Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

“Live in the world like a waterfowl. The water clings to the bird, but the bird shakes it off.”

“The world is indeed a mixture of truth and make-believe. Discard the make-believe and take the truth.”

“Sugar and sand may be mixed together, but the ant rejects the sand and carries away only the sugar.”

“One should not think, 'My religion alone is the right path and other religions are false.'”

“A boat may stay in water, but water should not stay in it. A spiritual aspirant may live in the world, but the world should not live in him.”

“God is in all men, but all men are not in God; that is why we suffer.”

“Do not seek illumination unless you seek it as a man whose hair is on fire seeks a pond.”

“God can be realized through all paths. All religions are true.”

“You see many stars in the sky at night, but not when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heavens during the day? O man, because you cannot find God in the days of your ignorance, say not that there is no God.”

“When the flower blooms, the bees come uninvited.”

“So long as the bee is outside the petals of the lily, it buzzes and emits sounds. But when it is inside the flower, it drinks the honey in silence.”

“The sun can give heat and light to the whole world, but it cannot do so when the clouds shut out its rays. Similarly, as long as egotism veils the heart, God cannot shine upon it.”

“The winds of grace are always blowing, but you have to raise the sail.”

“As long as I live, so long do I learn.”

“Knowledge leads to unity, but ignorance to diversity.”

“Through selfless work, love of God grows in the heart.”

“Unalloyed love of God is the essential thing. All else is unreal.”

“He is born in vain, who having attained the human birth, so difficult to get, does not attempt to realize God in this very life.”

“It is the mind that makes one wise or ignorant, bound or emancipated.”

“If you must be mad, be it not for the things of the world. Be mad with the love of God.”