Ramakrishna Sharanam

Ramakrishna Sharanam

5/16/2025, 3:14:24 AM

A woman devotee: Maharaj, why do we forget God? What is it that drives us away from Him? Swamiji: You ask me why you forget Him, my daughter? This is what is called Maya. Under the spell of Maya a person forgets God and remains attached to sense objects which are impermanent. Do you love God as much as material things? Must I tell you that the world as well as this body of yours and the relatives to whom you are so inordinately attached are short-lived? You see before your eyes that things existing today do not exist tomorrow. What is here this moment ceases to be the next moment. A person born today may die tomorrow. Sorrow comes soon after happiness, yet people find joy and are deeply engrossed in this world! Woman devotee: Maharaj, how shall we be saved? How shall we be free from Maya? Please do bless us. Swamiji: One cannot realize the unreality of the world without the grace of the Lord. There is no way to lift the veil of Maya other than self-surrender to God. My daughter, the Lord says in the Gita (VII. 14): "Verily this divine illusion of Mine, composed of the gunas, is difficult to surmount. Those who take refuge in Me alone cross over this illusion." There is no other way than to call on the Lord wholeheartedly. You are in the world and have many things to attend to. I realize that you do not find enough time for spiritual practice. Resign yourself and cry to Him. Pray to Him sincerely, "O Lord, be gracious unto us!" Crying will wash away the impurities of the mind, and He will reveal Himself to you with the brilliance of a million suns. Then you will realize that He, the Lord, is within you. Do cry to Him and exercise discrimination between the Real and the unreal. God only is real; the world with its birth and death, pleasure and pain, is false. Such discrimination accompanied by prayer will certainly earn for you His grace. You will be disgusted with the world and your mind will turn towards God. *Source:* For Seekers of God by Swami Shivananda

Ramakrishna Sharanam

5/15/2025, 3:35:34 AM

Among the many devotees present in Swami Shivananda's room was a group from Barisal, seeking spiritual instruction. An elderly gentleman, as representative of the group, said: 'Maharaj, please give us some advice. Living in the world and having many ties, we are scorched day and night. Please bless us that we may find peace in life.' Seeing the earnestness of the man, Mahapurushji answered with great compassion: 'What advice shall I give you? We have only one piece of advice—do not forget God. This is the essence of all teachings. We ourselves try our best to practise this in life and advise those who seek our counsel to do the same. You are in the world, but what does it matter? Tell me if anyone is out of the world! But see that you do not forget God. Perform your duties, but at the end of the day do not fail to call on God with great yearning at least once. Duties and responsibilities there are, of course. I do not ask you to neglect them; but in the midst of everything think of the Lord, pray to Him, repeat His name and do similar spiritual practices. In the Vaishnava literature there is this advice, "Repeat the Lord's name with your lips as you perform your work with your hands." It is indeed an excellent advice. Just as every work has its purpose and time, you should also have an appointed time for calling on God. At that time you should think of God and commune with Him even though you may have a hundred and one things to attend to. He, the Lord, dwells in every heart and judges a person by what he has in his heart. Whenever you call on Him, even though for a short while, do so whole-heartedly. This is a great secret. It is the only way to enjoy peace in the world. The moment one forgets this, one is in trouble.' *Source:* For Seekers of God by Swami Shivananda

Ramakrishna Sharanam

5/19/2025, 12:48:29 AM

Everything depends upon the will of the Master. One can do only as much as the Master graciously permits one to do. Blessed is the person whom the Master selects as an instrument for his work. The Master is God Himself born as a world teacher for the establishment of religion in this age. Is it an ordinary privilege to be an instrument for his work? What can an ordinary man understand about the Master's sublime ideas? Unless the Master graciously reveals himself, who is capable of understanding what stuff was in that little frame of his—what great power functioned in him! _Who indeed, can know Thee unless_ _Thou revealest Thyself?_ _Veda and Vedanta grope in the dark,_ _failing to fathom Thee._ Everything becomes clear if he graciously reveals himself; otherwise who will understand him? Apparently he was like an ordinary man—eating, sleeping, walking around and doing things of that sort—but within that frame of his there was so much power. How can people understand it? With the passing of days people will see the play of the Master's tremendous power. There will be a great revolution in the realm of the Spirit. Whom shall I tell how much the Master is showing us? Whom shall I tell, and who will understand? I cannot explain to anyone how many things are going on inside here (placing his hands on his chest) about him. Nobody would understand them. I cannot even tell you. Even you would not understand. So long as Swami Brahmananda was alive I could unburden my heart and have a feeling of relief. We would both enjoy discussing those things. Those were the most intimate experiences, and we would discuss them privately. He too would often tell some of his experiences. Now we cannot do that any more. Now we have to treasure those experiences within—not finding anyone with whom to discuss them. Everything is his will. I earnestly pray: May good betide the world! May you all be blessed and may you all live in peace! *Source:* For Seekers of God by Swami Shivananda

Ramakrishna Sharanam

5/17/2025, 3:08:45 AM

Monk: Maharaj, my mind is very much disturbed. I have not been able to do much spiritual practice. Time is passing fast. What will happen to me? Swamiji: My child, be resigned to God. Nothing can be accomplished without His grace. Can man realize Him by spiritual practice alone? If He reveals Himself out of compassion, then alone can one realize Him, otherwise not. Who is competent to reach Him? How long can a man pursue spiritual practice? Say, two hours, four hours or at the most eight hours. Not only that; it is the Lord who is responsible for the desire for spiritual practice. He is the Fountain of all forces! Unless He is gracious and gives us the strength, how can we pursue spiritual practice? That is why I am stressing that you should be resigned to God. Fervently pray, "O Lord! Be merciful to me." Then alone will He be merciful. It is mercy that counts-mercy, mercy. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, "One should say 'Thou and Thine' and not 'I and mine'" What can we do unless He graciously reveals Himself? Grace—grace is what is necessary. Be gracious to us, O Lord! Monk: Maharaj, I can hardly pray. My mind is so restless! I find it hard to concentrate at times. Swamiji: No, you will have to pray and pray very earnestly. Do not be depressed; do not be disheartened. Be in a happy mood and pray. He will give you everything, my child, every- thing you want. There is nothing He will withhold from you. He will give you faith, renunciation, purity, discrimination, dispassion and all. Whatever He has He will give you. He embodied Himself as man because He wanted to give you all these virtues. That is why He has brought you here and given you shelter in His Order. Do not think you are here as a result of your own efforts. Never for a moment cherish that idea! Out of compassion He has drawn you all here. He is the very Ocean of selfless compassion. My child, be resigned to Him. Everything will come in time. I say, you will have everything. He will fill you with devotion and faith. Saying this, the Swami started singing: _Stay by yourself, O mind!_ _Why wander here and there?_ _Look within—in the inner chamber_ _of your heart—_ _And you will find, right there,_ _Whatever you desire._ _God, the priceless Treasure,_ _the true Philosopher's Stone,_ _Who dwells in you, will answer_ _your heart's most fervent prayer._ _You cannot know, O mind!_ _how many gems lie strewn_ _About the outer courtyard of the_ _dwelling of the Lord._ You belong to the Master's fold. You have nothing to be afraid of. *Source:* For Seekers of God by Swami Shivananda

Ramakrishna Sharanam

5/13/2025, 6:54:44 AM

The pure at heart shall see God. The pure-minded alone realise the soul. And he who has realised the soul has no more fear. When Swami Abhedananda and myself were practising tapasya at Rikshikesh, we found a practical example of this fearlessness which comes out of realisation. There was a sanyasin on the opposite bank of the river. He was suddenly seized by a tiger. Even while in its jaws, he was shouting 'Soham, soham'. We could distinctly hear his triumphant shouts. It continued to the very end. We narrated this to Swami Vivekananda. He has mentioned it in one of his lectures. – Swami Nirmalananda *Source:* Swami Nirmalananda: His Life and Mission by Thulaseetheerthan

Ramakrishna Sharanam

5/18/2025, 3:11:04 AM

A devotee came in, saluted the Swami and stood by his side. He had just returned with his parents from a pilgrimage to Puri. When he mentioned this, Mahapurushji said: 'That's good. Your parents were blessed by this pilgrimage and you too had the privilege of seeing Jagannath (The Lord of the Universe).' Saying this he started laughing. Devotee: 'I made this pilgrimage once before, too, but it was at an inauspicious time. Many have expressed the opinion that pilgrimages at an inauspicious time do not bring good fruit.' Mahapurushji: 'Well, my child, we do not believe in those things. To see the Lord (i.e. inside a temple) does not require an auspicious time. All times are good. The moment you see the Lord even an inauspicious time becomes auspicious. God is the Supreme Good always. How can harm ever come to one by seeing the Lord?' Saying this he started singing: _Blessed is Thy name, and blessed Thy abode;_ _Blessed are Thy actions, blessed Thy dispensation._ He repeated the song several times and said, 'Swamiji often used to sing this song.' *Source:* For Seekers of God by Swami Shivananda

Ramakrishna Sharanam

5/20/2025, 11:44:07 PM

The mind is chiefly spoken of as of two kinds, pure and impure. The impure mind is that which is possessed of desire, and the pure is that which is devoid of desire. *Source:* Amrita Bindu Upanishad of the Krishna Yajur Veda (translated by Swami Madhavananda)

Ramakrishna Sharanam

5/20/2025, 2:29:50 AM

A very strange phenomenon occurred while living with Swamiji (Swami Vivekananda) at the garden-house. In those days we all slept together side by side, in a room downstairs; for, we had not enough bedding worth mentioning. We had a big mosquito-curtain, which we put up, and all took shelter under it. One night I slept near Swamiji; there were Shashi Maharaj (Swami Ramakrishnananda) and some others as well. Suddenly I woke up to find the inside of the whole curtain flooded with a brilliant light. Swamiji had been by my side; but now I could not find him there. Instead, there slept a number of Shivas—all of the age of seven or eight years, without clothes and white in colour, and their heads covered with matted hair. It was the light, emanating from their bodies, that lit up the place. As I looked on I was dumbfounded at the sight. I could not understand anything at first. I thought it was a hallucination; so I rubbed my eyes and again looked at it—there slept Shivas, sure enough, just as before. So I was in a fix and sat up with wonder; I did not lie down again. Besides I was afraid, that I might touch them with my feet unconsciously during my sleep. So I spent the whole night in Meditation. When the day dawned, I found Swamiji sleeping just as before. When I told him everything, he laughed heartily. *Source:* For Seekers of God by Swami Shivananda

Ramakrishna Sharanam

5/14/2025, 1:27:28 AM

Whatever line of work a person may undertake, the secret of success is continence. It is the lack of continence that accounts for the degeneration of our country. *Source:* For Seekers of God by Swami Shivananda

Ramakrishna Sharanam

5/8/2025, 7:15:46 AM

Don't you know Sri Ramakrishna is the very embodiment of radiant purity? If you meditate on His blessed form and repeat His holy name, impure thoughts will hang their heads in shame and disappear in no time. The moment an impure suggestion comes to your mind, cry to Him fervently and pray: *"Lord, I am weak. Protect me. Unless thou savest me, who else will do so? Am I not thy servant and have I not taken refuge in thee?"* Talk to Him in this way about your weaknesses. He will certainly listen to your prayers. *Source:* For Seekers of God by Swami Shivananda