Once, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa went to see a circus. Among the feats that impressed him very much was the sight of a lady standing on one leg on the back of a horse running in the circus ring at full speed.
There were large iron rings at intervals and when the horse passed below them the lady jumped through them and alighted again on the back of the horse as it crossed the ring. In doing so, she never lost her balance or fell down.
After seeing this feat, whenever anyone asked Sri Ramakrishna how to fix the mind on God or how to attain liberation while living in the world, he would give the illustration of this lady in the circus.
He would emphasize on the amount of practice she must have done to attain the capacity to remain standing on one leg on a running horse.
Likewise, one must learn to fix one’s mind on God by prolonged dedicated practice.
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa