How To Pray?

How to pray is the question. Let us not pray for things of the world, but pray like Saint Narada. 


Narada said to Ramachandra, ‘O Rama, grant that I may be favored with Bhakti (love, devotion and self-surrender) for Your lotus-feet.’ 


‘Be it so, Narada,’ said Rama, ‘but will you not ask for anything else?’ 


Narada replied, ‘Lord, may it please You to grant that I may not be attracted by Your Maya, which fascinates the universe.’ 


Ramachandra said once more, ‘Be it so, Narada, but will you not ask for anything else?’ 


Narada replied, ‘No, Lord that is all I pray for.’ 

Sri Ramakrishna

Source: http://www.hindu-blog.com/2009/03/sri-ramakrishna-on-how-to-pray.html

Posted with the kind permission of th awner of Hindu-Blog.

Strength of Faith

A man was about the cross a river, when master Bibhishana came over, wrote a name on a leaf, tied it to the man’s back, and said:

“Don’t be afraid. Your faith will help you walk on the waters. But the minute you lose faith, you will drown.”

The man trusted Vibhishana, and began to walk on the waters, without any difficulty. At a certain point, he had an overwhelming desire to know what his master had written on the leaf tied to his back.

He took it and read what was written:

“Oh god Rama, help this man to cross the river.”

“Is that all?” thought the man. “And who is this god Rama, anyway?”

The moment this doubt became lodged in his mind, he was submerged and drowned in the strong current.

From the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Conclusion in Sri Ramakrishna's words:

"He Who has FAITH has everything, he who lacks FAITH lacks everything, it is the FAITH in the name of the LORD that works wonders. FAITH IS LIFE, DOUBT IS DEATH"

Source: Do Not Question the Search

Message of Sri Ramakrishna

Today is the Birth Celebration of Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa. On this Auspicious day, let us remember his message for today’s world.

Message of Sri Ramakrishna

The message of Sri Ramakrishna to the modern world, which he gave through his life and through his recorded conversations, may be briefly stated as follows:

1. The goal of human life is the realization of the Ultimate Reality which alone can give man supreme fulfilment and everlasting peace.  This is the essence of all religions.

2. The Ultimate Reality is one; but it is personal as well as impersonal, and is indicated by different names (such as God, Ishvar, etc) in different religions.

3. The Ultimate Reality can be realized through various paths taught in world religions. All religions are true in so far as they lead to the same ultimate Goal.

4. Purity of mind is an essential condition for the attainment of the Ultimate Reality; real purity is freedom from lust and greed.  External observances are only of secondary importance.

5. Through spiritual practices man can overcome his evil tendencies, and divine grace can redeem even the worst sinner.  Therefore one should not brood over the past mistakes, but should develop a positive outlook on life by depending on God.

6. God realization is possible for all.  The householders need not renounce the world; but they should pray sincerely, practise discrimination between the Eternal and the temporal and remain unattached.  God listens to sincere prayer.  Intense longing (vyakulata) is the secret of success in spiritual life.

7. God dwells in all people but the manifestation of this inner Divinity varies from person to person.  In saintly people there is greater manifestation of God.  Women are special manifestations of Divine Mother of the Universe, and so are to be treated with respect.

8. Since God dwells in all people, helping the needy should be done not out of compassion (which is an attitude of condescension) but as humble service to God.

9. Egoism, caused by ignorance, is the root-cause of all suffering.

10. Life is an expression of the spontaneous creativity (Lila) of God.  Pleasure and pain, success and failure, etc are to be borne with patience, and one should resign oneself to God’s will under all circumstances.

Source: http://www.belurmath.org/sriramakrishna.htm

To Read more on Ramakrishna see

Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa - Short Biography

Quotes by Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita

Download “Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita” – Full (word document)

A Short Life of Sri Ramakrishna – pdf download

Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play - IV

When devotion is at an immature stage, weakness is observed in a devotee. At the early stage of devotion, a devotee cannot imagine God as being the devoid of power. In course of the time, devotion deepens and love for God is established. Thinking of God as all-powerful then becomes an obstacle in the path of devotion; the mature devotee shuns that attitude. All devotional scriptures declare this repeatedly. It is well known that Yashoda, the foster mother of Lord Krishna every day, and yet she nurtured and disciplined Him as her own son. The gopis knew that Krishna was the creator of the Universe, yet they could think of Him only as their beloved. There are many such instances in the scriptures.

When devotees fervently asked Sri Ramakrishna to grant them the vision of a particular manifestation of God’s majestic power, he would tell them: “Look, it is not good to ask for that kind of vision. You will be terrified when you see His power. Serving Him food, dressing Him with clothes, and the loving ‘You and I’ relationship with Him will all cease.” Alas, many times we sadly thought the Master refused our request because he did not wish us to have visions. Sometimes a bold devotee would beseech him passionately, saying, “Sir, your grace can make the impossible possible. Please be merciful and grant me the vision of God.” At this the Master would say tenderly: “My child, can I bring about anything? What the Divine Mother wills, happens.” If the devotee would insist, saying, “Whatever you wish shall be the Mother’s will,” the Master’s usual reply was: “My child, I do wish that all of you would have all kinds of spiritual states and visions. But does it happen?” If the devotee still insisted with dogged faith, the Master would express his love for that devotee with an affectionate look and a sweet smile. Then he would either remain silent or say: “My child, what more shall I say? Let the Mother’s will be done.” Even when pressed with destroying his erroneous but firm faith. Quite often we saw the Master respond in that manner and heard him say repeatedly, “My child, never destroy another’s spiritual attitude.”

Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play - II

Of those Great souls who are still worshipped as incarnations of God, all except Sri Ramachandra and Lord Buddha began their lives in sorrow, poverty, and hardship. Here are some examples: Although Sri Krishna belonged to a royal dynasty, he was born in a prison and spent his early life in a community of poor cowherds, separated from his relatives. Lord Jesus was born in the stable of an inn, glorifying his poor parents. Sri Shankara was born after his father’s death, the son of poor widow. Sri Chaitanya’s parents most ordinary people. Finally, the prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam, also came from a poor family. All of these great souls were born in families where there was contentment amidst suffering and poverty; where there were selflessness and love in the midst of hardship; and where the hearts of their poor parents were filled with a blend of renunciation, purity, steadfast humaneness, compassion, charity and other noble qualities.

Through careful reflection one can see a subtle connection between the avatar’s births in poverty and future courses of their lives. If they had no previous awareness of and sympathy for the condition of the poor, how could they in later life accomplish their mission to give solace and peace to society’s afflicted, poor, and persecuted? However, this is not the sole purpose for their advent. We have previously discussed the fact that avatars come to halt the decline of religion. To fulfill that mission, they first become intimately familiar with the traditional religious law; after reflecting upon the causes of religion’s present degradation, the avatars discover a new dispensation according to that particular time and place in order to revive those ancient laws. The huts of the poor, not in the palaces of the rich, offer the opportunity to become intimate with religious traditions. It is the poor person, deprived of worldly enjoyment, who always holds fast to God and His dispensation. Therefore, in spite of widespread religious degradation, a glimpse of the ancient religion keeps the poor person’s hut luminous. That is why, it seems, the great teachers of the world are attracted to take birth in poor families. The same situation occurred in the life of Sri Ramakrishna.


Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and other religions have shown that devoutly worshipping God is the easiest way to attain liberation. As they all hold the same premise, a question spontaneously arises in mind of an impartial investigator as to whether there is any truth underlying this assertion, and if there is, how much of the life stories of those great teachers is to be accepted or rejected.

Reason implies that there may be some truth in the nativity stories of the great souls. Modern science concedes that highly evolved parents are capable of begetting children of noble character. It is therefore to be admitted that the parents of great souls like Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus were endowed with divine qualities. Moreover, it is clear that when these great souls were born, the minds of their parents dwelt in exalted planes of consciousness that ordinary minds cannot reach. As a result, they had wonderful visions and spiritual experiences.

HOLY SAINTS OF MODERN INDIA

I am starting a new series of HOLY SAINTS OF MODERN INDIA, where in I will try to give background information of ADVENT OF THEIR LIVES ON THIS EARTH and SOME OTHER BASIC information.

I am beginning with SRI RAMAKRISHNA PARAMHANS (1836-1886). I will be extremely obliged and thankful if ANY OF YOU ALSO CAN SEND ANY INFORMATION OR LINKS TO ALL SAINTS OF MOTHER INDIA...

SRI RAMAKRISHNA AND HIS DIVINE PLAY
It cannot be said that India’s national life was free from defects before the conquest of the West. But the nation was then vigorous and full of life, so its people constantly strove to rectify those defects. As we observe a certain lack of effort on the part of the nation and society today, we understand that the application of medicine in the form of materialistic Western idea is about to kill the patient along with the disease.

It is now evident that the degradation of religion in the West has also affected India. In fact, it is striking to see how far that degradation has spread all over the world in this present age.

If there is any truth in religion, and if by God’s grace one can attain that truth, then undoubtedly the present hedonistic age has deviated far from it. Modern science has improved the condition of human life by providing people with various objects of enjoyment, but it has failed to bring peace. Who will not set it right? Who will be so moved by the constant restlessness and agony of the world’s people as to relinquish personal enjoyment and find a new religious path suitable for the present age? Who will halt the degradation of religion in the East and the West and teach people to follow the new path of peace?

Lord Krishna has promised in the Gita whenever there is a decline in religion, he embraces his own maya in order to become incarnate, to restore religion and help people to regain peace. Will not the need of the age intensely arouse his compassion? Will not the need of the age intensely arouse his compassion? Will not humankind’s emptiness and anxiety induce God to assume a body?

The need of the age has accomplished that task! The Lord has truly reappeared as a world teacher. Listen with faith to His blessed messages: “As many faiths, so many paths'; ' you will realize the Lord through any spiritual practice performed with a sincere heart.' (And also ' All will certainly realize God if they are earnest and sincere.') Reflect intensely upon the superhuman renunciation and austerities Sri Ramakrishna practiced to revive the Supreme Knowledge! Come, let us purify ourselves by studying and meditating on his pure, divine life. ....Continued

Sri Ramakrishna’s early days

The years rolled on, and Gadadhar (Sri Ramakrishna) was now five years old. He began to show wonderful intelligence and memory even at this early age. The precocious boy learnt by heart the names of his ancestors, the hymns to various gods and goddesses. His father surprisingly observed that after hearing the hyyms and tales from the great national epics just once, Gadadhar could recall majority of the hymm or the tale exactly as told to him previously. As he grew to be very restless, Khudiram (Sri Ramakrishna’s father) sent him to the village school. At school Gadadhar made fair progress, but he showed great distaste for mathematics. He directed all his attention to the study of the lives and characters of spiritual heroes. Constant study of those subjects often made him forgetful of the world and threw him into deep meditation. As he grew older, he began to have trances whenever his religious feelings were roused. Soon it was found that not only religious subjects but beautiful scenery or some touching incident was also sufficient to make him lose himself.

Source:

1. Sri Ramakrishna Jivan Charitra by M

2. A short life of Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Tejasananda

Secret of divine communion - Sri Ramakrishna's advice to the house holders

Sri Ramakrishna explains the household devotees about their duties and the secret of communion with God.  

Sri Ramakrishna: "With the realization of Satchidananda one goes into samādhi. Then duties drop away. Suppose I have been talking about the ostad and he arrives. What need is there of talking about him then? How long does the bee buzz around? So long as it isn't sitting on a flower. But it will not do for the sadhaka to renounce duties. He should perform his duties, such as worship, japa, meditation, prayer, and pilgrimage.

"If you see someone engaged in reasoning even after he has realized God, you may liken him to a bee, which also buzzes a little even while sipping honey from a flower."

Sri Ramakrishna was highly pleased with the ostad's music. He said to the musician, "There is a special manifestation of God's power in a man who has any outstanding gift, such as proficiency in music."

MUSICIAN: "Sir, what is the way to realize God?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "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. I am a mere machine.

Source: Sri Ramakrishna's Jivan Charitra / Kathamrita

No One Can Limit God

(Following is an extract from Sri Ramakrishna Biography when he met the members of Keshav Chandra Sen's Brahma Samaj)

MASTER: "With sincerity and earnestness one can realize God through all religions. The Vaishnava will realize God, and so will the Saktas, the Vedantists, and the Brahmos. The Mussalmans and Christians will realize Him too. All will certainly realize God if they are earnest and sincere.

"Some people indulge in quarrels, saying, 'One cannot attain anything unless one worships our Krishna', or, 'Nothing can be gained without the worship of Kali, our Divine Mother', or, 'One cannot be saved without accepting the Christian religion.' This is pure dogmatism. The dogmatist says, 'My religion alone is true, and the religions of others are false.' This is a bad attitude. God can be reached by different paths.

"Further, some say that God has form and is not formless. Thus they start quarrelling. A Vaishnava quarrels with a Vedantist.

"One can rightly speak of God only after one has seen Him. He who has seen God knows really and truly that God has form and that He is formless as well. He has many other aspects that cannot be described.

"Once some blind men chanced to come near an animal that someone told them was an elephant. They were asked what the elephant was like. The blind men began to feel its body. One of them said the elephant was like a pillar; he had touched only its leg. Another said it was like a winnowing-fan; he had touched only its ear. In this way the others, having touched its tail or belly, gave their different versions of the elephant. Just so, a man who has seen only one aspect of God limits God to that alone. It is his conviction that God cannot be anything else.


Read More

Source: http://www.writespirit.net/authors/sri_ramakrishna/gospel_sri_ramakrishna/no-one-can-limit-god/view

Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa - Short Biography

Sri Ramakrishna was born on 18 February 1836 in the village of Kamarpukur about sixty miles northwest of Kolkata. His parents, Kshudiram Chattopadhyaya and Chandramani Devi, were poor but very pious and virtuous. As a child, Ramakrishna (his childhood name was Gadadhar) was dearly loved by the villagers. From early days, he was disinclined towards formal education and worldly affairs. He was, however, a talented boy, and could sing and paint well. He was fond of serving holy men and listening to their discourses. He was also very often found to be absorbed in spiritual moods. At the age of six, he experienced the first ecstasy while watching a flight of white cranes moving against the background of black clouds. This tendency to enter into ecstasy intensified with age. His father’s death when he was seven years old served only to deepen his introspection and increase his detachment from the world.

As a Priest at Dakshineswar Temple

When Sri Ramakrishna was sixteen, his brother Ramkumar took him to Kolkata to assist him in his priestly profession. In 1855 the Kali Temple at Dakshineswar built by Rani Rasmani was consecrated and Ramkumar became the chief priest in that temple. When he died a few months later, Ramakrishna was appointed the priest. Ramakrishna developed intense devotion to Mother Kali and spent hours in loving adoration of her image, forgetting the rituals of priestly duties. His intense longing culminated in the vision of Mother Kali as boundless effulgence engulfing everything around him.

Intense Spiritual Practices

Sri Ramakrishna’s God-intoxicated state alarmed his relatives in Kamarpukur and they got him married to Saradamani, a girl from the neighbouring village of Jayrambati. Unaffected by the marriage, Sri Ramakrishna plunged into even more intense spiritual practices. Impelled by a strong inner urge to experience different aspects of God he followed, with the help of a series of Gurus, the various paths described in the Hindu scriptures, and realized God through each of them. The first teacher to appear at Dakshineswar (in 1861) was a remarkable woman known as Bhairavi Brahmani who was an advanced spiritual adept, well versed in scriptures. With her help Sri Ramakrishna practised various difficult disciplines of the Tantrik path, and attained success in all of them. Three years later came a wandering monk by name Totapuri, under whose guidance Sri Ramakrishna attained Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the highest spiritual experience mentioned in the Hindu scriptures. He remained in that state of non-dual existence for six months without the least awareness of even his own body. In this way, Sri Ramakrishna relived the entire range of spiritual experiences of more than three thousand years of Hindu religion.

Following Other Faiths

With his unquenchable thirst for God, Sri Ramakrishna broke the frontiers of Hinduism, glided through the paths of Islam and Christianity, and attained the highest realization through each of them in a short span of time. He looked upon Jesus and Buddha as incarnations of God, and venerated the ten Sikh Gurus. He expressed the quintessence of his twelve-year-long spiritual realizations in a simple dictum: Yato mat, tato path “As many faiths, so many paths.” He now habitually lived in an exalted state of consciousness in which he saw God in all beings.

Worshipping His Wife

In 1872, his wife Sarada, now nineteen years old, came from the village to meet him. He received her cordially, and taught her how to attend to household duties and at the same time lead an intensely spiritual life. One night he worshipped her as the Divine Mother in his room at the Dakshineswar temple. Although Sarada continued to stay with him, they lived immaculately pure lives, and their marital relationship was purely spiritual. It should be mentioned here that Sri Ramakrishna had been ordained a Sannyasin (Hindu monk), and he observed the basic vows of a monk to perfection. But outwardly he lived like a lay man, humble, loving and with childlike simplicity. During Sri Ramakrishna’s stay at Dakshineswar, Rani Rasmani first acted as his patron. After her death, her son-in-law Mathur Nath Biswas took care of his needs.

Contact with Some Notables

Sri Ramakrishna’s name as an illumined saint began to spread. Mathur once convened an assembly of scholars, and they declared him to be not an ordinary human being but the Avatar of the Modern Age. In those days the socio-religious movement known as Brahmo Samaj, founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy, was at the height of popularity in Bengal. Sri Ramakrishna came into contact with several leaders and members of Brahmo Samaj and exerted much influence on them. His teaching on harmony of religions attracted people belonging to different denominations, and Dakshineswar became a veritable Parliament of Religions.

Coming of the Devotees

As bees swarm around a fully blossomed flower, devotees now started coming to Sri Ramakrishna. He divided them into two categories. The first one consisted of householders. He taught them how to realize God while living in the world and discharging their family duties. The other more important category was a band of educated youths, mostly from the middle class families of Bengal, whom he trained to become monks and to be the torchbearers of his message to mankind. The foremost among them was Narendranath, who years later, as Swami Vivekananda, carried the universal message of Vedanta to different parts of the world, revitalized Hinduism, and awakened the soul of India.

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Ramakrishna did not write any book, nor did he deliver public lectures. Instead, he chose to speak in a simple language using parables and metaphors by way of illustration, drawn from the observation of nature and ordinary things of daily use. His conversations were charming and attracted the cultural elite of Bengal. These conversations were noted down by his disciple Mahendranath Gupta who published them in the form of a book, Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita in Bengali. Its English rendering, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, was released in 1942; it continues to be increasingly popular to this day on account of its universal appeal and relevance.

Last Days

The intensity of his spiritual life and untiring spiritual ministration to the endless stream of seekers told on Sri Ramakrishna's health. He developed cancer of the throat in 1885. He was shifted to a spacious suburban villa where his young disciples nursed him day and night. He instilled in them love for one another, and thus laid the foundation for the future monastic brotherhood known as Ramakrishna Math. In the small hours of 16 August 1886 Sri Ramakrishna gave up his physical body, uttering the name of the Divine Mother, and passed into Eternity.


Source: http://www.belurmath.org/sriramakrishna.htm#Chronology

Recomemded Reading:

1. Sri Ramakrishna Jivan Charitra (Ramakrishna: his life and his teachings) by M
   
2. Sri Ramakrishna Kathamruta (Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna) by M

Quotes about Vairagya (Dispassion in society) - Sri Ramakrishna

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? So long as the child remains engrossed with its toys, the mother looks after her cooking and other household duties. But when the child no longer relishes the toys, it throws them aside and yells for its mother. Then the mother takes the rice-pot down from the hearth, runs in haste, and takes the child in her arms
~Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Ramakrishna's Kathamruta (Kathamrita) connected with vedanta

In Sri Ramakrishna's Jivan Charitra by M, Sri Ramakrishna has been quoted as saying:

If a thorn (Igonrance) has pierced your feet, then just by merely saying that "there is no thorn, there is no thorn", will the pain and the thorn be removed. No. To remove the thorn (Ignorance) , another thorn (Jnana) must be taken and with the help of another thorn, we should remove this thorn (Ignorance), and then throw away both the thorns (Igonrance and Jnana)

Similar explanation in advaita vedanta is found. Sri Adi Shankaracharya has said the following in his Prakaran Granth "Vivek Choodamani" (about how to remove the ignorance) as follows:

61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae) and medicines to such a one ?

62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utter the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realisation one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.

63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman ? -- It would result merely in an effort of speech.

64. Without killing one’s enemies, and possessing oneself of the splendour of the entire surrounding region, one cannot claim to be an emperor by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.

65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

66. Therefore the wise should, as in the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in their power to be free from the bondage of repeated births and deaths.

67. The question that thou hast asked today is excellent, approved by those versed in the Scriptures, aphoristic, pregnant with meaning and fit to be known by the seekers after Liberation.


Source: Vivek Choodamani

Quotes by Sri Ramakrishna

1. Once you know maya, it runs away, it can no more influence you.
   
2. Only god is truth, everything else is false.
   
3. The one you has created the laws of nature also has the powers to break the laws of nature.
   
4. He who has faith has everything, and he who lacks faith lacks everything. It is the faith in the name of the Lord that works wonders, FAITH IS LIFE & DOUBT IS DEATH.
   
5. You can also ask for Brahma Jnana to divine mother.
   
6. The magnetic needle always points to the North, and hence it is that the sailing vessel does not lose her direction. So long as the heart of man is directed towards God, he cannot be lost in the ocean of worldliness.
   
7. Man’s sufferings and worries spring only from his persistent thought that he is the doer. – Ramakrishna
   
8. The sum and substance of the whole matter is that a man must love God, must be restless for Him. It doesn't matter whether you believe in God with form or God without form. You may or may not believe that God incarnates Himself as man. But you will realize Him if you have that yearning. Then He himself will let you know what He is like. If you must be mad, why should you be mad for the things of the world? If you must be mad, be mad for God alone.
   
9. You will feel restless for God when your heart becomes pure and your mind free from attachment to the things of the world. Then alone will your prayer reach God. A telegraph wire cannot carry messages if it has a break or some other defect.
   
10. Do you know how a lover of God feels? His attitude is: "0 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."
    
11. The path of knowledge leads to Truth, as does the path that combines knowledge and love [bhakti]. 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.
    
12. A man does not have to suffer any more if God, in His grace, removes his doubts and reveals Himself to him. But this grace descends upon him only after he has prayed to God with intense yearning of heart and practiced spiritual discipline. The mother feels compassion for her child when she sees him running about breathlessly. She has been hiding herself; now she appears before the child.
    
13. It -is His will that we should run about a little. Then it is great fun. God has created the world in play, as it were. This is called Mahamaya, the Great Illusion. Therefore one must take refuge in the Divine Mother, the Cosmic Power Itself. It is She who has bound us with the shackles of illusion. The realization of God is possible only when those shackles are severed.
    

The above content is taken from the following link

http://www.ramakrishna.org/

God-vision is nothing but to realize and feel His presence within yourself and everywhere about you, because God is an all-prevailing spirit, permeating the entire universe. The manifested worlds are not different from Him, since they are but His own expression in terms of name and form.

Everything is Brahman, but this has to be realized; merely saying that you are Brahman cannot make you realize the truth. You ought to experience that state, rising above all sense of duality by freeing your mind from illusion. Your 'I' should no longer be the local, narrow individual 'I' but the universal, eternal and absolute 'I'. To realize this ineffable, perfect state, sadbana is necessary. Mind and its desires have to be conquered by concentration and purification

To control the mind the best and easiest method is to repeat constantly God's Name. Concentration is attained by fixing the attention on the sound of the Name. As the mind is concentrated, there must follow meditation upon the glorious attributes of God. Continuous practice of utterance of the Name and meditation stops the restlessness of the mind and merges it into the blissful, eternal and universal Self. God remembrance is not possible unless you have an intense longing to realize Him. This intense desire is called bbakti [devotion]. This longing must so seize your mind that you should feel a sensation of acute pain when you forget God on account of selfish desires. Your actions should also go to purify your mind, I.e., they should be done in a spirit of nisbkama [desirelessness]. Purity of mind means freedom from lust, wrath and greed. For a pure mind alone can see God. Concentration itself is purity. Forget not that the God that you seek is within yourself.

Forget not the central truth that God is seated in your own heart. Don't be disheartened by failures at initial stages. Cultivate the spirit of surrender to the workings of His will in you and outside you, until you have completely surrendered up your ego-sense and have known He is in all and He is all, and you and He are one. Be patient. The path of self-discipline that leads to God-realization is not an easy path. Obstacles and sufferings are on the path; the latter you must bear and the former overcome - all by His help. His help comes only through concentration. Repetition of God's Name helps concentration

God, who is absolute existence, consciousness and bliss, is within you-nay, you and He are not different. Unless you realize Him, there can be no true liberation and lasting peace.

The only way to control the mind and free it from the evils you mention is always to take the Name of God, meditate upon His great attributes and surrender all your actions to Him

Know in the first place that the God you seek is within yourself. He is the life and soul of the universe and to attain Him is the supreme purpose of life. Evil and sorrow are due to your belief that you are separate from this universal Truth. The ego has set up this wall of separation. Have a strong and intense longing to realize Him, that is, to know that your life is one with the life of the universe. Then surrender up the ego by constant identification with Him through prayer, meditation and performance of all action without desiring their fruit. As you progress on this path, which is the path of devotion, knowledge and self-surrender, your attachment to the unrealities of life will slacken, and the illusions of the mind will be dispelled. Now your heart will be filled with divine love, and your vision purified and equalized, and your actions will become the spontaneous outflow of your immortal being, yielding you the experience of true joy and peace. This is the culmination of human endeavor and fulfillment of the purpose of life

The true saguna or body of the Lord is the universe itself, in which He is immanent. And by His power He is causing, in this manifestation, birth, growth, and dissolution of all beings and things. He is also transcendent as pure spirit. Your body is one of His expressions. Your activity has its inception in the infinite power of God. Don't be deluded by a desire to behold things which are conditioned and momentary-mere phantoms of your mind. Have the true longing to realize your immortal nature and your union with the omnipotent and omnipresent God, who is the supreme Lord of the universe. Purify your mind and heart by proper discipline and entitle yourself to this glorious vision, and attain perfect freedom and eternal bliss

The only way to control the mind and free it from the evils you mention is always to take the Name of God, meditate upon His great attributes and surrender all your actions to Him


The above content is taken from the following site

http://www.onelittleangel.com/wisdom/quotes/saint.asp?mc=68


God is Love

If you must be mad, be it not for the things of the world. Be mad with the love of God… Many good sayings are to be found in holy books, but merely reading them will not make one religious. One must practice the virtues taught in such books in order to acquire love of God.


God is True Knowledge

If you first fortify yourself with the true knowledge of the Universal Self, and then live in the midst of wealth and worldliness, surely they will in no way affect you. When the divine vision is attained, all appear equal; and there remains no distinction of good and bad, or of high and low… Good and evil cannot bind him who has realized the oneness of Nature and his own self with Brahman.


God is in Your Heart

Because of the screen of Maya (illusion) that shuts off God from human view, one cannot see Him playing in one's heart. After installing the Deity on the lotus of your heart, you must keep the lamp of remembering God ever burning. While engaged in the affairs of the world, you should constantly turn your gaze inwards and see whether the lamp is burning or not.


God is in All People

God is in all men, but all men are not in God; that is why we suffer.


God is Our Father

As a nurse in a wealthy family brings up her master's child, loving it as if it were her own, yet knowing well that she has no claim upon it, so you also think that you are but trustee and guardians of your children whose real father is the Lord himself.


God is Infinite

Many are the names of God and infinite the forms through which He may be approached.


God is Truth

Unless one always speaks the truth, one cannot find God Who is the soul of truth. One must be very particular about telling the truth. Through truth one can realize God.


God is above all Arguments

If you desire to be pure, have firm faith, and slowly go on with your devotional practices without wasting your energy in useless scriptural discussions and arguments. Your little brain will otherwise be muddled.


God is Work

Work, apart from devotion or love of God, is helpless and cannot stand alone.

God is the End

To work without attachment is to work without the expectation of reward or fear of any punishment in this world or the next. Work so done is a means to the end, and God is the end.

The above content is taken from the follwoing website

http://hinduism.about.com/od/gurussaints/a/godis.htm

"If a man clings tenaciously to truth he ultimately realizes God.
Without this regard for truth he gradually loses everything.
If by chance I say that I will go to the pine- grove,
I must go there even if there is no further need of it,
lest I lose my attachment to truth.
After my vision of the Divine Mother, I prayed to Her,
taking a flower in my hand:
'Mother, here is Thy knowledge and here is Thy ignorance.
Take them both and give me only pure love.
Here is Thy holiness and here is Thy unholiness.
Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love.
Here is Thy good and here is Thy evil.
Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love.
Here is Thy righteousness and here is Thy unrighteousness.
Take them both, Mother, and give me pure love'.
I mentioned all these, but I could not say:
'Mother, here is Thy truth and here is Thy falsehood. Take them both'.
I gave up everything at Her Feet,
but could not bring myself to give up truth".


The above content is taken from the following website

http://www.angelfire.com/ma/ramakrishna/

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