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/

Please visit this website for many more inspiritional quotes

Quotes By Lord Buddha

 

1. Ø Mere Suffering exists, No sufferer is found, The deed Is, but No doer of the deed is found, Nirvana is, but not the man that enters it, The path is, but no traveller on it is seen
   
   
   
   
2. Ø I gained nothing at all from Supreme Enlightenment, and for that very reason it is called Supreme Enlightenment.
3. 
   
4. Ø There is only one time when it is essential to awaken. That time is now.
5. 
   
6. Ø Attachment is the source of all suffering.
7. 
   
8. Ø Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
9. 
   
10. Ø The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.
11. 
    
12. Ø The Mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness.
13. 
    
14. Ø There is no fire like passion, there is no shark like hatred, there is no snare like folly, there is no torrent like greed.
15. 
    
16. Ø Look within, thou art the Buddha.
17. 
    
18. Ø 'He insulted me, he cheated me, he beat me, he robbed me.' Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.
19. 
    
20. Ø Thou one man conquers a thousand men, a thousand times in battle, he who conquers himself is the greatest warrior.
21. 
    
22. Ø He who never thinks of anything as mine' does not feel the lack of anything: he is never worried by a sense of loss.
23. 
    
24. Ø The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.
25. 
    
26. Ø The greatest prayer is patience.
27. 
    
28. Ø Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine.
29. 
    
30. Ø Decay is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence. - Buddha's last words
31. 
    
32. Ø There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.
33. 
    
34. Ø A wise man, recognizing that the world is but an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering.
35. 
    
36. Ø Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
37. 
    
38. Ø Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.
39. 
    
40. Ø It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.
41. 
    
42. Ø It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
43. 
    
44. Ø Let a man avoid evil deeds as a man who loves life avoids poison.
45. 
    
46. Ø Nothing is permanent.
47. 
    
48. Ø The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as the deed; The deed develops into habit; And habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, And let it spring from love Born out of concern for all beings.
49. 
    
50. Ø The world, indeed, is like a dream and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage! Like the apparent distances in a picture, things have no reality in themselves, but they are like heat haze.
51. 
    
52. Ø There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: 1.) not going all the way; and 2.) not starting.
53. 
    
54. Ø Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone beside yourselves. And those, who shall be a lamp unto themselves, shall betake themselves to no external refuge, but holding fast to the Truth as their lamp, and holding fast to the Truth as their refuge, they shall reach the topmost height.
55. 
    
56. Ø To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.
57. 
    
58. Ø To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance.
59. 
    
60. Ø We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.
61. 
    
62. Ø What we think, we become.
63. 
    
64. Ø Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.
65. 
    
66. Ø You cannot travel the path until you have become the path itself.
67. 
    
68. Ø The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground.
69. 
    
70. Ø The world, indeed, is like a dream and the treasures of the world are an alluring mirage! Like the apparent distances in a picture, things have no reality in themselves, but they are like heat haze.
71. 
    
72. Ø Unity can only be manifested by the Binary. Unity itself and the idea of Unity are already two.
73. 
    
74. Ø What is the appropriate behavior for a man or a woman in the midst of this world, where each person is clinging to his piece of debris? What's the proper salutation between people as they pass each other in this flood?
75. 
    
76. Ø What we think, we become.
77. 
    
78. Ø All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain?
79. 
    
80. Ø Ambition is like love, impatient both of delays and rivals.
81. 
    
82. Ø He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.
83. 
    
84. Ø In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.
85. 
    
86. Ø I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.
87. 
    
88. Ø It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.
89. 
    
90. Ø There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.
91. 
    
92. Ø When one has the feeling of dislike for evil, when one feels tranquil, one finds pleasure in listening to good teachings; when one has these feelings and appreciates them, one is free of fear.
93. 
    
94. Ø You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.
95. 
    
96. Ø You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.
97. 
    
98. Ø We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.
99. 
    
100. Ø When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.
101. 
     
102. Ø Wherever there is light, there is shadow; wherever there is length, there is shortness; wherever there is white, there is black. Just like these, as the self-nature of things can not exist alone, they are called non-substantial.
103. 
     
104. Ø Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
105. 
     
106. Ø The man who foolishly does me wrong, I will return to him the protection of my most ungrudging love; and the more evil comes from him, the more good shall go from me.
107. 
     
108. Ø If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way.
109. 
     
110. Ø Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.
111. 
     
112. Ø If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.
113. 
     
114. Ø The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.
115. 
     
116. Ø This Ariyan Eightfold Path, that is to say: Right view, right aim, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness, right contemplation.
117. 
     
118. Ø On a long journey of human life, faith is the best of companions; it is the best refreshment on the journey; and it is the greatest property.
119. 
     
120. Ø The point of the teachings is to control your own mind. Restrain your mind from greed, and you will keep your body right, your mind pure and your words faithful. Always thinking of the transiency of your life, you will be able to desist from greed and anger and will be able to avoid all evils.
121. 
     
122. Ø To live a single day and hear a good teaching is better than to live a hundred years without knowing such teaching.
123. 
     
124. Ø Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart, give yourself to it.
125. 
     
126. Ø Let yourself be open and life will be easier. A spoon of salt in a glass of water makes the water undrinkable. A spoon of salt in a lake is almost unnoticed.
127. 
     
128. Ø Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.
129. 
     
130. Ø A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker.
131. 
     
132. Ø All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.
133. 
     
134. Ø He is able who thinks he is able.
135. 
     
136. Ø His success may be great, but be it ever so great the wheel of fortune may turn again and bring him down into the dust.
137. 
     
138. Ø Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.
139. 
     
140. Ø Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death can erase our good deeds.
141. 
     
142. Ø To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.
143. 
     
144. Ø Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.
145. 
     
146. Ø Decay is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence.
147. 
     
148. Ø There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.
149. 
     
150. Ø Through zeal, knowledge is gotten, through lack of zeal, knowledge is lost; let a man who knows the double path of gain and loss thus place himself that knowledge may grow.
151. 
     
152. Ø Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what hold you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.
153. 
     
154. Ø To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana.
155. 
     
156. Ø A man should first direct himself in the way he should go. Only then should he instruct others.
157. 
     
158. Ø The mind is everything. What you think you become.
159. 
     
160. Ø To understand everything is to forgive everything.
161. 
     
162. Ø An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.
163. 
     
164. Ø However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?
165. 
     
166. Ø In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then beleive them to be true.
167. 
     
168. Ø Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.
169. 
     
170. Ø Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.
171. 
     
172. Ø The tongue like a sharp knife... Kills without drawing blood.
173. 
     
174. Ø To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.
175. 
     
176. Ø Without health life is not life; it is only a state of langour and suffering - an image of death.
177. 
     
178. Ø The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.
179. 
     
180. Ø As the fletcher whittles and makes straight his arrows, so the master directs his straying thoughts.
181. 
     
182. Ø An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.
183. 
     
184. Ø Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.
185. 
     
186. Ø Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.
187. 
     
188. Ø Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
189. 
     
190. Ø Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.
191. 
     
192. Ø Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.
193. 
     
194. Ø Thou one man conquers a thousand men, a thousand times in battle, he who conquers himself is the greatest warrior.

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