Quotes from Ramakrishna

We laugh at the efforts of the musk deer to find the source of the scent which comes from itself and despair at our efforts to find the peace which is our essence.

It is true that God is even in the tiger, but we must not go and face the animal. So it is true that God dwells even in the most wicked, but it is not meet that we should associate with the wicked.

Why does God allow evil in the world? To thicken the plot.

Pray to God that your attachment to such transitory things as wealth, name, and creature comforts may become less and less every day.

Bondage is of the mind; freedom too is of the mind. If you say 'I am a free soul. I am a son of God who can bind me' free you shall be.

The winds of God's grace are always blowing, it is for us to raise our sails.

Unless one always speaks the truth, one cannot find God Who is the soul of truth.

To work without attachment is to work without the expectation of reward or fear of any punishment in this world or the next. Work so done is a means to the end, and God is the end.

God cannot be realizxd if there is the slightest trace of pride.

The compassion that you see in the kindhearted is God's compassion. He has given it to them to protect the helpless.

The grace of God is a wind which is always blowing.

At a certain stage in the path of devotion, the devotee finds satisfaction in God with form, and at another stage, in God without it.

As a toy fruit or a toy elephant reminds one of the real fruit and the living animal, so do the images that are worshipped remind one of the God who is formless and eternal.

It's enough to have faith in one aspect of God. But never get into your head that your faith alone is true and every other is false.

The world is not impermanent if one lives there after knowing God.

God has created the world in play, as it were.

Those who wish to attain God and progress in religious devotion, should particularly guard themselves against the snares of lust and wealth. Otherwise they can never attain perfection.

With sincerity and earnestness one can realize God through all religions.

God is everywhere but He is most manifest in man. So serve man as God. That is as good as worshipping God.

Many good sayings are to be found in holy books, but merely reading them will not make one religious.

When the divine vision is attained, all appear equal; and there remains no distinction of good and bad, or of high and low.

If you desire to be pure, have firm faith, and slowly go on with your devotional practices without wasting your energy in useless scriptural discussions and arguments. Your little brain will otherwise be muddled.

If you first fortify yourself with the true knowledge of the Universal Self, and then live in the midst of wealth and worldliness, surely they will in no way affect you.

It is easy to talk on religion, but difficult to practice it.