One wondered how there could be a doubt in anyone’s mind whether Swamiji was realized or not; yet he was asked this question many times, and never did he say, “I am realized.” A disciple recounts this episode.
Someone asked Gurudev, “Are you realized”? Gurudev smiled as he read out the question in a Q&A session and said: “I am waiting at the threshold. I can walk into vaikuṇṭha at any time. But I am not walking into it alone. Poor Vishnu is lying inside without any inspiration, because only occasionally someone walks into Vaikuṇṭha and greets Him. Vishnu has never seen too many entering vaikuṇṭha in one go, so let us enter His abode together as a large group and surprise Him.”