Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

June 15, 1884 MASTER: "Once upon a time a wood-cutter went into a forest to chop wood. There suddenly he met a brahmachari. The holy man said to him, 'My good man, go forward.' On returning home the wood-cutter asked himself, 'Why did the brahmachari tell me to go forward?' Some time passed. One day he remembered the brahmachari's words. He said to himself, 'Today I shall go deeper into the forest.' Going deep into the forest, he discovered innumerable sandal-wood trees. He was very happy and returned with cart-loads of sandal-wood. He sold them in the market and became very rich. "A few days later he again remembered the words of the holy man to go forward. He went deeper into the forest and discovered a silver-mine near a river. This was even beyond his dreams. He dug out silver from the mine and sold it in the market. He got so much money that he didn't even know how much he had. "A f...

June 15, 1884 MASTER (to Pratap): "It is not in England alone that one sees attachment to worldly things. You see it everywhere. But remember that work is only the first step in spiritual life. God cannot be realized without sattva-love, discrimination, kindness, and so on. It is the very nature of rajas to involve a man in many worldly activities. That is why rajas degenerates into tamas. If a man is entangled in too many activities he surely forgets God. He becomes more and more attached to 'woman and gold'. "But it is not possible for you to give up work altogether. Your very nature will lead you to it whether you like it or not. Therefore the scriptures ask you to work in a detached spirit, that is to say, not to crave the work's results. For example, you may perform devotions and worship, and practise austerities, but your aim is not to earn people's recognition or to increase your merit. "To work ...

March 23, 1884   MASTER (to Mahimacharan):  "What I said about aspirants practising continence is true.  Without chastity one cannot assimilate these teachings. "Once a man said to Chaitanya: 'You give the devotees so much instruction.  Why don't they make much progress?' Chaitanya said: 'They dissipate their powers in the company of women.  That is why they cannot assimilate spiritual instruction.  If one keeps water in a leaky jar, the water escapes little by little through the leak.' " Mahima and the other devotees remained silent.  After a time Mahima said, "Please pray to God for us that we may acquire the necessary strength." MASTER: "Be on your guard even now.  It is difficult, no doubt, to check the torrent in the rainy season.  But a great deal of water has gone out.  If you build the embankment now it will stand". Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Chapter 20, Rules for Householders and Monks

April 5, 1884   MASTER (To Prankrishna): "The fact is that one must have the 'spiritual eye'.  You will develop that eye as soon as your mind becomes pure.  Take for instance the Kumari Puja.  I worshipped a virgin.  The girl, to be sure, had all her human imperfections; still I regarded her as the Divine Mother Herself. "On one side is the wife and on the other the son.  Love is bestowed on both, but in different ways.  Therefore it comes to this, that everything depends upon the mind.  The pure mind acquires a new attitude.  Through that mind one sees God in this world.  Therefore one needs spiritual discipline". Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Chapter 21, A Day at Dakshineswar

May 24, 1884  MASTER: "Proof? God can be seen. By practising spiritual discipline one sees God, through His grace. The rishis directly realized the Self. One cannot know the truth about God through science. Science gives us information only about things perceived by the senses, as for instance: this material mixed with that material gives such and such a result, and that material mixed with this material gives such and such a result. "For this reason a man cannot comprehend spiritual things with his ordinary intelligence. To understand them he must live in the company of holy persons. You learn to feel the pulse by living with a physician." ACTOR: "Yes, sir. Now I understand." MASTER: "You must practise tapasya. Only then can you attain the goal. It will avail you nothing even if you learn the texts of the scriptures by heart. You cannot become intoxicated by merely saying 'siddhi' over and...

May 25, 1884 MASTER: "Do your worldly duties with a part of your mind and direct most of it to God. A sādhu should think of God with three quarters of his mind and with one quarter should do his other duties. He should be very alert about spiritual things. The snake is very sensitive in its tail. Its whole body reacts when it is hurt there. Similarly, the whole life of a sādhu is affected when his spirituality is touched." Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Chapter 22, Advice to an Actor