Discipline required to attain spirituality

...In the first stage of one’s spiritual life one should try to concentrate one’s mind by going into solitude to meditate upon Him; when by constant practice, the mind has been brought under control, one can meditate anywhere one chooses. A young plant requires to be protected with care by a fence, or else goats and cows will eat it up; but when the same plant grows into a large tree, the cows and goats tied to it will not injure it....

Beginning of the Spiritual Practice!

.....At the beginning, a man should choose lonely places, in which to try to concentrate his mind, otherwise many things may distract him. If we keep milk and water together, they mix; but if the milk be changed into butter by churning, the transformed milk, instead of mixing with the water, will float upon it. So when by constant practice a man is able to effect mental concentration, wherever he may be, his mind will always rise above his environment and rest in God....

Keep your mind on God

Devotee: how we can fix our mind on God?

Sri RamaKrishna:.....Repeat God's name and sing His glories, and keep holy
company; and now and then visit God's devotees and holy men. The mind cannot dwell on God if it is immersed day and night in worldliness, in worldly duties and responsibilities; it is most necessary to go into solitude now and then and think of God. To fix the mind on God is very difficult, in the beginning, unless one practices meditation in solitude. When a tree is young it should be fenced all around; otherwise it may be destroyed by cattle.

"To meditate, you should withdraw within yourself or retire to a secluded corner or to the forest. And you should always discriminate between the Real and the unreal. God alone is real, the Eternal Substance; all else is unreal, that is, impermanent. By discriminating thus, one should shake off impermanent objects from the mind......"

Performing your worldly duties

As the Street minstrel with one hand plays the guitar and with other strikes a drum, while at the same time he sighs song, so do you, O world-bound soul, perform all your worldly duties with your hands, never forgetting to repeat and glorify the name of the Lord with all your heart

How to Realize GOD

Devotee: By what kind of work can Gob be attained?

Sri Ramakrishna: There is no difference in work. Do not think that this work will lead to God and that will not.
Everything depends upon His Grace. To have his grace, whatever work you perform, Do it with sincerity and earnest longing. Through his Grace environment will be favorable and the condition of realization will become perfect.

Remember the God always

"Live in the world but keep the pitcher steady on your head; that is to say, keep the mind firmly on God.

"I once said to the sepoys from the barracks: 'Do your duty in the world but remember that the "pestle of death" will some time smash your hand. Be alert about it.'

"In Kamarpukur I have seen the women of carpenter families making flattened rice with a husking-machine. One woman kicks the end of the wooden beam, and another woman, while nursing her baby, turns the paddy in the mortar dug in the earth. The second woman is always alert lest the pestle of the machine should fall on her hand. With the other hand she fries the soaked paddy in a pan. Besides, she is talking with customers; she says: 'You owe us so much money. Please pay it before you go.' Likewise, do your different duties in the world, fixing your mind on God. But practice is necessary, and one should also be alert. Only in this way can one safeguard both―God and the world."

Need for holy company

Devotee: what is the good of holy company?

Sri RamaKrishna: It begins yearning for God. It begins Love of God.
Nothing whatsoever is achieved in spiritual life without yearning. By constantly living in the company of Holy men, the soul become restless for God… there is another benefit from holy company. It helps one to cultivate discrimination between the Real and the unreal.
God alone is the Real, That is to say, the eternal substance, and the world is unreal

Destroy the Ego

Know thyself, and thou shalt know the non-self, the Load of alls.

What is my ego?
Is it my hand or my foot, flesh or blood , muscle or tendons? Ponder deeply and thou shalt know that there is no such thing as “I” .An analysis of the “Ego” convinces that the ultimate substance is God alone. When egoism vanishes, Divinity manifests itself.

Sri RamaKrishna's spiritual experiences

"One day I had the vision of Consciousness, non-dual and indivisible. At first it had been revealed to me that there were innumerable men, animals, and other creatures. Among them there were aristocrats, the English, the Mussalmans, myself, scavengers, dogs, and also a bearded Mussalman with an earthenware tray of rice in his hand. He put a few grains of rice into everybody's mouth. I too tasted a little.

"Another day I saw rice, vegetables, and other food-stuff, and filth and dirt as well, lying around. Suddenly the soul came out of my body and, like a flame, touched everything. It was like a protruding tongue of fire and tasted everything once, even the excreta. It was revealed to me that all these are one Substance, the non-dual and indivisible Consciousness.

"Another day it was revealed to me that I had devotees-my intimate companions, my very own. Thereafter I would climb to the roof of the room as soon as the bells and the conch-shells of the evening service sounded in the temples, and cry out with a longing heart: 'Oh, where are you all? Come here! I am dying to see you!'

Love Of God

Devotee: "How can one see God?"

Sri Ramakrishna: "Not with these eyes. God gives one divine eyes; and only then can one behold Him. God gave Arjuna divine eyes so that he might see His Universal Form.
"Your philosophy is mere speculation. It only reasons. God cannot be realized that way.
"God cannot remain unmoved if you have raga-bhakti, that is, love of God with passionate attachment to Him. Do you know how fond God is of His devotees' love? It is like the cow's fondness for fodder mixed with oil-cake. The cow gobbles it down greedily.

"Raga-bhakti is pure love of God, a love that seeks God alone and not any worldly end. Prahlada had it. Suppose you go to a wealthy man every day, but you seek no favour of him; you simply love to see him. If he wants to show you favour, you say: 'No, sir. I don't need anything. I came just to see you.' Such is love of God for its own sake. You simply love God and don't want anything from Him, in return."

"Woman and gold" is the obstruction to yoga

Sri RamaKrishna: "Some are born with the characteristics of the yogi; but they too should be careful. It is 'woman and gold' alone that is the obstacle; it makes them deviate from the path of yoga and drags them into worldliness. Perhaps they have some desire for enjoyment. After fulfilling their desire, they again direct their minds to God and thus recover their former state of mind, fit for the practise of yoga.
"Have you ever seen the spring trap for fish, called the 'satka-kal'?"

Devotee: "No, sir, I haven't seen it."

Sri RamaKrishna: "They use it in our part of the country. One end of a bamboo pole is fastened in the ground, and the other is bent over with a catch. From this end a line with a hook hangs over the water, with bait tied to the hook. When the fish swallows the bait, suddenly the bamboo jumps up and regains its upright position.
"Again, take a pair of scales for example. If a weight is placed on one side, the lower needle moves away from the upper one. The lower needle is the mind, and the upper one, God. The meeting of the two is yoga.
"Unless the mind becomes steady there cannot be yoga. It is the wind of worldliness that always disturbs the mind, which may be likened to a candle flame. If that flame doesn't move at all, then one is said to have attained yoga.

" 'Woman and gold' alone is the obstacle to yoga. Always analyse what you see. What is there in the body of a woman? Only such things as blood, flesh, fat, entrails, and the like. Why should one love such a body?