As a toy fruit or a toy elephant reminds one of the real fruit and the living animal, so do the images that are worshipped remind one of the God who is formless and eternal. Ramakrishna More Quotes by Ramakrishna More Quotes From Ramakrishna All religions are true. God can be reached by different religions. Many rivers flow by many ways but they fall into the sea. They all are one. Ramakrishna seariversfall 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. Ramakrishna selfinspirationaltwo Sugar and sand may be mixed together, but the ant rejects the sand and goes off with the sugar grain; so pious men lift the good from the bad. Ramakrishna togethermaymen There are three kinds of love; Ramakrishna selfisheyelove-is 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 lightcloudsheart God laughs on two occasions. He laughs when the physician says to the patient's mother, 'Don't be afraid, mother; I shall certainly cure your boy.' God laughs, saying to Himself, 'I am going to take his life, and this man says he will save it!' The physician thinks he is the master, forgetting that God is the Master. God laughs again when two brothers divide their land with a string, saying to each other, 'This side is mine and that side is yours.' He laughs and says to Himself, 'The whole universe belongs to Me, but they say they own this portion or that portion.' Ramakrishna brothermotherboys The supreme purpose and goal for human life... is to cultivate love. Ramakrishna purposegoallife-is All troubles come to an end when the ego dies Ramakrishna egoendstrouble Different people call on [God] by different names: some as Allah, some as God, and others as Krishna, Siva, and Brahman. It is like the water in a lake. Some drink it at one place and call it 'jal', others at another place and call it 'pani', and still others at a third place and call it 'water'. The Hindus call it 'jal', the Christians 'water', and the Moslems 'pani'. But it is one and the same thing. Ramakrishna christiannameslakes As long as I live, so long do I learn. Ramakrishna long What is the use of merely listening to lectures? The real thing is practice. Ramakrishna persistencerealpractice 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. Ramakrishna lightinspirationalmen 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. Ramakrishna spiritualwaterworld The winds of grace are always blowing, but you have to raise the sail. Ramakrishna sailgracewind It is on account of the ego that one is not able to see God. In front of the door of God's mansion lies the stump of ego. One cannot enter the mansion without jumping over the stump. Ramakrishna jumpingdoorslying Sunlight is one and the same wherever it falls; but only a bright surface like that of water, or of a mirror reflects it fully. So is the light Divine. It falls equally and impartially on all hearts, but the pure and pious hearts of holy men receive and reflect that light well. Ramakrishna heartmenfall So long as the bee is outside the petals of the lily, and has not tasted the sweetness of its honey, it hovers around the flower emitting the buzzing sound; but when it is inside the flower, it noiselessly drinks the nectar. So long as a man quarrels and disputes about doctrines and dogmas, he has not tasted the nectar of true faith; when he has tasted it, he becomes quiet and full of peace. Ramakrishna flowerfaithpeace To work without attachment is to work without the expectation of reward. Ramakrishna rewardsattachmentexpectations God is in all men, but all men are not in God; that is why we suffer. Ramakrishna sufferinginspirationalmen He is born in vain, who having attained the human birth, so difficult to get, does not attempt to realize God in this very life. Ramakrishna birthrealizingdoe
