Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna Quotes

“Only two kinds of people can attain self-knowledge: those who are not encumbered at all with learning, that is to say, whose minds are not over-crowded with thoughts borrowed from others; and those who, after studying all the scriptures and sciences, have come to realise that they know nothing.”
― Sri Ramakrishna, The Gospel of Ramakrishna

“One man may read the Bhagavata by the light of a lamp, and another may commit a forgery by that very light; but the lamp is unaffected. The sun sheds its light on the wicked as well as on the virtuous.”
― Sri Ramakrishna, The Gospel of Ramakrishna

“You speak of doing good to the world. Is the world such a small thing? And who are you, pray, to do good to the world? First realise God, see Him by means of spiritual discipline. If He imparts power you can do good to others; otherwise not.”
― Sri Ramakrishna, The Gospel of Ramakrishna

“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 tongue. Only one thing has not been defiled in this way, and that is Brahman. No one has ever been able to say what Brahman is.”
― Sri Ramakrishna, The Gospel of Ramakrishna

“God has made different religions to suit different aspirants, times, and countries. All doctrines are only so many paths; but a path is by no means God himself. Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with whole-hearted devotion...One may eat a cake with icing either straight or sidewise. It will taste sweet either way.”
― Sri Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“God has revealed to me that only the Paramatman, whom the Vedas describe as the Pure Soul, is as immutable as Mount Sumeru, unattached, and beyond pain and pleasure. There is much confusion in this world of His maya. One can by no means say that 'this' will come after 'that' or 'this' will produce 'that'.”
― Sri Ramakrishna, The Gospel of Ramakrishna

“sweetmeat. One moment he enjoys a spiritual mood, and the next moment he is beside himself with the pleasure of ‘woman and gold’.”
― Swami Nikhilananda, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“become.It is said in the Bhagavad Gitâ that the future is determined by the thought that is uppermost at the moment of death, and in the Purâna there is a story that King Bharata was born as a deer p. 48 because when he died, his mind was fixed on the thought of a deer. He who passes away thinking of God and meditating on Him, does not come back to this world. A devotee:”
― Sri Ramakrishna, The Gospel of Ramakrishna

“Subtle are the ways of dharma. One cannot realize God if one has even the least trace of desire. A thread cannot pass through the eye of a needle if it has the smallest fibre sticking out.”
― Swami Nikhilananda, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“There is an ocean of difference between a real all-renouncing devotee of God and a householder devotee. A real sannyāsi, a real devotee who has renounced the world, is like a bee. The bee will not light on anything but a flower. It will not drink anything but honey. But a devotee leading the worldly life is like a fly. The fly sits on a festering sore as well as on a”
― Swami Nikhilananda, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“The depth of the heart, the retired corner, and the forest are the three places for meditation.”
― Ramakrishna, The Gospel of Ramakrishna

“MASTER: “But even behind the mother’s love lies her hope that the children will support her later on. But I love these youngsters because I see in them Nārāyana Himself. These are not mere words.”
― Swami Nikhilananda, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“One day Jatadhari requested Sri Ramakrishna to keep the image and bade him adieu with tearful eyes. He declared that Rāmlālā had fulfilled his innermost prayer and that he now had no more need of formal worship. A few days later Sri Ramakrishna was blessed through Rāmlālā with a vision of Rāmachandra, whereby he realized that the Rāma of the Rāmāyana, the son of Daśaratha, pervades the whole universe as Spirit and Consciousness; that He is its Creator, Sustainer, and Destroyer; that, in still another aspect, He is the transcendental Brahman, without form, attribute, or name. While worshipping Rāmlālā as the Divine Child, Sri”
― Swami Nikhilananda, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“meditate upon, I should say: Fix your attention on that form which appeals to you most; but know for certain that all forms are the forms of one God alone.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“The bliss of worship and communion with God is the true wine, the wine of ecstatic love. The goal of human life is to love God. Bhakti is the one essential thing. To know God through jnāna and reasoning is extremely difficult.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“God dwells in all beings. But you may be intimate only with good people; you must keep away from the evil-minded. God is even in the tiger; but you cannot embrace the tiger on that account.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“One must have this childlike faith in the guru’s words. God cannot be realized by a mind that is hypocritical, calculating, or argumentative. One must have faith and sincerity. Hypocrisy will not do. To the sincere, God is very near; but He is far, far away from the hypocrite.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“superior devotee of God accepts both the Absolute and the Relative; therefore he is able to enjoy the Divine even when his mind comes down from the Absolute.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“It is Rāma who has become everything. But, as you say, though all water is Nārāyana, yet some water is fit for drinking, some for washing the hands and face, and some only for cleaning pots and pans.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“A man must prepare the way beforehand, so that he may think of God in the hour of death. The way lies through constant practice. If a man practises meditation on God, he will remember God even on the last day of his life.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“What is karmayoga? Its aim is to fix one’s mind on God by means of work. That is what you are teaching. It consists of breath-control,3 concentration, meditation, and so on, done in a spirit of detachment. If a householder performs his duties in the world in a spirit of detachment, surrendering the results to God and with devotion to God in his heart, he too may be said to practise karmayoga. Further, if a person performs worship, japa, and other forms of devotion, surrendering the results to God, he may be said to practise karmayoga. Attainment of God alone is the aim of karmayoga.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“call It Brahman when It is inactive, and Śakti when It creates, preserves, and destroys. It is like water, sometimes still and sometimes covered with waves. The”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“The nearer you come to God, the more you feel peace. Peace, peace, peace—supreme peace!”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“If you see anywhere an instance of compassion, as in Vidyāsāgar, know that it is due to the grace of God. Through compassion one serves all beings. Māyā also comes from God. Through māyā God makes one serve one’s relatives. But one thing should be remembered: māyā keeps us in ignorance and entangles us in the world, whereas dayā makes our hearts pure and gradually unties our bonds.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“The Saguna Brahman is meant for the bhaktas. In other words, a bhakta believes that God has attributes and reveals Himself to men as a Person, assuming forms. It is He who listens to our prayers. The prayers that you utter are directed to Him alone. You are bhaktas, not jnānis or Vedāntists. It doesn’t matter whether you accept God with form or not. It is enough to feel that God is a Person who listens to our prayers, who creates, preserves, and destroys the universe, and who is endowed with infinite power. “It is easier to attain God by following the path of devotion.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“While Sri Krishna, Himself God Incarnate, played with the gopis at Vrindāvan, trouble-makers like Jatilā and Kutilā appeared on the scene. You may ask why. The answer is that the play does not develop without trouble-makers. (All laugh.) There is no fun without Jatilā and Kutilā. (Loud laughter.)”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“In the Vedas creation is likened to the spider and its web. The spider brings the web out of itself and then remains in it. God is the container of the universe and also what is contained in it.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“The Reality is one and the same; the difference is in name and form.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“The man coming down from samādhi perceives that it is Brahman that has become the ego, the universe, and all living beings. This is known as vijnāna.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

“All that you see is the manifestation of God’s Power. No one can do anything without this Power. But you must remember that there is not an equal manifestation of God’s Power in all things. Vidyāsāgar once asked me whether God endowed some with greater power than others. I said to him: ‘If there are no greater and lesser manifestations of His Power, then why have we taken the trouble to visit you? Have you grown two horns?’ So it stands to reason that God exists in all beings as the All-pervasive Power; but the manifestations of His Power are different in different beings.”
― Ramakrishna, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna