SRI RAMAKRISHNA'S IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO HOUSEHOLDER'S
IMPORTANT QUALITIES TO BE FOLLOWED BY A HOUSEHOLDER:
·
Do
all your duties, but keep your mind on God. Live with all – with wife and
children, father and mother – and serve them. Treat them as if they were very
dear to you but know in your heart of hearts that they do not belong to you.
·
A
maid servant in the house of a rich man performs all the household duties, but
her thoughts are fixed on her own home in her native village. She brings up her
master’s children as if they were her won. She even speaks of them as ‘my Rama’
or ‘my Hari’. But in her own mind she knows very well that they do not belong
to her at all.
·
The
tortoise moves about in the water. But can you guess where her thoughts are?
There on the bank, where her eggs are lying. Do all your duties in the world, but
keep your mind on God.
·
The
camel loves to eat thorny bushes. The more it eats the thorns, the more the
blood gushes from its mouth. Still it must eat thorny plants and will never
give them up. The man of worldly nature suffers so much sorrow and affliction,
but he forgets it all n a few days and begins his old life over again.
·
Remain
always strong and steadfast in thy own faith, but eschew all bigotry and
intolerance.
·
While
playing the game of hide-and-seek, you are safe if you but once touch the
‘granny’. Be turned into gold by touching the philosopher’s stone. After that
you may remain buried underground a thousand years; when you are taken out you
will still be gold.
·
The
mind is like milk. If you keep the mind in the world, which is like water then
the milk and water will get mixed. That is why people keep milk in a quiet
place and let it set into curd, and then churn butter from it. Likewise,
through spiritual discipline practiced in solitude, churn the butter of
knowledge and devotion from the milk of the mind. Then that butter can easily
be kept in the water of the world. It will not get mixed with the world. The
mind will float detached on the water of the world.
·
Some
have heard of milk, some have seen it, and some, again, and have tasted it. You
feel happy when you see milk; you are nourished and strengthened when you drink
it. You will get peace of mind only when you have seen God. You will enjoy
bliss and gain strength only when you have talked to Him.
·
Live
in the world like an unchaste woman. She performs her household duties with
great attention, but her mind dwells day and night on her paramour. Perform
your duties in the world, but keep your mind always fixed on God.
·
Live
in the world like a waterfowl. The water clings to the bird, but the bird
shakes it off. Live in the world like a mud-fish. The fish lives in the mud, but its skin is always bright and shiny.
·
The
world is a mixture of milk and water, the bliss of God-Consciousness and the
pleasure of sense-enjoyment. Be a swan and drink the milk, leaving the water
aside.
·
I
tell you the truth: there is nothing wrong in your being in the world. But you
must direct your mind toward God; otherwise you will not succeed. Do our duty
with one hand and with the other hold to God. After the duty is over you will
hold to God with both hands.
·
Live
in the world like a cast-off leaf in a gale. Such a leaf is sometimes blown
inside a house and sometimes to a rubbish heap. The leaf goes wherever the wind
blows-sometimes to a good place and sometimes to a bad.
·
God
has put you in the world. What can you do about it? Resign everything to Him.
Surrender yourself at His feet. Then there will be no more confusion. Then you
will realize that it is God who does everything. All depends on ‘the will of
Rama’.
·
When
you practice discipline in solitude, keep your-self entirely away from your
family. You must not allow your wife, son, daughter, mother, father, sister,
brother, friends, or relatives near you. While thus practicing discipline in
solitude, you should think: ‘I have no one else in the world. God is my all,’
you must also pray to Him, with tears in your eyes, for knowledge and devotion.
