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If you spent one-tenth of the time you devoted to distractions like chasing women or making money to spiritual practice, you would be enlightened in a few years.

Ramakrishna

Many people think they cannot have knowledge or understanding of God without reading books. But hearing is better than reading, and seeing is better than hearing.
RAMAKRISHNA

Book Hearing Knowledge Reading Thinking Understanding
If you spent one-tenth of the time you devoted to distractions like chasing women or making money to spiritual practice, you would be enlightened in a few years.
RAMAKRISHNA

Devote Distraction Money Practice Spiritual Year
Wisdom leads to unity, but ignorance to separation. So long as God seems to be outside and far away, there is ignorance. But when God is realised within, that is true knowledge.
RAMAKRISHNA

God Ignorance Long Meditation Outside Separation
So long as the bee is outside the petals of the lily, and has not tasted the sweetness of its honey, it hovers around the flower emitting the buzzing sound; but when it is inside the flower
RAMAKRISHNA

Faith Flower Honey Hover Peace Portal Sweetness Tasted
It is not lust alone that one should be afraid of in the life of the world. There is also anger. Anger arises when obstacles are placed in the way of desire.
RAMAKRISHNA

Afraid Alone Anger Arise Desire Lust
After that, what is the need of books? One should learn the essence and then dive deep in order to realize God.
RAMAKRISHNA

Book Deep Dive Essence God Learn Need Order Realize
It is very pleasant to scratch an itching ring-worm, but the sensation one gets afterwards is very painful and intolerable.
RAMAKRISHNA

Afterward Intolerable Painful Pleasant Scratch Sensation Way World
Man suffers through lack of faith in God.
RAMAKRISHNA

Faith God Lack Man Suffer Suffering
The Hindus call it ‘jal’, the Christians ‘water’, and the Moslems ‘pani’. But it is one and the same thing.
RAMAKRISHNA

Jal Pani Religious Same Thing Water
The breeze of grace is always blowing on you. You have to open the sails and your boat will move forward.
RAMAKRISHNA

Blowing Boat Breeze Forward Grace Moving Sail
The truth is that you cannot attain God if you have even a trace of desire. Subtle is the way of dharma.
RAMAKRISHNA

Attain Desire Dharma God Subtle Trace Truth Trying Way
If you want to go east, don’t go west.
RAMAKRISHNA

Confuse East Go Want West
Only two kinds of people can attain self-knowledge: those who are not encumbered at all with learning,
RAMAKRISHNA

Attain Encumbered Inspirational Kind Knowledge Learning People Self Two
The breeze of grace is always blowing; set your sail to catch that breeze.
RAMAKRISHNA

Catch Determination Grace Persistence Sail
So long as one does not become simple like a child, one does not get divine illumination.
RAMAKRISHNA

Child Children Illumination Knowledge Long Simple Worldly
So it is true that God dwells even in the most wicked, but it is not meet that we should associate with the wicked.
RAMAKRISHNA

Associate Dwells God Meet Most True Wicked
The winds of grace blow all the time. All we need to do is set our sails.
RAMAKRISHNA

Blow Grace Need Sail Set Time Wind
What is the use of merely listening to lectures? The real thing is practice.
RAMAKRISHNA

Lecture Merely Persistence Practice Real Use
The way of love is as true as the way of knowledge. All paths ultimately lead to the same Truth. But as long as God keeps the feeling of ego in us, it is easier to follow the path of love.
RAMAKRISHNA

Ego God Keep Knowledge Long Love True Ultimately
If you meditate on your ideal, you will acquire its nature. If you think of God day and night, you will acquire the nature of God.
RAMAKRISHNA

God Ideal Meditate Nature Night Quire Thinking
It is on account of the ego that one is not able to see God. In front of the door of God’s mansion lies the stump of ego.
RAMAKRISHNA

Account Door Ego God Jumping Lie Lying Mansion Stump
When one becomes spiritual, the ego vanishes gradually on its own. A tree laden with fruits always bends low. Humility is a sign of greatness.
RAMAKRISHNA

Bend Ego Fruit Gradually Humility Laden Own Spiritual Tree Vanish
The supreme purpose and goal for human life… is to cultivate love.
RAMAKRISHNA

Cultivate Goal Human Life Purpose Supreme
Bhakti is the one essential thing. To be sure, God exists in all beings. Who, then is a devotee?
RAMAKRISHNA

Devotee Essential Exist God Long Running Vanity
One cannot enter the mansion without jumping over the stump.
RAMAKRISHNA

Enter Jumping Mansion Over Stump
It is true that God is even in the tiger, but we must not go and face the animal.
RAMAKRISHNA

Animal Dwell Face God Tiger Wicked
He has not tasted the nectar of true faith; when he has tasted it, he becomes quiet and full of peace.
RAMAKRISHNA

Nectar Peace Quite Tasted True Faith

If you spent one-tenth of the time you devoted to distractions like chasing women or making money to spiritual practice, you would be enlightened in a few years.

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If you spent one-tenth of the time you devoted to distractions like chasing women or making money to spiritual practice, you would be enlightened in a few years.

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