The nectar of Thy story revives the parched soul of man. Poets (men of knowledge) praise it.

It
wipes away our sins. To hear it is in itself auspicious. It is pervasive, limitless and beautiful. nly
those understand it who have been generous in their past lives.!
"rimad #hagavata, "kandha $% , "loka &
"alutations to the guru who has made it possible to reali'e (im who pervades this entire universe
of movable and immovable ob)ects.!
*ishveshwara Tantra +
What is jnana? Image worship
Sri Ramakrishna Well, do you believe in God with form or formless God?
M. I only like the formless God.
Sri Ramakrishna That is ood. !avin faith in either of the two "as#e$ts% is enouh. To think of God
as formless is &uite riht. 'ven so, don(t think that only this idea is true and all others are false. )now
this that the formless God is true and so is God with form. *ou must hold on to that what you believe.
M. Sir, well, let one believe that God is with form but surely !e is not an earthen imae.
Sri Ramakrishna My dear sir, why earthen? It is the imae of Spirit+
Sri Ramakrishna "shar#ly% It is fashionable for ,al$utta #eo#le to le$ture and brin others to liht.
!ow to brin liht to themselves, they do not know. Who are you to tea$h others?
Sri Ramakrishna He who is the Lord of the universe will Himself teach. He who has made this
universe the moon the sun the seasons the human !eings and the !easts He who has made
provision of food for men and !easts and parents to rear and love will Himself teach. He has
made this much will He not arrange it too?
If there is a need to tea$h, God !imself will surely make them understand. -nd then, God is
antaryamin (knower of heart within). If there is some mistake in worshi##in the $lay imae, does !e
not know that !e !imself is bein $alled u#on? !e is #leased with this very worshi#. Why should you
have heada$he over it? Seek that you may yourself have )nana and develo# bhakti.
Sri Ramakrishna *ou were talkin of worshi##in the $lay imaes. 'ven if made of $lay, these need
to be worshi##ed. The .ord !imself has #rovided various forms of worshi#. !e who is the .ord of the
universe has made all this to suit men in different staes of life. The mother so arranes the food for her
$hildren that everyone ets, what arees with him.
How to gain !hakti?
M. !ow may one fi/ one(s mind on the .ord?
Sri Ramakrishna 0ne must $hant without $easin the name of the .ord and !is lories. -nd kee#
$om#any of the holy, one must fre&uently o to God(s bhaktas, or sadhus. 0ne(s mind does not fi/
itself on the .ord while livin niht and day in the midst of worldly a$tivities and family life. !en$e,
one must o into solitude now and then to meditate on God. In the first stae it is very hard to fi/ the
mind on the .ord unless one fre&uently oes into solitude.
Sri Ramakrishna When the #lant is youn, it needs a hede around it. Without the hede oats and
$ows eat it u#.
The mind, the solitary $orner and the forest are the #la$es where you will meditate. -nd you will
always have ood thouhts in your mind. The .ord alone is real, i.e. the eternal substan$e, and all else
is unreal, i.e. transitory. 1is$riminatin thus, you will shake off atta$hment to the #erishable thins of
the world.
M. "humbly% !ow to live in the household?
"annyasa in the household the wa" # Sadhana in solitude
Sri Ramakrishna *ou will do all your duties but kee# your mind fi/ed on God. Wife, son, father and
mother you will live with them all and serve them as if they are your own. 2ut you will know in your
heart that they are really not yours.
- ri$h man(s maidservant attends to all her duties but her mind is always set u#on her own home in the
villae. 2esides, she nurses her master(s $hildren as if they were her own. She $alls out3 4My Rama, my
!ari,( but all the while she knows fully well that they are not hers.
The tortoise moves about in water but do you know where its mind abides? 0n the bank of the river, on
the dry land, where its es are laid.
Sri Ramakrishna $ou will attend to all "our worldl" work !ut take care that "our mind rests
on the Lord. If "ou enter the world %household& before "ou have ac'uired !hakti for the Lord
surel" "ou will get entangled more and more. (isfortune grief and ills of the world will make
"ou lose "our !alance of mind. )nd the more "ou think of worldl" matters the more will come
the attachment.
Rub your hands with oil before you break the 5a$k6fruit, otherwise its milky e/udation will sti$k to your
hands. 7irst et the oil of bhakti for the .ord and then enae into the affairs of the world "household%.
Sri Ramakrishna 2ut to a$&uire bhakti, solitude is needed. If you want to make butter, the $urds
have to be set in some lonely $orner. The $urds will not set if disturbed. Then you have to sit in a &uiet
#la$e, ivin u# all other work and $hurn the $urds. 0nly then you $an et butter.
82esides, by ivin your mind to God in solitude, you ain )nana (spiritual wisdom), vairagya
(dispassion) and bhakti (devotion). 2ut if you ive the same mind to the world, it be$omes vular. In
the world there is nothin but the thouhts of lust and reed.9
8The world is like water and the mind like milk. If the milk is #oured in water, it will et mi/ed with
water and be$ome one. *ou will not be able to et #ure milk, howsoever mu$h you may try. 2ut if the
milk is turned into $urds and butter made out of it, it will swim over water when #la$ed in it. So, first
et the butter of 5nana and bhakti by #ra$tisin sadhana (spiritual disciplines) in a solitary #la$e. This
butter when #ut in the water of the world will not mi/ with it. It will swim on its surfa$e.
8-lon with this the #ra$ti$e of dis$rimination is also needed. 4Woman and old( are transitory, the
.ord is the only reality. What does money ive? It ives us food "ri$e and dal%, $lothes and a #la$e to
live in 6 thus far, no further. 2ut it does not hel# attain #hagavan (Personal ,od with divine
attributes- the beloved .ord). So money $annot be the end of life. This is the #ro$ess of dis$rimination.
1o you see this?9
Sri Ramakrishna *es, dis$rimination. :ust think, what is there in money or in a beautiful body?
Think over it, in the body of a beautiful woman also there are mere bones, flesh, fat, urine and e/$reta 6
all these. Why does a man ive his mind to su$h a thin and lose siht of the .ord? Why does he foret
the .ord?
!ow to see the .ord?
M. Sir, $an the .ord be seen?
Sri Ramakrishna *es. There is no doubt about it. Goin into solitude from time to time, $hantin !is
name and !is attributes, #ra$tisin dis$rimination 6 these are the means one should em#loy.
M. What state of mind leads to God6vision?
Sri Ramakrishna *r" with a ver" "earning heart and "ou shall see +od. ,eople shed
pitcherfuls of tears for wife and children the" weep streams of tears for mone". -ut who cries for
the Lord? .*all out to +od with a longing and "earning heart./ $earning in the heart !rings the
dawn. 0hereafter the sun is visi!le. )fter longing comes +od#vision.
8*ou $an see God if you have these three atta$hments #ut toether3 The atta$hment of a worldly man to
the thins of the world, the atta$hment of a mother to her $hild, and the atta$hment of a $haste wife to
her husband. If these three atta$hments are #ut altoether "for God% in a man, the #ower of these
atta$hments makes one see God.
8The real thin is that you must love the .ord the way a mother loves her son, a $haste wife her
husband, and a worldly man the thins of the world. When you have the $ombined intensity of love of
all these three #ersons for the .ord and you #ut toether all these three atta$hments, you will see !im.
80ne should $all u#on God with a yearnin heart.
8The kitten knows only to $ry mew, mew to its mother. Wherever the mother kee#s it, it remains there 6
now in the kit$hen, now on the floor, and now on the bed. When it feels hurt, it sim#ly $ries 4mew,(
4mew( and knows nothin else. Wherever the mother may be, it $omes on hearin its mew, mew.( 9
(is mind being harmoni'ed by yoga, he sees himself in all beings and all beings in himself- he sees
the same in all.!
,ita /0+&
Sri Ramakrishna "to ;arendra% What do you say, ;arendra? Worldly men say all sort of thins. 2ut
see, when the ele#hant wends its way, so many animals bark and make su$h other noises from behind.
2ut the ele#hant does not even look at them. If someone $ondemns you, what will you think of him?
;arendra I shall think that the dos are barkin.
- <arti$ular 2hakta Sir, when a bad #erson $omes to harm us or a$tually does so, should we do
nothin then?
Sri Ramakrishna To live in the world and save oneself from the hands of bad #eo#le, one should
make a show of tamoguna (the spirit of resisting evil). 2ut it will not be riht to harm anyone thinkin
that he may harm you.
80ne should hiss to bad #ersons to frihten them away, so that they may not harm you later on. 0ne
must not in5e$t #oison into them and in5ure them.9
)re all men e'ual? 0heir natures differ
8In the .ord(s $reation there are different ty#es of $reatures and #lants. -monst the animals, there are
bad as well as ood ones. There are beasts like tiers who kill others. -monst the trees, some brin
forth fruit sweet like ne$tar, while the others yield #oisonous fruit. In the same way, there are ood men
and bad men= holy as well as unholy= men atta$hed to the world and then bhaktas also.
8<eo#le $an be divided into four $lasses 6 worldly #eo#le bound to the world, seekers after liberation,
the liberated, and the ever6free.
8The ever6free, like ;arada and others 6 they are those who abide in the world for the ood of mankind,
to tea$h truth to others.
8The bound souls 6 they are atta$hed to worldly ob5e$ts. They foret God and never ive a thouht to
!im.
8The seekers after liberation 6 they try to et liberated. 2ut only some of them attain liberation, the
others $annot.
8The liberated ones 6 they are not atta$hed to 4woman and old(, for e/am#le sadhus and mahatmas
(great spiritual personalities). In their mind there is no atta$hment for the worldly thins. They always
meditate on the lotus feet of (ari (.ord, the Preserver).
8Su##ose a net is $ast into a tank. Some of the fish are too $lever never to be $auht in the net. They
$an be likened to the ever6free ones. !owever, most of the fish et $auht in the net. 0f these, some try
to es$a#e. They are like the seekers after liberation. !owever, not all the fish $an es$a#e 6 only a few
are able to lea# out of the net. The boys then shout3 .ook here+ - bi fish has es$a#ed. 2ut most of the
fish $auht in the net $annot es$a#e 6 they don(t even try to do so. -nd what is more, they hold the net
with the mouth and lie &uietly hidin themselves in the mud of the tank. They think, 4We are &uite safe
now= there is no daner.( 2ut they do not know that the fisherman would haul them u# with a 5erk and
throw them out on the river bank. They may indeed be $om#ared to worldly men.9
Worldl" men # !ound in fetters
8Worldly men remain bound to 4woman and old( of the world. They are bound hand and foot. -nd
they think that they $an find ha##iness only in 4woman and old( of the world and feel se$ure in it.
They know not that they will die in that alone. When a worldly man is on his deathbed, his wife says to
him, 4*ou are de#artin. What have you done for me?( 2esides, maya is su$h that on seein a lam#
burnin for lon the bound man says, 40il will et $onsumed, lower the wi$k.( -nd here he is lyin on
the deathbed+
8The worldly man does not think of the .ord. If he has leisure, even then he indules either in em#ty
talk or enaes himself in useless a$tivities. >#on bein asked he says, 4I am not able to sit idle, so I
am settin a hede.( <erha#s when the time hans heavy on him, he starts #layin $ards.9 "-ll lauh.%
(e who knows 1e as unborn and beginning2less, and the great .ord of the worlds, he is no more
deluded amongst mortals and freed from all sins.!
,ita $%03
0he wa" # faith
- 2hakta Sir, is there no way out for su$h a worldly man?
Sri Ramakrishna *ertainl" there is a wa". 1ow and then one must seek the compan" of hol"
men and at times one should go to meditate upon +od in solitude. )nd one should practise
discrimination and pra" to +od2 .+rant me !hakti and faith./ 3nce "ou ac'uire faith "our work
is done. 0here is nothing higher than faith.
8*ou all see this boy. !e is so different here. When a nauhty boy is in the #resen$e of his father, he
behaves as if there is a oblin in front. 2ut when he #lays in the $handni, he is &uite different. - boy
like this belons to the $lass of the ever6#erfe$t. They never et atta$hed to the world. When they et a
little older, they feel an awakenin within the heart and move God6ward at on$e. They $ome to the
world to tea$h mankind. They have no love for thins of the world. Their mind never oes towards
4woman and old(.
8There is a mention of a bird $alled !oma in the ?edas. It lives hih above in the sky. There in the sky
itself it brins forth its e. -s soon as the e is brouht forth, it beins to fall. 2ut it is so hih that
the e oes on fallin for days. 1urin the fall it breaks and then the youn bird $omin out of it oes
on fallin. While it is oin down, its eyes and wins o#en out. :ust as it o#ens its eyes it sees that it is
fallin and shall soon be smashed on tou$hin the earth. Then it suddenly shoots u#ward towards its
mother and attains a reat heiht.9
4s a man having cast away old garments wears new ones, so having cast away worn out bodies, the
embodied enters into other new ones.!
,ita +0++
Sri Ramakrishna 82ut there is one thin. The heart of the bhakta is !is dwellin #la$e. Maybe that
God is manifest in all thins, but !e is manifest in a s#e$ial sense in the heart of a bhakta. 7or e/am#le,
a @emindar "landlord% $an be seen at all the #la$es of his estate. Still #eo#le say that the @emindar is
usually seen in a #arti$ular drawin room. The heart of the bhakta is the 2haavan(s drawin room.9
The state reached by the )nanis is also attained by the yogis. (e indeed sees who sees that )nana
and yoga are one.!
,ita 505
3ne Lord with different names # the jnani the "ogi and the !hakta
8The same 2ein whom the 5nanis $all #rahman (the 4bsolute) is $alled Parm4tman (6niversal
"oul) by the yois and #hagavan (Personal ,od with divine attributes) by the bhaktas.
8The brahmin is one and the same #erson. When he worshi#s, he is $alled a #riest= when em#loyed in
the kit$hen, he is $alled a brahmin $ook. The 5nani who holds on to the :nana *oa reasons sayin,
4;ot this, not this.( That is, the 2rahman is neither this nor that, neither the individual soul nor the
e/ternal world. When as a result of this reasonin the mind be$omes steady, it vanishes and one oes
into samadhi. Then one attains #rahma)nana (knowledge of the 4bsolute). The 2rahma5nani truly
reali@es that 2rahman is real and the world unreal= names and forms are all like dreams. What 2rahman
is $annot be des$ribed by the word of mouth. God is a #erson, even that $annot be des$ribed by words.
8The 5nanis say the same as the ?edantins. 2ut bhaktas a$$e#t all the states. They look u#on the wakin
state as real and they do not $onsider the e/ternal world as a dream. The bhaktas say that this world is
the lory of 2haavan. The sky, the stars, the moon, the sun, the mountains, the o$ean, men, birds and
beasts 6 they are all $reated by the .ord. These are only !is 4ri$hes(. !e is both within the $ore of the
heart and !e is without. The su#erior most bhakta says, 4God !imself has be$ome these twenty6four
$ateories 6 the livin beins and the universe.( The bhakta wants not to be one with the suar but
would rather have a taste of it. "-ll lauh.%
4How does a !hakta feel do "ou know? .3 -hagavan5 $ou are the (aster I am $our servant.
$ou are m" (other I am $our child. )nd again $ou are !oth m" (other and 6ather. $ou are the
whole I am $our part./ 0he !hakta doesn/t like to sa" .I am -rahman./
8The yoi also seeks to see <armatman. !is ob5e$t is to brin the embodied soul in $ommunion with
the <armatman. The yoi withdraws his mind from worldly ob5e$ts and tries to fi/ it on <armatman.
So, to bein with he meditates on !im in solitude in some fi/ed #osture with a $on$entrated mind.
82ut It is one and the same Substan$e. The differen$e is only in names. !e who is 2rahman is !imself
-tman and also 2haavan. !e is 2rahman of the 2rahma5nani, <armatman of the yoi, 2haavan of
the bhakta.9
7ou are the subtle and 7ou are the gross- 7ou 1other8 are manifest as well as unmanifest. 7ou
are both with form and formless. 9ho has the capacity to know 7ou:!
1ahanirvana Tantra ;0$5
Harmon" of 7eda and 0antra # glor" of )d"a Shakti %,rimeval ,ower&
Sri Ramakrishna The ?edantin 2rahma5nani says that $reation, #reservation, dissolution, the livin
beins and the world are all the s#ort of "hakti (the <ivine 1other). If you reason, they are all like
dreams. 2rahman alone is the Reality, all else is unreal+ Shakti is also like a dream, unreal.
8*ou may reason a thousand times, but without attainin the state of samadhi you $annot o beyond the
5urisdi$tion of Shakti. 4I am meditatin,( 4I am thinkin( 6 all this is within the 5urisdi$tion of Shakti.
8That(s why 2rahman and Shakti are inse#arable A ,ons$iousness and 'nery are inse#erable. 2elief in
one im#lies belief in the other. :ust as the fire and its burnin #ower 6 if you #ostulate the fire, you must
#ostulate the burnin #ower. 7ire $annot be thouht of a#art from its burnin #ower, nor $an its burnin
#ower be thouht of a#art from the fire. The sun(s rays $annot be $on$eived a#art from the sun, nor $an
the sun be $on$eived a#art from its rays.
8What is milk like? Well, it is somethin white+ Milky whiteness $annot be $on$eived a#art from the
milk, nor $an the milk be $on$eived a#art from its milky whiteness.
8Thus, Shakti $annot be thouht of a#art from 2rahman, nor $an 2rahman be thouht of a#art from
Shakti. =itya (the 4bsolute) and .eela (the relative phenomenal world) $annot be thouht of a#art
from ea$h other.
8The s#ortin 4dya "hakti (Primeval <ivine >nergy) $reates, #reserves and dissolves. She is known as
?ali (the 1other of the 6niverse). )ali is 2rahman and 2rahman is )ali, one and the same substan$e.
When She is ina$tive 6 neither $reatin, nor #reservin, nor destroyin, I $all !er 2rahman. When She
#erforms all these a$tivities I $all !er )ali, I $all !er Shakti.
The 2ein is the same, only the names and forms are different.
87or e/am#le 6 45al,( 4water,( and 4#ani(. - tank may have three or four hats. -t one hat the !indus
drink water, they $all it 45al(. -t another hat the Muslims drink water and they $all it 4#ani(. 0n
another hat the 'nlish drink water, they $all it 4water(. -ll the three are one and the same but the
names are different. Some $all !im -llah, some God, some 2rahman, some )ali, aain some Rama,
!ari, :esus and 1ura.9
<eluded by the three gunas this world does not know 1e, who am beyond them and immutable.!
,ita @0$3
Sri Ramakrishna "to )eshab and others% She is the $reator of both bondae and liberation. 1ue to
!er maya (illusion) the worldly man is bound with the $hains of 4woman and old,( and then he is
liberated by !er mer$y and ra$e. She is the 2ein who takes humans a$ross the sea of the world
removin the fetters.
Instruction a!out 8arma $oga # the world and 1ishkama 8arma %selfless work&
- 2rahmo 2hakta Sir, is it not #ossible to reali@e the .ord without renoun$in everythin?
Sri Ramakrishna "smilin% ;o, my dear. Why have you to renoun$e all? *ou are very well in 5oy as
you are. *ou are all riht at do, re, mi, fa "lower notes of the amut%. "-ll lauh.% 1o you know the
ame of 4nu/( "a #lay with $ards%? I have been 4burnt( as I have 4$ut( so many times. *ou are very
$lever. Some of you are at ten #oints, some at si/ and others at five "out of the seventeen needed to
win%. *ou didn(t 4$ut( more. So you have not been 4burnt( like me. The ame is oin on 6 it is so ni$e+
"'verybody lauhs.%
47eril" I sa" that there is nothing wrong in living as a householder as "ou are. 9ven so "ou have
to fi: "our mind on the Lord. 3therwise it won/t do. ;o "our work with one hand and hold the
Lord with the other. When "ou finish "our work "ou will hold +od with !oth the hands<.
8It is the mind that matters. If the mind is bound, you are bound= if the mind is free, you are free. The
mind ets dyed in the $olour you dye it with. It is 5ust like the laundered white $loth. *ou $an et it
dyed in any $olour 6 red, blue or reen. It ets the $olour you di# it in. :ust see, if you study a little of
'nlish, you start s#eakin 'nlish in s#ite of yourself3 7oot6fut, it6mit. "-ll lauh.% -nd also #uttin
on shoes "'nlish boots%, whistlin and sinin, all these a$tions follow. -nd if a #undit studies
Sanskrit, he starts &uotin slokas. If the mind is ke#t in bad $om#any, it ado#ts the same style of
$onversation and thouhts. If you kee# it in the $om#any of a bhakta, meditation on the .ord and talk
on !ari and so on would follow.
8It is, indeed, the mind that matters. *ou have wife on the one hand and the $hild on the other. The
attra$tion for wife is of one kind and the affe$tion for the $hild of another. 2ut the mind is the same.9
Aenouncing all duties take refuge in 1e alone. I shall liberate you from all sins- grieve not.!
,ita $B0//

Sri Ramakrishna "to 2rahmo bhaktas% It is the mind that binds and it is the mind that liberates. I am
a free soul= I may live in the household or in the forest= there is no bondae for me. I am the $hild of the
.ord, the son of the kin of kins= who will bind me then? When bitten by a snake, if you say loudly,
4There is no #oison in it,( you are rid of the venom. In the same way if you say em#hati$ally, 4I am not
bound= I am free,( you be$ome like that. *ou be$ome liberated.
'ven while livin in the family one should o into solitude at times. It is ood if one $an $ry for
2haavan even for three days in solitude away from home. 'ven if a man oes out in solitude for a day
when he ets an o##ortunity and thinks u#on !im, that too is ood indeed. <eo#le shed #it$herful of
tears for wife and $hildren, but who $ries for the .ord, tell me? 0ne should o in solitude at times and
#erform sadhana to reali@e 2haavan. While attendin to #arti$ular duties in the world there are so
many diffi$ulties in makin the mind steady in the initial stae.
7or e/am#le, when the trees on the foot#ath are youn, they may be eaten u# by oats or $ows for want
of fen$in. - fen$e is needed in the initial stae. When, however, the trunk ets thi$ker no fen$e is
needed. Then even an ele#hant tied to the trunk will not do any harm to it.
The disease is of ty#hoid. -nd, there are a #ot of water and tamarind #i$kles in the room where the
#atient is lyin with ty#hoid fever. If you want to $ure su$h a #atient, you(ll have to $hane his #la$e.
The worldly man is a #atient of ty#hoid, the worldly thins are like the water #ot, and desire for
sensory en5oyments is the thirst for water. The mouth beins to water at the mere thouht of tamarind
#i$kles. They should not be #la$ed nearby. Su$h thins are very mu$h #resent in the house 6 $om#any
of a woman and so on. That(s why, livin in solitude is ne$essary for $ure.
80ne should enter family life after attainin viveka and vairagya (discrimination and non2
attachment). In the o$ean of the world there are $ro$odiles of #assion, aner, et$. If you enter the water
after anointin your body with turmeri$, you need not fear $ro$odiles. 1is$rimination and non6
atta$hment are the turmeri$. )nowlede of real and unreal is known as dis$rimination. The .ord alone
is real, eternal. -ll else is unreal, transitory, lastin 5ust a $ou#le of days. 0ne must reali@e this and
develo# love for the .ord. -ttra$tion for the .ord 6 love for !im.
(aving restrained all the senses, even2minded everywhere, engaged in the welfare of all beings 2
verily they also come unto 1e.!
,ita $+0;
7ou are the Cather of the moving and the unmoving world. 7ou are adorable by this world, 7ou are
the greatest ,uru. In the three worlds there is none who can eDcel you: 7ou, #eing, of unparallel
power8!
,ita $$0;3
8Men are the same in a##earan$e, but they differ in nature. In some sattvaguna (Eualities that lead
,odward) dominates, in some ra)oguna (Eualities that make one inclined to multiply work and duty)
and in others tamoguna (Eualities that cause ignorance which turn the mind away from ,od).
81o you know what is my way of thinkin? I o about eatin and drinkin and the Mother knows all.
There are three words that #ri$k me 6 uru, doer and father.
8It is God the Guru alone who is "achchidananda (>Distence2?nowledge2#liss 4bsolute). It is only
!e who will #rea$h. I for my #art feel like a $hild. *ou $an find lakhs of men as urus. 'very one
wants to be a uru. Who wants to be a dis$i#le?
8-ain, there are #eo#le who think a #arti$ular thouht and believe it to be God(s $ommandment. Su$h
an idea is &uite a mistaken one. !e verily a##ears before you and talks. It is then that you re$eive the
$ommandment. What a weiht then that instru$tion $arries+ - mountain is moved by it. Mere le$turin+
<eo#le will listen for a few days and later they foret. They do not a$t a$$ordin to that instru$tion.9
8The #erson who #rea$hes must have the bade of authority. Without it, it is all6ridi$ulous. We do not
instru$t ourselves but #rea$h others+ It is like the blind leadin the blind. ".auhter.% It brins more
harm than ood. It is only when you have seen God that you $an see throuh other #eo#le and
understand what diseases "of the soul% they have been take with. *ou $an then instru$t them.
Flouded by egotism one thinks that he is the doer.!
,ita 30+@

8*ou must have dire$t $ommandment of God, else it would be assertin yourself to say, 4I tea$h
mankind.( Self assertion is the offs#rin of inoran$e. 0ut of inoran$e one feels, 4I am the doer.( 0ne
be$omes a )ivanmukta (liberated in this very life) if one $an but reali@e that God is the sole -$tor "in
the world system% and that I am a mere instrument in !is hands. -ll troubles, all want of #ea$e, $ome
of the notion, 4I am the doer, I am the free aent.( 9
Therefore, constantly perform your obligatory duties without attachment- for by doing duties
without attachment man verily obtains the "upreme.!
,ita 30$&
Sri Ramakrishna "to )eshab and other bhaktas% *ou #eo#le talk of doin ood to the world. I say, is
the world so small? -nd who are you to do ood to the world? -ttain God by #erformin sadhana
(devotional spiritual practices). -ttain !im. !e will ive you #ower, only then you will be able to do
ood to others, otherwise not.
- <arti$ular 2hakta Should we ive u# all work so lon as we do not reali@e God?
Sri Ramakrishna ;o, why will you ive u# work? *ou will have to do all this3 Meditation u#on the
.ord, $hantin !is names and lories, and undertakin day to day rituals.
The 2rahmo 2hakta -nd what about the worldly work? -bout worldly affairs?
Sri Ramakrishna *es, you will attend that too, as mu$h as is ne$essary to run the household. 2ut you
must $ry in a lonely $orner and #ray to God so that you do all these works in a nishkama manner
(selflessly). -nd you will say, 40 .ord, #lease lessen my worldly work, be$ause 0 .ord, I see that
when enrossed too mu$h in work, I foret *ou. I think in my mind that I am doin the work in a
nishkama way but it turns out to be sakama (with a selfish motive.) <erha#s a desire for name and
fame $ro#s u# when there is in$rease in ivin $harity and distributin free meals.(
In the age of 8ali one should take to -hakti $oga chanting of -hagavan/s names and His glories
and pra"er. -hakti $oga indeed is the law of this age. $ou people also practise -hakti $oga. $ou
repeat the name of Hari chant the glories of the (other "ou people are indeed !lessed5 $our
path is reall" fine. Like the 7edantins "ou do not sa" .0he world is like a dream./ $ou are not
such -rahmajnanis "ou are !haktas "ou !elieve that +od is a person. 0his too is nice indeed.
$ou are !haktas. $ou will certainl" attain +od when "ou call upon Him with a "earning heart.<
(e who serves 1e with unswerving devotion goes beyond the three gunas, and is fit to become
#rahman.
,ita $;0+/
*onversation with !haktas # 1ature of a worldl" man # the great importance of 1ame
With a smilin fa$e, Sri Ramakrishna looks at Shivanath and other bhaktas. Says he, 8I say, this is
Shivanath+ *ou see, you are a bhakta, I feel very ha##y to see you. This is the nature of all those who
are addi$ted to smokin hem#. Su$h a smoker feels ha##y when he meets another like him. !e may
#erha#s embra$e him.9 "Shivanath and all others lauh.%
8When I see a #erson whose mind is not in the .ord, I tell him, 4<lease o and sit there.( 0r I say, 4See
what a beautiful buildin this is+ "Rani Rasmani(s )ali Tem#le, et$.% Go and see it. "-ll lauh.%
8-nd I see there are #ersons of non6serious nature who $ome with the bhaktas. They are very worldly6
minded and do not like talk about the .ord. <erha#s they "bhaktas% would be talkin of the .ord for
lon. 0n the other hand, these men $annot sit for lon and feel restless. -ain and aain these #eo#le
whis#er into their ears, 4When are you leavin, when?( <erha#s the latter sometimes tell, 4Wait for a
while, we shall be leavin shortly.( Then these #eo#le et indifferent and say, 4-ll riht, you $arry on.
We are oin and sittin in the boat.( "-ll lauh.%
8If you ask worldly #eo#le to renoun$e all and devote themselves at the feet of the .ord, they do not
listen to you. That is why, to attra$t worldly #eo#le Gaur and ;itai, the two brothers, made a
#ro#osition after $onsultin ea$h other, 4Sou# of maur fish, embra$e of a youn woman, and re#eat
the name of !ari.( In the beinnin, so many #eo#le $ame to re#eat the name of !ari tem#ted by the
first two. Then havin tasted a bit of the ne$tar of !ari(s name they reali@ed that the fish sou# was
nothin $om#ared to the tears fallin in the love of !ari= that 4a youn woman( meant the earth and
4embra$e of a youn woman( meant to roll about in the dust in the love of !ari.
8;itai, somehow, used to find some way to make one re#eat the name of !ari. ,haitanya 1eva said
that there is reat im#ortan$e of the ;ame of the .ord. It may not show immediate result but sooner or
later it does yield fruit. -s for e/am#le, somebody ke#t a seed on the $orni$e of a house. -fter a lon
time, the house fell down. The seed then fell on the round, develo#ed into a tree and bore fruit too.9
8:ust as there are three gunas (Eualities) of sattva, ra5as and tamas in the worldly #eo#le, in the same
way there are three unas of sattva, ra)as and tamas of bhakti too.
81o you know, what kind of sattva &uality of the worldly man is? !is house lies $rumbled at #la$es but
he would not et it re#aired. The #ieons #ure in the vestibule of the shrine and moss is rowin in the
$ourtyard, yet he is not aware of this. !ousehold oods have rown old but no $are to set them riht.
!e lives with 5ust a #air of $lothes that he has. Su$h a man is very $alm, #olite, $om#assionate and
sim#le. !e does not do any harm to anybody.
8There are sins of ra5ouna also in a worldly man. - wat$h, a $hain of the wat$h and two or three
rins on his finers. !ousehold oods &uite ti# to#. 0n the wall there will be #i$ture of the &ueen,
#i$ture of the #rin$e, or #i$ture of some reat #erson. !ouse well #lastered and so forth as if no stain
anywhere. ?arious su#erior $lothes, uniforms of servants and maids and all su$h thins would be there.
8Tamouna of the worldly man has also its sins3 Slee#, lust, aner, #ride and the rest.
82hakti $an also be of sattvi$ ty#e. The bhakta who #ossesses the &uality of sattva meditates se$retly.
!e #erha#s meditates inside his mos&uito net. 'verybody thinks, 4!e is in slee#. It a##ears he $ould not
slee# at niht so he is late in risin.( -nd his atta$hment to his body is only to the e/tent of fillin his
stoma$h 6 if he $an have ri$e with s#ina$h "a sim#le food%, it suffi$es for him. There is no
so#histi$ation in his meals, nor in his dress= his household furniture is not #olished. -nd a sattvi$
bhakta never flatters anybody for money.
8When a #erson has bhakti of the ra5asi$ ty#e, maybe he has a holy mark on his forehead and a rosary
of rudraksha= #erha#s old beads are strun in between the rosary. "'verybody lauhs.% When he
worshi#s the deity, he $lads himself in a silk dhoti?9
Sri Ramakrishna - man havin bhakti of tamas ty#e has a burnin faith. Su$h a bhakta for$es the
.ord like a da$oit for$in one to #art with his wealth. 4)ill, $ut him down, tie him,( su$h is the
dis#osition of a da$oit.
Partha (4r)una), do not yield to feebleness. It does not befit you. ,ive up petty faint2heartedness
and arise, vanEuisher of foes8!
,ita +03
8If you $an ive a turn to your tamouna, you $an reali@e the .ord. 7or$in demands on !im+ !e is no
straner, !e is indeed our own #erson. -nd see, the &uality of tamas $an be used for the welfare of
others.
8There are three ty#es of #hysi$ians 6 su#erior, medio$re and inferior. The #hysi$ian who $omes, feels
the #atient(s #ulse and then says to him, 42rother, #lease take the medi$ine,( and leaves, he is an
inferior ty#e of #hysi$ian. !e doesn(t $are to find out if the #atient has taken the medi$ine. The
#hysi$ian who #ersuades the #atient in many ways to take the medi$ine, who says in a sweet voi$e, 40
brother, how $an you be $ured unless you take the medi$ine? 1ear brother, #lease take it. See I myself
mi/ it for you. ;ow take it,( is a medio$re #hysi$ian. -nd the #hysi$ian who sees that the #atient is
stubbornly refusin to take the medi$ine, #uts his knee on the #atient(s $hest and for$es the medi$ine
down his throat is the su#erior ty#e of #hysi$ian. This is the tamouna of the #hysi$ian. This &uality
does ood to the #atient, it does not harm him.
8.ike the #hysi$ians acharyas (religious teachers) are also of three ty#es. Those who instru$t their
dis$i#les on s#iritual matters and then make no in&uiries about their #roress are inferior a$haryas.
Those who re#eat their tea$hins aain and aain for the ood of their dis$i#les so that they may
internali@e the instru$tions, make re&uests in various ways and show love are medio$re a$haryas. -nd
the ty#e of a$haryas who use for$e when they find that the dis$i#les do not listen in any way them I $all
su#erior a$haryas.9
9here mind and speech cannot reach!
Taittiriya 6panishad + 0;
What -rahman is cannot !e e:pressed !" speech
- 2rahmo bhakta asked, 8Is the .ord with form or formless?9
Sri Ramakrishna 0ne $annot rea$h the end of God. !e is formless and then with form too. 7or a
bhakta !e is with form. 7or a 5nani, that is to say, for him who takes the world like a dream, !e is
formless. The bhakta thinks that he is one and the world another, that is why the .ord manifests
!imself to him as 4<ersonal God.(
:nanis su$h as the ?edantins reason, 4;ot this, not this.( 2y so reasonin the 5nani has the bodhebodha
that his individuality is an illusion and so the world is like a dream. The 5nani has the bodhebodha of
#rahman (understands #rahman with his intellect). What God is, he 5ust $annot e/#ress by the word
of mouth.
81o you know how is this? It is like the shoreless o$ean of "achchidananda (>Distence2?nowledge2
#liss 4bsolute). Water in it turns into i$e at #la$es with the $old of bhakti. This i$e takes a form. In
other words, at times !e manifests and takes a #hysi$al form before the bhakta. When the sun of 5nana
rises, the i$e melts. Then the .ord does not a##ear like a #erson. -lso !is form is not visible. What !e
is $annot be e/#ressed in words. -nd who is there to e/#ress God? !e who is to des$ribe is himself not
there. Sear$h as mu$h as you like you $annot tra$e the I6ness.
8When one oes on reasonin, the I6ness vanishes $om#letely. 7irst you #eel off the outer red skin of
onion, then the soft white one. ,ontinuin to #eel in this way, nothin of the onion remains.
8When the I6ness vanishes, who remains there to look for it? Who is there to tell in what way $omes the
bodhebodha (the intellectual, literal, imaginative, inner feeling of the real nature of #rahman
(4tman, #hagavan) of the real nature of 2rahman?
8- salt doll went to measure the o$ean. -s soon as it went in the o$ean, it melted and be$ame one with
it. So, who remained to $ome and ive the information?
8It is the sin of purna )nana (ultimate knowledge) that man be$omes silent on attainin it. Then the
salt doll of I6ness ets dissolved in the sea of Sa$h$hidananda, not a tra$e of the #er$e#tion of
differen$e remains then.
8So lon as reasonin is not over, man $ontinues to indule in voluble dis$ussions. 2ut no sooner does
it sto#, he be$omes silent. When the #it$her is full of water the water in it and that of the #ond be$omes
one and all urlin sto#s. There is sound only till the #it$her is full.
8<eo#le used to say in the olden days that the shi# does not return ba$k if it rea$hes 41ark waters.( 9
-ut I#ness does not vanish
8When the I6ness dies, all troubles $ease. Reason you may a thousand times, I6ness does not vanish.
7or you and me it is ood to $herish the idea of .I am !hakta./
46or a !hakta -rahman is saguna %with 'ualities&. In other words +od is with 'ualities and He is
visi!le as a person with a form. It is He Who listens to pra"ers. )ll "our pra"ers are addressed to
Him alone. $ou are not the 7edantins either nor are "ou jnanis "ou are !haktas. Whether "ou
accept +od with form or not it does not matter. It is enough to understand that the Lord is a
person who listens to "our pra"ers who creates preserves and dissolves a person who is
infinitel" powerful.
4It is onl" !" the path of !hakti that "ou can easil" reach Him.//
#ut by unswerving devotion can I, of this form, be known and seen in reality and also entered,
scorcher of foes.!
,ita $$05;
7ision of +od # with form or without form
- 2rahmo bhakta asked, 8Sir, $an we see the .ord? If so, why don(t we see !im?9
Sri Ramakrishna *es surely, !e $an be seen. !e is seen with form and !e is seen without form too.
!ow $an I e/#lain this to you+
The 2rahmo 2hakta 2y whi$h method $an one see !im?
Sri Ramakrishna ,an you wee# loninly for !im?
8<eo#le shed #it$herful of tears for son, wife and money. 2ut who $ries for the .ord? So lon as the
baby remains $a5oled with his #a#, his mother attends to all her household $hores like $ookin, et$. 2ut
when the $hild has no more likin for the #a# and throwin it away beins to s$ream, the mother takes
down the ri$e #an off the fire, $omes runnin and #i$ks u# the baby in her arms.9
The 2rahmo bhakta Sir, why are there so many beliefs $on$ernin the .ord(s form? Some say that
God is with form, some say that !e is formless. -nd even amon believers in God with form, we hear
of so many different forms. Why su$h a $onfusion?
Sri Ramakrishna Whi$hever form of God a bhakta sees, he believes in that alone. In reality, there is
no $onfusion. If !e is attained by any means, !e will !imself e/#lain everythin. If you have never
been to a #arti$ular residential &uarter, how $an you know everythin about it?
8)abir used to say, 4The 0ne without form is my 7ather, with form my Mother.(
8God rants darshan (enlightement) to the bhakta in the form he loves most 6 ra$ious lovin .ord of
the bhakta as !e is. The <urana says that God assumed the form of Rama for the sake of heroi$ bhakta
!anuman.9
9:planation of the forms of 8ali and Sh"ama # the Infinite is not comprehensi!le
8In ?edanta #hiloso#hy there are no forms and the like. Its ultimate #rin$i#le is that 2rahman is the
only Reality and the #henomenal universe $onstitutin the names and forms illusory. So lon as one
$herishes the idea that 4I am a bhakta,( there is a #ossibility of ettin the vision of the form of the .ord
and seein !im as a #erson. .ookin at it with the #ers#e$tive of reasonin, the feelin of 4I am the
bhakta( kee#s him somewhat away from !im.
0n a$$ount of distan$e, the sun seems small. If you o near, it will look bi beyond your imaination.
7or e/am#le, water in a lake a##ears reen, blue or bla$k from a distan$e. 2ut if you o near and take
some water in your #alm, you will find that it is $olourless. The sky from a distan$e a##ears blue. 2ut
if you o near it, it has no $olour.
8So I say that a$$ordin to the ?edanta #hiloso#hy, 2rahman is without attributes. What Its real nature
is like $annot be e/#ressed in words. 2ut so lon as you are real, the world is also real. The names and
forms of the .ord are also real, takin !im as a #erson is real too.
87or you there is the #ath of bhakti. It is a very ood and easy #ath. ,an the Infinite .ord be known?
2esides, where is the need to know !im? !avin the rare #rivilee of been born as a man, we should
develo# devotion at !is lotus feet by all means #ossible.
8If I $an &uen$h my thirst with one #ot of water, what need is there for me to measure the &uantity of
water in the tank? I et into/i$ated with half a bottle of wine what need is there to know how many
maunds of wine there is in the wine sho#? So, what is the need to know the Infinite?9
#ut the man who re)oices in the "elf, is satisfied with the "elf and is centred in the "elf, there
remains no obligatory duty for him
,ita 30$@
Signs of +od#reali=ation # seven planes and the knowledge of -rahman
Sri Ramakrishna The ?edas des$ribe the different states of a 2rahma5nani. !owever, this #ath, the
#ath of 5nana, is a very diffi$ult #ath. If the least tra$e of worldly wisdom, or that of atta$hment to
4women and old( #ersists one $annot attain 5nana. This #ath is not for the ae of )ali.
8The ?edas talk of the seven #lanes in relation to this. These are the seven states of the mind. When the
mind is atta$hed to the world, it has its lo$ation in the enerative oran, re$tum and naval. The mind
does not look u#ward in this state, its only $on$ern is 4woman and old(.
The fourth #lane of the mind is the heart. It is here that the mind ains initial awareness. 0ne sees liht
all around. Seein the divine liht, he is ama@ed and e/$laims, 4What is this+ What is this+( The mind
then does not o downwards "towards the world%.
8The fifth #lane of the mind is the throat. When the mind of a #erson rises to the throat, he loses all his
inoran$e and illusion. !e does not then like to talk or hear anythin e/$e#t about the .ord. If someone
talks of other matters, he leaves that #la$e.
The si/th #lane of the mind is the forehead. When the mind rea$hes there, one sees a divine form all the
twenty four hours a day. !owever, a bit of I6ness subsists even then. Su$h a #erson feels into/i$ated at
the vision of that su#reme and uni&ue form. !e tries to tou$h and embra$e this form but $annot. It is
like the liht in the lantern. 0ne feels that one $an tou$h the liht but be$ause of the lass in between,
one $annot tou$h it.
In the to# of the head is the seventh #lane. When the mind rises to it, one oes into samadhi and the
2rahma5nani has dire$t vision of 2rahman. 2ut in this state the body does not last for many days. !e
always remains un$ons$ious, he $an eat nothin and if milk is #oured into his mouth it runs out. 0n this
#lane, the man dies in twenty one days. This is the state of the 2rahma5nani.
7or you is the #ath of bhakti 6 it is a very ood and easy #ath.
)ctions drop out after samadhi
80n$e a #erson asked me, 4Sir, $an you tea$h me "how to attain% samadhi?( "'verybody lauhs.%
8-ll a$tions dro# out after samadhi. -$tions like pu)a (worship), 5a#a and all other worldly a$tivities
dro# off. In the beinnin one is overa$tive with karmas (works) but as the man advan$es towards the
.ord, the dis#lay of karmas be$omes less 6 so mu$h so that even sinin of !is names and lories
$eases.
"To Shivanath% Till you did not rea$h the meetin, #eo#le talked so mu$h of your ood name, &ualities
and so on. 2ut as soon as you arrived, all that sto##ed. ;ow everybody takes 5oy only at your siht.
-nd #eo#le then say, 4!ere, here $omes Shivanath 2abu.( -ll other talk about you sto#s.
8Therefore I say that in the beinnin there is so mu$h of a$tivity. The more you advan$e on the #ath of
the .ord, the lesser the karma be$omes. -t the end, all karmas dro# and it is followed by samadhi.
The avatara and the like live after samadhi for instru$tion of mankind
8-fter samadhi the eneral rule is that the #erson dies. 2ut some #ersons like ;arada and avataras like
,haitanya 1eva live for instru$tin mankind. -fter diin the well, some #eo#le send off the s#ade
and the basket. There are some who kee# them thinkin that these may #erha#s be needed by their
neihbours. In the same way, the mahapurushas (high spiritual personalities) feel reatly $on$erned
for the troubles of $ommon man. They are not so selfish so as to be satisfied with their own attainment
of 5nana. *ou know well how the selfish #eo#le behave. If you ask them to urinate here, they won(t lest
it should later do you ood. "-ll lauh.% If you ask them to brin sandesh for a #i$e from a sho#, they
will li$k it on their way. "-ll lauh.%
8There is s#e$ial manifestation of divine #ower in some. - man of ordinary $alibre is afraid of
im#artin instru$tion to others. !abate wood "worn out wood% may itself float on the water somehow,
but it sinks the moment a bird sits on it. Saes like ;arada are bahaduri wood "los of wood%. This
wood not only floats on the water, but $an also $arry men, bullo$ks and even ele#hants.9
I re)oice that I have seen what was never seen before, but my mind is confounded with fear. "how
me that form only, ,od, have mercy, ,od of gods, 4bode of the 6niverse.!
,ita $$0;5
The 4tman is neither born nor does it die. Foming into being and ceasing to be do not take place in
it. 6nborn, eternal, constant and ancient, it is not killed when the body is slain.!
,ita +0+%
(aving come to this transitory and miserable world, worship 1e.!
,ita &033
6our classes of men # attachment to .woman and gold/ is the sign of worldl" man
Sri Ramakrishna 7our $lasses of human beins have been stated 6 the bound souls, the seekers after
liberation, the liberated and the ever free.
The world is like the fishin net, the )iva (individual soul) like the fish and the .ord "whose maya
$onstitutes the world% is the fisherman.
When fishes fall into the fisherman(s net many of them try to tear the net to es$a#e, i.e. they try to free
themselves. They are like the men seekin liberation. !owever, all those who try to es$a#e $annot run
away. 0nly a few fishes sli# out with a s#lash. Then #eo#le $all out, 4There oes the bi fish.( Su$h two
or four beins are the liberated ones.
Some fishes are so $autious by nature that they never fall into the net. ;arada and su$h other saints are
ever free= they never fall in the net of the world.
!owever, most of the fish kee# lyin in the net unaware of the fa$t that they have fallen into a net and
will die. Remainin in the net, they dart straiht ahead takin the net alon and try to hide their body
into the mud. They make no attem#t to es$a#e, rather they fall dee#er into the mud. They are like the
bound souls. They live in the net and think, 4We are &uite ha##y here.(
The bound 5ivas remain atta$hed to the world that is to 4woman and old(. They remain sunk in the sea
of evil and think that they are very ha##y there.
Those who seek for liberation and those who are liberated look u#on the world as a death well, they
don(t like it. So, some of them havin attained 5nana and the vision of 2haavan ive u# their bodies.
!owever, ivin u# body in this way is a far $ry.
8The bound $reatures, the worldly men, don(t et awareness by any means. They suffer so mu$h
misery, so many trials, and so many sorrows= even then they don(t et awakenin.
8The $amel likes thorny bushes but the more it eats, the more it bleeds from its fa$e. 'ven so, it
$ontinues to eat the same thorny bush and does not leave it.
The worldly man suffers so mu$h aony, so mu$h sorrow, yet he reverts ba$k to his old self &uite soon.
8The bound 5iva has yet another sin. If he is lifted from worldly life to a better #la$e, he will #ine
away to death. The worm of fae$es feels #leasure in the e/$reta alone= it is only there that it thrives. If
you #ut it in a #ot of ri$e, it will die.9 "-ll lauh.%
mighty armed, the mind is undoubtedly restless and hard to control, but by practice and non2
attachment, son of ?unti, it can be controlled.!
,ita /035
;eep vairag"a %dispassion& and worldl" man
?i5ay What must be the state of mind of a bound soul for attainin salvation?
Sri Ramakrishna 2y the ra$e of the .ord when one develo#s deep vairagya (non2attachment-
dispassion), one $an be freed from this atta$hment of 4woman and old(. What is dee# vairaya?
Whatever is oin on let it be= you 5ust o on re#eatin the name of the .ord 6 this is mild vairaya.
!e who has dee# dis#assion, his prana (life breath) be$omes restless for #hagavan (Personal ,od
with divine attributes- the beloved .ord) 6 like the mother for the $hild in her womb. !e who has dee#
dis#assion does not want anythin but 2haavan. !e sees the world as a dee# well, a death well. !e
feels he is #erha#s drowned. !e looks u#on his owns as venomous snakes. !e always wants to run
away from them. -nd he does run away. !e does not think, 4.et me first arrane for my family. I will
then think of the .ord.( !e has reat will #ower.
8What is dee# dis#assion like? .isten to a story. 0n$e there was a drouht in a $ertain reion. -ll the
farmers were diin $anals to brin water from afar. - farmer had reat determination. 0ne day he
resolved that he would o on diin till water from the river flowed alon the whole $anal. -nd here
the time $ame for his bath. !is wife sent him some oil throuh her dauhter. The dauhter said to him,
47ather, it is time for your bath. Massae your body with the oil and take your bath.( !e re#lied, 4<lease
o away, I have some work to do.( It was #ast midday. The farmer is still at work in his field, forettin
all about his bath. ;ow his wife $ame to the field and said, 4Why haven(t you taken your bath yet?
*our ri$e is ettin $old. *ou are always over doin thins. If the work is not yet a$$om#lished, do it
tomorrow, or do it after your meals.( Takin the s#ade in his hand the farmer hurled some abuses at her
and made her run away. -nd said he to her, 4*ou have no sense. There have been no rains. There is no
$ro#. What will the $hildren eat? Without food, we shall all starve to death this time. I have vowed that
I shall brin water to the field today, after that I shall think of bath and food.( Seein his mood and
determination, the woman ran away. The farmer worked very hard throuhout the day and 5oined the
$anal to the river in the evenin. !e then sat on its bank and en5oyed seein the river water urlin in
the field. !e was now at #ea$e and full of ha##iness. !e went home and $allin his wife he said to her,
4;ow brin some oil and #re#are a smoke.( Then in a $arefree mood he took his bath, ate his meals and
snored ha##ily in his bed. This kind of determination is an illustration of dee# vairaya.
8-nd there was another farmer, he was also brinin water to his field. !is wife went and said to him,
4It is already late. ,ome on now, there is no need to work so hard.( Without sayin mu$h in #rotest, this
fellow #ut down his s#ade sayin, 4Sin$e you say so, I am $omin.( "-ll lauh.% This farmer then $ould
never brin water to his field. This is the e/am#le of mild vairaya.
8:ust as without reat determination water did not rea$h the field of the farmer, in the same way the
man does not attain the .ord.9
(e unto whom all desires enter as all waters enter into the sea, which is always full and motionless,
attains peace and not he who desires all desires.!
,ita +0@%
Slaving for .woman and gold/
Sri Ramakrishna "to ?i5ay% 4Woman and old( bind the man. 0ne loses one(s freedom. When there is
a woman, you need 4old(. -nd for that you have to be a slave of another #erson. 0ne loses one(s
freedom and $annot a$t as one likes.
8The #riests of "the tem#le of% Govinda5i in :ai#ur did not marry at first. They had reat s#iritual and
mental #owers then. The kin on$e sent for them but they did not o to him. Instead they sent a
messae3 .et the kin $ome here. -fter $onsultin his $ounselors the kin arraned for their marriae.
;ow the kin no loner needed to send for them. They would $ome to him themselves 6 4Sir, I have
$ome to shower my blessins. !ere are some sa$red flowers, kindly a$$e#t them.( They had to o to the
kin for everythin3 ;ow for buildin a house, now for $elebratin the ri$e takin $eremony of their
sons, now for #uttin the $hildren to s$hool and so on.
;ow they lessened their s#iritual #owers and the strenth of their austerities notwithstandin. .ivin
with women, they lost their #owers be$ause in their $om#any the" lost their independence.
"To ?i5ay% *ou have yourself seen to what a #ass you have $ome by a$$e#tin servi$e with others. -nd
see, by a$$e#tin 5ob with their masters so many s$holars who have studied 'nlish and #assed so
many e/aminations are tram#led every mornin and evenin under their feet.
Reason 6 only woman. !avin married and en5oyed the ha##y household fair, they $annot now #ull out
from it. That(s why, they #ut with so mu$h of sufferin of slavery and humiliation.9
0he real achar"a is he who has received the commandment of the Lord
?i5ay I have to do the work of the 2rahmo Sama5. So, I $annot often $ome here. I shall visit
whenever #ossible.
Sri Ramakrishna "to ?i5ay% .ook here, the task of an acharya (religious teacher) is very diffi$ult.
<ubli$ instru$tion $annot be im#arted without havin dire$t $ommandment from the .ord.
8If ones #rea$hes without re$eivin the $ommandment, #eo#le do not listen. Su$h a tea$hin $arries no
for$e. 7irst of all, one should attain the .ord by #ra$tisin reliious dis$i#lines or by any #ossible
means. Then one may tea$h after re$eivin !is $ommand.
8-fter re$eivin !is $ommandment one $an be$ome an a$harya "reliious tea$her% and deliver a le$ture
anywhere. He who receives His commandment also receives power from Him. !e $an then #erform
the diffi$ult task of a reliious #re$e#tor. !e $annot #erform the diffi$ult duty of a reliious tea$her
without re$eivin dire$t #ower from the .ord.9

Sachchidananda Himself is the +uru > it is He who li!erates
Sri Ramakrishna Where is the $a#a$ity in man to liberate another from bondae of the world? 0nly
!e who is the $reator of this world6bewit$hin maya $an liberate man from maya. 2ut for
Sa$h$hidananda Guru, there is no refue.
Where is the $a#a$ity of those who have neither reali@ed the .ord, nor re$eived !is $ommandment, nor
have be$ome #owerful with the #ower of the .ord to liberate a )iva (embodied soul) from the bondae
of the world?
8If you have a "adguru (true preceptor), the eo of the 5iva ends with 5ust three $ries. -nd if the uru
is unri#e, both the uru and the dis$i#le undero sufferin. The dis$i#le does not et rid of his eo nor
his bondae of the world. 7allin in the hands of an unri#e uru, the dis$i#le does not attain salvation.9
<eluded by egotism one thinks, GI am the doer.H!
,ita 30+@
Li!eration or +od reali=ation comes as soon as ma"a or the veil of ego goes
?i5ay Sir, why are we bound like this? Why $an(t we see the .ord?
Sri Ramakrishna The very eo of man is maya. This eotism has veiled everythin. 4-ll troubles
$ease when the I6ness dies.( If by the ra$e of the .ord a man reali@es, 4I am not the doer,( he be$omes
a 5ivanmukta. !e has nothin to fear then.
8The maya or the I6ness is like a $loud. The sun be$omes invisible even if there is a #at$h of $loud. -s
soon as the $loud #asses away, one $an see the sun. If by the ra$e of the Guru the feelin of I6ness
vanishes, one reali@es the .ord.
8The 5iva is a form of Sa$h$hidananda, but be$ause of maya, or eo it is $overed with various upadhis
(ad)uncts) and it has forotten its own real Self.
8'very u#adhi $hanes the nature of man. !e who wears a bla$k6bordered dhoti is at on$e found to
hum the love sons of ;idhu, or he beins to #lay $ards, or automati$ally #i$ks a sti$k while oin for
a walk+ 'ven a thin ema$iated #erson beins to whistle as soon as he #uts on 'nlish ty#e shoes. While
$limbin the stairs, he 5um#s from one ste# to the other like an 'nlishman. If a man is holdin a #en in
his hand, su$h is the nature of a #en that he beins to s$ribble the moment he finds some #ie$e of #a#er.
8Money is also a reat u#adhi. -s soon as money $omes to a man, he be$omes so different 6 he is no
loner the same man.
8- brahmin used to $ome here. 0utwardly he was very humble. -fter a few days I went to )onnaar.
!riday was with me. -s I was landin from the boat, I saw the same brahmin sittin on the bank of the
Gana, #erha#s he was en5oyin o#en air. Seein us he said, 4I say, how are you Thakur?( Seein his
tone I said to !riday, 40 !riday, this man has a$&uired some money. That(s why he is talkin this way.(
!riday lauhed.
8- fro had a ru#ee whi$h he had ke#t in a #it. -n ele#hant on its way walked over the #it. Rushin out
anrily the fro raised its foot at the ele#hant and said, 4!ow dare you walk over me?( Su$h is the #ride
money breeds+9
0he Seven ,lanes # when does I#ness vanish # the state of -rahmajnana
8*ou $an et rid of I6ness when you have attained )nana (spiritual knowledge). 0n attainin 5nana, you
o into samadhi. 0nly in samadhi does I6ness disa##ear. 2ut it is very diffi$ult to attain this 5nana.
8The ?edas say that I6ness vanishes only when the mind as$ends to the seventh #lane. It is only after
attainin samadhi, that I6ness disa##ears. Where does the mind enerally dwell? In the first three #lanes
6 at the orans of eneration and eva$uation, and at the navel. !ere the mind remains only atta$hed to
the world, to 4woman and old(.
When the mind dwells in the heart, one sees the divine liht. While seein this liht, one e/$laims, 40,
what is this+ What is this+(
The ne/t #lane is at the throat. 0n this #lane one likes to hear and s#eak only of the .ord.
When the mind oes to the forehead, between the eyebrows, one sees the form of Sa$h$hidananda. 0ne
has the desire to embra$e and tou$h this very form, but one $annot. Thouh the flame in the lantern $an
be seen but it $annot be tou$hed. *ou feel as if you are 5ust tou$hin it but you $annot. When the mind
as$ends to the seventh #lane, I6ness vanishes 6 one oes into samadhi.9
?i5ay When the mind rea$hes there, one attains 2rahma5nana. What does one see there?
Sri Ramakrishna What ha##ens when the mind as$ends to the seventh #lane $annot be des$ribed by
the word of mouth. 0n$e the shi# enters the bla$k waters, it does not return. ;o information of the shi#
$omes then. So, the shi# also does not ive any information about the sea.
80n$e a salt doll went to fathom the sea. ;o sooner did it des$end than it dissolved into the waters of
the sea. ;ow, who would tell how dee# the sea was? The one who was to tell had itself ot dissolved.
The mind vanishes at the seventh #lane and one attains samadhi. What he feels then $annot be
des$ribed by the word of mouth.9
I#ness does not vanish # the .Rascal I/ and the .Servant I/
8The 4I( that makes one worldly, atta$hes one to 4woman and old( is the 4ras$al I(. 2e$ause of its
intervention the 5iva and the atman a##ear a#art.
If a sti$k is #ut on water, it a##ears to be divided into two. In reality the water is one but it a##ears to
be two be$ause of the sti$k.
8I6ness is the sti$k. Remove the sti$k, the water will be$ome one as before.
8What is the 4ras$al I(? That whi$h says, 41on(t you know me? I have so mu$h money. Who is reater
than me?( If a thief steals ten ru#ees, first of all this man snat$hes the money from him and ives him a
ood beatin. !e doesn(t leave him even then. !e sends for the wat$hman and handin him over to the
#oli$e ets him #unished. The 4ras$al I( says, 41on(t you know, you stole my ten ru#ees. Su$h
im#ertinen$e+( 9
?i5ay If without ettin rid of I6ness one is not freed from the atta$hment of the world and does not
e/#erien$e samadhi, it is better to follow the #ath of 2rahma5nana whi$h leads to samadhi. -nd if the I6
ness #ersists in the #ath of 2hakti *oa, it is better to take to the #ath of :nana *oa.
Sri Ramakrishna May be a #erson or two $an e/#erien$e samadhi and et rid of their I6ness but
usually the I6ness does not o. *ou may reason in a thousand ways, this I6ness still finds its way to you.
,ut the #ee#al tree today, but tomorrow mornin you will see it s#routin aain.
So if .I/ does not go at all let the rascal remain as the .servant#I/. 3 Lord5 $ou are m" (aster I
am $our servant # live with this attitude. .I am the servant/ .I am the !hakta/ # there is no harm
in this kind of I#ness.
8:nana *oa is very diffi$ult. :nana $annot be attained without riddin oneself of the $onvi$tion that I
am the body. In the ae of )ali life de#ends on food. The $onvi$tion that I am the body, the feelin of I6
ness, does not disa##ear.
So, the #ath of 2hakti *oa is en5oined for the ae of )ali. 2hakti *oa is an easy #ath. If you sin !is
names and lories, and #ray to !im loninly from the $ore of your heart, you will attain 2haavan 6
there is no doubt about it.
8It is like a line drawn on the surfa$e of water rather than #la$in a bamboo sti$k on it. *ou find that
the water has been divided into two #arts, but this line does not last. The feelin of the .servant#I/ or
the .I of a !hakta/ or the .I of a child/ is only like a line drawn on water.9
It is more difficult for those whose minds are attached to the 6nmanifested because it is very hard
for the embodied to reach the goal of the 6nmanifested.!
,ita $+05
-hakti $oga is the law of this age # ?nana $oga is ver" difficult # servant I I of a !hakta I of a
child
?i5ay "to Sri Ramakrishna% Sir, you ask us to renoun$e the 4ras$al I(. Is there no harm in the 4servant
I(?
Sri Ramakrishna *es, one should have this eo 6 the 4servant I,( that is to say I am the servant of the
.ord, I am !is bhakta. There is no harm in it, it rather leads to God6reali@ation.
?i5ay Well sir, what is the nature of lust and aner of the man havin the 4servant I(?
Sri Ramakrishna It is only the semblan$e of lust and aner in the man if he has the riht feelin of it.
If he retains the feelin of the 4servant I,( or the 4I of a bhakta( after havin God reali@ation, he $an do
no harm to others. -fter the sword has tou$hed the #hiloso#her(s stone, it be$omes old 6 it only has
the semblan$e of a sword but it does not kill anybody.
8The leaves of a $o$onut tree dry u# and dro# down leavin only a mark "on the stem%. 0ne $an make
out from these marks that there were on$e #alm leaves there. Similarly, the eo of the one who has
reali@ed the .ord only leaves a mark and he has only a semblan$e of lust and aner.
!e is then like a $hild. The $hild is not sub5e$t to any of the three unas "&ualities% of sattva, ra5as and
tamas. It takes as mu$h time for a $hild to ive u# a thin as he has taken to feel attra$ted to it.
8*ou $an take away from the $hild a #ie$e of $loth worth five ru#ees by tem#tin him with half a #i$e
doll. 2ut in the first instan$e he may say firmly3 4;o, I shall not ive it to you. My father has bouht it
for me.( 7or a $hild all is alike, there is nothin bi or small for him.
So he has no feelin of $aste. !is mother says, 4.ook, he is your elder brother.( !e may even be a
$ar#enter "by $aste%, yet the $hild would sit with him and eat in the same #late. - $hild has hatred
towards none, he has no feelin of #urity and im#urity. !e does not $are to $lean his hands with mud
after answerin the $all of nature.
8'ven after attainin samadhi some #eo#le live with the 4I of a bhakta( and the 4I of a servant.( The
bhakta retains the feelin of I6ness3 4I am *our servant, *ou are my Master,( 4I am *our bhakta, *ou are
my 2haavan.(
9ven after +od#reali=ation one retains this I#ness. 3ne/s I#ness does not vanish completel".
-esides practice of this feeling of I#ness leads one to +od#reali=ation. 0his is what is known as
path of -hakti $oga.
82y followin the #ath of bhakti one $an attain 2rahma5nana. 2haavan is omni#otent 6 when one
thinks in this way !e $an also im#art 2rahma5nana "knowlede of 2rahman%. 2ut enerally s#eakin, a
bhakta does not seek 2rahma5nana. !e wishes to retain the I6ness3 4I am *our servant, *ou are my
Master,( 4I am *our $hild, *ou are my Mother.( 9
?i5ay 2ut the #eo#le who reason in the manner of ?edanta also attain !im?
Sri Ramakrishna *es, !e $an also be attained by the #ath of reason. This is known as :nana *oa.
The #ath of reason is very diffi$ult.
I had told you about the seven #lanes. When the mind rea$hes the seventh #lane, one attains samadhi.
0n true reali@ation that 2rahman is real and the world illusory, the mind meres and it e/#erien$es
samadhi.
2ut in the ae of )ali life of man de#ends on food. Then how $an he know that 2rahman is real and the
world illusory? Su$h awareness does not $ome without ettin rid of body $ons$iousness.
I am neither the body, nor the mind, nor the twenty6four elements and that I am beyond #leasure and
#ain, then how $an I have disease and sorrow, old ae and death? Su$h a reali@ation is diffi$ult in
)aliyua. !owsoever mu$h you may reason, the $onvi$tion that I am the body $ree#s in somehow and
shows itself. *ou may $ut the #ee#al tree now, you may think that you have u#rooted it but the very
ne/t day in the mornin you will see that a new s#rout has shot u#. The feelin of the body does not
leave you.
Thus, the 2hakti *oa is ood and easy #ath in the ae of )ali.
8I don(t want to be$ome suar, I like to eat it. I never feel like sayin, 4I am 2rahman.( I say, 4*ou are
my 2haavan and I *our servant.( It is ood to #lay between the fifth #lane and the si/th. -fter
$rossin the si/th #lane I have no desire to stay on the seventh #lane for lon.
I desire that I shall sin !is names and lories. The attitude of the Master and the servant is very ood.
-nd see, everybody $alls the wave of the Gana, nobody $alls the Gana of the wave.
0hat .I am He/ is not a good feeling of I#ness. If a person entertains such a feeling of I#ness while
retaining the conviction that I am the !od" it !rings great harm to him@ he cannot advance
further. He graduall" goes down spirituall". He deceives others and he also deceives himself. He
cannot understand his own state.<
0wo kinds of !hakti # most eligi!le person # wa" to reali=e the Lord
82hakti alone does not enable you to reali@e the .ord. >nless you have prema bhakti (loving devotion
for ,od), you $annot attain the .ord. The raga bhakti is another name of #rema bhakti. Without #rema,
without love, you $annot reali@e 2haavan. Without love for the .ord, you $annot attain !im.
8There is another kind of bhakti. It is known as vaidhi bhakti (prescribed worship). *ou have to re#eat
the name of God for a fi/ed number of times, you have to kee# fast, you have to o to #ilrimaes, you
have to worshi# in some #res$ribed manner, you have to make so many sa$rifi$es and so on 6 all this
$onstitutes vaidhi bhakti. 2y #ra$tisin all this you radually ain raa bhakti. 2ut so lon as you don(t
have raa bhakti, you $annot reali@e the .ord.
*ou should have love for !im. When your worldly way of thinkin disa##ears $om#letely and your
mind oes to !im all the si/teen annas "one hundred #er$ent%, only then you attain God.
82ut some #eo#le a$&uire raa bhakti naturally. They are #erfe$t by themselves. They have it from their
very $hildhood. They wee# for the .ord from the very $hildhood.
?aidhi bhakti "#res$ribed worshi#% is like movin a fan to have bree@e. *ou need a fan to et bree@e.
*ou will eventually attain love for the .ord, so you need 5a#a "re#etition of the ;ame%, austerity,
fastin and so on. 2ut when the southern bree@e blows by itself, #eo#le then set aside the fan. When
love, #rema for the .ord $omes of itself, rituals like 5a#a, et$. dro# off. When one is mad with the love
of !ari, how $an one #erform the vaidhi bhakti?
4So long as "ou have not ac'uired love for +od "our !hakti is unripe. When "ou have ac'uired
love for +od "ours is the ripe !hakti.4He who has unripe !hakti cannot internali=e spiritual
instructions and the talk on the Lord.
It is only when the #hotora#her(s lass is $oated bla$k "with silver nitrate%, it $at$hes the imae and it
is retained there. 0therwise, you may throw a thousand imaes on ordinary lass not one of them will
be retained 6 the moment the ob5e$t is removed, the lass be$omes the same as it was.
0ne $annot internali@e s#iritual instru$tion unless one has attained love for the .ord.9
?i5ay Sir, is it suffi$ient to have bhakti alone for attainin the .ord, for havin his vision?
Sri Ramakrishna *es, one $an see God only throuh bhakti but it must be ri#e bhakti, #rema bhakti,
or raa bhakti. 0nly after ainin that bhakti, one loves God as the son loves his mother, or the mother
loves her $hild, or the wife her husband.
8When you have su$h a love, su$h a raa bhakti, you don(t have that attra$tion of maya for your wife,
son and dear relatives. *ou only retain kindness for them. The world then a##ears a forein land 6 a
land of duty alone. -s you may have your home in a villae and your #la$e of work in ,al$utta. *ou
may have to live in a rented house in ,al$utta for work.
When you have a$&uired love for the .ord, you are $om#letely rid of your atta$hment to the world, of
your worldly wisdom.
8If there is 5ust a tra$e of worldly wisdom, you $annot see God. If the mat$h sti$k is wet you may rub it
a thousand times, it will not strike fire= you will only waste hea#s of sti$ks. The mind atta$hed to the
worldly ob5e$ts is like wet mat$hsti$k.
"To ?i5ay% - son of your 2rahmo Sama5 says 6 80 .ord, is it #ossible to know *ou without love,
however mu$h one may #erform ya5nas, worshi# and the rest?9
8If you but on$e a$&uire this love, this #rema, this ri#e bhakti, you will see !im both with form and
without form.9
7ision of the Lord not possi!le without His grace
?i5ay !ow $an one see the .ord?
Sri Ramakrishna ;ot till the mind is #urified. .ivin amidst 4woman and old,( the mind remains
soiled, it remains $overed with their dirt. If the needle is $overed with mud, the manet does not attra$t
it. 2ut when the mud and dirt are washed off, the manet attra$ts. *ou $an wash the dirt of the mind
with the water of your eyes. If you wee# with tears of re#entan$e, sayin, 40 .ord, I shall never do
su$h a thin aain,( then this dirt is washed away. Then the manet of the .ord attra$ts the needle of the
mind. *ou then o into samadhi and have the vision of the .ord.
4-ut "ou ma" tr" a thousand times nothing is achieved without +od/s grace. Without His grace
"ou cannot see Him. 3nl" after gaining +od/s grace can "ou have His vision<.
Is it easy to ain !is ra$e? *ou will have to et rid of your eoism $om#letely. When you have the
feelin that you are the doer, you $annot see the .ord. Su##ose there is a man in the storeroom and
somebody $omes and says to the master of the house, 4Sir, #lease ive me some #rovision out of your
store.( The master then says, 4There is a man in the storeroom= there is no need for me to o there.(
!e who himself has be$ome the doer, the .ord does not a##ear easily in his heart.
He is the sun of jnana. With just one of His ra"s this world is illuminated with the light of jnana.
0hat is how we are a!le to know one another and ac'uire different kinds of knowledge in the
world. If +od once !rings His light on His own face onl" then one can see Him.
The sereant roams about at niht with a lantern in his hand. ;obody $an see his fa$e. 2ut in this liht
he $an see everybody(s fa$e and everybody $an see one another(s fa$e.8If you want to see the sereant,
you should make a re&uest to him alone. *ou should say, 4Sir, be kind enouh to brin this liht to your
fa$e, let me see you on$e.(
8If liht is not lit in the house, it is a sin of #overty. So one should liht the lam# of knowlede in the
heart3 4.ihtin the lam# of knowlede in the house, behold the fa$e of the -ll 2lissful Mother.( 9
(e who controlling the organs of action sits with his mind dwelling on sense ob)ects is a fool and is
known as a hypocrite.!
,ita 30/
8?airaya "dis#assion% is of three or four kinds3
!avin ot s$alded by the fire of the world, one #uts on the gerua (ochre robes) 6 su$h a dis#assion
does not last lon.
- man is #erha#s out of work. So, #uttin on the erua, he leaves for )ashi. -fter three months his
family ets a letter, 4I have a 5ob now, I shall return home after a few days. <lease don(t worry.(
-nd there is a man who has everythin, who la$ks nothin, but does not have likin for anythin.
Sittin alone, he wee#s for 2haavan. This kind of dis#assion is enuine dis#assion.
8>ntruth is not at all ood. ;ot even a false arb. If one(s arb does not $orres#ond to one(s mind, it
radually brins $om#lete ruin. 2y utterin lies or #ra$tisin falsehood one radually loses the fear of
it. It is rather better to #ut on white $lothes. There is atta$hment in the mind and also there is a fall
within= but outwardly there is erua. This is hihly dreadful.9
8The #oint is that even while a$tin in a #lay, the virtuous #ersons should not use false words or do
anythin unworthy. I went to )eshab Sen(s house to witness the #lay 4;ava ?rindavan(. - #erson
brouht somethin on the stae 6 a $ross 6 and then he bean to s#rinkle water, sayin, 4It is the water
of #ea$e.( I also saw a man a$tin mad as if into/i$ated.9
Sri Ramakrishna It(s not ood for a bhakta even to #lay a #art in this way. )ee#in the mind on su$h
matters for lon brins harm. The mind is like a white laundered $loth, whi$hever $olour you dye it in
it takes u# the same. 2y kee#in the mind in falsehood for lon it will take u# the $olour of falsehood.
8-nother day, I went to witness the #lay. 4;imai sannyasa( in )eshab(s house. Some flatterin dis$i#les
of )eshab s#oilt this folk drama. 0ne of them said to )eshab, 4*ou are the ,haitanya of the )ali.(
)eshab then looked at me and said lauhin, 4-nd what about him?( I said, 4I am the servant of your
servants, the dust of the dust.( )eshab had the desire for name and fame.9
Some $hildren are ever6#erfe$t. They are bhaktas of the .ord in every birth. Many attain a little
devotion after #ra$ti$in s#iritual dis$i#line and austerities but these $hildren have love for the .ord
ever sin$e their birth.
8The ever6#erfe$t are a $lass by themselves. 'very bird doesn(t have a bent beak. They are never
atta$hed to the world.
80rdinary #eo#le #ra$tise s#iritual dis$i#line, they also have bhakti for the .ord. -lon with it they et
atta$hed to the world too 6 they are en$hanted by 4woman and old(. 7or e/am#le, a fly sits on the
flower, on sandesh "a 2enali sweetmeat% and yet also on filth. "-ll are still and silent.%
40he ever#perfect are like a !ee # it sits onl" on the flower and sips hone". 0he ever#perfect drink
the nectar of Hari the" never go towards worldl" pleasures<.
8The bhakti of these "the ever6#erfe$t ones% is not like the bhakti a$&uired by #ra$ti$in s#iritual
dis$i#line and austerities. So mu$h of 5a#a and so mu$h of meditation is to be #erformed, worshi##in
in a #res$ribed manner all these $onstitute ritualisti$ bhakti. It is like when there is #addy in a field,
one has to o around alon the ride of the field to rea$h the other side of it. -nd aain, su##ose you
have to o to a villae in front, you will have to o around @i@a alon the river.
8When raa bhakti, #rema bhakti, or love for the .ord as one(s near and dear develo#s one doesn(t
have to #ra$tise rituals any more. It is like $rossin a harvested ri$e field. 0ne doesn(t have to walk
alon the ride of the field. 0ne $an o straiht in one dire$tion.
8When the river is flooded, you don(t have to walk around @i@a alon with it. Then there is #ole dee#
water in the field, the boat $an o straiht.
4$ou cannot attain the Lord without such raga !hakti such prema !hakti such devotion such
love.<
Mani Mulli$k -nd I met another sadhu. !e said, 4Without $ontrol over the sense orans nothin $an
be a$hieved+ What avail it is merely re#eatin .ord, .ord?(
Sri Ramakrishna 1o you know what they believe? 0ne must first #ra$tise sadhana (spiritual
disciplines)0 "hama (mental restraint), dama (self control over sense organs) and titiksha
(forbearance).
0hese people strive for 1irvana. 0he" are 7edantins. 0he" onl" meditate upon this # .-rahman is
real and the world illusor"./ It is an e:tremel" difficult path. If the world is illusor" then "ou too
are illusor". 0hose who sa" so are also illusor" and what the" sa" is also like a dream. It is a ver"
distant matter.
0he essence of samadhi # savikalpa and 1irvikalpa
-mrita Sir, what do you e/#erien$e in the state of samadhi?
Sri Ramakrishna !ave you not heard that the $o$kroa$h by meditatin on the beetle itself be$omes
the beetle. 1o you know how it is? It is like a fish released from a #ot into the Gana.
-mrit 1oes even the least tra$e of eo is not left then?
Sri Ramakrishna *es, usually a little of eo remains in my $ase. !owsoever mu$h you may rub a
little #ie$e of old on a old6stone, even then a small rain of it remains behind.
-nother e/am#le3 - bi fire and its s#ark.
0uter $ons$iousness disa##ears but usually !e retains a bit of I6ness for en5oyment. It is only 4I( and
4you( that ives en5oyment. Sometimes !e effa$es even this I6ness. This is $alled 5ada samadhi 6
;irvikal#a samadhi. What this e/#erien$e is $annot be des$ribed by the word of mouth. - salt doll
went to fathom the sea, as it went a little down it ot dissolved. 42e$ame 5ust like it.( Who would then
$ome ba$k to ive the a$$ount 6 about how dee# the o$ean is?
0ne(s I6ness vanishes after samadhi on attainin 2rahma5nana. So Rama <rasad says3 4If you $annot
attain "2rahma5nana% yourself, 0 mind, take Rama <rasad with you.( The mind must mere. -fter that
Rama <rasad i.e. eo must mere. 0nly then one attains the #rahma)nana (spiritual knowledge of
#rahman).!
4-$$e#t the <rimeval <ower. 2rahman and Shakti "!is #ower% are inse#arable. !e who is 2rahman is
!imself Shakti. So lon as there is body $ons$iousness, you are also $ons$ious of duality. They are two
only in name.(
-fter God6reali@ation. The )iva (embodied soul) no loner lives in the domain of maya.
Sri Ramakrishna "sur$hared with bhava (,od2consciousness- mood, feeling, emotion)% Tell me if
you have any doubt. I shall e/#lain everythin.
Sri Ramakrishna The water in a #ond looks dark from a distan$e. Go near it, take some in your hand
and you will see that it has no $olour. Sky a##ears blue from a distan$e. See the sky that is nearer, you
will find no $olour.
The nearer you o to the .ord, the more you will reali@e that !e has neither name nor form. Is it
<urusha "The male as#e$t of God% or <rakriti "The female as#e$t of God%?
Govinda Why do we $all *oamaya?
Sri Ramakrishna *oamaya means the union of <urusha and <rakriti. Whatever you see is all the
union of <urusha and <rakriti.
8Who is a su#erior devotee? !e who sees after attainin 2rahma5nana that God alone has be$ome the
universe and the twenty6four $ateories. !e first rea$hes the roof by dis$riminatin 4not this, not this.(
Then he sees that the ste#s are also made of the same material 6 bri$k, lime, and bri$k6dust 6 with whi$h
the roof is made. Then he sees that 2rahman !imself has be$ome the $reatures and the universe, all.
4(ere reasoning5 I spit on it5 I spit on it5 It is of no use. Wh" remain dr" !" reasoning? So long
as "ou have the consciousness of .I/ and .$ou/ have pure devotion at His lotus feet<. Longingness
for the Lord comes after sensuous desires vanish. When one has done with the enjo"ment of
worldl" things one !ecomes restless for the Lord. How to reali=e Him remains his onl" concern.
He listens to ever"!od" who tells him an"thing a!out +od.<
-elief of 7edantins
Sri Ramakrishna "to M.% .isten, the 4shtavakra "amhita talks of Self6knowlede. The knowers of
the Self say 4Soham,( that is, 4I am that Parmatman (the highest "elf).( This is the view of the
sannyasi of the ?edanti$ s$hool.
2ut it is not suitable for the householders. When he does everythin, how $an he say, 4I am that
<armatman beyond all a$tion.(
-$$ordin to the ?edantins the Self has no atta$hment to anythin. <leasure and #ain, virtue and vi$e,
all these $annot harm the Self. *et they affli$t those who identify their body as the Self. The smoke
soils the wall but it $annot affe$t the s#a$e. )rishna )ishore would talk like the 5nanis and say 6 I am
4)ha( "void%, i.e. like s#a$e. -nd then he is a true devotee. It lies in his mouth to say so, but it does not
suit others.
82ut to $herish the idea that 4I am free( is very ood. If you say aain and aain, 4I am free, I am free,(
you be$ome free.
0n the other hand if you $onstantly s#eak, 4I am bound, I am bound,( you be$ome bound indeed. !e
who only kee#s on sayin, 4I am a sinner, I am a sinner,( that wret$h is sure to have a fall. Rather one
should say, 4I have $hanted !is ;ame, what sin $an be there for me, what bondae?(
The fa$t is that #leasure and #ain are the $hara$teristi$s of embodiment. When one takes u# a body one
takes #leasures and #ains with it. The fa$t is that one rea#s the fruit of one(s prarabdha karma (past
actionsIeDperience%. 0ne has to remain in a body till one(s #ast a$tionsBe/#erien$e are not $leared.
4Whatever !e the pleasure and pain of the !od" the spiritual knowledge of a !hakta the wealth
of his !hakti lasts. 0his treasure is never lost. 0he" never lost their spiritual consciousness even
once amidst their trou!les. Where can one find such jnanis and such !haktas?<
Wa"s to attain Sachchidananda# difference !etween jnani and !hakta
Sri Ramakrishna Give your mind to chidananda (the #eing of knowledge and bliss). *ou #eo#le
will also feel 5oy. This $hidananda is always there. 0nly it is hidden by a veil. The lesser is the
atta$hment to the senses, the more shall the mind #ro$eed towards the .ord.
Sri Ramakrishna The more one advan$es towards the .ord, the more one ains bhava and bhakti
for !im. The more does the river advan$e towards the sea, the more one sees its ebb and flow.
8The Gana flows only in one dire$tion within a 5nani "man of knowlede%. 7or him everythin is like
a dream. !e always dwells in his own true Self. Within the bhakta the Gana flows not in one dire$tion.
It has its ebb and flow. !e lauhs and wee#s, sins and dan$es. 2hakta wants to en5oy himself with
!im 6 now he swims= now he dives, now he rises 6 5ust as a lum# of i$e floats u# and down u#on the
water.9 ".auhter.%
Thakur Sri Ramakrishna knows that !a@ra is iven to dry reasonin. !a@ra says, 8The world is like a
dream= all kinds of worshi# and offerin are mental delusions. 0ne(s only aim is to meditate on one(s
own true Self, and that 4I am That.( 9
Sri Ramakrishna "smilin% I say, what are you talkin about? <ure knowlede and #ure devotion are
the same. <ure devotion takes you to the same oal where #ure knowlede takes. The #ath of bhakti is,
however, very smooth and easy.
Sachchidananda and Sachchidanandama"i %)ll 8nowing )ll Intelligent and )ll -lissful (other
of the Aniverse& # -rahman and )d"a Shakti are insepara!le
8The 5nani wants to know 2rahman. The 2haavan of the bhakta #ossessed of the si/ kinds of s#iritual
wealth is -lmihty. 2ut in fa$t, 2rahman and Shakti are inse#arable.
Take for e/am#le, the 5ewel and its lustre. -s you talk of the lustre of a 5ewel, you know the 5ewel and
when you talk of the 5ewel, you know its lustre. Without knowin the 5ewel you $annot know its lustre.
Without knowin the lustre of a 5ewel you $annot know what the 5ewel is.
8There is but one Sa$h$hidananda who has different ad5un$ts be$ause of "the manifestation of% !is
different #owers.
8)!solute 0ruth )!solute +ood and )!solute -eaut" are one. 6or the same reason +od has
man" forms # 0hou art He 3 0ara %;ivine (other&. Where there is action %of creation
preservation and dissolution& there is Shakti %,ower&. 0he same Sachchidananda is Himself
)d"a Shakti %,rimeval ,ower& who !rings a!out creation preservation and dissolution.<
)dvice to householders
Sri Ramakrishna addresses the assembled 2rahmo bhaktas and says thus, 8It is very diffi$ult to lead the
family life without atta$hment.
8'ven so, does it mean that there is no way for the householders? ,ertainly there is. The householder
should #ra$tise reliious dis$i#line for some days in a solitary #la$e. 2y doin so one develo#s bhakti
and ains s#iritual knowlede. -fter this there is nothin wron if he oes ba$k and leads the family
life.
!owever, when a man #ra$tises s#iritual dis$i#line in a solitary #la$e, he must $ut himself $om#letely
by all means from the household 6 wife, son, dauhter, mother, father, brother, sister, near relatives=
none should stay with him. -t the time of solitary s#iritual #ra$ti$e he should say to himself, 4I have
none as my own. The .ord is all in all for me.( !e should wee# #ersistently and #ray to !im for 5nana
and bhakti.
8If you were to ask how many days one should live away from the family? 'ven one day of stay in this
manner is ood but three days are still better. 0ne $an live for twelve days, a month, three months, a
year, as lon as #ossible. -fter ainin 5nana and bhakti, there is not mu$h daner in livin a family
life.
8The Srimad 2haavata talks about the twenty6four urus of the avadhoot "Rishi 1uttatreya%, one of
whom was a kite.
Some fishermen were $at$hin fish at some #la$e when a kite $ame and swoo#in over the fish $arried
one away. !owever, seein the fish some ten hundred $rows formin themselves into a fliht followed
the kite $rowin behind it and $reatin so mu$h of nuisan$e. Whi$hever side the kite flew with the fish,
the $rows followed it in rou#s in that very dire$tion. The kite flew towards the south, the $rows also
went that side and when it flew northwards, the $rows did the same. ;ow the kite bean to fly in the
same manner to the east and the west and at last the kite ot $onfused of the ramblin motion and the
fish fell from it. Then the $rows left the kite and flew towards the fish. The kite then sat on the bran$h
of a tree at #ea$e within itself. It said to itself3 That fish had $reated this entire $onfusion, now that I
have no fish I am so mu$h at #ea$e.
8Worldly work brins restlessness with it. - number of an/ieties and worries a$$umulate in the mind.
The avadhoot learned this from the kite that so lon as the fish of desire is there one has work before
him. -nd be$ause of work there is worry, an/iety and restlessness. -s soon as one ives u# desires, it
brins karma kshaya (work no longer binds one) and he is at #ea$e.
8That is why nishkama karma (selfless work) is ood. It does not brin restlessness. 2ut it is very
diffi$ult to do selfless work. I may think that I am doin selfless work but somehow selfish motivation
$ree#s in, I do not know from where? If a lot of reliious dis$i#line has already been #ra$tised then
with the #ower of this sadhana only a few $an work selflessly.
-fter God6reali@ation, selfless work $omes automati$ally. >#on God6reali@ation, one almost ives u#
work. 0nly a #erson or two kee# on workin for the instru$tion of others.9
8The avadhoot had another uru, the bee. The bee $olle$ts honey labourin hard for days toether but
this honey does not fall to its share. Some other #erson $omes, breaks the honey$omb and takes away
the honey. The avadhoot learnt from the bee that one should not hoard. Sadhus will de#end a hundred
#er$ent on the .ord. They must not a$$umulate.
8!owever, this is not for the householders. The householder must rear his family. Therefore, he has to
a$$umulate. The bird and the sadhu don(t a$$umulate. The bird, however, a$$umulates when it has a
$hi$k 6 it brins food for its $hi$k in its beak.
0n develo#in e$stati$ love for the .ord karmas "a$tivities% fall off automati$ally. .et those a$t whom
the .ord makes them to work. *our time has $ome now. Givin u# everythin you should say3 40 my
mind, may you behold !er, may I behold !er and none else+(
8*ou have taken refue in 2haavan. ;ow es$hew the feelin of shame, fear and so on. Give u# the
idea that if you dan$e while sinin the name of !ari what will #eo#le say about you.9
4When "ou have the feeling of shame contempt and fear "ou cannot succeed. 0he feeling of
shame contempt fear the pride of caste desire for secrec" and the rest are all !onds. 0he jiva is
li!erated onl" when he is free from them. He who is !ound is a jiva %em!odied soul& he who is
free from the !onds is Shiva %divine&.<
.ove for 2haavan is somethin rare. If you have nishtha (single minded devotion) for the .ord, like a
wife has for her husband in the beinnin, only then you develo# bhakti. <ure selfless bhakti is very
diffi$ult to attain. In bhakti, soul and mind lose themselves in the .ord.
8Thereafter $omes the state of bhava (,od2consciousness- mood, feeling, emotion). In bhava, man
be$omes s#ee$hless. !is breathin sto#s and he oes automati$ally into kumbhak (suspension of
breath) 6 as it ha##ens while firin from the un. - marksman while firin a bullet be$omes s#ee$hless
and his breathin sto#s.
8To attain #rema is a far $ry. ,haitanya 1eva attained it. When you have #rema for the .ord, you foret
the e/ternal ob5e$ts, you foret the world. *ou foret even your own body whi$h is so dear to you.9
Thakur says, 8In the state of bhava your breathin sto#s.9 !e further says, 8When -r5una #ier$ed his
taret, his siht was fi/ed only on the eye of the fish 6 he was not lookin at anythin else. So mu$h so
that he was not able to see any other oran "of the fish% but the eye. In su$h a state, one(s breathin
sto#s and one attains the state of kumbhak.9
8There is another mark of the vision of the .ord3 The mahavayu (the current of spirit) $urrent from
within urles u# towards the brain. -t that time if one attains samadhi, one sees 2haavan.9
8Mere learnin by itself is de$e#tive 6 they who are mere learned and have no bhakti for 2haavan talk
$onfusin.
There was a #undit, Samadhyayi by name. !e said, 4The .ord is neeras (totally devoid of sweetness,
love, )oy, bliss and other attributes). Make !im saras (sweet) by your #rema and bhakti.( !e who is
$alled Aasaswaroop (fountain of love and bliss) in the ?edas was termed neeras by this fellow. This
only shows that the man did not know at all what the .ord is. That is why he talked absurd.
Sri Ramakrishna 8now Him and keep one of "our hands at His lotus feet and attend to "our
worldl" work with the other. 9ither live in a solitar" place or keep the compan" of sadhus. 0he
sadhu is he whose mind prana and soul are merged in the Lord # he who has renounced .woman
and gold/ is a sadhu. 0he sadhu is alwa"s thinking inwardl" of the Lord. He talks of nothing !ut
Him. )nd knowing that +od is present in all e:istence he serves Him. -roadl" speaking these
are the characteristics of a sadhu.
7ishishtadvaitavada %'ualified non#dualism&
Sri Ramakrishna 0nly God is sat, all else is asat 6 thinkin this way is dis$rimination. "at means
>ternal and 4sat means Transitory. !e who has attained dis$rimination knows that the .ord is the
only reality, all else is unreal. When you have develo#ed dis$rimination, you want to know the .ord. If
you are in$lined to asat, you like to have bodily $omforts, name and fame, money and all these. *ou
donCt feel the need to know the .ord who is sat !imself. When you know the real and the unreal, only
then you want to find out the .ord.
8*ou attain dis$rimination only when non6worldliness $omes to the mind. When you have attained
dis$rimination, you bein to think of the essen$e. Then the mind has the desire to stroll under the
?alpataru (wish fulfilling tree) of )ali. When you o under this tree, when you are near the .ord, you
effortlessly ather all the four fruits.
*ou are only to #i$k them u# 6 the four fruits of dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama
(desires) and moksha (liberation). 0n attainin !im, whatever a householder needs 6 dharma, artha or
kama 6 he ets if he so desires.9
Sri Ramakrishna So lon as you don(t reali@e the .ord you must renoun$e sayin, 4;ot this, not
this.( They who have reali@ed !im know that !e has be$ome all 6 Ishwara (the .ord), maya, )iva (the
creatures) and )agat (the world). Then they #er$eive that the world and its beins are nothin but !e.
If you were asked to weih the bel fruit after its shell, kernel and seeds are se#arated, will you throw
away the shell and the seeds and weih only the kernel? ;o, you will also have to take into a$$ount the
shell and the seeds, all these, while weihin. *ou $an tell the weiht of the bel fruit only when you
weih all of them.
This world is the shell, the $reatures are the seeds. While reasonin, they $alled the world and its
$reatures as anatmam (not the 4tman). They $alled them unreal. While reasonin, you feel that only
the kernel is the all im#ortant thin and not the shell and the seeds. In the ne/t #la$e, we reason that the
shell and the seeds belon to the same substan$e to whi$h the kernel belons. >nderstand the
illustration of the bel fruit and you will understand all.
84nulom and vilom (evolution and involution). 2utter oes with buttermilk and buttermilk oes with
butter. If there is buttermilk, there is also butter. If there is butter, there is also buttermilk. If there is
-tman, there is also anatma "non -tman%.
8The =itya (4bsolute) belons to the same 2ein to whi$h the leela (phenomenal world) belons and
the leela belons to the same 2ein to whi$h the ;itya belons. !e who is #er$eived by the name of
Ishwara has !imself be$ome the 5iva and the 5aat "the world%.
Sense of sin and responsi!ilit"
The ;eihbour So, there is no sin and virtuous a$t?
Sri Ramakrishna They are there and yet not there. If God retains your eo !e also retains your sense
of differentiation and the knowlede of virtuous a$tion and sinful a$ts.
!owever, in a #erson or two, God $om#letely erases the sense of I6ness. Su$h #ersons o beyond virtue
and vi$e, ood and bad. So lon as one does not reali@e the .ord, the sense of differentiation and the
knowlede of the ood and the bad are bound to #ersist.
*ou may say that vi$e and virtue have be$ome one for you, that you do only what !e makes you do but
within yourself you know that these are mere words. When you do evil deeds, your heart #al#itates.
!owever, even after God6reali@ation if !e so wills !e lets you retain the 4servant I(. In that state the
devotee says3 4I am Thy servant, Thou art my Master.( Su$h a devotee likes to hear Godly talk, likes
Godly work. !e does not like the man o##osed to God, he does not like the work other than that of the
.ord. When this $omes about, God lets even su$h a devotee retain his sense of differentiation.
The ;eihbour Great sir, you say that we should live in the world after knowin the .ord. ,an one
know !im?
Sri Ramakrishna He cannot !e known !" the senses or the mind. He can !e known !" the
pure spirit the spirit which has no worldl" desires.
The ;eihbour Who $an know the .ord?
Sri Ramakrishna Who $an know !im rihtly? It is enouh if one knows as mu$h as one needs to
know !im. Where is the need for us of a small water well? - 5u of water is ade&uate for us. -n ant
went to a mount of suar. What need had it for the whole mount? - rain or two makes it so ha##y.
The ;eihbour What $an a sinle 5u of water do for the vikara (aberrations) we have? I feel the
desire that I should know the .ord fully.
0he world # vikara %a!erration& and its remed" # take shelter in (e
Sri Ramakrishna *es, that is true. 2ut there is also a remedy for the vikara (disease of the world).
The ;eihbour Sir, what is the remedy?
Sri Ramakrishna *ompan" of sadhus chanting His name and glories and constant pra"er to
Him. I had said .(other5 I don/t want jnana. 0ake $our jnana and take "our ignorance. (other5
8indl" grant me onl" pure love at $our lotus feet. I want nothing else./
8-s is the disease, likewise is the remedy. The .ord says in the Gita, G 4r)una, take refuge in 1e, I
shall free you from all your sins.H
40ake refuge in +od. He will grant "ou the right intelligence. He will take up "our whole !urden
and then all "our vikara %defects a!errations& will !e cured. *an "ou understand Him with this
intellect of "ours? *an a one seer jug contain four seers of milk? -esides can an"!od"
understand +od unless He makes him understand? So I sa" take refuge in +od. Let Him do
what He wills. He is Icchama"a %He has His own wa" in ever"thing&. What power does the man
have?<
Su$h o#enness and sim#li$ity does not $ome unless a lot of austerity has been #ra$tised in the #revious
births. When a #erson is $unnin and $al$ulative, he $annot attain the .ord.81o you not see that
wherever 2haavan in$arnated !imself as an avatara, there was uilelessness.
4If just a drop of this prema could fall to the share of a person5 What a devotion5 What a love5
0his is called love into:ication. 0he !asic thing is to love Him to have longing for Him. 0hen "ou
ma" take the path "ou like. Whether "ou !elieve in +od with form or +od without form whether
"ou !elieve that -hagavan incarnates Himself as a man or not it is enough if "ou have devotion
for Him. He will then Himself tell "ou what He is like.<
8If you must be mad, be not so with the thins of this world. 2e mad for the .ord9
The .ord alone is the doer and all others are non6doers
8*ou $ome to su$h a bad #ass if you say, 4I, I.( When the s#irit no loner says, 4I, I.(, only this brins its
liberation. Then it does not have to return to the field of a$tivity.
8Similarly, when the 5iva "embodied soul% says, 40 .ord+ I am not the doer, you are the 1oer= I am an
instrument, you are the 2ein who uses the instrument,( his trials and tribulations in the world $ease.
0nly then the 5iva is liberated, he doesn(t have to return to this field of a$tivity.9
- 1evotee !ow $an a 5iva et rid of his eo?
Sri Ramakrishna It disa##ears only when one has reali@ed the .ord. When a #erson is rid of his eo,
he surely has had vision of the .ord.
- 1evotee Sir, how to know whether a #erson has seen the .ord?
Sri Ramakrishna There are sins of the vision of the .ord. -$$ordin to Srimad 2haavata there are
four sins of God(s vision.
0ne be$omes3 "D% .ike a $hild "E% .ike a #isha$ha "un$lean s#irit% "F% .ike an insentient bein "G% .ike
a mad man.
8!e who has had the vision of the .ord develo#s the tem#erament of a $hild. !e oes beyond the three
unas. !e does not et bound by any una "&uality%.
2esides, he seems to make no distin$tion between #urity and im#urity 6 thus he is like a pishacha (an
unclean spirit).
-nd then like a mad man he sometimes lauhs, sometimes wee#s, now he may dress himself like a
entleman but soon after he may stri# himself naked and bein to roam about with his dhoti under his
arm#it. Thus, his is the state of a mad man.
-nd sometimes he may sit &uiet at one #la$e like an insentient bein 6 the $ondition of an inert, lifeless,
material body.9
- 1evotee 1oes one et rid of one(s eo totally after the vision of the .ord?
Sri Ramakrishna Sometimes !e $om#letely erases one(s eo, as in the state of samadhi. 2ut
enerally !e retains a tra$e of eo. !owever, there is no harm in this eo. It is like the eo of a $hild. -
five years old $hild kee#s on sayin, 4I, I,( but he does not harm anybody.
8Iron be$omes old by tou$hin the #hiloso#her(s stone. The steel sword be$omes a sword of old. It
kee#s the sha#e of a sword, but does not hurt anybody. *ou $annot $ut or kill with the sword made of
old.9
0he West and 8arma $oga # 8arma $oga or -hakti $oga which one for the age of 8ali?
Sri Ramakrishna "to <rata#% That atta$hment to worldly work is only to be found in the West is not
true. It is all over the world. 'ven so, do you know what it is? ?armakanda (work, activity) is a mark
of the earliest staes of life.
Without the sattvaguna (devotion, discrimination, dispassion, kindness and so on% one $annot attain
the .ord. In the ra5ouna work o$$u#ies the $hief #la$e. So it brins tamouna with it. Too mu$h work
makes one foret the .ord, leadin to added atta$hment to 4woman and old(.
!owever, it is not #ossible to ive u# work all of a sudden. *our nature will lead you on to it, whether
you want it or not. So, the instru$tion is3 Work without attachment. Work without atta$hment means
work without the e/#e$tation of any reward. 7or e/am#le, you take to worshi#, 5a#a "re$itation of the
;ame% and reliious austerities not for name and fame, or for earnin merit. Workin unatta$hed in this
way is $alled ?arma 7oga.
2ut it is very diffi$ult. 0n the one hand, you are in )ali *ua 6 atta$hment $ree#s in so easily. *ou may
resolve to work without atta$hment, but atta$hment enters from somewhere, you do not even $ome to
know of it. Say, you have $elebrated a bi holy feast, or served a number of #oor and #au#ers. *ou may
have thouht, 4I am doin all this without any atta$hment.( *et the desire for name and fame enters
from somewhere and you do not even $ome to know of it.
Thus it is #ossible to be $om#letely unatta$hed only for those who have had the vision of the .ord.
- 1evotee What is the way for those who have not attained the .ord? Should they renoun$e all
worldly work?
Sri Ramakrishna 6or the age of 8ali there is #hakti 7oga (the path of devotion) the path of
!hakti enjoined !" 1arada # to chant the name and glor" of the Lord and pra" with a longing
heart .3 Lord grant me jnana and !hakti grant me $our vision./
4?arma 7oga (the path of work2action) is ver" difficult. 0hat is wh" "ou must pra" to +od .3
Lord lessen m" work. -esides whatever the work "ou have left for me grant me that I should !e
a!le to perform it without attachment !" $our grace. (oreover grant that I ma" not have an"
desire to engage m"self in more work./<
4It is not possi!le to give up work. 4I think< # 4I am meditating< # this too is work. When "ou
have gained !hakti "our worldl" work decreases !" itself. )nd then "ou !egin to dislike it.<
) ;evotee 0he Westeners are onl" e:horting to work more and more. Work however is not
the aim of life.
Sri Ramakrishna 0he aim of life is to attain the Lord. Work is onl" the first chapter of human
life it cannot !e the aim of life. 9ven nishkama karma %selfless work& is onl" a means not the
end.
40he Lord is the onl" Realit" all else is unreal. When He is attained one reali=es that He alone is
the doer and that we are non#doers. Wh" must I then give Him up and perish !" increasing so
much of work? So I sa"2 Work is the first chapter of human life it is not the end of life.<
40ake to spiritual practice and advance. )s "ou practise and advance further "ou will in the end
know that the Lord is the onl" Realit" and all else is unreal and that the aim of life is indeed to
attain the Lord.<
8- wood$utter went to the forest to $ut wood. There he ha##ened to meet a brahmachari (4
brahmachari is a holy man practising control over the mind and preparing for the neDt steps of life 2
that of the householder, or the ascetic).
The brahma$hari said to him, 4I say brother, o ahead.( 0n returnin home, the wood$utter bean to
think why the brahma$hari had asked him to o ahead.
8Thus #assed away some days. 0ne day while he was sittin, he was reminded of the words of the
brahma$hari. So he said to himself, 4.et me o ahead today.( -s he went dee# into the forest he found
numberless sandalwood trees there. 7ull of 5oy, he brouht sandalwood. -nd by sellin it in the market
he be$ame very ri$h.
8In this way some days #assed when he was aain reminded of the words of the brahma$hari, 4Go
ahead.( ;ow, as he went further into the forest he found a mine of silver near the bank of a river. This
he $ould have never dreamt. ;ow he #i$ked u# only silver from the mine and bean to sell it. !e
earned so mu$h money that he be$ame a very wealthy man.
8Some more days #assed. 0ne day as he was seated he said to himself, 4The brahma$hari did not ask
me to o only u# to the silver mine. !e asked me to o ahead.( This time he $rossed the river and saw a
old mine. Said he then to himself, 4;i$e indeed+ That is why the brahma$hari asked me to o ahead.(
8-fter a few days, he aain went further and lo+ he found hea#s of diamonds and 5ewels lyin there.
4So I sa" whatever "ou ma" !e doing if "ou go ahead "ou will find something !etter. If "ou
receive inspiration after reaching a particular stage don/t think that "ou have come to the end.<
*et work is not the end of life. Go ahead, you will be able to work selflessly. 2ut selfless work is very
diffi$ult. So #ray to !im with a lonin heart, 40 .ord, rant me bhakti at your lotus feet and redu$e
my work. -nd whatever work you leave for me to do, rant that I may be able to do it selflessly.(
8When you o further, you will find the .ord. *ou will have !is vision and radually you will have
intimate talk with !im.9
4I am the doer,( 4this is my house( 6 all this is inoran$e. 41ivin dee#( is the aim of life
*ou have had enouh of le$turin, dis$ussions, &uarrels, dis#utes and the rest. 1o you still like all
these? Gather your whole mind and $on$entrate it on the .ord 6 5ust 5um# into the .ord.
Take it that it all ha##ened by the .ord(s will. It was there by God(s will and is $omin to an end by !is
will. What $an you do? ;ow your duty is sim#ly to ive your whole mind to the .ord, to dive dee# into
!is sea of love.9
Song
1ive dee#, dive dee#, dive dee#, 0 my mind into the sea of 2eauty.
Make a sear$h in the reions lower and lower down under the sea=
*ou will $ome by the 5ewel, the wealth of #rema "intense love of God%.
Within your heart is ?rindavan, the abode of God who is love.
Sear$h and look= sear$h and look= sear$h and look. *ou will find it.
Then shall burn without $easin the lam# of divine wisdom.
Who is that 2ein that does steer the boat on land 6 on land, on solid round?
)abir says, 4.isten, listen, listen+ Meditate on the hallowed feet of the Guru "1ivine #re$e#tor%.(
81id you hear the son? 'nouh of le$tures, &uarrels and so on. ;ow dive dee#. In divin into this sea
there is no daner to life. It is the sea of immortality. 1on(t think that it will turn your head and don(t
also think that a #erson be$omes mad by $allin lon on the .ord. It is the sea of amrita (immortality).
2y divin into this sea nobody dies. 0n the other hand, one be$omes immortal. 2y oin mad after the
.ord one does not lose one(s head.(
"To the bhaktas% 8I and mine this is what is $alled inoran$e.;othin is mine. This tem#le is not mine,
the )ali Tem#le is not mine, the Sama5 is not mine 6 these are all *ours. Wife, son, family 6 none of
these is mine. They are all *ours, this is 5nana.
8<eo#le say3 4This is mine, it belons to me. .ovin all su$h thins is $alled maya. When you love all,
that is daya (charity- kindness). I love only the members of the 2rahmo Sama5, or I love only my
family 6 this is maya. 0nly to love your $om#atriots is maya. To love #eo#le of all $ountries, to love
followers of all reliions, this results from kindness and bhakti.
4(a"a !inds man. It takes one awa" from -hagavan. 8indness makes one attain the Lord.
Sukadeva and 1arada !oth had kindness.<
8Therefore, I ask those who $ome here, 4Why do you not live a family life? There is no harm in it. 0nly
you must kee# your mind in the .ord when you live in family. )now it that the house or the family,
nothin is mine. It is all God(s. My home is with the .ord.( -nd I say, 4-lways #ray earnestly for
bhakti at !is lotus feet.( 9
-hakti $oga is for the age of 8ali and not 8arma $oga
8?avya (poetry) #leases more than #hiloso#hy, i.e. when #oetry is re$ited or heard, then ?edanta,
"ankhya (Aationalism), =yaya (.ogic), Patan)al (Fompiled by philosopher Patan)ali) A all these
#hiloso#hies look dry.
More than #oetry, musi$ attra$ts A even a stone6hearted man melts at musi$. Thouh the musi$ is so
mu$h attra$tive, yet if a beautiful woman #asses before you the #oetry is also left behind. 'ven the
son loses its flavour. 0ne(s whole mind oes towards that woman. Whenever there is a $ravin, when
one is hunry, one needs either #oetry or son or woman.
Sri Ramakrishna "To Shresh% 8!ave you known the essen$e?9
Shresh The .ord e/ists and !e alone is doin all. 'ven so, what we $on$eive of !is attributes is not
riht. What $an a man $on$eive of !im= !e is infinite+
Sri Ramakrishna !ow many trees there are in the arden and how many bran$hes a tree has A what
is the use of su$h $al$ulations? *ou have $ome to the arden to eat manoes, eat them and o. It is only
for attainin love and devotion for !im that you have taken birth as a human bein. 'at manoes and
o away.
8*ou have $ome to take wine. What use is it for you to know how many maunds of wine is there in the
wine sho#? :ust a tumblerful of it is enouh for you.
8What need is there for you to know !is infinite affairs+ If you look for !is attributes even for millions
of years, you will not be able to know even a fra$tion thereof+9
Sri Ramakrishna %to (.& 0here is nothing in the household life. However !hakti household life
is still !etter. 9ver"!od"/s mind is +od#ward the household is permeated with vidya (spiritual
knowledge)@ it is rarel" to !e seen. I have seen onl" a couple of such homes otherwise there are
onl" 'uarrels wrangles violence and then disease sorrow and povert".
8This is not anybody(s fault. -ll around there is 4woman and old.( That is why I #ray, 4Mother, if I
shall ever have to take a human body, don(t make a householder of me.( 9
2rahmin of 2hatta#ada 2ut sir, the household life has been #raised in the holy books.
Sri Ramakrishna *es, but it is very diffi$ult.
Sri Ramakrishna 7or the ae of )ali it is =aradiya bhakti (Fommunion with ,od by love, devotion
and self2surrender, as practised by Aishi =arada) that is en5oined. Where is the time to #erform all
those rituals mentioned in the s$ri#tures?
I tell #eo#le that they don(t have to #erform the sandhya (<ivine service three times a day) and su$h
other holy a$ts= re$itation of ,ayatri (4 short teDt from the *edas, the repetition of which leads to
meditation on ,od) is enouh.
Lecture to worldl" men
8*ou may le$ture a thousand times, you will not be able to transform the worldly men. ,an one drive a
nail in a wall made of stone? It is the nail that will bend, but the wall will remain as it is. What $an a
blow of sword do to a $ro$odile?
The kamandala (#owl made of gourd shell) of a sadhu oes round all the four dhams (places of
pilgrimage in India), yet it remains bitter as ever. *our le$tures to the worldly men will be of no avail.
*ou will know this radually. The $alf does not stand all at on$e. It falls at times and aain stands on its
les. That is how it learns to stand and walk.9
1ava#anuraga %0he first love& and reasoning
8*ou $annot re$oni@e who is a bhakta and who is a worldly #erson. This is not your fault. 1urin a
storm one $annot distinuish between a tamarind tree and a mano tree in the beinnin.
82efore God reali@ation one $annot suddenly ive u# karma. !ow lon has one to #erform sandhya and
su$h other holy a$ts? So lon as at God(s name tears don(t flow and hair don(t stand on their ends. If
tears fill the eyes even on$e on utterin 40m Rama,( but on$e, know it for $ertain that your karmas are
over A you will not have to #erform sandhya and su$h other rituals any more.
8The blossom falls off as soon as the fruit a##ears. )arma is the blossom and bhakti is the fruit. The
dauhter6in6law of the house $annot work mu$h when she is #renant= the mother6in6law radually
frees her from work. 1urin the tenth month she almost doesn(t let her work. When the infant is born,
the mother only attends to it A she doesn(t have to attend to any other work.
The sandhya meres into Gayatri and then Gayatri in 0m. 0m then ets mered into samadhi A as the
sound of the bell tanHtom. <er$eivin the sound "as #ro$eedin from the -bsolute% the yoi ets lost
into <ara 2rahman. Sandhya and su$h karmas et lost in samadhi. It is in this way that the karma of the
5nanis oes off.9
8Mere learnin is of no use without sadhana and dis$rimination6dis#assion. Son, earn a little more of
#ower. <ra$tise sadhan (practice of devotional eDercises) and bha)an (singing forth devotional
hymns) for some time more. Wishin for a bun$h of fruit without $limbin a tree+ -nd then you are
doin all this for the ood of humanity.9
-re you 5ust a learned man, or do you also have viveka (discrimination) and vairagya (non2
attachment):
Without re$eivin the $ommandment one $annot be$ome acharya (religious teacher)
8- pundit (man of learning) without dis$rimination is no #undit.
8If one has re$eived the $ommandment, it is not wron to tea$h mankind. When a #erson tea$hes after
ettin the $ommandment, nobody $an defeat him.
8'ven if a sinle ray $omes from the oddess of s#ee$h "Saraswati%, one attains su$h strenth that even
the most learned be$ome like earthworms before him.
8When one lihts a lam#, swarms of moths $ome to it by themselves A they don(t have to be $alled.
Similarly, one who has re$eived the $ommandment doesn(t have to invite #eo#le by announ$in that a
le$ture will be delivered at su$h and su$h time A no news has to be iven. !e has su$h attra$tion that
#eo#le themselves rally round him. Then #rin$es and babus $ome there in rou#s. -nd they ask aain
and aain, 4What will you a$$e#t? I have brouht manoes, sandesh "a 2enali sweet%, money, shawl
et$. What will you a$$e#t?( I tell all those #eo#le, 4)ee# them away. I don(t like all this. I don(t want
any of these.(
81oes the manet invite the iron3 4,ome $lose to me?( It doesn(t have to say, 4,ome( A the iron itself
runs to the manet due to the attra$tion.
4Such a man ma" not !e a pundit %scholar&. 6or that reason don/t think that he lacks knowledge.
*an "ou ac'uire knowledge just !" reading !ooks? 0he knowledge of a person who has received
commandment is ine:hausti!le. 0his knowledge flows from +od > it is never ending.<
8In that #art of the $ountry ")amar#ukur, where Sri Ramakrishna was born and brouht u#%, at the time
of weihin #addy, one #erson weihs the #addy while the other kee#s on #ushin hea#s after hea#s
towards him. Similarly, he who has re$eived the $ommandment $an o on #rea$hin as mu$h as he
likes. The Mother kee#s on #ushin hea#s of knowlede towards me from behind. This knowlede
never $omes to an end. If the Mother but on$e $asts a lan$e, does there remain any s$ar$ity of
knowlede then? That is why, I ask whether you have re$eived the $ommandment or not.9
Sri Ramakrishna What will the le$tures a$hieve if the #rea$her has not re$eived the $ommandment?
8So I say, a le$ture by an unworthy #erson is of no use. When you have the bade of authority, then
alone #eo#le listen to you. >nless you re$eive God(s $ommandment, you $annot tea$h humanity. !e
who has to #rea$h must have suffi$ient s#iritual #owers. In ,al$utta there are so many !anuman <uris
"wrestlin $lubs% A you will have to wrestle with them. These #eo#le "who are seated all around in
$onreation% are mere animals for sa$rifi$e+
8,haitanya 1eva is an avatara. What is left of the work that even he did? :ust tell me+ -nd those who
have not re$eived the $ommandment A what ood their le$ture would do?9
Sri Ramakrishna So I say, et absorbed in God(s lotus feet.
God is an o$ean of immortality, the o$ean of Sa$h$hidananda. There is no fear of death in it. It is the
o$ean of immortality.( 0nly the a5nanis say that one should not have e/$ess of the ne$tar of God(s love
and #rema. Is there a limit to the love for God? So I say to you3 Immerse yourself in the sea of
Sa$h$hidananda.
8Where is the worry when you have reali@ed God? Then you will not only re$eive the $ommandment
but also tea$h mankind.9
1um!erless paths for +od#reali=ation > -hakti $oga indeed is the law for this age
Sri Ramakrishna .ook here, there are numberless #aths to rea$h the o$ean of immortality.
Whi$hever #ath you take, it is done if you even 5um# into this o$ean. Imaine there is a reservoir of
ne$tar. If somehow a small dro# of it falls in to your mouth, you be$ome immortal. Whether you
yourself 5um# into it, or o inside it slowly by a stair$ase and take a dro# of it, or you are #ushed into it
the result will be the same. Taste 5ust a dro# of this ne$tar and you be$ome immortal.
40here are num!erless paths2 0he path of jnana %knowledge& of karma %action& and of !hakti
%devotion&. $ou ma" take an" path. $ou attain +od when "ou !ecome sincere for Him.<
8There are three kinds of yoas3 :nana *oa, )arma *oa and 2hakti *oa3
8Jnana 7oga - The 5nani wants to know 2rahman "the -bsolute%. !e says to himself, 4;ot this, not
this.( !e reasons, 40nly 2rahman is real and the world unreal.( !e meditates on what is real and what is
unreal. When his reasonin sto#s, he oes into samadhi and he ains the knowlede of the -bsolute.
8?arma 7oga - To kee# the mind in God by doin work A this is what you tea$h. The #ra$ti$e of
pranayam (control of breath), dhyana, dharana (meditation and concentration) and so forth without
atta$hment $onstitute )arma *oa. If the householders attend to their household duties with devotion
for !im and surrender the result of their work to !im in an unatta$hed way, it is also )arma *oa. To
#erform #u5a, 5a#a and su$h other karmas and surrenderin their result to God is also )arma *oa.
God6reali@ation alone is the aim of )arma *oa.
8#hakti 7oga - It is fi/in the mind in God by re#eatin !is name and sinin !is lories. 2hakti
*oa is the easy #ath for the ae of )ali. 2hakti *oa indeed is the law for the #resent ae.
8)arma *oa is very diffi$ult. In the first #la$e, I told you earlier, too, you do not have time. Where is
the time for #erformin the various karmas en5oined u#on you in the holy books? .ife is short in
)aliyua. -nd then it is indeed very diffi$ult to work without e/#e$tation of its reward and to work in
an unatta$hed manner.
43ne cannot !e trul" unattached without having reali=ed +od. )ttachment comes from nowhere
one does not even come to know of it.<
8:nana *oa is also very diffi$ult in this ae. In the first #la$e, human life is de#endent on food.
Se$ondly, the life is short. Thirdly, it is not #ossible to rid oneself of body $ons$iousness. Moreover,
unless one is free from body6$ons$iousness 5nana "s#iritual knowlede% is absolutely im#ossible.
The 5nani says, 4I am the same 2rahman= I am not this body, I am beyond huner, thirst, disease, rief,
birth, death, #leasure, #ain et$.( If you are aware of disease, rief, #leasure, #ain, et$. then how are you
a 5nani "man of knowlede%? Thouh your hand is bein s$rat$hed and torn by thorns, you are bleedin
#rofusely, it is so very #ainful, yet you say A 4;o, my hand is not bein s$rat$hed and torn. ;othin has
ha##ened to me.(
40hat is wh" for this age it is -hakti $oga. 0hrough it one can approach +od more easil" than
!" an" other path. 3ne can reach +od !" wa" of ?nana $oga or 8arma $oga and other paths
!ut all these are e:tremel" difficult. -hakti $oga is the law for this age.<
This does not mean that a bhakta rea$hes at one #la$e, while the 5nani or the man of karma rea$hes
elsewhere. It means that those who want #rahma)nana (knowledge of the 4bsolute), even if they
ado#t and tread the #ath of bhakti will rea$h there. 2y rememberin the #hakta2vatsala (the gracious
loving .ord of the bhakta), !e $an !imself rant the knowlede of the -bsolute.9
1oes a bhakta attain 2rahma5nana? !ow does he #erform karma and #rayer?
8The bhakta wants to see God with form. !e wants to $onverse with !im. Generally, he does not want
the knowlede of the -bsolute. 'ven so, +od/s will is the law > if He wills He can !estow on the
!hakta all spiritual wealth. !e ives not only bhakti but also 5nana. If one $an o and stay in
,al$utta, one $an also see the 7ort Maidan, So$iety "-siati$ So$iety(s Museum%, everythin indeed.
8;ow the &uestion is how to rea$h ,al$utta.
8If you rea$h the Mother of the >niverse, you will et bhakti as well as 5nana. When you are in #hava
"amadhi (a kind of trance), you see God with form= when you are in the =irvikalpa "amadhi, you see
4khanda "achchidananda (the Indivisible >Distence2?nowledge2#liss 4bsolute). Then your I6ness,
name and form A all disa##ear.
8The devotee says, 4Mother, I am afraid of sakama karma (work with motive). In su$h a work there is
desire. This karma will yield some fruit. 2esides, it is very diffi$ult to work with deta$hment. 2y doin
sakama karma I shall foret *ou. Therefore, there is no need for su$h a work. >ntil I attain *ou, may
my works de$rease. Whatever little I have to do, I may do without atta$hment and alon with it I may
ain reat bhakti. -nd until I attain *ou, may my mind not enae itself in any new work. -nd then,
when *ou $ommand me I shall do *our work, otherwise not.( ((
Sri Ramakrishna "smilin% The kite and the vulture soar very hih but their looks remain fi/ed on
$harnel #its "where $ar$asses of dead animals are thrown%. "-ll lauh.%. What do I mean by $harnel #its,
do you know? It is 4woman and old( 6 8lust and reed9.
8If you $an $ultivate bhakti sittin here, where is the need for oin on #ilrimae? When I went to
)ashi I saw that the trees were the same, the tamarind leaves too were the same.
8If you do not develo# bhakti in #la$es of #ilrimae, your visit to those #la$es has not been of any use.
2hakti alone is the essen$e A the only thin needful. What do I mean by the kite and the vulture, do you
know? So many #eo#le $ome here. They talk bi and say A we have #erformed mu$h of the karmas
(rituals) whi$h are en5oined by the holy books. 2ut their mind remains atta$hed to the world. They are
busy with money, name and honour, bodily #leasures and so on.((
Sri Ramakrishna -nd you must also know that you may #rea$h a thousand thins they will be of no
use unless it is the riht hour. While oin to bed the $hild says to his mother, 4Mother, #lease wake me
u# when I have to #ee.( The mother re#lies, 4,hild, its #ressure will itself wake you u#. *ou do not
have to worry for that.( ".auhter.%
8Similarly, lonin for God $omes on its own time.9
,reach onl" to the competent > Is +od merciful?
Sri Ramakrishna :ust think, if the medi$ine does not rea$h the stoma$h and is vomited out what $an
the #hysi$ian do? Then even the do$tor of the hihest $lass is hel#less.
8*ou should instru$t only after 5udin the listener. *ou #eo#le do not instru$t havin e/amined the
re$e#ta$le. When a boy $omes to me, I ask him about his family members. Su##ose his father is no
more and he has left some debts, how $an he ive his mind to God? 1o you hear what I am sayin,
brother?9
Sri Ramakrishna 0n$e a number of Sikh soldiers $ame to the tem#le "at 1akshineswar%. I met them
in front of the Mother )ali(s shrine. 0ne of them said, 4God is very kind.( I said, 4-re you sure? !ow
do you know?( They said, 4Why Mahara5, God ives us food. !e $ares so mu$h for us.( I said, 4What is
there to wonder at? God is the father of all. If the father does not look after his son, who else will? Will
#eo#le of the lo$ality do so?(
;arendra So, should not the .ord be $alled mer$iful?
Sri Ramakrishna -m I sto##in you from $allin !im mer$iful? What I mean is that God is our own
#erson. !e is not a straner.
Sri Ramakrishna I said to Shashadhar, 4*ou want the $luster of fruit even before $limbin the tree+
<ra$tise a little more of sadhan "devotional e/er$ises% and bha5an "devotional hymns%. Then you may
#rea$h to others.(
Ishan 'verybody thinks that he instru$ts. The lowworm thinks that it is illuminatin the world.
Somebody said to it, 40, lowworm+ What liht $an you ive? 0+ you are only makin darkness all the
more evident.(
Sri Ramakrishna "smiles a little% 2ut he is not 5ust a #undit "s$holar%. !e also has some viveka
"dis$rimination% and vairaya "non6atta$hment%.
40he bhakta (<ualist- an aspirant who seeks to attain ,od through love, self surrender and
devotion) is great to #hagavan (Personal ,od with divine attributes- the beloved .ord) !ecause the
!hakta carries -hagavan in his heart. Sometimes the -hagavan is the magnet and the !hakta a
needle. -" His power of attraction -hagavan pulls the !hakta. -ut sometimes the !hakta
!ecomes the magnet and -hagavan the needle. 0he !hakta has so much attraction that enchanted
!" his ecstatic love -hagavan Himself comes to him.<
40he !hakta who lives in the household and calls upon +od is a !rave !hakta. -hagavan sa"s2
.He who has come out of his famil" will naturall" call upon (e will serve (e. 0here is no
!raver" in it. If he does not call upon (e others will fie upon him5 )nd the man who while living
in the household calls upon (e looks after (e having pushed a twent" maund stone awa" he is
reall" !lessed5 He is !rave a hero indeed5/<
8.ive in the world like an ant. *ou have =itya (the 4bsolute- the >ternal) and the anitya (transitory)
mi/ed u# in this world. There is sand mi/ed with suar. 2e an ant and take suar alone.
8Water and milk are mi/ed toether, so are the s#iritual 5oy and the worldly #leasures. .ike a swan, you
must take only the milk and leave the water.
8-nd be like the water bird. When the water tou$hes its body, it flutters its wins and rids the water
away. -nd be$ome like the mud fish. It lives in the mud but look at its body, it is unsoiled and shinin
briht.
8In gol2mal (confusion) there is also mal (something useful). Give u# ol and take u# mal.9
-hava and (aha!hava
- 2hakta from )onnaar Sir, I heard that you o into bhava, that you e/#erien$e samadhi. Why
does it ha##en and how? <lease tell me.
Sri Ramakrishna 0ne does not have bhava (,od2consciousness- mood, feeling, emotion) or
mahabhava (<ivine ecstasy) without e/#erien$in God. When the fish $omes out of the dee# water,
the water sures u# in motion. The bier the fish, the reater the motion. So in bhava the man lauhs,
wee#s, dan$es and sins.
80ne $annot remain in bhava for lon. If Iin that stateJ one 5ust looks at himself in the mirror, he is
taken as $ra@y.9
The 2hakta from )onnaar Sir, we hear that you often have the vision of God. <lease let us also see
!im.
7ision of +od not possi!le without karma and sadhan
Sri Ramakrishna 'verythin is under God. What $an a man do? While re#eatin !is name tears
flow out of the eyes at times, and sometimes they do not. While meditatin on !im there is beautiful
ins#iration at times, and at other times nothin ha##ens.
80ne has to do karma. 0nly then one $an have !is vision. Without karma "work for God% one $annot
ain devotion, one $annot see God. Meditation and 5a#a are all karma= sinin !is name and lory is
also work. -nd then, $harity and ya5na are also work.
8If you want butter you have to make $urd from milk and then kee# it in a solitary $orner. When the
milk ets $urdled, you have to make the effort to $hurn it and take out the butter.9
What $omes first3 Study or God6reali@ation?
Sri Ramakrishna "to Mahima$haran% !ow mu$h will you read holy books? What does it avail only
to reason? Try first of all to attain !im. <uttin your faith in the words of the Guru do some karma,
#ray to !im "the .ord% with a lonin heart. !e will !imself tell you what !e is like.
8What will you know by readin books? Till you have rea$hed the market #la$e, you $an only hear
noises like 4ho6ho( from a distan$e. It is &uite different when you rea$h the market. Then you will
$learly see, you will $learly hear, 4Take these #otatoes, #ay for them.(
447rom a distan$e there is a sound of 4ho6ho( from the sea. When you $ome near to it, you are able to
see that so many shi#s are sailin, the birds are flyin and the waves are risin.
80ne does not ain the riht kind of e/#erien$e by readin books. It is &uite distant. -fter reali@in
!im books, s$ien$e all seem to be GkhadkutoH (dry straw, grass, twigs, etc.).
Sri Ramakrishna 0hat/s wh" karma is needed. It does not avail if "ou sa" .+od is/ and keep
sitting where "ou are. $ou have somehow to approach Him. *all upon Him secretl" pra" to Him
.+rant me 0h" vision grant please./ Sa" this and cr" with a longing heart. ?ust as "ou roam
madl" for .woman and gold/ !e a !it cra=" for Him too. Let people sa" that such and such
person has gone mad for +od. +ive up ever"thing for some da"s and onl" call upon Him secretl".
4What will it avail just to sa" .He e:ists/ and do nothing?
..0urn the milk into curds churn it and onl" then "ou will get !utter.<
8What a reat trouble it is+ .et somebody show him God while he kee#s sittin at ease+ .et somebody
take butter and brin it to his mouth. "-ll lauh.% What a trouble+ .et somebody else $at$h the fish and
hand it over to him+
8Somebody wants to meet the kin. The kin is beyond the seven ates. !e 5ust #asses throuh the first
ate and asks, 4Where is the kin?( The way is to #ass throuh all the ates one by one.((
Mahima$haran What should we do to attain !im?
Sri Ramakrishna It is not that "ou can attain Him !" doing this and not !" doing that. It
depends upon His grace. $et "ou have to take to some action with a longing heart. Longing for
Him !rings His grace.
8So, I say that anythin $an ha##en if one has the lonin for it.9

Sann"asa and household ashrama # +od#reali=ation and renunciation # who is real sann"asi?
Sri Ramakrishna Till you have $om#letely renoun$ed in the mind, you $annot attain God. The sadhu
does not a$$umulate. 4The bird and the darvish "sadhu% do not hoard.( The bird and the sadhu do not
a$$umulate. -s for me, I $annot $arry even a $lod of earth to $lean my hands. I $annot $arry the beetle6
leaf in my ba "a small ba made of $loth%.
"To Mahima% 8*ou #eo#le are householders, you have this as well as that 6 live in the household and
also sti$k to the s#iritual #ath.9
Mahima Is it #ossible to live with this as well as that?
Sri Ramakrishna I threw money in the Gana water at the bank of Gana, near <an$havati, sayin,
4Money and earth, earth is money, money is earth.( 2ut then I felt a friht. I said to myself, 4!ave I
be$ome a wret$h iven u# by .akshmi "the oddess of wealth%?( If Mother .akshmi sto#s ivin me
food, what will ha##en to me? I then $al$ulated like !a@ra. I said, 4Mother, #lease dwell in my heart+(
The Mother 2haavati, ha##y with the austerity #ra$tised by a #erson, said to him, 4-sk for a boon.(
!e said, 4Mother, if you have to rant me a boon, rant that I may eat ri$e in a old #late with my
randson.( Thus in one boon he asked for everythin 6 randson, #ros#erity and a old #late+
"'verybody lauhs.%
8When you have renoun$ed 4woman and old( from the mind, your mind oes to God and ets
absorbed in !im. They who are bound also attain liberation. 0ne is bound when one is away from God.
When does the lower needle not #oint at the u##er needle of the oldsmith(s s$ale? The moment there
is load of 4woman and old( in one of its #ans.
8Why does the infant $ry after $omin out of the womb? 4I was in the womb, in yoa.( -fter takin
birth he $ries and says, 4Where, where am I? Where have I $ome? I was meditatin on God(s lotus feet,
and now where am I?(
87or you #eo#le what is re&uired is renun$iation in the mind. .ive in your family without atta$hment.((
Is it necessar" to renounce the world?
Mahima When the mind has one u# to !im, does one then stay with the family any more?
Sri Ramakrishna What are you sayin? Where will you o if you don(t stay in family? I $learly see
that I am in Rama(s -yodhya wherever I may be. This family life, this worldly life is Rama(s -yodhya.
!avin re$eived s#iritual knowlede from his uru Rama$handra said, 4I will renoun$e the family life
"world%.( 1asharath $alled ?aishishtha to make Rama $hane his mind. ?aishishtha saw that Rama was
under dee# dis#assion. !e then said, 4Rama, first reason it out with me= you may renoun$e the world
later. Well, tell me, is this world without God? If that be so, you may renoun$e it.( Rama understood
that God !imself has be$ome the world, its $reatures 6 everythin. It is be$ause of !is #ower that one
#er$eives everythin as real. Rama$handra be$ame silent then.
8*ou have to fiht aainst lust, aner and so on in the worldly life= you have to fiht aainst various
desires. *ou have to fiht aainst atta$hment. If the fiht is iven from inside the fort, it is $onvenient 6
it is better to fiht livin in the household. !ere you et food, the wife hel#s you in so many ways.
In )aliyua life de#ends on food. It is better to be at one #la$e than to roam about from #la$e to #la$e
for food. This is as if fihtin from inside the fort of household.
8-nd you should live in the world like a s$ra# leaf in a storm. The storm takes the s$ra# leaf sometimes
inside the house, sometimes it is $arried to a hea#. The leaf is $arried away in the dire$tion of the wind
6 sometimes at a neat #la$e and sometimes at a dirty #la$e.
!e has ke#t you in the family life= it is ood, you rather stay there. -ain when !e lifts you from there
and $arries to a better #la$e, it will be what it may.9
Resignation in famil" life # Rama/s will
8What $an you do if you are ke#t in the world? Resin "surrender% everythin to !im. Then there will
be no trouble. *ou will then reali@e that it is !e who is doin all. 'verythin de#ends on Rama(s will.9
- 1evotee 4Rama(s will( 6 what is that story?
Sri Ramakrishna There was a weaver in a villae. !e was very reliious. 'verybody trusted him and
loved him. The weaver would o to the market to sell dhotis. When the $ustomer asked the #ri$e, he
would say, 42y Rama(s will, $otton thread $osts one ru#ee= by Rama(s will labour $hares is four annas=
by Rama(s will, #rofit two annas. So, the #ri$e of the dhoti by Rama(s will is one ru#ee si/ annas.(
<eo#le had so mu$h faith in him that they would immediately #ay and buy the $loth. This fellow was a
reat devotee. -fter his dinner he would sit in the ,handi6manda# till late in the niht, meditate on God
and sin !is lories. 0ne niht it was very late but this fellow did not feel slee#y. !e was smokin in
between. :ust then a rou# of da$oits was #assin that way to $ommit da$oity. They needed a #orter.
So, they $ame to the weaver and said, 4,ome alon with us.( Sayin so, they #ulled him by the hand
and took him alon. Then they $ommitted da$oity in a house. They #la$ed so many arti$les on the
weaver(s head to $arry. :ust then the #oli$e arrived. The da$oits ran away but the weaver was $auht
with all those arti$les on his head. !e was ke#t in the #oli$e lo$ku# that niht. The ne/t day he was
tried by a maistrate. When the villaers $ame to know of it, they all $ame there. They all said, 4Sir,
this fellow $an never $ommit a da$oity.( The maistrate then asked the weaver, 4I say, tell me how it all
ha##ened with you?( The weaver re#lied, 4Sir, by Rama(s will, I took ri$e at niht. 2y Rama(s will,
then I sat in the ,handi6manda#. 2y Rama(s will, it was very late at niht. 2y Rama(s will I was
meditatin on !im and was sinin !is lories when by Rama(s will a rou# of da$oits was oin that
very way. 2y Rama(s will, they #ulled me and took me alon with them. 2y Rama(s will, they
$ommitted da$oity in a house. 2y Rama(s will, they #la$ed a load on my head. Then by !is will I was
$auht. 2y Rama(s will, the #oli$e #ut me in the lo$ku#. -nd now this mornin by Rama(s will I have
been brouht before you.( Seein that the fellow was so reliious, the maistrate dis$hared him. 0n
the way the weaver said to his friends, 42y Rama(s will, I have been dis$hared.(
44Whether one is livin in the household or one has taken sannyasa, all is Rama(s will. So, resin
yourself to !is will and do your duties livin in the world. '/$e#t for this what $an you do?9
44- #erson who is )ivanmukta (liberated in this very life), may live the family life if he so wills. 7or a
man who has attained 5nana, there is nothin like 4here( and 4there(. It is all the same for him.
'verythin 4here( as well as 4there( belons to !im.9
8When I saw )eshab Sen for the first time in the arden house, I said, 4!e has $ast off his tail.(
'verybody in the assembly lauhed. )eshab said, 4<lease don(t lauh. !is words have some meanin.
.et me ask him.(
I said3 So lon the fro does not shed off its tail, it has to live only in water. It $annot $limb the ede
and roam about on dry land. -s soon as it $asts off its tail, it 5um#s u# and $omes to the dry land. Then
it $an live both in the water as well as on the land. Similarly, till the man sheds the tail of his inoran$e,
he lies in the water of worldliness. When he $asts off the tail of inoran$e, when he attains 5nana he is
liberated and $an move about everywhere 6 and if he likes, he $an live even in family.((
0he doctrine of ma"a in 7edanta and Sri Ramakrishna
Sri Ramakrishna -$$ordin to the ?edanta #hiloso#hy the world is all maya, like a dream 6 all
illusory. !e who is <armatman is there as a witness 6 !e is the witness in all the three states of wakin,
dream and dee# slee#. -ll these $onform to your way of thinkin. The wakin state and the dreamin
state are both e&ually true.
Sri Ramakrishna 2rahman is &ualified by the )iva (embodied soul) and the world. In the beinnin,
while sayin 4;ot this, not this,( one should leave out the 5iva and the world. So lon as one has the
feelin of I6ness one feels that !e !imself has be$ome everythin. !e indeed has be$ome all the
twenty four $ateories.
8When one talks of the essen$e of the bel fruit, one only understands that it means the kernel 6 its seeds
and shell have to be thrown away. 2ut to be able to tell the weiht of the bel fruit sim#ly weihin the
kernel alone will not do. 0ne has to take the kernel, the seeds and the shell toether to weih it. The
kernel belons to it and so do its seeds and shell.9
The =itya (4bsolute) belons to !im and so does the leela (phenomenal world). 8So, I take the ;itya
as well as the leela. I don(t do away with the world by $allin it maya. If I do so, it will lose weiht.9
Mahima$haran 2eautifully harmoni@ed+ 7rom the ;itya to the leela and aain from the leela to the
;itya.
Sri Ramakrishna The 5nanis see all like a dream. The bhaktas a$$e#t all the states. The 5nani yields
milk in dri#lets. "-ll lauh.% Some $ows are very $hoosy while ra@in, so they yield milk in dri#lets.
They who do not dis$riminate so mu$h and eat everythin ive streams of milk. The hihest $lass
devotee "bhakti% a$$e#ts both the ;itya and the leela. So he $an en5oy !im even when his mind $omes
down from the ;itya. The hihest $lass devotee yields milk in streams. "-ll lauh.%
Sri Ramakrishna "to Mahima% *ou #eo#le e/#lain 0mkar 5ust by 4a(, 4u(, 4m(.
Mahima$haran 4-( for $reation, 4u( for #reservation and 4m( for dissolution.
Sri Ramakrishna I e/#lain it with the sound 4tam( of the brass bell 6 t...a...m. Merin into the ;itya
from the leela= merin into the Great ,ause from the ross, the subtle and the $ausal= merin into the
state of turiya from the states of wakin, dreamin and dee# slee#. Then the bell rins as if somethin
bi has fallen into the o$ean ivin rise to its waves. The leela thus starts from the ;itya= the ross, the
subtle and the $ausal forms start a##earin out of the Great ,ause. -ll the states of wakin, dreamin
and dee# slee# $ome out of turiya. -nd aain the wave of the reat o$ean loses itself into the reat
o$ean.
Rea$h leela holdin on to the ;itya and then rea$h the ;itya holdin on to leela, I have been shown
this. I use the simile of the sound 4tam(. I have #re$isely seen all this. I was shown the sea of
$ons$iousness, it is limitless. -ll this leela rose from it and then mered into it. Millions of
brahmandas (universes) $ome into e/isten$e into the s#a$e of $ons$iousness and then they lose
themselves into it. I do not known what your books say.
Mahima They who have seen have not written the s$ri#tures. They remained absorbed in their
bhava. Where was the time for them to write? To be able to write, one needs analyti$al mind. The
others heard from them and wrote.
How long remains attachment of the world? 0ill the attainment of the !liss of -rahman
Sri Ramakrishna The worldly #eo#le ask why the atta$hment to 4woman and old( does not vanish.
The atta$hment oes when God is attained. If you on$e taste the bliss of 2rahman, your mind does not
run after sensual #leasures, wealth and honour.
8If the inse$t of the rainy season "moth% sees the liht on$e, it does not o to the darkness aain.
More one develo#s devotion, the less be$omes one(s atta$hment to the world 6 ,haitanya(s devotees are
unatta$hed.
8-ll the sadhan and bha5an "s#iritual #ra$ti$es% are for attainin !im. The more you meditate on !im,
the less you have atta$hment for en5oyin the ordinary thins of the world. The more devotion you
have for !is lotus feet, the less of desire for sensory ob5e$ts you will have and the lesser your mind will
$on$ern itself with the bodily $omforts.
Someone else(s wife will a##ear to you as mother. *our own wife will be your hel#er in the reliious
life. She will a##ear to you like a friend. *ou will be freed from your animal instin$ts and divine
&ualities will develo# within you. *ou will be $om#letely deta$hed from the world. Then even if you
live in the world, you will move about as 5ivanmukta. The devotees of ,haitanya 1eva lived in the
world without atta$hment.9
;eep secret of the jnani and the !hakta
"To Mahima% 8*ou may talk of ?edanta a thousand times to a enuine bhakta and $all the world like a
dream before him, his devotion will not vanish. !e may shed it a little for a while. - #estle was lyin in
a field of willows, it resulted in musalam kulanashnam "the #estle destroyin the dynasty%.
440ne be$omes a 5nani when one is born of Shiva. !is mind always oes to this knowlede 64only
2rahman is the reality, the world an illusion(. If one is born of ?ishnu, one #ossesses prema bhakti
(loving devotion). This #rema bhakti does not leave you easily. >#on reasonin even if this #rema
bhakti is diluted, it returns ushin forth after a time 5ust as the #estle destroyed the dynasty of the
*adus.9
"To !a@ra% 8Why do you $all the #ure -tman as Ishwara "the .ord%? The #ure atman is beyond all
a$tion. It is only a witness to all the three states. When I think of $reation, #reservation and dissolution
I $all !im Ishwara. What is a #ure soul like? It is like the manet lyin at a distan$e. 2ut the needle
still moves, the manet itself remains unmoved 6 a$tionless.((
Sri Ramakrishna 0ne attains !im by faith alone.
Sri Ramakrishna *ou #erform 5a#a, daily #u5a, observe fast, #erform #urush$haran, and rituals
"re#etition of the holy mantra, et$. for the fulfillment of some task as laid down in the s$ri#tures%. This
is very ood. God ets all these karmas done from him who has the sin$ere attra$tion for !im. If one is
able to #erform all su$h karmas without desire for fruit, one surely attains !im.
44The s$ri#tures instru$t to #erform numerous karmas, so I #erform them 6 this is $alled vaidhi
(ritualistic) bhakti. The other is raga bhakti. It $omes out of a special deep love 2 love for ,od, as was
that of <rahlada. When one develo#s this bhakti, there is no loner the need for vaidhi karmas.9
40he 3mniscient the )ncient the Ruler (inuter than an atom the Supporter of all of 6orm
inconceiva!le 9ffulgent like the sun and -e"ond all darkness@ he who meditates on this
Resplendent Supreme ,urusha at the time of death with a stead" mind devotion and strength
of "oga well fi:ing the entire ,rana in the middle of the e"e#!rows he reaches Him.<
That which the knowers of *eda call the Imperishable, and into which enter the sannyasins, self2
controlled and freed from attachment, and desiring which they lead a life of continence, that I shall
declare to you with brevity.
,ita B0&2$$
.I shall eat siddhi/ # +ita and the eight siddhis %occult powers& # what is +od#reali=ation?
Sri Ramakrishna Mother+ I don(t want karanananda "the 5oy of $ausal%. I shall eat siddhi.
8"iddhi, i.e. the attainment of the >ssence 6 not a siddhi out of the eiht siddhis. )rishna s#oke of that
siddhi to -r5una. Said he, 42rother, listen. If a #erson has even one of the eiht siddhis then know that
he $annot attain Me.( 2e$ause this siddhi will brin him #ride and when there is even a tra$e of #ride in
a #erson, he $annot rea$h God.
8-nd there are the pravartakas (beginners), sadhakas (the practitioners), the siddhas (spiritually
matured ones) and the siddha of the siddhas (the most perfect among the siddhas).
!e who has 5ust taken to the worshi# of the .ord belons to the $lass of the #ravartakas. - pravartaka
makes marks of sandalwood #aste or so on his forehead, a##lies the tilak and uses the rosary 6 he
shows lot of su$h e/ternal sins.
The sadhaka is more advan$ed. !is tenden$y to show off ets redu$ed. !e has yearnin to seek the
.ord and $alls u#on !im sin$erely. !e re#eats !is ;ame and #rays to !im with a uileless heart.
-nd who is a siddha? !e who has the firm $onvi$tion that God is there and that !e is doin
everythin= su$h a #erson has had God(s vision.
-nd who is 4the siddha of the siddhas(? !e who has $onversed with God 6 not 5ust seen !im but
talked to !im as a son to his father, or as a mother to her $hild, or as a friend to a friend "in sakhya
bhava%, or as a lover "in madhura bhava%.
8There is one thin to have faith that wood has fire within itself and it is another to make fire with it,
$ook ri$e and feel filled and satisfied by eatin it.
40here is no end to a divine state. 0here is alwa"s one state higher than the other.<
+od of the worldl" men # "earning and reali=ation # !e firm
"In s#iritual mood% 8These #eo#le are 2rahma5nanis and believe in God without form. This is very
ood.
"To 2rahmo bhaktas% 82elieve firmly in one 6 either in God with form or God without form. *ou will
reali@e !im only then, not otherwise. - man with firm faith in God with form will attain !im and also
he who have firm faith in God without form. Whether you eat suared bread straiht or awry, it will
taste sweet both ways. "-ll lauh.%
4-ut one has to !e firm one has to call upon Him with a "earning heart.<
1o you know what the God of the worldly man is like? It is like the $hildren imitatin the &uarrel
between the youner aunt and the elder, and sayin ea$h other, 4I swear by God.( It is also like the well6
dressed babu who $hewin a beetle leaf and holdin a sti$k in his hand, #lu$ks a flower as he strolls
and says to his $om#anion, 4What a beautiful flower God has made+( 2ut this bhava of su$h a worldly
man is only momentary like a dro# of water on red6hot iron.
4$ou have to firm in one. ;ive. Without diving "ou cannot reach the gems !elow in the sea. It
avails nothing if "ou swim on the surface.<
Sri Ramakrishna ;ive. Learn to love the Lord. 6orget "ourself in His prema. Look here I
have heard "our worship. -ut wh" do "ou talk so much of the glor" of the Lord in "our -rahmo
Samaj? .3 Lord5 $ou have made the sk" $ou have made !ig oceans. $ou have created the
regions of the moon of the sun of the stars and so on./ What is the need of all this?<
4,eople !egin to wonder just on seeing the !a!u/s garden # what !eautiful trees what flowers
what a lake what a drawing room what !eautiful pictures therein. Seeing all these the" stand
speechless in wonder. -ut who looks for the !a!u the owner of the garden? 3nl" one or two
persons do so.<
4While looking for +od with a longing heart "ou can see Him "ou can know Him "ou can talk to
Him the wa" I am talking to "ou. I tell "ou trul" "ou can see Him.<
46or whom do I speak these words # who even !elieves in it5<
4*an one reach +od !" reading scriptures? )t the most !" reading scriptures "ou ma" know that
He e:ists. -ut unless "ou "ourself dive deep "ou cannot see +od. 3nl" when "ou have dived deep
and He lets "ou know Him all "our dou!ts get cleared. $ou ma" read a !ook a thousand times
"ou ma" chant a thousand verses "ou cannot hold +od without earnestl" diving into Him. (ere
learning will confuse "ou it can never make "ou catch Him.
4What use is of scriptures or other hol" !ooks alone? Without His grace nothing will happen.
Search Him with a longing heart. -" His grace "ou will see Him. He will talk to "ou.<
Sri Ramakrishna !e is #resent in every bein as *ibhu (omnipresent). So he is in everythin. -s !e
is in me, !e is in ant too. 2ut there is s#e$ial #ower in some. *ou are enerous, you are learned. *ou
have more of these &ualities than others. So, you are well known. *ou know there are #ersons who $an
defeat a hundred men sinle handedly while there are others who run away in fear of a sinle #erson.(
8The Gita says3 If a #erson is $onsidered reat by many, whether it is be$ause of his learnin, or ability
to sin, or #lay on musi$al instruments, or his oratory, or anythin else, know it for $ertain that he has
s#e$ial #ower of God within.9
'ven so you must live for sometime in a solitary #la$e. *ou should #ra$tise sadhana on the .ord in
solitude. 8To attain God, hold on to !is lotus feet with one hand and do your work with the other while
livin in family. When you are free from work, hold !is lotus feet with both the hands, live in solitude,
meditate on !im alone and serve !im.9
Sri Ramakrishna When you have attained 5nana, you no loner see God at a distan$e from you. !e
is no loner 4!e( for you 6 !e be$omes 4this(. !e is seen in the heart. God is within everybody. !e who
seeks !im, finds !im.
Sri Ramakrishna .ove !im. In a son, whi$h you #eo#le sin, says, 4.ord+ ,an one ever know *ou
by #erformin ya5na without lovin *ou?( <ray, $ry, wee# aloud to !im in a solitary $orner so that you
may ain su$h attra$tion for !im, su$h love for the .ord. <eo#le shed #it$herfuls of tears when their
wives are ill, or they lose money, or for 5ob. Who wee#s for the .ord? :ust tell me, I would like to
know.
8!owever, when a #erson is sur$hared by s#iritual knowlede, he is not left with any duties to
#erform. Then it is God who looks after when you are not able to do so.9
8*ou are already $om#letely absorbed in !im. *ou have already iven your mind $om#letely to God
while livin in the household. Then why is it not #ossible in the household? ,ertainly, it will be.9
Signs of a jnani in household # signs of +od#reali=ation # jivanmukta
Trailokya What are the sins that one has attained 5nana while livin in the household?
Sri Ramakrishna Tears from the eyes and horri#ilation at the name of !ari. ;o sooner does one hears
!is sweet ;ame, one(s hair on the body stand on end and a stream of tears flows from the eyes. 8So
lon as there is atta$hment for sensory ob5e$ts, so lon as there is attra$tion for 4woman and old(,
body $ons$iousness doesn(t leave you. The lesser the atta$hment for sensory ob5e$ts, the nearer you are
to the 4tma)nana (knowledge of the "elf) and to the same e/tent the body $ons$iousness be$omes less.
0ne attains atma5nana when atta$hment to the sensory ob5e$ts has $om#letely disa##eared. Then one
beins to feel that the soul is one and the body another. It is diffi$ult to se#arate the kernel of the
$o$onut from its shell on $uttin it with a heavy knife till the water in it has dried u#. When water is
dried u# you have 5ust to strike and shake it and the kernel ets deta$hed. This is $alled a dry $o$onut.
8The sins of God6reali@ation are that a man be$omes like a dry $o$onut, ets rid of the identifi$ation
of the body with the self. <leasure and #ain of the body are no loner his $on$ern. !e does not want
bodily $onvenien$es. !e roams about as )ivanmukta (liberated in this very life).
8)ali(s devotees are 5ivanmuktas. They are full of unendin 5oy. When you see that at the very name of
the .ord tears bein to flow and hair on the body stand on end, know it that atta$hment towards
4woman and old( has disa##eared, that one has attained God.
If the mat$hsti$k is dry, rub it 5ust on$e and it will inite. -nd if it is wet, you may rub it fifty times, it
will not inite= then you have only to throw away the wooden sti$ks. If your mind is immersed in the
li&uid of sensory #leasures, is wet in the li&uid of 4woman and old,( ins#iration for God will not $ome
to your mind. Try you may a thousand times, all your efforts o in vain. It is only when the li&uid of
sensory #leasures dries u#, there is instantaneous ins#iration of God.9
Trailokya !ow to dry u# the li&uid of sensory #leasures?
Sri Ramakrishna ,all on the Mother with a lonin heart. The li&uid of sensory #leasures dries u#
on seein !er 6 your atta$hment to 4woman and old( will fully disa##ear. When you reali@e that !e is
your own Mother, it ha##ens at that very moment. !e is not your ste#mother. !e is your own Mother+
2e earnest and even stubborn with !er+
The boy holds u# his mother(s sari while askin her for money to buy a kite. The mother is #erha#s
busy talkin to other women. Initially, the mother refuses outriht, sayin, 4;o, your father does not
want this. I(ll ask him when he $omes. *ou may not do somethin wron.( 2ut when the boy starts
$ryin and does not leave her, the mother says to the women, 4:ust wait for a while sisters. .et me on$e
#a$ify this boy and return.( Sayin so, she o#ens her bo/ with a key and throws a #aisa at the boy. *ou
also be$ome stubborn with the Mother. She will $ertainly rant you !er darshan.
4When somebody has $hildren, doesn(t he take u# the res#onsibility of feedin them, do the brahmins
of the lo$ality take u# this duty?(
The Sub65ude Sir, so is !e not all kindness?
Sri Ramakrishna Why should !e be so? The one thin I told them was that !e is our very own. We
$an for$e !im+ To our near and dear ones we $an even say, 4Won(t you ive, you ras$al ...?(
9go and the Su!#judge
Sri Ramakrishna "to the Sub65ude% Well, do #ride and eo $ome from 5nana or from a)nana
(ignorance)? <ride is a tamouna and results from inoran$e. -s this #ride is a veil, so one $annot see
God. When 4I( is dead, all #roblems vanish. <ride is of no use. ;either this body nor this wealth is
oin to last.
The natures of sattva, ra5as and tamas are different from ea$h other.
The sins of tamouna are #ride, slee#, overeatin, lust, aner and so on.
- ra5ouni #erson has the tenden$y to in$rease one(s work and to dress u# well. !e kee#s his house
$lean and tidy. !e also kee#s the #hoto of the &ueen in the drawin room. When he meditates on God,
he #uts on #ure silk $loth and a strin of rudraksha beads round his ne$k with a old bead in between.
When somebody $omes to see the shrine, he a$$om#anies him, sayin, 4,ome this way, there is more
of it. See the white marble floor, see the nata mandir "the $on$ert room% with si/teen o#enins.( -nd
then he ives away $harity in the #resen$e of others.
- sattva uni #erson is very $alm and well6behaved, any $lothes do for him, earns only to live, never
flatters anybody for money. The house remains in want of re#airs, he doesn(t $are whether his $hildren
have suffi$ient $lothins or not, makes no efforts for name or fame. !e meditates and ives away in
$harity se$retly 6 so that nobody $omes to know of it. !e meditates inside the mos&uito net. <eo#le
think that the entleman $ould not have slee# at niht, so he is now slee#in till so late. The sattvauna
is the last ste# of the stair$ase 6 the roof $omes only after it. -fter sattvauna God6reali@ation does not
take lon. :ust a little more advan$ement and he will attain !im.
"To the sub65ude% *ou said that all #eo#le are e&ual. :ust see, how many different natures there are.
8-nd then there are so many $lasses "of human beins%3 The nitya )ivas (ever free), the mukta )ivas
(liberated ones), the mumukshu )ivas (aspirants) and the baddha )ivas (bound). There are so many
different ty#es.
;arada and Sukadeva are nitya 5ivas "ever free%. They are like a steamboat whi$h not only $rosses over
but also takes alon with it bi animals, even an ele#hant.
Then there are the mumukshu 5ivas "seekers after liberation% who try earnestly with their heart and soul
to free themselves from the net of the world. 0nly one or two of them $an free themselves from the net.
They be$ome the mukta 5ivas "liberated ones%.
The nitya 5ivas are like the $lever fish, they never et entanled in the net of the world.
-s for the baddha 5ivas, the worldly #eo#le, they do not et awareness. They are in the meshes of the
net, rather bound by it, yet do not even know of it. These #eo#le when they see God(s lory bein
narrated before them, they leave that #la$e, sayin, 4The name of the .ord is re#eated at the time of
death. Why 5ust now?( If he oes on #ilrimae, he does not find time to meditate on God. !e tires
himself out 5ust by $arryin the bundles of his wife and $hildren. In the tem#le all he does is to et
$haranamrita for his son to drink and make him bow to the 1eity and so on. The bound soul takes u#
servi$e under others to earn for the u#kee# of himself, his wife and $hildren. !e earns money by tellin
lies, de$eit and flattery. Su$h a #erson looks down u#on those who $all u#on the .ord and meditate on
!im, sayin that they are mad.
"To the sub65ude% There are so many kinds of men, you see+ -nd you said that they are all the same+
!ow many different natures+ Some #ossessin more #ower and the others less+9

The bound soul does not take the name of the .ord at the time of death
The bound soul, atta$hed to worldliness, talks only of the world at the time of death. What use is it to
$ount the beads su#erfi$ially, take bath in the Gana or visit holy #la$es? If within oneself one has
atta$hment for the world, the world alone $omes before the eyes at the time of death. If you think of the
.ord at the time of death, you attain !im and then you don(t have to return to this world.
The 2rahmo 2hakta Sir, say one has meditated on the .ord at other times but not at the time of
death, does it mean that one will have to $ome to this world of #leasures and #ains aain? 2ut why, had
he not been meditatin on the .ord earlier?
Sri Ramakrishna - man does meditate on God, but he does not have faith in !im. So, he forets
!im time and aain, and ets atta$hed to world. It is like the ele#hant who has 5ust been washed. It
aain soils itself with mud and dust. 2ut if the ele#hant is taken to its stable soon after the wash, it
$annot rub mud and slush on its body. If one thinks of God at the time of death, one(s mind is #urified=
su$h a mind does not aain et a $han$e to be$ome atta$hed to 4woman and old(.
0ne has no faith in God, that is why one suffers so mu$h from the $onse&uen$es of one(s a$tions.
<eo#le say that when you are takin a di# in the Gana, your sins leave you and #er$h themselves on
the tree at the bank of the river. -s soon as you $ome ba$k to the bank after the bath, all your sins aain
fly ba$k and sit firmly on your shoulders."-ll lauh.%
8*ou must devise means beforehand so that your mind is in God at the time of death. The way is 6
4bhyasa 7oga (constant sincere practice). *ou will then remember !im in your last moments too.9
The 2rahmo 2hakta We had a fine $onversation. ?ery fine indeed+
Sri Ramakrishna 0, I have been talkin im#ertinent+ 2ut do you know what is my bhava "state of
mind%3 4I am the tool and !e the me$hani$= I am the dwellin and !e is the dweller= I am the $arriae,
!e is the enineer= I am the $hariot, !e is the $harioteer= I move as !e makes me move= I do as !e
makes me do.(
-fter understandin the mystery of )ali and 2rahman, I have iven u# both dharma and adharma.
8-dharma means enain in unrihteous a$ts. 1harma means the #res$ribed duties 6 so mu$h $harity,
so mu$h feedin of the brahmins, all this is dharma.9
?i5ay What remains after one has iven u# both dharma and adharma?
Sri Ramakrishna <ure devotion. I said to the Mother3 !ere is your dharma and here is your adharma,
take them and ive me #ure bhakti. !ere is your #iety and here is your sin, take them and rant me #ure
bhakti. !ere is your 5nana and here is your a5nana, take them and rant me #ure bhakti.
4?ust see I didn/t even ask for jnana nor did I ask for worldl" name and fame. When one has
given up dharma and adharma that which remains is pure -hakti # )mla %Love without allo"&
1ishkama %Love for +od untainted !" desires& )huteki %Love for +od that wells up un!idden
out of the depths of the immortal soul& devotion.<
Sri Ramakrishna 2rahman is the same as )ali "the <rimeval <ower%. When It is ina$tive, I $all It
2rahman. When It is $reatin, #reservin and dissolvin I $all It Shakti "<ower%. Still water $an be an
illustration of 2rahman. When water is in motion, it is like Shakti or )ali.
)ali, i.e. who s#orts with Mahakala "2rahman%. )ali 4is with form, has a sha#e and is without form.( If
you believe in the 7ormless, you will meditate on )ali takin !er formless. 2e firm on one. When you
meditate on It, She will !erself make you understand what She is like.
When you rea$h Shyam#ukur, you will also know Tele#ada. *ou will then know that !e not only e/ists
but also $omes and s#eaks to you the way I am s#eakin to you. !ave faith, it will all $ome about. -nd
there is one thin more. If you believe in the formless be firm in your belief. 2ut don(t take to
domatism, don(t em#hasi@e about !im that God $an only be this and not that. Say, 4I believe that God
is formless. What else God is, only !e knows. I don(t know and I also $an(t understand.(
,an a #erson with his oun$e of intelle$t know the nature of God? ,an a one seer utensil $ontain four
seers of milk? If !e in !is ra$e rants darshan and makes one understand !imself then alone one $an
understand, not otherwise.(
Sri Ramakrishna -fter one has attained purna )nana (the 6ltimate knowledge), both God and !is
<ower are one and the same. .ike the 5ewel and its lustre are inse#arable. -s soon as the lustre of a
5ewel $omes to the mind, one thinks of the 5ewel itself. It is like milk inse#arable from its whiteness 6
think of one and you think of the other.
2ut this oneness does not $ome about till one has attained #urna 5nana. When one has #urna 5nana, one
oes into samadhi. Then all the twenty four elements leave you in$ludin the aham element "eo%. !ow
does one feel in samadhi, one $annot tell by the word of the mouth. When one $omes down a little, one
$an ive some hint of it. When I utter 40on, oon( after samadhi, I have already $ome down a hundred
$ubits. 2rahman is beyond the ?edi$ do$trine 6 one $annot s#eak of It. There is no 4I( or 4*ou( there.
4)s long as there is .I/ and .$ou/ as long as there is the knowledge .I pra" or I meditate/ so long
.$ou %the Lord& listens to m" pra"er/ # this awareness also persists. 0hen one also thinks of +od
as a person. .$ou are the (aster I am $our servant@ $ou are the whole I am $our portion@ $ou
are the (other I am $our son/ # this awareness remains within.<
40here is a feeling of dualit" I am one and $ou are also one. 0his feeling of dualit" He Himself
gives. 0hat is how one is aware of !eing a male or a female. 3ne feels that here is light and there
is darkness and so on. So long as one is aware of dualit" one has to !elieve in Shakti %,ersonal
+od&. He Himself has kept this .I#ness/ within us. Reason a thousand times this .I/ does not leave
"ou. )nd then He also manifests Himself as a person.<
4So long as there is .I/ so long as "ou are conscious of dualit" "ou should not take -rahman as
attri!uteless. 0ill then "ou must accept -rahman with attri!utes. 0his ver" -rahman with
attri!utes has !een called 8ali or ,rimeval ,ower in the 7edas the ,uranas and the 0antras.<
7ija" How to have darshan of this ,rimeval ,ower? How to have this knowledge of -rahman?
Sri Ramakrishna ,ra" to Him with a "earning heart and weep. 0his will purif" "our mind. In
clear water "ou will !e a!le to see the reflection of the sun. In the mirror of the .I/ of the devotee
"ou will !e a!le to see -rahman with attri!utes the ,rimeval ,ower. -ut the mirror must !e ver"
clean. If it is stained it will not catch the correct image.
4So long as there is .I/ "ou should see the sun in the water of .I/. 0here is no other wa" at all for
seeing the sun. (oreover so long as "ou have no means to see the real sun other than the
reflected sun onl" the reflected sun is the real sun # si:teen annas %hundred percent& real. )s long
as .I/ is real the reflected sun is also real # si:teen annas real. 0his reflected sun is the ,rimeval
,ower.<
4If "ou want to attain the knowledge of -rahman take up that reflection and proceed towards
the real sun.
0he -rahman with attri!utes who listens to "our pra"ers pra" to Him@ He will Himself grant
"ou -rahmajnana %the knowledge of -rahman&.
0his is !ecause He who is -rahman with attri!utes is Himself the attri!uteless -rahman. He who
is Shakti is Himself -rahman. )fter purna jnana %the Altimate knowledge& there is no dualit".
8The Mother rants 2rahma5nana too, but enerally a #ure devotee does not want 2rahma5nana.
8-nd there is an another #ath, that of :nana *oa, a very diffi$ult #ath indeed. *ou #eo#le of 2rahmo
Sama5 are not 5nanis, you are bhaktas. Those who are 5nanis believe that 2rahman is true and the world
an illusion 6 like a dream. I, you, all are like a dream.9
8God is antaryamin (knower of oneHs mind). <ray to !im inno$ently with a #ure mind. !e will make
you understand all. Give u# eoism and take refue in !im. *ou will et everythin.
Song
0 my mind, live by yourself,
1on(t o to any other(s house.
Sear$h within yourself,
*ou will find there all you are lookin for.
I say brother, !e !imself is the #hiloso#her(s stone, the su#reme wealth,
!e $an ive you all you want
-t the door of ,hintamani "wish fulfillin em= God% there are hea#s and hea#s of ems.
8When you meet #eo#le outside, you should be affe$tionate to all of them, be one with them 6 you will
not have any rude aainst anyone. Whether a #erson believes in God with form and does not believe
in the formless, whether someone a$$e#ts the formless and does not believe in God with form= so an so
is a !indu, so and so is a Muslim, or a ,hristian 6 sayin so, do not turn away and show your $ontem#t.
God has made them understand in different ways. )now that #eo#le have different natures. )now this
and mi/ in their $om#any as mu$h as it is #ossible for you and love them.
*ou will then o home and en5oy #ea$e and ha##iness. 4.ihtin the lam# of 5nana in your house, see
the fa$e of the 1ivine Mother.( *ou will be able to see your own real Self in the home. When the
$owherd boys $ome out to ra@e their $ows all the $ows mi/ toether in the field and form one sinle
herd. When they return home at dusk, they aain se#arate from ea$h other. 'a$h one remains by itself
in the home.9
,erception of the Infinite
Girish "smilin% ;arendra says that God is infinite. -ll that we see and hear whether it is a #erson
or a thin, even that we $an(t des$ribe, are all !is #ortions. What $an be the #ortions of infinity?
Infinity $annot be s#lit.
Sri Ramakrishna God may be Infinite, !e may be bi to any e/tent= if !e wills, !is essen$e $an
#er$olate into man 6 and it does. That !e $omes as God In$arnate $annot be e/#lained by any simile.
0ne has to e/#erien$e it. 0ne has to see it by himself.
8Similarly, God assumes a human body from time to time and a##ears on earth to tea$h us #rema and
bhakti.9
Girish ;arendra says, 4,an one $om#rehend !im $om#letely? !e is Infinite.(
Sri Ramakrishna "to Girish% Who $an $om#rehend God fully? 0ne $an know neither the whole nor a
#ortion of !is as#e$t. -nd then what need is there to know !im fully? It suffi$es if one has a vision of
God. Seein !is in$arnation is seein !im.
Sri Ramakrishna "lauhin% If you are lookin for the essen$e of God, you have to find it in man. !e
is more manifest in man. If you see ur)ita bhakti (deep devotion) and prema bhakti (loving devotion)
ushin out of a man, if you see him mad for God, $ra@y in !is love, know it for $ertain that !e has
manifested in him.
".ookin at M.% 8God is indeed #resent, but then !is #ower manifests more in some and less in others.
!is #ower manifests more in the avatara. Sometimes this #ower is in its fullness. It is Shakti "<ower%
that be$omes the avatara.9
Girish ;arendra says, 4!e is beyond word and intelle$t.(
Sri Ramakrishna 1o He ma" !e !e"ond this mind !ut He is known !" the pure mind # He is
not seen with this intellect !ut He is seen with pure intellect. )s soon as one is freed from the
attachment to .woman and gold/ one/s mind and intellect !ecome pure. 0hen the pure mind and
the pure intellect !ecome one. He is visi!le to the pure mind. Haven/t the sages seen Him? 0he"
saw *onsciousness with the help of consciousness.
Sri Ramakrishna What is the bhava (spirit) here, do you know? 2ooks, s$ri#tures et$. show only
the way to attain God. When you know the way, the means, what is the need of books and s$ri#tures?
Then one should a$t oneself.
In the s$ri#tures you will find ways to reali@e !im. 2ut after knowin all about it, you have to et to
work. Then alone you will attain the oal+
What use is mere learnin? - #undit may know a number of $ou#lets, a number of s$ri#tures. 2ut he
who is atta$hed to the world, who has love for 4woman and old( in his mind, he has not internali@ed
the $ontents of holy books 6 his study is in vain.
Sri Ramakrishna "smilin% The #undits talk tall. 2ut where are their looks? 0n 4woman and old(,
on sensual #leasures and on money.
;arendra !e is beyond s#ee$h and mind.
Sri Ramakrishna ;o, !e $an be reali@ed by the #ure intelle$t. The #ure intelle$t and the #ure atman
are indeed the same. The rishis reali@ed the Pure 4tman with their #ure intelle$t, pure atman.
Girish "to ;arendra% If God does not a##ear in a human body as the avatara, who will tea$h
mankind? !e assumes a human body to tea$h 5nana and bhakti to man. If it is not so, who will tea$h?
;arendra Why? !e will tea$h from within the heart.
Sri Ramakrishna *es, yes. !e will tea$h as antaryamin.
Sri Ramakrishna What Sankra has understood of ?edanta is true and then ?ishishtadvaitavada of
Ramanu5a is also true.
;arendra What is meant by ?ishisht6advaitavada?
Sri Ramakrishna "to ;arendra% ?ishishtadvaitavada is Ramanu5a(s do$trine, i.e. the -bsolute is
&ualified by the 5iva "finite soul% and the 5aat "#henomenal world%. The three of them form one.
8.et us take a bel fruit. Somebody se#arated its shell, seeds and kernel. -nd now you want to know the
weiht of the bel fruit. Will you be able to weih it by weihin the kernel alone? The shell, the seeds
and the kernel will have to be weihed toether. Initially neither the shell nor the seeds seem to be of
any im#ortan$e. 0nly the kernel seems to be all6im#ortant. 2ut when you think over it, you reali@e that
the kernel belons to the same substan$e "fruit% to whi$h the shell and the seeds belon. In the
beinnin you have to #ro$eed sayin, 4;ot this, not this.( 0ne must reason thus3 The 5iva is not
"#ermanent%, nor is the world. 0nly 2rahman is real, all else is unreal.
.ater, you reali@e that the kernel belons to the same substan$e to whi$h the shell and seeds belon.
The -bsolute is the identi$al substan$e from whi$h you derive the $on$e#tion of the 5iva and the world.
.eela "relative% must be tra$ed to that very 2ein to whi$h the ;itya "-bsolute% must be tra$ed. So,
Ramanu5a says that the 5iva, the world and 2rahman are one. This is $alled ?ishisht6advaitavada.
Sri Ramakrishna I see Him !efore m" e"es # what more should I reason? I am seeing that He
Himself has !ecome all that He Himself has !ecome the jiva and the world. Without awakening
of the spirit within "ou cannot reali=e the Aniversal Spirit. 6or how long one reasons? So long as
one does not attain Him. (ere talking will not do. I see that He indeed has !ecome all. 3ne
should gain awakening !" His grace. When "our spirit awakens "ou gain samadhi. Sometimes
"ou forget the !od"@ "our attachment to .woman and gold/ vanishes@ "ou don/t like an"thing
e:cept talk on +od@ "ou feel trou!led on hearing worldl" talk. 0he spirit within !eing awakened
the ne:t step is the reali=ation of the Aniversal Spirit.
-t the end of the dis$ussion Thakur Sri Ramakrishna says to M. 6 8I have observed that you $an know
!im in one way by reasonin and in another way by meditation 6 this is another way. -nd when !e
reveals !imself, it is yet different. -nd when he reveals what is God6in$arnate 6 when !e shows !is
human leela, you don(t have to reason any more, nobody has to make you understand. 1o you know
how it is? It is like strikin a mat$hsti$k and suddenly it illumines that #la$e. Similarly, if !e suddenly
ives you liht, all doubts vanish. ,an !e be known by reasonin?9
Sri Ramakrishna It will $ome about radually. )ali is none other but 2rahman. The 0ne who is
2rahman is )ali. )ali is the <rimeval <ower. When It is ina$tive, I $all it 2rahman. When It $reates,
#reserves and destroys, I $all It Shakti, I $all It )ali. To whom you $all #rahman (The 6nconditioned,
the 4bsolute), I $all ?ali (,od in (is relations to the conditioned).
82rahman and )ali are one and the same. They are like the fire and its burnin #ower. If one thinks of
fire, its burnin #ower immediately $omes to the mind. When one a$$e#ts )ali, one has to a$$e#t
2rahman. Similarly, by a$$e#tin 2rahman one has to a$$e#t )ali. 2rahman and Shakti are one and the
same. I $all !im Shakti and the same 2ein I $all )ali.9
"To ;arendra% 80ne reasons till one reali@es God. So lon as there is reasonin, you $annot attain !im.
*ou were reasonin, I didn(t like it.
8The nearer you $ome to God, the lesser remains the reasonin. When !e is attained no word, no
reasonin remains there. Then it is slee# A samadhi.9
82lessed is the worldly man who attends to his worldly work kee#in bhakti for God(s lotus feet. !e is
brave indeed+ 7or e/am#le, there is a man $arryin a load of two maunds on his head, and there is a
#ro$ession of a brideroom. The man has a load on his head, yet he sees the brideroom. >nless one
has reat strenth, this is not #ossible.
-s a mud fish lives in the mud, yet not a s#e$k of mud soils its body. The waterfowl is ever divin into
the water, but when it on$e flutters its wins no water stays on its body.
82ut to be able to live unatta$hed in the world, some sadhana (spiritual practice) is ne$essary. *ou
have to live in solitude for some days. .et it be for one year, or si/ months, or three months or for a
month. *ou have to meditate on God in this solitude.
*ou should always #ray to !im earnestly to rant you bhakti. -nd you should say to yourself, 4There is
none in this world who is my own. Those whom I $all my own are 5ust for two days. 0nly God is my
own #erson. !e alone is my all. -las+ how to attain !im?(
Sri Ramakrishna - man does not know the riht #ath. 2ut he has love of God within and wants to
know !im A su$h a #erson attains God by sheer dint of his bhakti.
Sri Ramakrishna >nless one reali@es God one $annot $om#rehend all this. 7or the as#irant !e
manifests !imself in many forms, in many ways.
43nl" he who alwa"s meditates on +od can know what is His real Self. 3nl" he knows that +od
grants His darshan in various forms. He is seen in different states. He has attri!utes and then He
is without attri!utes. He is with form and He is formless.<
Sri Ramakrishna That is to say, when one reali@es that only 2rahman is the Reality and the world an
illusion, one attains samadhi and all !is forms vanish. Whether God is a #erson, one is not aware of.
What !e is $annot be said by the word of mouth. -nd who will tell? Those who are to tell are
themselves not there. Their 4I( $annot be found even if you sear$h for it. Then 2rahman be$omes
attributeless and one $an have !is bodhebodha (intellectual conception and reali'ation). !e $annot be
known throuh the mind and the intelle$t.
)fter "ou have reali=ed +od "our nature !ecomes that of a five "ear old child. 0he .I/ of a child
and the ripe .I/. 0he child is not su!ject to an" guna > is !e"ond the three gunas. He is not su!ject
to an" of the gunas2 Sattva rajas or tamas
See, the $hild is not overned by tamouna. !e may 5ust now &uarrel and fiht with somebody, but
immediately he #uts his arm around his ne$k, shows him love and #lays with him.
!e is also not under the influen$e of ra5as. !e makes a toy house with so mu$h of labour. 2ut soon
after he leaves it there and runs to his mother. !e may roam about wearin a #retty dhoti and it falls off
in the dust the ne/t moment. !e may foret the dhoti $om#letely or he may be roamin about with the
dhoti under his arm#it+
If you ask this boy, 4*ou have a #retty dhoti, to whom does it belon?( !e re#lies, 4It is mine. My
father has iven it to me.( If you say to him, 41ear little one, ive me your dhoti,( he re#lies, 4It is mine,
my father has iven it to me. ;o, I shall not ive it to you.( .ater on if you $an make him foret by
ivin him a doll or a flute, he may ive you his five6ru#ee worth dhoti and de#art.
-nd a five year old $hild is also not atta$hed to the sattvauna. ;ow he is so fond of his $om#anions of
the neihbourhood that he $annot bare their se#aration even for a moment. 2ut when he oes to some
other #la$e with his #arents, he makes new friends and showers all his love on them. !e forets his old
$om#anions altoether. -nd then he has no #ride of his $aste. !is mother has told him that so and so is
your elder brother, he would take him to be his real brother a hundred #er $ent. Then maybe that one is
the son of a brahmin, or that of a #otter, he would eat with him in the same #late. -nd then he has no
idea of #urity or im#urity. !e may start eatin without havin washed his bottom after defe$ation+ !e
also has no feelin of shame. -fter defe$atin he may ask anybody whether he has had a full
eva$uation.
-nd then there is the 4I( of an old man. The old #eo#le have a number of bondaes A of $aste, of #ride,
of shame, of $ontem#t, of fear, of worldly intelle$t, of $al$ulation and of $unninness. If he has any
rude and ill will towards someone, he $annot shake it off easily. <erha#s he $an(t do it till he is alive.
Then there is the #ride of learnin and the #ride of wealth. The old man(s 4I( is the unri#e 4I(.
7our or five #ersons don(t ain 5nana "s#iritual wisdom%. !e who has the 4I( of learnin, the 4I( of
knowlede, or the 4I( of wealth does not attain 5nana. If you tell these #eo#le that there is a ni$e sadhu
at su$h and su$h #la$e and ask them whether they would like to o to see him, they immediately offer a
number of e/$uses and do not o. They say to themselves in their mind, 4I am su$h a bi man. Why
should I o?(
) !hakta sa"s 4What5 I have repeated the name of ;urga shall I not to !e li!erated? 0here is no
sin for me no !ondage<. 0herefore have greed for +od reali=ation. 6all in love with +od/s form
and sa" 4I am the servant of +od. I am His son<. If "ou have to !e proud !e proud of this.
Sri Ramakrishna 0here is no fear if He once !estows His grace if the Lord grants "ou His
darshan if "ou once have vision of the )tman.
40he ever perfect saints like 1arada and ,rahlada don/t have to do so much to put !linkers on
their e"es. 0he !o" who himself holds his father/s hand while walking on the ridge of the field
ma" release the father/s hand and fall into a ditch when he is a little uncareful. -ut the !o" whose
hand the father holds can never fall into the ditch.<
Sri Ramakrishna Spirituall" advanced persons have the nature of a child. -efore +od the" are
alwa"s like a child and their ego vanishes. 0he" derive all their strength from +od. It is the
strength of the 6ather nothing is their own. 0his is their firm conviction.
4If the insect of rain" season sees light !ut once can it live in the darkness then?<
Sri Ramakrishna the devotee is like the moth. It is the light of the jewel towards which the
devotee rushes. 0he light of the jewel ma" !e ver" !right !ut it is cool and comforting. 0his light
does not !urn the !od" this light generates peace and jo".
?nana $oga is ver" difficult
8*ou $an attain !im by the path of reasoning, by the path of Jnana 7oga. 2ut this #ath is very
diffi$ult. 4I am not the body, nor the mind, nor the intelle$t, neither disease, nor sorrow, nor
restlessness. I am the Self of Sa$h$hidananda, beyond #leasure and #ain, not sub5e$t to the senses(A it is
very easy to say all this by the word of mouth. 2ut it is very diffi$ult to #ra$tise it, to internali@e it.9
8Most #eo#le think that without readin books #erha#s one $annot learn, one $annot attain knowlede.
2ut it is better to listen than to read, and it is better to see than to listen.9
8-nd then he who #lays $hess does not understand his move so mu$h. 2ut those who do not #lay and
suest the move from outside, their move is mu$h better than that of the #layer. Worldly #eo#le think
that they are very intellient. 2ut they are atta$hed to the world A they are themselves #layin the
ame. So they $annot understand their move well. 2ut the sadhus who have renoun$ed the world are
unatta$hed to worldly thins. They are more intellient than the worldly #eo#le. They are not #layin
themselves, so they $an tell the move better from outside.9
Sri Ramakrishna >nless you are sim#le at heart you $annot #rom#tly have faith in God. God is very
far from worldly intelle$t. 2e$ause of worldly intelle$t a number of doubts $ro# u# and different kinds
of arroan$e make a##earan$e A the arroan$e of learnin, the arroan$e of wealth and so on.
Sri Ramakrishna It is always ne$essary to kee# the $om#any of sadhus. 0ne is always sufferin
from the disease. 0ne should a$t on what the sadhus say. 0nly listenin to them won(t do. 0ne has to
take the medi$ine as well as $ontrol one(s diet. The diet #res$ribed by the do$tor is to be taken.
8'ven so, whatever work man may do he must kee# the $om#any of sadhus from time to time. If a man
has devotion for the .ord, he himself looks and finds out the sadhu(s $om#any. I usually ive this
illustration 6 the smoker of hem# kee#s the $om#any of hem# smokers. 0n seein others he lowers his
fa$e and leaves, or hides himself. 2ut seein another hem# smoker he is full of 5oy.9
8They who feed other livin beins are sadhus. Sadhus feed ants with suar.9
Sri Ramakrishna 0here is one ahetuki bhakti (selfless devotion). It is ver" good if one attains it.
,rahlada had this selfless devotion. Such a devotee sa"s .3 Lord I want neither wealth nor
name nor !odil" pleasures and so forth. 3nl" grant that I ma" have pure !hakti at 0h" lotus
feet./
Sri Ramakrishna Some do not !elieve in avatara. What is the harm in it? $ou can attain Him
!" !elieving in +od without form and then "ou can also attain Him !" !elieving in +od with
form.
4What is essential is that "ou should have faith in Him and that "ou should surrender "ourself to
Him. (an is ignorant he can make mistakes. *an "ou put four seers of milk in one seer of jug?
0herefore whatever the path "ou choose "ou should call upon +od with a longing heart. He is
antar"amin %knower of heart within&. He will surel" listen to "our inner call. $ou will reach Him
alone whether "ou take the path of +od with form or +od without form with a longing heart.<
Sri Ramakrishna 1o fellow is m" disciple. Rather I am ever"!od"/s disciple5 We are all
children of +od5 We are all His servants > I am also the child of +od. I am also His servant.
4We now understand that when +od/s grace is granted there is no lack of jnana. ) fool !ecomes
learned and the dum! !egins to speak./ 0his is the reason wh" I sa" that one does not !ecome a
pundit just !" reading !ooks.<
4$es when "ou have His grace can there !e an" lack of knowledge? ?ust see I am a fool. I know
nothing. 0hen who speaks all this? -esides the stock of this jnana is ine:hausti!le.<
Sri Ramakrishna *ou must have a s#e$ial kind of faith before you take u# some work. *ou
remember your ob5e$t and derive #leasure out of it. Then you take to work. There is an earthen #ot
full of old $oins hidden under the earth. *ou must first have this knowlede and this assuran$e.
When you think of the #ot, you feel #leasure. Then you bein to di the earth. -s you di, the metalli$
sound "of the #ot% makes you ha##y. Then the side of the #it$her be$omes visible. *ou are now
ha##ier. In this way your ha##iness oes on in$reasin radually. I myself have seen while standin
on the verandah in the tem#le sadhus en5oyin as they #re#are their smoke of hem#.
44So lon as you do not have God(s vision, so lon as you do not tou$h the #hiloso#her(s stone, you
remain under the delusion that you are the doer 6 that you are doin riht or that you are not doin
riht. Su$h awareness #ersists. This feelin of distin$tion is God(s maya. !e has made it this way to run
!is world of maya. 2y takin refue in vidya maya, by takin the road of truth you $an attain !im.9
8!e who attains God, he who ets !is vision, $an alone $ross !is maya. 40nly !e is the doer and I am
non6doer,( he who has this faith be$omes 5ivanmukta "liberated in this very life%.9
8If somebody has #ure sattva, he only meditates on God. !e likes nothin else. Some #eo#le are born
with #ure sattva as a result of their #rarabdha, by tryin to a$t with a motiveless mind one attains #ure
sattva at the end.9
8When the sattva is mi/ed with ra5as, the mind runs radually in different dire$tions. Then one is
#ossessed by the vanity of doin ood to mankind. 2ut doin ood to mankind is very diffi$ult for the
ordinary man. !owever, if one takes to selfless work 5ust to do ood, there is no harm in it. This is
$alled nishkama karma (motiveless, selfless work). It is very ood if one tries to work in this way but
it is not #ossible for all. It is very diffi$ult.9
8'verybody indeed has to do some work. 0nly a few $an renoun$e altoether. It is in very few that one
finds #ure sattva. When one takes to selfless work, one(s sattva mi/ed with ra5as radually ets
transformed into #ure sattva. It is only when one has #ure sattva that one reali@es God by !is ra$e.9
;iscussion on jnana and vijnana # vision of -rahman
;ow addressin the 1o$tor, Thakur says, 8Give u# shyness= what is there to be ashamed of re#eatin
the name of God? 4Shame, hatred and fear do not let one attain !im.( That I am a bi man and I dan$e
utterin 4!ari, !ari.( When bi #eo#le hear of it, what will they think of me? It would be a shame if
they were to say, 4I say brother, the 1o$tor was dan$in utterin !ari, !ari,( #lease ive u# su$h an
idea.9
The 1o$tor I don(t think that way. I don(t $are what others say.
Sri Ramakrishna *ou have too mu$h of it. "-ll lauh.% .isten, o beyond knowlede and inoran$e.
Then alone you will be able to know !im. )nowlede of various kinds is a5nana. The #ride of learnin
is also a5nana. 4God #ervades in all( 6 this $onvi$tion is 5nana. )nowin !im intimately is $alled
vi5nana.
Say, a thorn has #ri$ked into your foot. *ou need another thorn to take it out. When you have taken out
the #ri$ked thorn, you throw away both the thorns. To remove the thorn of a5nana "inoran$e% you
have to first brin in the thorn of knowlede.
Then both the thorns of knowlede and inoran$e have to be thrown away. !e is beyond 5nana and
a5nana.
Sayin so Sri Ramakrishna re#eats a son of Rama <rasad
,ome, 0 my mind, let us o out for a walk.
.et us ather the 7our 7ruits "1harma "ood works%, artha "wealth%, kama "desires%, moksha "liberation
of the soul%% at the foot of )al#ataru "Wish fulfillin tree of heaven.%
*ou have, 0 my mind, two wives <ravritti "Worldliness% and ;ivritti ";on6worldliness%. Take nivritti
on the way to the tree.
-sk 6 about the .ord 6 the son $alled viveka who knows the Real "God% from the unreal #henomenal
world.
0, when shall you lie down in the abode of the blessed with #urifi$ation and defilement alike by the
side.
*ou shall see my 1ivine Mother as soon as all differen$e between the two $o6wives $eases to e/ist.
1o you turn out your #arents, eoism and inoran$e.
Should mine6ness try to draw you into its hole do you $lin to the #ost of #atien$e.
Tie to a worthless #ost the two oats dharma and adharma.
Should they #rove refra$tory, let them be killed before the altar of God with the sword of knowlede.
-dmonish, 0 my mind, the $hildren of your wife #ravritti from a safe distan$e.
Should they not obey you, see that they are drowned in the sea of 5nana.
<rasad says3 If you o on like this, you shall be able to render satisfa$tory a$$ount of yourself to the
.ord of death.
-nd I shall be lad to $all you 4my $hild,( 4my darlin,( the 4idol of my father( and other #et names= and
you shall be indeed a mind after my mind.
-e"ond speech and mind # the real nature of -rahman can not !e descri!ed
Shyam 2asu What will remain when both the thorns are thrown away?
Sri Ramakrishna ;itya6shuddha6bodha6ru#am. ;ow how $an I e/#lain it to you? If somebody asks
you how hee "$larified butter% tastes, how will you e/#lain it? -t the most you may say, 4What is hee
like, it is what it is.( - irl asked her friend, 4*our husband has $ome. Well, tell me what 5oy do you
feel on his $omin?( The friend said, 4Sister, you will know it only when you have a husband. !ow
$an I tell it to you?(
The <urana says that when 2haavati "Mother Goddess% took birth in the house of !imalaya, She
showed !erself to him in various forms. When Girira5 "the .ord of mountains, !imalaya% had seen !er
in all forms, he said to !er, 4Mother, may I now have the vision of the 2rahman talked of in the ?eda?(
-hagavati replied .6ather if "ou want to see -rahman have the compan" of sadhus./
8What 2rahman is $annot be e/#lained by the word of mouth. Somebody said, 4'verythin has been
defiled by the tou$h of the tonue but 2rahman alone has not been defiled.( It means that the ?edas, the
<uranas, the Tantras and other s$ri#tures, one may say, have been defiled be$ause they are re$ited by
the tonue. 2ut what 2rahman is, nobody has yet been able to e/#ress by the word of mouth. So,
2rahman has not yet been defiled. 4-nd what is the #lay with Sa$h$hidananda, inter$ourse with !im( 6
$an also not be des$ribed by the word of mouth. 3nl" he knows who has e:perienced it.9
0he pride of a pundit # vice and virtue
Thakur Sri Ramakrishna addressin the 1o$tor aain says, 8.ook here, one $annot attain 5nana till one
is rid of #ride. When shall I be free? When 4I( $ease to be.
8My( and 4mine( both are a5nana. 4*ou( and 4*ours( $onstitute 5nana. !e who is a bhakta says, 8God,
only *ou are the doer 6 *ou alone are doin all. I am only an instrument. I do what *ou make me do.
-nd all this s#lendour, this universe is *ours. This house, this family, is *ours 6 nothin is mine. I am
*our servant. I only have the riht to serve *ou the way *ou $ommand.9
8-nybody who has read even a small #ortion of a book, or anythin like it at on$e beins to take air. I
had a talk with )a6Thakur on s#iritual matters. !e said, 4-ll this I know.( I said, 41oes he who visits
1elhi bra about it and take air? 1oes he who is a babu say that he is a babu?(
Shyam 2asu !e ")a6Thakur% has reat faith in you.
Sri Ramakrishna What $an I say, brother? In the )ali Tem#le of 1akshineswar there is a woman
swee#er 6 so #uffed u#+ She had some 5ewellery on her body. 0n$e while she was walkin on the #ath,
she saw a few #ersons on the same #ath. The woman swee#er said to them, 4I say, et away from my
#ath.( If she $ould be so arroant, what $an I say about others?
Shyam 2asu Mahashay+ There is #unishment for sin. Then how $an you say that God is doin
everythin?
Sri Ramakrishna *ou indeed have the intelle$t of a oldsmith.
;arendra The oldsmith(s intelle$t means a $al$ulatin intelle$t.
Sri Ramakrishna I say, you eat manoes+ What is it to you how many hundred trees there are in the
or$hard, how many thousands are bran$hes there, how many millions are leaves there why $al$ulate all
this? *ou have $ome to eat manoes. 'at them. "To Shyam 2asu% *ou have ot human birth in this
world so that you may #ra$tise s#iritual dis$i#lines. Try how you $an ain bhakti at the lotus feet of
God. What need is there for other thins? What will you ain by #hiloso#hi@in? See, you $an et
into/i$ated with a &uarter of wine. What need have you to know how many maunds of wine there is in
the wine sho#?
The 1o$tor 2esides, God into/i$ation is infinite. This into/i$ation has no end.
Sri Ramakrishna "to Shyam 2asu% -nd then, ive eneral #ower of attorney to God. .eave the
whole burden on !im. If you ive res#onsibility to a ood fellow, will he de$eive you? Whether !e
will #unish you for your sins or not, it is for !im to see.
The 1o$tor 0nly !e knows what is in !is mind. What $an a man tell by $al$ulation? !e is beyond
all $al$ulation+
Sri Ramakrishna "to Shyam 2asu% *ou #eo#le have only this to say. The residents of ,al$utta say
that God is #artial be$ause !e has ke#t one in ha##iness and the other in sorrow. Whatever these
ras$als have in their mind, the same they see in God.
8!ema used to visit 1akshineswar. Whenever he would meet me, he would say, 4Well, 2hatta$harya
Mahashay, isn(t earnin a name in the world the main thin?( *ou see, very few #eo#le say that the aim
of human life is God6reali@ation.((
0he gross the su!tle the causal and the great cause
Shyam 2asu ,an anyone show the subtle body? ,an anyone demonstrate that this very subtle body
de#arts outside?
Sri Ramakrishna Those who are bhaktas in the true sense, what need is there for them to
demonstrate it. What does he $are whether some ras$al believes it or not? !e doesn(t feel the desire of
makin friends with some bi fellow.
Shyam 2asu Well, how the ross body, the subtle body and others differ from ea$h other?
Sri Ramakrishna The body that is made of five elements is ross body. The mind, the intelle$t, the
eo and $ons$iousness 6 these $onstitute the subtle body.
That whi$h brins the 5oy of God, makes you en5oy !im is the ?arana (The body of ecstasy- the body
made of )oy 2 (causal body)). It is $alled 4#hagavati tanu (The body derived from the 1other of
6niverse)( in the Tantra. .ast of all is the 1ahakarana (The ,reat Fause as the 6nconditioned 2
(Turiya)) whi$h $annot be des$ribed by the word of mouth.
0he need for practising spiritual discipline # devotion to +od alone is the !asic thing
8What use is it 5ust hearin all this? *ou have to do somethin.9
8What use is it to shout, 4!em#, hem#?( This $annot ive you any into/i$ation.8*ou $annot have
into/i$ation even if you rind hem# and a##ly it on your body. *ou have to smoke some. So, I say,
4<ra$tise some sadhana.( Then you will know all 6 what are the ross, the subtle, the karana and the
Mahakarna. Whenever you #ray to God, you must only #ray for devotion at !is lotus feet.9
8!e who has bhakti at the lotus feet of the .ord, even thouh he may be eatin #ork is blessed. 0n the
other hand if even takin havishya "boiled ri$e with $larified butter% one(s mind is atta$hed to the world
...9
Household and selfless work # 0heosoph"
Sri Ramakrishna "to Shyam 2asu% There is no harm in leadin the life of a householder. 2ut you
must do your work selflessly fi/in your mind at the lotus feet of the .ord.
Shyam 2asu Mahashay, what do you think of Theoso#hy?
Sri Ramakrishna The main thin is that those who make dis$i#les are #eo#le of the lower $lass.
-lso they who wish to a$&uire siddhi, i.e. o$$ult #owers, they too are of the lower $lass. 7or e/am#le,
the #ower to walk a$ross the Gana on foot= to be able to tell what a #erson is talkin of in a distant
reion 6 it is also "an o$$ult% #ower. It is indeed very diffi$ult to have #ure bhakti for the .ord.
Shyam 2asu 2ut they "Theoso#hists% are tryin to re6establish !induism.
Sri Ramakrishna I don(t know mu$h about them.
Shyam 2asu Where does the 5ivatman "embodied soul% o after death 6 whether in the reion of the
moon, or that of some #lanet and so on is all e/#lained in Theoso#hy.
Sri Ramakrishna .et it be so. 1o you know how I feel? Somebody asked !anuman, 4What day and
date is today?( !anuman said, 4I don(t know the day, nor the date, nor the #osition of the #lanets 6
nothin. I only meditate on Rama.( My bhava "attitude% is e/a$tly like this.