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The young bamboo can be easily bent, but the full grown bamboo breaks when it is bent with force.

Ramakrishna

By the mind one is bound; by the mind one is freed. … He who asserts with strong conviction: “I am not bound, I am free,” becomes free.
RAMAKRISHNA

Assert Bound Conviction Freed Mind Strong
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
When the head of a goat is severed from its body, the trunk struggles for some time, still showing signs of life.
RAMAKRISHNA

Goat Head Man Perfect Serve Struggle Time Trunk
Different creeds are but different paths to reach the same God.
RAMAKRISHNA

Creed Different God Path Reach
Hearing about Benares is different from reading about it; but seeing Benares is different from either hearing or reading.
RAMAKRISHNA

Benares Different Hearing Reading
A man is truly free, even here in this embodied state, if he knows that God is the true agent and he by himself is powerless to do anything.
RAMAKRISHNA

Agent Embodied God Man People State True
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
Live in the world like a waterfowl. The water clings to the bird, but the bird shakes it off. Live in the world like a mudfish.
RAMAKRISHNA

Bird Live Mudfish Off Shake Spin Water Waterfowl
Pray to Him anyway you like, He can even hear the footfall of an ant.
RAMAKRISHNA

Anyway Art Football Hear Praying
It is easy to talk on religion, but difficult to practice it.
RAMAKRISHNA

Difficult Easy Practice Religion Talk
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
Man needs a guru. But a man must have faith in the guru’s words. He succeeds in spiritual life by looking on his guru as God Himself.
RAMAKRISHNA

Faith Guru Man Need Spiritual Succeed Word
The winds of God’s grace are always blowing, it is for us to raise our sails.
RAMAKRISHNA

Blowing Grace Inspirational Raise Sail Wind
When the flower blooms, the bees come uninvited.
RAMAKRISHNA

Bee Bloom Cultivation Flower Inspirational Uninvited
It noiselessly drinks the nectar. So long as a man quarrels and disputes about doctrines and dogmas
RAMAKRISHNA

Dispute Drink Man Nectar Noiselessly Quarrels
You must know that there are different tastes. There are also different powers of digestion… different temperaments… differences in the capacity to comprehend.
RAMAKRISHNA

Differences Different Digestion Taste Temperament
This side is mine and that side is yours.’ He laughs and says to Himself, ‘The whole universe belongs to Me, but they say they own this portion or that portion.’it!’
RAMAKRISHNA

Belongs God Himself Laugh Man Mine Side Universe Yours
A bath in Ganges undoubtedly absolves one of all sins; but what does that avail? They say that the sins perch on trees along the banks of the Ganges.
RAMAKRISHNA

Fall Ganges Man Tree Undoubtedly Water
So long as the heart of man is directed towards God, he cannot be lost in the ocean of worldliness.
RAMAKRISHNA

Directed God Herat Long Lost Man Ocean Towards Worldliness
Many good sayings are to be found in holy books, but merely reading them will not make one religious.
RAMAKRISHNA

Book Good Many Reading Religious Saying
One cannot be spiritual as long as one has shame, hatred, or fear.
RAMAKRISHNA

Fear Hatred Long Shame Spiritual
Dwell, O mind, within yourself; Enter no other’s home. If you but seek there, you will find All you are searching for.
RAMAKRISHNA

Dwell Enter God Home Lying Prayer Search Searching Spiritual
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
When an unbaked pot is broken, the potter can use the mud to make a new one; but when a baked one is broken, he cannot do the same any longer
RAMAKRISHNA

Baked Broken Fire Ignorance Man Mud New One Potter
Common men talk bagfuls of religion but do not practise even a grain of it. The wise man speaks a little, even though his whole life is religion expressed in action.
RAMAKRISHNA

Bagful Common Grain Little Man Religion Speak Wise
A boat may stay in water, but water should not stay in boat. A spiritual aspirant may live in the world, but the world should not live within him.
RAMAKRISHNA

Aspirant Boat Live Spiritual Stay Water World
One cannot enter the mansion without jumping over the stump.
RAMAKRISHNA

Enter Jumping Mansion Over Stump

The young bamboo can be easily bent, but the full grown bamboo breaks when it is bent with force.

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The young bamboo can be easily bent, but the full grown bamboo breaks when it is bent with force.

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