God and His glory & Dangers of Worldly Life

MASTER: “God and His glory. This universe is His glory. People see His glory and forget everything. They do not seek God, whose glory is this world. All seek to enjoy 'woman and gold'. But there is too much misery and worry in that. … …
Again, the world is like a thorny bush: you have hardly freed yourself from one set of thorns before you find yourself entangled in another. Once you enter a labyrinth you find it very difficult to get out. Living in the world, a man becomes seared, as it were."  

A DEVOTEE: "Then what is the way, sir?" 

MASTER: "Prayer and the company of holy men. You cannot get rid of an ailment without the help of a physician. But it is not enough to be in the company of religious people only for a day. You should constantly seek it, for the disease has become chronic. Again, you can't  understand  the  pulse  rightly  unless  you  live  with  a  physician. Moving with him constantly, you learn to distinguish between the pulse of phlegm and the pulse of bile. 

                        - Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 96 

                          (April 9, 1882) 

Combined Force of Three Attractions

God reveals Himself to a devotee who feels drawn to Him by the combined force of these three attractions: 
the attraction of worldly possessions for the worldly man, 
the child's attraction for its mother, and 
the husband's attraction for the chaste wife. 

If one feels drawn to Him by the combined force of these three attractions, then through it one can attain Him.   

The point is, to love God even as the mother loves her child, the chaste wife her husband, and the worldly man his wealth. Add together these three forces of love, these three powers of attraction, and give it all to God. 
Then you will certainly see Him.

                        - Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 83 

                           (February 1882) 

Longing for God

Four Classes of Human Beings

Men may be divided into four classes: 
those bound by the fetters of the world, 
the seekers after liberation, 
the liberated, and 
the ever-free. 

Among the ever-free we may count sages like Narada. They live in the world for the good of others, to teach men spiritual truth. 
Those in bondage are sunk in worldliness and forgetful of God. Not even by mistake do they think of God. 
The seekers after liberation want to free themselves from attachment to the world. Some of them succeed and others do not. 
The liberated souls, such as the sadhus and mahatmas, are not entangled in the world, in 'woman and gold'. Their minds are free from worldliness. Besides, they always meditate on the Lotus Feet of God.   

Suppose a net has been cast into a lake to catch fish. Some fish are so clever that they are never caught in the net. They are like the ever-free. But most of the fish are entangled in the net. Some of them try to free themselves from it, and they are like those who seek liberation. But not all the fish that struggle succeed. A very few do jump out of the net, making a big splash in the water. Then the fishermen shout, 'Look! There goes a big one!' But most of the fish caught in the net cannot escape, nor do they make any effort to get out. On the contrary, they burrow into the mud with the net in their mouths and lie there quietly, thinking, 'We need not fear any more; we are quite safe here.' But the poor things do not know that the fishermen will drag them out with the net.  These are like the men bound to the world. 

                        - Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 86-87 

                            (February 1882)

How See God

World and Mind

How to Live in World

M. (humbly): "How ought we to live in the world?" 

MASTER: "Do all your duties, but keep your mind on God.  Live with all - with wife and children, father and mother - and serve them. Treat them as if they were very dear to you, but know in your heart of hearts that they do not belong to you.  

"A maidservant in the house of a rich man performs all the household duties, but her thoughts are fixed on her own home in her native village. She brings up her Master's children as if they were her own. She even speaks of them as 'my Rama' or 'my Hari'. But in her own mind she knows very well that they do not belong to her at all.

"The tortoise moves about in the water. But can you guess where her thoughts are? There on the bank, where her eggs are lying. Do all your duties in the world, but keep your mind on God.” 

                        - Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, P 81 

                           (February 1882 Sri Ramakrishna Birthday)