Ramakrishna Ashrama Penang

Official photograph of Ma Kali, the moorti installed at the Dakshineswar Temple, technically known as Bhavatarini.

Mahendranath:

May I know if one can realize God while performing one's duties?

Ramakrishna:

All, without exception, perform work. Even to chant God's name and glories is work, as is the meditation of the Non-dualist on "I am He." Breathing is also an activity. There is no way of renouncing work altogether. So do your work but surrender the result to God.
(p. 168)

Ramakrishna:

Let me tell you the truth: there is nothing wrong in your being in the world. But you must direct your mind toward God; otherwise you will not succeed. Do your duty with one hand and with the other hold to God. After the duty is over, you will hold to God with both hands.
(p. 195)

Ramakrishna:

A devotee who can call on God while living a householder's life is a hero indeed. God thinks: "He who has renounced the world for My sake will surely pray to Me; he must serve Me. Is there anything very remarkable about it? People will cry shame on him if he fails to do so. But he is blessed indeed who prays to Me in the midst of his worldly duties. He is trying to find Me, overcoming a great obstacle -- pushing away, as it were, a huge block of stone weighing a ton. Such a man is a real hero."
(p. 309)

Ramakrishna:

If a householder gives in charity in a spirit of detachment, he is really doing good to himself and not to others. It is God alone that he serves -- God, who dwells in all beings... If a man thus serves God through all beings..., if he doesn't seek name and fame, or heaven after death; if he doesn't seek any return from those he serves; if he can carry on his work of service in this spirit -- then he performs truly selfless work, work without attachment. Through such selfless work he does good to himself. This is called karmayoga. This too is a way to realize God.
(p. 365)

Mahendranath:

How ought we to live in the world?

Ramakrishna:

Do all your duties, but keep your mind on God. Live with all -- with wife and children, father and mother -- and serve them. Treat them as if they were very dear to you, but know in your heart of hearts that they do not belong to you.

A maidservant in the house of a rich man performs all the household duties, but her thoughts are fixed on her own home in her native village. She brings up her master's children as if they were her own. She even speaks of them as "my Rama" or "my Hari." But in her own mind she knows very well that they do not belong to her at all.

The tortoise moves about in the water. But can you guess where her thoughts are? There on the bank, where her eggs are lying. Do all your duties in the world, but keep your mind on God.
(p. 127)

Ramakrishna:

Through selfless work, love of God grows in the heart. Then, through His grace, one realizes Him in course of time. God can be seen. One can talk to Him as I am talking to you.
(p. 163)