Unless one always speaks the truth, one cannot find God Who is the soul of truth. (531)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itGS4: constant truthfulness as the foundation of higher realisation and integrity.
Quotes / Thinkers / Ramakrishna
Thinker · 20 quotes
Ramakrishna quotes for UPSC
20 sourced quotes by Ramakrishna on education & knowledge, integrity & honesty, religion, tolerance & secularism, emotions & self-control, character & virtue, with a use case for each in GS4, Essay and interviews.
✓ Attributions checked against Wikiquote's sourced list
If a white cloth is stained even with a small spot, the stain appears very ugly indeed. So the smallest fault of a holy man becomes painfully prominent. (299)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itGS4 on public figures; the smallest lapse of a person of high standing looks glaring.
Common men talk bagfuls of religion but do not practise even a grain of it. The wise man speaks little, even though his whole life is religion expressed in action. (152)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itGS4: practice over preaching—the wise live their values rather than talk them.
The vanities of all others may gradually die out, but the vanity of a saint regarding his sainthood is hard indeed to wear away. (110)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itGS4: moral vanity—pride in one's own virtue—is the hardest ego to shed.
One cannot attain divine knowledge till one gets rid of pride. Water does not stay on the top of a mound; but into low land it flows in torrents from all sides.
Use itLife/GS4: pride blocks learning; humble minds receive knowledge like low land receives water.
Do yourself what you wish others to do. (1021)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itGS4: lead by example—do yourself what you expect from others.
Lovers of God do not belong to any caste. … A brāhmin without this love is no longer a brāhmin. And a pariah with the love of God is no longer a pariah. Through bhakti an untouchable becomes pure and elevated.
Use itGS1 on Bhakti and caste; devotion transcends caste—birth doesn't define worth.
Men are like pillow-cases. The colour of one may be red, that of another blue, and that of the third black; but all contain the same cotton within. So it is with man; one is beautiful, another is ugly, a third holy, and a fourth wicked; but the Divine Being dwells in them all. (37)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itEssay on human equality; outward differences hide the same essence within all.
As long as I live, so long do I learn. (1036)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itInterview/Life on lifelong learning: as long as I live, I learn.
That knowledge which purifies the mind and heart alone is true Knowledge, all else is only a negation of Knowledge. (138)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itEssay on value education; true knowledge purifies mind and heart.
The young bamboo can be easily bent, but the full grown bamboo breaks when it is bent with force. It is easy to bend the young heart towards God, but the untrained heart of the old escapes the hold whenever it is so drawn. (233)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itEssay on early childhood education; values are best instilled while young.
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. Hearing about Benares is different from reading about it; but seeing Benares is different from either hearing or reading.
Use itEssay on experiential learning; seeing beats hearing, hearing beats reading.
Who may be called a paramahamsa? He who, like a swan, can take the milk from a mixture of milk and water, leaving aside the water. He who, like an ant, can take the sugar from a mixture of sugar and sand, leaving aside the sand.
Use itGS4 on discernment; like a swan, extract the essential and leave the rest.
If there are errors in other religions, that is none of our business. God, to whom the world belongs, takes care of that.
Use itEssay on tolerance; judging other religions' errors is not our business.
God can be realized through all paths. All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by stone stairs or by wooden stairs or by bamboo steps or by a rope. You can also climb up by a bamboo pole.
Use itGS1 on Indian syncretism; Ramakrishna's 'all religions are true, different paths'.
In a potter's shop there are vessels of different shapes and forms — pots, jars, dishes, plates, etc., — but all are made of the same clay. So God is one, but He is worshipped in different ages and climes under different names and aspects. (458)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itGS1/Essay on unity in diversity; many vessels, one clay—one God under many names.
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. (266)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itGS4 on detachment; live in the world without letting worldliness live in you.
One cannot be spiritual as long as one has shame, hatred, or fear.
Use itGS4 on emotional maturity; shame, hatred and fear block inner growth.
Men are quick to praise and quick to blame; so pay no heed to what others speak of you. (1023)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itLife: people are quick to praise and blame; don't be swayed by either.
It is very pleasant to scratch an itching ring-worm, but the sensation one gets afterwards is very painful and intolerable. In the same way the pleasures of this world are very attractive in the beginning, but their consequences are terrible to contemplate and hard to endure. (548)
— RamakrishnaSayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1960)
Use itLife/GS4 on instant gratification (addiction, social media): pleasant now, painful later.