Spiritual disciplines necessary at the beginning

Sri RamaKrishna: "I should like to visit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar(Devotee of Sri ramakrishna) a few times more. The painter first draws the general outlines and then puts in the details and colours at his leisure. The moulder first makes the image out of clay, then plasters it, then gives it a coat of whitewash, and last of all paints it with a brush. All these steps must be taken successively. Vidyasagar(Devotee of Sri ramaKrishna) is fully ready, but his inner stuff is covered with a thin layer. He is now engaged in doing good works; but he doesn't know what is within himself. Gold is hidden within him. God dwells within us. If one knows that, one feels like giving up all activities and praying to God with a yearning soul."

Sri RamaKrishna: "A little spiritual discipline is necessary in order to know what lies within."

Devotee: "Is it necessary to practise discipline all through life?"

Sri RamaKrishna : "No. But one must be up and doing in the beginning. After that one need not work hard. The helmsman stands up and clutches the rudder firmly as long as the boat is passing through waves, storms, high wind, or around the curves of a river; but he relaxes after steering through them. As soon as the boat passes the curves and the helmsman feels a favorable wind, he sits comfortably and just touches the rudder. Next he prepares to unfurl the sail and gets ready for a smoke. Likewise, the aspirant enjoys peace and calm after passing the waves and storms of 'woman and gold'.

Life of Sadhus.

Sri RamaKrishna would compare the sadhus(Holy men ,Monk) with Snack, As the snack never digs a hole for itself, but lives in the hole made by rat, Similarly a Sadhu builds no house for him-self, but lives in other men’s houses, if there be needed.

God's name destroys sin

Devotee: "Sir, we are sinners. What will happen to us?"

Sri RamaKrishna: "All the sins of the body fly away if one chants the name of God and sings His glories. The birds of sin dwell in the tree of the body. Singing the name of God is like clapping your hands. As, at a clap of the hands, the birds in the tree fly away, so do our sins disappear at the chanting of God's name and glories.
"Again, you find that the water of a reservoir dug in a meadow is evaporated by the heat of the sun. Likewise, the water of the reservoir of sin is dried up by the singing of the name and glories of God.
"You must practice it every day. The other day, at the circus, I saw a horse running at top speed, with an Englishwoman standing on one foot on its back. How much she must have practiced to acquire that skill!
"Weep at least once to see God.
"These, then, are the two means: practice and passionate attachment to God, that is to say, restlessness of the soul to see Him."

Everything is possible for God

Devotee (Mahendra Nath Gupta): "I haven't much faith in rebirth and inherited tendencies. Will that in any way injure my devotion to God?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "It is enough to believe that all is possible in God's creation. Never allow the thought to cross your mind that your ideas are the only true ones, and that those of others are false. Then God will explain everything.
"What can a man understand of God's activities? The facets of God's creation are infinite. I do not try to understand God's actions at all. I have heard that everything is possible in God's creation, and I always bear that in mind. Therefore I do not give a thought to the world, but meditate on God alone. Once Hanuman was asked, 'What day of the lunar month is it?' Hanuman said: 'I don't know anything about the day of the month, the position of the moon and stars, or any such things. I think of Rama alone.'
"Can one ever understand the work of God? He is so near; still it is not possible for us to know Him. Balarama did not realize that Krishna was God."

Spiritual Practice

Sri Ramakrishna said to Devotee: "Did you see how the Englishwoman stood on one foot on her horse, while it ran like lightning? How difficult a feat that must be! She must have practiced a long time. The slightest carelessness and she would break her arms or legs; she might even be killed. One faces the same difficulty leading the life of a householder. A few succeed in it through the grace of God and as a result of their spiritual practice. But most people fail. Entering the world, they become more and more involved in it; they drown in worldliness and suffer the agonies of death. A few only, like Janaka, have succeeded, through the power of their austerity, in leading the spiritual life as householders. Therefore spiritual practice is extremely necessary; otherwise one cannot rightly live in the world."

worldliness

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.

Man in Bondage

There are three dolls- the first made of salt, the second made of cloth, and the third of stone. If these dolls are immersed in water,

The first doll made of salt will become dissolved and lose its form.

The second doll made from cloth will absorb a large quantity of water but retain its form.

The third doll, made of stone, will remain impervious to water.

The first doll made from salt represents the man who merges his self in the universal and all-pervading Self and becomes one with It. He is the liberated man. The second doll from cloth represents the Bhakta (devotee) or the true lover of God, who is full of Divine bliss and knowledge. And the third doll made of stone, represents the worldly man who will not admit even a particle of true knowledge into his heart

God in all

"Only he who constantly thinks of God can know His real Nature. He alone knows that God reveals Himself in different forms and different ways, that He has attributes and, again, He has none. Only the man who lives under the tree knows that the chameleon can assume various colours and sometimes it remains colourless. Others, not knowing the whole truth, quarrel among themselves and suffer."