Ramakrishna Paramahansa Questions and Answers

Shri Ramakrishna :- Men shed streams of tears because sons are not born to them, others wear away their hearts in sorrow because they cannot get riches. But alas ! How many are there who sorrow and weep for not having seen God ? very few indeed ! Verily, he who seeks Him, who weeps for Him, attains Him.

Shri Ramakrishna :- One must go into solitude to attain this divine love. To get butter from milk you must let it set into curd in a secluded spot; if it is too much disturbed, milk won’t turn into curd. Next, you must put aside all other duties, sit in a quiet spot, and churn the curd. Only then, do you get butter. Similarly, by meditating on God in solitude the mind acquires knowledge, dispassion, and devotion.

Shri Ramakrishna :- “One cannot completely get rid of the six passions: lust, anger, greed, and the like. Therefore one should direct them to God. If you must have desire and greed, then you should desire love of God and be greedy to attain Him. If you must be conceited and egotistic, then feel conceited and egotistic thinking that you are the servant of God, the child of God.”A man cannot see God unless he gives his whole mind to Him.”

Shri Ramakrishna :- “The obstacle to yoga is ‘woman and gold’. Yoga is possible when the mind becomes pure. The seat of the mind is between the eyebrows; but its look is fixed on the navel and the organs of generation and evacuation, that is to say, on ‘woman and gold’. But through spiritual discipline the same mind looks upward.

Shri Ramakrishna:- “Discrimination is the reasoning by which one knows that God alone is real and all else is unreal. Real means eternal, and unreal means impermanent. He who has acquired discrimination knows that God is the only Substance and all else is non-existent. With the awakening of this spirit of discrimination a man wants to know God. On the contrary, if a man loves the unreal-such things as creature comforts, name, fame, and wealth, then he doesn’t want to know God, who is of the very nature of Reality. Through discrimination between the Real and the unreal one seeks to know God.

Shri Ramakrishna :- Work is only the first step. It can never be the goal of life. Devote yourself to spiritual practice and go forward. Through practice you will advance more and more in the path of God. At last you will come to know that God alone is real and all else is illusory, and that the goal of life is the attainment of God.

Sri Ramakrishna:- “The blossom drops off when the fruit appears. One doesn’t have to do one’s duty after the attainment of God, nor does one feel like doing it then.
“Finish the few duties you have at hand, and then you will have peace. When the mistress of the house goes to bathe after finishing her cooking and other household duties, she won’t come back, however you may shout after her.”

Shri Ramakrishna :- A disciple asked his teacher, ‘Sir, please tell me how I can see God’. Come with me, said the guru, and I shall show you. He took the disciple to a lake, and both of them got into the water, Suddenly the teacher pressed the disciple’s head under the water. After a few moments he released him and the disciple raised his head and stood up. The guru asked him, ‘How did you feel?’ The disciple said, ‘Oh! I thought I should die; I was panting for breath.’ The teacher said, ‘When you feel like that for God, then you will know you haven’t long to wait for His vision.

Shri Ramakrishna :- Nothing whatsoever is achieved in spiritual life without yearning. By constantly living in the company of holy men, the soul becomes restless for God.

Shri Ramakrishna:- “Attachment to God, or, in other words, love for Him. And secondly, prayer.”

Shri Ramakrishna :- The parrot cannot be taught to talk when the membrane of its throat has hardened due to age. It must be taught while it is young. Similarly in old age, it is difficult for the mind to be fixed on God. It can be easily done so in youth.

Shri Ramakrishna :- A man cannot realise God unless he renounces everything mentally.

Shri Ramakrishna :- I tell you, your salvation is assured if you put into practice even one-sixteenth of what I say to you.

Shri Ramakrishna:- “In the beginning of spiritual life one goes by a roundabout way. One has to suffer a great deal. But the path becomes very easy when ecstatic love is awakened in the heart. It is like going over the paddy-field after the harvest is over. You may then walk in any direction. Before the harvest you had to go along the winding balk, but now you can walk in any direction. There may be stubble in the field, but you will not be hurt by it if you walk with your shoes on. Just so, an aspirant does not suffer if he has discrimination, dispassion, and faith in the guru’s words.”

Shri Ramakrishna:- “I tell people that there is nothing wrong in the life of the world. But they must live in the world as a maidservant lives in her master’s house.’ Referring to her master’s house, she says, ‘That is our house.’ But her real home is perhaps in a far-away village. Pointing out her master’s house to others, she says, no doubt, ‘This is our house’, but in her heart she knows very well that it doesn’t belong to her and that her own house is in a faraway village. She brings up her master’s son and says, ‘My Hari has grown very naughty’, or ‘My Hari doesn’t like sweets.’ Though she repeats, ‘My Hari’ with her lips, yet she knows in her heart that Hari doesn’t belong to her, that he is her master’s son.

Shri Ramakrishna :- Pray to the Divine Mother, begging Her to give you unswerving Love and adamantine faith.

Shri Ramakrishna:- “A man may live in a mountain cave, smear his body with ashes, observe fasts; and practise austere discipline; but if his mind dwells on worldly objects, on ‘woman and gold’, I say, ‘Shame on him!’ But I say that a man is blessed indeed who eats, drinks, and roams about, but who keeps his mind free from ‘woman and gold’.

Shri Ramakrishna:- As the tiger devours other animals, so does the ‘tiger zeal for the Lord’ eat up lust, anger, and the other passions. Once this zeal grows in the heat, lust and the other passions disappear.

Shri Ramakrishna :- “A devotee who can call on God while living a householder’s life is a hero indeed. God thinks: ‘He who has renounced the world for My sake will surely pray to Me. He must serve Me. Is there anything very remarkable about it? People will cry shame on him if he fails to do so. But he is blessed indeed who prays to Me in the midst of his worldly duties. He is trying to find Me, overcoming a great obstacle-pushing away, as it were, a huge block of stone weighing a ton. Such a man is a real hero.’ “

Shri Ramakrishna :- “Yes, sometimes God totally effaces the ego of His devotee, as in the state of samādhi.
But in many cases He keeps a trace of ego. But that doesn’t injure anybody. It is like the ego of a child. A five-year-old child no doubt says ‘I’, but that ego doesn’t harm anybody.

Shri Ramakrishna:- “In order to be able to renounce, one must pray to God for the will power to do so. One must immediately renounce what one feels to be unreal. The rishis had this will-power. Through it they controlled the sense-organs. If the tortoise once tucks in its limbs, you cannot make it bring them out even by cutting it into four pieces.

Shri Ramakrishna :- The Sadhu who distributes medicines, uses spells and incantations, is addicted to intoxicants, receives money, and displays his piety with the signboards of elaborate external marks, is not a proper Sadhu; avoid the company of such.

Shri Ramakrishna:- “It will be very good if you can practise unselfish love for God. A man who has such love says: ‘O Lord, I do not seek salvation, fame, wealth, or cure of disease. None of these do I seek. I want only Thee.’ Many are the people who come to a rich man with various desires. But if someone comes to him simply out of love, not wanting any favour, then the rich man feels attracted to him. Prahlada had this unselfish love, this pure love for God without any worldly end.”

Shri Ramakrishna :- One should feel a yearning for God like the yearning of a man who has lost his job and is wandering from one office to another in search of work.

Shri Ramakrishna :- Work is only the first step. It can never be the goal of life. Devote yourself to spiritual practice and go forward. Through practice you will advance more and more in the path of God. At last you will come to know that God alone is real and all else is illusory, and that the goal of life is the attainment of God.

Sri Ramakrishna replied: “A man does not jump about when he gets illumination. Outwardly he remains as he was; but his entire perspective of the world is changed. The touch of the philosopher’s stone converts a steel sword into gold. It retains its former shape, but it can no longer kill- it has become soft.”

Shri Ramakrishna:- “Satchidananda alone is the Guru. If a man in the form of a guru awakens spiritual consciousness in you, then know for certain that it is God the Absolute who has assumed that human form for your sake. The guru is like a companion who leads you by the hand. After the realisation of God, one loses the distinction between the guru and the disciple. ‘That creates a very difficult situation; there the guru and the disciple do not see each other.’ It was for this reason that Janaka said to Sukadeva, ‘Give me first my teacher’s fee if you want me to initiate you into the Knowledge of Brahman.’ For the distinction between the teacher and the disciple ceases to exist after the disciple attains to Brahman. The relationship between them remains as long as the disciple does not see God.”

Shri Ramakrishna:- “Right. Who can really know Him? But as for us, it is enough to know as much of Him as we need. What need have I of a whole well of water? One jar is more than enough for me. An ant went to a sugar hill. Did it need the entire hill? A grain or two of sugar was more than enough.”

Shri Ramakrishna:- “Haven’t you seen the trees on the foot-path along a street? They are fenced around as long as they are very young; otherwise cattle destroy them. But there is no longer any need of fences when their trunks grow thick and strong. Then they won’t break even if an elephant is tied to them. Just so, there will be no need for you to worry and fear if you make your mind as strong as a thick tree-trunk. First of all try to acquire discrimination. Break the jack-fruit open only after you have rubbed your hands with oil; then its sticky milk won’t smear them.”

Shri Ramakrishna:- “The Vedantist says, ‘I am He.’ Brahman is real and the world illusory. Even the ‘I’ is illusory. Only the Supreme Brahman exists.
“But the ‘I’ cannot be got rid of. Therefore it is good to have the feeling, ‘I am the servant of God, His son, His devotee.’
“For the Kāli Yuga the path of bhakti is especially good. One can realise God through bhakti too. As long as one is conscious of the body, one is also conscious of objects. Form, taste, smell, sound, and touch-these are the objects. It is extremely difficult to get rid of the consciousness of objects. And one cannot realise ‘I am He’ as long as one is aware of objects.
“The sannyasi is very little conscious of worldly objects. But the householder is always engrossed in them. Therefore it is good for him to feel, ‘I am the servant of God.'”

Shri Ramakrishna:- Can you weep for Him with intense longing of heart ? Men shed a jugful tears for the sake of their children, for their wives, or for money. But who weeps for God? So long as the child remains engrossed with its toys, the mother looks after her cooking and other household duties. But when the child no longer relishes the toys, it throws them aside and yells for its mother, then the mother takes the rice-pot down from the heart, runs in haste, and takes the child in her arms.

Shri Ramakrishna :- One should constantly repeat the name of God. The name of God is highly effective in the Kaliyuga. The practice of yoga is not possible in this age, for the life of a man depends on food. Clap your hands while repeating God’s name, and the birds of your sin will fly away.

Shri Ramakrishna :- One cannot see one’s face in a mirror if the mirror is covered with dirt. After the purification of the heart one obtains divine love. Then one sees God, through His grace. Chant His name and purify your body and mind. Purify your tongue by singing God’s holy name.

Shri Ramakrishna :- The heavier scale of a balance goes down while the lighter rises up. Similarly, he who is weighed down by the many cares and anxieties of the world sinks down into it, while he who has fewer rises up towards the feet of the Lord.

Shri Ramakrishna :- If a man practices absolute continence for twelve years, the Medhanadi will open (i.e. his powers of understanding will blossom). His understanding will become capable of penetrating and comprehending, then man can realise God. God can be attained only through a purified understanding of this type.

Shri Ramakrishna :- The point is, to love God even as the mother loves her child, the chaste wife her husband, and the worldly man his wealth. Add together these three forces of love, these three powers of attraction, and give it all to God. Then you will certainly see Him.

Shri Ramakrishna:- It is the nature of a child to soil itself with dirt and mud, but the mother does not allow it to remain dirty always. She washes it from time to time. Similarly, it is in the mature of man to commit sin; but if man is sure to commit sin, doubly sure is that the Lord devises methods for his redemption.

Shri Ramakrishna:- So long as one does not have direct realisation of God. How long does the bee buzz about? As long as it is not sitting on a flower. No sooner does it light on a flower and begin to sip honey than it keeps quiet.

Shri Ramakrishna:- There are three kinds of Ānanda, joy: the joy of worldly enjoyment, the joy of worship, and the Joy of Brahman. The joy of worldly enjoyment is the joy of ‘woman and gold’, which people always enjoy. The joy of worship one enjoys while chanting the name and glories of God. And the Joy of Brahman is the joy of God-vision. After experiencing the joy of God-vision the rishis of olden times went beyond all rules and conventions.

Shri Ramakrishna:- “He who has surrendered his body, mind, and innermost self to God is surely a holy man. He who has renounced ‘woman and gold’ is surely a holy man. He is a holy man who does not regard woman with the eyes of a worldly person. He never forgets to look upon a woman as his mother, and to offer her his worship if he happens to be near her. The holy man constantly thinks of God and does not indulge in any talk except about spiritual things. Furthermore, he serves all beings, knowing that God resides in everybody’s heart. These, in general, are the signs of a holy man.”

Shri Ramakrishna :- It is what you find by repeating the word ten times. It is then reversed into ‘tagi’, which means a person who has renounced everything for God. And the lesson of. the Gita is: ‘O man, renounce everything and seek God alone.’ Whether a man is a monk or a householder, he has to shake off all attachment from his mind.

Shri Ramakrishna:- “The thing is somehow to unite the mind with God. You must not forget Him, not even once. Your thought of Him should be like the flow of oil, without any interruption.

Shri Ramakrishna :- I tell you he who wants Him finds Him. Go and verify it in your own life. Try for three days, try with genuine zeal, and you are sure to succeed. He finds God quickest, whose concentration and yearning are strongest.

Shri Ramakrishna:- “By these philanthropic activities you are really doing good to yourself. If you can do them disinterestedly, your mind will become pure and you will develop love of God. As soon as you have that love you will realise Him.

Shri Ramakrishna:- “Yes, there are such signs. It is said in the Bhagavata that a man who has seen God behaves sometimes like a child, sometimes like a ghoul, sometimes like an inert thing, and sometimes like a madman.
“The man who has seen God becomes like a child. He is beyond the three gunas; he is unattached to any of them. He behaves like a ghoul, for he maintains the same attitude toward things holy and unholy. Again, like a madman, he sometimes laughs and sometimes weeps. Now he dresses himself like a dandy and the next moment he goes entirely naked and roams about with his cloth under his arm. Therefore he seems to be a lunatic. Again, at times he sits motionless like an inert thing.”

Shri Ramakrishna:- The longing of the worldly-minded for God is momentary, like a drop of water on a red-hot frying-pan. The water hisses and dries up in an instant. The attention of the worldly-minded is directed to the enjoyment of worldly pleasure. Therefore they do not feel yearning and restlessness for God.

Shri Ramakrishna:- “Sri Krishna has a peacock feather on His crest. The feather bears the sign of the female sex. The significance of this is that Krishna carries Prakriti, the female principle, on His head. When Krishna joined the circle of the gopis to dance with them, He appeared there as a woman. That is why you see Him wearing women’s apparel in the company of the gopis.

Shri Ramakrishna :- There is a big difference between a scholar and a holy man. The mind of a mere scholar is fixed on ‘woman and gold’ but the sadhu’s mind is on the Lotus feet of Hari.

Shri Ramakrishna :- The breeze of His grace is blowing day and night over your head. Unfurl the sail of your boat (mind), if you want to make rapid progress through the ocean of life.

Shri Ramakrishna:- Be not a traitor in your thoughts. Be sincere; act according to your thoughts; and you shall surely succeed.

Shri Ramakrishna:- As long as a man remains ignorant, that is to say, as long as he has not realised God, so long will, he be born. But after attaining Knowledge he will not have to come back to this earth or to any other plane of existence.