During one of his visits to Dakshineswar in 1881, Rakhal had a spiritual experience. Ramakrishna later recalled: “Rakhal had his first religious ecstasy while sitting here [in his room] massaging my feet. A Bhagavata scholar had been expounding the sacred book in the room. As Rakhal listened to his words, he shuddered every now and then. Then he became altogether still. His second ecstasy was at Balaram Basu’s house. In that state he could not keep himself sitting upright; he lay flat on the floor. Rakhal belongs to the realm of the Personal God. He leaves the place if one talks about the Impersonal.”
Because Rakhal believed in the personal aspect of God, when he went to the Kali or Krishna temples with the Master, he would bow down to the deities; this was against the Brahmo creed. One day Narendra observed this and took him to task because Rakhal’s action was in violation of his pledge. Rakhal had a gentle nature, so rather than argue with Narendra he began to avoid him. Knowing Rakhal’s predicament, the Master said to Narendra: “Please do not intimidate Rakhal. He is afraid of you. He now believes in God with form. How are you going to change him? Everyone cannot realize the formless aspect of God at the very beginning.” From then on, Narendra, a true lover of freedom, never interfered with the new direction of Rakhal’s religious attitude. They remained close friends until the end of their lives. (Source: God Lived with Them)