Real Nature of God

 

God as Person

As long as a man is conscious of 'I' and 'you', and as long as he feels that it is he who prays or meditates, so long will he feel that God is listening to his prayer and that God is a Person. Then he must say: 'O God, Thou art the Master and I am Thy servant. Thou art the whole and I am a part of Thee. Thou art the Mother and I am Thy child.'

At that time there exists a feeling of difference: 'I am one and Thou art another.' It is God Himself who makes us feel this difference; and on account of this difference one sees man and woman, light and darkness, and so on. As long as one is aware of this difference, one must accept Śakti, the Personal God. 

It is God who has put 'I-consciousness' in us. You may reason a thousand times; still this 'I' does not disappear. As long as 'I-consciousness' exists, God reveals Himself to us as a Person. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 635 (19 October 1884)

Way to Brahmajnana

 

Parents

Look, my children, parents are the greatest gurus in this world. As long as they are alive, one should serve them to one’s utmost ability; when they die, one should perform the shraddha ceremony as far as one is able. One who is poor and has no means to perform the shraddha ceremony for parents should go to the forest and weep for their memory, thus repaying the debt to them. 

One may disobey one’s parents without incurring any sin only for the sake of God. Although his father forbade it, Prahlada did not stop repeating the name of Krishna. Dhruva disobeyed his mother and went into the forest to practice austerities. But in performing these actions, neither of them incurred any sin.  

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 615

 

Goal of Scriptures

 

Explanation of "Aum"

MASTER (To Mahima) "You explain 'Aum' with reference to 'a', 'u', and 'm' only."  

MAHIMA: "'A', 'u', and 'm' mean creation, preservation, and destruction."  

MASTER: "But I give the illustration of the sound of a gong: 'tom', t— o — m. It is the merging of the Lila in the Nitya: the gross, the subtle, and the causal merge in the Great Cause; waking, dream, and deep sleep merge in Turiya. 

The striking of the gong is like the falling of a heavy weight into a big ocean. Waves begin to rise: the Relative rises from the Absolute; the causal, subtle, and gross bodies appear out of the Great Cause; from Turiya emerge the states of deep sleep, dream, and waking. These waves arising from the Great Ocean merge again in the Great Ocean. From the Absolute to the Relative, and from the Relative to the Absolute. Therefore I give the illustration of the gong's sound, 'tom'. 

I have clearly perceived all these things. It has been revealed to me that there exists an Ocean of Consciousness without limit. From It come all things of the relative plane, and in It they merge again. Millions of Brahmandas rise in that Chidakasa and merge in It again. All this has been revealed to me; I don't know, much about what your books say." 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 653 (26 October 1884)

Body of Jnani

 

Pure Atman

 

Story of "the will of Rāma"

A DEVOTEE: "What is that story about 'the will of Rāma'?" 

MASTER: "In a certain village there lived a weaver. He was a very pious soul. Everyone trusted him and loved him. He used to sell his goods in the market-place. When a customer asked him the price of a piece of cloth, the weaver would say: 'By the will of Rāma the price of the yarn is one rupee and the labour four ānnās; by the will of Rāma the profit is two ānnās. The price of the cloth, by the will of Rāma, is one rupee and six ānnās.' Such was the people's faith in the weaver that the customer would at once pay the price and take the cloth. The weaver was a real devotee of God. 

After finishing his supper in the evening, he would spend long hours' in the worship hall meditating on God and chanting His name and glories. Now, late one night the weaver couldn't get to sleep. He was sitting in the worship hall, smoking now and then, when a band of robbers happened to pass that way. They wanted a man to carry their goods and said to the weaver, 'Come with us.' So saying, they led him off by the hand. After committing a robbery in a house, they put a load of things on the weaver's head, commanding him to carry them. Suddenly the police arrived and the robbers ran away. But the weaver, with his load, was arrested. He was kept in the lock-up for the night. 

Next day he was brought before the magistrate for trial. The villagers learnt what had happened and came to court. They said to the magistrate, 'Your Honour, this man could never commit a robbery.' Thereupon the magistrate asked the weaver to make his statement. The weaver said: 'Your Honour, by the will of Rāma I finished my meal at night. Then by the will of Rāma I was sitting in the worship hall. It was quite late at night by the will of Rāma. By the will of Rāma I had been thinking of God and chanting His name and glories, when by the will of Rāma a band of robbers passed that way. By the will of Rāma they dragged me with them; by the will of Rāma they committed a robbery in a house; and by the will of Rāma they put a load on my head. Just then, by the will of Rāma the police arrived, and by the will of Rāma I was arrested. Then by the will of Rāma the police kept me in the lock-up for the night, and this morning by the will of Rāma I have been brought before Your Honour.' 

The magistrate realized that the weaver was a pious man and ordered his release. On his way home the weaver said to his friends, 'By the will of Rāma I have been released.' 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 648-49 (26 October 1884)

Milk and Butter

 

Duty Towards Wife

SUB-JUDGE: "What is a householder's duty to his wife?" 

MASTER: "You should give her spiritual advice and support her during your lifetime and provide for her livelihood after your death, if she is a chaste wife. 

"But if you are intoxicated with the Knowledge of God, then you have no more duties to perform. Then God Himself will think about your morrow if you yourself cannot do so. God Himself will think about your family if you are intoxicated with Him. If a landlord dies leaving behind a minor son, then a guardian appointed by the court takes charge of the son. These are all points of law; you know them." 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 628 (19 October 1884)

Futility of Mere Study

Can one find God in the sacred books? By reading the scriptures one may feel at the most that God exists. But God does not reveal Himself to a man unless he himself dives deep.  Only after such a plunge, after the revelation of God through His grace, is one's doubt destroyed. You may read scriptures by the thousands and recite thousands of texts; but unless you plunge into God with yearning of heart, you will not comprehend Him. By mere scholarship you may fool man, but not God. 

Scriptures and books - what can one achieve with these alone? Nothing can be realized without His grace. Strive with a longing heart for His grace. Through His grace you will see Him and He will talk to you. 

- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 625 (19 October 1884)

Sanatana Dharma

 

Inner Controller

 

God and Maya

 

Mother through All

I see all things – trees, plants, people, cows, grass, water – as if they are covered with different sheaths, like pillow cases. Haven’t you seen them? Some are made of coarse cloth dyed red, some of finely patterned cloth, and others of different kinds of cloth; some are quadrangles and some are round. Everything in the universe is just like that. 

Just as there is only one substance – cotton – stuffed into all those pillow cases, so the same indivisible Satchidananda exists within the sheaths of people, cows, grass, water, mountains, and everything else. Look, I see clearly that the Divine Mother has covered Herself with different wrappers – She has assumed various forms and is peeping through them. 

Without understanding my condition, people tried to correct and pacify me. …  

- Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play, P 632

 

In Heart