Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna

  • He is born to no purpose, who, having the rare privilege of being born a man, is unable to realize God in this life.
  • 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.
  • 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.' 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.
  • 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 Kali's feet My mind remains immersed, Of little use are worship, oblations, or sacrifice.
  • Do your duty with one hand and with the other hold to God. After the duty is over, you will hold to God with both hands.
  • 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.
  • But 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.
  • 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.
  • Weep at least once to see God.
  • These, then, are the two means: practice and passionate attachment to God that is to say, restlessness of the soul to see Him.
  • You don't see the stars in the day‑time. but that doesn't mean that the stars do not exist. There is butter in milk. But can anybody see it by merely looking at the milk? To get butter you must churn milk in a quiet and cool place. You cannot realize God by a mere wish; you must go through some mental disciplines."
  • You must hiss at wicked people. You must frighten them lest they should do you harm. But never inject your venom into them. One must not injure others.

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