Ramakrishna went to a many pundits and begged them humbly: "Please
accept me as your disciple. I will repay you by rendering service." But he was
called names and thrown out of ashrams and schools.
There were only a few Shaivite Brahmins in Tenali. They were them-
selves poor. When Ramakrishna approached them, he was turned away with the
despairing words, "Get away; why should you struggle for this education? Make a
living by begging."
'I Shall Get Education'
Ramakrishna became very angry with them. He had nothing but disgust
and contempt for them. He thought: ‘What a selfish lot! What is the use of their
scholarship when they refuse to impart education? No more will I beg any one for
my education. I shall get enough education for everyday affairs.'
Ramakrishna fell at his mother's feet and said: "Bless me, mother! I am
going out to secure education". The innocent mother rejoiced at this and thought
that some good teacher had agreed, to teach him. She blessed him and said,
"Son, try to become a great scholar and master all branches of knowledge."
But Ramakrishna did not approach any teacher. The village school wall
was his teacher! Every day he would stand by the wall and attentively listen to
the lessons taught in the classroom. He would return home to repeat before his
mother the lessons he had learnt. This was his daily practice.
All good things are short-lived! One-day a- pupil saw Ramakrishna
standing near the wall and shouted: "A thief! A thief!" The teacher and the pupils
rushed out of the school and surrounded Ramakrishna.
In great anger the teacher questioned him: "Have you nothing else to do?
Why do you loaf here?" Ramakrishna touched the teacher's feet and said
humbly: I came here to learn." Weeping, he narrated his story.
When the teacher understood how the boy was yearning for education
and how much he was suffering, he felt proud of him and was full of sympathy.
