Does this mean that he transcends the emotional life altogether? If so, we may at once say that his spiritual life would become poorer on that account. Never think of an ideal saint as having the heart of a stone, or that his life is bereft of the human qualities of compassion, fellow-feeling and tenderness of the heart. Like the contradictory nature of the spiritual object, the saint too is a queer mixture of contradictory qualities. The author of the drama, Uttara-Rama-caritra, in describing Rama, describes the saint as an extraordinary person possessing an heart which is harder than the adament and yet softer than a flower. He exhibits the former aspect of his character when he is confronted with his own miseries; and the latter when he sees the miseries of others. This is how Professor Ranade, for example, used to behave, as I can say it from my own experience about him. And this is true of any other great saint of the world. He may exhibit all the sterner qualities of a Sthitaprajña or a Gunatita, but he will melt with pity at the sight of the miserable condition of others, and will try his best by deed and words to console them and to remove their distress. This would be his spontaneous reaction and not the result of deliberate thinking. No doubt, he will seize this opportunity for making them spiritually-minded and will try to bring them on the pathway to God.