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