Friday, April 3, 2009
Ramakrishna Quotes on BHAKTI - DEVOTION - LOVE
"Bhakti is the one essential thing. To be sure, God exists in all beings. Who, then is a devotee? He whose mind dwells on God. But this is not possible as long as one has egotism and vanity.
The water of God's grace cannot collect on the high mound of egotism. It runs down."
"In the kaliyuga, man, being totally dependent on food for life, cannot altogether shake off the idea that he is the body. In this state of mind it is not proper for him to say:
'I am He'. When a man does all sorts of worldly things, he should not say, 'I am Brahman'. Those who cannot give up attachment to worldly things, and who find no means to shake off the feeling of 'I', should rather cherish the idea, 'I am God's servant; I am His devotee.' One can also realize God by following the path of devotion."
"A devotee who possesses sattvic bhakti, meditates on God in absolute secret, perhaps inside his mosquito net. Others think he is asleep. Since he is late in getting up, they think perhaps he has not slept well during the night. His love for the body goes only as far as appeasing his hunger, and that only by means of rice and simple greens. There is no elaborate arrangements about his meals, no luxury in clothes, and no display of furniture. Besides, such a devotee never flatters anyone for money."
"An aspirant possessed of rAjasic bhakti puts a tilak on his forehead and a necklace of holy rudrAksha beads, interspersed with gold ones, around his neck. At worship he wears a silk cloth."
"A man endowed with tAmasic bhakti has burning faith. Such a devotee literally exhorts boons from God, even as a robber falls upon a man and plunders his money."
"Yes, there is no hope for a worldly man if he is not sincerely devoted to God. But he has nothing to fear if he remains in the world after realizing God. Nor need a man have any fear
whatever of the world if he attains sincere devotion by practising spiritual discipline now and then in solitude."
‘Unalloyed love of God is the essential thing. All else is unreal. When one has love for God, one doesn’t feel any physical attraction to wife, children, relatives and friends. One retains only compassion for them. Through love one acquires renunciation and discrimination naturally."
"For the Kaliyuga the path of bhakti is especially good. One can realize God through bhakti too. As long as one is conscious of the body, one is also conscious of objects. Form, taste, smell, sound, and touch - these are the objects. It is extremely difficult to get rid of the consciousness
of objects. And one cannot realize 'I am He' as long as one is aware of objects."
"God cannot remain unmoved if you have rAga-bhakti, that is, love of God, with passionate attachment to Him. Do you know how fond God is of His devotee's love? It is like the cow's fondness for fodder mixed with oil-cake. The cow gobbles it down greedily."
"RAga-bhakti is pure love of God, a love that seeks God alone and not any worldly end. PrahlAda had it. Suppose you go to a wealthy man every day, but you seek no favour of him; you simply love to see him. If he wants to show you favour, you say: 'No, sir, I don't need anything. I came just to see you.' Such is love of God for its own sake. You simply love God and don't want anything from Him in return."
"Devotion to God may be said to be 'green' so long as it doesn't grow into love of God; but it becomes 'ripe' when it has grown into such love. A man with 'green bhakti cannot assimilate
spiritual talk and instruction; but one with 'ripe' bhakti can. The image that falls on a photographic plate covered with black film is retained.On the other hand, thousands of images may be refelected on a piece of bare glass, but not one of them is retained. As the object moves away, the glass becomes the same as it was before."
"Just imagine Hanuman's state of mind. He didn't care for money, honour, creature comforts, or anything else. He longed only for God. When he was running away with the heavenly weapon that had been secreted in the crystal pillar, Mandodari began to tempt him with various fruits
so that he might come down and drop the weapon. But he couldn't be tricked so easily."
"The one goal of life is to cultivate love for God, the love that the milkmaids, the milkmen,
and the cowherd boys of VrindAvan felt for Krishna. When Krishna went away to MathurA, the cowherds roamed about weeping bitterly because of their seperation from Him."
"The path of knowledge leads to Truth, as does the path that combines knowledge and love.
The path of love, too, leads to this goal. The way of love is as true as the way of knowledge. All paths ultimately lead to the same Truth. But as long as God keeps the feeling of ego in us, it is easier to follow the path of love
"Why does a vijnAni keep an attitude of love toward God? The answer is that 'I-conciousness' persists. It disappears in the state of samAdhi, no doubt, but it comes back. In the case of ordinary people the 'I' never disappears. You may cut down the ashwattha tree, but the next day sprouts shoot up."
"Man cannot really help the world. God alone does that - He who has created the sun and the moon, who has put love for their children in parents' hearts, endowed noble souls
with compassion, and holy men and devotees with divine love. The man who works for others, without any selfish motive, really does good to himself."
"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."
"You may say that there are many errors and superstitions in another religion. I should reply: Suppose there are. Every religion has errors. Everyone thinks that his watch alone gives the correct time. It is enough to have yearning for God. It is enough to love Him and feel attracted to Him. Don't you know that God is the Inner Guide?"
"God cannot be seen with these physical eyes. In the course of spiritual discipline one gets a 'love body', endowed with 'love eyes', 'love ears', and so on. One sees God with those 'love eyes'. One hears the voice of God with those 'love ears'. One even gets a sexual organ made of love."
"Do you know how a lover of God feels? His attitude is: 'O God, Thou art the Master, and I am Thy servant. Thou art the Mother, and I am Thy child.' Or again: 'Thou art my Father and Mother. Thou art the Whole, and I am a part.' He doesn't like to say, 'I am Brahman'"
"Think of Brahman, Existance - Knowledge - Bliss Absolute, as a shoreless ocean. Through the cooling influence, as it were, of the bhakta's love, the water has 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."
"All trouble and botheration comes to an end when the 'I' dies. You may indulge in thousands of reasonings, but still the 'I' doesn't disappear. For people like you and me, it is good to have the feeling, 'I am a lover of God.'" "God reveals Himself in the form which His devotees loves most.
His love for the devotees knows no bounds. It is written in the PurAna that God assumed the form of RAma for His heroic devotee, HanumAn."
"MAyA is nothing but 'woman and gold'. A man living in its midst gradually loses his spiritual
alertness. He thinks all is well with him. The scavenger carries a tub of night-soil on his head, and in course of time loses his repulsion to it. One gradually acquires love of God through
the practice of chanting God's name and glories."
"There is only one way to remove caste distinctions and that is by love of God.
Through this divine love the untouchable becomes pure, the pariah no longer remains a pariah.
Chaitanya embraced all, including the pariahs."
"Is it possible to understand God's action and His motive?
He creates, He preserves, and He destroys. Can we ever understand why He destroys?
I say to the Divine Mother: 'O Mother, I do not need to understand. Please give me love for Thy Lotus Feet'. The aim of human life is to attain bhakti. As for other things, the Mother knows best."
"Can you weep for Him with intense longing of heart? Men shed a jugful of tears for the sake of their children, for their wives, or for money. But who weeps for God?"
"Lovers of God do not belong to any caste. The mind, body, and soul of a man becomes purified
through divine love. Chaitanya and NityAnanda scattered the name of Hari to everyone,
including the pariah, and embraced them all. A brAhmin without this love is no longer a brAhmin. And a pariah with the love of God is no longer a pariah. Through bhakti an untouchable becomes pure and elevated".
"In the kaliyuga, man, being totally dependent on food for life, cannot altogether shake off the idea that he is the body. In this state of mind it is not proper for him to say:
'I am He'. When a man does all sorts of worldly things, he should not say, 'I am Brahman'. Those who cannot give up attachment to worldly things, and who find no means to shake off the feeling of 'I', should rather cherish the idea, 'I am God's servant; I am His devotee.' One can also realize God by following the path of devotion."
"A devotee who possesses sattvic bhakti, meditates on God in absolute secret, perhaps inside his mosquito net. Others think he is asleep. Since he is late in getting up, they think perhaps he has not slept well during the night. His love for the body goes only as far as appeasing his hunger, and that only by means of rice and simple greens. There is no elaborate arrangements about his meals, no luxury in clothes, and no display of furniture. Besides, such a devotee never flatters anyone for money."
"An aspirant possessed of rAjasic bhakti puts a tilak on his forehead and a necklace of holy rudrAksha beads, interspersed with gold ones, around his neck. At worship he wears a silk cloth."
"A man endowed with tAmasic bhakti has burning faith. Such a devotee literally exhorts boons from God, even as a robber falls upon a man and plunders his money."
"Yes, there is no hope for a worldly man if he is not sincerely devoted to God. But he has nothing to fear if he remains in the world after realizing God. Nor need a man have any fear
whatever of the world if he attains sincere devotion by practising spiritual discipline now and then in solitude."
‘Unalloyed love of God is the essential thing. All else is unreal. When one has love for God, one doesn’t feel any physical attraction to wife, children, relatives and friends. One retains only compassion for them. Through love one acquires renunciation and discrimination naturally."
"For the Kaliyuga the path of bhakti is especially good. One can realize God through bhakti too. As long as one is conscious of the body, one is also conscious of objects. Form, taste, smell, sound, and touch - these are the objects. It is extremely difficult to get rid of the consciousness
of objects. And one cannot realize 'I am He' as long as one is aware of objects."
"God cannot remain unmoved if you have rAga-bhakti, that is, love of God, with passionate attachment to Him. Do you know how fond God is of His devotee's love? It is like the cow's fondness for fodder mixed with oil-cake. The cow gobbles it down greedily."
"RAga-bhakti is pure love of God, a love that seeks God alone and not any worldly end. PrahlAda had it. Suppose you go to a wealthy man every day, but you seek no favour of him; you simply love to see him. If he wants to show you favour, you say: 'No, sir, I don't need anything. I came just to see you.' Such is love of God for its own sake. You simply love God and don't want anything from Him in return."
"Devotion to God may be said to be 'green' so long as it doesn't grow into love of God; but it becomes 'ripe' when it has grown into such love. A man with 'green bhakti cannot assimilate
spiritual talk and instruction; but one with 'ripe' bhakti can. The image that falls on a photographic plate covered with black film is retained.On the other hand, thousands of images may be refelected on a piece of bare glass, but not one of them is retained. As the object moves away, the glass becomes the same as it was before."
"Just imagine Hanuman's state of mind. He didn't care for money, honour, creature comforts, or anything else. He longed only for God. When he was running away with the heavenly weapon that had been secreted in the crystal pillar, Mandodari began to tempt him with various fruits
so that he might come down and drop the weapon. But he couldn't be tricked so easily."
"The one goal of life is to cultivate love for God, the love that the milkmaids, the milkmen,
and the cowherd boys of VrindAvan felt for Krishna. When Krishna went away to MathurA, the cowherds roamed about weeping bitterly because of their seperation from Him."
"The path of knowledge leads to Truth, as does the path that combines knowledge and love.
The path of love, too, leads to this goal. The way of love is as true as the way of knowledge. All paths ultimately lead to the same Truth. But as long as God keeps the feeling of ego in us, it is easier to follow the path of love
"Why does a vijnAni keep an attitude of love toward God? The answer is that 'I-conciousness' persists. It disappears in the state of samAdhi, no doubt, but it comes back. In the case of ordinary people the 'I' never disappears. You may cut down the ashwattha tree, but the next day sprouts shoot up."
"Man cannot really help the world. God alone does that - He who has created the sun and the moon, who has put love for their children in parents' hearts, endowed noble souls
with compassion, and holy men and devotees with divine love. The man who works for others, without any selfish motive, really does good to himself."
"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."
"You may say that there are many errors and superstitions in another religion. I should reply: Suppose there are. Every religion has errors. Everyone thinks that his watch alone gives the correct time. It is enough to have yearning for God. It is enough to love Him and feel attracted to Him. Don't you know that God is the Inner Guide?"
"God cannot be seen with these physical eyes. In the course of spiritual discipline one gets a 'love body', endowed with 'love eyes', 'love ears', and so on. One sees God with those 'love eyes'. One hears the voice of God with those 'love ears'. One even gets a sexual organ made of love."
"Do you know how a lover of God feels? His attitude is: 'O God, Thou art the Master, and I am Thy servant. Thou art the Mother, and I am Thy child.' Or again: 'Thou art my Father and Mother. Thou art the Whole, and I am a part.' He doesn't like to say, 'I am Brahman'"
"Think of Brahman, Existance - Knowledge - Bliss Absolute, as a shoreless ocean. Through the cooling influence, as it were, of the bhakta's love, the water has 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."
"All trouble and botheration comes to an end when the 'I' dies. You may indulge in thousands of reasonings, but still the 'I' doesn't disappear. For people like you and me, it is good to have the feeling, 'I am a lover of God.'" "God reveals Himself in the form which His devotees loves most.
His love for the devotees knows no bounds. It is written in the PurAna that God assumed the form of RAma for His heroic devotee, HanumAn."
"MAyA is nothing but 'woman and gold'. A man living in its midst gradually loses his spiritual
alertness. He thinks all is well with him. The scavenger carries a tub of night-soil on his head, and in course of time loses his repulsion to it. One gradually acquires love of God through
the practice of chanting God's name and glories."
"There is only one way to remove caste distinctions and that is by love of God.
Through this divine love the untouchable becomes pure, the pariah no longer remains a pariah.
Chaitanya embraced all, including the pariahs."
"Is it possible to understand God's action and His motive?
He creates, He preserves, and He destroys. Can we ever understand why He destroys?
I say to the Divine Mother: 'O Mother, I do not need to understand. Please give me love for Thy Lotus Feet'. The aim of human life is to attain bhakti. As for other things, the Mother knows best."
"Can you weep for Him with intense longing of heart? Men shed a jugful of tears for the sake of their children, for their wives, or for money. But who weeps for God?"
"Lovers of God do not belong to any caste. The mind, body, and soul of a man becomes purified
through divine love. Chaitanya and NityAnanda scattered the name of Hari to everyone,
including the pariah, and embraced them all. A brAhmin without this love is no longer a brAhmin. And a pariah with the love of God is no longer a pariah. Through bhakti an untouchable becomes pure and elevated".
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