Sri Ramakrishna - Greatest Incarnation of All Times

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Mother’s Revelation

I felt as if my heart were being squeezed like a wet towel. I was overpowered with a great restlessness and a fear that it might not be my lot to realize Her in this life. I could not bear the separation from Her any longer. Life seemed to be not worth living. Suddenly my glance fell on the sword that was kept in the Mother's temple. I determined to put an end to my life. When I jumped up like a madman and seized it, suddenly the blessed Mother revealed Herself. The buildings with their different parts, the temple, and everything else vanished from my sight, leaving no trace whatsoever, and in their stead I saw a limitless, infinite, effulgent Ocean of Consciousness. As far as the eye could see, the shining billows were madly rushing at me from all sides with a terrific noise, to swallow me up! I was panting for breath. I was caught in the rush and collapsed, unconscious. What was happening in the outside world I did not know; but within me there was a steady flow of undiluted bliss, altogether new, and I felt the presence of the Divine Mother.

• Sri Ramakrishna describes His first vision of Divine Mother, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Introduction, P 13

Mother as Everything

Sri Ramakrishna one day fed a cat with the food that was to be offered to Kāli. This was too much for the manager of the temple garden, who considered himself responsible for the proper conduct of the worship. He reported Sri Ramakrishna's insane behaviour to Mathur Bābu.

Sri Ramakrishna has described the incident: "The Divine Mother revealed to me in the Kāli temple that it was She who had become everything. She showed me that everything was full of Consciousness. The image was Consciousness, the altar was Consciousness, the water-vessels were Consciousness, the door-sill was Consciousness, the marble floor was Consciousness - all was Consciousness. I found everything inside the room soaked, as it were, in Bliss - the Bliss of God. I saw a wicked man in front of the Kāli temple; but in him also I saw the power of the Divine Mother vibrating. That was why I fed a cat with the food that was to be offered to the Divine Mother. I clearly perceived that all this was the Divine Mother - even the cat. The manager of the temple garden wrote to Mathur Bābu saying that I was feeding the cat with the offering intended for the Divine Mother. But Mathur Bābu had insight into the state of my mind. He wrote back to the manager: 'Let him do whatever he likes. You must not say anything to him.' "

• Sri Ramakrishna explaining his experience at Dakshineshwar Kali Temple, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Introduction, P 15

Eight Fetters

Don't you know that when one thinks of God one should be freed from all ties? From our very birth we have the eight fetters of hatred, shame, lineage, pride of good conduct, fear, secretiveness, caste, and grief. The sacred thread reminds me that I am a brahmin and therefore superior to all. When calling on the Mother one has to set aside all such ideas.

• Sri Ramakrishna to Hriday,

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Introduction, P 13

How to Fix Mind on God

M. (humbly): "Yes, sir. How, sir, may we fix our minds on God?"

MASTER: "Repeat God's name and sing His glories, and keep holy company; and now and then visit God's devotees and holy men. The mind cannot dwell on God if it is immersed day and night in worldliness, in worldly duties and responsibilities; it is most necessary to go into solitude now and then and think of God. To fix the mind on God is very difficult, in the beginning, unless one practises meditation in solitude. When a tree is young it should be fenced all around; otherwise it may be destroyed by cattle.”

"To meditate, you should withdraw within yourself or retire to a secluded corner or to the forest. And you should always discriminate between the Real and the unreal. God alone is real, the Eternal Substance; all else is unreal, that is, impermanent. By discriminating thus, one should shake off impermanent objects from the mind."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 81 (February 1882 Sri Ramakrishna Birthday)

How to Live in World

M. (humbly): "How ought we to live in the world?"

MASTER: "Do all your duties, but keep your mind on God. Live with all - with wife and children, father and mother - and serve them. Treat them as if they were very dear to you, but know in your heart of hearts that they do not belong to you.

"A maidservant in the house of a rich man performs all the household duties, but her thoughts are fixed on her own home in her native village. She brings up her Master's children as if they were her own. She even speaks of them as 'my Rama' or 'my Hari'. But in her own mind she knows very well that they do not belong to her at all.

"The tortoise moves about in the water. But can you guess where her thoughts are? There on the bank, where her eggs are lying. Do all your duties in the world, but keep your mind on God.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 81 (February 1882 Sri Ramakrishna Birthday)

World and Mind

The world is water and the mind milk. If you pour milk into water they become one; you cannot find the pure milk any more. But turn the milk into curd and churn it into butter. Then, when that butter is placed in water, it will float. So, practise spiritual discipline in solitude and obtain the butter of knowledge and love. Even if you keep that butter in the water of the world the two will not mix. The butter will float.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 82 (February 1882 Sri Ramakrishna Birthday)

How See God

M: "Is it possible to see God?"

MASTER: "Yes, certainly. Living in solitude now and then, repeating God's name and singing His glories, and discriminating between the Real and the unreal - these are the means to employ to see Him."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 83 (February 1882 Sri Ramakrishna Birthday)

Four Classes of Human Beings

Men may be divided into four classes: those bound by the fetters of the world, the seekers after liberation, the liberated, and the ever-free. Among the ever-free we may count sages like Narada. They live in the world for the good of others, to teach men spiritual truth. Those in bondage are sunk in worldliness and forgetful of God. Not even by mistake do they think of God. The seekers after liberation want to free themselves from attachment to the world. Some of them succeed and others do not. The liberated souls, such as the sadhus and mahatmas, are not entangled in the world, in 'woman and gold'. Their minds are free from worldliness. Besides, they always meditate on the Lotus Feet of God.

Suppose a net has been cast into a lake to catch fish. Some fish are so clever that they are never caught in the net. They are like the ever-free. But most of the fish are entangled in the net. Some of them try to free themselves from it, and they are like those who seek liberation. But not all the fish that struggle succeed. A very few do jump out of the net, making a big splash in the water. Then the fishermen shout, 'Look! There goes a big one!' But most of the fish caught in the net cannot escape, nor do they make any effort to get out. On the contrary, they burrow into the mud with the net in their mouths and lie there quietly, thinking, 'We need not fear any more; we are quite safe here.' But the poor things do not know that the fishermen will drag them out with the net. These are like the men bound to the world.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 86-87 (February 1882)

Longing for God

M: "Under what conditions does one see God?"

MASTER: "Cry to the Lord with an intensely yearning heart and you will certainly see Him. People shed a whole jug of tears for wife and children. They swim in tears for money. But who weeps for God? Cry to Him with a real cry." … …

“Longing is like the rosy dawn. After the dawn out comes the sun. Longing is followed by the vision of God.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 83 (February 1882)

Combined Force of Three Attractions

"God reveals Himself to a devotee who feels drawn to Him by the combined force of these three attractions: the attraction of worldly possessions for the worldly man, the child's attraction for its mother, and the husband's attraction for the chaste wife. If one feels drawn to Him by the combined force of these three attractions, then through it one can attain Him.

The point is, to love God even as the mother loves her child, the chaste wife her husband, and the worldly man his wealth. Add together these three forces of love, these three powers of attraction, and give it all to God. Then you will certainly see Him.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 83 (February 1882)

God and His glory & Dangers of worldly life

MASTER: “God and His glory. This universe is His glory. People see His glory and forget everything. They do not seek God, whose glory is this world. All seek to enjoy 'woman and gold'. But there is too much misery and worry in that. … … Again, the world is like a thorny bush: you have hardly freed yourself from one set of thorns before you find yourself entangled in another. Once you enter a labyrinth you find it very difficult to get out. Living in the world, a man becomes seared, as it were."

A DEVOTEE: "Then what is the way, sir?"

MASTER: "Prayer and the company of holy men. You cannot get rid of an ailment without the help of a physician. But it is not enough to be in the company of religious people only for a day. You should constantly seek it, for the disease has become chronic. Again, you can't understand the pulse rightly unless you live with a physician. Moving with him constantly, you learn to distinguish between the pulse of phlegm and the pulse of bile.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 96 (April 9, 1882)

God Alone is Real

… renounce everything and call on God. He alone is real; all else is illusory. Without the realization of God everything is futile. This is the great secret.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 95 (April 2, 1882)

Evil of "I" and "mine"

'I' and 'mine' - these constitute ignorance. 'My house', 'my wealth', 'my learning', 'my possessions' - the attitude that prompts one to say such things comes of ignorance. On the contrary, the attitude born of Knowledge is: 'O God, Thou art the Master, and all these things belong to Thee. House, family, children, attendants, friends, are Thine.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 105 (August 5, 1882)

Good of Holy Company

DEVOTEE: "What is the good of holy company?"

MASTER: "It begets yearning for God. It begets love of God. Nothing whatsoever is achieved in spiritual life without yearning. By constant living in the company of holy men, the soul becomes restless for God. This yearning is like the state of mind of a man who has someone ill in the family. His mind is in a state of perpetual restlessness, thinking how the sick person may be cured. Or again, one should feel a yearning for God like the yearning of a man who has lost his job and is wandering from one office to another in search of work. If he is rejected at a certain place which has no vacancy, he goes there again the next day and inquires, 'Is there an vacancy today?'”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 96 (April 9, 1882)

Thou Art Indweller

"What is knowledge? And what is the nature of this ego? 'God alone is the Doer, and none else' - that is knowledge. I am not the doer; I am a mere instrument in His hand. Therefore I say: 'O Mother, Thou art the Operator and I am the machine. Thou art the Indweller and I am the house. Thou art the Driver and I am the carriage. I move as Thou movest me. I do as Thou makest me do. I speak as Thou makest me speak. Not I, not I, but Thou, but Thou.' "

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 98 (April 9, 1882)

Washing away the heart's impurities with tears

NEIGHTBOUR: "Sir, is it ever possible to realize God while leading the life of a householder?"

MASTER: "Certainly. But as I said just now, one must live in holy company and pray unceasingly. One should weep for God. When the impurities of the mind are thus washed away, one realizes God. The mind is like a needle covered with mud, and God is like a magnet. The needle cannot be united with the magnet unless it is free from mud. Tears wash away the mud, which is nothing but lust, anger, greed, and other evil tendencies, and the inclination to worldly enjoyments as well. As soon as the mud is washed away, the magnet attracts the needle, that is to say, man realizes God. Only the pure in heart see God. A fever patient has an excess of the watery element in his system. What can quinine do for him unless that is removed?

"Why shouldn't one realize God while living in the world? But, as I said, one must live in holy company, pray to God, weeping for His grace, and now and then go into solitude. Unless the plants on a foot-path are protected at first by fences, they are destroyed by cattle."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 98 (April 9, 1882)

Explanation of evil

A NEIGHBOUR: "Why does a man have sinful tendencies?"

MASTER: "In God's creation there are all sorts of things. He has created bad men as well as good men. It is He who gives us good tendencies, and it is He again who gives us evil tendencies."

NEIGHBOUR: "In that case we aren't responsible for our sinful actions, are we?"

MASTER: "Sin begets its own result. This is God's law. Won't you burn our tongue if you chew a chilli? … …”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 97 (April 9, 1882)

Does Jnani Speak?

A DEVOTEE: "Suppose a man has obtained the Knowledge of Brahman in samādhi. Doesn't he speak any more?"

MASTER: "Sankaracharya retained the 'ego of Knowledge' in order to teach others. After the vision of Brahman a man becomes silent. He reasons about It as long as he has not realized It. If you heat butter in a pan on the stove, it makes a sizzling sound as long as the water it contains has not dried up. But when no trace of water is left the clarified butter makes no sound. If you put an uncooked cake of flour in that butter it sizzles again. But after the cake is cooked all sound stops. Just so, a man established in samādhi comes down to the relative plane of consciousness in order to teach others, and then he talks about God.

"The bee buzzes as long as it is not sitting on a flower. It becomes silent when it begins to sip the honey. But sometimes, intoxicated with the honey, it buzzes again.

"An empty pitcher makes a gurgling sound when it is dipped in water. When it fills up it becomes silent. (All laugh.) But if the water is poured from it into another pitcher, then you will hear the sound again.” (Laughter)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 103 (August 5, 1882)

Uninspired scholarship condemned

Mere pundits are like diseased fruit that becomes hard and will not ripen at all. Such fruit has neither the freshness of green fruit nor the flavour of ripe. Vultures soar very high in the sky, but their eyes are fixed on rotten carrion on the ground. The book-learned are reputed to be wise, but they are attached to 'woman and gold'. Like the vultures, they are in search of carrion. They are attached to the world of ignorance. Compassion, love of God, and renunciation are the glories of true knowledge.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 101 (August 5, 1882)

Rishis of Ancient India

The rishis of old attained the Knowledge of Brahman. One cannot have this so long as there is the slightest trace of worldliness. How hard the rishis laboured! Early in the morning they would go away from the hermitage, and would spend the whole day in solitude, meditating on Brahman. At night they would return to the hermitage and eat a little fruit or roots. They kept their minds aloof from the objects of sight, hearing, touch, and other things of a worldly nature. Only thus did they realize Brahman as their own inner consciousness.

But in the Kaliyuga, man, being totally dependent on food for life, cannot altogether shake off the idea that he is the body. In this state of mind it is not proper for him to say, 'I am He.' When a man does all sorts of worldly things, he should not say, 'I am Brahman.' Those who cannot give up attachment to worldly things, and who find no means to shake off the feeling of 'I', should rather cherish the idea 'I am God's servant; I am His devotee.' One can also realize God by following the path of devotion.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 103 (August 5, 1882)

Parable of Salt Doll

In samādhi one attains the Knowledge of Brahman - one realizes Brahman. In that state reasoning stops altogether, and man becomes mute. He has no power to describe the nature of Brahman.

Once a salt doll went to measure the depth of the ocean. (All laugh.) It wanted to tell others how deep the water was. But this it could never do, for no sooner did it get into the water than it melted. Now who was there to report the ocean's depth?

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 103 (August 5, 1882)

Jnani and Vijnāni

The jnani gives up his identification with worldly things, discriminating, 'Not this, not this'. Only then can he realize Brahman. It is like reaching the roof of a house by leaving the steps behind, one by one. But the vijnāni, who is more intimately acquainted with Brahman, realizes something more. He realizes that the steps are made of the same materials as the roof: bricks, lime, and brick-dust. That which is realized intuitively as Brahman, through the eliminating process of 'Not this, not this', is then found to have become the universe and all its living beings. The vijnāni sees that the Reality which is nirguna, without attributes, is also saguna, with attributes.

A man cannot live on the roof a long time. He comes down again. Those who realize Brahman in samādhi come down also and find that it is Brahman that has become the universe and its living beings. In the musical scale there are the notes sa, re ga, ma, pa, dha, and ni; but one cannot keep one's voice on 'ni' a long time. The ego does not vanish altogether. The man coming down from samādhi perceives that it is Brahman that has become the ego, the universe, and all living beings. This is known as vijnāna.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 103-04 (August 5, 1882)

Significance of Gita

What is the significance of the Gita? It is what you find by repeating the word ten times. It is then reversed into 'tagi', which means a person who has renounced everything for God. And the lesson of the Gita is: 'O man, renounce everything and seek God alone.' Whether a man is a monk or a householder, he has to shake off all attachment from his mind.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 104-05 (August 5, 1882)

Ego causes our sufferings

Even after the attainment of Knowledge this 'I-consciousness' comes up, nobody knows from here. You dream of a tiger. Then you awake; but your heart keeps on palpitating! All our suffering is due to this 'I'. The cow cries, 'Hamba!', which means 'I'. That is why it suffers so much. It is yoked to the plough and made to work in rain and sun. Then it may be killed by the butcher. From its hide shoes are made, and also drums, which are mercilessly, beaten. (Laughter.) Still it does not escape suffering. At last strings are made out of its entrails for the bows used in carding cotton. Then it no longer says, 'Hamba! Hamba!', 'I! I!' but 'Tuhu! Tuhu!', 'Thou! Thou!'. Only then are its troubles over. ­O Lord, I am the servant; Thou art the Master. I am the child; Thou art the Mother.­

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 105 (August 5, 1882)

Remember Death

One should constantly remember death. Nothing will survive death. We are born into this world to perform certain duties, like the people who come from the countryside to Calcutta on business. If a visitor goes to a rich man's garden, the superintendent says to him, 'This is our garden', 'This is our lake', and so forth. But if the Superintendent is dismissed for some misdeed, he can't carry away even his mango-wood chest. He sends it secretly by the gate-keeper. (Laughter.)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 105 (August 5, 1882)

When God Laughs

God laughs on two occasions. He laughs when the physician says to the patient's mother, 'Don't be afraid, mother; I shall certainly cure your boy.' God laughs, saying to Himself, 'I am going to take his life, and this man says he will save it!' The physician thinks he is the master, forgetting that God is the Master. God laughs again when two brothers divide their land with a string, saying to each other, 'This side is mine and that side is your'. He laughs and says to Himself, 'The whole universe belongs to Me, but they say they own this portion or that portion.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 105-06 (August 5, 1882)

Power of Faith

One must have faith and love. Let me tell you how powerful faith is. A man was about to cross the sea from Ceylon to India. Bibhishana said to him: 'Tie this thing in a corner of your wearing-cloth, and you will cross the sea safely. You will be able to walk on the water. But be sure not to examine it, or you will sink.' The man was walking easily on the water of the sea - such is the strength of faith - when, having gone part of the way, he thought, 'What is this wonderful thing Bibhishana has given me that I can walk even on the water?' He untied the knot and found only a leaf with the name of Rama written on it. 'Oh, just this!' he thought, and instantly he sank.

There is a popular saying that Hanuman jumped over the sea through his faith in Rama's name, but Rama himself had to build a bridge.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 106-07 (August 5, 1882)

God Does All

Man cannot really help the world. God alone does that - He who has created the sun and the moon, who has put love for their children in parents' hearts, endowed noble souls with compassion, and holy men and devotees with divine love. The man who works for others, without any selfish motive, really does good to himself.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 108 (August 5, 1882)

Ecstasy, Love and Devotion

The means of realizing God are ecstasy of love and devotion - that is, one must love God. He who is Brahman is addressed as the Mother.

He it is, says Ramprasad, that I approach as Mother;

But must I give away the secret, here in the market-place?

From the hints I have given, O mind, guess what that Being is!

Ramprasad asks the mind only to guess the nature of God. He wishes it to understand that what is called Brahman in the Vedas is addressed by Him as the Mother. He who is attributeless also has attributes. He who is Brahman is also Śakti. When thought of as inactive, He is called Brahman, and when thought of as the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer, He is called the Primordial Energy, Kāli.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 107 (August 5, 1882)

Ocean of Immortality

What is needed is absorption in God-loving Him intensely. The 'Nectar Lake' is the Lake of Immortality. A man sinking in It does not die, but becomes immortal. Some people believe that by thinking of God too much the mind becomes deranged; but that is not true. God is the Lake of Nectar, the Ocean of Immortality. He is called the 'Immortal' in the Vedas. Sinking in It, one does not die, but verily transcends death.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 108 (August 5, 1882)

Mother Kali’s Feet

Brahman alone is addressed as the Mother. This is because a mother is an object of great love. One is able to realize God just through love. Ecstasy of feeling, devotion, love, and faith - these are the means. Listen to a song:

As is a man's meditation, so is his feeling of love;

As is a man's feeling of love, so is his gain;

And faith is the root of all.

If in the Nectar Lake of Mother Ka1i's feet

My mind remains immersed,

Of little use are worship, oblations, or sacrifice.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 108 (August 5, 1882)

Egotism and Vanity

Q: "Sir, what is the way to realize God?"

MASTER: "Bhakti is the one essential thing. To be sure, God exists in all beings. Who, then, is a devotee? He whose mind dwells on God. But this is not possible as long as one has egotism and vanity. The water of God's grace cannot collect on the high mound of egotism. It runs down.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 111 (August 13, 1882)

Parable of the wood-cutter

Go forward. A wood-cutter once entered a forest to gather wood. A brahmachari said to him, 'Go forward.' He obeyed the injunction and discovered some sandal-wood trees. After a few days he reflected, 'The holy man asked me to go forward. He didn't tell me to stop here.' So he went forward and found a silver-mine. After a few days he went still farther and discovered a gold-mine, and next, mines of diamonds and precious stones. With these he became immensely rich.

"Through selfless work, love of God grows in the heart. Then, through His grace one realizes Him in course of time. God can be seen. One can talk to him as I am talking to you."

In silent wonder they all sat listening to the Master's words. It seemed to them that the Goddess of Wisdom Herself, seated on Sri Ramakrishna's tongue was addressing these words not merely to Vidyasagar, but to all humanity for its good.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 109 (August 5, 1882)

All religions are true

All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by stone stairs or by wooden stairs or by bamboo steps or by a rope. You can also climb up by a bamboo pole.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 111 (August 13, 1882)

Many Names of One God

You may say that there are many errors and superstitions in another religion. I should reply: Suppose there are. Every religion has errors. Everyone thinks that his watch alone gives the correct time. It is enough to have yearning for God. It is enough to love Him and feel attracted to Him: Don't you know that God is the Inner Guide? He sees the longing of our heart and the yearning of our soul. Suppose a man has several sons. The older boys address him distinctly as 'Baba' or 'Papa', but the babies can at best call him 'Ba' or 'Pa'. Now, will the father be angry with those who address him in this indistinct way? The father knows that they too are calling him, only they cannot pronounce his name well. All children are the same to the father. Likewise, the devotees call on God alone, though by different names. They call on one Person only. God is one, but His names are many.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 112 (August 13, 1882)

Bhakti – Essence of Spiritual Discipline

Bhakti, love of God, is the essence of all spiritual discipline. Through love one acquires renunciation and discrimination naturally.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 123 (October 16, 1882)

Spiritual Disciplines

MASTER: "A little spiritual discipline is necessary in order to know what lies within."

M: "Is it necessary to practise discipline all through life?"

MASTER: "No. But one must be up and doing in the beginning. After that one need not work hard. The helmsman stands up and clutches the rudder firmly as long as the boat is passing through waves, storms, high wind, or around the curves of a river; but he relaxes after steering through them. As soon as the boat passes the curves and the helmsman feels a favourable wind, he sits comfortably and just touches the rudder. Next he prepares to unfurl the sail and gets ready for a smoke. Likewise, the aspirant enjoys peace and calm after passing the waves and storms of 'woman and gold'.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 112 (August 24, 1882)

Drawing-room of God

… you should remember that the heart of the devotee is the abode of God. He dwells, no doubt, in all beings, but He especially manifests Himself in the heart of the devotee. A landlord may at one time or another visit all parts of his estate, but people say he is generally to be found in a particular drawing-room. The heart of the devotee is the drawing-room of God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 133 (October 27, 1882)

Money and Worldly Duties

M: "Sir, may I make an effort to earn more money?"

MASTER: "It is permissible to do so to maintain a religious family. You may try to increase your income, but in an honest way. The goal of life is not the earning of money, but the service of God. Money is not harmful if it is devoted to the service of God."

M: "How long should a man feel obliged to do his duty toward his wife and children?"

MASTER: "As long as they feel pinched for food and clothing. But one need not take the responsibility of a son when he is able to support himself. When the young fledgling learns to pick its own food, its mother pecks it if it comes to her for food."

M: "How long must one do one's duty?"

MASTER: "The blossom drops off when the fruit appears. One doesn't have to do one's duty after the attainment of God, nor does one feel like doing it then.

"If a drunkard takes too much liquor he cannot retain consciousness. If he takes only two or three glasses, he can go on with his work. As you advance nearer and nearer to God, He will reduce your activities little by little. Have no fear.

"Finish the few duties you have at hand, and then you will have peace. When the mistress of the house goes to bathe after finishing her cooking and other household duties she won't come back, however you may shout after her."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 114 (August 24, 1882)

Seeing God Everywhere

One who thinks of God, day and night, beholds Him everywhere. It is like a man's seeing flames on all sides after he has gazed fixedly at one flame for some time.

"But that isn't the real flame", flashed through M.'s mind.

Sri Ramakrishna, who could read a man's inmost thought, said: "One doesn't lose consciousness by thinking of Him who is all Spirit, all Consciousness. Shivanath once remarked that too much thinking about God confounds the brain. Thereupon I said to him, 'How can one become unconscious by thinking of Consciousness?'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 115 (August 24, 1882)

God and worldly duties

MASTER: "Perform your duties in an unselfish spirit. … … Always try to perform your duties without desiring any result."

M: "Yes, sir. But may I know if one can realize God while performing one's duties? Can 'Rama' and 'desire' coexist? The other day I read in a Hindi couplet: 'Where Rama is, there desire cannot be; where desire is, there Rama cannot be.' "

MASTER: "All, without exception, perform work. Even to chant the name and glories of God is work, as is the meditation of the non-dualist on 'I am He'. Breathing is also an activity. There is no way of renouncing work altogether. So do your work, but surrender the result to God."

• Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 113-14 (August 24, 1882)

One God

I had to practise each religion for a time - Hinduism, Islam, Christianity. Furthermore, I followed the paths of the Saktas, Vaishnavas, and Vedantists. I realized that there is only one God toward whom all are travelling; but the paths are different.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 129 (October 22, 1882)

Different moods of aspirants

… in order to realize God, one must assume one of these attitudes: Śānta, Dāsya, sakhya, Vātsalya, or Madhur.

Śānta, the serene attitude. The rishis of olden times had this attitude toward God. They did not desire any worldly enjoyment. It is like the single-minded devotion of a wife to her husband. She knows that her husband is the embodiment of beauty and love, a veritable Madan.

Dāsya, the attitude of a servant toward his master. Hanuman had this attitude toward Rama. He felt the strength of a lion when he worked for Rama. A wife feels this mood also. She serves her husband with all her heart and soul. A mother also has a little of this attitude, as Yaśoda had toward Krishna.

Sakhya, the attitude of friendship. Friends say to one another, 'Come here and sit near me.' Sridāmā and other friends sometimes fed Krishna with fruit, part of which they had already eaten, and sometimes climbed on His shoulders.

Vātsalya, the attitude of a mother toward her child. This was Yaśoda's attitude toward Krishna. The wife, too, has a little of this. She feeds her husband with her very life-blood, as it were. The mother feels happy only when the child has eaten to his heart's content. Yaśoda would roam about with butter in her hand, in order to feed Krishna.

Madhur, the attitude of a woman toward her paramour. Radha had this attitude toward Krishna. The wife also feels it for her husband. This attitude includes all the other four.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 115 (August 24, 1882)

Disciplines of Tantra

NARENDRA: "Isn't it true that the Tantra prescribes spiritual discipline in the company of woman?"

MASTER: "That is not desirable. It is a very difficult path and often causes the aspirant's downfall. There are three such kinds of discipline. One may regard woman as one's mistress or look on oneself as her handmaid or as her child. I look on woman as my mother. To look on oneself as her handmaid is also good; but it is extremely difficult to practise spiritual discipline looking on woman as one's mistress. To regard oneself as her child is a very pure attitude."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 123 (October 16, 1882)

Avatar and Individual Soul

The difference between an individual soul and an avatar is a difference in manifestation of power only. – Sri Ramakrishna (SRK and His Divine Play, P166)

First Ecstasy

In that part of the country [Kamarpukur] children are given puffed rice to eat from small baskets. Those who are poor and have not baskets eat from the corner of their wearing cloth. Boys go out to play on the roads or in the fields carrying puffed rice either in a basket or in the corner of their cloth. It was June or July. I was then six or seven years old. One morning I took some puffed rice in a small basket and was eating it as I walked along the narrow ridges of the rice fields. In one part of the sky a beautiful black cloud appeared, heavy with rain. I was watching it and eating the puffed rice. Very soon the cloud covered almost the whole sky. Then a flock of cranes came flying, white as milk against the black cloud. It was so beautiful that I became absorbed in the sight; I lost consciousness of everything outside of myself. I fell down, and the puffed rice was scattered over the ground. I cannot say how long I was in that state. Some people saw this and carried me home. That was the first time I lost external consciousness due to ecstasy.

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 167

Attitude of Jnānis and Bhaktās

He who is called Brahman by the jnanis is known as Ātman by the yogis and as Bhagavan by the bhaktas. The same brahmin is called priest, when worshipping in the temple, and cook, when preparing a meal in the kitchen. The jnani sticking to the path of knowledge, always reasons about the Reality, saying, 'Not this, not this'. Brahman is neither 'this' nor 'that'; It is neither the universe nor its living beings. Reasoning in this way, the mind becomes steady. Then it disappears and the aspirant goes into samādhi. This is the knowledge of Brahman. It is the unwavering conviction of the jnani that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory. All these names and forms are illusory, like a dream. What Brahman is cannot be described. One cannot even say that Brahman is a Person. This is the opinion of the jnanis, the followers of Vedanta philosophy.

But the bhaktas accept all the states of consciousness. They take the waking state to be real also. They don't think the world to be illusory, like a dream. They say that the universe is a manifestation of God's power and glory. God has created all these - sky, stars, moon, sun, mountains, ocean, men, animals. They constitute His glory. He is within us, in our hearts. Again, He is outside. The most advanced devotees say that He Himself has become all this - the twenty-four cosmic principles, the universe, and all living beings. The devotee of God wants to eat sugar, not to become sugar. (All laugh.)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 133 (October 27, 1882)

Brahman Alone is Real

The jnanis, who adhere to the non-dualistic philosophy of Vedanta, say that the acts of creation, preservation, and destruction, the universe itself and all its living beings, are the manifestations of Śakti, the Divine Power. If you reason it out, you will realize that all these are as illusory as a dream. Brahman alone is the Reality, and all else is unreal. Even this very Śakti is unsubstantial, like a dream.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 134 (October 27, 1882)

Satchidananda is Guru

There is only one Guru, and that is Satchidananda. He alone is the Teacher. My attitude toward God is that of a child toward its mother. One can get human gurus by the million. All want to be teachers. But who cares to be a disciple?

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 141 (October 27, 1882)

All is possible with God

MASTFR: "Nothing is impossible for God. Nobody can describe His nature in words. Everything is possible for Him. There lived at a certain place two yogis who were practising spiritual discipline. The sage Narada was passing that way one day. Realizing who he was, one of the yogis said: 'You have just come from God Himself. What is He doing now?' Narada replied, 'Why, I saw Him making camels and elephants pass and repass through the eye of a needle.' At this the yogi said: 'Is that anything to wonder at? Everything is possible for God.' But the other yogi said: 'What? Making elephants pass through the eye of a needle - is that ever possible? You have never been to the Lord's dwelling-place.' "

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 124 (October 16, 1882)

Identity of Brahman and Śakti

… Brahman and Śakti are identical. If you accept the one, you must accept the other. It is like fire and its power to burn. If you see the fire, you must recognize its power to burn also. You cannot think of fire without its power to burn, nor can you think of the power to burn without fire. You cannot conceive of the sun's rays without the sun, nor can you conceive of the sun without its rays.

What is milk like? Oh, you say, it is something white. You cannot think of the milk without the whiteness, and again, you cannot think of the whiteness without the milk.

Thus one cannot think of Brahman without Śakti, or of Śakti without Brahman. One cannot think of the Absolute without the Relative, or of the Relative without the Absolute.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 134 (October 27, 1882)

Humans have Inner Differences

All men look alike, to be sure, but they have different natures. Some have an excess of sattva, others an excess of rajas, and still others an excess of tamas. You must have noticed that the cakes known as puli all look alike. But their contents are very different. Some contain condensed milk, some coconut kernel, and others mere boiled kalai pulse. (All laugh)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 141 (October 27, 1882)

Divine Mother's Sport

Then the Master sang the following song in his melodious voice:

In the world's busy market-place, O Syama, Thou art flying kites;

High up they soar on the wind of hope, held fast by maya's string.

Their frames are human skeletons, their sails of the three gunas made;

But all their curious workmanship is merely for ornament.

Upon the kite-strings Thou hast rubbed the manja-paste of worldliness,

So as to make each straining strand all the more sharp and strong.

Out of a hundred thousand kites, at best but one or two break free;

And Thou dost laugh and clap Thy hands, O Mother, watching them!

On favouring winds, says Ramprasad, the kites set loose will speedily

Be borne away to the Infinite, across the sea of the world.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 136 (October 27, 1882)

It’s All in Mind

It is all a question of the mind. Bondage and liberation are of the mind alone. The mind will take the colour you dye it with. It is like white clothes just returned from the laundry. If you dip them in red dye, they will be red. If you dip them in blue or green, they will be blue or green. They will take only the colour you dip them in, whatever it may be. Haven't you noticed that, if you read a little English, you at once begin to utter English words: Foot fut it mit? Then you put on boots and whistle a tune, and so on. It all goes together. Or, if a scholar studies Sanskrit, he will at once rattle off Sanskrit verses. If you are in bad company, then you will talk and think like your companions. On the other hand, when you are in the company of devotees, you will think and talk only of God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 138 (October 27, 1882)

Futility of mere lecturing

What can you achieve by mere lecturing and scholarship without discrimination and dispassion? God alone is real, and all else is unreal. God alone is substance and all else is nonentity. That is discrimination.

First of all set up God in the shrine of your heart, and then deliver lectures as much as you like. How will the mere repetition of 'Brahma' profit you if you are not imbued with discrimination and dispassion? It is the empty sound of a conch-shell.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 125 (October 16, 1882)

Power of Mind

"The mind is everything. A man has his wife on one side and his daughter on the other. He shows his affection to them in different ways. But his mind is one and the same.

"Bondage is of the mind, and freedom is also of the mind. A man is free if he constantly thinks: 'I am a free soul. How can I be bound, whether I live in the world or in the forest? I am a child of God, the King of Kings. Who can bind me?' If bitten by a snake, a man may get rid of its venom by saying emphatically, 'There is no poison in me.' In the same way, by repeating with grit and determination, 'I am not bound, I am free', one really becomes so-one really becomes free.

"Once someone gave me a book of the Christians. I asked him to read it to me. It talked about nothing but sin. (To Keshab) Sin is the only thing one hears of at your Brahmo Samaj, too. The wretch who constantly says, 'I am bound, I am bound' only succeeds in being bound. He who says day and night, 'I am a sinner, I am a sinner' verily becomes a sinner. One should have such burning faith in God that one can say: 'What? I have repeated the name of God, and can sin still cling to me? How can I be a sinner any more? How can I be in bondage any more?'

"If a man repeats the name of God, his body, mind, and everything become pure. Why should one talk only about sin and hell, and such things? Say but once, 'O Lord, I have undoubtedly done wicked things, but I won't repeat them.' And have faith in His name.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 138 (October 27, 1882)

All Troubles due to “I”

All trouble and botheration come to an end when the 'I' dies. You may indulge in thousands of reasoning, but still the 'I' doesn't disappear. For people like you and me, it is good to have the feeling, 'I am a lover of God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 149 (October 28, 1882)

Love of God

When one develops love of God, one completely gets rid of one's attachment to the world and worldly wisdom. - Sri Ramakrishna

Ego after Samadhi

There are some who come down, as it were, after attaining the Knowledge of Brahman-after samādhi-and retain the 'ego of Knowledge' or the 'ego of Devotion', just as there are people who, of their own sweet will, stay in the market-place after the market breaks up. This was the case with sages like Narada. They kept the 'ego of Devotion' for the purpose of teaching men. Sankaracharya kept the 'ego of Knowledge' for the same purpose.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 178 (1 January 1883)

One Reality Different Names

The Reality is one and the same; the difference is in name and form.

It is like water, called in different languages by different names, such as 'jal', 'pani', and so forth. There are three or four ghats on a lake. The Hindus, who drink water at one place, call it 'jal'. The Mussalmans at another place call it 'pani'. And the English at a third place call it 'water'. All three denote one and the same thing, the difference being in the name only. In the same way, some address the Reality as 'Allah', some as 'God', some as 'Brahman', some as 'Kāli', and others by such names as 'Rama', 'Jesus', 'Durga', 'Hari.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 135 (October 27, 1882)

Creation

She [Divine Mother] brings forth this phenomenal world and then pervades it. In the Vedas creation is likened to the spider and its web. The spider brings the web out of itself and then remains in it. God is the container of the universe and also what is contained in it.

Is Kāli, my Divine Mother, of a black complexion? She appears black because She is viewed from a distance; but when intimately known She is no longer so. The sky appears blue at a distance; but look at it close by and you will find that it has no colour. The water of the ocean looks blue at a distance, but when you go near and take it in your hand, you find that it is colourless.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 135 (October 27, 1882)

Dive Deep

Dive Deep in the sweetness of God’s bliss. What need have we of His infinite creation and unlimited glory? – Sri Ramakrishna

Prayer to Divine Mother

To my Divine Mother I prayed only for pure love. I offered flowers at Her Lotus Feet and prayed to Her:

'Mother, here is Thy virtue, here is Thy vice. Take them both and grant me only pure love for Thee.

Here is Thy knowledge, here is Thy ignorance. Take them both and grant me only pure love for Thee.

Here is Thy purity, here is Thy impurity. Take them both, Mother, and grant me only pure love for Thee.

Here is Thy dharma, here is Thy adharma. Take them both, Mother, and grant me only pure love for Thee.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 138

(October 27, 1882)

Caste-System

The caste-system can be removed by one means only, and that is the love of God. Lovers of God do not belong to any caste. The mind, body, and soul of a man become purified through divine love. Chaitanya and Nityananda scattered the name of Hari to everyone, including the pariah, and embraced them all. A brahmin without this love is no longer a brahmin. And a pariah with the love of God is no longer a pariah. Through bhakti an untouchable becomes pure and elevated.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 155 (November 15, 1882)

Malady of Worldly People and its Cure

The disease of worldliness is like typhoid. And there are a huge jug of water and a jar of savoury pickles in the typhoid patient's room. If you want to cure him of his illness, you must remove him from that room. The worldly man is like the typhoid patient. The various objects of enjoyment are the huge jug of water, and the craving for their enjoyment is his thirst. The very thought of pickles makes the mouth water; you don't have to bring them near. And he is surrounded with them. The companionship of woman is the pickles. Hence treatment in solitude is necessary.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 140 (October 27, 1882)

Grains Fallen Between Millstones

Man may be likened to grain. He has fallen between the millstones and is about to be crushed. Only the few grains that stay near the peg escape. Therefore men should take refuge at the peg, that is to say, in God. Call on Him. Sing His name. Then you will be free. Otherwise you will be crushed by the King of Death.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 155 (November 15, 1882)

Turmeric of Discrimination and Dispassion

One may enter the world after attaining discrimination and dispassion. In the ocean of the world there are six alligators: lust, anger, and so forth. But you need not fear the alligators if you smear your body with turmeric before you go into the water. Discrimination and dispassion are the turmeric. Discrimination is the knowledge of what is real and what is unreal. It is the realization that God alone is the real and eternal Substance and that all else is unreal, transitory, impermanent. And you must cultivate intense zeal for God. You must feel love for Him and be attracted to Him.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 140 (October 27, 1882)

Ganges as Brahman

The ever-pure Brahman has been transformed into the Ganges to purify all beings. So the Ganges is truly Brahman in the form of water. The minds of all who live on the bank of the Ganges become divine, and the spiritual inclinations of these people manifest spontaneously. The air filled with moisture of the Ganges purifies the land as far as it blows. The people who live in that area are endowed with good conduct, devotion to God, steadfastness, generosity, and austerity by the grace of Ganges, the daughter of the great Himalayas.

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 193

Parable of the Chameleon

Listen to a story. Once a man entered a wood and saw a small animal on a tree. He came back and told another man that he had seen a creature of a beautiful red colour on a certain tree. The second man replied: 'When I went into the wood, I also saw that animal. But why do you call it red? It is green.' Another man who was present contradicted them both and insisted that it was yellow. Presently others arrived and contended that it was grey, violet, blue, and so forth and so on. At last they started quarrelling among themselves. To settle the dispute they all went to the tree. They saw a man sitting under it. On being asked, he replied: 'Yes, I live under this tree and I know the animal very well. All your descriptions are true. Sometimes it appears red, sometimes yellow, and at other times blue, violet, grey, and so forth. It is a chameleon. And sometimes it has no colour at all. Now it has a colour, and now it has none.'

In like manner, one who constantly thinks of God can know His real nature; he alone knows that God reveals Himself to seekers in various forms and aspects. God has attributes; then again He has none. Only the man who lives under the tree knows that the chameleon can appear in various colours, and he knows, further, that the animal at times has no colour at all. It is the others who suffer from the agony of futile argument.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 149-50 (October 28, 1882)

God Alone Real

God alone is the real Substance; all else is illusory. Man can realize God if he wants to, but he madly craves the enjoyment of 'woman and gold'. The snake has a precious stone in its head, but it is perfectly satisfied to eat a mere frog.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 157 (November 19, 1882)

Intense Longing for God

BRAHMO DEVOTEE: "Sir, is it possible for one to see God? If so, why can't we see Him?"

MASTER: "Yes, He can surely be seen. One can see His forms, and His formless aspect as well. How can I explain that to you?"

BRAHMO DEVOTEE: "What are the means by which one can see God?"

MASTER: "Can you weep for Him with intense longing of heart? Men shed a jugful of tears for the sake of their children, for their wives, or for money. But who weeps for God? So long as the child remains engrossed with its toys, the mother looks after her cooking and other household duties. But when the child no longer relishes the toys, it throws them aside and yells for its mother. Then the mother takes the rice-pot down from the hearth, runs in haste, and takes the child in her arms."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 149 (October 28, 1882)

Infinite Paths

One should not think, 'My religion alone is the right path and other religions are false.' God can be realized by means of all paths. It is enough to have sincere yearning for God. Infinite are the paths and infinite the opinions.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 158 (November 1882)

Difficulty of Preaching

It is extremely difficult to teach others. A man can teach only if God reveals Himself to him and gives the command. Narada, Sukadeva, and sages like them had such a command from God, and Sankara had it too. Unless you have a command from God, who will listen to your words? … …

… But it won't do if a man only imagines that he has God's command.

God does reveal Himself to man and speak. Only then may one receive His command. How forceful are the words of such a teacher! They can move mountains. But mere lectures? People will listen to them for a few days and then forget them. They will never act on mere words.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 141-42 (October 27, 1882)

Badge of Authority

To teach others, one must have a badge of authority; otherwise teaching becomes a mockery. A man who is himself ignorant starts out to teach others - like the blind leading the blind! Instead of doing good, such teaching does harm. After the realization of God one obtains an inner vision. Only then can one diagnose a person's spiritual malady and give instruction.

Without the commission from God, a man becomes vain. He says to himself, 'I am teaching people.' This vanity comes from ignorance, for only an ignorant person feels that he is the doer. A man verily becomes liberated in life if he feels: 'God is the Doer. He alone is doing everything. I am doing nothing.' Man's sufferings and worries spring only from his persistent thought that he is the doer.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 142 (October 27, 1882)

Purity of Heart

God cannot be realized without purity of heart. One receives the grace of God by subduing the passions - lust, anger, and greed. Then one sees God. I tried many things in order to conquer lust.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 161 (December 1882)

Illusoriness of "I"

Think of Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, as a shoreless ocean. Through the cooling influence, as it were, of the bhakta's love, the water has frozen at places into blocks of ice. In other words, God now and then assumes various forms for His lovers and reveals Himself to them as a Person. But with the rising of the sun of Knowledge, the blocks of ice melt. Then one doesn't feel any more that God is a Person, nor does one see God's forms. What He is cannot be described. Who will describe Him? He who would do so disappears. He cannot find his 'I' any more.

If one analyses oneself, one doesn't find any such thing as 'I'. Take an onion, for instance. First of all you peel off the red outer skin; then you find thick white skins. Peel these off one after the other, and you won't find anything inside.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 148 (October 28, 1882)

No Finality about God's nature

A BRAHMO DEVOTEE: "Sir, has God forms or has He none?"

MASTER: "No one can say with finality that God is only 'this' and nothing else. He is formless, and again He has forms. For the bhakta He assumes forms. But He is formless for the jnani, that is, for him who looks on the world as a mere dream. The bhakta feels that he is one entity and the world another. Therefore God reveals Himself to him as a Person. But the jnani-the Vedantist, for instance-always reasons, applying the process of 'Not this, not this'. Through this discrimination he realizes, by his inner perception, that the ego and the universe are both illusory, like a dream. Then the jnani realizes Brahman in his own consciousness. He cannot describe what Brahman is.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 148 (October 28, 1882)

Power of God’s Name

By repeating a hundred times, 'I am a sinner', one verily becomes a sinner. One should have such faith as to be able to say, 'What? I have taken the name of God; how can I be a sinner?' God is our Father and Mother. Tell Him, 'O Lord, I have committed sins, but I won't repeat them.' Chant His name and purify your body and mind. Purify your tongue by singing God's holy name.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 159 (November 1882)

Sign of Perfect Knowledge

There is a sign of Perfect Knowledge. Man becomes silent when It is attained. Then the 'I', which may be likened to the salt doll, melts in the Ocean of Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute and becomes one with It. Not the slightest trace of distinction is left.

As long as his self-analysis is not complete, man argues with much ado. But he becomes silent when he completes it. When the empty pitcher has been filled with water, when the water inside the pitcher becomes one with the water of the lake outside, no more sound is heard. Sound comes from the pitcher as long as the pitcher is not filled with water.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 148 (October 28, 1882)

Necessity of Spiritual Discipline

Sri Ramakrishna went to see ‘Wilson Circus’ at Calcutta with devotees. In the circus, a horse raced around a circular track over which large iron rings were hung at intervals. The circus rider, an Englishwoman, stood on one foot on the horse's back, and as the horse passed under the rings, she jumped through them, always alighting on one foot on the horse's back. The horse raced around the entire circle, and the woman never missed the horse or lost her balance.

After the circus, Sri Ramakrishna said to M.: “Did you see how that Englishwoman stood on one foot on her horse, while it ran like lightning? How difficult a feat that must be! She must have practised a long time. The slightest carelessness and she would break her arms or legs; she might even be killed. One faces the same difficulty leading the life of a householder. A few succeed in it through the grace of God and as a result of their spiritual practice. But most people fail. Entering the world, they become more and more involved in it; they drown in worldliness and suffer the agonies of death. A few only, like Janaka, have succeeded, through the power of their austerity, in leading the spiritual life as householders. Therefore spiritual practice is extremely necessary; otherwise one cannot rightly live in the world.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 154 (November 15, 1882)

Guilelessness

Without giving up worldliness a man cannot awaken his spiritual consciousness, nor can he realize God. He cannot but be a hypocrite as long as he has even a trace of worldly desire. God cannot be realized without guilelessness.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 176 (1 January 1883)

Bhakti for Kaliyuga

Yours is the path of bhakti. That is very good; it is an easy path. Who can fully know the infinite God? And what need is there of knowing the Infinite? Having attained this rare human birth, my supreme need is to develop love for the Lotus Feet of God.

If a jug of water is enough to remove my thirst, why should I measure the quantity of water in a lake? I become drunk on even half a bottle of wine-what is the use of my calculating the quantity of liquor in the tavern? What need is there of knowing the Infinite?

The various states of mind of the Brahmajnani are described in the Vedas. The path of knowledge is extremely difficult. One cannot obtain jnāna if one has the least trace of worldliness and the slightest attachment to 'woman and gold'. This is not the path for the Kaliyuga.

• Sri Ramakrishna to Brahmo Devotees,

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 150 (October 28, 1882)

Past Lives

One must admit the existence of tendencies inherited from previous births. There is a story about a man who practised the sava-sadhana. He worshipped the Divine Mother in a deep forest. First he saw many terrible visions. Finally a tiger attacked and killed him. Another man, happening to pass and seeing the approach of the tiger, had climbed a tree. Afterwards he got down and found all the arrangements for worship at hand. He performed some purifying ceremonies and seated himself on the corpse. No sooner had he done a little japa than the Divine Mother appeared before him and said: 'My child, I am very much pleased with you. Accept a boon from Me.' He bowed low at the Lotus Feet of the Goddess and said: 'May I ask You one question, Mother? I am speechless with amazement at Your action. The other man worked so hard to get the ingredients for Your worship and tried to propitiate You for such a long time, but You didn't condescend to show him Your favour. And I, who don't know anything of worship, who have done nothing, who have neither devotion nor knowledge nor love, and who haven't practised any austerities, am receiving so much of Your grace.' The Divine Mother said with a laugh: 'My child, you don't remember your previous births. For many births you tried to propitiate Me through austerities. As a result of those austerities all these things have come to hand, and you have been blessed with My Vision. Now ask Me your boon.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 163-64 (14 December 1882)

Suicide

Suicide is a heinous sin, undoubtedly. A man who kills himself must return again and again to this world and suffer its agony. – Sri Ramakrishna

All in Proper Time

MASTER (to the Marwari devotees): "You see, the feeling of 'I' and 'mine' is the result of ignorance. But to say, 'O God, Thou art the Doer; all these belong to Thee' is the sign of Knowledge. How can you say such a thing as 'mine'? … …

Anger and lust cannot be destroyed. Turn them toward God. If you must feel desire and temptation, then desire to realize God, feel tempted by Him. Discriminate and turn the passions away from worldly objects. When the elephant is about to devour a plaintain-tree in someone's garden, the mahut strikes it with his iron-tipped goad.

"You are merchants. You know how to improve your business gradually. Some of you start with a castor-oil factory. After making some money at that, you open a cloth shop. In the same way, one makes progress toward God. It may be that you go into solitude, now and then, and devote more time to prayer.

"But you must remember that nothing can be achieved except in its proper time. Some persons must pass through many experiences and perform many worldly duties before they can turn their attention to God; so they have to wait a long time. If an abscess is lanced before it is soft, the result is not good; the surgeon makes the opening when it is soft and has come to a head. Once a child said to its mother: 'Mother, I am going to sleep now. Please wake me up when I feel the call of nature.' 'My child,' said the mother, 'when it is time for that, you will wake up yourself. I shan't have to wake you.' "

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 162 (December 1882)

Entanglement of Householders

Speaking of householders entangled in worldliness, the Master said: "They are like the silk-worm. They can come out of the cocoon of their worldly life if they wish. But they can't bear to; for they themselves have built the cocoon with great love and care. So they die there. Or they are like the fish in a trap. They can come out of it by the way they entered, but they sport inside the trap with other fish and hear the sweet sound of the murmuring water and forget everything else. They don't even make an effort to free themselves from the trap. The lisping of children is the murmur of the water; and the other fish are relatives and friends. Only one or two make good their escape by running away. They are the liberated souls."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 155 (November 15, 1882)

Maya in-between

Rama, who is God Himself, was only two and a half cubits ahead of Lakshmana. But Lakshmana couldn't see Him because Sita stood between them. Lakshmana may be compared to the jiva, and Sita to maya. Man cannot see God on account of the barrier of maya. Just look: I am creating a barrier in front of my face with this towel. Now you can't see me, even though I am so near. Likewise, God is the nearest of all, but we cannot see Him on account of this covering of maya.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 169 (14 December 1882)

Compassion and Attachment

Remember that daya, compassion, and maya, attachment, are two different things. Attachment means the feeling of 'my-ness' toward one's relatives. It is the love one feels for one's parents, one's brother, one's sister, one's wife and children. Compassion is the love one feels for all beings of the world. It is an attitude of equality. If you see anywhere an instance of compassion, as in Vidyasagar, know that it is due to the grace of God. Through compassion one serves all beings. Maya also comes from God. Through maya God makes one serve one's relatives. But one thing should be remembered: maya keeps us in ignorance and entangles us in the world, whereas daya makes our hearts pure and gradually unties our bonds.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 161 (December 1882)

Worldly-minded Forget their Lessons

The bound creatures, entangled in worldliness, will not come to their senses at all. They suffer so much misery and agony, they face so many dangers, and yet they will not wake up.

The camel loves to eat thorny bushes. The more it eats the thorns, the more the blood gushes from its mouth. Still it must eat thorny plants and will never give them up. The man of worldly nature suffers so much sorrow and affliction, but he forgets it all in a few days and begins his old life over again. Suppose a man has lost his wife or she has turned unfaithful. Lo! He marries again.

Or take the instance of a mother: her son dies and she suffers bitter grief; but after a few days she forgets all about it. The mother, so overwhelmed with sorrow a few days before, now attends to her toilet and puts on her jewellery. A father becomes bankrupt through the marriage of his daughters, yet he goes on having children year after year. People are ruined by litigation, yet they go to court all the same. There are men who cannot feed the children they have, who cannot clothe them or provide decent shelter for them; yet they have more children every year.

Again, the worldly man is like a snake trying to swallow a mole. The snake can neither swallow the mole nor give it up. The bound soul may have realized that there is no substance to the world-that the world is like a hog plum, only stone and skin-but still he cannot give it up and turn his mind to God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 165 (14 December 1882)

Difficulties of Preaching

“… Man is an insignificant creature. He cannot fulfil the difficult task of a teacher without receiving power direct from God.”

VIJAY: "Don't the teachings of the Brahmo Samaj bring men salvation?"

MASTER: "How is it ever possible for one man to liberate another from the bondage of the world? God alone, the Creator of this world-bewitching maya, can save men from maya. There is no other refuge but that great Teacher, Satchidananda. How is it ever possible for men who have not realized God or received His command, and who are not strengthened with divine strength, to save others from the prison-house of the world?

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 168 (14 December 1882)

Ego alone the Cause of Bondage

VIJAY: "Sir, why are we bound like this? Why don't we see God?"

MASTER: "Maya is nothing but the egotism of the embodied soul. This egotism has covered everything like a veil. ‘All troubles come to an end when the ego dies.’ If by the grace of God a man but once realizes that he is not the doer, then he at once becomes a Jivanmukta. Though living in the body, he is liberated. He has nothing else to fear.

"This maya, that is to say, the ego, is like a cloud. The sun cannot be seen on account of a thin patch of cloud; when that disappears one sees the sun. If by the grace of the guru one's ego vanishes, then one sees God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 168-69 (14 December 1882)

First Vision of Sita

One day at that time I was seated under the Panchavati. I was in a state of ordinary consciousness, well aware of my surroundings. All of a sudden a luminous female figure of exquisite grace appeared before me. Her radiance lit up everything around her. I could see her, and at the same time I could see the trees and plants of the Panchavati, the Ganges, everything. I saw that she was human, for she had no marks of a divine being upon her, such as a third eye. But the sublime qualities reflected in her face – love, sorrow, compassion, and fortitude – are seldom to be seen even among goddesses. Slowly she advanced towards me, from the direction of the north, all the while looking at me with gracious eyes. I was amazed. I was wondering who she might be when suddenly a monkey uttered a cry, fell at her feet, and rolled on the ground. Then it came to me in a flash that she must be Sita, the daughter of King Janaka, who had suffered so greatly all her life, and whose whole life had been devoted to her husband, Rama. Overcome by emotion, I cried out ‘Mother’ and was about to fall at her feet when she instantly passed into my body and became merged in it. Overwhelmed with joy and wonder, I fell unconscious on the ground. This was the first vision I ever had with my eyes wide open, and when I wasn’t meditating. It seems that it is because my first such vision was of Sita in her sorrowful aspect that I’ve had so much suffering in my life.

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 228

Maya Creates Upadhis

"The jiva is nothing but the embodiment of Satchidananda. But since maya, or ego, has created various upadhis, he has forgotten his real Self.

"Each upadhi changes man's nature. If he wears a fine black-bordered cloth, you will at once find him humming Nidhu Babu's love-songs. Then playing-cards and a walking-stick follow. If even a sickly man puts on high boots, he begins to whistle and climbs the stairs like an Englishman, jumping from one step to another. If a man but holds a pen in his hand, he scribbles on any paper he can get hold of-such is the power of the pen!

"Money is also a great upadhi. The possession of money makes such a difference in a man! He is no longer the same person. A brahmin used to frequent the temple garden. Outwardly he was very modest. One day I went to Konnagar with Hriday. No sooner did we get off the boat than we noticed the brahmin seated on the bank of the Ganges. We thought he had been enjoying the fresh air. Looking at us, he said: 'Hello there, priest! How do you do?' I marked his tone and said to Hriday: 'The man must have got some money. That's why he talks that way.' Hriday laughed.

"A frog had a rupee, which he kept in his hole. One day an elephant was going over the hole, and the frog, coming out in a fit of anger, raised his foot, as if to kick the elephant, and said, 'How dare you walk over my head?' Such is the pride that money begets! "One can get rid of the ego after the attainment of Knowledge.

On attaining Knowledge one goes into samādhi, and the ego disappears. But it is very difficult to obtain such Knowledge.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 169 (14 December 1882)

The "wicked I"

The 'I' that makes one a worldly person and attaches one to 'woman and gold' is the 'wicked I'. The intervention of this ego creates the difference between jiva and Ātman. Water appears to be divided into two parts if one puts a stick across it. But in reality there is only one water. It appears as two on account of the stick. This 'I' is the stick. Remove the stick and there remains only one water as before.

Now, what is this 'wicked I'? It is the ego that says: 'What? Don't they know me? I have so much money! Who is wealthier than I?' If a thief robs such a man of only ten rupees, first of all he wrings the money out of the thief, then he gives him a good beating. But the matter doesn't end there: the thief is handed over to the police and is eventually sent to jail. The 'wicked I' says: 'What? Doesn't the rogue know whom he has robbed? To steal my ten rupees! How dare he?'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 170 (14 December 1882)

Hatha-Yoga not for this Age

Those practices are not meant for this age. In this Kaliyuga people are short-lived and their existence depends on food alone. Where is the time now to make the body strong by practicing hatha-yoga, and then to call on God through raja yoga? If one wants to practice the techniques of hath-yoga, he should stay constantly with a perfect guru and follow strict rules regarding food and other activities, according to the guru’s instructions. Even the slightest deviation from those requirements causes serious health problems, and sometimes the aspirant can die. So it is not necessary to practice hatha-yoga. Moreover it is for the sake of controlling the mind that one controls the breath by practicing pranayama and kumbhaka. One can have automatic control over the mind and breath through meditation on God and devotion. In this Kaliyuga human beings are short-lived and weak, so out of compassion God made their path for Self-realization easy. A person feels anguish and emptiness at the death of a spouse or child; if one has that kind of longing for God for twenty-four hours continuously, God will definitely reveal Himself.

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 229-30

‘I want to Eat Sugar’

'I don't want to become sugar; I want to eat it.' I never feel like saying, 'I am Brahman.' I say, 'Thou art my Lord and I am Thy servant.' It is better to make the mind go up and down between the fifth and sixth planes, like a boat racing between two points. I don't want to go beyond the sixth plane and keep my mind a long time in the seventh. My desire is to sing the name and glories of God. It is very good to look on God as the Master and oneself as His servant. Further, you see, people speak of the waves as belonging to the Ganges; but no one says that the Ganges belongs to the waves. The feeling, 'I am He', is not wholesome. A man who entertains such an idea, while looking on his body as the Self, causes himself great harm. He cannot go forward in spiritual life; he drags himself down. He deceives himself as well as others. He cannot understand his own state of mind.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 172 (14 December 1882)

Prema-bhakti

But it isn't any and every kind of bhakti that enables one to realize God. One cannot realize God without prema-bhakti. Another name for prema-bhakti is raga-bhakti. God cannot be realized without love and longing. Unless one has learnt to love God, one cannot realize Him.

There is another kind of bhakti, known as vaidhi-bhakti, according to which one must repeat the name of God a fixed number of times, fast, make pilgrimages, worship God with prescribed offerings, make so many sacrifices, and so forth and so on. By continuing such practices a long time one gradually acquires raga-bhakti. God cannot be realized until one has raga-bhakti. One must love God. In order to realize God one must be completely free from worldliness and direct all of one's mind to Him.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 172 (14 December 1882)

Ripe Bhakti

VIJAY: "Is bhakti alone sufficient for the attainment of God, for His vision?"

MASTER: "Yes, one can see God through bhakti alone. But it must be 'ripe' bhakti, prema-bhakti and raga-bhakti. When one has that bhakti, one loves God even as the mother loves the child, the child the mother, or the wife the husband.

"When one has such love and attachment for God, one doesn't feel the attraction of maya to wife, children, relatives, and friends. One retains only compassion for them. To such a man the world appears a strange land, a place where he has merely to perform his duties.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 173 (14 December 1882)

Purity of Heart

VIJAY: "How can one see God?"

MASTER: "One cannot see God without purity of heart. Through attachment to 'woman and gold' the mind has become stained-covered with dirt, as it were. A magnet cannot attract a needle if the needle is covered with mud. Wash away the mud and the magnet will draw it. Likewise, the dirt of the mind can be washed away with the tears of our eyes. This stain is removed if one sheds tears of repentance and says, 'O God, I shall never again do such a thing.' Thereupon God, who is like the magnet, draws to Himself the mind, which is like the needle. Then the devotee goes into samādhi and obtains the vision of God.

• Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 173-74 (14 December 1882)

The "ego of a devotee"

VIJAY (to the Master): "Sir, you ask us to renounce the 'wicked I'. Is there any harm in the 'servant I'?"

MASTER: "The 'servant I'-that is, the feeling, 'I am the servant of God, I am the devotee of God'-does not injure one. On the contrary, it helps one to realize God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 171 (14 December 1882)

Bhaktiyoga

Even after attaining samādhi, some retain the 'servant ego' or the 'devotee ego'. The Bhakta keeps this 'I-consciousness'. He says, 'O God, Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant; Thou art the Lord and I am Thy devotee.' He feels that way even after the realization of God. His 'I' is not completely effaced. Again, by constantly practising this kind of 'I-consciousness', one ultimately attains God. This is called bhaktiyoga.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 171 (14 December 1882)

Jnanayoga

"One can attain the Knowledge of Brahman, too, by following the path of bhakti. God is all-powerful. He may give His devotee Brahmajnāna also, if He so wills. But the devotee generally doesn't seek the Knowledge of the Absolute. He would rather have the consciousness that God is the Master and he the servant, or that God is the Divine Mother and he the child."

VIJAY: "But those who discriminate according to the Vedanta philosophy also realize Him in the end, don't they?"

MASTER: "Yes, one may reach Him by following the path of discrimination too: that is called Jnanayoga. But it is an extremely difficult path.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 171 (14 December 1882)

Damp Match-Sticks

One cannot see God if one has even the slightest trace of worldliness. Match-sticks, if damp, won't strike fire though you rub a thousand of them against the match-box. You only waste a heap of sticks. The mind soaked in worldliness is such a damp match-stick.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 173 (14 December 1882)

God's Grace is the Ultimate Help

You may try thousands of times, but nothing can be achieved without God's grace. One cannot see God without His grace. Is it an easy thing to receive the grace of God? One must altogether renounce egotism; one cannot see God as long as one feels, 'I am the doer.' Suppose, in a family, a man has taken charge of the store-room; then if someone asks the master, 'Sir, will you yourself kindly give me something from the store-room?', the master says to him: 'There is already someone in the store-room. What can I do there?'

God doesn't easily appear in the heart of a man who feels himself to be his own master. But God can be seen the moment His grace descends.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 174 (14 December 1882)

Path of Knowledge is Very Difficult

The path of knowledge is very difficult. One cannot obtain Knowledge unless one gets rid of the feeling that one is the body. In the Kaliyuga the life of man is centred on food. He cannot get rid of the feeling that he is the body and the ego. Therefore the path of devotion is prescribed for this cycle.

This is an easy path. You will attain God if you sing His name and glories and pray to Him with a longing heart. There is not the least doubt about it.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 170-71 (14 December 1882)

One Ray of God

He [God] is the Sun of Knowledge. One single ray of His has illumined the world with the light of knowledge. That is how we are able to see one another and acquire varied knowledge. One can see God only if He turns His light toward His own face.

The police sergeant goes his rounds in the dark of night with a lantern6 in his hand. No one sees his face; but with the help of that light the sergeant sees everybody's face, and others, too, can see one another. If you want to see the sergeant, however, you must pray to him: 'Sir, please turn the light on your own face. Let me see you.' In the same way one must pray to God: 'O Lord, be gracious and turn the light of knowledge on Thyself, that I may see Thy face.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 174 (14 December 1882)

Jnani becomes Silent

Reasoning and discrimination vanish after the attainment of God and communion with Him in samādhi. How long does a man reason and discriminate? As long as he is conscious of the manifold, as long as he is aware of the universe, of embodied beings, of 'I' and 'you'. He becomes silent when he is truly aware of Unity. This was the case with Trailanga Swami.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 177 (1 January 1883)

All Exists because of God

The universe and its created beings, and the twenty-four cosmic principles, all exist because God exists. Nothing remains if God is eliminated. The number increases if you put many zeros after the figure one; but the zeros don't have any value if the one is not there.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 178 (1 January 1883)

Two ways of God-realization

A MARWARI DEVOTEE: "Sir, what is the way?"

MASTER: "There are two ways. One is the path of discrimination, the other is that of love. Discrimination means to know the distinction between the Real and the unreal. God alone is the real and permanent Substance; all else is illusory and impermanent. The magician alone is real; his magic is illusory. This is discrimination.

"Discrimination and renunciation. Discrimination means to know the distinction between the Real and the unreal. Renunciation means to have dispassion for the things of the world. One cannot acquire them all of a sudden. They must be practised every day. … …

…

MARWARI DEVOTEE: "Revered sir, you just mentioned two paths. What is the other

path?"

MASTER: "The path of bhakti, or zealous love of God. Weep for God in solitude, with a restless soul, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you.

Cry to your Mother Syama with a real cry, O mind!

And how can She hold Herself from you? "

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 179-80 (1 January 1883)

Brahmajnāna

Many people talk of Brahmajnāna, but their minds are always preoccupied with lower things: house, buildings, money, name, and sense pleasures. As long as you stand at the foot of the Monument [Ochterloney Monument of Calcutta], so long do you see horses, carriages, Englishmen, and Englishwomen. But when you climb to its top, you behold the sky and the ocean stretching to infinity. Then you do not enjoy buildings, carriages, horses, or men. They look like ants.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 177 (1 January 1883)

Hathayoga and Rajayoga

(Pointing to the singer) "A little while ago he sang a song describing the six centres. These are dealt with in Yoga. There are two kinds of yoga: hathayoga and rajayoga. The hathayogi practises physical exercises. His goal is to acquire supernatural powers: longevity and the eight psychic powers. These are his aims. But the aim of rajayoga is the attainment of devotion, ecstatic love, knowledge, and renunciation. Of these two, rajayoga is the better.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 244 (10 June 1883)

Peace in the End

All such things as attachment to the world and enthusiasm for 'woman and gold' disappear after the attainment of the Knowledge of Brahman. Then comes the cessation of all passions. When the log burns, it makes a crackling noise and one sees the flame. But when the burning is over and only ash remains, then no more noise is heard. Thirst disappears with the destruction of attachment. Finally comes peace.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 177-78 (1 January 1883)

God's Name destroys Sin

NEIGHBOUR: "Sir, we are sinners. What will happen to us?"

MASTER: "All the sins of the body flyaway if one chants the name of God and sings His glories. The birds of sin dwell in the tree of the body. Singing the name of God is like clapping your hands. As, at a clap of the hands, the birds in the tree flyaway, so do our sins disappear at the chanting of God's name and glories.

"Again, you find that the water of a reservoir dug in a meadow is evaporated by the heat of the sun. Likewise, the water of the reservoir of sin is dried up by the singing of the name and glories of God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 181-82 (18 February 1883)

Paths of Knowledge and Devotion

A NEIGHBOUR: "Revered sir, what are the doctrines of Vedanta?"

MASTER: "The Vedantist says, 'I am He.' Brahman is real and the world illusory. Even the 'I' is illusory. Only the Supreme Brahman exists.

"But the 'I' cannot be got rid of. Therefore it is good to have the feeling, 'I am the servant of God, His son, His devotee.'

"For the Kāli Yuga the path of bhakti is especially good. One can realize God through bhakti too. As long as one is conscious of the body, one is also conscious of objects. Form, taste, smell, sound, and touch-these are the objects. It is extremely difficult to get rid of the consciousness of objects. And one cannot realize 'I am He' as long as one is aware of objects.

"The sannyasi is very little conscious of worldly objects. But the householder is always engrossed in them. Therefore it is good for him to feel, 'I am the servant of God.'"

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 181 (18 February 1883)

Pure Mind, Buddhi, Atman

God is realized as soon as the mind becomes free from attachment. Whatever appears in the Pure Mind is the voice of God. That which is Pure Mind is also Pure Buddhi; that, again, is Pure Ātman, because there is nothing pure but God. But in order to realize God one must go beyond dharma and adharma.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 178 (1 January 1883)

Faith

"You were absolutely right when you said that through faith alone one achieves all."

ISHAN: "But we are householders."

MASTER: "What if you are? Through His grace even the impossible becomes possible. Ramprasad sang, 'This world is a mere framework of illusion.' Another man composed a song by way of reply:

This very world is a mansion of mirth;

Here I can eat, here drink and make merry.

Janaka's might was unsurpassed;

What did he lack of the world or the Spirit?

Holding to one as well as the other,

He drank his milk from a brimming cup!

"One should first realize God through spiritual discipline in solitude, and then live in the world. Only then can one be a King Janaka. What can you achieve otherwise?

"Further, take the case of Śiva. He has everything - Kartika, Ganesa, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati. Still, sometimes He dances in a state of divine fervour, chanting the name of Rāma, and sometimes He is absorbed in samādhi."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 293 (22 September 1883)

Weapons and Nail-knife

What is there in mere scholarship? God can be attained by crying to Him with a longing heart. There is no need to know many things. He who is an Āchārya has to know different things. One needs a sword and shield to kill others; but to kill oneself, a needle or a nail-knife suffices.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 180 (1 January 1883)

Glories of the Divine Mother

The Master sang:

Out of my deep affliction rescue me, O Redeemer!

Terrified by the threats of the King of Death am I!

Left to myself, I shall perish soon;

Save me, oh, save me now, I pray!

Mother of all the worlds! Thou, the Support of mankind!

Thou, the Bewitcher of all, the Mother of all that has life!

Vrindāvan's charming Radha art Thou,

Dearest playmate of Braja's Beloved.

Blissful comrade of Krishna, well-spring of Krishna's lila,

Child of Himālaya, best of the gopis, beloved of Govinda!

Sacred Ganga, Giver of moksha!

Śakti! The universe sings Thy praise.

Thou art the Spouse of Śiva, the Ever-blessed, the All;

Sometimes Thou takest form and sometimes art absolute.

Eternal Beloved of Mahādeva,

Who can fathom Thine infinite glories?

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 301 (10 October 1883)

Constant practice urged

Through the discipline of constant practice one is able to give up attachment to 'woman and gold'. That is what the Gita says. By practice one acquires uncommon power of mind. Then one doesn't find it difficult to subdue the sense-organs and to bring anger, lust, and the like under control. Such a man behaves like a tortoise, which, once it has tucked in its limbs, never puts them out. You cannot make the tortoise put its limbs out again, though you chop it to pieces with an axe.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 179 (1 January 1883)

Awake Mother

Sri Ramakrishna began his midday meal with the devotees. It was about one o'clock. A devotee sang in the courtyard below:

Awake, Mother! Awake! How long Thou hast been asleep

In the lotus of the Muladhara!

Fulfil Thy secret function, Mother:

Rise to the thousand-petalled lotus within the head,

Where mighty Śiva has His dwelling;

Swiftly pierce the six lotuses

And take away my grief, O Essence of Consciousness!

Hearing the song, Sri Ramakrishna went into samādhi; his whole body became still, and his hand remained touching the plate of food. He could eat no more. After a long time his mind came down partially to the plane of the sense world, and he said, "I want to go downstairs." A devotee led him down very carefully. Still in an abstracted mood, he sat near the singer. The song had ended. The Master said to him very humbly, "Sir, I want to hear the chanting of the Mother's name again."

The musician sang:

Awake, Mother! Awake! How long Thou hast been asleep

In the lotus of the Muladhara! . . .

The Master again went into ecstasy.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 182 (18 February 1883, At a Devotee’s house)

Neti, Neti

One ultimately discovers God by trying to know who this 'I' is. Is this 'I' the flesh, the bones, the blood, or the marrow? Is it the mind or the buddhi? Analysing thus, you realize at last that you are none of these. This is called the process of 'Neti, neti', 'Not this, not this'. One can neither comprehend nor touch the Ātman. It is without qualities or attributes.

But, according to the path of devotion, God has attributes. To a devotee Krishna is Spirit, His Abode is Spirit, and everything about Him is Spirit.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 180 (1 January 1883)

Performance of Duty

DEVOTEE: "Sir, why has God put us in the world?"

MASTER: "The world is the field of action. Through action one acquires knowledge. The guru instructs the disciple to perform certain works and refrain from others. Again, he advises the pupil to perform action without desiring the result. The impurity of the mind is destroyed through the performance of duty. It is like getting rid of a disease by means of medicine, under the instruction of a competent physician.

Why doesn't God free us from the world? Ah, He will free us when the disease is cured. He will liberate us from the world when we are through with the enjoyment of 'woman and gold'. Once a man registers his name in the hospital, he cannot run away. The doctor will not let him go away unless his illness is completely cured.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 185 (9 March 1883)

Personal God and Incarnation

MARWARI DEVOTEE: "Sir, what is the meaning of the worship of the Personal God? And what is the meaning of God without form or attribute?"

MASTER: "As you recall your father by his photograph, so likewise the worship of the image reveals in a flash the nature of Reality.

"Do you know what God with form is like? Like bubbles rising on an expanse of water, various divine forms are seen to rise out of the Great Ākāśa of Consciousness. The Incarnation of God is one of these forms. The Primal Energy sports, as it were, through the activities of a Divine Incarnation.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 180 (1 January 1883)

Parable of the Tigress

Some think: 'Oh, I am a bound soul. I shall never acquire knowledge and devotion.' But if one receives the guru's grace, one has nothing to fear. Once a tigress attacked a flock of goats. As she sprang on her prey, she gave birth to a cub and died. The cub grew up in the company of the goats. The goats ate grass and the cub followed their example. They bleated; the cub bleated too. Gradually it grew to be a big tiger. One day another tiger attacked the same flock. It was amazed to see the grass-eating tiger. Running after it, the wild tiger at last seized it, whereupon the grass-eating tiger began to bleat. The wild tiger dragged it to the water and said: 'Look at your face in the water. It is just like mine. Here is a little meat. Eat it.' Saying this, it thrust some meat into its mouth. But the grass-eating tiger would not swallow it and began to bleat again. Gradually, however, it got the taste for blood and came to relish the meat. Then the wild tiger said: 'Now you see there is no difference between you and me. Come along and follow me into the forest.'

So there can be no fear if the guru's grace descends on one. He will let you know who you are and what your real nature is.

If the devotee practises spiritual discipline a little, the guru explains everything to him. Then the disciple understands for himself what is real and what is unreal. God alone is real, and the world is illusory.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 232-33 (4 June 1883)

Incarnation of God

DEVOTEE: "Can one see God?"

MASTER: "Yes, surely. One can see both aspects of God - God with form and without form. One can see God with form, the Embodiment of Spirit. Again, God can be directly perceived in a man with a tangible form. Seeing an Incarnation of God is the same as seeing God Himself. God is born on earth as man in every age."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 186 (9 March 1883)

Life of Worldliness

God alone exists, and all else is unreal. The Divine Mother has kept all deluded by Her maya. Look at men. Most of them are entangled in worldliness. They suffer so much, but still they have the same attachment to 'woman and gold'. The camel eats thorny shrubs, and blood gushes from its mouth; still it will eat thorns. While suffering pain at the time of delivery, a woman says, 'Ah! I shall never go to my husband again.' But afterwards she forgets.

The truth is that no one seeks God. There are people who eat the prickly leaves of the pineapple and not the fruit.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 184-85 (9 March 1883)

Parable of the Elephant and the Blind Men

One can rightly speak of God only after one has seen Him. He who has seen God knows really and truly that God has form and that He is formless as well. He has many other aspects that cannot be described.

Once some blind men chanced to come near an animal that someone told them was an elephant. They were asked what the elephant was like. The blind men began to feel its body. One of them said the elephant was like a pillar; he had touched only its leg. Another said it was like a winnowing-fan; he had touched only its ear. In this way the others, having touched its tail or belly, gave their different versions of the elephant. Just so, a man who has seen only one aspect of God limits God to that alone. It is his conviction that God cannot be anything else.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 191 (11 March 1883)

Dogmatism Condemned

With sincerity and earnestness one can realize God through all religions. The Vaishnavas will realize God, and so will the Saktas, the Vedantists, and the Brahmos. The Mussalmans and Christians will realize Him too. All will certainly realize God if they are earnest and sincere.

Some people indulge in quarrels, saying, 'One cannot attain anything unless one worships our Krishna', or, 'Nothing can be gained without the worship of Kāli, our Divine Mother', or, 'One cannot be saved without accepting the Christian religion.' This is pure dogmatism. The dogmatist says, 'My religion alone is true, and the religions of others are false.' This is a bad attitude. God can be reached by different paths.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 191 (11 March 1883)

Jivatma and Paramatma

Everyone can attain Knowledge. There are two entities: Jivatma, the individual soul, and Paramatma, the Supreme Soul. Through prayer all individual souls can be united to the Supreme Soul. Every house has a connection for gas, and gas can be obtained from the main storage-tank of the Gas Company. Apply to the Company, and it will arrange for your supply of gas. Then your house will be lighted.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 205 (8 April 1883)

Parable of Homa Bird

There is the parable of the Homa bird in the Vedas. The bird lives high up in the sky and never descends to earth. It lays its egg in the sky, and the egg begins to fall. But the bird lives in such a high region that the egg hatches while falling. The fledgling comes out and continues to fall. But it is still so high that while falling it grows wings and its eyes open. Then the young bird perceives that it is dashing down toward the earth and will be instantly killed. The moment it sees the ground, it turns and shoots up toward its mother in the sky. Then its one goal is to reach its mother.

Youngsters like Rakhal are like that bird. From their very childhood they are afraid of the world, and their one thought is how to reach the Mother, how to realize God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 192 (11 March 1883)

Mother’s Machine

The kirtan went on:

O Mother, what a machine [the human body] is this that Thou hast made!

What pranks Thou playest with this toy

Three and a half cubits high!

Hiding Thyself within, Thou holdest the guiding string;

But the machine, not knowing it,

Still believes it moves by itself.

Whoever finds the Mother remains a machine no more;

Yet some machines have even bound

The Mother Herself with the string of Love.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 193 (11 March 1883)

Remembering God

A holy man who has renounced the world will of course chant the name of God. That is only natural. He has no other duties to perform. If he meditates on God it shouldn't surprise anybody. On the other hand, if he fails to think of God or chant His holy name, then people will think ill of him.

But it is a great deal to his credit if a householder utters the name of the Lord. Think of King Janaka. What courage he had, indeed! He fenced with two swords, the one of Knowledge and the other of work. He possessed the perfect Knowledge of Brahman and also was devoted to the duties of the world. An unchaste woman attends to the minutest duties of the world, but her mind always dwells on her paramour.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 193 (11 March 1883)

Renunciation, False and True

There are three or four varieties of renunciation. Afflicted with miseries at home, one may put on the ochre cloth of a monk; but that renunciation doesn't last long. Again, a man out of work puts on an ochre wearing-cloth and goes off to Benares. After three months he writes home: 'I have a job here. I shall come home in a few days. Don't worry about me.' Again, a man may have everything he wants. He lacks nothing, yet he does not enjoy his possessions. He weeps for God alone. That is real renunciation.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 195 (29 March 1883)

Scriptures

One should hear the scriptures during the early stages of spiritual discipline. After attaining God there is no lack of knowledge. Then the Divine Mother supplies it without fail.

A child spells out every word as he writes, but later on he writes fluently.

The goldsmith is up and doing while melting gold. As long as the gold hasn't melted, he works the bellows with one hand, moves the fan with the other, and blows through a pipe with his mouth. But the moment the gold melts and is poured into the mould, he is relieved of all anxiety.

Mere reading of the scriptures is not enough. A person cannot understand the true significance of the scriptures if he is attached to the world.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 200 (7 April 1883)

Indications of God-Realization

There are certain signs of God-realization. The man in whom longing for God manifests its glories is not far from attaining Him. What are the glories of that longing? They are discrimination, dispassion, compassion for living beings, serving holy men, loving their company, chanting the name and glories of God, telling the truth, and the like. When you see those signs of longing in an aspirant, you can rightly say that for him the vision of God is not far to seek.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 203 (8 April 1883)

Efficacy of Japa and Prayer

A DEVOTEE: "Sir, should one first practise discrimination to attain self-control?"

MASTER: "That is also a path. It is called the path of vichara, reasoning. But the inner organs [mind, intellect, chitta, ego] are brought under control naturally through the path of devotion as well. It is rather easily accomplished that way. Sense pleasures appear more and more tasteless as love for God grows. Can carnal pleasure attract a grief-stricken man and woman the day their child has died?"

DEVOTEE: "How can I develop love for God?"

MASTER: "Repeat His name, and sins will disappear. Thus you will destroy lust, anger, the desire for creature comforts, and so on."

DEVOTEE: "How can I take delight in God's name?"

MASTER: "Pray to God with a yearning heart that you may take delight in His name. He will certainly fulfil your heart's desire."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 203 (8 April 1883)

Parable of the Two Friends

'As is a man's feeling of love, so is his gain.' Once two friends were going along the street, when they saw some people listening to a reading of the Bhagavata. 'Come, friend', said the one to the other. 'Let us hear the sacred book.' So saying he went in and sat down. The second man peeped in and went away. He entered a house of ill fame. But very soon he felt disgusted with the place. 'Shame on me!' he said to himself. 'My friend has been listening to the sacred word of Hari; and see where I am!' But the friend who had been listening to the Bhagavata also became disgusted. 'What a fool I am!' he said. 'I have been listening to this fellow's blah-blah, and my friend is having a grand time.' In course of time they both died. The messenger of Death came for the soul of the one who had listened to the Bhagavata and dragged it off to hell. The messenger of God came for the soul of the one who had been to the house of

prostitution and led it up to heaven.

Verily, the Lord looks into a man's heart and does not judge him by what he does or where he lives. 'Krishna accepts a devotee's inner feeling of love.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 204 (8 April 1883)

'I' and 'mine'

'I' and 'mine'-that is ignorance. By discriminating you will realize that what you call 'I' is really nothing but Ātman. Reason it out. Are you the body or the flesh or something else? At the end you will know that you are none of these. You are free from attributes. Then you will realize that you have never been the doer of any action, that you have been free from virtue and faults alike, that you are beyond righteousness and unrighteousness.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 208 (8 April 1883)

Zeal for the Lord destroys Sin

As the tiger devours other animals, so does the 'tiger of zeal for the Lord' eat up lust, anger, and the other passions. Once this zeal grows in the heart, lust and the other passions disappear. The gopis of Vrindāvan had that state of mind because of their zeal for Krishna.

Again, this zeal for God is compared to collyrium. Radha said to her friends, 'I see Krishna everywhere.' They replied, 'Friend, you have painted your eyes with the collyrium of love; that is why you see Krishna everywhere.'

They say that when your eyes are painted with collyrium made from the ashes of a frog's head you see snakes everywhere.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 206 (8 April 1883)

Mahamaya of God

This universe is created the Mahamaya of God. Mahamaya contains both Vidyā-māyā, the illusion of knowledge, and Avidyā-māyā, the illusion of ignorance. Through the help of Vidyā-māyā one cultivates such virtues as the taste for holy company, knowledge, devotion, love, and renunciation. Avidyā-māyā consists of the five elements and the objects of the five senses- form, flavour, smell, touch, and sound. These make one forget God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 216 (22 April 1883)

Traits of Bound Souls

They are indeed bound souls who constantly dwell with 'woman and gold' and do not think of God even for a moment. How can you expect noble deeds of them? They are like mangoes pecked by a crow, which may not be offered to the Deity in the temple, and which even men hesitate to eat.

Bound souls, worldly people, are like silk-worms. The worms can cut through their cocoons if they want, but having woven the cocoons themselves, they are too much attached to them to leave them. And so they die there.

Free souls are not under the control of 'woman and gold'. There are some silk-worms that cut through the cocoon they have made with such great care. But they are few and far between.

It is maya that deludes. Only a few become spiritually awakened and are not deluded by the spell of maya. They do not come under the control of 'woman and gold'.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 206 (8 April 1883)

Parable of the Three Robbers

Under the spell of God's maya man forgets his true nature. He forgets that he is heir to the infinite glories of his Father. This divine maya is made up of three gunas. And all three are robbers; for they rob man of all his treasures and make him forget his true nature. The three gunas are sattva, rajas, and tamas. Of these, sattva alone points the way to God. But even sattva cannot take a man to God.

Let me tell you a story. Once a rich man was passing through a forest, when three robbers surrounded him and robbed him of all his wealth. After snatching all his possessions from him, one of the robbers said: 'What's the good of keeping the man alive? Kill him.' Saying this, he was about to strike their victim with his sword, when the second robber interrupted and said: 'There's no use in killing him. Let us bind him fast and leave him here. Then he won't be able to tell the police.' Accordingly the robbers tied him with a rope, left him, and went away.

After a while the third robber returned to the rich man and said: 'Ah! You're badly hurt, aren't you? Come, I'm going to release you.' The third robber set the man free and led him out of the forest. When .they came near the highway, the robber said, 'Follow this road and you will reach home easily.' 'But you must come with me too', said the man. 'You have done so much for me. We shall all be happy to see you at our home.' 'No,' said the robber, 'it is not possible for me to go there. The police will arrest me.' So saying, he left the rich man after pointing out his way.

Now, the first robber, who said: 'What's the good of keeping the man alive? Kill him', is tamas. It destroys. The second robber is rajas, which binds a man to the world and entangles him in a variety of activities. Rajas makes him forget God. Sattva alone shows the way to God. It produces virtues like compassion, righteousness, and devotion. Again, sattva is like the last step of the stairs. Next to it is the roof. The Supreme Brahman is man's own abode. One cannot attain the Knowledge of Brahman unless one transcends the three gunas.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 218-19 (22 April 1883)

Natural Tendency of Sri Ramakrishna’s Mind

The Master told us repeatedly: “I force myself to hold on to one or two trivial desires in order to keep my mind in this world for your sake. Otherwise, it’s natural tendency is to remain united to and identified with the indivisible One.”

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 282

How to Spiritualize the Passions

BRAHMO: "We have passions like anger and lust. What shall we do with these?"

MASTER: "Direct the six passions to God. The impulse of lust should be turned into the desire to have intercourse with Ātman. Feel angry at those who stand in your way to God. Feel greedy for Him. If you must have the feeling of I and Mine, then associate it with God. Say, for instance, 'My Rama, my Krishna.' If you must have pride, then feel like Bibhishana, who said, 'I have touched the feet of Rama with my head; I will not bow this head before anyone else.'"

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 220 (2 May 1883)

Why there is Evil in the World

BRAHMO: "If the power of avidyā is the cause of ignorance, then why has God created it?"

MASTER: "That is His play. The glory of light cannot be appreciated without darkness. Happiness cannot be understood without misery. Knowledge of good is possible because of knowledge of evil.

Further, the mango grows and ripens on account of the covering skin. You throwaway the skin when the mango is fully ripe and ready to be eaten. It is possible for a man to attain gradually to the Knowledge of Brahman because of the covering skin of maya. Maya in its aspects of vidyā and avidyā may be likened to the skin of the mango. Both are necessary."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 216 (22 April 1883)

Responsibility for Sins

BRAHMO: "If it is God that makes me do everything, then I am not responsible for my sins."

MASTER (with a smile): "Yes, Duryodhana also said that. 'O Krishna, I do what Thou, seated in my heart, makest me do.' If a man has the firm conviction that God alone is the Doer and he is His instrument, then he cannot do anything sinful. He who has learnt to dance correctly never makes a false step. One cannot even believe in the existence of God until one's heart becomes pure."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 220 (2 May 1883)

Blissful Kali

… overpowered with divine ecstasy, the Master sang:

O Kāli, my Mother full of Bliss! Enchantress of the almighty Śiva!

In Thy delirious joy Thou dancest, clapping Thy hands together!

Eternal One! Thou great First Cause, clothed in the form of the Void

Thou wearest the moon upon Thy brow,

Where didst Thou find Thy garland of heads before the universe was made?

Thou art the Mover of all that move, and we are but Thy helpless toys;

We move alone as Thou movest us and speak as through us Thou speakest.

But worthless Kamalakanta says, fondly berating Thee:

Confoundress! With Thy flashing sword

Thoughtlessly Thou hast put to death my virtue and my sin alike!

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 223 (27 May 1883)

Love of God

You see, sin flies away when love of God grows in a man's heart, even as the water of the reservoir dug in a meadow dries up under the heat of the sun. But one cannot love God if one feels attracted to worldly things, to 'woman and gold'. Merely taking the vow of monastic life will not help a man if he is attached to the world. It is like swallowing your own spittle after spitting it out on the ground.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 224 (2 June 1883)

Spiritual Inspiration comes from God

Both worldliness and liberation depend on God's will. It is God alone who has kept man in the world in a state of ignorance; and man will be free when God, of His own sweet will, calls him to Himself. It is like the mother calling the child at meal-time, when he is out playing. When the time comes for setting a man free, God makes him seek the company of holy men. Further, it is God who makes him restless for spiritual life.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 225 (2 June 1883)

Parable of the False Ascetic

One night a fisherman went into a garden and cast his net into the lake in order to steal some fish. The owner heard him and surrounded him with his servants. They brought lighted torches and began to search for him. In the mean time the fisherman smeared his body with ashes and sat under a tree, pretending to be a holy man. The owner and his men searched a great deal but could not find the thief. All they saw was a holy man covered with ashes, meditating under a tree. The next day the news spread in the neighbourhood that a great sage was staying in the garden. People gathered there and saluted him with offerings of fruit, flowers, and sweets. Many also offered silver and copper coins. 'How strange!' thought the fisherman. 'I am not a genuine holy man, and still people show such devotion to me. I shall certainly realize God if I become a true sadhu. There is no doubt about it.'

If a mere pretence of religious life can bring such spiritual awakening, you can imagine the effect of real sadhana. In that state you will surely realize what is real and what is unreal. God alone is real, and the world is illusory.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 233 (4 June 1883)

Heart

MANILAL: "Sir, where shall I meditate on God when I perform my daily worship?"

MASTER: "Why, the heart is a splendid place. Meditate on God there."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 233 (4 June 1883)

‘Condensed Milk'

The fact is, all men may look alike from the outside, but some of them have fillings of 'condensed milk'. Cakes may have fillings of condensed milk or powdered black grams, but they all look alike from the outside. The desire to know God, ecstatic love of Him, and such other spiritual qualities are the 'condensed milk'.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 232 (4 June 1883)

Parable of the Farmer

It was about five o'clock in the afternoon. Sri Ramakrishna was sitting on the steps of his verandah. Hazra, Rākhāl, and M. were near him. Hazra had the attitude of a Vedantist: "I am He."

MASTER (to Hazra): "Yes, all one's confusion comes to an end if one only realizes that it is God who manifests Himself as the atheist and the believer, the good and the bad, the real and the unreal; that it is He who is present in waking and in sleep; and that He is beyond all these.

"There was a farmer to whom an only son was born when he was rather advanced in age. As the child grew up, his parents became very fond of him. One day the farmer was out working in the fields, when a neighbour told him that his son was dangerously ill-indeed, at the point of death. Returning home he found the boy dead. His wife wept bitterly, but his own eyes remained dry. Sadly the wife said to her ncighbours, 'Such a son has passed away, and he hasn't even one tear to shed!' After a long while the farmer said to his wife: 'Do you know why I am not crying? Last night I dreamt I had become a king, and the father of seven princes. These princes were beautiful as well as virtuous. They grew in stature and acquired wisdom and knowledge in the various arts. Suddenly I woke up. Now I have been wondering whether I should weep for those seven children or this one boy.' To the jnanis the waking state is no more real than the dream state.

"God alone is the Doer. Everything happens by His will."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 236 (5 June 1883)

Radha’s Mahabhava

Master also said: ‘Unless one is free of lust, one cannot understand Radha, the embodiment of Mahabhava. When the gopis saw Satchidananda Krishna, they would loose body-consciousness as they experienced bliss a million times more intense than sexual union. Could the thought of trivial sensual pleasure arise then in their minds? The divine lustre of Krishna’s body would touch them, making them experience more ecstasy in every pore of their bodies than sexual pleasure could ever give them!’

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 289

'Framework of Illusion'

There are two schools of thought: the Vedānta and the Purana. According to the Vedānta this world is a 'framework of illusion', that is to say, it is all illusory, like a dream. But according to the Purana, the books of devotion, God Himself has become the twenty-four cosmic principles. Worship God both within and without.

As long as God keeps the awareness of 'I' in us, so long do sense-objects exist; and we cannot very well speak of the world as a dream. There is fire in the hearth; therefore the rice and pulse and potatoes and the other vegetables jump about in the pot. They jump about as if to say: 'We are here! We are jumping!' This body is the pot. The mind and intelligence are the water. The objects of the senses are the rice, potatoes, and other vegetables. The 'I-consciousness' identified with the senses says, 'I am jumping about.' And Satchidananda is the fire.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 243 (10 June 1883)

Chaitanya’s States

Sri Ramakrishna said: ‘As the elephant’s external teeth [tusk] are for attacking enemies and it’s internal ones are for chewing food to get physical nourishment, so Chaitanya had two kinds of moods: one external and the other internal. Externally, he did good for human beings with the help of madhura bhava; and internally he had reached the culmination of his love for God and was established in nondual Brahman, enjoying infinite bliss.’

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 290

Faith

The devotees from Manirampur asked the Master how to realize God.

MASTER: "You must practise spiritual discipline a little. It will not do simply to say that milk contains butter. You must let the milk set into curd and then churn it. Only then can you get butter from it. Spiritual aspirants must go into solitude now and then. After acquiring love of God in solitude, they may live in the world. If one is wearing a pair of shoes, one can easily walk over thorns.

The most important thing is faith.

As is a man's meditation, so is his feeling of love;

As is a man's feeling of love, so is his gain;

And faith is the root of all.

If one has faith one has nothing to fear."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 241 (10 June 1883)

'Mansion of Mirth'

… the Bhakti scriptures describe this very world as a 'mansion of mirth'. Ramprasad sang in one of his songs, 'This world is a framework of illusion.' Another devotee gave the reply, 'This very world is a mansion of mirth.' As the saying goes, 'The devotee of Kali, free while living, is full of Eternal Bliss.' The bhakta sees that He who is God has also become maya. Again, He Himself has become the universe and all its living beings. The bhakta sees God, maya, the universe, and the living beings as one. Some devotees see everything as Rāma: it is Rāma alone who has become everything. Some see everything as Radha and Krishna. To them it is Krishna alone who has become the twenty-four cosmic principles. It is like seeing everything green through green glasses.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 243 (10 June 1883)

Seven Planes of the Vedas

There is much similarity between the seven 'planes' described in the Vedānta and the six 'centres' of Yoga. The first three planes of the Vedas may be compared to the first three Yogic centres, namely, Muladhara, Svadhisthana, and Manipura. With ordinary people the mind dwells in these three planes, at the organs of evacuation and generation and at the navel. When the mind ascends to the fourth plane, the centre designated in Yoga as Anahata, it sees the individual soul as a flame. Besides, it sees light. At this the aspirant cries: 'Ah! What is this? Ah! What is this?'

When the mind rises to the fifth plane, the aspirant wants to hear only about God. This is the Visuddha centre of Yoga. The sixth plane and the centre known by the yogi as Ajna are one and the same. When the mind rises there, the aspirant sees God. But still there is a barrier between God and the devotee. It is like the barrier of glass in a lantern, which keeps one from touching the light. King Janaka used to give instruction about Brahmajnana from the fifth plane. Sometimes he dwelt on the fifth plane, and sometimes on the sixth.

After passing the six centres the aspirant arrives at the seventh plane. Reaching it, the mind merges in Brahman. The individual soul and the Supreme Soul become one. The aspirant goes into samadhi. His consciousness of the body disappears. He loses the knowledge of the outer world. He does not see the manifold any more. His reasoning comes to a stop.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 245 (10 June 1883)

Awakening of the Kundalini

Trailanga Swami once said that because a man reasons he is conscious of multiplicity, of variety. Attaining samadhi, one gives up the body in twenty-one days. Spiritual consciousness is not possible without the awakening of the Kundalini.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 245 (10 June 1883)

Traits of a True Devotee

There are certain signs by which you can know a true devotee of God. His mind becomes quiet as he listens to his teacher's instruction, just as the poisonous snake is quieted by the music of the charmer. I don't mean the cobra. There is another sign. A real devotee develops the power of assimilating instruction. An image cannot be impressed on bare glass, but only on glass stained with a black solution, as in photography. The black solution is devotion to God. There is a third sign of a true devotee. The true devotee has controlled his senses. He has subdued his lust. The gopis were free from lust.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 244 (10 June 1883)

Mahabhava

The Master told us many times: ‘The devotional scriptures say that when nineteen kinds of bhava [emotion or mood] for God manifest together in one person, it is called mahabhava. An ordinary man takes a whole lifetime to practise one bhava before he achieves perfection in it. All nineteen spiritual emotions are fully manifested here (pointing to his own body).’

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 301

As Many Faiths, So Many Paths

Established in the non-dual state, the Master experienced another truth also. He discovered that the ultimate goal of all spiritual disciplines is to become firmly established in non-duality. After performing sadhana according to the main religious denominations prevalent in India, he observed that each one of them led the aspirant towards the nondual plane. When we asked about the nondual state, he told us repeatedly: “It is the last word, my child, the culmination of sadhana. At the ultimate development of love for God, this nondual experience manifests spontaneously in the life of all aspirants. Know it to be the goal of all faiths; and as many faiths, so many paths.”

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 318

Water and Waves

'I am He', 'I am the Pure Self' - that is the conclusion of the jnanis. But the bhaktas say, 'The whole universe is the glory of God.' Who would recognize a wealthy man without his power and riches? But it is quite different when God Himself, gratified by the aspirant's devotion, says to him, 'You are the same as Myself.' Suppose a king is seated in his court, and his cook enters the hall, sits on the throne, and says, 'O King, you and I are the same!' People will certainly call him a madman. But suppose one day the king, pleased with the cook's service, says to him: 'Come, sit beside me. There is nothing wrong in that. There is no difference between you and me.' Then, if the cook sits on the throne with the king, there is no harm in it. It is not good for ordinary people to say, 'I am He'. The waves belong to the water. Does the water belong to the waves?

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 248 (15 June 1883)

Mudfish

Q: "Sir, can one realize God while leading the life of a householder?"

MASTER (with a smile): "Why not? Live in the world like a mudfish. The mudfish lives in the mud but itself remains unstained. Or live in the world like a loose woman. She attends to her household duties, but her mind is always on her sweetheart. Do your duties in the world, fixing your mind on God. But this is extremely difficult.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 246 (15 June 1883)

Hindus and Muslims

This [i.e. Sri Ramakrishna’s Islam sadhana and realization] indicates that only through the Vedantic knowledge of oneness can the Hindus and Muslims of India become sympathetic towards one another and feel as though they are one family. As the Master used to say: ‘There exists, as it were, a mountain of a barrier between Hindus and Muslims. Their modes of thinking, religious faith, actions, and behaviour have remained incomprehensible to each other despite their living together for such a long period.’ Does the Master’s Islamic sadhana indicate that one day that mountain-high barrier will disappear and Hindus and Muslims will embrace each other in love?

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 320

Name of God

Anyone who dies in Benares, whether a brahmin or a prostitute, will become Siva. When a man sheds tears at the name of Hari, Kali, or Rāma, then he has no further need of the sandhya and other rites. All actions drop away of themselves. The fruit of action does not touch him.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 251 (17 June 1883)

Love of God

Love of God is the one essential thing. A true lover of God has nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. He is aware that the Divine Mother knows everything. The cat handles the mouse one way, but its own kitten a very different way.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 252 (17 June 1883)

Result of Yoga through Bhakti

The upshot of the whole thing is that, no matter what path you follow, yoga is impossible unless the mind becomes quiet. The mind of a yogi is under his control; he is not under the control of his mind. When the mind is quiet the prana stops functioning. Then one gets kumbhaka. One may have the same kumbhaka through bhaktiyoga as well; the prana stops functioning through love of God too. In the kirtan the musician sings, 'Nitai amar mata hati!' Repeating this, he goes into a spiritual mood and cannot sing the whole sentence. He simply sings, 'Hati! Hati' When the mood deepens he sings only, 'Ha! Ha!' Thus his prana stops through ecstasy, and kumbhaka follows.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 248 (15 June 1883)

Essence of the Scriptures

Too much study of the scriptures does more harm than good. The important thing is to know the essence of the scriptures. After that, what is the need of books? One should learn the essence and then dive deep in order to realize God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 255 (18 June 1883)

Everything is Possible for God

M: "I haven't much faith in rebirth and inherited tendencies. Will that in any way injure my devotion to God?"

MASTER: "It is enough to believe that all is possible in God's creation. Never allow the thought to cross your mind that your ideas are the only true ones, and that those of others are false. Then God will explain everything.

"What can a man understand of God's activities? The facets of God's creation are infinite. I do not try to understand God's actions at all. I have heard that everything is possible in God's creation, and I always bear that in mind. Therefore I do not give a thought to the world, but meditate on God alone. Once Hanuman was asked, 'What day of the lunar month is it?' Hanuman said: 'I don't know anything about the day of the month, the position of the moon and stars, or any such things. I think of Rāma alone.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 260 (21 July 1883)

Who is a Devotee?

God dwells in all beings, undoubtedly. That being the case, who may be called His devotee? He who dwells in God, he who has merged his mind and life and innermost soul in God. – Sri Ramakrishna

Bitterly Contested Suit

He [Sri Ramakrishna] sang:

Mother, am I Thine eight-months child? Thy red eyes

cannot frighten me!

My riches are Thy Lotus Feet, which Śiva

holds upon His breast;

Yet, when I seek my heritage, I meet with

excuses and delays.

A deed of gift I hold in my heart, attested

by Thy Husband Śiva;

I shall sue Thee, if I must, and with

a single point shall win.

If Thou dost oppose me, Thou wilt learn what

sort of mother's son I am.

This bitterly contested suit between

the Mother and Her son-

What sport it is! says Ramprasad. I shall not

cease tormenting Thee

Till Thou Thyself, shalt yield the fight and

take me in Thine arms at last.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 263 (21 July 1883)

Ideal of the Gitā

The Divine Mother has revealed to me the essence of the Vedānta. It is that Brahman alone is real and the world illusory. The essence of the Gitā is what you get by repeating the word ten times. The word becomes reversed. It is then 'tagi', which refers to renunciation. The essence of the Gitā is: 'O man, renounce everything and practise spiritual discipline for the realization of God.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 255 (18 June 1883)

Black complexion of the Divine Mother

GOVINDA: "Revered sir, why does the Divine Mother have a black complexion?"

MASTER: "You see Her as black because you are far away from Her. Go near and you will find Her devoid of all colour. The water of a lake appears black from a distance. Go near and take the water in your hand, and you will see that it has no colour at all. Similarly, the sky looks blue from a distance. But look at the atmosphere near you; it has no colour. The nearer you come to God, the more you will realize that He has neither name nor form.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 271 (22 July 1883)

Nitya and Lila

A man should reach the Nitya, the Absolute, by following the trail of the Lila, the Relative. It is like reaching the roof by the stairs. After realizing the Absolute, he should climb down to the Relative and live on that plane in the company of devotees, charging his mind with the love of God. This is my final and most mature opinion.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 257 (25 June 1883)

Different States of Bhakti

Bhakti matured becomes bhava. Next is mahabhava, then prema, and last of all is the attainment of God. Gaurānga experienced the states of mahabhava and prema. When prema is awakened, a devotee completely forgets the world; he also forgets his body, which is so dear to a man. Gaurānga experienced prema. He jumped into the ocean, thinking it to be the Jamuna. The ordinary jiva does not experience mahabhava or prema. He goes only as far as bhava. But Gaurānga experienced all three states.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 255 (18 June 1883)

Realization Possible for All

MASTER: “Let me assure you that a man can realize his Inner Self through sincere prayer. But to the extent that he has the desire to enjoy worldly objects, his vision of the Self becomes obstructed."

M: "Yes, sir. You always ask us to plunge into God."

MASTER (joyously): "Yes! That's it. Let me tell you that the realization of Self is possible for all, without any exception.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 256 (25 June 1883)

Yogamaya

GOVINDA: "What is the meaning of 'yogamaya'?"

MASTER: "It signifies the yoga, or union, of Purusha and Prakriti. Whatever you perceive in the universe is the outcome of this union. Take the image of Śiva and Kāli. Kāli stands on the bosom of Śiva; Śiva lies under Her feet like a corpse; Kāli looks at Śiva. All this denotes the union of Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is inactive; therefore Śiva lies on the ground like a corpse. Prakriti performs all Her activities in conjunction with Purusha. Thus She creates, preserves, and destroys. That is also the meaning of the conjoined images of Radha and Krishna. On account of that union, again, the images are slightly inclined toward each other.

To denote this union, Sri Krishna wears a pearl in His nose, Radha a blue stone in hers. Radha has a fair complexion, bright as the pearl. Sri Krishna's is blue. For this reason Radha wears the blue stone. Further, Krishna's apparel is yellow, and Radha's blue.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 271 (22 July 1883)

Saturated with God

Sometimes I find that the universe is saturated with the Consciousness of God, as the earth is soaked with water in the rainy season. – Sri Ramakrishna

Householders and Non-dualism

Self-Knowledge is discussed in the Ashtāvakra Samhitā. The non-dualists say, 'Soham', that is, 'I am the Supreme Self.' This is the view of the sannyasis of the Vedantic school. But this is not the right attitude for householders, who are conscious of doing everything themselves. That being so, how can they declare, 'I am That, the actionless Supreme Self'? According to the non-dualists the Self is unattached. Good and bad, virtue and vice, and the other pairs of opposites, cannot in any way injure the Self, though they undoubtedly afflict those who have identified themselves with their bodies. Smoke soils the wall, certainly, but it cannot in any way affect Ākāśa, space. … …

But to feel that one is a free soul is very good. By constantly repeating, 'I am free, I am free', a man verily becomes free. On the other hand, by constantly repeating, 'I am bound, I am bound', he certainly becomes bound to worldliness. The fool who says only, 'I am a sinner, I am a sinner', verily drowns himself in worldliness. One should rather say: I have chanted the name of God. How can I be a sinner? How can I be bound?'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 274 (19 August 1883)

Nature of Brahman

Like the Ākāśa, Brahman is without any modification. It has become manifold because of Śakti. Again, Brahman is like fire, which itself has no colour. The fire appears white if you throw a white substance into it, red if you throw a red, black if you throw a black. The three gunas-sattva, rajas, and tamas - belong to Śakti alone. Brahman Itself is beyond the three gunas. What Brahman is cannot be described. It is beyond words. That which remains after everything is eliminated by the Vedantic process of 'Not this, not this', and which is of the nature of Bliss, is Brahman.

Suppose the husband of a young girl has come to his father-in-law's house and is seated in the drawing-room with other young men of his age. The girl and her friends are looking at them through the window. Her friends do not know her husband and ask her, pointing to one young man, 'Is that your husband?' 'No', she answers, smiling. They point to another young man and ask if he is her husband. Again she answers no. They repeat the question, referring to a third, and she gives the same answer. At last they point to her husband and ask, 'Is he the one?' She says neither yes nor no, but only smiles and keeps quiet. Her friends realize that he is her husband.

One becomes silent on realizing the true nature of Brahman.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 280 (20 August 1883)

Incarnation of God

God has different forms, and He sports in different ways. He sports as Isvara, deva, man, and the universe. In every age He descends to earth in human form, as an Incarnation, to teach people love and devotion. There is the instance of Chaitanya. One can taste devotion and love of God only through His Incarnations. Infinite are the ways of God's play, but what I need is love and devotion. I want only the milk. The milk comes through the udder of the cow. The Incarnation is the udder.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 257 (25 June 1883)

With Form and Formless

That which is Syama is also Brahman. That which has form, again, is without form. That which has attributes, again, has no attributes. Brahman is Śakti; Śakti is Brahman. They are not two. These are only two aspects, male and female, of the same Reality, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 271 (22 July 1883)

Master Extols Narendra

Narendra, Bhavanath, Rākhāl, and devotees like them belong to the group of the nityasiddhas; they are eternally free. Religious practice on their part is superfluous. Look at Narendra. He doesn't care about anyone. One day he was going with me in Captain's carriage. Captain wanted him to take a good seat, but Narendra didn't even look at him. He is independent even of me. He doesn't tell me all he knows, lest I should praise his scholarship before others. He is free from ignorance and delusion. He has no bonds. He is a great soul. He has many good qualities. He is expert in music, both as a singer and player, and is also a versatile scholar. Again, he keeps his passions under control and says that he will never marry.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 279 (19 August 1883)

Restlessness for God

The soul becomes restless for God when one is through with the enjoyment of worldly things. Then a person has only one thought - how to realize God. He listens to whatever anyone says to him about God. – Sri Ramakrishna

Mystery of Divine Incarnation

In order to bring people spiritual knowledge, an Incarnation of God lives in the world in the company of devotees, cherishing an attitude of love for God. It is like going up and coming down the stairs after having once reached the roof. In order to reach the roof, other people should follow the path of devotion, as long as they have not attained Knowledge and become free of desire. The roof can be reached only when all desires are done away with. The shopkeeper does not go to bed before finishing his accounts. He goes to sleep only when his accounts are finished.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 272 (18 August 1883)

Virtue and Vice

NEIGHBOUR: "Then is there no virtue and no sin?"

MASTER: "They both exist and do not exist. If God keeps the ego in a man, then He keeps in him the sense of differentiation and also the sense of virtue and sin. But in a rare few He completely effaces the ego and these go beyond virtue and sin, good and bad. As long as a man has not realized God, he retains the sense of differentiation and the knowledge of good and bad. You may say: 'Virtue and sin are the same to me. I am doing only as God bids me.' But you know in your heart of hearts that those are mere words. No sooner do you commit an evil deed than you feel a palpitation in your heart. Even after God has been realized, He keeps in the mind of the devotee, if He so desires, the feeling of the 'servant ego'. In that state the devotee says, 'O God, Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant.' Such a devotee enjoys only spiritual talk and spiritual deeds. He does not enjoy the company of ungodly people. He does not care for any work that is not of a holy nature. So you see that God keeps the sense of differentiation even in such a devotee."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 328 (28 November 1883)

Law of Karma

The truth is that one must reap the result of the prarabdha karma. The body remains as long as the results of past actions do not completely wear away. Once a blind man bathed in the Ganges and as a result was freed from his sins. But his blindness remained all the same. (All laugh.) It was because of his evil deeds in his past birth that he had to undergo that affliction.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 276 (19 August 1883)

Good Use of Money

Spiritual practice with a view to winning a lawsuit and earning money, or to helping others win in court and acquire property, shows a very mean understanding.

Money enables a man to get food and drink, build a house, worship the Deity, serve devotees and holy men, and help the poor when he happens to meet them. These are the good uses of money. Money is not meant for luxuries or creature comforts or for buying a position in society.

People practise various Tantrik disciplines to acquire supernatural powers. How mean such people are! Krishna said to Arjuna, 'Friend, by acquiring one of the eight siddhis you may add a little to your power, but you will not be able to realize Me.' One cannot get rid of maya as long as one exercises supernatural powers. And maya begets egotism.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 285 (7 September 1883)

Joy of God-Consciousness

(To Captain and the other devotees) Attribute to yourselves the bliss of God-Consciousness; then you too will experience ineffable joy. The bliss of God-Consciousness always exists in you. It is only hidden by the veiling and projecting power of maya. The less you are attached to the world, the more you love God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 277 (19 August 1883)

Jnāni

The Jnāni experiences God-Consciousness within himself; it is like the upper Ganges, flowing in only one direction. To him the whole universe is illusory, like a dream; he is always established in the Reality of Self. But with the lover of God the case is different. His feeling does not flow in only one direction. He feels both the ebb-tide and the flood-tide of divine emotion. He laughs and weeps and dances and sings in the ecstasy of God. The lover of God likes to sport with Him. In the Ocean of God-Consciousness he sometimes swims, sometimes goes down, and sometimes rises to the surface-like pieces of ice in the water. (Laughter.)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 277 (19 August 1883)

Best Devotee

Who is the best devotee of God? It is he who sees, after the realization of Brahman, that God alone has become all living beings, the universe, and the twenty-four cosmic principles. One must discriminate at first, saying 'Not this, not this', and reach the roof. After that one realizes that the steps are made of the same materials as the roof, namely, brick, lime, and brick-dust. The devotee realizes that it is Brahman alone that has become all these-the living beings, the universe, and so on.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 271 (22 July 1883)

Vijnāna or Transcendental Knowledge

“… If a thorn has entered your foot, get another thorn and with its help take out the first; then throw away the second also.”

M: "Should one throwaway both knowledge and ignorance?"

MASTER: "Yes. That is why one should acquire vijnāna. You see, he who is aware of light is also aware of darkness. He who is aware of happiness is also aware of suffering. He who is aware of virtue is also aware of vice. He who is aware of good is also aware of evil. He who is aware of holiness is also aware of unholiness. He who is aware of 'I' is also aware of 'you'. "What is vijnāna? It is knowing God in a special way. The awareness and conviction that fire exists in wood is jnāna, knowledge. But to cook rice on that fire, eat the rice, and get nourishment from it is vijnāna. To know by one's inner experience that God exists is jnāna. But to talk to Him, to enjoy Him as Child, as Friend, as Master, as Beloved, is vijnāna. The realization that God alone has become the universe and all living beings is vijnāna.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 288 (7 September 1883)

Nature of the Divine Incarnation

The Incarnation of God is a part of the lila of Śakti. The purpose of the Divine Incarnation is to teach man ecstatic love for God. The Incarnation is like the udder of the cow, the only place milk is to be got. God incarnates Himself as man. There is a great accumulation of divinity in an Incarnation, like the accumulation of fish in a deep hollow in a lake.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 283 (7 September 1883)

Body Worship

Body and wealth are impermanent. Why go to so much trouble for their sakes? Just think of the plight of the hathayogis. Their attention is fixed on one ideal only - longevity. They do not aim at the realization of God at all. They practise such exercises as washing out the intestines, drinking milk through a tube, and the like, with that one aim in view.

There was once a goldsmith whose tongue suddenly turned up and stuck to his palate. He looked like a man in samādhi. He became completely inert and remained so a long time. People came to worship him. After several years, his tongue suddenly returned to its natural position, and he became conscious of things as before. So he went back to his work as a goldsmith. (All laugh.)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 285 (7 September 1883)

Uncle Moon

As Uncle Moon is the dear uncle of all children, so God is dear to all beings. Everyone has a right to call on God. Out of grace He reveals Himself to all who call upon Him. You, too, will see Him if you but call upon Him.

- Sri Ramakrishna to Sri Sarada Devi, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P348

Form and Formless God

MASTER (to M.): "You have accepted an ideal, that of God without form-isn't that so?"

M: "Yes, sir. But I also believe what you say-that all is possible with God. It is quite possible for God to have forms.

MASTER: "Good. Remember further that, as Consciousness, He pervades the entire universe of the living and non-living."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 300 (26 September 1883)

Lover of God

The Jnāni seeks to realize Brahman. But the ideal of the bhakta is the Personal God – a God endowed with omnipotence and with the six treasures. Yet Brahman and Śakti are, in fact, not different. That which is the Blissful Mother is, again, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. They are like the gem and its lustre. When one speaks of the lustre of the gem, one thinks of the gem; and again, when one speaks of the gem, one refers to its lustre. One cannot conceive of the lustre of the gem without thinking of the gem, and one cannot conceive of the gem without thinking of its lustre.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 277 (19 August 1883)

Covering of Maya

MASTER: "Yes, there is only One without a second. The Vedas speak of It as 'Om Satchidananda Brahma', the Puranas as 'Om Satchidananda Krishna,' and the Tantra as 'Om Satchidananda Śiva'.

"The ChitŚakti, as Mahamaya, has deluded all with ignorance. It is said in the Adhyātma Rāmāyana that when the rishis saw Rāma, they prayed to Him in these words only: 'O Rāma, please do not delude us with Your world-bewitching maya.' "

ISHAN: "What is this maya?"

MASTER: "Whatever you see, think, or hear is maya. In a word, 'woman and gold' is the covering of maya.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 290 (22 September 1883)

Avatara’s Grace

By the grace of the Avataras, a person finishes the sufferings of ten lives in one. – Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P392

Surrender to the Divine Mother

Who can ever know God? I don't even try. I only call on Him as Mother. Let Mother do whatever She likes. I shall know Her if it is Her will; but I shall be happy to remain ignorant if She wills otherwise.

My nature is that of a kitten. It only cries, 'Mew, mew!' The rest it leaves to its mother. The mother cat puts the kitten sometimes in the kitchen and sometimes on the master's bed. The young child wants only his mother. He doesn't know how wealthy his mother is, and he doesn't even want to know. He knows only, 'I have a mother; why should I worry?' Even the child of the maidservant knows that he has a mother. If he quarrels with the son of the master, he says: 'I shall tell my mother. I have a mother.' My attitude, too, is that of a child.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 299, (26 September 1883)

Victory to Durga

The Master sang:

I have surrendered my soul at the fearless feet of the Mother;

Am I afraid of Death any more?

Unto the tuft of hair on my head

Is tied the almighty mantra, Mother Kāli's name.

My body I have sold in the market-place of the world

And with it have bought Sri Durga's name.

Deep within my heart I have planted the name of Kāli,

The Wish-fulfilling Tree of heaven;

When Yama, King of Death, appears,

To him I shall open my heart and show it growing there.

I have cast out from me my six unflagging foes [six passions];

Ready am I to sail life's sea,

Crying, "To Durga, victory!"

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 302 (10 October 1883)

Spiritual Pandits Opinions

During three important periods of Master’s sadhana, three eminent spiritual pandits who were well versed in scriptures came to him, observed his spiritual condition, and had the opportunity to discuss their impressions. Pandit Padmalochan met the Master when he had become perfected in the Tantra sadhana; Pandit Vaishnavacharan met him when he had attained success in the Vaishnava Tantra; and Pandit Gauri was blessed to see the Master endowed with divine splendour at the completion of all his sadhanas. When Padmalochan saw the Master, he said, “I see God’s presence and divine power in you.” Vaishnavacharan, in ecstasy, composed a hymn to the Master in Sanskrit and sang it to him, declaring him to be an avatar. When Gauri met the Master, he concluded: “I see that everything that I have read in the scriptures concerning high spiritual states is manifest in you. In addition, I see other exalted states that are not recorded in the scriptures. You have reached a spiritual plane that surpasses anything described in the Vedas, Vedanta, or other scriptures. You are not human. Ishwara, the source of all avatars, dwells in you.” When we study the Master’s unique life and his wonderful spiritual experiences, we clearly understand that these spiritual pandits did not make their remarks out of mere flattery.

- Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P362

Milk and Water

The mind is like milk. If you keep the mind in the world, which is like water, then the milk and water will get mixed. That is why people keep milk in a quiet place and let it set into curd, and then churn butter from it. Likewise, through spiritual discipline practised in solitude, churn the butter of knowledge and devotion from the milk of the mind. Then that butter can easily be kept in the water of the world. It will not get mixed with the world. The mind will float detached on the water of the world.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 313 (26 November 1883)

Real and Supreme Renunciation

There is no harm in chewing betel-leaf, eating fish, smoking, or rubbing the body with oil. What will one achieve by renouncing only these things? The one thing needful is the renunciation of 'woman and gold'. That renunciation is the real and supreme renunciation. Householders should go into solitude now and then, to practise spiritual discipline in order to cultivate devotion to God; they should renounce mentally. But the sannyasi should renounce both mentally and physically.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 291 (22 September 1883)

Karma-Yoga

The action of a sattvic person drops off automatically. He can not work even if he tries to; the Lord does not allow him to work. It is just as when a young wife advances in pregnancy. She is given less and less work to do; and when the child is born, she gives up household work altogether and is busied exclusively with the infant. But an ordinary person must try to do his duties with detachment, depending on the Lord, like the maidservant who does everything for her master, knowing in her heart that her home is elsewhere. This is known as karma-yoga. As far as possible one should take the name of the Lord and meditate on Him while discharging one’s everyday duties in an unattached way.

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P362

God and the World

As long as one has not realized God, one should renounce the world, following the process of 'Neti, neti.' But he who has attained God knows that it is God who has become all this. Then he sees that God, maya, living beings, and the universe form one whole. God includes the universe and its living beings. Suppose you have separated the shell, flesh, and seeds of a bel-fruit and someone asks you the weight of the fruit. Will you leave aside the shell and the seeds, and weigh only the flesh? Not at all. To know the real weight of the fruit, you must weigh the whole of it-the shell, the flesh, and the seeds. Only then can you tell its real weight. The shell may be likened to the universe, and the seeds to living beings. While one is engaged in discrimination one says to oneself that the universe and the living beings are non-Self and unsubstantial. At that time one thinks of the flesh alone as the substance, and the shell and seeds as unsubstantial. But after discrimination is over, one feels that all three parts of the fruit together form a unity. Then one further realizes that the stuff that has produced the flesh of the fruit has also produced the shell and seeds. To know the real nature of the bel-fruit one must know all three.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 327-28 (28 November 1883)

Dive Deep

Dive deep; one does not get the precious gems by merely floating on the surface. God is without form, no doubt; but He also has form. By meditating on God with form one speedily acquires devotion; then one can meditate on the formless God. It is like throwing a letter away, after learning its contents, and then setting out to follow its instructions.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 353 (21 December 1883)

One and Same God

All religions and all paths call upon their followers to pray to one and the same God. Therefore one should not show disrespect to any religion or religious opinion. It is God alone who is called Satchidananda Brahman in the Vedas, Satchidananda Krishna in the Puranas, and Satchidananda Śiva in the Tantras. It is one and the same Satchidananda.

There are different sects of Vaishnavas. That which is called Brahman in the Vedas is called Ālekh-Niranjan by one Vaishnava sect. 'Ālekh' means That which cannot be pointed out or perceived by the sense-organs. According to this sect, Radha and Krishna are only two bubbles of the Ālekh.

According to the Vedānta, there is no Incarnation of God. The Vedantists say that Rāmā and Krishna are but two waves in the Ocean of Satchidananda.

In reality there are not two. There is only One. A man may call on God by any name; if he is sincere in his prayer he will certainly reach Him. He will succeed if he has longing.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 306 (10 October 1883)

Selfish Prayer

One must pray to God without any selfish desire. But selfish worship, if practised with perseverance, is gradually turned into selfless worship. Dhruva practised tapasya to obtain his kingdom, but at last he realized God. He said, 'Why should a man give up gold if he gets it while searching for glass beads?'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 379 (5 January 1884)

Devotee Attitude

A devotee of God accepts everything. He accepts the universe and its created beings as well as the indivisible Satchidananda.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 395 (2 March 1884)

Chaitanya Nityananda

As long as you do not feel that God is the Master, you must come back to the world, you must be born again and again. There will be no rebirth when you can truly say, 'O God, Thou art the Master.' As long as you cannot say, 'O Lord, Thou alone art real', you will not be released from the life of the world. This going and coming, this rebirth, is inevitable. There will be no liberation. Further, what can you achieve by saying, 'It is mine'? The manager of an estate may say, 'This is our garden; these are our couches and furniture.' But when he is dismissed by the master, he hasn't the right to take away even a chest of worthless mango-wood given to him for his use. The feeling of 'I and mine' has covered the Reality. Because of this we do not see Truth.

Attainment of Chaitanya, Divine Consciousness, is not possible without the knowledge of Advaita, Non-duality. After realizing Chaitanya one enjoys Nityananda, Eternal Bliss. One enjoys this Bliss after attaining the state of a paramahamsa.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 307 (16 October 1883)

Kite and Fish

It is narrated in the Bhagavata that the Avadhuta had twenty-four gurus, one of whom was a kite. In a certain place the fishermen were catching fish. A kite swooped down and snatched a fish. At the sight of the fish, about a thousand crows chased the kite and made a great noise with their cawing. Whichever way the kite flew with the fish, the crows followed it. The kite flew to the south and the crows followed it there. The kite flew to the north and still the crows followed after it. The kite went east and west, but with the same result. As the kite began to fly about in confusion, lo, the fish dropped from its mouth. The crows at once let the kite alone and flew after the fish. Thus relieved of its worries, the kite sat on the branch of a tree and thought: 'That wretched fish was at the root of all my troubles. I have now got rid of it and therefore I am at peace.'

The Avadhuta learnt this lesson from the kite, that as long as a man has the fish, that is, worldly desires, he must perform actions and consequently suffer from worry, anxiety, and restlessness. No sooner does he renounce these desires than his activities fall away and he enjoys peace of soul.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 314 (26 November 1883)

Yearning for God

One must be restless for God. If a son clamours persistently for his share of the property, his parents consult with each other and give it to him even though he is a minor. God will certainly listen to your prayers if you feel restless for Him. Since He has begotten us, surely we can claim our inheritance from Him. He is our own Father, our own Mother. We can force our demand on Him.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 384 (2 February 1884)

Incarnation for Bhaktas

Vedānta does not recognize the Incarnation of God. According to it, Chaitanyadeva is only a bubble of the non-dual Brahman.

Do you know what the vision of Divine Consciousness is like? It is like the sudden illumination of a dark room when a match is struck.

The Incarnation of God is accepted by those who follow the path of bhakti. A woman belonging to the Kartabhaja sect observed my condition, and remarked: 'You have inner realization. Don't dance and sing too much. Ripe grapes must be preserved carefully in cotton. The mother-in-law lessens her daughter-in-law's activities when the daughter-in-law is with child. One characteristic of God-realization is that the activities of a man with such realization gradually drop away. Inside this man [meaning Sri Ramakrishna] is the real Jewel.'

Watching me eat, she remarked, 'Sir, are you yourself eating, or are you feeding someone else?'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 307 (16 October 1883)

Advice to Householders

MASTER: "It is difficult to lead the life of a householder in a spirit of detachment. Once Pratap said to me: 'Sir, we follow the example of King Janaka. He led the life of a householder in a detached spirit. We shall follow him.' I said to him: 'Can one be like King Janaka by merely wishing it? How many austerities he practised in order to acquire divine knowledge! He practised the most intense form of asceticism for many years and only then returned to the life of the world.'

"Is there, then, no hope for householders? Certainly there is. They must practise spiritual discipline in solitude for some days. Thus they will acquire knowledge and devotion. Then it will not hurt them to lead the life of the world. But when you practise discipline in solitude, keep yourself entirely away from your family. You must not allow your wife, son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother, friends, or relatives near you. While thus practising discipline in solitude, you should think: 'I have no one else in the world. God is my all.' You must also pray to Him, with tears in your eyes, for knowledge and devotion.

"If you ask me how long you should live in solitude away from your family, I should say that it would be good for you if you could spend even one day in such a manner. Three days at a time are still better. One may live in solitude for twelve days, a month, three months, or a year, according to one's convenience and ability. One hasn't much to fear if one leads the life of a householder after attaining knowledge and devotion.

"If you break a jack-fruit after rubbing your hands with oil, then its sticky milk will not smear your hands. While playing the game of hide-and-seek, you are safe if you but once touch the 'granny'. Be turned into gold by touching the philosopher's stone. After that you may remain buried underground a thousand years; when you are taken out you will still be gold.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 313 (26 November 1883)

Wealth and God

Shall I tell you the truth? Man loves his own riches, and so he thinks that God loves His, too. He thinks that God will be pleased if we glorify His riches. Once Sambhu said to me, 'Please bless me, that I may die leaving my riches at the Lotus Feet of God.' I answered: 'These are riches only to you. What riches can you offer God? To Him these are mere dust and straw.'

Once a thief broke into the temple of Vishnu and robbed the image of its jewels. Mathur Babu and I went to the temple to see what was the matter. Addressing the image, Mathur said bitterly: 'What a shame, Lord! You are so worthless! The thief took all the ornaments from Your body, and You couldn't do a thing about it.' Thereupon I said to Mathur: 'Shame on you! How improper your words are! To God, the jewels you talk so much about are only lumps of clay. Lakshmi, the Goddess of Fortune, is His Consort. Do you mean to say that He should spend sleepless nights because a thief has taken your few rupees?You mustn't say such things.'

Can one ever bring God under control through wealth? He can be tamed only through love. What does He want? Certainly not wealth! He wants from His devotees love, devotion, feeling, discrimination, and renunciation.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 321-22 (28 November 1883)

Mother Knows Everything

My Mother! Who is my Mother? Ah, She is the Mother of the Universe. It is She who creates and preserves the world, who always protects Her children, and who grants whatever they desire: dharma, artha, kama, moksha. A true son cannot live away from his mother. The Mother knows everything. The child only eats, drinks, and makes merry; he doesn't worry himself about the things of the world.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 321 (28 November 1883)

Purusha and Prakriti

"He who is Brahman is the Ādyāśakti, the Primal Energy. When inactive He is called Brahman, the Purusha; He is called Śakti, or Prakriti, when engaged in creation, preservation, and destruction. These are the two aspects of Reality: Purusha and Prakriti. He who is the Purusha is also Prakriti. Both are the embodiment of Bliss.

"If you are aware of the Male Principle, you cannot ignore the Female Principle: He who is aware of the father must also think of the mother. (Keshab laughs ) He who knows darkness also knows light. He who knows night also knows day. He who knows happiness also knows misery. You understand this, don't you?"

KESHAB: "Yes, sir. I do."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 321 (28 November 1883)

Outer Show of Spirituality

At the beginning of spiritual life the devotee should observe such rites as pilgrimage, putting a string of beads around his neck, and so forth. But outward ceremonies gradually drop off as he attains the goal, the vision of God. Then his only activity is the repetition of God's name, and contemplation and meditation on Him.

The pennies equivalent to sixteen rupees make a great heap. But sixteen silver coins do not look like such a big amount. Again, the quantity becomes much smaller when you change the sixteen rupees into one gold mohur. And if you change the gold into a tiny piece of diamond, people hardly notice it.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 305 (10 October 1883)

No Hoarding

The Avadhuta accepted a bee as another teacher. Bees accumulate their honey by days of hard labour. But they cannot enjoy their honey, for a man soon breaks the comb and takes it away. The Avadhuta learnt this lesson from the bees, that one should not lay things up. Sādhus should depend one hundred per cent on God. They must not gather for the morrow. But this does not apply to the householder. He must bring up his family; therefore it is necessary for him to provide. Birds and monks do not hoard. Yet birds also hoard after their chicks are hatched: they collect food in their beaks for their young ones.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 314 (26 November 1883)

Advice to the Worldly-minded

Jaygopal's brother, said to the Master: "Sir, we are worldly people. Please give us some advice."

MASTER: "Do your duty to the world after knowing God. With one hand hold to the Lotus Feet of the Lord and with the other do your work."

VAIKUNTHA: "Is the world unreal?"

MASTER: "Yes, it is unreal as long as one has not realized God. Through ignorance man forgets God and speaks always of 'I' and 'mine'. He sinks down and down, entangled in maya, deluded by 'woman and gold'. Maya robs him of his knowledge to such an extent that he cannot find the way of escape, though such a way exists.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 325 (28 November 1883)

Illusory and Impermanent World

You all know from your experience how impermanent the world is. Look at it this way. How many people have come into the world and again passed away! People are born and they die. This moment the world is and the next it is not. It is impermanent. Those you think to be your very own will not exist for you when you close your eyes in death. Again, you see people who have no immediate relatives, and yet for the sake of a grandson they will not go to Benares to lead a holy life. 'Oh, what will become of my Haru then?' they argue.

This kind of world is illusory and impermanent.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 325 (28 November 1883)

Necessity of Spiritual Discipline

You may learn a great deal from books; but it is all futile if you have no love for God and no desire to realize Him. A mere pundit, without discrimination and renunciation, has his attention fixed on 'woman and gold'. The vulture soars very high but its eyes are fixed on the charnel-pit.

That alone is knowledge through which one is able to know God. All else is futile.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 368 (27 December 1883)

Ideal Householder's Life

"… If you but, realize God, you won't see the world as unsubstantial. He who has realized God knows that God Himself has become the world and all living beings. When you feed your child, you should feel that you are feeding God. You should look on your father and mother as veritable manifestations of God and the Divine Mother, and serve them as such. If a man enters the world after realizing God, he does not generally keep up physical relations with his wife. Both of them are devotees; they love to talk only of God and pass their time in spiritual conversation. They serve other devotees of God, for they know that God alone has become all living beings; and, knowing this, they devote their lives to the service of others."

NEIGHBOUR: "But, sir, such a husband and wife are not to be found anywhere."

MASTER: "Yes, they can be found, though they may be very rare. Worldly people cannot recognize them. In order to lead such a life both husband and wife must be spiritual. It is possible to lead such a life if both of them have tasted the Bliss of God. God's special grace is necessary to create such a couple; otherwise there will always be misunderstanding between them. In that case the one has to leave the other. Life becomes very miserable if husband and wife do not agree. …

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 326 (28 November 1883)

Image Worship

What is wrong with image worship? The Vedānta says that Brahman manifests Itself where there is 'Existence, Light, and Love'. Therefore nothing exists but Brahman.

How long do small girls play with their dolls? As long as they are not married and do not live with their husbands. After marriage they put the dolls away in a box. What further need is there of worshipping the image after the vision of God?

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 337 (14 December 1883)

Holy Man

NEIGHBOUR: "How can one recognize a holy man?"

MASTER: "He who has surrendered his body, mind, and innermost self to God is surely a holy man. He who has renounced 'woman and gold' is surely a holy man. He is a holy man who does not regard woman with the eyes of a worldly person. He never forgets to look upon a woman as his mother, and to offer her his worship if he happens to be near her. The holy man constantly thinks of God and does not indulge in any talk except about spiritual things. Furthermore, he serves all beings, knowing that God resides in everybody's heart. These, in general, are the signs of a holy man."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 327 (28 November 1883)

Women as embodiments of the Divine Mother

All women are the embodiments of Śakti. It is the Primal Power that has become women and appears to us in the form of women. It is said in the Adhyātma Rāmāyana that Nārada and others praised Rāma, saying: 'O Rāma, Thou alone art all that we see as male, and Sita, all that we see as female. Thou art Indra, and Sita is Indrani; Thou art Śiva and Sita is Sivani; Thou art man, and Sita is woman. What more need I say? Thou alone dost exist wherever there is a male, and Sita wherever there is a female.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 336 (14 December 1883)

Fence for Young Plant

NEIGHBOUR: "Must one always live in solitude?"

MASTER: "Haven't you seen the trees on the foot-path along a street? They are fenced around as long as they are very young; otherwise cattle destroy them. But there is no longer any need of fences when their trunks grow thick and strong. Then they won't break even if an elephant is tied to them. Just so, there will be no need for you to worry and fear if you make your mind as strong as a thick tree-trunk. First of all try to acquire discrimination. Break the jack-fruit open only after you have rubbed your hands with oil; then its sticky milk won't smear them."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 327 (28 November 1883)

Servant-Master Attitude

For the householder it is very good to look on God as the Master. The householder is conscious of doing the duties of life himself. Under such conditions how can he say, 'I am He'? To him who says, 'I am He' the world appears to be a dream. His mind, his body, even his ego, are dreams to him. Therefore he cannot perform worldly duties. So it is very good for the householder to look on himself as the servant and on God as the Master.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 369-70 (27 December 1883)

Discrimination

NEIGHBOUR: "What is discrimination?"

MASTER: "Discrimination is the reasoning by which one knows that God alone is real and all else is unreal. Real means eternal, and unreal means impermanent. He who has acquired discrimination knows that God is the only Substance and all else is non-existent. With the awakening of this spirit of discrimination a man wants to know God.

On the contrary, if a man loves the unreal-such things as creature comforts, name, fame, and wealth, then he doesn't want to know God, who is of the very nature of Reality. Through discrimination between the Real and the unreal one seeks to know God.

"Listen to a song:

Come, let us go for a walk, O mind, to Kāli, the Wish-fulfilling Tree,

And there beneath It gather the four fruits of life.

Of your two wives, Dispassion and Worldliness,

Bring along Dispassion only, on your way to the Tree,

And ask her son Discrimination about the Truth. …

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 327 (28 November 1883)

Knowing God

NEIGHBOUR: "You ask us, sir, to live in the world after knowing God. Can God really be known?"

MASTER: "God cannot be known by the sense-organs or by this mind; but He can be known by the pure mind, the mind that is free from worldiy desires."

NEIGHBOUR: "Who can know God?"

MASTER: "Right. Who can really know Him? But as for us, it is enough to know as much of Him as we need. What need have I of a whole well of water? One jar is more than enough for me. An ant went to a sugar hill. Did it need the entire hill? A grain or two of sugar was more than enough."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 328-29 (28 November 1883)

Necessity of Perseverance

Serve and worship God, surrender and be humble to Him. Only when you practice these disciplines with faith and perseverance will you succeed. You will definitely have His vision. If you discontinue your sadhana, your progress will stop. A man used to work hard and save money little by little. Once he counted his money and found that he had one thousand rupees. Overwhelmed with joy, he thought: ‘Why should I work anymore? I have one thousand rupees. That is enough.’ So he gave up his job. This insignificant man had very little ambition. He became puffed up because of that small amount of money and cared for no one. But how long does it take to spend one thousand rupees? The entire amount was gone within a few days. Afflicted, he began to search desperately for another job, going from office to office. A person who behaves like this will never succeed in spiritual life. One must wait patiently at the door of God, then only will one see Him.

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 397

Different stages of Spiritual Progress

The first stage is that of the beginner. He studies and hears. Second is the stage of the struggling aspirant. He prays to God, meditates on Him, and sings His name and glories. The third stage is that of the perfect soul. He has seen God, realized Him directly and immediately in his inner Consciousness. Last is the stage of the supremely perfect, like Chaitanya. Such a devotee establishes a definite relationship with God, looking on Him as his Son or Beloved.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 344 (16 December 1883)

God Vision through Yearning

One must have childlike faith and the intense yearning that a child feels to see its mother. That yearning is like the red sky in the east at dawn. After such a sky the sun must rise. Immediately after that yearning one sees God.

Let me tell you the story of a boy named Jatila. He used to walk to school through the woods, and the journey frightened him; One day he told his mother of his fear. She replied: 'Why should you be afraid? Call Madhusudana.' 'Mother,' asked the boy, 'who is Madhusudana?' The mother said, 'He is your Elder Brother.' One day after this, when the boy again felt afraid in the woods, he cried out, 'O Brother Madhusudana!' But there was no response. He began to weep aloud: 'Where are You, Brother Madhusudana? Come to me. I am afraid.' Then God could no longer stay away. He appeared before the boy and said: 'Here I am. Why are you frightened?' And so, saying He took the boy out of the woods and showed him the way to school. When He took leave of the boy, God said: 'I will come whenever you call Me. Do not be afraid.' One must have this faith of a child, this yearning.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 338 (14 December 1883)

Parable of the Grass-eating Tiger

... Once a tigress attacked a herd of goats. A hunter saw her from a distance and killed her. The tigress was pregnant and gave birth to a cub as she expired. The cub began to grow in the company of the goats. At first it was nursed by the she-goats, and later on, as it grew bigger, it began to eat grass and bleat like the goats.

Gradually the cub became a big tiger; but still it ate grass and bleated. When atached by other animals, it would run away, like the goats. One day a fierce-looking tiger attacked the herd. It was amazed to see a tiger in the herd eating grass and running away with the goats at its approach. It left the goats and caught hold of the grass-eating tiger, which began to bleat and tried to run away.

But the fierce tiger dragged it to the water and said: 'Now look at your face in the water. You see, you have the pot-face of a tiger; it is exactly like mine.' Next it pressed a piece of meat into its mouth. At first the grass-eating tiger refused to eat the meat. Then it got the taste of the meat and relished it. At last the fierce tiger said to the grass-eater: 'What a disgrace! You lived with goats and ate grass like them!' And the other was really ashamed of itself.

Eating grass is like enjoying 'woman and gold'. To bleat and run away like a goat is to behave like an ordinary man. Going away with the new tiger is like taking shelter with the guru, who awakens one's spiritual consciousness, and recognizing him alone as one's relative. To see one's face rightly is to know one's real Self.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna,

P 359-60 (24 December 1883)

Divine Mother is the Universal Consciousness

The Divine Mother revealed to me in the Kāli temple that it was She who had become everything. She showed me that everything was full of Consciousness. The Image was Consciousness, the altar was Consciousness, the water-vessels were Consciousness, the door-sill was Consciousness, the marble floor was Consciousness-all was Consciousness.

I found everything inside the room soaked, as it were, in Bliss - the Bliss of Satchidananda. I saw a wicked man in front of the Kāli temple; but in him also I saw the Power of the Divine Mother vibrating.

That was why I fed a cat with the food that was to be offered to the Divine Mother. I clearly perceived that the Divine Mother Herself had become everything-even the cat. The manager of the temple garden.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 346 (16 December 1883)

Mad for God

MASTER: "The whole thing, in a nutshell is that one must develop ecstatic love for Satchidananda. What kind of love? How should one love God? Gauri used to say that one must become like Sita to understand Rāma; like Bhagavati, the Divine Mother, to understand Bhagavan, Śiva. One must practise austerity, as Bhagavati did, in order to attain Śiva. One must cultivate the attitude of Prakriti in order to realize Purusha – the attitude of a friend, a handmaid, or a mother.

"I saw Sita in a vision. I found that her entire mind was concentrated on Rāma. She was totally indifferent to everything - her hands, her feet, her clothes, her jewels. It seemed that Rāma had filled every bit of her life and she could not remain alive without Rāma."

M: "Yes, sir. She was mad with love for Rāma."

MASTER: "Mad! That's the word. One must become mad with love in order to realize God. But that love is not possible if the mind dwells on 'woman and gold'. Sex-life with a woman! What happiness is there in that? The realization of God gives ten million times more happiness. Gauri used to say that when a man attains ecstatic love of God all the pores of the skin, even the roots of the hair, become like so many sexual organs, and in every pore the aspirant enjoys the happiness of communion with the Ātman.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 346 (17 December 1883)

Brahmajnana

A brahmachari once said to me, 'One who goes beyond Kedār cannot keep his body alive.' Likewise, a man cannot preserve his body after attaining Brahmajnana. The body drops off in twenty-one days.

There was an infinite field beyond a high wall. Four friends tried to find out what was beyond the wall. Three of them, one after the other, climbed the wall, saw the field, burst into loud laughter, and dropped to the other side. These three could not give any information about the field. Only the fourth man came back and told people about it. He is like those who retain their bodies, even after attaining Brahmajnana, in order to teach others. Divine Incarnations belong to this class.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 354 (22 December 1883)

Incarnations for Bhaktas

Brahman alone is real and the world illusory-that is reasoning. And everything but Brahman is like a dream. But this is an extremely difficult path. To one who follows it even the divine play in the world becomes like a dream and appears unreal; his 'I' also vanishes. The followers of this path do not accept the Divine Incarnation. It is a very difficult path. The lovers of God should not hear much of such reasoning.

That is why God incarnates Himself as man and teaches people the path of devotion. He exhorts people to cultivate self-surrender to God. Following the path of devotion, one realizes everything through His grace both Knowledge and Supreme Wisdom.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 355 (22 December 1883)

Nature of Brahman

What Brahman is cannot be described in words. Everything has been polluted, like food that has touched the tongue - that is, everything has been described in words. But no one has been able to describe Brahman. It is therefore unpolluted. I said this to Vidyasagar and he was delighted.

But the Knowledge of Brahman cannot be realized if the aspirant is worldly-minded even in the slightest degree. He succeeds in acquiring this Knowledge only when his mind is totally free from 'woman and gold'. Parvati once said to Her father, 'Father, seek the company of holy men if you want the Knowledge of Brahman.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 343 (16 December 1883)

Kundalini

Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna are the three principal nerves. All the lotuses are located in the Sushumna. They are formed of Consciousness, like a tree made of wax-the branches, twigs, fruits, and so forth all of wax. The Kundalini lies in the lotus of the Muladhara. That lotus has four petals. The Primordial Energy resides in all bodies as the Kundalini. She is like a sleeping snake coiled up-' of the form of a sleeping snake, having the Muladhara for Her abode'.

(To M.) The Kundalini is speedily awakened if one follows the path of bhakti. God cannot be seen unless She is awakened. Sing earnestly and secretly in solitude:

Waken, O Mother! O Kundalini, whose nature is Bliss Eternal!

Thou art the serpent coiled in sleep, in the lotus of the Muladhara.

Ramprasad achieved perfection through singing. One obtains the vision of God if one sings with yearning heart.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 362-63 (24 December 1883)

Renunciation of Worldly Attachment

How can one attain yoga? By completely renouncing attachment to worldly things. The mind must be pure and without blemish, like the telegraph wire that has no defect.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 375 (2 January 1884)

Spiritual Discipline

A man is able to see God as soon as he gets rid of ego and other limitations. He sees God as soon as he is free from such feelings as 'I am a scholar', 'I am the son of such and such a person', 'I am wealthy', 'I am honourable', and so forth.

'God alone is real and all else unreal; the world is illusory' - that is discrimination. One cannot assimilate spiritual instruction without discrimination.

Through the practice of spiritual discipline one attains perfection, by the grace of God. But one must also labour a little. Then one sees God and enjoys bliss. If a man hears that a jar filled with gold is buried at a certain place, he rushes there and begins to dig. He sweats as he goes on digging. After much digging he feels the spade strike something. Then he throws away the spade and looks for the jar. At the sight of the jar he dances for joy. Then he takes up the jar and pours out the gold coins. He takes them into his hand, counts them, and feels the ecstasy of joy. Vision-touch-enjoyment.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 363 (24 December 1883)

Talking to God

That God exists may be known by looking at the universe. But it is one thing to hear of God, another thing to see God, and still another thing to talk to God. Some have heard of milk, some have seen it, and some, again, have tasted it. You feel happy when you see milk; you are nourished and strengthened when you drink it. You will get peace of mind only when you have seen God. You will enjoy bliss and gain strength only when you have talked to Him.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 368 (27 December 1883)

Practice of God-communion

SHRISH: "It is extremely difficult to proceed toward God while leading the life of a householder."

MASTER: "Why so? What about the yoga of practice? At Kamarpukur I have seen the women of the carpenter families selling flattened rice. Let me tell you how alert they are while doing their business. The pestle of the husking-machine that flattens the paddy constantly falls into the hole of the mortar. The woman turns the paddy in the hole with one hand and with the other holds her baby on her lap as she nurses it. In the mean time customers arrive. The machine goes on pounding the paddy, and she carries on her bargains with the customers'. She says to them, 'Pay the few pennies you owe me before you take anything more.' You see, she has all these things to do at the same time-nurse the baby, turn the paddy as the pestle pounds it, take the flattened rice out of the hole, and talk to the buyers. This is called the yoga of practice. Fifteen parts of her mind out of sixteen are fixed on the pestle of the husking-machine, lest it should pound her hand. With only one part of her mind she nurses the baby and talks to the buyers. Likewise, he who leads the life of a householder should devote fifteen parts of his mind to God; otherwise he will face ruin and fall into the clutches of Death. He should perform the duties of the world with only one part of his mind."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 367 (27 December 1883)

Microcosm

Whatever is in the microcosm is also in the macrocosm. – Sri Ramakrishna

All go Towards God

MASTER (to Jaygopal): "One should not harbour malice toward any person or any opinion. The believers in the formless God and the worshippers of God with form are all, without exception, going toward God alone. The Jnāni, the yogi, the Bhakta - all, without exception, are seeking Him alone. The follower of the path of knowledge calls Him 'Brahman'. The yogi calls Him 'Ātman' or 'Paramatman'. The bhakta calls Him 'Bhagavan'. Further, it is said that there is the Eternal Lord and His Eternal Servant."

JAYGOPAL: "How can we know that all paths are true?"

MASTER: "A man can reach God if he follows one path rjghtly. Then he can learn about all the other paths. It is like reaching the roof by some means or other. Then one is able to climb down by the wooden or stone stairs, by a bamboo pole, or even by a rope.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 374 (2 January 1884)

Seeing and Talking to God

Truly one can see God. As we are sitting here together and talking, so one can see God and talk to Him. I am speaking the truth – I swear to you.

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P439

Vedanta

Hearing, reflecting, and meditating are the three main disciplines of Vedanta. At first you hear that Brahman alone is real and the world unreal. Then you reflect upon this idea and become convinced of it through reasoning and discrimination. And finally you meditate on Brahman, the Absolute Reality, relinquishing the unreal world. That is all. Otherwise what does it avail if you hear and understand the teachings of Vedanta but do not try to renounce what is unreal? That is like the knowledge of worldly people. This kind of knowledge can not help you attain Reality. You need conviction and renunciation – only then can you succeed. Otherwise you are saying, ‘There is no thorn, no pricking’; but the moment you touch a thorny plant, those thorns get into your hands, and you cry out with pain. You are saying: ‘This world does not exist. It is unreal. Brahman alone exists,’ and so on, but the moment you come in touch with the sense objects of the world, you immediately consider them real and get attached to them. Once a monk came to live in the Panchavati of Dakshineshwar. He would talk about Vedanta extensively with people. Then one day I heard that he was having an illicit love affair with a woman. I went in that direction to answer the call of nature and found him seated in the Panchavati. I said to him, ‘You talk so much about Vedanta – now, what is this?’ He replied: ‘What does it matter? Let me explain to you that I have done nothing wrong. When everything in this world is unreal in the past, present, and future, how can my slips of character be real? They are also unreal.’ Disgusted, I said to him, ‘I spit upon such Vedantic knowledge of yours!’ Worldly people have that kind of knowledge about Vedanta. This knowledge is no knowledge at all.

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P428

Prayer and Discrimination

A DEVOTEE: "Sir, what is the way?"

MASTER: "Discrimination between the Real and the unreal. One should always discriminate to the effect that God alone is real and the world unreal. And one should pray with sincere longing."

DEVOTEE: "But, sir, where is our leisure for these things?"

MASTER: "Those who have the time must meditate and worship. But those who cannot possibly do so must bow down whole-heartedly to God twice a day. He abides in the hearts of all; He knows that worldly people have many things to do. What else is possible for them? You don't have time to pray to God; therefore give Him the power of attorney. But all is in vain unless you attain God and see Him."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 385 (2 February 1884)

Three Classes of Devotees

There are three classes of devotees. The lowest one says, 'God is up there.' That is, he points to heaven. The mediocre devotee says that God dwells in the heart as the 'Inner Controller'. But the highest devotee says: 'God alone has become everything. All that we perceive is so many forms of God.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 396 (2 March 1884)

Unselfish Love of God

One must not cherish any desire whatever. The devotion of a man who has any desire is selfish. But desireless devotion is love for its own sake. You may love me or not, but I love you: this is love for its own sake.

The thing is that one must love God. Through intense love one attains the vision of Him. The attraction of the husband for the chaste wife, the attraction of the child for its mother, the attraction of worldly possessions for the worldly man-when a man can blend these three into one, and direct it all to God, then he gets the vision of God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 375 (2 January 1884)

Master's prayer to the Divine Mother

Sri Ramakrishna taught the devotees how to call on the Divine Mother.

MASTER: "I used to pray to Her in this way: 'O Mother! O Blissful One! Reveal Thyself to me. Thou must!' Again, I would say to Her: 'O Lord of the lowly! O Lord of the universe! Surely I am not outside Thy universe. I am bereft of knowledge. I am without discipline. I have no devotion. I know nothing. Thou must be gracious and reveal Thyself to me.' "

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 384 (2 February 1884)

How to Receive God's Grace

JAYGOPAL: "How does one receive the grace of God?"

MASTER: "Constantly you have to chant the name and glories of God and give up worldly thoughts as much as you can. With the greatest effort you may try to bring water into your field for your crops, but it may all leak out through holes in the ridges. Then all your efforts to bring the water by digging a canal will be futile.

"You will feel restless for God when your heart becomes pure and your mind free from attachment to the things of the world. Then alone will your prayer reach God. A telegraph wire cannot carry messages if it has a break or some other defect.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 375 (2 January 1884)

Rice Bags and Puffed Rice

DEVOTEE: "Why has God put us in the world?"

MASTER: "To perpetuate His creation. It is His will, His maya. He has deluded man with 'woman and gold'."

DEVOTEE: "Why has He deluded us? Why has He so willed?"

MASTER: "If but once He should give man a taste of divine joy, then man would not care

to lead a worldly life. The creation would come to an end.

"The grain-dealer stores rice in huge bags in his warehouse. Near them he puts some puffed rice in a tray. This is to keep the rats away. The puffed rice tastes sweet to the rats and they nibble at it all night; they do not seek the rice itself. But just think! One seer of rice yields fourteen seers of puffed rice. How infinitely superior is the joy of God to the pleasure of 'woman and gold'! To one who thinks of the beauty of God, the beauty of even Rambha and Tilottama appears as but the ashes of a funeral pyre."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 385 (2 February 1884)

Force Demand on God

Take for example an adulterous woman. When she first begins to love her paramour, there is so much secrecy, fear, and bashfulness! Then as intimacy deepens, all emotional barriers disappear. She leaves her family and appears in front of everyone holding her lover’s hand. If at that time the man does not take care of her or wants to leave her, she throws a cloth around his neck and pulls him, saying: ‘You wretch, I have left everything and everybody for you, and now you want to drop me on the street! Tell me – will you maintain me or not?’ Likewise, a man who has renounced everything for God and made Him his very own force his demands on Him and says: ‘I have renounced everything for You. Now tell me – will You reveal Yourself to me or not?’

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P438

Four Stages of Life

There are four stages of life: brahmacharya, garhasthya, Vanaprastha, and sannyas. During the first three stages a man has to perform his worldly duties. The sannyasi carries only his staff, water-pot, and begging-bowl. He too may perform certain nityakarma, but his mind is not attached to it; he is not conscious of doing such work. Some sannyasis perform nityakarma to set an example to the world. If a householder or a man belonging to the other stages of life performs action without attachment, then he is united with God through such action.

In the case of a paramahamsa, like Sukadeva, all karmas - all puja, japa, tarpan, sandhya, and so forth-drop away. In this state a man communes with God through the mind alone. Sometimes he may be pleased to perform outward activities for the welfare of mankind. But his recollection and contemplation of God remain uninterrupted.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 388 (2 February 1884)

For Thy Sake

Seeking a shelter at Thy feet,

I have forever set aside

My pride of caste and race, O Lord,

And turned my back on fear and shame.

A lonely pilgrim on life's way,

Where shall I go for succour now?

For Thy sake, Lord, I bear men's blame;

They rail at me with bitter words

And hate me for my love of Thee.

Both friends and strangers use me ill.

Thou art the Guardian of my name;

Thou mayest save or slay me, Lord!

Upon the honour of Thy servant

Rests, O Lord, Thy name as well;

Thou art the Ruler of my soul,

The glow of love within my heart;

Do with me as it pleases Thee!

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 394 (2 March 1884)

The World not Apart from God

It may be asked, 'How has Satchidananda become so hard?' This earth does indeed feel very hard to the touch. The answer is that blood and semen are thin liquids, and yet out of them comes such a big creature as man. Everything is possible for God. First of all reach the indivisible Satchidananda, and then, coming down, look at the universe. You will then find that everything is Its manifestation. It is God alone who has become everything. The world by no means exists apart from Him.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 395 (2 March 1884)

Vision of God Destroys Doubts

All doubts disappear when one sees God. It is one thing to hear of God, but quite a different thing to see Him. A man cannot have one hundred per cent conviction through mere hearing. But if he beholds God face to face, then he is wholly convinced.

Formal worship drops away after the vision of God. It was thus that my worship in the temple came to an end. I used to worship the Deity in the Kāli temple. It was suddenly revealed to me that everything is Pure Spirit. The utensils of worship, the altar, the door-frame - all Pure Spirit. Men, animals, and other living beings - all Pure Spirit. Then like a madman I began to shower flowers in all directions. Whatever I saw I worshipped.

One day, while worshipping Śiva, I was about to offer a bel-leaf on the head of the image, when it was revealed to me that this Virat, this Universe, itself is Śiva. After that my worship of Śiva through the image came to an end. Another day I had been plucking flowers, when it was revealed to me that the flowering plants were so many bouquets.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 396 (2 March 1884)

Mind Matters

A man may live in a mountain cave, smear his body with ashes, observe fasts; and practise austere discipline; but if his mind dwells on worldly objects, on 'woman and gold', I say, 'Shame on him!' But I say that a man is blessed indeed who eats, drinks, and roams about, but who keeps his mind free from 'woman and gold'.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 402 (9 March 1884)

To Cross the River of World

What will a man gain by knowing many scriptures? The one thing needful is to know how to cross the river of the world. God alone is real, and all else illusory.

While Arjuna was aiming his arrow at the eye of the bird, Drona asked him: 'What do you see? Do you see these kings?' 'No, sir', replied Arjuna. 'Do you 'See me'?' 'No.' 'The tree?' 'No.' 'The bird on the tree?' 'No.' 'What do you see then?' 'Only the eye of the bird.'

He who sees only the eye of the bird can hit the mark. He alone is clever who sees that God is real and all else is illusory. What need have I of other information? Hanuman once remarked: 'I don't know anything about the phase of the moon or the position of the stars. I only contemplate Rāma.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 392 (24 February 1884)

All Filled with God

MANILAL (to the Master): "Well, what is the rule for concentration? Where should one concentrate?"

MASTER: "The heart is a splendid place. One can meditate there or in the Sahasrara. These are rules for meditation given in the scriptures. But you may meditate wherever you like. Every place is filled with Brahman-Consciousness. Is there any place where It does not exist? Narayana, in Vali's presence, covered with two steps the heavens, the earth, and the interspaces. Is there then any place left uncovered by God? A dirty place is as holy as the bank of the Ganges. It is said that the whole creation is the Virat, the Universal Form of God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 403 (9 March 1884)

Meditation on Incarnation

God is born as man for the purpose of sporting as man. Rāma, Krishna, and Chaitanya are examples. By meditating on an incarnation of God one meditates on God Himself.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 405 (9 March 1884)

Two Forms of Meditation

There are two kinds of meditation, one on the formless God and the other on God with form. But meditation on the formless God is extremely difficult. In that meditation you must wipe out all that you see or hear. You contemplate only the nature of your Inner Self. Meditating on His Inner Self, Shiva dances about. He exclaims, 'What am I! What am I!' This is called the Shiva yoga'. While practising this form of meditation, one directs one's look to the forehead. It is meditation on the nature of one's Inner Self after negating the world, following the Vedantic method of 'Neti, neti'.

There is another form of meditation, known as the 'Vishnu yoga', The eyes are fixed on the tip of the nose. Half the look is directed inward and the other half outward. This is how one meditates on God with form. Sometimes Shiva meditates on God with form, and dances. At that time he exclaims, 'Rāma! Rāma!' and dances about.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 403-04 (9 March 1884)

Meaning of Om

The sound Om is Brahman. The rishis and sages practised austerity to realize that Sound-Brahman. After attaining perfection one hears the sound of this eternal Word rising spontaneously from the navel.

'What will you gain', some sages ask, 'by merely hearing this sound?' You hear the roar of the ocean from a distance. By following the roar you can reach the ocean. As long as there is the roar, there must also be the ocean. By following the trail of Om you attain Brahman, of which the Word is the symbol. That Brahman has been described by the Vedas as the ultimate goal. But such vision is not possible as long as you are conscious of your ego. A man realizes Brahman only when he feels neither 'I' nor 'you', neither 'one' nor 'many'.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 404 (9 March 1884)

Ignorance, Knowledge, and Supreme Wisdom

The jiva at first remains in a state of ignorance. He is not conscious of God, but of the multiplicity. He sees many things around him. On attaining Knowledge he becomes conscious that God dwells in all beings. Suppose a man has a thorn in the sole of his foot. He gets another thorn and takes out the first one. In other words, he removes the thorn of ajnāna, ignorance, by means of the thorn of jnāna, knowledge. But on attaining vijnāna, he discards both thorns, knowledge and ignorance. Then he talks intimately with God day and night. It is no mere vision of God.

He who has merely heard of milk is 'ignorant'. He who has seen milk has 'knowledge'. But he who has drunk milk and been strengthened by it has attained vijnāna.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 404 (9 March 1884)

Grace of God on All

The grace of God falls alike on all His children, learned and illiterate―whoever longs for Him. The father has the same love for all his children. Suppose a father has five children. One calls him 'Baba', some 'Ba', and some 'Pa'. These last cannot pronounce the whole word. Does the father love those who address him as 'Baba' more than those who call him 'Pa'? The father knows that these last are simply too young to say 'Baba' correctly.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 407 (23 March 1884)

How the Lord Himself is deluded by His own Māyā

You may ask, 'How is it possible for God to be incarnated as a man who suffers from hunger, thirst, and the other traits of an embodied being, and perhaps also from disease and grief?' The reply is, 'Even Brahman weeps, entrapped in the snare of the five elements.'

Don't you know how Rāma had to weep, stricken with grief for Sita? Further, it is said that the Lord incarnated Himself as a sow in order to kill the demon Hiranyaksha. Hiranyaksha was eventually killed, but God would not go back to His abode in heaven. He enjoyed His sow's life. He had given birth to several young ones and was rather happy with them. The gods said among themselves: 'What does this mean? The Lord doesn't care to return to heaven!' They all went to Shiva and laid the matter before him. Shiva came down and urged the Lord to leave the sow body and return to heaven. But the sow only suckled her young ones. (Laughter.) Then Shiva destroyed the sow body with his trident, and the Lord came out laughing aloud and went back to His own abode.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 415-16 (5 April 1884)

The Anāhata Sound

PRANKRISHNA (to the Master): "Sir, what is the Anāhata sound?"

MASTER: "It is a spontaneous sound constantly going on by itself. It is the sound of the Pranava, Om. It originates in the Supreme Brahman and is heard by yogis. People immersed in worldliness do not hear it. A yogi alone knows that this sound originates both from his navel and from the Supreme Brahman resting on the Ocean of Milk*."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 416 (5 April 1884)

* According to Hindu mythology, after the dissolution of the universe and before the next creation, the Supreme Lord rests on the Ocean of the Great Cause, also called the “Ocean of Milk”.

The "ego of Devotion"

According to the Puranas, the bhakta and the Bhagavan are two separate entities. 'I' am one and 'You' are another. The body is a plate, as it were, containing the water of mind, intelligence, and ego. Brahman is like the sun. It is reflected in the water. Therefore the devotee sees the divine form.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 416 (5 April 1884)

The "ego of Knowledge"

According to the Vedānta, Brahman alone is real and all else is māyā, dreamlike and unsubstantial. The ego, like a stick, lies across the Ocean of Satchidananda. (To M.) Listen to what I am saying. When this ego is taken away, there remains only one undivided Ocean of Satchidananda. But as long as the stick of ego remains, there is an appearance of two: here is one part of the water and there another part. Attaining the Knowledge of Brahman one is established in samādhi. Then the ego is effaced.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 416 (5 April 1884)

Jnāni looks on the world as illusory

According to Vedānta the waking state, too, is unreal. Once a wood-cutter lay dreaming, when someone woke him up. Greatly annoyed, he said: 'Why have you disturbed my sleep? I was dreaming that I was a king and the father of seven children. The princes were becoming well versed in letters and military arts. I was secure on my throne and ruled over my subjects. Why have you demolished my world of joy?' 'But that was a mere dream', said the other man. 'Why should that bother you?' 'Fool!' said the wood-cutter. 'You don't understand. My becoming a king in the dream was just as real as is my being a wood-cutter. If being a wood-cutter is real, then being a king in a dream is real also.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 417 (5 April 1884)

Guru

The guru is like a female companion to Radha. As there is not end to her love-errands until her friend Radha is united with Krishna, so there is no rest for the guru until the spiritual aspirant is united with God. Thus the great guru accompanies the sincere devotee to higher and higher realms of spirituality and finally presents the devotee to the Chosen Deity, saying, ‘My child, look there!’ then immediately disappears.

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P457-58

Harmony of Religions

I see people who talk about religion constantly quarrelling with one another. Hindus, Mussalmans, Brahmos, Shaktas, Vaishnavas, Saivas, all quarrel with one another. They haven't the intelligence to understand that He who is called Krishna is also Shiva and the Primal Śakti, and that it is He, again, who is called Jesus and Allah. …

Truth is one; only It is called by different names. All people are seeking the same Truth; the variance is due to climate, temperament, and name. A lake has many ghats. From one Ghat the Hindus take water in jars and call it 'jal'. From another Ghat the Mussalmans take water in leather bags and call it 'pani'. From a third the Christians take the same thing and call it 'water'. (All laugh.) Suppose someone says that the thing is not 'jal' but 'pani', or that it is not 'pani' but 'water', or that it is not 'water' but 'jal'. It would indeed be ridiculous. But this very thing is at the root of the friction among sects, their misunderstandings and quarrels. This is why people injure and kill one another, and shed blood, in the name of religion. But this is not good. Everyone is going toward God. They will all realize Him if they have sincerity and longing of heart.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 423 (5 April 1884)

‘Fish’ of Enjoyment

As long as there is bhoga, there will be less of yoga. Furthermore, bhoga begets suffering. It is said in the Bhagavata that the Avadhuta chose a kite as one of his twenty-four gurus. The kite had a fish in its beak; so it was surrounded by a thousand crows. Whichever way it flew with the fish, the crows pursued it crying, 'Caw! Caw!' When all of a sudden the fish dropped from its beak, the crows flew after the fish, leaving the kite alone.

The 'fish' is the object of enjoyment. The 'crows' are worries and anxiety. Worries and anxiety are inevitable with enjoyment. No sooner does one give up enjoyment than one finds peace.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 428 (24 May 1884)

God-Vision

A DEVOTEE: "What is the vision of God like?"

MASTER: "Haven't you seen a theatrical performance? The people are engaged in conversation, when suddenly the curtain goes up. Then the entire mind of the audience is directed to the play. The people don't look at other things any longer. Samādhi is to go within oneself like that. When the curtain is rung down, people look around again. Just so, when the, curtain of māyā falls, the mind becomes externalized.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 430 (24 May 1884)

God in Human Forms

God no doubt dwells in all, but He manifests Himself more through man than through other beings. Is man an insignificant thing? He can think of God, he can think of the Infinite, while other living beings cannot. God exists in other living beings - animals, plants, nay, in all beings -, but He manifests Himself more through man than through these others. Fire exists in all beings, in all things; but its presence is felt more in wood. Rāma said to Lakshmana: 'Look at the elephant, brother. He is such a big animal, but he cannot think of God.'

But in the Incarnation there is a greater manifestation of God than in other men. Rāma said to Lakshmana, 'Brother, if you see in a man ecstatic love of God, if he laughs, weeps, and dances in divine ecstasy, then know for certain that I dwell in him.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 432-33 (24 May 1884)

Parable of the Calf

The misfortune that befalls a man on account of his egotism can be realized if you only think of the condition of the calf. The calf says, 'Hamma! Hamma!' that is, 'I! I!' And just look at its misfortune! At times it is yoked to the plough and made to work in the field from sunup to sundown, rain or shine. Again, it may be slaughtered by the butcher. In that case the flesh is eaten and the skin tanned into hide. From the hide shoes are made. People put on these shoes and walk on the rough ground. Still that is not the end of its misfortunes. Drums are made from its skin and mercilessly beaten with sticks. At last its entrails are made into strings for the bow used in carding cotton. When used by the carder the string gives the sound 'Tuhu! Tuhu!','Thou! Thou!'-that is, 'It is Thou, O Lord! It is Thou!' It no longer says, 'Hamma! Hamma!', 'I! I!' Only then does the calf's trouble come to an end, and it is liberated. It doesn't return to the world of action.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 451 (15 June 1884)

Signs of God-vision

A DEVOTEE: "How can a man get rid of his ego?"

MASTER: "You cannot get rid of it until you have realized God. If you find a person free from ego, then know for certain that he has seen God."

DEVOTEE: "What, sir, are the signs of God-vision?"

MASTER: "Yes, there are such signs. It is said in the Bhagavata that a man who has seen God behaves sometimes like a child, sometimes like a ghoul, sometimes like an inert thing, and sometimes like a madman.

The man who has seen God becomes like a child. He is beyond the three gunas; he is unattached to any of them. He behaves like a ghoul, for he maintains the same attitude toward things holy and unholy. Again, like a madman, he sometimes laughs and sometimes weeps. Now he dresses himself like a dandy and the next moment he goes entirely naked and roams about with his cloth under his arm. Therefore he seems to be a lunatic. Again, at times he sits motionless like an inert thing."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 451-52 (15 June 1884)

Harmless ego

DEVOTEE: "Does the ego disappear altogether after the realization of God?"

MASTER: "Yes, sometimes God totally effaces the ego of His devotee, as in the state of samādhi. But in many cases He keeps a trace of ego. But that doesn't injure anybody. It is like the ego of a child. A five-year-old child no doubt says 'I', but that ego doesn't harm anybody. At the touch of the philosopher's stone, steel is turned into gold; the steel sword becomes a sword of gold. The gold sword has the form of a sword, no doubt, but it cannot injure anybody. One cannot cut anything with a gold sword.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 452 (15 June 1884)

Karma-Yoga

To work in such a spirit of detachment is known as karmayoga. But it is very difficult. We are living in the Kaliyuga, when one easily becomes attached to one's actions. You may think you are working in a detached spirit, but attachment creeps into the mind from nobody knows where. You may worship in the temple or arrange a grand religious festival or feed many poor and starving people. You may think you have done all this without hankering after the results. But unknown to yourself the desire for name and fame has somehow crept into your mind. Complete detachment from the results of action is possible only for one who has seen God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 452 (15 June 1884)

Everything is God’s

I tell people that there is nothing wrong in the life of the world. But they must live in the world as a maidservant lives in her master's house.' Referring to her master's house, she says, 'That is our house.' But her real home is perhaps in a far-away village. Pointing out her master's house to others, she says, no doubt, 'This is our house', but in her heart she knows very well that it doesn't belong to her and that her own house is in a faraway village. She brings up her master's son and says, 'My Hari has grown very naughty', or 'My Hari doesn't like sweets.' Though she repeats, 'My Hari' with her lips, yet she knows in her heart that Hari doesn't belong to her, that he is her master's son.

Thus I say to those who visit me: 'Why don't you live in the world? There is no harm in that. But always keep your mind, on God. Know for certain that house, family and property are not yours. They are God's. Your real home is in God.' Also I ask them to pray always with a longing heart for love of God's Lotus Feet.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 456-57 (15 June 1884)

Different Names of Reality

All scriptures-the Vedas, the Puranas, the Tantras-seek Him alone and no one else, only that one Satchidananda. That which is called Satchidananda Brahman in the Vedas is called Satchidananda Shiva in the Tantra. Again it is He alone who is called Satchidananda Krishna in the Puranas.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 423 (5 April 1884)

Ego and Knowledge of Brahman

The aspirant does not attain the Knowledge of Brahman as long as he is conscious of his ego. The ego comes under one's control after one has obtained the Knowledge of Brahman and seen God. Otherwise the ego cannot be controlled. It is difficult to catch one's own shadow. But when the sun is overhead, the shadow is within a few inches of the body.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 430 (24 May 1884)

Always Remember God

The thing is somehow to unite the mind with God. You must not forget Him, not even once. Your thought of Him should be like the flow of oil, without any interruption. If you worship with love even a brick or stone as God, then through His grace you can see Him.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 432 (24 May 1884)

The Bondage of "woman and gold"

'Woman and gold' is the cause of bondage. 'Woman and gold' alone constitutes samsara, the world. It is 'woman and gold' that keeps one from seeing God. (Holding the towel in front of his face) Do you see my face any more? Of course not. The towel hides it. No sooner is the covering of 'woman and gold' removed than one attains Chidananda, Consciousness and Bliss.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 438 (25 May 1884)

Woman

I see that all are under the control of woman. One day I went to Captain's house. From there I was to go to Ram's house. So I said to Captain, 'Please give me my carriage hire.' He asked his wife about it. She too held back and said: 'What's the matter? What's the matter?' At last Captain said, 'Ram will take care of it.' You see, the Gitā, the Bhagavata, and the Vedānta all bow before a woman! (All laugh.)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 439 (25 May 1884)

Sadhu’s Life

Do your worldly duties with a part of your mind and direct most of it to God. A sādhu should think of God with three quarters of his mind and with one quarter should do his other duties. He should be very alert about spiritual things. The snake is very sensitive in its tail. Its whole body reacts when it is hurt there. Similarly, the whole life of a sādhu is affected when his spirituality is touched.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 440 (25 May 1884)

Goal of Life

Therefore I say again that work is only the first step. It can never be the goal of life. Devote yourself to spiritual practice and go forward. Through practice you will advance more and more in the path of God. At last you will come to know that God alone is real and all else is illusory, and that the goal of life is the attainment of God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 453 (15 June 1884)

Ocean of Bliss

… Master began to sing in an ecstasy of love for God:

Dive deep, O mind, dive deep in the Ocean of God's Beauty;

If you descend to the uttermost depths,

There you will find the gem of Love. . . .

The Master continued: "One does not die if one sinks in this Ocean. This is the Ocean of Immortality. Once I said to Narendra: 'God is the Ocean of Bliss. Tell me if you want to plunge into It. Just imagine there is some syrup in a cup and that you have become a fly. Now tell me where you will sit to sip the syrup.' Narendra answered: 'I will, sit on the edge of the cup and stretch out my neck to drink, because I am sure to die if I go far into the cup.' Then I said to him: 'But my child, this is the Ocean of Satchidananda. There is no fear of death in it. This is the Ocean of Immortality. Only ignorant people say that one should not have an excess of devotion and divine love. How foolish! Can there be any excess of divine love?'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 467 (25 June 1884)

Daya and Maya

To love these objects, regarding them as one's own, is māyā. But to love all things is daya, compassion. To love only the members of the Brahmo Samaj or of one's own family is māyā; to love one's own countrymen is māyā. But to love the people of all countries, to love the members of all religions, is daya. Such love comes from love of God, from daya.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 456 (15 June 1884)

Aim of Life

The aim of human birth is to love God. Realize that love and be at peace. – Sri Ramakrishna

Three Yogas Explained

Innumerable are the ways that lead to God. There are the paths of jnāna, of karma, and of bhakti. If you are sincere, you will attain God in the end, whichever path you follow. Roughly speaking, there are three kinds of yoga: jnanayoga, karma yoga, and bhaktiyoga.

What is jnanayoga? The Jnāni seeks to realize Brahman. He discriminates, saying, 'Not this, not this'. He discriminates, saying, 'Brahman is real and the universe illusory.' He discriminates between the Real and the unreal. As he comes to the end of discrimination, he goes into samādhi and attains the Knowledge of Brahman.

What is karmayoga? Its aim is to fix one's mind on God by means of work. … It consists of breath-control, concentration, meditation, and so on, done in a spirit of detachment. If a householder performs his duties in the world in a spirit of detachment, surrendering the results to God and with devotion to God in his heart, he too may be said to practise karmayoga. Further, if a person performs worship, japa, and other forms of devotion, surrendering the results to God, he may be said to practise karmayoga. Attainment of God alone is the aim of karmayoga.

What is bhaktiyoga? It is to keep the mind on God by chanting His name and glories. For the Kaliyuga the path of devotion is easiest. This is indeed the path for this age.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 467-68 (25 June 1884)

How a Jnāni looks on the Illusory World

A Jnāni sees everything at once-God, māyā, the universe, and living beings. He sees that Vidyā-māyā, Avidyā-māyā, the universe, and all living beings exist and at the same time do not exist. As long as he is conscious of 'I', he is conscious of 'others' too. Nothing whatsoever exists after he cuts through the whole thing with the sword of jnāna. Then even his 'I' becomes as unreal as the magic of the magician.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 460 (20 June 1884)

Many paths to realize God

There are innumerable pathways leading to the Ocean of Immortality. The essential thing is to reach the Ocean. It doesn't matter which path you follow. Imagine that there is a reservoir containing the Elixir of Immortality. You will be immortal if a few drops of the Elixir somehow get into your mouth. You may get into the reservoir either by jumping into it, or by being pushed into it from behind, or by slowly walking down the steps. The effect is one and the same. You will become immortal by tasting a drop of that Elixir.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 467 (25 June 1884)

Difficulties of the Paths of Jnāna and Karma

The path of karma is very difficult. First of all, as I have just said, where will one find the time for it nowadays? Where is the time for a man to perform his duties as enjoined in the scriptures? Man's life is short in this age. Further, it is extremely difficult to perform one's duties in a spirit of detachment, without craving the result. One cannot work in such a spirit without first having realized God. Attachment to the result somehow enters the mind, though you may not be aware of it.

To follow jnanayoga in this age is also very difficult. First, a man's life depends entirely on food. Second, he has a short span of life. Third, he can by no means get rid of body-consciousness; and the Knowledge of Brahman is impossible without the destruction of body-consciousness. The Jnāni says: 'I am Brahman; I am not the body. I am beyond hunger and thirst, disease and grief, birth and death, pleasure and pain.' How can you be a Jnāni if you are conscious of disease, grief, pain, pleasure, and the like? A thorn enters your flesh, blood flow from the wound, and you suffer very badly from the pain; but nevertheless, if you are a Jnāni you must be able to say: 'Why, there is no thorn in my flesh at all. Nothing is the matter with me'

Therefore bhaktiyoga is prescribed for this age. By following this path one comes to God more easily than by following the others. One can undoubtedly, reach God by following the paths of jnāna and karma, but they are very difficult paths.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 468 (25 June 1884)

God fulfils all Desires of His Devotees

Bhaktiyoga is the religion for this age. But that does not mean that the lover of God will reach one goal and the philosopher and worker another. It means that if a person seeks the Knowledge of Brahman he can attain It by following the path of bhakti, too. God, who loves His devotee, can give him the Knowledge of Brahman if He so desires.

But the bhakta wants to realize the Personal God endowed with form and talk to Him. He seldom seeks the Knowledge of Brahman. But God, who does everything at His pleasure, can make His devotee the heir to His infinite glories if it pleases Him. He gives His devotee both the Love of God and the Knowledge of Brahman. If one is able somehow to reach Calcutta, one can see the Maidan and the museum and other places too. The thing is how to reach Calcutta.

By realizing the Divine Mother of the Universe, you will get Knowledge as well as Devotion. You will get both. In bhava samādhi you will see the form of God, and in nirvikalpa samādhi you will realize Brahman, the Absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. In nirvikalpa samādhi ego, name, and form do not exist.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 468 (25 June 1884)

Think of God Constantly

The worldly minded practise devotions, japa, and austerity only by fits and starts. But those who know nothing else but God repeat His name with every breath. Some always repeat mentally, 'Om Rāma'. Even the followers of the path of knowledge repeat, 'Soham', 'I am He'. There are others whose tongues are always moving, repeating the name of God. One should remember and think of God constantly.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 493 (03 July 1884)

Three kinds of Teachers

There are three classes of physicians. The physicians of one class feel the patient's pulse and go away, merely prescribing medicine. As they leave the room they simply ask the patient to take the medicine. They are the poorest class of physicians. Likewise, there are teachers who only give instruction, but do not stop to see whether their teachings have produced a good or bad effect. They do not think at all about the disciple.

There are physicians of another class, who prescribe medicine and ask the patient to take it. If the patient is unwilling to follow their directions, they reason with him. They are the mediocre physicians. Likewise, there are mediocre teachers. They give instruction to the student and, further, try to persuade him in various ways to follow the instruction.

Lastly, there are the physicians of the highest class. If the patient does not respond to their gentle persuasion, they even exert force upon him. If necessary, they press their knees on the patient's chest and force the medicine down his throat. Likewise, there are teachers of the highest class, who even exert force to direct the mind of the pupil toward God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 469-70 (25 June 1884)

Ego causing Separation

The worldly man's ego, the 'ignorant ego', the 'unripe ego', is like a thick stick. It divides, as it were, the water of the Ocean of Satchidananda. But the 'servant ego', the 'child ego', the 'ego of Knowledge', is like a line on the water. One clearly sees that there is only one expanse of water. The dividing line makes it appear that the water has two parts, but one clearly sees that in reality there is only one expanse of water.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 480 (30 June 1884)

Real Hero

A devotee who can call on God while living a householder's life is a hero indeed. God thinks: 'He who has renounced the world for My sake will surely pray to Me. He must serve Me. Is there anything very remarkable about it? People will cry shame on him if he fails to do so. But he is blessed indeed who prays to Me in the midst of his worldly duties. He is trying to find Me, overcoming a great obstacle - pushing away, as it were, a huge block of stone weighing a ton. Such a man is a real hero.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 471 (25 June 1884)

Parable of the Weaver Woman

It is a joy to merge the mind in the Indivisible Brahman through contemplation. And it is also a joy to keep the mind on the Lila, the Relative, without dissolving it in the Absolute.

A mere Jnāni is a monotonous person. He always analyses, saying: 'It is not this, not this. The world is like a dream.' But I have 'raised both my hands'. Therefore I accept everything.

Listen to a story. Once a woman went to see her weaver friend. The weaver, who had been spinning different kinds of silk thread, was very happy to see her friend and said to her: 'Friend, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you. Let me get you some refreshments.' She left the room. The woman looked at the threads of different colours and was tempted. She hid a bundle of thread under one arm. The weaver returned presently with the refreshments and began to feed her guest with great enthusiasm. But, looking at the thread, she realized that her friend had taken a bundle. Hitting upon a plan to get it back, she said: 'Friend, it is so long since I have seen you. This is a day of great joy for me. I feel very much like asking you to dance with me.' The friend said, 'Sister, I am feeling very happy too.' So the two friends began to dance together. When the weaver saw that her friend danced without raising her hands, she said: 'Friend, let us dance with both hands raised. This is a day of great joy.' But the guest pressed one arm to her side and danced raising only the other. The weaver said: 'How is this, friend? Why should you dance with only one hand raised? Dance with me raising both hands.

Look at me. See how I dance with both hands raised.' But the guest still pressed one arm to her side. She danced with the other hand raised and said with a smile, 'This is all I know of dancing.'

The Master continued: "I don't press my arm to my side. Both my hands are free. I am not afraid of anything. I accept both the Nitya and the Lila, both the Absolute and the Relative.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 479-80 (30 June 1884)

Devotee's prayer to God

A lover of God prays to the Divine Mother: 'O Mother, I am very much afraid of selfish actions. Such actions have desires behind them, and if I perform them I shall have to reap their fruit. But it is very difficult to work in a detached spirit. I shall certainly forget Thee, O Mother, if I involve myself in selfish actions. Therefore I have no use for them. May my actions, O Divine Mother, be fewer every day till I attain Thee. May I perform, without attachment to the results, only what action is absolutely necessary for me. May I have great love for Thee as I go on with my few duties. May I not entangle myself in new work so long as I do not realize Thee. But I shall perform it if I receive Thy command. Otherwise not.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 469 (25 June 1884)

God Listens to Our Prayer

PUNDIT: "Does God listen to our prayers?"

MASTER: "God is the Kalpataru, the Wish-fulfilling Tree. You will certainly get whatever you ask of Him. But you must pray standing near the Kalpataru. Only then will your prayer be fulfilled. But you must remember another thing. God knows our inner feeling. A man gets the fulfillment of the desire he cherishes while practising sadhana. As one thinks, so one receives.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 481 (30 June 1884)

Talking after Knowledge

How long should one reason about the texts of the scriptures? So long as one does not have direct realization of God. How long does the bee buzz about? As long as it is not sitting on a flower. No sooner does it light on a flower and begin to sip honey than it keeps quiet.

But you must remember another thing. One may talk even after the realization of God. But then one talks only of God and of Divine Bliss. It is like a drunkard's crying, 'Victory to the Divine Mother!' He can hardly say anything else on account of his drunkenness. You can notice, too, that a bee makes an indistinct humming sound after having sipped the honey from a flower.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 476 (30 June 1884)

Brahmajnana

Why shouldn't a man be able to realize the formless Brahman? But it is extremely difficult. He cannot if he has even the slightest trace of worldliness. He can be directly aware of Brahman in his inmost consciousness only when he renounces all sense-objects ― form, taste, smell, touch, and sound and only when his mind completely stops functioning. And then too, he knows only this much of Brahman ― that It exists.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 482 (30 June 1884)

Faith in God's Name

A man should have such fiery faith as to be able to say, 'I have uttered the name of God; how can I be a sinner?' Imagine a man repeating the name of Hari day and night and at the same time saying that he is a sinner!

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 494 (03 July 1884)

Different Classes of Perfect Souls

Some souls realize God without practising any spiritual discipline. They are called nityasiddha, eternally perfect. Those who have realized God through austerity, japa, and the like, are called sadhanasiddha, perfect through spiritual discipline. Again, there are those called kripasiddha, perfect through divine grace. These last may be compared to a room kept dark a thousand years, which becomes light the moment a lamp is brought in.

There is also a class of devotees, the hathatsiddha, that is to say, those who have suddenly attained God-vision. Their case is like that of a poor boy who has suddenly found favour with a rich man. The rich man marries his daughter to the boy and along with her gives him land, house, carriage, servants, and so forth.

There is still another class of devotees, the svapnasiddha, who have had the vision of God in a dream.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 483 (30 June 1884)

Clay Mould

HAZRA: "The devotee really prays to his own Self."

MASTER: "What you say is a very lofty thought. The aim of spiritual discipline, of chanting God's name and glories, is to realize just that. A man attains everything when he discovers his true Self in himself. The object of sādhanā is to realize that. That also is the purpose of assuming a human body. One needs the clay mould as long as the gold image has not been cast; but when the image is made, the mould is thrown away. The body may be given up after the realization of God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 521 (07 September 1884)

Infinite Creation

How many things God has created! Infinite is His universe. But what need have I to know about His infinite splendours? If I must know these, let me first realize Him. Then God Himself will tell me all about them. What need have I to know how many houses and how many government securities Jadu Mallick possesses? All that I need is somehow to converse with Jadu Mallick. I may succeed in seeing him by jumping over a ditch or through a petition or after being pushed about by his gate-keeper. Once I get a chance to talk to him, then he himself will tell me all about his possessions if I ask him. If one becomes acquainted with the master, then one is respected by his officers too. (All laugh.)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 482 (30 June 1884)

Qualified Non-Dualism

MASTER: "Again, I cannot utter a word unless I come down at least two steps from the plane of samādhi. Sankara's Non-dualistic explanation of Vedānta is true, and so is the Qualified Non-dualistic interpretation of Ramanuja."

NARENDRA: "What is Qualified Non-dualism?"

MASTER: "It is the theory of Ramanuja. According to this theory, Brahman, or the Absolute, is qualified by the universe and its living beings: These three-Brahman, the world, and living beings-together constitute One. Take the instance of a bel-fruit. A man wanted to know the weight of the fruit. He separated the shell, the flesh, and the seeds. But can a man get the weight by weighing only the flesh? He must weigh flesh, shell, and seeds together. At first it appears that the real thing in the fruit is the flesh, and not its seeds or shell. Then by reasoning you find that the shell, seeds, and flesh all belong to the fruit; the shell and seeds belong to the same thing that the flesh belongs to. Likewise, in spiritual discrimination one must first reason, following the method of 'Not this, not this': God is not the universe; God is not the living beings; Brahman alone is real, and all else is unreal. Then one realizes, as with the bel-fruit, that the Reality from which we derive the notion of Brahman is the very Reality that evolves the idea of living beings and the universe. The Nitya and the Lila are the two aspects of one and the same Reality; therefore, according to Ramanuja, Brahman is qualified by the universe and the living beings. This is the theory of Qualified Non-dualism.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 733-34 (11 March 1885)

Affirmation and Negation

One can attain spiritual consciousness through both affirmation and negation. There is the positive path of love and devotion, and there is the negative path of knowledge and discrimination. You are preaching the path of knowledge. But that creates a very difficult situation: there the guru and the disciple do not see each other. Sukadeva went to Janaka for instruction about the Knowledge of Brahman. Janaka said to him: 'You must pay me the guru's fee beforehand. When you attain the knowledge of Brahman you won't pay me the fee, because the knower of Brahman sees no difference between the guru and the disciple.'

Both negation and affirmation are ways to realize one and the same goal. Infinite are the opinions and infinite are the ways. But you must remember one thing. The injunction is that the path of devotion described by Nārada is best suited to the Kaliyuga. According to this path, first comes bhakti; then bhava, when bhakti is mature. Higher than bhava are mahabhava and prema. An ordinary mortal does not attain mahabhava and prema. He who has achieved these has realized the goal, that is to say, has attained God.

- Sri Ramakrishna to Pandit Shashadhar, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna,

P 485 (30 June 1884)

Seeing God

SADHAKA: "Is it possible to see God?"

MASTER: "He is unknowable by the mind engrossed in worldliness. One cannot attain God if one has even a trace of attachment to 'woman and gold'. But He is knowable by the pure mind and the pure intelligence ― the mind and intelligence that have not the slightest trace of attachment. Pure Mind, Pure Intelligence, Pure Ātman are one and the same thing.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 524 (14 September 1884)

Old Tendencies

Is it an easy thing to destroy old tendencies? Once there lived a very pious Hindu who always worshipped the Divine Mother and chanted Her name. When the Mussalmans conquered the country, they forced him embrace Islam. They said to him: 'You are now a Mussalman. Say "Allah". From now on you must repeat only the name of Allah.' With great difficulty he repeated the word 'Allah', but every now and then blurted out 'Jagadamba'. At that the Mussalmans were about to beat him. Thereupon he said to them: 'I beseech you! Please do not kill me. I have been trying my utmost to repeat the name of Allah, but our Jagadamba has filled me up to the throat. She pushes out your Allah.' (All laugh.)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 485 (30 June 1884)

Three kinds of Bhakti

PUNDIT: "By what kind of bhakti does one realize God?"

MASTER: "Three kinds of bhakti are found, according to the nature of the man: sattvic

bhakti, rajasic bhakti, and tamasic bhakti.

Sattvic bhakti is known to God alone. It makes no outward display. A man with such devotion

loves privacy. Perhaps he meditates inside the mosquito net, where nobody sees him. When this kind of devotion is awakened, one hasn't long to wait for the vision of God. The appearance of the dawn in the east shows that the sun will rise before long.

A man with rajasic bhakti feels like making a display of his devotion before others. He worships the Deity with 'sixteen ingredients', enters the temple wearing a silk cloth, and puts around his neck a string of rudrāksha beads interspersed here and there with beads of gold and ruby.

A man with tamasic bhakti shows the courage and boisterousness of a highway robber. A highway robber goes on his expedition openly, shouting, 'Kill! Plunder!' He isn't afraid even of eight police inspectors. The devotee with tamasic bhakti also shouts like a madman:'Hara! Hara! Vyom! Vyom! Victory to Kāli!' He has great strength of mind and burning faith.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 494 (03 July 1884)

God Inside and Outside

God is not only inside us; He is both inside and outside. The Divine Mother showed me in the Kāli temple that everything is Chinmaya, the Embodiment of Spirit; that it is She who has become all this―the image, myself, the utensils of worship, the door-sill, the marble floor. Everything is indeed Chinmaya.

The aim of prayer, of spiritual discipline, of chanting the name and glories of God, is to realize just that. For that alone a devotee loves God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 521 (07 September 1884)

Religious Garb

… one must show respect to the religious garb. Even the mere garb recalls to mind the real object. Chaitanya once dressed an ass in a religious garb and then prostrated himself before it. – Sri Ramakrishna

Harmony of Sects

He is indeed a real man who has harmonized everything. Most people are one-sided. But I find that all opinions point to the One. All views - the Sakta, the Vaishnava, the Vedānta - have that One for their centre. He who is formless is, again, endowed with form. It is He who appears in different forms: The attributeless Brahman is my Father. God with attributes is my Mother. Whom shall I blame? Whom shall I praise? The two pans of the scales are equally heavy.'

He who is described in the Vedas is also described in the Tantras and the Puranas. All of them speak about the one Satchidananda. The Nitya and the Lila are the two aspects of the one Reality. It is described in the Vedas as 'Om Satchidananda Brahman', in the Tantras as 'Om Satchidananda Śiva', the ever-pure Śiva, and in the Puranas as 'Om Satchidananda Krishna'. All the scriptures, the Vedas, the Puranas, and the Tantras, speak only of one Satchidananda.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 490 (03 July 1884)

Renunciation

It is not possible to acquire renunciation all at once. The time factor must be taken into account. But it is also true that a man should hear about it. When the right time comes, he will say to himself, 'Oh yes, I heard about this.'

You must also remember another thing. By constantly hearing about renunciation one's desire for worldly objects gradually wears away. One should take rice-water in small doses to get rid of the intoxication of liquor. Then one gradually becomes normal.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 502 (03 August 1884)

Occult Powers

What is there in occult powers? When one’s mind is entangled with them, one moves away from Satchidananda. Listen to this story. A man had two sons. The elder left home while he was still young and became a monk. Meanwhile, the younger one got his education and became learned and virtuous. He married and settled down to fulfil his duties as a householder.

According to tradition, after twelve years a monk may visit his birthplace if he wishes. So this monk went to visit his birthplace after being gone for twelve years. He saw his younger brother’s farm, his crops, and his wealth. When he reached the door, he called out his brother’s name. Hearing his name, the younger brother came out to greet his elder brother. He was overwhelmed with happiness at seeing him after such a long time. He bowed to him, brought him inside the house, and began to serve him. After sharing a meal, they began to talk about various things. The younger brother asked the elder: ‘Brother, you have given up worldly pleasures and wandered as a monk for many years. Please tell me what you have gained by this.’ The elder brother said: ‘You want to see what I have achieved? Come with me.’ So he took his brother to the bank of a nearby river and said, ‘Watch!’ He then crossed the river, walking on the water. Reaching the other bank, he called back, ‘Did you see that?’ The younger brother paid half a penny to the ferryman, crossed the river by boat, went up to his brother and said, ‘What have I seen?’ The elder brother said, ‘Did you not see me cross the river on foot?’ Smiling, the younger brother replied: ‘Didn’t you see me pay half a penny to cross that river? Is that all you gained by performing austerities for twelve years? Your power is worth only half a penny.’ As the monk listened to his brother’s words, he was awakened and focussed his mind on God-realization.

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 526

Egotism

As the ego grows, so does sin; when the ego shrinks, one attains virtue. The increase of egotism destroys spirituality, but by annihilating the ego one becomes spiritual. Selfishness is sin; selflessness is virtue. All troubles cease when the ‘I’ dies. … … Look, the scriptures describe the ego as chit-jada-granthi [a knot of consciousness and unconsciousness]. Chit means Atman, which is consciousness itself; jada means matter, such as the body, the senses, and so on. Tying these two together, this ego has created firm delusion in the human mind: ‘I am a jiva endowed with a body, senses, an intellect and so on.’ One cannot make any progress without cutting this terrible knot. One must give up the ego. …

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 524

Devotion to God

The important thing is somehow to cultivate devotion to God and love for Him. What is the use of knowing many things? It is enough to cultivate love of God by following any of the paths. When you have this love, you are sure to attain God. Afterwards, if it is necessary, God will explain everything to you and tell you about the other paths as well. It is enough for you to develop love of God. You have no need of many opinions and discussions. You have come to the orchard to eat mangoes. Enjoy them to your heart's content. You don't need to count the branches and leaves on the trees.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 506 (03 August 1884)

The state of Samādhi

When the Kundalini rises to the Sahasrara and the mind goes into samādhi, the aspirant loses all consciousness of the outer world. He can no longer retain his physical body. If milk is poured into his mouth, it runs out again. In that state the life-breath lingers for twenty-one days and then passes out. Entering the 'black waters' of the ocean, the ship never comes back. But the Isvarakotis, such as the Incarnations of God, can come down from this state of samādhi. They can descend from this exalted state because they like to live in the company of devotees and enjoy the love of God. God retains in them the 'ego of Knowledge' or the 'ego of Devotion' so that they may teach men. Their minds move between the sixth and the seventh planes. They run a boat-race back and forth, as it were, between these two planes.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 500 (03 August 1884)

Two classes of Paramahamsas

There are two classes of paramahamsas, one affirming the formless Reality and the other affirming God with form. Trailanga Swami believed in the formless Reality. Paramahamsas like him care for their own good alone; they feel satisfied if they themselves attain the goal.

But those paramahamsas who believe in God with form keep the love of God even after attaining the Knowledge of Brahman, so that they may teach spiritual truth to others. They are like a pitcher brimful of water. Part of the water may be poured into another pitcher. These perfected souls describe to others the various spiritual disciplines by which they have realized God. They do this only to teach others and to help them in spiritual life. With great effort men dig a well for drinking water, using spades and baskets for the purpose. After the digging is over, some throw the spades and other implements into the well, not needing them any more. But some put them away near the well, so that others may use them.

Some eat mangoes secretly and remove all trace of them by wiping their mouths with a towel. But some share the fruit with others. There are sages who, even after attaining Knowledge, work to help others and also to enjoy the Bliss of God in the company of devotees. 'I want to eat sugar. I don't want to be sugar.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 500 (03 August 1884)

Abhyasayoga

PRIYA: "But the mind is not under my control."

MASTER: "How is that? There is such a thing as abhyasayoga, yoga through practice. Keep up the practice and you will find that your mind will follow in whatever direction you lead it. The mind is like a white cloth just returned from the laundry. It will be red if you dip it in red dye and blue if you dip it in blue. It will have whatever colour you dip it in.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 539 (19 September 1884)

Prema, the Rarest Love of God

It is not given to everybody to feel prema, ecstatic love of God. Chaitanya experienced it. An ordinary man can at the most experience bhava. Only the Isvarakotis, such as Divine Incarnations, experience prema. When prema is awakened the devotee not only feels the world to be unreal, but forgets even the body, which everyone loves so intensely.

… …

The mature stage of bhakti is bhava. When one attains it one remains speechless, thinking of Satchidananda. The feeling of an ordinary man can go only that far. When bhava ripens it becomes mahabhava. Prema is the last. You know the difference between a green mango and a ripe one. Unalloyed love of God is the essential thing. All else is unreal.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 502-03 (03 August 1884)

Name of Hari

BHAVANATH: "I feel such relief while chanting the name of Hari."

MASTER: "He who relieves us of sin is Hari. He relieves us of our three afflictions in the world. Chaitanya preached the glory of Hari's name; so it must be good. You see, he was such a great scholar, and an Incarnation too. Since he preached that name, it must be good. (Smiling) Once some peasants were invited to a feast. They were asked if they eat a preparation of hog plum. They answered: 'You may give it to us if the gentlemen have eaten it. If they enjoyed it, then it must be good.' (All laugh.)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 528 (14 September 1884)

Following of Different Paths

I have practised the disciplines of all the paths, each for a few days. Otherwise I should have found no peace of mind. (Smiling) I have practised all the disciplines; I accept all paths. I respect the Saktas, the Vaishnavas, and also the Vedantists. Therefore people of all sects come here. And everyone of them thinks that I belong to his school. I also respect the modern Brahmajnanis [Brahmo-Samaj members].

A man had a tub of dye. Such was its wonderful property that people could dye their clothes any colour they wanted by merely dipping them in it. A clever man said to the owner of the tub, 'Dye my cloth the colour of your dye-stuff.' (All laugh.)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 538 (19 September 1884)

Not without God’s Grace

Brahman weeps when ensnared in the meshes of maya. You may close your eyes and reason, ‘There is no thorn, nothing to prick’; but you cry out in pain as soon as your hand is pricked by a thorn. Similarly, you may reason that there is no such thing as birth or death, virtue or vice, pain or misery, hunger or thirst – that you are the eternal Brahman, the Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. But the moment your body succumbs to illness, or your mind is overcome by temptation, or you commit a transgression distracted by the seemingly sweet enjoyment of lust and gold, you forget your high philosophy and are overwhelmed by delusion and its painful consequences. Therefore, know for certain that no one can obtain Self-knowledge and become free from misery without God’s grace and the Divine Mother’s unlocking the door. Have you not heard in the Chandi, ‘When the Divine Mother is pleased, She bestows the boon of liberation upon human beings’?

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 538-39

Subtle Ways

Subtle are the ways of dharma. One cannot realize God if one has even the least trace of desire. A thread cannot pass through the eye of a needle if it has the smallest fibre sticking out.

Krishna said to Arjuna, 'Friend, if you want to realize Me, you will not succeed if you have even one of the eight occult powers.' This is the truth. Occult power is sure to beget pride, and pride makes one forget God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 547 (21 September 1884)

Newspaper

ISHAN (to the doctor [Sarkar]): "Why don't you believe in the Incarnation of God? Just now you said that God has form since He has created all these forms, and that God is formless since He has created the mind, which is without form. A moment ago you said that everything is possible for God."

MASTER (laughing): "It is not mentioned in his 'science' that God can take human form; so how can he believe it? (All laugh.)

"Listen to a story. A man said to his friend, 'I have just seen a house fall down with a terrific crash.' Now, the friend to whom he told this had received an English education. He said: 'Just a minute. Let me look it up in the newspaper.' He read the paper but could not find the news of a house falling down with a crash. Thereupon he said to his friend: 'Well, I don't believe you. It isn't in the paper; so it is all false.' "(All laugh.)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 864 (22 October 1885)

Different Paths leading to God

You see how many opinions there are about God. Each opinion is a path. There are innumerable opinions and innumerable paths leading to God.

BHAVANATH: "Then what should we do?"

MASTER: "You must stick to one path with all your strength. A man can reach the roof of a house by stone stairs or a ladder or a rope-ladder or a rope or even by a bamboo pole. But he cannot reach the roof if he sets foot now on one and now on another. He should firmly follow one path. Likewise, in order to realize God a man must follow one path with all his strength.

But you must regard other views as so many paths leading to God. You should not feel that your path is the only right path and that other paths are wrong. You mustn't bear malice toward others.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 514 (07 September 1884)

Living in the World after Realization of God

A man can live in the world after attaining God. Then he can lead the life of detachment. In the country I have seen the women of the carpenter families making flattened rice with a husking-machine. With one hand one of them turns the paddy in the hole and with the other she holds a nursing child. At the same time she talks with the buyer. She says to him: 'You owe me two ānnās. Pay it before you go.' But seventy-five per cent of the woman's mind is on her hand lest it should be crushed by the pestle of the husking machine.

A man should do his worldly duties with only twenty-five percent of his mind, devoting the rest to God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 523 (14 September 1884)

Scriptures and Sadhana

If there is knowledge of one, there is also knowledge of many. What will you achieve by mere study of the scriptures? The scriptures contain a mixture of sand and sugar, as it were. It is extremely difficult to separate the sugar from the sand. Therefore one should learn the essence of the scriptures from the teacher or from a sādhu. Afterwards what does one care for books?

Gather all the information and then plunge in. Suppose a pot has dropped in a certain part of a lake. Locate the spot and dive there.

One should learn the essence of the scriptures from the guru and then practise sadhana. If one rightly follows spiritual discipline, then one directly sees God. The discipline is said to be rightly followed only when one plunges in. What will a man gain by merely reasoning about the words of the scriptures? Ah, the fools! They reason themselves to death over information about the path. They never take the plunge. What a pity!

You may say, even though you dive deep you are still in danger of sharks and crocodiles, of lust and anger. But dive after rubbing your body with turmeric powder; then sharks and crocodiles will not come near you. The turmeric is discrimination and renunciation.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 543 (19 September 1884)

God in All

There was a time when I too would meditate on God with my eyes closed. Then I said to myself: 'Does God exist only when I think of Him with my eyes closed? Doesn't He exist when I look around with my eyes open?' Now, when I look around with my eyes open, I see that God dwells in all beings. He is the Indwelling Spirit of all-men, animals and other living beings, trees and plants, sun and moon, land and water.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 561 (26 September 1884)

Asti-Bhati-Priyam

Referring to Existence-Knowledge-Bliss, the Master would explain us: “Do you know what this is? It’s the true nature of Brahman. Vedanta explains it this way: whatever truly exists, manifests itself. This manifestation is the nature of knowledge. The thing that we know becomes manifest to us. Isn’t this true? So Vedanta says that whenever we are conscious of an object’s existence, that object is simultaneously revealed along with our consciousness of it; in other words, we become conscious or its nature as knowledge. And forthwith we feel it as dear; that is, it’s blissful nature rouses a feeling of love within us and causes us to love it. Thus, wherever we are conscious of Existence, we are also conscious of Knowledge and Bliss. Therefore, what is Existence is also Knowledge and Bliss; what is Knowledge is also Existence and Bliss, and what is Bliss is also Existence and Knowledge. This world, the objects within it, and all beings, have their source in Brahman, and the true nature of that Brahman is asti-bhati-priyam, or Satchidananda. The Uttara Gita says that after illumination one realises that the Paramatman dwells in the place, person, or thing to which one’s mind is drawn: Yatra yatra mano yati, tatra tatra param padam (3:9). It is also said in the Vedas that because sense objects are permeated by Brahman, the human mind runs after them.”

- Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 572

Food

Blessed is he who feels longing for God, though he eats pork. But shame on him whose mind dwells on 'woman and gold', though he eats the purest food-boiled vegetables, rice, and ghee.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 564 (28 September 1884)

As per Digestion

MASTER (to Goswami): "I have sung these songs to suit your Vaishnava temperament. But I must sing differently when the Saktas or others come. Here [referring to Himself] people of all sects come -Vaishnavas, Saktas, Kartabhajas, Vedantists, and also members of the modern Brahmo Samaj. Therefore one finds here all ideals and attitudes. It is by the will of God that different religions and opinions have come into existence. God gives to different people what they can digest. The mother does not give fish pilau to all her children. All cannot digest it; so she prepares simple fish soup for some. Everyone cherishes his own special ideal and follows his own nature.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 540 (19 September 1884)

Different Paths

Do you know what the truth is? God has made different religions to suit different aspirants, times, and countries. All doctrines are only so many paths; but a path is by no means God Himself. Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with whole-hearted devotion. Suppose there are errors in the religion that one has accepted; if one is sincere and earnest, then God Himself will correct those errors. Suppose a man has set out with a sincere desire to visit Jagannath at Puri and by mistake has gone north instead of south; then certainly someone meeting him on the way will tell him: 'My good fellow, don't go that way. Go to the south.' And the man will reach Jagannath sooner or later.

If there are errors in other religions, that is none of our business. God, to whom the world belongs, takes care of that.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 559 (26 September 1884)

Incomprehensible God

God has form; again, He is formless. How many aspects He has! We cannot comprehend Him. Why should we say that God is formless only? – Sri Ramakrishna

Inscrutability of God's ways

Triumph or defeat is in the hands of God. We cannot understand His ways. You must have noticed that the green coconut remains high in the tree and is exposed to the sun, but still its milk is cool. On the other hand the paniphal remains in the water, but when eaten it heats the body.

Look at the body of man. The head is the root, and it is at the top.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 578 (02 October 1884)

Duty toward mother

Is a mother to be trifled with? Before becoming a sannyasi Chaitanyadeva worked hard to persuade his mother to let him renounce home. Mother Sachi said that she would kill Keshab Bharati [Chaitanya’s monastic guru]. Chaitanyadeva did his utmost to persuade her. He said: 'Mother, I shall not renounce home if you won't let me. But if you compel me to lead a householder's life, I shall die. And, mother, even if I go away as a sannyasi, you will be able to see me whenever you desire. I shall stay near you. I shall see you every now and then.' Only when Chaitanya explained it to her thus did she give her permission. Nārada could not go to the forest to practise austerity as long as his mother was alive. He had to take care of her. After her death he went away to realize God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 573 (29 September 1884)

O Mother

The devotees begin to sing hymns, one of them leading and the rest following in chorus.

Girish sings:

Who is this Woman with the thick black hair,

Shining amidst the assembly of the gods?

Who is She, whose feet are like crimson lotuses

Planted on Śiva's chest?

Who is She, whose toe-nails shine like the full moon,

Whose legs burn with the brightness of the sun?

Who is She, who now speaks soft and smiles on us,

And now fills all the quarters of the sky

With shouts of terrible laughter?

Again:

O Mother, Saviour of the helpless, Thou the Slayer of sin!

In Thee do the three Gunās dwell-sattva, rajas, and tamas;

Thou dost create the world;

Thou dost sustain it and destroy it;

Binding Thyself with attributes, Thou yet transcendest them;

For Thou, O Mother, art the All. . . .

Behari sings:

O Syama, Thou who dost sit upon a corpse!

I beg Thee, hear my heart's most fervent prayer:

As my last breath forsakes this mortal flesh,

Reveal Thyself within my heart!

Then, in my mind, from forest and from grove

I shall gather Thee red hibiscus flowers,

And, scenting them with the sandal-paste of Love,

Shall lay them at Thy Lotus Feet.

M. sings with the other devotees:

O Mother, all is done after Thine own sweet will;

Thou art in truth self-willed, Redeemer of mankind!

Thou workest Thine own work; men only call it theirs. . .

They sing again:

All things are possible, O Mother, through Thy grace;

Obstacles mountain high Thou makest to melt away.

Thou Home of Bliss! To all Thou givest peace and joy;

Why then should I be made to suffer fruitlessly,

Brooding on the success or failure of my deeds?

And again:

O Mother, ever blissful as Thou art,

Do not deprive Thy worthless child of bliss!

My mind knows nothing but Thy Lotus Feet.

The King of Death scowls at me terribly;

Tell me, Mother, what shall I say to him? . . .

They conclude:

In dense darkness, O Mother, Thy formless beauty sparkles;

Therefore the yogis meditate in a dark mountain cave. .

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 928-29 (31 October 1885)

United with God

It doesn't matter what kind of action you are engaged in. You can be united with God through any action provided that, performing it, you give up all desire for its result.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 579 (02 October 1884)

Chaitanya's Exalted State

Chaitanya experienced three states of mind. First, the conscious state, when his mind dwelt on the gross and the subtle. Second, the semi-conscious state, when his mind entered the causal body and was absorbed in the bliss of divine intoxication. Third, the inmost state, when his mind was merged in the Great Cause.

This agrees very well with the five koshas, or 'sheaths', described in the Vedānta. The gross body corresponds to the annamayakosha and the pranamayakosha, the subtle body to the manomayakosha and the vijnanamayakosha, and the causal body to the Ānandamayakosha. The Mahakarana, the Great Cause, is beyond the five sheaths. When Chaitanya's mind merged in That, he would go into samādhi. This is called the nirvikalpa or jada samādhi.

While conscious of the outer world, Chaitanya sang the name of God; while in the state of partial consciousness, he danced with the devotees; and while in the inmost state of consciousness, he remained absorbed in samādhi.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 330 (9 December 1883)

Catholicity

Some say that God is formless,and some that God has form. I say, let one man meditate on God with form if he believes in form, and let another meditate on the formless Deity if he does not believe in form. What I mean is that dogmatism is not good. It is not good to feel that my religion alone is true and other religions are false. The correct attitude is this: My religion is right, but I do not know whether other religions are right or wrong, true or false. I say this because one cannot know the true nature of God unless one realizes Him. Kabir used to say: 'God with form is my Mother, the Formless is my Father. Which shall I blame? Which shall I praise? The two pans of the scales are equally heavy.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 558 (26 September 1884)

Chaitanya - Love incarnate

Chaitanya was Divine Love incarnate. He came down to earth to teach people how to love God. One achieves everything when one loves God. – Sri Ramakrishna

Pure Heart

You cannot make a pot without first carefully preparing the clay. The pot will crack if the clay contains particles of sand or stone. That is why the potter first prepares the clay by removing the sand and stones.

If a mirror is covered with dirt, it won't reflect one's face. A man cannot realize his true Self unless his heart is pure.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 581 (02 October 1884)

Planes of Mind

Man, looking outward, sees the gross; at that time his mind dwells in the annamayakosha, the gross body. Next is the subtle body. Functioning through the subtle body, the mind dwells in the manomayakosha and the vijnanamayakosha. Next is the causal body. Functioning through the causal body the mind enjoys bliss; it dwells in the Ānandamaykosha. This corresponds to the semi-conscious state experienced by Chaitanya. Last of all, the mind loses itself in the Great Cause. It disappears. It merges in the Great Cause. What one experiences after that cannot be described in words. In his inmost state of consciousness, Chaitanya enjoyed this experience. Do you know what this state is like? Dayananda described it by saying, 'Come into the inner apartments and shut the door. Anyone and everyone cannot enter that part of the house.

I used to meditate on the flame of a light. I thought of the red part as gross, the white part inside the red as subtle, and the stick-like black part, which is the innermost of all, as the causal.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 604 (11 October 1884)

Pure Mind

The Vedānta says that a man does not even desire to know God unless he has a pure mind. One cannot be guileless and liberal-minded without much tapasya or unless it is one's last birth.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 581 (02 October 1884)

Ajnana

How long should a man perform his duties? As long as he identifies himself with the body, in other words, as long as he thinks he is the body. That is what the Gitā says. To think of the body as the Ātman is ajnāna, ignorance.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 582 (02 October 1884)

Lingasharira

The Mārwāri devotees from Burrabazar entered the room and saluted the Master. He

began to praise them.

MASTER (to the devotees):"Ah! They are real devotees of God. They visit temples, sing hymns to God, and eat prasad. And the gentleman whom they have made their priest this year is learned in the Bhagavata."

MĀRWĀRI DEVOTEE: "Who is this 'I' that says, 'O Lord, I am Thy servant?' "

MASTER: "This is the lingasarira, or embodied soul. It consists of manas, buddhi, chitta, and Ahamkāra."

DEVOTEE: "Who is the embodied soul?"

MASTER: "It is the Ātman bound by the eight fetters. And what is the chitta? It is the 'I-consciousness' that says, 'Aha!'"

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 583 (02 October 1884)

Efficacy of Bhakti-yoga

One can attain everything through bhakti yoga. I wept before the Mother and prayed, 'O Mother, please tell me, please reveal to me, what the yogis have realized through yoga and the jnanis through discrimination.' And the Mother has revealed everything to me. She reveals everything if the devotee cries to Her with a yearning heart. She has shown me everything that is in the Vedas, the Vedānta, the Puranas, and the Tantra.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 579 (02 October 1884)

What happens After Death

DEVOTEE: "Revered sir, what happens after death?"

MASTER: "According to the Gitā, one becomes afterwards what one thinks of at the time of death. King Bharata thought of his deer and became a deer in his next life. Therefore one must practise sādhanā in order to realize God. If a man thinks of God day and night, he will have the same thought in the hour of death."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 583 (02 October 1884)

Signs of God-vision

TRAILOKYA: What are the signs of a householder having attained Knowledge?"

MASTER: "His tears will flow, and the hair on his body will stand on end. No sooner does he hear the sweet name of God than the hair on his body stands on end from sheer delight, and tears roll down his cheeks. "A man cannot get rid of body-consciousness as long as he is attached to worldly things and loves 'woman and gold'. As he becomes less and less attached to worldly things, he approaches nearer and nearer to the Knowledge of Self. He also becomes less and less conscious of his body. He attains Self-Knowledge when his worldly attachment totally disappears. Then he realizes that body and soul are two separate things. It is very difficult to separate with a knife the kernel of a coconut from the shell before the milk inside has dried up. When the milk dries up, the kernel rattles inside the shell. At that time it loosens itself from the shell. Then the fruit is called a dry coconut.

The sign of a man's having realized God is that he has become like a dry coconut. He has become utterly free from the consciousness that he is the body. He does not feel happy or unhappy with the happiness or unhappiness of the body. He does not seek the comforts of the body. He roams about in the world as a jivanmukta, one liberated in life.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 629 (19 October 1884)

Great Cause

That which is the Pure Ātman is the Great Cause, the Cause of the cause. The gross, the subtle, the causal, and the Great Cause. The five elements are gross. Mind, buddhi, and ego are subtle. Prakriti, the Primal Energy, is the cause of all these. Brahman, Pure Ātman, is the Cause of the cause.

This Pure Ātman alone is our real nature. What is jnāna? It is to know one's own Self and keep the mind in It. It is to know the Pure Ātman.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 582 (02 October 1884)

Darkness of Mind

The darkness of the mind is destroyed only when a man stands little apart from. 'woman and gold' and, thus standing apart, practises a little austerity and spiritual discipline. Then only does the cloud of his ego and ignorance vanish. Then only does he attain the Knowledge of God. This 'woman and gold' is the only cloud that hides the Sun of Knowledge.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 583-84 (02 October 1884)

Māyā hides Knowledge

DEVOTEE: "Why don't we feel dispassion toward worldly objects?"

MASTER: "Because of māyā. Through māyā one feels the Real to be the unreal and the unreal to be the Real. The Real means That which is eternal, the Supreme Brahman; and the unreal means that which is non- eternal, that is to say, the world."

DEVOTEE: "We read the scriptures. Why is it that we can't assimilate them?"

MASTER: "What will one accomplish by mere reading? One needs spiritual practice-austerity. Call on God. What is the use of merely repeating the word 'siddhi'? One must eat a little of it.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 583 (02 October 1884)

Dying in Benares

DEVOTEE: "Revered sir, why does a man dying in Benares become liberated?"

MASTER: "A person dying in Benares sees the vision of Śiva. Śiva says to him: 'This is My aspect with form, My embodiment in māyā. I assume this form for the sake of the devotees. Now look. I am merging in the indivisible Satchidananda!' Uttering these words, Śiva withdraws His form and enables the dying person to see Brahman.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 584 (02 October 1884)

Thorny Plant

The hand bleeds when it touches a thorny plant. Suppose you bring such a plant and repeat, sitting near it: 'There! The plant is burning.' Will that burn the plant? This world is like the thorny plant. Light the fire of Knowledge and with it set the plant ablaze. Only then will it be burnt up.

One must labour a little while at the stage of sādhanā. Then the path becomes easy. Steer the boat around the curves of the river and then let it go with the favourable wind.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 583 (02 October 1884)

Brahman alone Real

YOUNG MAN: "Sir, what is Knowledge?"

MASTER: "It is to know that God is the only Reality and that all else is unreal. That which is the Real is also called Brahman. It has another name: Kala, Time. There is a saying, 'O brother, how many things come into being in Time and disappear in Time!'

"That which sports with Kala is called Kāli. She is the Primal Energy. Kala and Kāli, Brahman and Śakti, are indivisible.

"That Brahman, of the nature of Reality, is eternal. It exists in past, present, and future. It is without beginning or end. It cannot be described in words. The utmost that can be said of Brahman is that It is of the very nature of Intelligence and Bliss.

"The world is illusory; Brahman alone is real. The world is of the nature of magic. The magician is real but his magic is unreal"

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 585 (02 October 1884)

God Alone

God is both inside and outside. It is He who dwells inside us. Therefore the Vedas say, 'Tattvamasi - That thou art.' God is also outside us. He appears manifold through māyā; but in reality He alone exists. Therefore before describing the various names and forms of God, one should say, 'Om Tat Sat.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 587 (02 October 1884)

Control of Women

A woman is, no doubt, a part of the Divine Mother. But as far as a man is concerned, especially a sannyāsi or a devotee of God, she is to be shunned. …

…

Woman monopolizes three quarters of the mind, which should be given to God. And then, after the birth of a child, almost the whole mind is frittered away on the family. Then what is left to give to God? … …

… …

Once I wanted to go to a certain place. I asked Ramlal's aunt [i.e. Sri Ramakrishna’s wife – Sri Sarada Devi] about it. She forbade me to go; so I could not. A little while later I said to myself: 'I am not a householder. I have renounced "woman and gold". If, in spite of that, this is my plight, one can well imagine how much worldly people are controlled by their wives.’

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 594 (05 October 1884)

Liberation

DEVOTEE: "Revered sir, is a man liberated only when he dies on the bank of the Ganges?"

MASTER: "It is the Knowledge of God alone that gives liberation. The Jnāni will certainly attain liberation wherever he may die, whether in the charnel-pit or on the bank of the Ganges. But the bank of the Ganges is prescribed for a bound soul."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 584 (02 October 1884)

Same Destination

I keep men's own ideals intact. I ask a Vaishnava to hold to his Vaishnava attitude and a Sakta to his. But this also I say to them 'Never feel that your path alone is right and that the paths of others a wrong and full of errors. Hindus, Mussalmans, and Christians are going to the same destination by different paths. A man can realize God by following his own path if his prayer is sincere.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 596 (05 October 1884)

Preparation for God Vision

One must practise intense spiritual discipline. Can one obtain the vision of God all of a sudden, without any preparation?

A man asked, 'Why don't I see God?' I said to him, as the idea came to my mind: 'You want to catch a big fish. First make arrangements for it. Throw spiced bait into the water. Get a line and a rod. At the smell of the bait the fish will come from the deep water. By the movement of the water you will know that a big fish has come.'

You want to eat butter. But what will you achieve by simply repeating that there is butter in milk? You have to work hard for it. Only thus can you separate butter from milk. Can one see God by merely repeating, 'God exists'? One needs sādhanā.

The Divine Mother Herself practised austere sādhanā to set an example for mankind. Sri Krishna, who is none other than the Ultimate Brahman, also practised sādhanā to set an example to others.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 608 (11 October 1884)

ChitŚakti

Whatever names and forms you see are nothing but the manifestations of the power of ChitŚakti. Everything is the power of ChitŚakti-even meditation and he who meditates. As long as I feel that I am meditating, I am within the jurisdiction of Prakriti.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 609 (11 October 1884)

Remember Death

Sri Ramakrishna said to the Brahmo devotees: "The world is impermanent. One should constantly remember death." Then he sang:

Remember this, O mind! Nobody is your own:

Vain is your wandering in this world.

Trapped in the subtle snare of māyā as you are,

Do not forget the Mother's name. . . .

The Master said to the devotees: "Dive deep. What will you gain by merely floating on the surface? Renounce everything for a few days, retire into solitude, and call on God with all your soul"

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 589 (04 October 1884)

Knowledge and Ignorance

'I' and 'mine' - that is ignorance. True knowledge makes one feel: 'O God, You alone do everything. You alone are my own. And to You alone belong houses, buildings, family, relatives, friends, the whole world. All is Yours.' But ignorance makes one feel: 'I am doing everything. I am the doer. House, buildings, family, children, friends, and property are all mine.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 609 (11 October 1884)

Power of Inborn Tendencies

YOUNG MAN: "If the world is of the nature of illusion-magic-then why doesn't one get rid

of it?"

MASTER: "It is due to the samskaras, inborn tendencies. Repeated births in this world of

māyā make one believe that māyā is real. "Let me tell you how powerful inborn tendencies are. A prince had, in a previous birth, been the son of a washerman. While playing with his chums in his incarnation as the prince, he said to them: 'Stop those games. I will show you a new one. I shall lie on my belly, and you will beat the clothes on my back as the washerman does, making a swishing sound.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 585 (02 October 1884)

Bhakti and Desires

You are no doubt in the world. What if you are? You must surrender the fruit of your action to God. You must not seek any result for yourself. But mark one thing. The desire for bhakti cannot be called a desire. You may desire bhakti and pray for it. Practise the tamas of bhakti and force your demand upon the Divine Mother.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 612 (11 October 1884)

Ādyāśakti

Brahman is actionless. When It is engaged in creation, preservation, and dissolution, It is called the Primal Power, Ādyāśakti. This Power must be propitiated. Don't you know that it is so written in the Chandi? The gods first sang a hymn to the Ādyāśakti in order to propitiate Her. Only then did Hari wake up from His yoga sleep.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 616 (11 October 1884)

Granny’s Will

Haven't you seen the game of hide-and-seek? It is the 'granny's' will that the game should continue. If all touch her and are released, then the playing comes to a stop. Therefore it is not her will that all should touch her.

You see, in big grain stores the merchants keep rice in great heaps that touch the ceiling. Beside them there are heaps of lentils. To protect the grain from the mice, the merchants leave trays of puffed rice and sweetened rice near it. The mice like the smell and the sweet taste of these and so stayaround the trays. They don't find the big heaps of grain. Similarly, men are deluded by 'woman and gold'; they do not know where God is.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 614 (11 October 1884)

Intellectual Understanding and Actual Vision

It is one thing to believe beyond a doubt that fire exists in wood, but it is quite another to get the fire from the wood, cook rice with its help, appease one's hunger, and so be satisfied. These are two entirely different things.

No one can put a limit to spiritual experience. If you refer to one experience, there is another beyond that, and still another, and so on.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 624 (19 October 1884)

The Entangled Soul

The entangled souls repeat those very actions that make them suffer so much. They are like the camel, which eats thorny bushes till the blood streams from its mouth, but still will not give them up. Such a man may have lost his son and be stricken with grief, but still he will have children year after year. He may ruin himself by his daughter's marriage, but still he will go on having daughters every year. And he says: 'What can I do? It's just my luck!' When he goes to a holy place he doesn't have any time to think of God. He almost kills himself carrying bundles for his wife. Entering the temple, he is very eager to give his child the holy water to drink or make him roll on the floor; but he has no time for his own devotions. These bound creatures slave for their masters to earn food for themselves and their families; and they earn money by lying, cheating, flattery. They laugh at those who think of God and meditate on Him, and call them lunatics.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 631 (19 October 1884)

In Heart

SUB-JUDGE: "How can we know that we have Knowledge?"

MASTER: "When one has Knowledge one does not see God any more at a distance. One does not think of Him any more as 'He'. He becomes 'This'. Then He is seen in one's own heart. God dwells in every man. He who seeks God realizes Him."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 627 (19 October 1884)

Mother through All

I see all things – trees, plants, people, cows, grass, water – as if they are covered with different sheaths, like pillow cases. Haven’t you seen them? Some are made of coarse cloth dyed red, some of finely patterned cloth, and others of different kinds of cloth; some are quadrangles and some are round. Everything in the universe is just like that. Just as there is only one substance – cotton – stuffed into all those pillow cases, so the same indivisible Satchidananda exists within the sheaths of people, cows, grass, water, mountains, and everything else. Look, I see clearly that the Divine Mother has covered Herself with different wrappers – She has assumed various forms and is peeping through them. Without understanding my condition, people tried to correct and pacify me. …

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 632

God and Maya

Someone once raised a question: “Maya is God’s power and dwells in God. Is God then bound by maya as we are?” The Master replied, “No, not at all. Although maya belongs to God and dwells always with God, He is never bound by maya. Look, whoever is bitten by a snake dies. But there is always poison in the fangs of the snake, and the snake eats and gulps saliva through its mouth, but the snake does not die. It is just like that.”

- Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 634

Inner Controller

God is our Inner Controller. Pray to Him with a pure and guileless heart. He will explain everything to you. Give up egotism and take refuge in Him. You will realize everything. – Sri Ramakrishna

Hindu Religion

The Hindu religion alone is the Sanatana Dharma. The various creeds you hear of nowadays have come into existence through the will of God and will disappear again through His will. They will not last forever. Therefore I say, 'I bow down at the feet of even the modern devotees.' The Hindu religion has always existed and will always exist.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 642 (20 October 1884)

Futility of Mere Study

Can one find God in the sacred books? By reading the scriptures one may feel at the most that God exists. But God does not reveal Himself to a man unless he himself dives deep. Only after such a plunge, after the revelation of God through His grace, is one's doubt destroyed. You may read scriptures by the thousands and recite thousands of texts; but unless you plunge into God with yearning of heart, you will not comprehend Him. By mere scholarship you may fool man, but not God.

Scriptures and books-what can one achieve with these alone? Nothing can be realized without His grace. Strive with a longing heart for His grace. Through His grace you will see Him and He will talk to you.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 625 (19 October 1884)

Duty Towards Wife

SUB-JUDGE: "What is a householder's duty to his wife?"

MASTER: "You should give her spiritual advice and support her during your lifetime and provide for her livelihood after your death, if she is a chaste wife.

"But if you are intoxicated with the Knowledge of God, then you have no more duties to perform. Then God Himself will think about your morrow if you yourself cannot do so. God Himself will think about your family if you are intoxicated with Him. If a landlord dies leaving behind a minor son, then a guardian appointed by the court takes charge of the son. These are all points of law; you know them."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 628 (19 October 1884)

Milk and Butter

A man sets milk in a quiet place to curdle, and then he extracts butter from the curd. After once extracting the butter of Devotion and Knowledge from the milk of the mind, if you keep that transformed mind in the water of the world, it will float in the world unattached. But if the mind in its 'unripe' state-that is to say, when it is just like liquid milk-is kept in the water of the world, then the milk and water will get mixed. In that case it will be impossible for the mind to float unattached in the world.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 626-27 (19 October 1884)

Story of "the will of Rāma"

A DEVOTEE: "What is that story about 'the will of Rāma'?"

MASTER: "In a certain village there lived a weaver. He was a very pious soul. Everyone trusted him and loved him. He used to sell his goods in the market-place. When a customer asked him the price of a piece of cloth, the weaver would say: 'By the will of Rāma the price of the yarn is one rupee and the labour four ānnās; by the will of Rāma the profit is two ānnās. The price of the cloth, by the will of Rāma, is one rupee and six ānnās.' Such was the people's faith in the weaver that the customer would at once pay the price and take the cloth. The weaver was a real devotee of God. After finishing his supper in the evening, he would spend long hours' in the worship hall meditating on God and chanting His name and glories. Now, late one night the weaver couldn't get to sleep. He was sitting in the worship hall, smoking now and then, when a band of robbers happened to pass that way. They wanted a man to carry their goods and said to the weaver, 'Come with us.' So saying, they led him off by the hand. After committing a robbery in a house, they put a load of things on the weaver's head, commanding him to carry them. Suddenly the police arrived and the robbers ran away. But the weaver, with his load, was arrested. He was kept in the lock-up for the night. Next day he was brought before the magistrate for trial. The villagers learnt what had happened and came to court. They said to the magistrate, 'Your Honour, this man could never commit a robbery.' Thereupon the magistrate asked the weaver to make his statement.

The weaver said: 'Your Honour, by the will of Rāma I finished my meal at night. Then by the will of Rāma I was sitting in the worship hall. It was quite late at night by the will of Rāma. By the will of Rāma I had been thinking of God and chanting His name and glories, when by the will of Rāma a band of robbers passed that way. By the will of Rāma they dragged me with them; by the will of Rāma they committed a robbery in a house; and by the will of Rāma they put a load on my head. Just then, by the will of Rāma the police arrived, and by the will of Rāma I was arrested. Then by the will of Rāma the police kept me in the lock-up for the night, and this morning by the will of Rāma I have been brought before Your Honour.' The magistrate realized that the weaver was a pious man and ordered his release. On his way home the weaver said to his friends, 'By the will of Rāma I have been released.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 648-49 (26 October 1884)

Pure Ātman

The Pure Ātman is inactive and is the Witness of the three states. When I think of the acts of creation, preservation, and destruction, then I call the Pure Ātman 'Isvara'. What is the Pure Ātman like? It is like a magnet lying at a great distance from a needle. The needle moves, but the magnet lies motionless, inactive.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 655 (26 October 1884)

Body of Jnani

Even after attaining Knowledge, the Jnāni keeps his body as before. But the fire of Knowledge burns away his lust and other passions. Many days ago, during an electric storm, a thunderbolt struck the Kāli temple. We saw that no injury had been done to the doors; only the points of the screws were broken. The doors are the body, and the passions-lust and so forth-are the screws.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 659 (9 November 1884)

Explanation of "Aum"

MASTER (To Mahima) "You explain 'Aum' with reference to 'a', 'u', and 'm' only."

MAHIMA: "'A', 'u', and 'm' mean creation, preservation, and destruction."

MASTER: "But I give the illustration of the sound of a gong: 'tom', t— o -- m. It is the merging of the Lila in the Nitya: the gross, the subtle, and the causal merge in the Great Cause; waking, dream, and deep sleep merge in Turiya. The striking of the gong is like the falling of a heavy weight into a big ocean. Waves begin to rise: the Relative rises from the Absolute; the causal, subtle, and gross bodies appear out of the Great Cause; from Turiya emerge the states of deep sleep, dream, and waking. These waves arising from the Great Ocean merge again in the Great Ocean. From the Absolute to the Relative, and from the Relative to the Absolute. Therefore I give the illustration of the gong's sound, 'tom'. I have clearly perceived all these things. It has been revealed to me that there exists an Ocean of Consciousness without limit. From It come all things of the relative plane, and in It they merge again. Millions of Brahmandas rise in that Chidakasa and merge in It again. All this has been revealed to me; I don't know, much about what your books say."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 653 (26 October 1884)

Goal of Scriptures

If you meditate on an ideal you will acquire its nature. If you think of God day and night, you will acquire the nature of God. A salt doll went into the ocean to measure its depth. It became one with the ocean. What is the goal of books or scriptures? The attainment of God. A man opened a book belonging to a sādhu. He saw the word 'Rāma' written on every page. There was nothing else.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 657 (9 November 1884)

Parents

Look, my children, parents are the greatest gurus in this world. As long as they are alive, one should serve them to one’s utmost ability; when they die, one should perform the shraddha ceremony as far as one is able. One who is poor and has no means to perform the shraddha ceremony for parents should go to the forest and weep for their memory, thus repaying the debt to them. One may disobey one’s parents without incurring any sin only for the sake of God. Although his father forbade it, Prahlada did not stop repeating the name of Krishna. Dhruva disobeyed his mother and went into the forest to practice austerities. But in performing these actions, neither of them incurred any sin.

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 615

Way to Brahmajnana

VIJAY: "How, sir, can one have the vision of the Primal Energy and attain Brahmajnana, the Knowledge of the attributeless Brahman?"

MASTER: "Pray to Him with a yearning heart, and weep. That will purify your heart. You see the reflection of the sun in clear water. In the mirror of his 'I-consciousness' the devotee sees the form of the Primal Energy, Brahman with attributes. But the mirror must be wiped clean. One does not see the right reflection if there is any dirt on the mirror.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 636 (19 October 1884)

God as Person

As long as a man is conscious of 'I' and 'you', and as long as he feels that it is he who prays or meditates, so long will he feel that God is listening to his prayer and that God is a Person. Then he must say: 'O God, Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant. Thou art the whole and I am a part of Thee. Thou art the Mother and I am Thy child.' At that time there exists a feeling of difference: 'I am one and Thou art another.' It is God Himself who makes us feel this difference; and on account of this difference one sees man and woman, light and darkness, and so on. As long as one is aware of this difference, one must accept Śakti, the Personal God. It is God who has put 'I-consciousness' in us. You may reason a thousand times; still this 'I' does not disappear. As long as 'I-consciousness' exists, God reveals Himself to us as a Person.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 635 (19 October 1884)

Real Nature of God

If you believe that God is formless, then stick to that belief with firm conviction. But don’t be dogmatic: never say emphatically about God that He can be only this and not that. You may say: ‘I believe that God is formless. But He can be many things more. He alone knows what else He can be. I do not know; I do not understand.’ How can man with his one ounce of intelligence know the real nature of God? Can you put four seers of milk in a one-seer jar? If God, through His grace, ever reveals Himself to His devotee and makes him understand, then he will know; but not otherwise.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 635 (19 October 1884)

Superior Devotee

He who has seen God finds that God alone has become the world and all its living beings; it is He who has become all. Such a person is called a superior devotee. – Sri Ramakrishna

See God in the World

MAHIMA: "Can a man live in the world if his mind is once directed to God?"

MASTER: "Why not? Where will he go away from the world? I realize that wherever I live I am always in the Ayodhya of Rāma. This whole world is Rāma's Ayodhya. After receiving instruction from His teacher, Rāma said that He would renounce the world. Daśaratha sent the sage Vasishtha to Rāma to dissuade Him. Vasishtha found Him filled with intense renunciation. He said to Rāma: 'First of all, reason with me, Rāma; then You may leave the world. May I ask You if this world is outside, God? If that is so, then You may give it up.' Rāma found that it is God alone who has become the universe and all its living beings. Everything in the world appears real on account of God's reality behind it. Thereupon Rāma became silent.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 648 (26 October 1884)

A sannyāsi keeps his body in order to teach mankind. – Sri Ramakrishna

Meaning of Radha and Krishna

ADHAR (introducing Bankim [Chandra Chatterji]): "Sir, he is a great scholar and has written many books. He has come here to see you. His name is Bankim Babu."

MASTER (smiling): "Bankim! Well, what has made you bent?"

BANKIM (smiling): "Why, sir, boots are responsible for it. The kicks of our white masters have bent my body."

MASTER: "No, my dear sir! Sri Krishna was bent on account of His ecstatic love. His body was bent in three places owing to His love for Radha. That is how some people explain Sri Krishna's form. Do you know why He has a deep-blue complexion? And why He is of such small stature-only three and a half cubits measured by His own hand? God looks so as long as He is seen from a distance. So the water of the ocean looks blue from afar. But if you go near the ocean and take the water in your hand, you will no longer find it blue; it will be very clear, transparent. So the sun appears small because it is very far away; if you go near it, you will no longer find it small. When one knows the true nature of God, He appears neither blue nor small. But that is a far-off vision;one does not see it except in samādhi. As long as 'I' and 'you' exist, name and form will also exist. Everything is God's lila. His sportive pleasure. As long as a man is conscious of 'I' and 'you', he will experience the manifestations of God through diverse forms.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 666-67 (6 December 1884)

First God

First realize God, then think of the creation and other things. Valmiki was given the name of Rāma to repeat as his mantra, but was told at first to repeat 'mara'. 'Ma' means God and 'ra' the world. First God and then the world. If you know one you know all. If you put fifty zeros after a one, you have a large sum; but erase the one and nothing remains. It is the one that makes the many. First one, then many. First God, then His creatures and the world.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 672 (6 December 1884)

Charity – Rama’s Will

MASTER: “… Sitting on the bank of the Ganges below the Panchavati, I used to say, 'Rupee is clay and clay is rupee;' Then I threw both into the Ganges."

BANKIM: "Indeed! Money is clay! Sir, if you have a few pennies you can help the poor. If money is clay, then a man cannot give in charity or do good to others."

MASTER (to Bankim): "Charity! Doing good! How dare you say you can do good to others? Man struts about so much; but if one pours foul water into his mouth when he is asleep, he doesn't even know it; his mouth overflows with it. Where are his boasting, his vanity, his pride, then?

"A sannyāsi must give up 'woman and gold'; he cannot accept it any more. One must not swallow one's own spittle. When a sannyāsi gives something to another, he knows that it is not himself who gives. Kindness belongs to God alone. How can a man lay claim to it? Charity depends on the will of Rāma. A true sannyāsi renounces 'woman and gold' both mentally and outwardly.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 670 (6 December 1884)

Pure Love

VIJAY: "What remains if one renounces both dharma and dharma?"

MASTER: "Pure love of God. I prayed to the Divine Mother: 'O Mother; here, take Thy dharma; here, take Thy adharma; and give me pure love for Thee. Here, take Thy virtue; here, take Thy vice; and give me pure love for Thee. Here, take Thy knowledge; here, take Thy ignorance; and give me pure love for Thee.' You see, I didn't ask even for knowledge or public recognition. When one renounces both dharma and adharma, there remains only pure love of God-love that is stainless, motiveless, and that one feels only for the sake of love."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 635 (19 October 1884)

Giving up Animal Feeling

'Woman and gold' alone is the world; that alone is māyā. Because of it you cannot see or think of God. After the birth of one or two children, husband and wife should live as brother and sister and talk only of God. Then both their minds will be drawn to God, and the wife will be a help to the husband on the path of spirituality. None can taste divine bliss without giving up his animal feeling. A devotee should pray to God to help him get rid of this feeling. It must be a sincere prayer. God is our Inner Controller; He will certainly listen to our prayer if it is sincere.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 670 (6 December 1884)

Yearning for God-Vision

One must have for God the yearning of a child. The child sees nothing but confusion when his mother is away. You may try to cajole him by putting a sweetmeat in his hand; but he will not be fooled. He only says, 'No, I want to go to my mother.' One must feel such yearning for God. Ah, what yearning! How restless a child feels for his mother! Nothing can make him forget his mother. He to whom the enjoyment of worldly happiness appears tasteless, he who takes no delight in anything of the world - money, name, creature comforts, sense pleasure - becomes sincerely grief-stricken for the vision of the Mother. And to him alone the Mother comes running, leaving all Her other duties.

Ah, that restlessness is the whole thing. Whatever path you follow-whether you are a Hindu, a Mussalman, a Christian, a Sakta, a Vaishnava, or a Brahmo-the vital point is restlessness. God is our Inner Guide. It doesn't matter if you take a wrong path - only you must be restless for Him. He Himself will put you on the right path.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 673 (6 December 1884)

'O God, Thou art my Mother and I am Thy child' - this is the last word in spirituality. – Sri Ramakrishna

Divine Incarnation and the Ordinary Man

MASTER: “You partake of the nature of him on whom you meditate. By worshipping Śiva you acquire the nature of Śiva. A devotee of Rāma meditated on Hanuman day and night. He used to think he had become Hanuman. In the end he was firmly convinced that he had even grown a little tail. Jnāna is the characteristic of Śiva, and bhakti of Vishnu. One who partakes of Śiva's nature becomes a Jnāni, and one who partakes of Vishnu's nature becomes a bhakta."

M: "But what about Chaitanyadeva? You said he had both knowledge and devotion."

MASTER (sharply): "His case was different. He was an Incarnation of God. There is a great difference between him and an ordinary man. The fire of Chaitanya's renunciation was so great that when Sarvabhauma poured sugar on his tongue, instead of melting, it evaporated into air. He was always absorbed in samādhi. How great was his conquest of lust! To compare him with a man! A lion eats meat and yet it mates only once in twelve years; but a sparrow eats grain and it indulges in sex-life day and night. Such is the difference between a Divine Incarnation and an ordinary human being. An ordinary man renounces lust; but once in a while he forgets his vow. He cannot control himself.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 688 (27 December 1884)

Faith in Guru

One must have faith in the guru's words. The guru is none other than Satchidananda. God Himself is the Guru. If you only believe his words like a child, you will realize God. What faith a child has! When a child's mother says to him about a certain man, 'He is your brother', the child believes he really is his brother. The child believes it one hundred and twenty-five percent, though he may be the son of a brahmin, and the man the son of a blacksmith. The mother says to the child, 'There is a bugaboo in that room', and the child really believes there is a bugaboo in the room. Such is the faith of a child! One must have this childlike faith in the guru's words. God cannot be realized by a mind that is hypocritical, calculating, or argumentative. One must have faith and sincerity. Hypocrisy will not do. To the sincere, God is very near; but He is far, far away from the hypocrite.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 673 (6 December 1884)

God Alone Real

Those who build hospitals and dispensaries, and get pleasure from that, are no doubt good people; but they are of a different type. He who is a real devotee of God seeks nothing but God. If he finds himself entangled in too much work, he earnestly prays, 'Lord, be gracious and reduce my work; my mind, which should think of Thee day and night, has been wasting its power; it thinks of worldly things alone.' Pure-souled devotees are in a class by themselves. You cannot have real love of God unless you know that God alone is real and all else illusory. You cannot have real love of God unless you know that the world is impermanent, only of two days' existence, while its Creator alone is real and eternal.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 671 (6 December 1884)

Paramahamsa State

A Paramahamsa is always conscious that God alone is real and all else illusory. Only the swan has the power to separate milk from a mixture of milk and water. The swan's tongue secretes an acid that separates the milk from the mixture. The paramahamsa also possesses such a juice; it is his ecstatic love for God. That separates the Real from the mixture of the Real and the unreal. Through it one becomes aware of God and sees Him.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 699 (22 February 1885)

Duties of Householders

MASTER: "For you, as Chaitanya said, the disciplines to be practised are kindness to living beings, service to the devotees, and chanting the name of God.

(To Surendra) "Why do I say all this to you? You work in a merchant's office. I say this to you because you have many duties to perform there.

"You tell lies at the office. Then why do I eat the food you offer me? Because you give your money in charity; you give away more than you earn. 'The seed of the melon is bigger than the fruit', as the saying goes.

"I cannot eat anything offered by miserly people. Their wealth is squandered in these ways: first, litigation; second, thieves and robbers; third, physicians; fourth, their wicked children's extravagance. It is like that.

Your giving money away in charity is very good. Those who have money should give in charity. The miser's wealth is spirited away, but the money of the charitable person is saved. He spends it for a righteous purpose.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 696 (22 February 1885)

Signs of God-vision & Different moods of Liberated Souls

There are signs by which you can know whether a man has truly seen God. One of these is joy; there is no hesitancy in him. He is like the ocean: the waves and sounds are on the surface; below are profound depths. The man who has seen God behaves sometimes like a madman; sometimes like a ghoul, without any feeling of purity or impurity; sometimes like an inert thing, remaining speechless because he sees God within and without; sometimes like a child, without any attachment, wandering about unconcernedly with his cloth under his arm. Again, in the mood of a child, he acts in different ways: sometimes like a boy, indulging in frivolity; sometimes like a young man, working and teaching with the strength of a lion.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 678 (14 December 1884)

God in Man

God sports through man as well. I see man as the embodiment of Narayana. As fire is kindled when you rub two pieces of wood together, so God can be seen in man if you have intense devotion. If there is suitable bait, big fish like carp gulp it down at once. When one is intoxicated with prema, one sees God in all beings. The gopis saw Krishna in everything; to them the whole world was filled with Krishna. They said that they themselves were Krishna. They were then in a God-intoxicated state. Looking at the trees, they said, 'These are hermits absorbed in meditation on Krishna.' Looking at the grass they said, 'The hair of the earth is standing on end at the touch of Krishna.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 688 (27 December 1884)

Ādyāśakti

One must worship the Ādyāśakti. She must be propitiated. She alone has assumed all female forms. Therefore I look on all women as mother. The attitude of looking on woman as mother is very pure. The Tantra mentions the Vamachara method also. But that is not a good method; it causes the aspirant's downfall. A devotee keeping an object of enjoyment near him has reason to be afraid.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 701 (25 February 1885)

How to Cultivate Longing for God

ATUL: "How can we keep our minds on God?"

MASTER: "Abhyāsa Yoga, the yoga of practice. You should practise calling on God every day. It is not possible to succeed in one day; through daily prayer you will come to long for God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 703 (25 February 1885)

Beyond Knowledge and Ignorance

Vasishthadeva, great sage that he was, was overcome at the death of his sons. That amazed Lakshmana and he asked Rāma the reason. Rāma said: 'Brother, what is there to wonder at? He who has knowledge has ignorance also. Brother, go beyond both knowledge and ignorance.' If a thorn enters the sole of your foot, you get another thorn to take out the first one. Afterwards you throw both away. Likewise, one procures the thorn of knowledge to remove the thorn of ignorance; then one goes beyond both knowledge and ignorance.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 716 (07 March 1885)

Knowledge of Brahman

Man experiences three states of consciousness: waking, dream, and deep sleep. Those who follow the path of knowledge explain away the three states. According to them, Brahman is beyond the three states. It is also beyond the gross, the subtle, and the causal bodies, and beyond the three Gunās-sattva, rajas, and tamas. All these are māyā, like a reflection in a mirror. The reflection is by no means the real substance. Brahman alone is the Substance and all else is illusory.

The knowers of Brahman say, further, that it is the identification of the soul with the body that creates the notion of duality. In that state of identification the reflection appears real. When this identification disappears, a man realizes, 'I am He; I am Brahman.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 699 (25 February 1885)

Master's Prayer

The devotees seated in the room looked at Sri Ramakrishna as he began to chant the sweet name of the Divine Mother. After the chanting he began to pray. What was the need of prayer to a soul in constant communion with God? Did he not rather want to teach erring mortals how to pray? Addressing the Divine Mother, he said, "O Mother, I throw myself on Thy mercy; I take shelter at Thy Hallowed Feet. I do not want bodily comforts; I do not crave name and fame; I do not seek the eight occult powers. Be gracious and grant that I may have pure love for Thee, a love unsmitten by desire, untainted by any selfish ends-a love craved by the devotee for the sake of love alone. And grant me the favour, O mother, that I may not be deluded by Thy world-bewitching māyā, that I may never be attached to the world, to 'woman and gold', conjured up by Thy inscrutable māyā! O mother, there is no one but thee whom I may call my own. Mother, I do not know how to worship; I am without austerity; I have neither devotion nor knowledge. Be gracious, Mother, and out of Thy infinite mercy grant me love for Thy Lotus Feet."

Every word of this prayer, uttered from the depths of his soul, stirred the minds of the devotees. The melody of his voice and the childlike simplicity of his face touched their hearts very deeply.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 731 (11 March 1885, Balaram Bose Home)

Free Will

THE YOUNGER NAREN: "Sir, have we any free will?"

MASTER: "Just try to find out who this 'I' is. While you are searching for 'I', 'He' comes out. 'I am the machine and He is the Operator.' You have heard of a mechanical toy that goes into a store with a letter in its hand. You are like that toy. God alone is the Doer. Do your duties in the world as if you were the doer, but knowing all the time that God alone is the Doer and you are the instrument.

As long as the Upādhi exists there is ignorance. 'I am a scholar', 'I am a Jnāni', 'I am wealthy', 'I am honourable', 'I am the master, father, and teacher' - all these ideas are begotten of ignorance. 'I am the machine and You are the Operator' - that is Knowledge. In the state of Knowledge all Upādhis are destroyed. When the log is burnt up entirely, there is no more sound; no heat either. Everything cools down. Peace! Peace! Peace!

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 804 (14 July 1885)

The Path of Bhakti

Since one cannot easily get rid of the ego, a bhakta does not explain away the states of waking, dream, and deep sleep. He accepts all the states. Further, he accepts the three Gunās-sattva, rajas, and tamas. A bhakta sees that God alone has become the twenty-four cosmic principles, the universe, and all living beings. He also sees that God reveals Himself to His devotees in a tangible form, which is the embodiment of Spirit.

The bhakta takes shelter under Vidyā-māyā. He seeks holy company, goes on pilgrimage, and practises discrimination, devotion, and renunciation. He says that, since a man cannot easily get rid of his ego, he should let the rascal remain as the servant of God, the devotee of God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 700 (25 February 1885)

Kāli and Brahman

Brahman and Kāli are not different. They are like fire and its power to burn: if one thinks of fire one must think of its power to burn. If one recognizes Kāli one must also recognize Brahman; again, if one recognizes Brahman one must recognize Kāli. Brahman and Its Power are identical. It is Brahman whom I address as Śakti or Kāli.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 734 (11 March 1885)

Efficacy of Truthfulness

Truthfulness in speech is the tapasya of the Kaliyuga. It is difficult to practise other austerities in this cycle. By adhering to truth one attains God. Tulsidas said: 'Truthfulness, obedience to God, and the regarding of others' wives as one's mother, are the greatest virtues. If one does not realize God by practising them, then Tulsi is a liar.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 749 (12 April 1885)

Books and God

God cannot be realized through scholarship. He is beyond the scriptures - the Vedas, Puranas, and Tantras. If I see a man with even one book in his hand, I call him a rajarshi though he is a Jnāni. But the brahmarshi has no outer sign whatsoever.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 882 (25 October 1885)

Sadhana Reminiscences

During my sādhanā period I had all kinds of amazing visions. I distinctly perceived the communion of Ātman. A person exactly resembling me entered my body and began to commune with each one of the six lotuses. The petals of these lotuses had been closed; but as each of them experienced the communion, the drooping flower bloomed andturned itself upward. Thus blossomed forth the lotuses at the centres of Muladhara, Svadhisthana, Anāhata, Visuddha, Ājnā, and Sahasrara. The drooping flowers turned upward. I perceived all these things directly.

When I meditated during my sādhanā, I used to think of the unflickering flame of a lamp set in a windless place.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 744 (12 April 1885)

Single-minded Devotion

Alas! I find no customers who want anything better than kalai pulse. No one wants to give up 'woman and gold'. Man, deluded by the beauty of woman and the power of money, forgets God. But to one who has seen the beauty of God, even the position of Brahma, the Creator, seems insignificant.

A man said to Ravana, 'You have been going to Sita in different disguises; why don't you go to her in the form of Rāma?' 'But', Ravana replied 'when I meditate on Rāma in my heart, the most beautiful women - celestial maidens like Rambha and Tilottama-appear no better than ashes of the funeral pyre. Then even the position of Brahma appears trivial to me, not to speak of the beauty of another man's wife.'

Alas! I find that all the customers here seek worthless Kalai Pulse. Unless, the soul is pure, it cannot have genuine love of God and single-minded devotion to the ideal. The mind wanders away to various objects.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 710 (01 March 1885)

Nature of Ātman

The Pure Self is unattached. Both vidyā and avidyā are in It, but It is unattached. Sometimes there is a good and sometimes a bad smell in the air, but the air itself is unaffected.

Once Vyasadeva was about to cross the Jamuna. The gopis also were there. They wanted to go to the other side of the river to sell curd, milk, and cream. But there was no ferry at that time. They were all worried about how to cross the river, when Vyāsa said to them, 'I am very hungry.' The milkmaids fed him with milk and cream. He finished almost all their food. Then Vyāsa said to the river, 'O Jamuna, if I have not eaten anything, then your waters will part and we shall walk through.' It so happened. The river parted and a pathway was formed between the waters. Following that path, the gopis and Vyāsa crossed the river. Vyāsa had said, 'If I have not eaten anything'. That means, the real man is Pure Ātman. Ātman is unattached and beyond Prakriti. It has neither hunger nor thirst; It knows neither birth nor death; It does not age, nor does It die. It is immutable as Mount Sumeru.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 719 (07 March 1885)

Ganga and Waves

As long as 'I-consciousness' exists, one should have the attitude of a bhakta; one should not say, 'I am God.' A man aware of his body should feel that he is not Krishna Himself, but His devotee. But if God draws the devotee to Himself, then it is different. It is like the master saying to his beloved servant: 'Come, take your seat near me. You are the same as I.'

The waves are part of the Ganges, but the Ganges is not part of the waves.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 812 (15 July 1885)

Jeevanmukta & Separation of Body and Soul

He who has attained this Knowledge of Brahman is a jivanmukta, liberated while living in the body. He rightly understand that the Ātman and the body are two separate things. After realizing God one does not identify the Ātman with the body. These two are separate, like the kernel and the shell of the coconut when its milk dries up. The Ātman moves, as it were, within the body. When the 'milk' of worldly-mindedness has dried up, one gets Self-knowledge. Then one feels that Ātman and body are two separate things. The kernel of a green almond or betel-nut cannot be separated from the shell; but when they are ripe the juice dries up and the kernel separates from the shell. After the attainment of the Knowledge of Brahman, the 'milk' of worldly-mindedness dries up.

But it is extremely difficult to attain the Knowledge of Brahman. One doesn't get it by merely talking about it. Some people feign it. (Smiling) There was a man who was a great liar; but, on the other hand, he used to say he had the Knowledge of Brahman. When someone took him to task for telling lies, he said: 'Why, this world is truly like a dream. If everything is unreal, then can truth itself be real? Truth is as unreal as falsehood.'" (All laugh.)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 719 (07 March 1885)

Disobeying Elders

A DEVOTEE: "Suppose someone's mother says to him, 'Don't go to Dakshineswar.' Suppose she curses him, saying, 'If you go there you will be drinking my blood!'"

MASTER: "A mother who says that is no mother; she is the embodiment of avidyā. There is no sin in disobeying such a mother. She obstructs her son's path to God. There is no harm in disobeying your elders for the sake of God. For Rāma's sake Bharat did not obey his mother Kaikeyi. The gopis did not obey their husbands when they were forbidden to visit Krishna. Prahlada disobeyed his father for God. Vali disregarded the words of Sukracharya, his teacher, in order to please God. Bibhishana went against the wishes of Ravana, his elder brother, to please Rāma. But you must obey your elders in all other things. …"

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 722-23 (07 March 1885)

Nothing but God

MASTER (in the ecstatic mood): "There is no one else here; so I am telling you this. He who from the depth of his soul seeks to know God will certainly realize Him. He must. He alone who is restless for God and seeks nothing but Him will certainly realize Him.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 777 (09 May 1885)

Golap and the Job-seeker

Just see the bewitching power of women! I mean the women who are the embodiment of avidyā, the power of delusion. … …

If a woman says to her husband, 'Go there', he at once stands up, ready to go. If she says, 'Sit down here', immediately he sits down.

A job-seeker got tired of visiting the manager in an office. He couldn't get the job. The manager said to him, 'There is no vacancy now; but come and see me now and then.' This went on for a long time, and the candidate lost all hope. One day he told his tale of woe to a friend. The friend said: 'How stupid you are! Why are you wearing away the soles of your feet going to that fellow? You had better go to Golap. You will get the job tomorrow.' 'Is that so?' said the candidate. 'I am going right away.' Golap was the manager's mistress. The candidate called on her and said: 'Mother, I am in great distress. You must help me out of it. I am the son of a poor brahmin. Where else shall I go for help? Mother, I have been out of work many days. My children are about to starve to death. I can get a job if you but say the word.' Golap said to him, 'Child, whom should I speak to?' She said to herself: 'Ah, the poor brahmin! He has been suffering too much.' The candidate said to her, 'I am sure to get the job if you just put in a word about it to the manager.' Golap said, 'I shall speak to him today and settle the matter.' The very next morning a man called on the candidate and said, 'You are to work in the manager's office, beginning today.' The manager said to his English boss: 'This man is very competent. I have appointed him. He will do credit to the firm.'

All are deluded by 'woman and gold'. But I do not care for it at all. And I swear to you that I do not know anything but God.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 748 (12 April 1885)

Divine Incarnations

The Incarnations of God belong to the class of the Isvarakotis. They roam about in the open spaces. They are never imprisoned in the world, never entangled by it. Their ego is not the 'thick ego' of worldly people. The ego, the 'I-consciousness', of worldly people is like four walls and a roof: the man inside them cannot see anything outside. The ego of the Incarnations and other Isvarakotis is a 'thin ego': through it they have an uninterrupted vision of God. Take the case of a man who stands by a wall on both sides of which there are meadows stretching to infinity. If there is a hole in the wall, through it he can see everything on the other side. If the hole is a big one, he can even pass through it. The ego of the Incarnations and other Isvarakotis is like the wall with a hole. Though they remain on this side of the wall, still they can see the endless meadow on the other side. That is to say, though they have a human body, they are always united with God. Again, if they will, they can pass through the big hole to the other side and remain in samādhi. And if the hole is big enough, they can go through it and come back again. That is to say, though established in samādhi, they can again descend to the

worldly plane.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 760 (12 April 1885)

Futility of Mere Reasoning

I do see God directly. What shall I reason about? I clearly see that He Himself has become everything; that He Himself has become the universe and all living beings.

But without awakening one's own inner consciousness one cannot realize the All-pervading Consciousness. How long does a man reason? So long as he has not realized God. But mere words will not do. As for myself, I clearly see that He Himself has become everything. The inner consciousness must be awakened through the grace of God.

Through this awakening a man goes into samādhi. He often forgets that he has a body. He gets rid of his attachment to 'woman and gold' and does not enjoy any talk unless it is about God. Worldly talk gives him pain. Through the awakening of the inner consciousness one realizes the All-pervading Consciousness.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 734 (11 March 1885)

Killer and Killed are One

MASTER: “Years ago I used to be amazed to see people keeping kai fish alive in a pot of water. I would say: 'How cruel these people are! They will finally kill the fish.' But later, as changes came over my mind, I realized that bodies are like pillow-cases. It doesn't matter whether they remain or drop off."

BHAVANĀTH: "Then may one injure a man without incurring sin? Kill him?"

MASTER: "Yes, it is permissible if one has achieved that state of mind. But not everyone

has it. It is the state of Brahmajnana.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 775-76 (09 May 1885)

Revelation about Himself

MASTER (to M.): "There is no outsider here. The other day, when Harish was with me, I saw Satchidananda come out of this sheath, It said, 'I incarnate Myself in every age.' I thought that I myself was saying these words out of mere fancy. I kept quiet and watched. Again Satchidananda Itself spoke, saying, 'Chaitanya, too, worshipped Śakti.'"

The devotees listened to these words in amazement. Some wondered whether God Himself was seated before them in the form of Sri Ramakrishna. The Master paused a moment. Then he said, addressing M., "I saw that it is the fullest manifestation of Satchidananda; but this time the Divine Power is manifested through the glory of sattva."

The devotees sat spellbound.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 720 (07 March 1885)

Unreality of all Worldly Relationships

A guru said to his disciple: 'The world is illusory. Come away with me.' 'But, revered sir,' said the disciple, 'my people at home-my father, my mother, my wife-love me so much. How can I give them up?' The guru said: No doubt you now have this feeling of "I" and "mine" and say that they love you; but this is all an illusion of your mind. I shall teach you a trick, and you will know whether they love you truly or not.' Saying this, the teacher gave the disciple a pill and said to him: 'Swallow this at home. You will appear to be a corpse, but you will not lose consciousness. You will see everything and hear everything. Then I shall come to your house and gradually you will regain your normal state.'

The disciple followed the teacher's instructions and lay on his bed like a dead person: The house was filled with loud wailing. His mother, his wife, and the others lay on the ground weeping bitterly. Just then a brahmin entered the house and said to them, 'What is the matter with you?' 'This boy is dead', they replied. The brahmin felt his pulse and said: 'How is that? No, he is not dead. I have a medicine for him that will cure him completely.' The joy of the relatives was unbounded; it seemed to them that heaven itself had come down into their house. 'But', said the brahmin, 'I must tell you something else. Another person must take some of this medicine first and then the boy must swallow the rest. But the other person will die. I see he has so many dear relatives here; one of them will certainly agree to take the medicine. I see his wife and mother crying bitterly. Surely they will not hesitate to take it.'

At once the weeping stopped and all sat quiet. The mother said: 'Well, this is a big family. Suppose I die; then who will look after the family?' She fell into a reflective mood. The wife, who had been crying a minute before and bemoaning her ill luck, said: 'Well, he has gone the way of mortals. I have these two or three young children. Who will look after them if I die?'

The disciple saw everything and heard everything. He stood up at once and said to the teacher: 'Let us go, revered sir. I will follow you.' (All laugh.)

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 770-71 (09 May 1885)

Reality includes both Absolute and Universe

… do you know my attitude? I accept both, the Nitya and the Lila. Doesn't God exist if one looks around with eyes open? After realizing Him, one knows that He is both the Absolute and the universe. It is He who is the Indivisible Satchidananda. Again, it is He who has become the universe and its living beings.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 779 (23 May 1885)

Watch a sadhu by day and by night, and then put your faith in him – Sri Ramakrishna

Three kinds of Sādhanā

I practised all sorts of sādhanā. There are three classes of sādhanā: sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic. In the sattvic sādhanā the devotee calls on the Lord with great longing or simply repeats His name; he doesn't seek any result in return. The rajasic sādhanā prescribes many rituals: purascharana, pilgrimage, panchatapa, worship with sixteen articles, and so forth. The tamasic sādhanā is a worship of God with the help of tamas. The attitude of a tamasic devotee is this: 'Hail, Kāli! What? Wilt Thou not reveal Thyself to me? If not, I will cut my throat with a knife!' In this discipline one does not observe conventional purity; it is like some of the disciplines prescribed by the Tantra.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 744 (12 April 1885)

Power of "Woman and Gold"

'Woman and gold' alone is the world. It makes one forget God.

GIRISH: "But how can we get rid of 'woman and gold'?"

MASTER: "Pray to God with a yearning heart. Pray to Him for discrimination. 'God alone is real and all else illusory' - this is discrimination. One strains water through a fine sieve in order to separate the dirt from it. The clear water goes through the sieve leaving the dirt behind. Apply the sieve of discrimination to the world. Live in the world after knowing God. Then it will be the world of vidyā.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 748 (12 April 1885)

Difference between a Jiva and an Incarnation

MAHIMACHARAN (to the Master): "Sir, can a man return from the plane of samādhi to the plane of the ordinary world?"

MASTER (in a low voice, to Mahima): "I shall tell you privately. You are the only one fit to hear it.

"Koar Singh also asked me that question. You see, there is a vast difference between the jiva and Isvara. Through worship and austerity, a jiva can at the utmost attain samādhi; but he cannot come down from that state. On the other hand, an Incarnation of God can come down from samādhi. A jiva is like an officer of the king; he can go as far as the outer court of the seven-storey palace. But the king's son has access to all the seven floors; he can also go outside. Everybody says that no one can return from the plane of samādhi. In that case, how do you account for sages like Sankara and Ramanuja? They retained the 'ego of Knowledge'."

MAHIMA: "That is true, indeed. Otherwise, how could they write books?"

MASTER: "Again, there are the instances of sages like Prahlada, Nārada, and Hanuman.

They too retained bhakti after attaining samādhi."

MAHIMA: "That is true, sir."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 767 (24 April 1885)

Futility of Mere Scholarship

One needs sādhanā. Mere study of the scriptures will not do. I noticed that though Vidyāsāgar had no doubt read a great deal, he had not realized what was inside him; he was satisfied with helping boys get their education, but had not tasted the Bliss of God. What will mere study accomplish? How little one assimilates! The almanac may forecast twenty measures of rain; but you don't get a drop by squeezing its pages.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 779 (23 May 1885)

Original and Reflection

MASTER: "A man attains Brahmajnana as soon as his mind is annihilated. With the annihilation of the mind dies the ego, which says 'I', 'I'. One also attains the knowledge of Brahman by following the path of devotion. One also attains it by following the path of knowledge, that is to say, discrimination. The jnanis discriminate, saying, 'Neti, neti', that is, 'All this is illusory, like a dream.' They analyse the world through the process of 'Not this, not this'; it is māyā. When the world vanishes, only the jivas, that is to say, so many egos, remain.

Each ego may be likened to a pot. Suppose there are ten pots filled with water, and the sun is reflected in them. How many suns do you see?"

A DEVOTEE: "Ten reflections. Besides, there certainly exists the real Sun."

MASTER: "Suppose you break one pot. How many suns do you see now?"

DEVOTEE: "Nine reflected suns. But there certainly exists the real sun."

MASTER: "All right. Suppose you break nine pots. How many suns do you see now?"

DEVOTEE: "One reflected sun. But there certainly exists the real sun."

MASTER (to Girish): "What remains when the last pot is broken?"

GIRISH: "That real sun, sir."

MASTER: "No. What remains cannot be described. What is remains. How will you know there is a real sun unless there is a reflected sun? 'I-consciousness' is destroyed in samādhi. A man climbing down from samādhi to the lower plane cannot describe what he has seen there."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 776-77 (09 May 1885)

Newspaper Knowledge

A DEVOTEE: "Bankim has written a life of Krishna."

MASTER: "He accepts Krishna but not Radhika."

CAPTAIN: "I see he doesn't accept Krishna's lila with the gopis."

MASTER: "I also hear that Bankim says that one needs passions such as lust."

A DEVOTEE: "He has written in his magazine that the purpose of religion is to give

expression to our various faculties: physical, mental, and spiritual."

CAPTAIN: "I see. He believes that lust and so forth are necessary. But he doesn't believe that Sri Krishna could enjoy His sportive pleasure in the world, that God could incarnate Himself in a human form and sport in Vrindāvan with Radha and the gopis."

MASTER (smiling): "But these things are, not written in the newspaper. How could he believe them?

"A man said to his friend, 'Yesterday, as I was passing through a certain part of the city, I saw a house fall with a crash.' 'Wait', said the friend. 'Let me look it up in the newspaper.' But this incident wasn't mentioned in the paper. Thereupon the man said, 'But the paper doesn't mention it.' His friend replied, 'I saw it with my own eyes.' 'Be that as it may, said the man, 'I can't believe it as long as it isn't in the paper.'

"How can Bankim believe that God sports about as a man? He doesn't get it from his English education. … … ”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 789 (13 June 1885)

Master's Vision of Māyā

One day He [God] showed me the māyā of Mahamaya. A small light inside a room began to grow, and at last it enveloped the whole universe.'

Further, He revealed to me a huge reservoir of water covered with green scum. The wind moved a little of the scum and immediately the water became visible; but in the twinkling of an eye, scum from all sides came dancing in and again covered the water. He revealed to me that the water was like Satchidananda, and the scum like māyā. On account of māyā, Satchidananda is not seen. Though now and then one may get a glimpse of It, again māyā covers It.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 831 (9 August 1885)

Water and Ice

Jnāna and bhakti are one and the same thing. The difference is like this: one man says 'water', and another, 'a block of ice'. – Sri Ramakrishna

Knowledge of Brahman

MASTER (to M. and the others): "Is it an easy thing to obtain the Knowledge of Brahman? It is not possible unless the mind is annihilated. The guru said to the disciple, 'Give me your mind and I shall give you Knowledge.' In this state one enjoys only spiritual talk and the company of devotees.

(To Ram) "You are a physician. You know that medicine works only when it mixes with the patient's blood and becomes one with it. Likewise, in the state of Brahmajnana one sees God both within and without. One sees that it is God Himself who has become the body, mind, life, and soul."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 776 (09 May 1885)

Advice to the Worldly

A DEVOTEE: "Sir, what is the way for worldly people?"

MASTER: "The Company of holy men. Worldly people should listen to spiritual talk. They are in a state of madness, intoxicated with 'woman and gold'. A drunkard should be given rice-water as an antidote. Drinking it slowly, he gradually recovers his normal consciousness.

A worldly person should also receive instructions from a sadguru, a real teacher. Such a teacher has certain signs. You should hear about Banāras only from a man who has been to Banāras and seen it. Mere book-learning will not do. One should not receive instruction from a pundit who has not realized the world to be unreal. Only if a pundit has discrimination and renunciation is he entitled to instruct.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 780 (23 May 1885)

Magician and His Magic

The truth is that God alone is real and all else unreal. Men, universe, house, and children-all these are like the magic of the magician. The magician strikes his wand and says: 'come delusion! Come confusion!' Then he says to the audience, 'Open the lid of the pot; see the birds fly into the sky.' But the magician alone is real and his magic unreal. The unreal exists for a second and then vanishes.

Śiva was seated in Kailas. His companion Nandi was near Him. Suddenly a terrific noise arose. 'Revered Sir,' asked Nandi, 'what does that mean?' Śiva said: 'Ravana is born. That is its meaning.' A few moments later another terrific noise was heard. 'Now what is this noise?' Nandi asked. Śiva said with a smile, 'Now Ravana is dead. Birth and death are like magic: you see the magic for a second and then it disappears. God alone is real and all else unreal. Water alone is real; its bubbles appear and disappear. They disappear into the very water from which they rise.

God is like an ocean, and living beings are its bubbles. They are born there and they die there. Children are like the few small bubbles around a big one.

God alone is real. Make an effort to cultivate love for Him and find out the means to realize Him.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 787-88 (13 June 1885)

Sincere Yearning enables one to Realize God

The world is like an overcast sky that steadily pours down rain: the face of the sun is seldom seen. There is mostly suffering in the world. On account of the cloud of 'woman and gold' one cannot see the sun. Some people ask me: 'Sir, why has God created such a world? Is there no way out for us?' I say to them: 'why shouldn't there be a way out? Take shelter with God and pray to Him with a yearning heart for a favourable wind, that you may have things in your favour. If you call on Him with yearning, He will surely listen to you.'

A man had a son who was on the point of death. In frenzy he asked remedies of different people. One of them said:' 'Here is a remedy: First it must rain when the star Svati is in the ascendant; then some of the rain must fall into a skull; then a frog must come there to drink the water, and a snake must chase it; and when the snake is about to bite the frog, the frog must hop away and the poison must fall into the skull. You should give the patient a little of the poison and rain-water from the skull.' The father set out eagerly to find the medicine when the star Svati was in the sky. It started raining. Fervently he said to God, 'O Lord, please get a skull for me.' Searching here and there, he at last found a skull with rain-water in it. Again he prayed to God, saying, 'O Lord, I beseech Thee, please help me find the frog and the snake.' Since he had great longing, he got the frog and the snake also. In the twinkling of an eye he saw a snake chasing a frog, and as it was about to bite the frog, its poison fell into the skull.

If one takes shelter with God and prays to Him with great longing, God will surely listen; He will certainly make everything favourable.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 793 (13 June 1885)

Nature of ‘I’

Try to find out what this 'I' is. Is this 'I' the bones or flesh or blood or intestines? Seeking the 'I', you discover 'Thou'. In other words, nothing exists inside you but the power of God. There is no 'I', but only 'He'.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 819 (28 July 1885)

Story of Ranjit Raya

By dint of austerity, a man, may obtain God as his son. By the roadside on the way to Kamarpukur is Ranjit Raya's lake. Bhagavati, the Divine Mother, was born as his daughter. Even now people hold an annual festival there in the month of Chaitra, in honour of this divine daughter. I feel very much like going there.

Ranjit Raya was the landlord of that part of the country. Through the power of his tapasya he obtained the Divine Mother as his daughter. He was very fond of her, and she too was much attached to him; she hardly left his presence. One day Ranjit Raya was engaged in the duties of his estate. He was very busy. The girl, with her childlike nature, was constantly interrupting him, saying: 'Father, what is this? What is that?' Ranjit Raya tried, with sweet words, to persuade her not to disturb him, and said: 'my child, please leave me alone. I have much work to do.' But the girl would not go away. At last, absent-mindedly, the father said, 'Get out of here!' On this pretext she left home. A pedlar of conch-shell articles was going along the road. From him she took a pair of bracelets for her wrists. When he asked for the price, she said that he could get the money from a certain box in her home. Then she disappeared. Nobody saw her again. In the mean time the pedlar came to the house and asked for the price of his bracelets. When she was not to be found at home, her relatives began to run about looking for her. Ranjit Raya sent people in all directions to search for her. The money owed to the pedlar was found in the box, as she had indicated. Ranjit Raya was weeping bitterly, when people came running to him and said that they had noticed something in the lake. They all ran there and saw an arm, with conch-shell bracelets on the wrist, being waved above the water. A moment afterwards it disappeared. Even now people worship her as the Divine Mother at the time of the annual festival. (To M.) All this is true.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 797 (13 July 1885)

Past Lives Sadhana

BALARĀM: "Sir, how was it possible for Purna [a young boy who was devotee of Sri Ramakrishna] to know all of a sudden that the world is illusory?"

MASTER: "He has inherited that knowledge from his previous births. In his past lives he practised many disciplines. It is the body alone that is small or grows big, and not the Ātman.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 812-813 (15 July 1885)

Nature of the Worldly

Worldly people are in a state of chronic intoxication-mad with 'woman and gold'; they are insensible to spiritual ideas. That is why I love the youngsters not yet stained by 'woman and gold'. They are 'good receptacles' and may become useful in God's work. But as for worldly people, you lose almost everything while trying to eliminate the worthless stuff in them. They are like bony fish-almost all bones and very little meat.

Worldly people are like mangoes struck by hail. If you want to offer them to God, you have to purify them by sprinkling them with Ganges water. Even then they are seldom used in the temple worship. If you are to use them at all, you have to apply Brahmajnana, that is to say, you have to persuade yourself that it is God alone who has become everything.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 781 (23 May 1885)

Guardian for Minor

A guardian is appointed only for a minor. A boy cannot safeguard his property; therefore the king assumes responsibility for him. God does not take over our responsibilities unless we renounce our ego.

Once Lakshmi and Narayana were seated in Vaikuntha, when Narayana suddenly stood up. Lakshmi had been stroking His feet. She said, 'Lord, where are You going?' Narayana answered: 'One of My devotees is in great danger. I must save him.' With these words He went out. But He came back immediately. Lakshmi said, 'Lord, why have You returned so soon?' Narayana smiled and said: The devotee was going along the road overwhelmed with love for Me. Some washermen were drying clothes on the grass, and the devotee walked over the clothes. At this the washermen chased him and were going to beat him with their sticks. So I ran out to protect him.' 'But why have You come back?' asked Lakshmi. Narayana laughed and said: 'I saw the devotee himself picking up a brick to throw at them. (All laugh.) So I came back.'

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 790 (13 June 1885)

Guru – God’s Command

God alone is the Doer, and we are all His instruments. Therefore it is impossible even for a Jnāni to be egotistic. The writer of a hymn to Śiva felt proud of his achievement; but his pride was dashed to pieces when Śiva's bull bared his teeth. He saw that each tooth was a word of the hymn. Do you understand the meaning of this? These words had existed from the beginning less past. The writer had only discovered them.

It is not good to be a guru by profession. One cannot be a teacher without a command from God. He who says he is a guru is a man of mean intelligence. Haven't you seen a balance? The lighter side goes higher. He who is spiritually higher than others does not consider himself a guru. Everyone wants to be a teacher, but a disciple is hard to find.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 794 (13 June 1885)

Respect for One's Own Mother

… one should look after one's mother as long as she is alive. I used to worship my mother with flowers and sandal-paste. It is the Mother of the Universe who is embodied as our earthly mother.

As long as you look after your own body, you must look after your mother too. Therefore I said to Hazra: 'when you have a cold, you procure black pepper, sugar candy, and salt. As long as you feel you must look after your body, you must look after your mother too.'

But it is quite different when you completely forget your body. Then God Himself assumes your responsibilities. A minor cannot look after himself; therefore a guardian is appointed for him. Chaitanyadeva, like a minor, could not look after himself.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 813 (15 July 1885)

Brahman and Sakti

It is He alone who has become the universe, living beings, and the twenty-four cosmic principles. When He is action less, I call Him Brahman; when He creates, preserves, and destroys, I call Him Śakti. Brahman and Śakti are not different from each other. Water is water, whether it is still or moving.

It is not possible to rid oneself of 'I-consciousness' and as long as one is aware of this 'I-consciousness', one cannot speak of the universe and its living beings as unreal. You cannot get the correct weight of the bel-fruit if you leave out its shell and pits.

The brick, lime, and brick-dust of which the stairs are made are the same brick, lime, and brick-dust of which the roof is made. The universe and its living beings exist on account of the Reality of Him who is known as Brahman.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 802 (14 July 1885)

Awakening of Kundalini

A man's spiritual consciousness is not awakened unless his kundalini is aroused. The kundalini dwells in the Muladhara. When it is aroused, it passes along the Sushumna nerve, goes through the centres of Svadhisthana, Manipura, and so on, and at last reaches the head. This is called the movement of Mahāvāyu, the Spiritual Current. It culminates in samādhi.

One's spiritual consciousness is not awakened by the mere reading of books. One should also pray to God. The kundalini is aroused if the aspirant feels restless for God. To talk of knowledge from mere study and heresay! What will that accomplish?

Just before my attaining this state of mind, it had been revealed to me how the kundalini is aroused, how the lotuses of the different centres blossom forth, and how all this culminates in samādhi. This is a very secret experience. …

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 830 (9 August 1885)

After-Life

… According to the Gitā you will become in the next life what you think of in the hour of death. King Bharata was very much grieved over his pet deer; he died repeating the word 'deer'; therefore he was reborn as a deer. That is why day and night a man should practise worship, japa, meditation, and other spiritual exercises. Only then, by virtue of practice, will he be able to think of God in the hour of death. If one dies thus, thinking of God, one will acquire God's nature.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 820 (28 July 1885)

Ideal of Modern Times

A picture of Kasha's Nava-Vishnu hung on the wall. Suresh Mitra, a beloved householder disciple of the Master, had had it painted. In this picture Sri Ramakrishna was pointing out to Keshab that people of different religions proceed to the same goal by different paths.

MASTER: "That was painted for Surendra."

PRASANNA'S FATHER (smiling): "You too are in that picture."

MASTER (smiling): "Yes, it contains everything. This is the ideal of modern times."

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 817 (28 July 1885)

Experience of Kundalini

… Just before my attaining this state of mind, it had been revealed to me how the kundalini is aroused, how the lotuses of the different centres blossom forth, and how all this culminates in samādhi. This is a very secret experience. I saw a boy twenty-two or twenty-three years old, exactly resembling me, enter the Sushumna nerve and commune with the lotuses touching them with his tongue. He began with the centre at the anus and passed through the centres at the sexual organ, naval, and so on. The different lotuses of those centres-four-petalled, six-petalled, ten-petalled, and so forth-had been drooping at his touch they stood erect.

When he reached the heart-I distinctly remember it-and communed with the lotuses there, touching it with his tongue, the twelve-petalled lotus, which was hanging head down, stood erect and open its petals. Then he came to the sixteen-petalled lotus in the throat and two petalled lotus in the forehead. And last of all, the thousand-petalled lotus in the head blossomed. Since then I have been in this state.

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 830 (9 August 1885)

Master's Intimate Vision of God

MASTER [to Mahima]: “You say that by mere sādhanā one can attain a state of mind like mine. But it is not so. There is something special here [referring to himself].”

Rākhāl, M., and the others became eager to hear what the Master was going to say.

MASTER: "God talked to me. It was not merely His vision. Yes, He talked to me. Under the banyan-tree I saw Him coming from the ganges. Then we laughed so much! By way of playing with me He cracked my fingers. Then He talked. Yes, He talked to me. "For three days I wept continuously. And He revealed to me what is in the Vedas, the Puranas, the Tantras, and the other scriptures.”

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 830 (9 August 1885)

Master saw Devotees before their Arrival

God reveals the nature of the devotees to me before they arrive. I saw Chaitanya's party singing and dancing near the Panchavati, between the banyan-tree and the bakul-tree. I noticed Balarām there. If it weren't: for him, who would there be to supply me with sugar candy and such things? (Pointing to M.) And I saw him too.

I had seen Keshab before I actually met him - I had seen him and his party in my samādhi. In front of me sat a roomful of men. Keshab looked like a peacock sitting with its tail spread out. The tail meant his followers. I saw a red gem on Keshab's head. That indicated his rajas. He said to his disciples, 'Please listen to what he [meaning the Master] is saying.' I said to the Divine Mother: 'Mother, these people hold the views of "Englishmen". Why should I talk to them?' Then the Mother explained to me that it would be like this in the Kaliyuga.

Keshab and his followers got from here [meaning himself] the names of Hari and the Divine Mother …

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 831 (9 August 1885)

All Sadhanas