They are not eight bonds, but eight fetters. But what if they are? These fetters fall off in a moment, by the grace of God. Do you know what it is like? Suppose a room has been kept dark a thousand years. The moment a man brings a light into it, the darkness vanishes. Not little by little. All the knots of ignorance come undone in the twinkling of an eye, through the guru’s grace.
(p.298, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, The Master’s advice to M on 26 September 1883)
Whatever may be the position of philosophy, whatever may be the position of metaphysics, so long as there is such a thing as death in the world, so long as there is such a thing as weakness in the human heart, so long as there is a cry going out of the heart of man in his very weakness, there shall be a faith in God.
(p.22, V.1, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Swamiji’s lecture on 26 September 1893)