May I be born again and again, and suffer thousands of miseries, so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls; and above all, my God the wicked, my God the miserable, my God the poor of all races, of all species, is the special object of my worship.

If you dream of a tiger you will tremble in every limb and your heart will trob violently.  When you wake up you may realize that is was a mere dream, but still your heart will go on palpitating all the same.  Similarly the sense of “I” remains even after the realization of the Absolute.  Thus if the sense of “I” is the cause of all troubles and it is impossible to be free from it, let it stay on as “I”, the servant of the Lord.          

Sri Ramakrishna was one of the greatest of India's spiritual adepts of recent times, actively embodying India's profound tradition of plurality. By assimilating the sadhanas, customs, and practices of different faiths into his own personal practice, he presented a powerful example of respect for other traditions, even while maintaining a deep fidelity to his own. His transparently pure and well-documented life remains a guide and inspiration to millions on their spiritual path.

KNOW THAT YOU ARE FREE

Whatever exists is you. You are the infinite. The infinite cannot be divided. I can have no parts, for each part would be infinite, and then the part would be identical to the whole, which is absurd. Therefore, the idea that you ar Mr. So-and-so can never be true; it is a day-dream. Know this and be free. This is the Advaita conclusion, “I am neither the body, nor the organs, nor I am the mind; I am existence, Knowledge, and Bliss absolute; I am He.” This is the true knowledge; all reason and intellect, and everything else is ignorance. Where is knowledge for me, fpr I am knowledge itself? I am sure I live, for I am life, the One Being, and nothing exists except through me, and in me, and as me. I am manifested through the elements, but I am the free One. Who seeks Freedom? Nobody. If you think that you are bound, you remain bound; you make your own bondage. If you know that you are free, you are free this moment. This is knowledge, knowledge of freedom. Freedom is the goal of all nature.

Meditate with Unswerving Attention

I am verily that Supreme Brahman, which is eternal, stainless, and free; which is One, indivisible, and non-dual; and which is of the nature of Bliss, Truth, Knowledge, and Infinity.

The impression of “I am Brahman,” thus created by uninterrupted reflection, destroys ignorance and its distractions, as medicine destroys disease.

Sitting in a solitary place, freeing the mind from desires, and controlling the senses, meditate with unswerving attention on the Infinite Atman which is one without a second.

The Wise one should intelligently merge the entire objective world in Atman alone and constantly think of that Atman as the stainless sky.

I Have a Mother

“Whoever has come here, whoever is my son is already redeemed.  Destiny dare not throw my children into hell.  Free yourself from all anxiety by entrusting your future to me.  And remember this always, that there is one behind you who will come to you at the right moment and lead you to the everlasting domain.”

To a newly initiated disciple Mother said, “From now on the Master will take care of you.  He is yours and you are his.  He is your Guru, your Ishta.  I have offered your life at his feet.”  “But how am I to think of you, Mother?” the disciple asked.  She paused for a while and said, “Well, think of me as one with him (Sri Ramakrishna).”

“I am the mother of the wicked, as I am the mother of the virtuous.  Never fear.  Whenever you are in distress, just say to yourself, “I have a mother.”

We shall see in all the same Infinite Eternal Mother

"I am life, I am death." She it is whose shadow is life and death. She is the pleasure in all pleasure. She is the mystery in all mystery. If life comes, it is the Mother; if death comes, it is the Mother. If heaven comes, She is. If hell comes, there is Mother; plunge in. We have not faith; we have not patience to see this. We trust the man in the street; but there is one being in the universe we never trust and that is God. We trust Him when He works just our way. But the time will come when getting blow after blow, the self-sufficient mind will die. In everything we do, the serpent ego is rising up. We are glad that there are so many thorns on the path. They strike the hood of the cobra.

Last of all will come self-surrender. Then we shall be able to give ourselves up to the Mother. If misery comes, welcome; if happiness comes, welcome. Then, when we come up to this love, all crooked things will be straight. There will be the same sight for the Brahmin, the Pariah, and the dog. Until we love the universe with same­ sightedness, with impartial, undying love, we are missing again and again. But then, all will be vanished, and we shall see in all the same Infinite Eternal Mother.

The Worship of Divine Mother

Mother-Worship is a distinct philosophy in itself.

Power is the first of our ideas. It impinges upon man, at every step. Power felt within, is the soul; without, nature. And the battle between the two makes human life. All that we know or feel is but the resultant of these two forces. Man saw that the sun shines on the good and the evil alike. Here was a new idea of God, as the Universal Power behind all. The Mother-idea was born.

Activity, according to Sankhya, belongs to Prakriti, to nature, not to Purusha, or soul. Of all feminine types, in India, the mother is pre-eminent. The mother stands by her child through everything. Wife and children may desert a man, but his mother, never! Mother, again, is the impartial energy of the Universe, because of the colorless love, that asks not, desires not, cares not for the evil in her child, but loves him the more.

A Christian Mystic

So great was the feeling I had in that sweet union that it is not to be wondered at if I was out of my sense.  I saw nothing but God alone, without myself and outside myself.  The sight is so absorbing that nothing else can be seen or enjoyed or desired.  The being both of body and soul remains as if dead, unable to act inwardly or outwardly.  But how can I describe in words the immeasurable and the indescribable?  I am at a loss to speak of its greatness and excellence; it is impossible to express it in words, or for anyone to understand it who had not experienced it.

The Absolute cannot be worshipped; so we must worship a manifestation, such a one as has our nature.  Jesus had our nature; he became the Christ.  So can we and so must we.  Christ and Buddha were the names of a state to be attained; Jesus and Gautama were the persons to attain it.  “Mother” is the first and highest manifestation of the Absolute, next the Christ and Buddhas.