Introduction,
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was a Hindu mystic, saint, and religious leader who was born on February 18, 1836, in Kamarpukur, a village in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, India. He was the fourth of five children in a poor Brahmin family, and his childhood was marked by intense spiritual experiences and a deep love of God. Ramakrishna was a devotee of the goddess Kali and spent many years in intense spiritual practice, including long periods of meditation and prayer.
Ramakrishna’s teachings emphasized the importance of the direct experience of God and the unity of all religions. He believed that there were many paths to God and that each individual had the freedom to choose their own path. He was a mentor to many disciples, including the philosopher Swami Vivekananda, who later founded the Ramakrishna Mission to spread Ramakrishna’s teachings throughout the world.
Ramakrishna died on August 16, 1886, at the age of 50. He had been suffering from throat cancer, and his last words to his disciples were, “I am going into samadhi (ecstatic absorption), and I am not coming back again.”
Ramakrishna’s legacy as a spiritual leader and teacher continues to inspire millions of people around the world. His teachings of tolerance, compassion and devotion to God have influenced countless spiritual seekers, and his example of selfless service to humanity continues to guide the work of the Ramakrishna Mission today.
The winds of grace are always blowing, but it is you who must raise your sails.
God is everywhere, but He is most manifest in man. So serve man as God. That is as good as worshipping God.
As long as I live, so long do I learn.
The only way to remove the fear of death is to understand that one’s true nature is immortal and eternal.
When the flower blooms, the bees come uninvited.
The unripe ego clings to power and possessions, while the ripened ego is filled with love and compassion.
If you want to go east, don’t go west.
What Brahman is cannot be described. All things in the world — the Vedas, the Puranas, the Tantras, the six systems of philosophy — have been defiled like food that has been touched by the tongue, for they have been read or uttered by the mouth. Only one thing has not been defiled in this way, and that is Brahman. No one has ever been able to describe Brahman.
The Divine Mother is the Kundalini at the base of the spine; She is the power that helps us to raise our consciousness and realize our true nature.
The mind is everything. What you think, you become.
Work, worship and meditation form one whole, and all three are necessary. Through work, one purifies oneself; through worship, one gains concentration and devotion; through meditation, one attains wisdom and liberation.
The essential thing is to stick to one path and follow it through thick and thin.
The secret of spiritual success is to refuse to let the mind dwell on negative thoughts.
As long as you have faith in your Guru, nothing can harm you. You will be surrounded by a divine aura, and even if you go through difficulties, you will emerge unscathed.
As soon as the fever of desire is gone, divine knowledge begins to shine.
You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.
Pure love is a willingness to give without a thought of receiving anything in return.
One must perform work — the primary aim of work should be to uplift oneself and others.
The only way to rise above suffering is to surrender oneself to God, to have faith in Him, to seek His grace.
God can be realized through all paths. All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by stone stairs or by wooden stairs or by bamboo steps or by a rope. You can also climb up by a bamboo pole.
God is in everything, but man is not conscious of Him. Therefore, he suffers.
Just as the same sun is reflected in all vessels filled with water, so is the one Self reflected in all bodies.
He who is eager for liberation must first purify his mind and strengthen his will.
Do not seek illumination unless you seek it as a man whose hair is on fire seeks a pond.”
The mind is everything; it is the only reality. This world is nothing but an illusion created by the mind.
Through love one acquires renunciation and discrimination naturally.
The goal of human life is to realize one’s true nature and attain liberation. This can be achieved through devotion, knowledge, or action.
