Quotations About God From Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa represents the very core of the spiritual realizations of the seers and sages of India. His whole life was an uninterrupted contemplation of God. He reached a depth of God-consciousness that transcends all time and place and has a universal appeal. Seekers of God of all religions feel irresistibly drawn to Ramakrishna's life and teachings. Who better than this mystic can explain the concept of God?

Here's a collection of quotations about the true nature and infinite forms of the Absolute and how to approach the Ultimate Reality—told by Ramakrishna in his own inimitable way.

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 a 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 between 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 of 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."