When someone remarked that it was extremely difficult to proceed towards God while leading the life of a householder, Sri Ramakrishna taught with a beautiful example how with practice one can work in the world with a major part of the mind fixed on God:
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 meantime 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.