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Ramakrishna Quotes
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Ramakrishna Paramahansa Ramkṛiṣṇa Pôromôhongśa ; 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886, born Gadadhar Chatterjee or Gadadhar Chattopadhyay, was an Indian Hindu mystic and saint during the 19th century Bengal. Ramakrishna experienced spiritual ecstasies from a young age, and was influenced by several religious traditions, including devotion toward the goddess Kali, Tantra , Vaishnava , and Advaita Vedanta. Reverence and admiration for him among Bengali elites led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda.

✵ 18. February 1836 – 16. August 1886   •   Other names Šrí Rámakršna
Ramakrishna photo
Ramakrishna: 142   quotes 7   likes

Ramakrishna Quotes

“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.”

Ramakrishna

Source: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942), p. 659

Imagination , Water

“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.”

Ramakrishna

Source: Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960), p. 299

Appearance , Clothes

“The sun can give heat and light to the whole world, but he cannot do so when the clouds shut out his rays. Similarly as long as egotism veils the heart, God cannot shine upon it.”

Ramakrishna

Source: Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960), p. 99

God , World , Light , Sun

“O Mother, I throw myself on Thy mercy; I take shelter at Thy Hallowed Feet. I do not want bodily comforts; I do not crave name and fame; I do not seek the eight occult powers. Be gracious and grant that I may have pure love for Thee, a love unsmitten by desire, untainted by any selfish ends — a love craved by the devotee for the sake of love alone. And grant me the favour, O Mother, that I may not be deluded by Thy world-bewitching māyā, that I may never be attached to the world, to "woman and gold", conjured up by Thy inscrutable māyā! O Mother, there is no one but Thee whom I mav call my own. Mother, I do not know how to worship; I am without austerity; I have neither devotion nor knowledge. Be gracious, Mother, and out of Thy infinite mercy grant me love for Thy Lotus Feet.”

Ramakrishna

Source: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942), p. 731

Love , World , Knowledge , Selfishness

“When the fruit appears the blossom drops off. Love of God is the fruit, and rituals are the blossom.”

Ramakrishna

Source: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942), p. 465

Love , God , Appearance

“Suppose a thorn has pierced a man's foot. He picks another thorn to pull out the first one. After extracting the first thorn with the help of the second, he throws both away. One should use the thorn of knowledge to pull out the thorn of ignorance. Then one throws away both the thorns, knowledge and ignorance, and attains vijnāna. What is vijnāna? It is to know God distinctly by realizing His existence through an intuitive experience and to speak to Him intimately. That is why Sri Krishna said to Arjuna, "Go beyond the three gunas."”

Ramakrishna

Source: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942), p. 780

God , Knowledge , Help

“Forgiveness is the true nature of the ascetic.”

Ramakrishna

Source: Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960), p. 307

Forgiveness , Nature

“As one can ascend to the top of a house by means of a ladder or a bamboo or a staircase or a rope, so diverse also are the ways and means to approach God, and every religion in the world shows one of these ways.”

Ramakrishna

Saying 269
Râmakrishna : His Life and Sayings (1898)

God , World , Religion , Way

“Common men talk bagfuls of religion but do not practise even a grain of it. The wise man speaks little, even though his whole life is religion expressed in action.”

Ramakrishna

Source: Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960), p. 152

Life , Men , Religion

“Knowledge leads to unity, but Ignorance to diversity.
So long as God seems to be outside and far away, there is ignorance. But when God is realised within, that is true knowledge.”

Ramakrishna

As quoted in Hindu Psychology : Its Meaning for the West (1946) by Swami Akhilananda, p. 204

God , Knowledge

“The Pure Mind and the Pure Ātman are one and the same thing. Whatever comes up in the Pure Mind is the voice of God.”

Ramakrishna

Source: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942), p. 844

God

“By constantly repeating, "I am free, I am free", a man verily becomes free. On the other hand, by constantly repeating, "I am bound, I am bound", he certainly becomes bound to worldliness. The fool who says only, "I am a sinner, I am a sinner", verily drowns himself in worldliness. One should rather say: "I have chanted the name of God. How can I be a sinner? How can I be bound?"”

Ramakrishna

Source: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942), p. 274

God , Fools

“It is not good for ordinary people to say, "I am He."”

Ramakrishna

The waves belong to the water. Does the water belong to the waves?
The upshot of the whole thing is that, no matter what path you follow, yoga is impossible unless the mind becomes quiet. The mind of a yogi is under his control; he is not under the control of his mind.
Source: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (1942), p. 248

People

“Heaven sometimes speaks through the mouths of lunatics, drunkards and children.”

Ramakrishna

1042
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)

Children

“Men are quick to praise and quick to blame; so pay no heed to what others speak of you.”

Ramakrishna

1023
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)

Men

“In a potter's shop there are vessels of different shapes and forms — pots, jars, dishes, plates, etc., — but all are made of the same clay. So God is one, but He is worshipped in different ages and climes under different names and aspects.”

Ramakrishna

458
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)

God , Age

“Visit not miracle-mongers and those who exhibit occult powers. These men are stragglers from the path of Truth. Their minds have become entangled in psychic powers, which are like veritable meshes in the way of the pilgrim to Brahman. Beware of these powers, and desire them not.”

Ramakrishna

372
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)

Truth , Men , Way

“As a little boy or girl can have no idea of conjugal pleasure, even so a worldly man cannot at all comprehend the ecstasy of Divine communion.”

Ramakrishna

193
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)

Girl , Boy , Pleasure , Idea

“If you feel proud, let it be in the thought that you are the servant of God, the son of God. Great men have the nature of a child. They are always a child before Him; so they are free from pride. All their strength is of God and not their own. It belongs to Him and comes from Him.”

Ramakrishna

124
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)

God , Nature , Feeling , Men

“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.”

Ramakrishna

83
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)

Housing , Personality , World , Men

“If you can find out the nature of Maya, the universal illusion, it will leave you just as a thief runs away when detected.”

Ramakrishna

61
Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)

Nature , Universe