The Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna

Here's the priceless collection: (1 to 49)

1. You see many stars at night in the sky, but find them not when the sun rises. Can you say that there are no stars, then, during the day? So, O man, because you are not able to behold the Almighty in the days of your ignorance, say not that there is no God.

2. As one and the same material, viz. water, is called by different names by different people – one calling it 'water,' another 'vâri,' a third 'aqua,' and another 'pani' – so the one Sat-chit-ânanda, the Everlasting-Intelligent-Bliss, is invoked by some as God, by some as Allah, by some as Hari, and by others as Brahman.

3. Two persons were hotly disputing regarding the color of a chameleon. One said, 'The chameleon on that palm-tree is of a beautiful red color.' The other, contradicting him, said, 'You are mistaken, the chameleon is not red, but blue.' Not being able to settle the matter by argument, both went to the person who always lived under that tree and had watched the chameleon in all its phases of color. One of them said, 'Sir, is not the chameleon on that tree of a red color?' The person replied, 'Yes, sir.' The other disputant said, 'What do you say? How is it? It is not red, it is blue.' That person again humbly replied, 'Yes, sir.' The person knew that the chameleon is an animal that constantly changes its color; thus it was that he said 'yes' to both these conflicting statements. The Sat-chit-ânanda likewise has various forms. The devotee who has seen God in one aspect only, knows Him in that aspect alone. But he who has seen Him in His manifold aspects, is alone in a position to say, 'All these forms are of one God, for God is multiform.' He has forms and has no forms, and there are many of His forms that no one knows.

Read the complete article: Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna (1 to 49)