We may ask, how can a man sunk in relative knowledge become aware of the Atma? But there is no reason for despair, or for condemning ourselves as mean and low. For, when small men make big decisions, they earn encouragement from the great. When the tiny squirrel decided to share in building the passage across the sea, did it not receive the blessings of Lord Rama? The squirrel knew that its help could only be infinitesimal, but the feeling of dedication which prompted it won the grace of God. Men, however, do not sublimate small spiritual efforts through high purpose. They engage in bhajan, worship and meditation, but these are physical exercises! The mind does not elevate them into sincerity. The mind does not pour forth or vibrate in them. So, they remain at the human level. They do not rise to the level of the Divine. “Can a lake be filled when there’s a sprinkle of rain? Can thirst be relieved, with saliva? Can the belly be full, if breathing is held tight? Can live cinders be secured by burning blades of grass?” asks a poet. Logs must be burned if charcoal is needed; sheets of rain alone can fill a lake to the brim; a glass of cold water alone can cure a person of thirst, nothing less! The heart has to be offered in full. Devotion must fill and overflow the heart.