Teachings
ON SRI RAMAKRISHNA
1. “When I was at the music tower at Dakshineswar for serving the Master, I had to live in that small room with great difficulty. And into it, what a lot of things were packed. … But no difficulty was too great when it was meant for some service to him. The days passed unnoticed in great delight.”
2. “His complexion was like the colour of gold. … His complexion blended with the colour of the golden amulet which he wore on his arm. When I used to rub him with oil, I could clearly see a lustre coming out of his entire body. … When he would come out of his room in the temple, people used to stand in line and say to one another, ‘Ah, there he goes!’ … People would look at him wonder-struck when he went with slow steady steps to the Ganges to take his bath.
“When he was at Kamarpukur, men and women looked. at him with mouths agape whenever he chanced to come out of the house. One day as he went out for a walk in the direction of the canal known as ‘Bhutir Khal’, the women who had gone there to fetch water looked at him agape and said, ‘There the Master goes!’ Annoyed at this, Sri Ramakrishna said to Hriday, ‘Well, Hridu, please put a veil on my head at once.’
“I never saw the Master sad. He was joyous in the company of everyone, were he a boy of five or a man of ripe old age. I never saw him morose, my child. Ah, what happy days those were!”
3. “Ah! How kindly Sri Ramakrishna treated me! Not even one day did he utter a word to wound my feelings.”
4. “I then felt as if a pitcher of bliss was kept in my heart. It was a constant experience with me then. It is very difficult to convey an idea of this experience to others.”
5. “What a unique man he was! How many minds he illumined! What unceasing bliss he radiated! Day and night his room echoed and re-echoed with laughter, stories, talk and music.
“The Master sang, and I would listen hour after hour, standing behind the screen of the Nahabat. When the singing was over I saluted him with folded hands. What joyous days we passed through! People poured in day and night, and there was no end of spiritual talk.”
6. “How happy we were there! How many people of different temperaments used to come to him! Dakshineswar at that time appeared to us as the mart of bliss.”
7. “What a great singer the Master was! His voice was so sweet. While singing he would be one with his song. His voice is still ringing in my ears. When I remember it, other voices appear so flat.”
8. “I always saw a smile on his face in his ecstatic mood. … I have seen him smile in all states of Samadhi.”
9. “How fine his teachings are! How little we knew at that time that things would take this turn! What a great soul was born! How many people are being illumined by his words! He was the embodiment of Bliss itself. … Often he would give me nice words of advice. If I had known how to write, I would have noted them down.”
10. Disciple: “Mother, that photograph of Sri Ramakrishna which you have is a very good one. … Is it a good likeness of him ?”
Mother: “Yes, that picture is very, very good. … I kept it with the pictures of other gods and goddesses and worshipped it. At that time I lived on the ground floor of the Nahabat. One day the Master came there and at the sight of the picture he said, ‘Hallo, what is all this?’ Then I saw the Master take in his hand the bel leaves and flowers kept there for worship, and offer them to the photograph. He worshipped the picture.”
11. “The Master … said to me, ‘You will see how in course of time I will be worshipped in every house. You will see everyone accepting this (meaning himself). This is surely going to happen.’ This was the only day I heard him using the first personal pronoun with reference to himself. Usually he would speak of himself not as ‘I’ or ‘me’ but as ‘case’ or as ‘belonging to this’, pointing to his body.”
12. “The Master entered into spiritual trance very often. One day, as he came down from a long Samadhi, he said, ‘Listen, my dear, I went to a land where the people are all white. Ah! How sincere is their devotion.’ ”
13. “One day Hazra said to the Master, ‘Why do you constantly long for Narendra and other youngsters? They are quite happy by themselves eating, drinking and playing. You had better fix your mind on God. Why should you be attached to them?’ At these words, the Master took his mind away from the young disciples completely and merged it in the thought of God. Instantaneously he entered into Samadhi; his beard and hair stood straight on end. Just imagine what kind of a man the Master was! His body became hard like a statue. Ramlal, who was attending on him, said repeatedly, ‘Please be your former self again.’ At last the mind came down to the normal state. It was only out of compassion for people that he kept his mind on the material plane.”
14. “You will gain everything if you but take refuge in the Master. Renunciation alone was his splendour. We utter his name and eat and enjoy things because he renounced all. People think that his devotees also must be very great, as he was a man of such complete renunciation.
“Ah, me! One day he went to my room in the Nahabat. He had no spices in his small bag. He used to chew them now and then. I gave him some to chew there, and also handed over to him a few packed in paper to take to his room. He proceeded; but instead of going to his room, he went straight to the embankment of the Ganges. He did not see the way, nor was he conscious of it. He was repeating, ‘Mother, shall I drown myself!’ … Hriday ran to the Master, caught hold of him, and brought him back to his room. A moment more and he would have dropped into the Ganges. . .. Because I put a few spices in his hand, he could not find his way. A holy man must not lay things by. His renunciation was hundred percent complete
15. “It never occurred to me that he practiced all the religions with the express motive of preaching the idea of spiritual harmony. He was always in his mood of divine ecstasy. He practiced all the methods through which the Christians, Moham- medans, Vaishnavas, and others worship God and realize truth, and thereby he tasted God’s disports in diverse ways. Days and nights passed by him without any notice. But what you should note, my dear, is that renunciation is his special message in this age. Did anyone see such natural renunciation any time before? As for the harmony of religions you speak of, that also is true. In previous incarnations, some one of the attitudes was magnified at the cost of all others.”
16. “All the acts of Sri Ramakrishna were directed to God alone. … That was the nature of his teaching.”
17. “If you can but follow one of the Master’s teachings, you get everything.”
18. “Our Master was a man of direct perception. He saw everything; he knew everything. His words are the words of the Veda. What will you do if you do not believe in his words?”
19. “I don’t know anything. I repeat only what I have heard from the Master. Read The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna and you will know all you need.”
20. “The Kathamrita (The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna) by M. is very nice. This is because he has put down the exact words of the Master. How sweet are those words!”
21. Holy Mother wrote to M.: “My beloved child, the words you heard from the Master are true. You need not be afraid to publish them. It was the Master who left these words in your keeping. Now he is bringing them out according to the needs of the time. You should know that people’s spiritual consciousness will not be awakened unless these words see the light of day. His words which are in your keeping are true, every one of them. When you read them to me I felt as if he himself was speaking.”
22. “How devoted the Master was to truth! Alas, we cannot follow his example. The Master used to say that truth alone is Tapasya in the Kali Yuga. One attains God by sticking to truth.”
23. “In these miserable times one may find God only through steadfast truth. The Master used to say, ‘He who clings to truth, lies in the lap of God.’ ”
24. “My child, is the Master a part? He is the complete whole. Besides Brahman, there is nothing else in this world. Everything that appears before us is the manifestation of Brahman. It is His power which is present in all gods and goddesses. He it is who is the ‘Purusha’ and He again is the ‘Prakriti.’ The Master did not come to upset the old principles.”
25. “He is the Supreme God and the Supreme Goddess. He is the essence of all Mantras, the embodiment of all deities, and dwells in all creatures. One can worship all the gods and goddesses in and through him.”
26. To one who doubted if it was right for him to profess himself a member of the Advaita Ashrama when he leaned towards dualism, the Mother said, “Sri Ramakrishna was all Advaita and preached Advaita. Why should you not also follow Advaita? All his disciples are Advaitins.”
27. “Do not make any distinction between the Master and me. Meditate on your Ishta and pray to Him. The meditation begins from the heart .and ends in the head. Neither Mantra nor scripture is of any avail; Bhakti, love, accomplishes everything. The Master is every thing — both Guru and Ishta. He is all in all.”
28. Disciple: “I do not have any such desire to see a four-handed deity and the like. I am quite satisfied with what we have. ”
Mother: “That is also the case with me. What shall we gain by these supernatural visions? For us the Master exists — and he is everything.”
29. Disciple: “Does the Master really live in the picture?”
Mother: “Of course, he does. The body and the shadow are the same. And what is his picture but his shadow?”
Disciple: “Does he live in all the pictures?”
Mother: “Yes, if you pray to him constantly before his picture, then he manifests himself through that picture. The place where the picture is kept is a shrine. … The Master will pay special attention to such a place.”
30. “The birthplace of the Master is a sacred place, a seat of his constant presence, and a holy resort for pilgrims.”
31. “At the Cossipore Garden the Master spent the last days of his life. The place is associated with so much meditation, Samadhi, and the practice of austerities. It is the place where the Master entered into Mahasamadhi. It is a place permeated with intense spiritual vibration. One realizes God-consciousness by meditating there.”
32. Regarding the method of consecrating food the Mother said, “Look here, my dear, consider the Master as your very own and say, ‘Come, sit, take, eat.’ And you should think that he has come, is seated, and is eating. What need is there of Mantras and such formalities with regard to one’s own? Those things are like the courtesies and considerations one has to show when one’s friends and acquaintances come on a visit; for one’s own, no such thing is necessary. He will accept your gift whatsoever way you may offer it.”
33. “What else is spiritual life besides praying to the Master, repeating his name and contemplating him? And the Master? What is there after all about him? He is our own eternally.”
34. “He is mother, father, friend, relative, acquaintance, my nearest and dearest, and everything.”
35. “Always think of the Master as your own.”
36. “Pray to the Master. He will do everything for you. He is your own, as the moon is the uncle of all children.”
37. “The Master is the basis of all that we are. He is the ideal. You will never take a false step if you hold onto him under all circumstances.”
38. “Always remember that Sri Ramakrishna alone is our protector. If you forget this, you will find yourself in a maze.”
39. Devotee: “Mother, if I pray to the Master silently, will he listen? And should I say anything to the Master without letting you know first?”
Mother grew somewhat agitated on hearing this and said, “If he be true, certainly he will hear you.”
40. “Dreams regarding the Master are real, but he forbade his disciples to narrate, even to him, dreams regarding himself.”
41. A disciple wrote to the Mother a letter full of despair. After hearing the contents of the letter she said seriously and forcibly, “How is that possible? Is the name of the Master a mere trifle? Those who come here and think of the Master will certainly see their Chosen Ideal one day. If they are not able to do so during their lifetime, they will at least have His vision at the moment before their death.”
42. Devotee: “It is said that one realizes God by praying to Him sincerely for two or three days. I have been praying for such a long time, but why do I not get any realization?”
Mother: “Everything will come in time, my child. The words of Sri Ramakrishna … can never be in vain. Be devoted to him and take shelter at his feet. It is enough to remember that there is some One, call Him father or mother, who is always protecting you.”
43. Disciple: “Mother, we do not know what the Master was like. We have not seen him. So for us you are the Master and everything else.”
Mother: “Don’t fear, my child. The Master will look after you. He will watch over you here and hereafter. He will protect you always.”
44. “Lay the burden of your mind before Sri Ramakrishna. Tell him your sorrows with your tears. You will find that he will fill your hands with the desired objects.”
45. “Keep a picture of the Master before you, and know for certain that he is always with you. Open your grief-stricken heart to him. Shed tears and sincerely pray, ‘O Lord, draw me towards you, give me peace of mind.’ By doing so constantly you will gradually attain peace of mind. Have devotion for the Master, and whenever you are in distress, speak it out to him.”
46. “Sri Ramakrishna was a perfect soul. Certainly one can be freed from sin by confessing it to one like him.”
47. “Whoever seeks refuge with the Master finds everything.”
48. “He used to say, ‘One who remembers me never suffers from want of food or from other physical privations.’ … By remembering him one gets rid of all sufferings.”
49. “Those who pray to him… will easily gain love and knowledge of Brahman.”
50. “The path of Brahman is very difficult. Pray to the Master and he will give you the knowledge of Brahman in proper time.”
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