"The means of realizing God are ecstasy of love and devotion -- that is, one must love God. He who is Brahman is addressed as the Mother."

"He wishes it (mind) to understand that what is called Brahman in the Vedas is addressed by him as the Mother. He who is attributeless also has attributes. He who is Brahman is also Sakti. When thought of as inactive, He is called Brahman, and when thought of as the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer, He is called the Primordial Energy, Kali."

"Brahman and Sakti are identical, like fire and its power to burn. What we talk of fire we automatically mean also its power to burn. Again, the fire's power to burn implies the fire itself. If you accept the one you must accept the other."

"Brahman alone is addressed as the Mother. This is because a mother is an object of great love. One is able to realize God just through love. Ecstasy of feeling, devotion, love and faith -- these are the means. Listen to a song: 'As is a man's meditation, so is his feeling of love; as is a man's feeling of love, so is his gain; and faith is the root of all. If in the Nectar Lake of Mother Kali's feet my mind remains immersed, of little use are worship, oblations, or sacrifice'."

"What is needed is absorption in God -- loving Him intensely."

"But the Reality is one and the same. The difference is only in name. He who is Brahman is verily Atman, and again, He is the Bhagavan. He is Brahman to followers of the path of knowledge, Paramataman to the yogis, and Bhagavan to the lovers of God."

"The jnanis, who adhere to the non-dulaistic philosophy of Vedanta, say tht the acts of creation, preservation, and destruction, the universe itself and all its living beings, are the manifestations of Sakti, the Divine Power. (Known as maya in the Vedanta philosophy.) If you reason it out, you will realize that all these are as illusory as a dream. Brahman alone is the Reality, and all else is unreal. Even this very Sakti is unsubstantial, like a dream.'"

"But though you reason all your life, unless you are established in samadhi, you cannot go beyond the jurisdiction of Sakti. Even when you say, 'I am contemplating', still you are moving in the realm of Sakti, within Its power."

"Thus Brahman and Sakti are identical. If you accept the one, you must accept the other. It is like fire and its power to burn. If you see the fire, you must recognize its power to burn also. You cannot think of fire without its power to burn, nor can you think of the power to burn without fire. You cannot conceive of the sun's rays without the sun, nor can you conceive of the sun without its rays."

"What is milk like? Oh, you say it is something white. You cannot think of milk without the whiteness, and again, you cannot think of the whiteness without the milk."

"Thus one cannot think of Brahman without Sakti, or Sakti without Brahman. One cannot think of the Absolute without the Relative, or of the Relative without the Absolute."

"The Primordial Power is ever at play. (This idea introduces the elements of spontaneity and freedom in the creation.) She is creating, preserving, and destroying in play, as it were. This Power is called Kali. Kali is verily Brahman, and Brahman is verily Kali. It is one and the same Reality."

"God can be realized through all paths. All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by stone stairs or by wooden stairs or by bamboo steps or by a rope. .... God is one, but His names are many."

"The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna"
translated into English with an Introduction by Swami Nikhilananda
ISBN: 81-7120-435-X

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