#chittashuddhi

[dropofeternity]

From the Kathamrita 156

Sri Ramakrishna (to Ishan): “You have firm faith. I don’t have that much. (All laugh.) One can realize Him by that faith alone.”Ishan: “Yes sir.”Sri Ramakrishna: “You perform repetition of the name and daily puja, observe fasts, and perform purascharana and other rites and rituals. This is very good. God makes one who has sincere attraction for Him do all these things. If one is able to perform them all without desire for their fruits, one surely attains Him.”

[dropofeternity]

From the Kathamrita 32

Sri Ramakrishna: I said to him[Keshab],‘“I and mine” – these indicate ignorance. “I am the doer, this is my wife, that is my son, these are my possessions,” honour, respect, and so on – such feelings arise because of ignorance.’ Thereupon Keshab said, ‘Sir, if you give up the “I,” nothing whatsoever will remain!’ I said, ‘Keshab, I’m not asking you to renounce your “I” altogether. Only give up your “unripe I.” “I am the doer, this is my wife or son, I am the guru,” and so on – this pride is the “unripe I.” Give it up. Renounce it and keep the “ripe I” – “I am His servant, I am His devotee, I am not the doer, He is the doer.”’” A  devotee:  “Can  the  ‘ripe  I’  create  an organization?” Sri Ramakrishna: “I said to Keshab Sen, ‘I am the leader of the organization, I have made it, I impart instruction to mankind’ – this ‘I’ is the ‘unripe I.’ It is very difficult to propagate religion. Without the command of God it cannot be done. His command is needed. For example, Sukadeva received the command to narrate the story of the Bhagavata. There’s nothing wrong in preaching and instructing mankind after seeing God and having received His command. The ‘I’ of such a person is not the ‘unripe I’ – it is the ‘ripe I.’

[dropofeternity]

From the Kathamrita 26

Vijay: “How can one see God?”

Sri Ramakrishna: “Not until the mind is purified. Attached to ‘lust and greed,’ the mind remains soiled, it remains covered with dirt. If a needle is covered with mud, a magnet can’t attract it. But when the mud and dirt are washed off, the magnet attracts. You can wash the dirt of the mind with the tears from your eyes. If you weep with tears of repentance, crying, ‘O Lord, I shall never do such a thing again!’ then this dirt is washed away and the magnet of God can attract the needle of the mind. You then go into samadhi and have the vision of God.

“But though you try a thousand times, nothing is achieved without God’s grace. Without His grace, you cannot see Him. Is it easy to gain His grace? You have to get rid of your ego completely. When you have the feeling that you are the doer, you cannot see God. Suppose a man is in charge of the storeroom and somebody comes and says to the master of the house, ‘Sir, please give me some provisions from your storeroom.’ The master says, ‘There’s a man in the storeroom. I don’t have to go there.’ God doesn’t appear easily in the heart of the person who feels himself to be the doer.

“Only after gaining God’s grace can you have His vision. He is the sun of knowledge. With just one of His rays, this whole world is illumined. That’s how we’re able to know one another and acquire different kinds of knowledge in the world. If God only once brings His light to His own face, we can see Him. A police sergeant goes around at night with a lantern in his hand. Nobody can see his face. But in this light he can see everybody else’s face, and others can see each other.

“If you want to see the sergeant, you must ask, ‘Sir, be kind enough to turn the light on your own face so that I may see you.’

“You must pray to God, ‘Lord, be kind enough to turn the light of knowledge on Your own face so that I may see You.’

“If there is no light in a house, it means poverty. You must light the lamp of knowledge in the heart: ‘Lighting the lamp of knowledge in the house, behold the face of the all-blissful Mother.’”