: Golden Words of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

1. You see many stars in the sky at night, but not when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heavens during day? O man because you cannot find Godin the days of your ignorance, says not that there is no God.
2. He is born in vain, who having attained the human birth, so difficult to get, does not attempt to realize God this very life.
3. A man is rewarded according to his thoughts and motives. The Lord is like Kalpataru, the widh yielding tree of heaven. Everyone gets from Him whatever he seeks. A poor man's son having received education and become a judge of the High Court by hard work is apt to think, “Now I am happy, I have reached the highest rung of the ladder. It is alright now." To him the Lord says, "Do thou remain so." But when the judge of the High Court retires on pension and reviews his past, he understands that he has wasted his life and exclaims alas, “Alas, what is the real work have I done in this life!" To him the Lord says, “Alas! What hast thou done?"
4. Man is born in this world with two tendencies-Vidya, the tendency to pursue the path of liberation and Avidya, the leaning towards worldliness and bondage. At his birth, both these tendencies are as it were, in equilibrium like the two scales of the balance. The world soon places its enjoyments and pleasures in one scale and the Spirit, its attractions in the other. If the mind chooses the world, the scale of Avidya becomes heavy, and man gravitates towards the earth; but if it chooses the Spirit, the scale of Vidya becomes heavier and pulls him towards God.
5. Know the one, and you will know the all. Ciphers placed after the figure 1 get the value of hundreds and of thousands, but they become valueless if you wipe out the figure. The many ciphers have the value only because of their one. First the one and then the many. First God and then the Jivas and the Jagat (creatures and the world)
6. First gain God and then gain wealth; but do not try to do the contrary. If, after acquiring spirituality, you lead a worldly life; you will never lose your peace of mind.
7. Do you talk of social reform? Well, you may do so after realizing God. Remember, the Rishis of old gave up the world in to attain God. This is the one thing needful. All other things shall be added to you, if indeed you care to have them. First see God, and the talk of lectures and social reforms.
8. A new-comer to a city should first secure a comfortable room for his rest at night, and after keeping his luggage there, he may freely go about the city for site-seeing. Otherwise he may have to suffer much in darkness of night to get a place for rest. Similarly, after securing his eternal place in God, a new-comer to this world can fearlessly move about doing his daily work. Otherwise when the dark and dreadful night of death over him, he will have to encounter great difficulties and sufferings.
9. At the doors of large granaries are placed traps containing fried rice (Moori) to catch mice. The mice attracted by the flavor of the fried rice, forget the more solid pleasures of tasting the rice inside the granary, and fall into the trap. They are caught therein and killed. Just so is the case with the soul. It stands on the threshold of divine bliss, which is like millions of the highest worldly pleasures solidified into one; but instead of striving for that bliss, it allows itself to be enticed by the petty pleasures of the world and falls into the trap of Maya, the great illusion and dies therein.
10. A Pandit : Theosophists say that there are 'Mahatmas’. They also say that there are different planes and spheres like astral planes, Devayanic plane, solar sphere, lunar sphere etc., and that man's subtle body can go to all these places. They say many other things such things .Sir what is your opinion on Theosophy? The Master: Bhakthi alone is supreme-Bhakthi or devotion to God. Do they care for Bhakthi? If they do, that is well. It is well if they have God-realization for their aim and goal. But remember, to be engrossed in such trivial things as solar sphere, lunar sphere, astral sphere etc., is not genuine search after God. One has to do Sadhanas (spiritual practices) in order to get devotion to His lotus feet; one has to weep for Him with the intense longing of the heart. The mind should be gathered up from the different objects and concentrated exclusively on Him. He is not in the Vedas or Vedanta of in any other scripture. Nothing will be achieved unless one's heart yearns for Him. One has to pray to Him with intense devotion and practice Sadhanas. God cannot be realized so easily. Sadhanas are necessary.
11. Will all men see God? No man will have to fast for the whole day; some get their food at 9 a.m., some at noon, others at 2 p.m., and others again in the evening or at sunset. Similarly, at one time or another, in this very life or after many more lives, all will, and must see God.
12. Little children play with dolls in the outer room just as they like ,without any care or feat or restraint; but as soon as their mother comes in ,they throw aside their dolls and run to her crying ,"Mamma, mamma" You too, O man are now playing in this material world, infatuated with the dolls of wealth , honor ,fame etc., and do not feel any fear or anxiety. If however, you once see your Divine Mother, you will not afterwards find pleasure in all these. Throwing them all aside you will run to her.
13. There are pearls in the deep sea, but you must hazard all perils to get them. If you fail to get at them by a single dive, do not conclude that the sea is without them. Dive again and again, and you are sure to be rewarded in the end. So also in the quest for the Lord, if your first attempt to see Him proves fruitless, do not lose heart. Persevere in the attempt, and you are sure to realize Him at last.
14. Meditate upon the Knowledge and the Bliss Eternal, and you will have bliss. The bliss is indeed eternal, only it is covered and obscured by ignorance. The less your attachments to the sense-objects, the more will be your love for God.
15. Mere possession of wealth does not make a man rich. The sign of rich man's house is that a light burns in each room.
16. This temple of the body should not be kept in darkness; the lamp of knowledge must blighted in it." Light the lamp of Knowledge in your room, and look at the face of the Mother Divine." Every one can attain Knowledge. There is the individualized self and there is the higher Self. Every individual is connected with the higher Self. There is a gas connection in every house, and gas can be had from the Gas Company. Only apply to the proper authorities and the supply will be arranged. Then you will have gas light in your room.
17. The digit 1 may be raised to a figure of any value by adding zeros after it; but if that 1is omitted, zeros by themselves have no value. Similarly, so long as the Jiva (individual soul) does not cling to God, who is the One, he has no value, for all things here get their value from their connection with God. So long as the Jiva clings to God, who is the value-giving figure behind the world, and does all his work for Him, he gains more and more thereby; on the contrary, if he overlooks God and adds to his work many grand achievements, all done for his own glorification ,he will gain nothing there from.
18. As a lamp does not burn without oil, so a man cannot live without God.