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.
RamakrishnaRead
One cannot completely get rid of the six passions: lust, anger, greed, and the like. Therefore one should direct them to God. If you must have desire and greed, then you should desire love of God and be greedy to attain Him.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of channeling our innate desires towards spiritual pursuits rather than worldly attachments.
Ramakrishna suggests that since human passions such as lust, anger, and greed are inescapable, the solution lies not in attempting to eliminate them entirely, but in redirecting them towards a higher purpose—namely, a love for the divine. By cultivating spiritual desires, we can transform potentially harmful feelings into a quest for spiritual fulfillment, thereby elevating our lives and deepening our connection to the divine.
Themes
DesireDivineSpiritualityLoveGreed
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon about the importance of spiritual longing, one might use this quote to illustrate the positive rechanneling of desires.
More from Ramakrishna
All quotes →The winds of grace are always blowing, but you have to raise the sail.
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A man develops a subtle power as a result of the strict observance of celibacy for twelve years. Then he can understand and grasp very subtle things which otherwise elude his intellect. Through that understanding the aspirant can have direct vision of God. That pure understanding alone enables him to realize Truth.
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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? Because you cannot find God in the days of your ignorance, say not that there is no God.
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Bondage is of the mind; freedom too is of the mind. If you say 'I am a free soul. I am a son of God who can bind me' free you shall be.
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Whoever wants God intensely, finds Him. Go and verify it in your own life.
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