Ramakrishna Quotes
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It is easy to talk on religion, but difficult to practice it.
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When the flower blooms, the bees come uninvited.
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The fabled musk deer searches the world over for the source of the scent which comes from itself.
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It is not good for ordinary people to say, 'I am He.' 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.
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Do yourself what you wish others to do.
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One must be very particular about telling the truth. Through truth one can realize God.
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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.
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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
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The waves belong to the Ganges, not the Ganges to the waves. A man cannot realize God unless he gets rid of all such egotistic ideas as 'I am such an important man' or 'I am so and so'. Level the mound of 'I' to the ground by dissolving it with tears of devotion.
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Many are the names of God and infinite the forms through which He may be approached.
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As a boy holding to a post or a pillar whirls about it with headlong speed without any fear or falling, so perform your worldly duties, fixing your hold firmly upon God, and you will be free from danger.
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The nearer you come to God, the less you are disposed to questioning and reasoning. When you actually attain Him, when you behold Him as the reality, then all noise, all disputations, come to an end.
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Pray to God that your attachment to such transitory things as wealth, name, and creature comforts may become less and less every day.
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If there are errors in other religions, that is none of our business. God, to whom the world belongs, takes care of that.
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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.
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When an unbaked pot is broken, the potter can use the mud to make a new one; but when a baked one is broken, he cannot do the same any longer. So when a person dies in a state of ignorance, he is born again; but when he becomes well baked in the fire of true knowledge and dies a perfect man, he is not born again.
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To work without attachment is to work without the expectation of reward or fear of any punishment in this world or the next. Work so done is a means to the end, and God is the end.
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Disease is the tax which the soul pays for the body, as the tenant pays house-rent for the use of the house.
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That knowledge which purifies the mind and heart alone is true Knowledge, all else is only a negation of Knowledge.
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If you must be mad, be it not for the things of the world. Be mad with the love of God.
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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.
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More are the names of God and infinite are the forms through which He may be approached. In whatever name and form you worship Him, through them you will realise Him.
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With the divine Knowledge of Advaita (non-duality) in you, do whatever you wish; for then no evil can ever come out of you.
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Whether you accept Rādhā and Krishna, or not, please do accept their attraction for each other. Try to create that same yearning in your heart for God. Yearning is all you need in order to realize Him.