sri rama krishna - a life divine

1. Sri Ramakrishna a life - divine Dr.T.V.Rao MD doctortvrao@gmail.com Dr.T.V.Rao MD

2. Sri Ramakrishna - a life divine Dr.T.V.Rao MD

3. Who is Sri Ramakrishna • Ramakrishna was born on 18 February 1836, in the village of Kamarpukur, in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, into a very poor but pious, orthodox brahmin family.[Located far from the railroad, Kamarpukur was untouched by the glamour of the city and contained rice fields, tall palms, royal banyans, a few lakes, and two cremation grounds. His parents were Khudiram Chattopâdhyâya and Chandramani Devî. According to his followers, Ramakrishna's parents experienced supernatural incidents, visions before his birth. His father Khudiram had a dream in Gaya in which Lord Gadadhara (a form of Vishnu), said that he would be born as his son. Chandramani Devi is said to have had a vision of light entering her womb from Shiva's temple Dr.T.V.Rao MD

4. Sri Ramakrishna • He became a priest of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, dedicated to the goddess Kali, which had the influence of the main strands of Bengali bhakti tradition. His first spiritual teacher was an ascetic woman skilled in Tantra and Vaishnava bhakti. Later an Advaita Vedantin ascetic taught him non-dual meditation, and according to Ramakrishna, he experienced nirvikalpa samadhi under his guidance. Ramakrishna also experimented with other religions, notably Islam and Christianity, and said that they all lead to the same God.Though conventionally uneducated, he attracted the attention of the middle class, upper middle class and numerous Bengali intellectuals Dr.T.V.Rao MD

5. Made the religion simple • If you desire to be pure, have firm faith, and slowly go on with your devotional practices without wasting your energy in useless scriptural discussions and arguments. Your little brain will otherwise be muddled. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

6. All religions are true • 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. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

7. Realization of God • Knowledge leads to unity, but Ignorance to diversity.So long as God seems to be outside and far away, there is ignorance. But when God is realized within, that is true knowledge. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

8. A true divinity in man realize it • God is in all men, but all men are not in God; that is why we suffer. • It is easy to talk on religion, but difficult to practice it. • More are the names of God and infinite are the forms through which He may be approached. In whatever name and form you worship Him, through them you will realize Him. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

9. How to attain the god • Those who wish to attain God and progress in religious devotion, should particularly guard themselves against the snares of lust and wealth. Otherwise they can never attain perfection. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

10. Ramakrishna and His Disciples by Christopher Isherwood, • Chant the name of God and sing his glories unceasingly; and keep holy company. Now and then one should visit holy men and devotees of God. If a man lives in the world and busies himself day and night with worldly duties and responsibilities, he cannot give his mind to God. So it's important to go into solitude from time to time, and think about God. When the plant is young, it should be fenced on all sides. Unless there's a fence around it, goats and cattle may eat it up.When you meditate, go into the solitude of a forest, or a quiet corner, and enter into the chamber of your heart. And always keep your power of discrimination awake. God alone is real, that is to say, eternal; everything else is unreal, because it will pass away. As you discriminate in this manner, let your mind give up its attachment to the fleeting objects of this world. … Attend to all your duties but keep your mind fixed on God. Wife, son, father, mother — live with all of them and serve them, as if they were your very own. But know in your heart of hearts that they are not your own Dr.T.V.Rao MD

11. Give up the attachment …… • In the Kaliyuga, man, being totally dependent on food for life, cannot altogether shake off the idea that he is the body. In this state of mind it is not proper for him to say: "I am He". When a man does all sorts of worldly things, he should not say, "I am Brahman". Those who cannot give up attachment to worldly things, and who find no means to shake off the feeling of "I", should rather cherish the idea, "I am God's servant; I am His devotee." Dr.T.V.Rao MD

12. God alone helps everyone • Man cannot really help the world. God alone does that — He who has created the sun and the moon, who has put love for their children in parents' hearts, endowed noble souls with compassion, and holy men and devotees with divine love. The man who works for others, without any selfish motive, really does good to himself. There is gold buried in your heart, but you are not yet aware of it. It is covered with a thin layer of earth. Once you are aware of it, all these activities of yours will lessen. … Through selfless work, love of God grows in the heart. Then, through His grace, one realizes Him in course of time. God can be seen, one can talk to Him, as I am talking to you Dr.T.V.Rao MD

13. The master said – try to practice … • Everything that exists is God." The pupil understood it literally, but not in the true spirit. While he was passing through a street, he met with an elephant. The driver (mahut) shouted aloud from his high place, "Move away, move away!" The pupil argued in his mind, "Why should I move away? I am God, so is the elephant also God. What fear has God of Himself?" Thinking thus he did not move. At last the elephant took him up by his trunk, and dashed him aside. He was severely hurt, and going back to his Master, he related the whole adventure. The Master said, "All right, you are God. The elephant is God also, but God in the shape of the elephant-driver was warning you also from above. Why did you not pay heed to his warnings?" Dr.T.V.Rao MD

14. God laughs…at your pride. • He laughs when the physician says to the patient's mother, "Don't be afraid, mother; I shall certainly cure your boy." God laughs, saying to Himself, "I am going to take his life, and this man says he will save it!" The physician thinks he is the master, forgetting that God is the Master. God laughs again when two brothers divide their land with a string, saying to each other, "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." Dr.T.V.Rao MD

15. 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. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

16. The world is Maya – realize … • This māyā, that is to say, the ego, is like a cloud. The sun cannot be seen on account of a thin patch of cloud; when that disappears one sees the sun. If by the grace of the guru one's ego vanishes, then one sees God. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

17. Get rid of pride • 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. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

18. Realize the purpose of our lives… • You have been born in this world as a human being to worship God; therefore try to acquire love for His Lotus Feet. Why do you trouble yourself to know a hundred other things? What will you gain by discussing philosophy? Look here, one ounce of liquor is enough to intoxicate you. What is the use of your trying to find out how many gallons of liquor there are in the tavern? Dr.T.V.Rao MD

19. Realize the goal of Human life • The goal can never be reached unless a man makes his mind strong, and firmly resolves that he must realize God in this very birth, nay, this very moment. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

20. God is one - opinions are many • One should not think, "My religion alone is the right path and other religions are false." God can be realized by means of all paths. It is enough to have sincere yearning for God. Infinite are the paths and infinite the opinions. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

21. Who is a freeman • By constantly repeating, "I am free, I am free", a man verily becomes free. On the other hand, by constantly repeating, "I am bound, I am bound", he certainly becomes bound to worldliness. The fool who says only, "I am a sinner, I am a sinner", verily drowns himself in worldliness. One should rather say: "I have chanted the name of God. How can I be a sinner? How can I be bound?" Dr.T.V.Rao MD

22. Why do not find god.. • O man, because you cannot find God in the days of your ignorance, say not that there is no God. • The vain man of intellect busies himself with finding out the "why" and "wherefore" of creation, while the humble man of wisdom makes friends with the Creator and enjoys His gift of supreme bliss. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

23. When you become strong • When you grow strong in faith, no worldliness or evil inclination will dare approach your holy presence; and many who are wicked will become godly through their holy contact with you. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

24. It is easier to attain the God …. • One can easily realize God if one is free from guile. Spiritual instruction produces quick results in a guileless heart. Such a heart is like well cultivated land from which all the stones have been removed. No sooner is the seed sown than it germinates. The fruit also appears quick Dr.T.V.Rao MD

25. Speak the truth you are near to god • Unless one always speaks the truth, one cannot find God Who is the soul of truth • God alone is the guide and Guru of the universe. Dr.T.V.Rao MD

26. All paths lead to God choice is yours • For Ramakrishna, bhakti cannot be defined in a single word, rather, a cluster of words is necessary. … A path will do only if it is characterized by sincerity, earnestness, and single-minded devotion. Only then will we find that all paths lead to God • R. W. Neufeldt Dr.T.V.Rao MD

27. Who is your guru – the truth is god alone • Who is whose Guru? God alone is the guide and Guru of the universe. Dr.T.V.Rao MD