"When a tree is young
it should be fenced all around;
otherwise it may be destroyed by cattle."
-Sri Ramakrishna

"The tadpole, so long as it has not
dropped its tail, lives only in the water.
It cannot move about on dry land.
But as soon as it drops its tail it
hops out on the bank; then it can
live both on land and in water.
Likewise, as long as a man has not
dropped his tail of ignorance, he can
live only in the water of the world."
-Sri Ramakrishna

"When the flower blooms,
the bees come uninvited."
-Sri Ramakrishna

"Only the man who lives under the tree
knows that the chameleon can appear
in various colours, and he knows further,
that at times it has no colour at all.
It is the others who suffer from
the agony of futile argument."
-Sri Ramakrishna

"Great sages have childlike natures."
-Sri Ramakrishna

"I saw the visions
described in the scriptures.
Sometimes I saw the universe
filled with sparks of fire.
Sometimes I saw all the quarters
glittering with light, as if
the world were a lake of mercury.
Sometimes I saw the world
as if made of liquid silver.
Sometimes again,
I saw all the quarters illumined,
as if with the light of Roman candles."
-Sri Ramakrishna

"But the Reality is one and the same;
the difference is only in name."
-Sri Ramakrishna

"The body and the soul!
The body was born and it will die.
But for the soul there is no death.
It is like the betel-nut. When the nut
is ripe it does not stick to the shell.
But when it is green it is difficult to
separate it from the shell. After realizing
God one does not identify oneself any more
with the body. Then one knows that body and
soul are two different things."
-Sri Ramakrishna