Sri Ramakrishna Quotes and Sayings

• It is God alone who blesses.
   

• Live in the world like a maidservant in a rich man's house. She performs all the household duties, brings up her master's child, and speaks of him as 'my Hari'. But in her heart she knows quite well that neither the house nor the child belongs to her. She performs all her duties, but just the same her mind dwells on her native place. Likewise, do your worldly duties but fix your mind on God. And know that house, family, and son do not belong to you; they are God's. You are only His servant.
   

• God alone is real and all else unreal; the world is illusory'—that is
  discrimination. One cannot assimilate spiritual instruction without discrimination.
   

• You may learn a great deal from books; but it is all futile if you have no love for God and no desire to realize Him. A mere pundit, without discrimination and renunciation, has his attention fixed on 'woman and gold'.
   

• You don't have to renounce everything. Live in the world the way
  the tortoise does. The tortoise roams about in the water but keeps its eggs on land. Its whole mind is on the eggs.
   

• One must be restless for God. If a son clamours persistently for his share of the property, his parents consult with each other and give it to him even though he is a minor. God will certainly listen to your prayers if you feel restless for Him. Since He has begotten us, surely we can claim our inheritance from Him. He is our own Father, our own Mother. We can force our demand on Him.
   

• The thing is somehow to unite the mind with God. You must not forget Him, not even once. Your thought of Him should be like the flow of oil, without any interruption. If you worship with love even a brick or stone as God, then through His grace you can see Him.
   

• The companionship of a holy man is greatly needed now and then. It enables one to discriminate between the Real and the unreal.