137 quotes
If you can find out the nature of Maya, the universal illusion, it will leave you just as a thief runs away when detected. (61)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Forgiveness is the true nature of the ascetic. (307)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
A worldly man may be endowed with intellect as great as that of Ganaka, may take as much pains and trouble as a Yogin, and make as great sacrifices as an ascetic; but all these he makes and does, not for God, but for worldliness, honour, and wealth.
Râmakrishna : His Life and Sayings (1898)
As long as I live, so long do I learn. (1036)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
As the snake is separate from its slough, even so is the Spirit separate from the body. (30)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Honour both spirit and form, the sentiment within as well as the symbol without. (308)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
The vanities of all others may gradually die out, but the vanity of a saint regarding his sainthood is hard indeed to wear away. (110)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
As a piece of rope, when burnt, retains its form, but cannot serve to bind, so is the ego which is burnt by the fire of supreme Knowledge. (132)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
How can Brahman be differentiated or desecrated? The guru had one more lesson, the greatest of his life, to learn. He would never condescend to admit of Maya or Shakti. Brahman only exists—this was his refrain.
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.
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942)
He is born in vain, who having attained the human birth, so difficult to get, does not attempt to realise God in this very life. (2)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
As 'persons living in a house infested with venomous snakes are always alert, so should men diving in the world be always vigilant against the allurement of lust and greed. (83)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
One does not care for the cage when the bird has flown away from it. and when the bird of life flies away, no one cares for the body left behind. (396)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
As the cloud covers the sun, so Maya hides the Deity. When the cloud moves away, the sun is seen again; when Maya is removed, God becomes manifest. (59)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
A boat may stay in water, but water should not stay in boat. A spiritual aspirant may live in the world, but the world should not live within him. (266)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
If a white cloth is stained even with a small spot, the stain appears very ugly indeed. So the smallest fault of a holy man becomes painfully prominent. (299)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Imagine a limitless expanse of water: above and below, before and behind, right and left, everywhere there is water. In that water is placed a jar filled with water. There is water inside the jar and water outside, but the jar is still there. The "I" is the jar.
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942)
To be sure god exists in all things. 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.
Heaven sometimes speaks through the mouths of lunatics, drunkards and children. (1042)
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
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 Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942)