Ramakrishna came to teach the religion of today, constructive, not destructive. He had to go afresh to Nature to ask for facts, and he got scientific religion which never says "believe," but "see": "I see, and you too can see." Use the same means and you will reach the same vision. God will come to everyone, harmony is within the reach of all.
Retreat given at the Thousand Island Park, USA. June 30, 1895. Complete Works, 7.24.
Is there a greater strength than that of Brahmacharya--purity, my boy?
Letter to his brother-disciples. Written in Bengali from New York on Sep 25, 1894. Complete Works, 6.271.
Sri Ramakrishna's teachings are "the gist of Hinduism." They were not peculiar to him. Nor did he claim that they were. He cared naught for name or fame.
Retreat given at the Thousand Island Park, USA. June 30, 1895. Complete Works, 7.24.
In Japan you find a fine assimilation of knowledge, and not its indigestion, as we have here in India. They have taken everything from the Europeans, but they remain Japanese all the same, and have not turned European, while in our country, the terrible mania of becoming Westernized has seized upon us like a plague.
Conversation with Priya Nath Sinha, Belur Math. Complete Works, 5.372.
A great Bhakta, Hanuman, once said when asked what day of the month it was: "God is my eternal date. No other date I care for."
Retreat given at the Thousand Island Park, USA. June 30, 1895. Complete Works, 7.26.
There is no supernatural, says the yogi, but there are in nature gross manifestations and subtle manifestations. The subtle are the causes, the gross the effects. The gross can be easily perceived by the senses; not so the subtle. The practice of Raja Yoga will lead to the acquisition of the more subtle perceptions.
From Swamiji's preface to his book, Raja Yoga. Complete Works, 1.122.
Shivo'ham, Shivo'ham, "I am Shiva! I am Shiva!" I feel as if a thunderbolt strikes me on the head when I hear people dwell on negative thoughts. That sort of self-depreciating attitude is another name for disease--do you call that humility? It is vanity in disguise!
Letter to his brother-disciples. Written in Bengali from New York on Sep 25, 1894. Complete Works, 6.273.
The very soul of the Asian is interwoven with art. The Asian never uses a thing unless there be art in it. Don't you know that art is, with us, a part of religion? How greatly is a lady admired, among us, who can nicely paint the floors and walls, on auspicious occasions, with the paste of rice powder? How great an artist was Sri Ramakrishna himself!
Conversation with Priya Nath Sinha, Belur Math. Complete Works, 5.372-73.
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