Ramakrishna Quotes on KNOWLEDGE

"Rama said, 'brother, go beyond both knowledge and ignorance.'
He who has knowledge has ignorance also.
If a thorn has entered your foot,
get another thorn and with its help take out the first;
then throw away the second also."

In response to the question from "M",
'Should one throw away both knowledge and ignorance?'
"Yes. That is why one should acquire *vijnAna.
You see, he who is aware of light is also aware of darkness.
He who is aware of happiness is also aware of suffering.
He who is aware of virtue is also aware of vice.
He who is aware of good is also aware of evil.
He who is aware of holiness is also aware of unholiness.
He who is aware of 'I' is also aware of 'you'."
*vijnAna=Special KNOWLEDGE of the Absolute

"The rishis of old attained the knowledge of Brahman.
One cannot have this so long as there is the slightest trace
of worldliness. How hard the rishis laboured !
Early in the morning they would go away from the hermitage,
and would spend the whole day in solitude,
meditating on Brahman. At night they would return to the hermitage
and eat a little fruit or roots.
They kept their mind aloof from the objects of sight,
hearing, touch, and other things of a worldly nature.
Only thus did they realize Brahman as their own inner consciousness."

"The path of knowledge leads to Truth,
as does the path that combines knowledge and love.
The path of love, too, leads to this goal.
The way of love is as true as the way of knowledge.
All paths ultimately lead to the same Truth.
But as long as God keeps the feeling of ego in us,
it is easier to follow the path of love."

"Think of Brahman, Existance - knowledge - Bliss Absolute,
as a shoreless ocean. Through the cooling influence,
as it were, of the bhakta's love, the water has frozen
at places into blocks of ice. In other words, God now and then
assumes various forms for His lovers and reveals Himself
to them as a Person."

"The jnAni, sticking to the path of knowledge,
always reasons about the Reality, saying,
'Not this, not this'. Brahman is neither 'this' nor 'that';
It is neither the universe nor its living beings.
Reasoning in this way, the mind becomes steady.
Then it disappears and the aspirant goes into samAdhi.
This is the KNOWLEDGE of Brahman.
It is the unwavering conviction of the jnAni that
Brahman alone is real and the world illusory."

"God doesn't appear easily in the heart of a man who feels
himself to be his own master. But God can be seen the moment
His grace descends. He is the Sun of knowledge.
One single ray of His has illumined the world with the
light of knowledge. That is how we are able to see one
another and acquire varied knowledge.
One can see God only if He turns His light toward His own face."