Waiting for me, you are here. You, the Lord of the worlds, the refuge of all in quest of whom devotees ever roam in this world."

| Gauri-Ma
(Upon Visiting Sri Ramakrishna Dev at the Ganges- at age 25 after 15 years period of elapsed when she was initiated by him in a banana grove at age 10)


It is true that Sri Ramakrishna would often say in everyone's presence, "Gauri Ma is the greatest tapasvini. She is very fortunate and full of holiness." In a serious tone he would add, "Gauri is that gopi who has received the grace of the Lord through many births. She is a gopi from Brindavan."


Name and fame are like the excreta of pigs. Do your work with a detached attitude. You must treat name and fame like garbage. When you go to serve others, if you find lurking in the corner of your heart any desire for praise or prestige, it is like committing suicide in your spiritual life.
| Gauri-Ma


On one such occasion she said to the devotees, "In Durga Saptashati the Divine Mother is described as 'the most beneficent among the beneficent,' 'the fulfiller of wishes.' The Divine Mother fulfills all the wishes of Her devotees. Everything is in Her hands. Like a stubborn child, we hold on to Her sari and pester Her continuously. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, 'If you cannot do anything else, then be a child who pesters Mother. Have you not seen how a child clings to his mother's sari and insists on candy? The mother goes from one room to another room and the child follows her, still holding on to her sari, grumbling and demanding all the time. She cannot free herself from his grasp. Finally, she relents. It is her own child and she cannot watch him cry for long, so she opens her cupboard, picks him up on her lap, pats him, and calms him.'"
| Gauri-Ma



Another time when she was speaking with some women devotees, Gauri Ma reminded them, "Are you as women less than anybody else? Through the ages, countless sadhus and sannyasins have
been born for the welfare of the universe – they were all born to women. Women are the preservers of society and religion. They have more faith and devotion. If they try, they can realize God more quickly."
| Gauri-Ma


My ideal indeed can be put into a few words and that is: to preach unto mankind their Divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life
| Vivekananda


The American ideal of equality had special appeal to Vivekananda. Prior to coming to America, he had traversed the vast Indian subcontinent. He had witnessed the squalid conditions of its poor and experienced first-hand the great gulf separating the elites from the downtrodden. He lamented the fact that rich and poor would treat him, as a Sannyasin, with great respect and hospitality but would turn a blind eye to those millions suffering at the lowest rung of society. While he had also encountered inequality in America, he noted an important difference. Americans saw inequity as a moral failing to be corrected. In his view, this made American society particularly predisposed to Vedanta.



What is the God of Vedanta? He is principle, not person


I accept all religions that were in the past, and worship them all … I shall keep my heart open for all that may come in the future. Is God’s book finished? Or is it still a continuous revelation going on?




'Unceasing battle is indeed the worship of the Divine [Mother Kali].
Let not continuous defeat in this battle unnerve thee at all. Pulverized, pounded be all
self-centeredness, base cravings and vain self-esteem. The  heart  be  thus  made the  cremation
ground; And let Shyama (the Divine Mother Kali) dance there.'