Thoughts Of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

A collection of thoughts of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa

God, the true Philosopher’s Stone, Who answers every prayer, Lies hidden deep within your heart, The richest gem of all.

You see many stars in the sky at night, but not when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heavens during the day? O man, because you cannot find God during day time due to your ignorance, say not that there is no God.

A man cannot realize God unless he gets rid of all such egotistic ideas as ‘I am such an important man’ or ‘I am so and so’. Level the mound of ‘I’ to the ground by dissolving it with tears of devotion.

The moon undoubtedly has dark spots, but these do not obstruct its light.

Find God. That is the only purpose in life.

Work with your hands, but let your mind remain at God's feet.

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.

You see, one must practise spiritual discipline to understand this correctly. Suppose, there are treasures in a room. If you want to see them and lay hold of them, you must take the trouble to get the key and unlock the door. After that you must take the treasures out. But suppose the room is locked, and standing outside the door you say to yourself: ‘Here I have opened the door. Now I have broken the lock of the chest. Now I have taken out the treasure.’ Such brooding near the door will not enable you to achieve anything. You must practise discipline.

One cannot see God without purity of heart. Through attachment  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.

He that speaks truth always is sitting on the lap of God, as it were.

Knowledge of many is ignorance and knowledge of One is true knowledge.

Ignorance lasts as long as one has ego. There can be no liberation so long as the ego remains. ‘O God, Thou art the Doer and not I’—that is knowledge.

Shakti alone is the root of the universe. That Primal Energy has two aspects: Vidya and Avidya. Avidya deludes. Avidya conjures up lust and greed, which casts the spell. Vidya begets devotion, kindness, wisdom, and love, which lead one to God. This Vidya must be propitiated, and that is the purpose of the rites of Shakti worship.

He assumes different forms and reveals Himself in different ways for the sake of His devotees.

The same God is worshiped in different countries and ages under different names and forms.

He may be worshiped in various ways according to different conceptions – some loving to call Him as father and others as mother, some as friend and others as beloved, some again as their sweet little child – but it is always one and the same God that is worshiped in all these diverse relations. . .

Many are the names of God and infinite forms through which He may be approached.

In whatever name and form you worship Him, through that you will realize Him.

Different creeds are but different paths to reach the one God . . .

The religious teachers of all lands and of all ages are but so many lamps through which the light of the Spirit streams constantly from the one almighty source.

The wind of grace blows constantly, but one has to unfurl the sails of his boat in the direction.

The washer man keeps a large stock of unwashed clothes in his house, but these are not his. As soon as the clothes are washed, his room becomes empty. Men having no original thoughts of their own are like the washer man. Be not a washer man in your thoughts.

Man becomes small begging. Even the Lord Himself had to assume the form of a dwarf (Vamana) when he went to King Bali for begging. From this example we learn that we demean ourselves, the moment we beg something from anybody.

Men are quick to praise and quick to blame; so pay no heed to what others speak to you.

In living your life of peace and virtue, be indifferent alike to the praise and censure of mankind.

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The secret of the mystic way – including both path and goal, for they cannot be separated – is total, passionate love for God alone, for sheer Divine Reality; however you may envision or experience it in the depth of your being. This all embracing all transcending love comes first. Formal disciplines of prayer and meditation are of secondary importance, although they do arise spontaneously out of authentic love.

When all-victorious love actually dawns, the lover’s mind, heartbeat, breath, lips, and even limbs are constantly repeating and celebrating the beautiful divine names. This ceaseless remembrance fills the entire atmosphere of the person with the glorious radiance of Truth. This is the life of immersion in God – whether waking or sleeping, in company or in solitude, in the workplace or in the shrine room. This is both path and goal.

In the humid environment of egocentric ambition called the world, one must pray fervently – not only every day but every moment – in order to keep the sacred vessel of the mind clean and bright.

This prayer is not simply petition, but the silent fullness of adoration.

Through this total life of prayer, one develops the sword like wisdom that discriminates between cultural and personal projections and the single stainless Divine Reality.

Only the constant practice of this total prayer will enable you to renounce habitual, conventional projections, moment by moment, by becoming calmly aware of their intrinsic unreality. You will move from surface of existence into its very depths.

Source – Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna By Lex Hixon (Page 63 – 64)

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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.

It is wise to follow the attitude of Hanuman: ‘I do not know the day of the week, the phase of the moon, or the position of the stars; I only contemplate Rama.’