<p>It’s not unusual for us, spiritual seekers, to look for God in sanctified spaces—temples filled with incense or prayer halls resonant with chants. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa lived and taught simply, that God is not elsewhere; He is here, in everything. He permeates every aspect of life, waiting to be recognised in moments that are often dismissed as ordinary. </p>.<p>A central theme in Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings is the role of the mind. He compared it to a needle that must be magnetised to feel the pull of God. The Divine is always present, yet the restless mind fails to perceive it. Sri Ramakrishna perceived the same Divine power in a blade of grass as in the vast sky. The rain nourishing the earth, a sparrow bathing in the puddle, birds caring for their young, or plants emerging through hard ground, all reveal a sustaining presence at work. Thus Nature, too, speaks of God without sermons. </p>.<p>He had a gift for taking profound Vedantic truths and turning them into spiritual parables that anyone could understand. One such story, perhaps his most famous teaching, dwells on the balance between spiritual truth and common sense. A guru taught his disciple that “Everything is God” (Narayana). One day, the disciple was walking down the road when a mad elephant came charging toward him. The mahout shouted, “Get out of the way, Run.”</p>.<p>The disciple thought, “The guru said God is in everything. I am God, and the elephant is God. Why should God run away from God?”. He stood still. The elephant picked him up with its trunk and tossed him into a ditch, leaving him bruised and broken. When he was recuperating the Guru visited him. The disciple complained, “You said everything is God, but look what the elephant did to me!”.</p>.<p>The guru smiled and said, “It is true the elephant is Narayana. But why did you not listen to the Mahout <br>Narayana, who was warning you to get out of the way?”. While God is in everything, we must still respect the “Laws of the world” and use our discrimination. </p>.<p>Sri Ramakrishna’s core message is the realisation that God is not just found in meditation with eyes closed, but is the very substance of everything we see with our eyes open. It does not remove life’s complexities, but it deepens its meaning and makes it richer.</p><p>(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)</p>
<p>It’s not unusual for us, spiritual seekers, to look for God in sanctified spaces—temples filled with incense or prayer halls resonant with chants. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa lived and taught simply, that God is not elsewhere; He is here, in everything. He permeates every aspect of life, waiting to be recognised in moments that are often dismissed as ordinary. </p>.<p>A central theme in Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings is the role of the mind. He compared it to a needle that must be magnetised to feel the pull of God. The Divine is always present, yet the restless mind fails to perceive it. Sri Ramakrishna perceived the same Divine power in a blade of grass as in the vast sky. The rain nourishing the earth, a sparrow bathing in the puddle, birds caring for their young, or plants emerging through hard ground, all reveal a sustaining presence at work. Thus Nature, too, speaks of God without sermons. </p>.<p>He had a gift for taking profound Vedantic truths and turning them into spiritual parables that anyone could understand. One such story, perhaps his most famous teaching, dwells on the balance between spiritual truth and common sense. A guru taught his disciple that “Everything is God” (Narayana). One day, the disciple was walking down the road when a mad elephant came charging toward him. The mahout shouted, “Get out of the way, Run.”</p>.<p>The disciple thought, “The guru said God is in everything. I am God, and the elephant is God. Why should God run away from God?”. He stood still. The elephant picked him up with its trunk and tossed him into a ditch, leaving him bruised and broken. When he was recuperating the Guru visited him. The disciple complained, “You said everything is God, but look what the elephant did to me!”.</p>.<p>The guru smiled and said, “It is true the elephant is Narayana. But why did you not listen to the Mahout <br>Narayana, who was warning you to get out of the way?”. While God is in everything, we must still respect the “Laws of the world” and use our discrimination. </p>.<p>Sri Ramakrishna’s core message is the realisation that God is not just found in meditation with eyes closed, but is the very substance of everything we see with our eyes open. It does not remove life’s complexities, but it deepens its meaning and makes it richer.</p><p>(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)</p>
