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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

‘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)

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)

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

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)

The "ego of Knowledge"

 

The "ego of Devotion"

 

The Anāhata Sound

 

Reincarnation

 

Lord and His 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)

Grace of God on All

 

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)

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)

 

Man teaches by God's power

MASTER: “… …What is the use of printing and advertising? He who teaches men gets his power from God.  None but a man of renunciation can teach others.  I am the greatest of all fools!" (All laugh.) 

A DEVOTEE: "Then how is it that the Vedas and the Vedānta, and many things besides, come out of your mouth?" 

MASTER (smiling): "During my boyhood I could understand what the Sādhus read at the Lahas' house at Kamarpukur, although I would miss a little here and there. If a pundit speaks to me in Sanskrit I can follow him, but I cannot speak it myself. 

To realize God is the one goal of life.  While aiming his arrow at the mark, Arjuna said, 'I see only the eye of the bird and nothing else-not the kings, not the trees, not even the bird itself.' 

The realization of God is enough for me.  What does it matter if I don't know Sanskrit?” 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 407 (23 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)

Meditation on Incarnation

 

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) 

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) 

Mind Matters

 

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 worshiped. 

One day, while worshiping 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) 

 

The World not apart from God

 

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) 

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)

Not Two

 

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 

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)

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)

Master's prayer to the Divine Mother

 

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)

Gift of Knowledge and Bhakti

 

Three Classes of Devotees

 

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)

 

Kartika and Ganesha

Everything can be realized simply through love of God. If one is able to love God, one does not lack anything. 

Kartika and Ganesa were seated near Bhagavati, who had a necklace of gems around Her neck. The Divine Mother said to them, 'I will present this necklace to him who is the first to go around the universe.' Thereupon Kartika, without losing a moment, set out on the peacock, his carrier. Ganesa, on the other hand, in a leisurely fashion went around the Divine Mother and prostrated himself before Her. He knew that She contained within Herself the entire universe. 

The Divine Mother was pleased with him and put the necklace around his neck. After a long while Kartika returned and found his brother seated there with the necklace on. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 376 (2 January 1884) 

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 

Seeing and Talking to God

 

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 rightly. 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)

 

Microcosm

 

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) 

Talking to God

 

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 honorable', 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 labor 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)

Renunciation of Worldly Attachment

 

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)

 

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)