oh?’ replied Krishna. ‘Would you like me to carry you?’ She was so pleased! Krishna lifted her onto his back. Just then, as she was thinking how pleasant it was to be carried by him, she found herself on the ground. Krishna had vanished into thin air!
“As long as she held that attitude of possessiveness, you see, he could exist no more for her.
“Immediately realizing her mistake, Radha knelt on the ground and prayed, ‘Lord, I beseech your pardon.’
“Krishna reappeared as if nothing had happened. And together they continued their walk through the forest.”
