The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

[amanpeter]

From The Gospel Of Sri Ramakrishna:

 

> "It is the unwavering conviction of the Jnani (one of

knowledge and

> understanding) that Brahman alone is real and the world

illusory. All

> these names and forms are illusory, like a dream. What

Brahman is

> cannot be described. One cannot even say that Brahman is a

Person.

> This is the opinion of the Jnanis, the followers of Vedanta

> philosophy.

>

> But the Bhaktas (those on the path of devotion and worship)

accept

> all the sates of consciousness. They take the waking state to

be real

> also. They don't think the world to be illusory, like a

dream. They

> say that the universe is a manifestation of God's power and

glory.

> God has created all these -- sky, stars, moon, sun,

mountains, ocean,

> men, animals. They constitute His glory. He is within us, in

our

> hearts. Again, He is outside. The most advanced devotees say

that He

> Himself has become all this -- the twenty-four cosmic

principles, the

> universe, and all living beings. The devotee of God wants to

eat the

> sugar, and not to become the sugar. (All laugh).

>

> The yogi seeks to realize the Paramatman, the Supreme Soul.

His ideal

> is the union of the embodied soul and the Supreme Soul. He

withdraws

> his mind from sense-objects and tried to concentrate on the

> Paramatman...

>

> But the Reality is one and the same; the difference is only

in name.

> He who is Brahman is verily Atman, and again, He is the

Bhagavan. He

> is Brahman to the followers of the path of knowledge,

Paramatman to

> the yogis, and the Bhagavan to the lovers of God." (p. 191-

192)

>

>

> "Think of Brahman, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, as a

shoreless

> ocean. Through the cooling influence, as it were, of the

Bhakta's

> love, the water is frozen at places into blocks of ice. In

other

> words, God now and then assumes various forms for His lovers

and

> reveals Himself to them as a Person. But with the rising of

the Sun

> of Knowledge, the blocks of ice melt. Then one doesn't feel

any more

> that God is a Person, nor does one see God's forms. What He

is cannot

> be described. Who will describe Him? He who would do so

disappears.

> He cannot find his I any more." (p. 209)

>

> "Brahman (god) with attributes is meant for the Bhaktas

(those on the

> path of love and devotion). In other words, a bhakta believes

that

> God has attributes and reveals Himself to men as a Person,

assuming

> forms. It is He who listens to our prayers. The prayers that

you

> utter are directed to Him alone. It doesn't matter whether

you accept

> God with form or not. It is enough to feel that God is a

Person who

> listens to our prayers, who creates, preserves, and destroys

the

> universe, and who is endowed with infinite power. It is

easier to

> attain God by following the path of devotion." (p. 209-210)

>

> "He who is attributeless also has attributes. He who is

Brahman is

> also Shakti (active energy/life force). When thought of as

inactive,

> He is called Brahman, and when thought of as the Creator,

Preserver,

> and Destroyer, He is called the Primordial Energy, Kali.

Brahman and

> Shakti are identical, like fire and its power to burn. When

we talk

> of fire, we automatically mean also its power to burn. Again,

the

> fire's power to burn implies the fire itself. If you accept

the one

> you must accept the other." (p. 161)

>

> "As Consciousness, (God) pervades the entire universe of the

living

> and the non-living." (p. 272)

>

> "In the Vedas creation is likened to the spider's web. The

spider

> brings the web out of itself and then remains in it. God is

the

> container of the universe and also what is contained in it."

(p. 194)

>

> "God dwells in all beings. But you may be intimate only with

good

> people; you must keep away from the evil-minded. God is even

in the

> tiger; but you cannot embrace the tiger on that account

(Laughter.)

> You may say, "Why run away from a tiger, which is also a

> manifestation of God? The answer to that is: Those who tell

you to

> run away are also manifestations of God; why shouldn't you

listen to

> them?" (p. 131-132)

>

> "A man cannot live on the roof a long time. He comes down

again.

> Those who realize Brahman in samadhi (state of meditation)

come down

> also and find that it is Brahman that has become the universe

and its

> living beings... The ego does not vanish altogether. The man

coming

> down from samadhi (union with God during meditation)

perceives that

> it is Brahman (God) that has become the ego, the universe,

and all

> living beings. This is known as Vijnana." (p. 156)

>

> "There are three classes of devotees. The lowest one

says, "God is up

> there," and he points to heaven. The mediocre devotee says

that God

> dwells in the heart as the "Inner Controller." But the

highest

> devotee says: "God alone has become everything. All things

that we

> perceive are so many forms of God." (p. 292-293)

>

>

> (From The Gospel Of Sri Ramakrishna)

[amanpeter]

A woman secretly carries on an intrigue with her lover. Live

in the

> world like that woman, doing your many duties, with your soul

> secretly yearning for the Lord. She thinks of her lover all

the time

> that she does her household duties. (Sri Ramakrishna 1836 -

1886)