Why is the cow important to Hindus?

Millions of Hindus revere and worship cows. Hinduism is a religion that raises the status of Mother to the level of Goddess. Therefore, the cow is considered a sacred animal, as it provides us life sustaining milk. The cow is seen as a maternal figure, a care taker of her people. The cow is a symbol of the divine bounty of earth.

Lord Krishna, one of the most well known of the Hindu deities is often depicted playing his flute amongst cows and dancing Gopis (milkmaids). He grew up as a cow herder. Krishna also goes by the names Govinda and Gopala, which literally mean “friend and protector of cows.” It is considered highly auspicious for a true devotee to feed a cow, even before eating breakfast oneself.

Kamadhenu, the sacred cow which grants all wishes and desires, is an integral part of the entire Indian culture. This divine cow, which lives in swargalok (heaven), emerged from the ocean of milk (kshira-sagar) at the time of samudra-manthan (the great churning of the ocean by the gods (suras) and demons (asuras). It was presented to the seven sages by the Gods, and in course of time came into the possession of Sage Vasishta.

In Hinduism, the cow is revered as the source of food and symbol of life and may never be killed. However, many non-Hindus interpret these beliefs to mean that Hindus worship cows. This is not true. It is more accurate to say the cow is taboo in the Hindu religion, rather than sacred. This is just one example of the misunderstandings people have about the Hindu faith.

Furthermore, cows do not have an especially charmed life in India. Sometimes people around the world see images of India in print or on television, or they travel there, and see cows in public places, unfenced and unrestrained. From such scenes, they conclude that Indians consider cows gods, but this is a false idea and below you will find clarification on this subject.

History of the "Sacred" Cow

In ancient India, oxen and bulls were sacrificed to the gods and their meat was eaten. But even then the slaughter of milk-producing cows was prohibited. Verses of the Rigveda refer to the cow as Devi (goddess), identified with Aditi (mother of the gods) herself.

Even when meat-eating was permitted, the ancient Vedic scriptures encouraged vegetarianism. One scripture says, "There is no sin in eating meat... but abstention brings great rewards." (The Laws of Man, V/56). (Go here to learn about The Vedas.)

Later, in the spiritually fertile period that produced Jainism and Buddhism, Hindus stopped eating beef. This was mostly like for practical reasons as well as spiritual. It was expensive to slaughter an animal for religious rituals or for a guest, and the cow provided an abundance of important products, including milk, browned butter for lamps, and fuel from dried dung.

Some scholars believe the tradition came to Hinduism through the influence of strictly vegetarian Jainism. But the cow continued to be especially revered and protected among the animals of India.

By the early centuries AD, the cow was designated as the appropriate gift to the brahmans (high-caste priests) and it was soon said that to kill a cow is equal to killing a brahman. The importance of the pastoral element in the Krishna stories, particularly from the 10th century onward, further reinforced the sanctity of the cow.

Cow-Related Practices

The cow remains a protected animal in Hinduism today and Hindus do not eat beef. Most rural Indian families have at least one dairy cow, a gentle spirit who is often treated as a member of the family.

The five products (pancagavya) of the cow — milk, curds, ghee butter, urine and dung — are all used in puja (worship) as well as in rites of extreme penance. The milk of the family cow nourishes children as they grow up, and cow dung (gobar) is a major source of energy for households throughout India. Cow dung is sometimes among the materials used for a tilak - a ritual mark on the forehead. Most Indians do not share the western revulsion at cow excrement, but instead consider it an earthy and useful natural product.

Despite their sacred status, cows don't seem very appreciated in India. Visitors are often surprised to see them walking neglected around city streets, living on garbage from the gutters. But the cow is honored at least once a year, on Gopastami. On this "Cow Holiday," cows are washed and decorated in the temple and given offerings in the hope that her gifts of life will continue.

Sources

1.     John Bowker, ed., Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions (2000).

2.     "sanctity of the cow." Encyclopædia Britannica (2007). Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

3.     The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hinduism, p. 60.

4.     "Why is the Cow 'Sacred?'" by "Jane (USA)" at Indiayogi.com

The Snake (Nag), The Serpent, Religion and Spiritual Awakening

Serpents are common symbols in many religions, belief systems and mystical traditions. Their meaning is translated variously as everything from the most evil to the most holy. The Serpent is either a deity or important symbol in Hindu, Ancient egyptian, Ancient Mesopotamian, Ancient Semitic, Ancient Hittite, Ancient Babylonian, Ancient Assyrian, Ancient Greek, Ancient Minoan, Ancient European, Ancient Iberian, Ancient Norse, Ancient African, Ancient Aztec, Ancient Peruvian, Hopi, Ancient Mound Builders, and many other religions, mystical traditions and cultures. How did a common symbol become widespread? It must have had a common origin or understanding.

In fact, there are numerous contemporary sects including Christian sects that either worship or treat the serpent as an important positive symbol.

      In some mystical traditions, the rising serpent is symbolic of rising kundalini energy. Rising kundalini energy is a Spiritual awakening that can bring forth healing, empowerment, knowledge and wisdom. The rising serpent has nothing to do with a reptile or animal. Rather, it is symbolic because the rising energy would appear as a serpent wrapped around and ascending a staff. Activated kundalini energy and the power that accompanies it does not make a person more ethical or moral. Rather, choices are always there and it is the responsibility of the individual to use all of their power of all kinds wisely and compassionately.

      It seems obvious that ancient priests and wise men must have had access to knowledge about Spiritual awakening, kundalini energy, what it means and how it works. Those who didn't have access to the information or were incapable of understanding it, may have been tempted to worship the symbols rather than the substance of this ancient knowledge. Thus, a distortion was introduced and serpent worship and serpent cults came into existence.

      The Christian Bible contains several references to serpents, or to creatures often interpreted as serpents, using different Hebrew terms. The most common term is "nahash". It is found at least 30 times in the Old Testament, and means "to make a hissing sound," as well as a "venomous reptile with deadly fangs." Another term is "tannin", which can also be translated "monster", "dragon", "sea serpent", or "crocodile" and can mean any large sea creature or reptile. It is sometimes translated as "serpent" and sometimes as "sea-monster" and, at other times, it is apparently ignored. "Saraph" is another term that is translated to mean "fiery serpents". The point here is that translating from one language to another and from one cultural context to another, especially across thousands of years of time and without loosing the meaning and intent of the original authors is very challenging.

The Symbolism of snakes and Serpents in Hinduism

The Snake Gods are adorned and celebrated in all the Hindu temples of the world. From many centuries the Snake Gods have been given prominence in the life of most of the Hindu people. The Female Snake God is called as Nagarani and the Male God as Nagarajan.and idols of both Gods are placed in all the major Hindu temples of India. In some villages of South India, they have been adorned in the live form and their shelter, termite nest, is also kept in many temples of the country. Pariticularly on Fridays they are given raw eggs and milk. The devotees of them put the raw eggs and the cup of milk nearby their shelter and if the snakes are really living there, they will come out in night times to drink the eggs and milk.

Lord Shiva , The Great God of Hinduism, is wearing the God Nagarajan on his neck and Lord Krishna has made the Snake God Adhisheshan as His bed in His home.

The Hindu people are believing that Snake Gods are associated with wealth and healthy life and they will act as great securities when the people meet difficulties in their life. It is also believed that Snake Gods are having separate world and Shri Nagarajan and Shri Nagarani are ruling that world. However The Snake Gods and other Holy Snakes are under the control of major Gods like Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna.  

Why do some Christians handle snakes?

In the Christian religion, snake handling is an extremely rare activity practiced by a very small number of Pentecostal churches - most in the southern, rural United States - on the basis on Mark 16:17-18: "And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;  they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover" (ESV).

It is important to note that the originality of the last 12 verses in the book of Mark are highly disputed, even by many Christians.

Yet, even those who advocate for the passage's inclusion into the Gospel, don't also argue that snake-handling is present-day application of the text for Christians, Pentecostal or not.

The practice of snake-handling

Practitioners believe snake handling is a demonstration of their faith in God. While advocates of snake handling come out of Pentecostal churches, no major Christian denomination, Pentecostal or otherwise, supports the practice.

One of the original leaders of snake handling in the United States, George Hensley, broke away from the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), because of his allegiance to the doctrine.

Most snake handlers are found in Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Some states such as Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee, have made the activity illegal, punishable by fine, but it still occurs because practicing churches are mostly in rural settings.

Top and Best  Quotes About Hinduism Sayings and Hinduism Quotes Wise Old Sayings 

Hinduism Sayings and Quotes. Hinduism dies if untouchability lives, and untouchability has to die if Hinduism is to live. Hinduism has sinned in giving sanction to untouchability. Hinduism insists on the brotherhood of not only all mankind but of all that lives.

 1. "In Hinduism, conscience, reason and independent thinking have no scope for development."

Understanding Hinduism : Kosas – Sheaths (Pancha-kosas)

Kosas – Sheaths (Pancha-kosas)

From ‘Vedanta Treatise’

By Sri A. Parthasarthy

Vedanta Life Institute, Mumbai.

The structure of man can be divided into five material layers enveloping Atman (indwelling soul). Atman is the core of your personality. It is represented by the mystic symbol of AUM (pronounced OM). The five layers of matter are like five concentric circles around the symbol. They are called sheaths or KOSAS in Sanskrit. The five sheaths (pancha-kosas) are:

    Food sheath (Anna-maya kosa)

    Vital-Air sheath (Prana-maya kosa)

    Mental sheath (Mana-maya kosa)

    Intellectual sheath (Vignana-maya kosa)

    Bliss sheath (Ananda-maya kosa)

Food sheath

Food sheath is the physical body. The five organs of perception and the five organs of action are a part of it. It is called food sheath because it is caused by food, maintained by food; and finally ends up as food.

Vital-Air sheath

There are five faculties functioning within you. They correspond to the five physiological functions. They are called the five Pranas. Together they constitute the vital-air sheath. They have been given that name because they are related directly to air you breathe.

1. Faculty of perception (prana): is the functioning of the five senses as seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching.

2. Faculty of excretion (apana): throws out, evacuates excreta of the body such as faeces, urine, sperms, sputum, perspiration etc.

3. Faculty of digestion (samana): digests food received by the stomach.

4. Faculty of circulation (vyana); distributes digested food to different parts of the body through blood stream.

5. Faculty of thought-absorption (udana): takes in fresh knowledge.

These five faculties (pranas) are sharp and clear when you are young. As you get older the pranas lose their strength and vitality. That explains why a ripe old man can hardly see, hear etc. His faculties of excretion, digestion and circulation become very weak. His capacity to absorb and accept new thoughts and ideas is reduced to the bare minimum.

Vital-Air sheath is subtler than food sheath. It controls the food sheath. When your pranas function properly your physical body remains healthy and strong. And when they slacken and work inefficiently the body is adversely affected.

Mental sheath

The mental sheath is the mind. Mind consists of passions and emotions, feelings and impulses. It is full of likes and dislikes. Mental-sheath controls vital-air and food sheaths. For instance, when the mind is disturbed, the physiological functions (pranas) and the physical body are affected.

Intellectual sheath

Intellectual sheath is the intellect. It functions as thinking, reflecting, reasoning, discriminating, judging, etc. It analyses and distinguishes between pairs of opposites. It controls the above three sheaths.

Bliss sheath

Bliss sheath consists of Vasanas alone. When you are in deep sleep i.e. dreamless sleep you are in bliss sheath. When you cross the bliss sheath and move to other sheaths you experience the dream and waking states of consciousness. Vasanas are therefore unmanifest in deep sleep while they are manifest in the form of thought in the dream and actions in the waking state. Consequently you experience mental agitations, be they great or small, as long as you remain in dream and waking states. When however you enter the state of deep sleep all your mental agitations cease and you experience undisturbed peace and bliss. Hence it is that this sheath is called bliss sheath. But the bliss experienced in deep sleep is relative. It is not to be confused with the absolute bliss of Self-realisation.

The five sheaths enumerated above may also be classified under three different headings viz. gross body, subtle body and causal body. Food sheath and the gross portion of vital-air sheath together constitute the gross body. The subtle portion of vital-air sheath combined with mental and intellectual sheaths form the subtle body. While the gross body is made up of gross matter, the subtle body is constituted of passions, desires, emotions, feelings and thoughts. Bliss sheath is the causal body consisting of Vasanas alone.

Your causal body is the storehouse of all your impressions and latent energies in you, all your Vasanas. When this hidden material in the causal body expresses itself as feelings and thoughts it takes the form of your subtle body. The same material works out as perceptions and actions in the gross body. Let the causal body be instilled with the suggestion of health, the subtle body will entertain thoughts of health and the gross body is bound to be healthy. Let the causal body be saturated with the suggestion of godhead, the subtle body will revel in the thought of godhead, the man is bound to be godly. A man is the architect of his own personality inasmuch as it is his own causal body that is responsible for his behaviour, movements and environments.

The substratum of your causal, subtle and gross bodies is your real Self.

Curious to know what people were wondering about Hindus and Hinduism, I went to Google.com and entered some prompts. For example, I typed “Why do Hindus” and then paused to see what questions would come up. I’m going to be doing a series of answers for Google to help people get their most pressing questions answered. First up…

Why Do Hindus Pierce Their Nose?

Elaborate decoration of Hindu women (well, brides in particular) is a tradition from ancient times. Hindu women often have many beautiful pieces of jewelry. In ancient times and still through modern times for some people, a woman’s wedding jewelry was hers to keep while everything else became her husband’s. A woman’s family would provide her with expensive jewelry as a form of savings account. If times were hard, a woman always had valuable jewelry she could sell if she needed help.

A nose ring is also one of the several symbols of a married woman. In some regions a girl’s nose is pierced once she is “of marriageable age” and marks her as ready for a husband. (Not every region uses nose rings. There are plenty of Hindus who do not have that as a tradition).

There is another reason for the nose ring. As part of Ayurveda, ancient Indian medicine (which is still practiced today), it is believed that a hole in a woman’s left nostril relieves some of the pain in childbirth.

However, the side of the piercing (or if piercing both sides or the center) depends on region and community. I’m told that generally the left side is common in North India and the right side is common in South India.

I’ve often found it amusing that something like a nose piercing could be seen so very differently depending on the culture. In America piercing one’s nose is seen as an act of rebellion against one’s parents. It’s seen as improper and “wild.” In India, nose piercing is a deeply traditional choice and shows a respect to one’s heritage and family. I’ve heard young Hindu American friends talk about their grandmothers being very distraught that they had not pierced their noses. My family was less than thrilled when I pierced mine!

Though Hindus are more likely to have pierced noses, women of other religions can and pierce as well.

Swami Vivekananda was born in 1863 in Calcutta. His parents named him Narendranath Dutta, or Naren for short. As a young man, Vivekananda joined the course in philosophy at the Scottish Churches College of Calcutta (Kolkata), and also became a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a great mystic and devotee of Kali. Ramakrishna was a phenomenal enlightened being, and he saw great potential in Naren. Seeing his capability to percieve, Ramakrishna named him Vivekananda, where Viveka means perception in Sanskrit. Swami Vivekananda went out into the world to spread Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s message. In 1893, he was invited to the World Parliament of Religions, in Chicago. As a representative of Hinduism. he gave several speeches to great acclaim within the Parliament and the world at large. He is credited with playing a big part in bringing an understanding of Hinduism to the Western mindset.

Vivekananda stressed the importance of coming together for the betterment of society and urged Indians to adopt the Indian culture and the path of Karma Yoga, or the yoga of action. According to this, the path to salvation lies through active work in this world in selfless devotion, with bothering about the fruits of one’s actions. The respect that Vivekananda gained in the western part of the world had a great impact on his Indian contemporaries. British ideas of the Hindu way of life had looked at it as a collection of superstitious nonsense and pointless ritualism. Vivekananda’s outspoken defense of the Hindu way of life and his explanation of various facets of Indian culture won him many admirers in the East and the West. He fired the imaganation of Indian youth and became a national hero. His ideals had a big influence on many Independence-era politicians. The great liberal, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and the fervent socialist, Jawaharlal Nehru, both acknowledged their debts to Vivekananda in their later years.

Though Vivekananda praised the nobler ideas of the Hindu spiritual tradition, he was also an inveterate critic of certain discriminatory practices such as untouchability, which he characterized as a social custom not justified by religion. In 1887, Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission, as an organisation for the dissemination of Ramakrishna’s spiritual path. Vivekananda’s trips to several Western countries paved the way for the global spread of the Ramakrishna Mission. The Mission has published the eight volumes of his collected works, which contain his books on Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Karma Yoga, as well as his numerous speeches.

Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai.

Uniqueness of Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings and message

The sayings of Sri Ramakrishna stand on a unique pedestal. Sri Ramakrishna possessed not only a great intellect and an artistic mind, but had the additional qualification that he had ‘seen God face to face; talked with Him’ and shared the Divine life. Hence Sri Ramakrishna’s words on these transcendental themes come with a weight of authority derived from the Supreme Being Himself.

There are more than 1100 sayings and parables of Sri Ramakrishna. The manner and method of his teaching, as well as his relationship with his disciples, were in many respects unique. He never undertook the work of teaching in an egoistic sense. He was the humblest of men, without any sense of ego in him, and he attributed all that he achieved to the Divine Mother of the universe. And it was because of this very fact of his having surrendered his ego completely to the Divine that the Guru Shakti (the redeeming power of the Lord) manifested itself through his body and mind in so remarkable a degree, sanctifying and enlightening all that came within their influence.

Sri Ramakrishna had the strange capacity to make himself interesting and intelligible to people of diverse temperaments and stages of intellectual developments. He could astound learned Pandits like Sasadhar and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar by the profundity of his wisdom, and he could also bring himself to the intellectual level of the ignorant village woman, to have her simple doubts cleared.

Sri Ramakrishna preached no particular dogma, creed or philosophy. What he did was convey to people a spirit that transformed their outlook on life and gave them an insight into the ultimate nature of the world and of human personality. In doing this, he relied not on formal sermons and discourses, but on loving contacts, illustrations drawn from Nature, a life of purity and self-control, and above all the practice of silent Japa and meditation. His instructions, whether on philosophy, devotion or conduct would take the form of witty sayings, striking analogies and illuminating parables.

Question: What is Jnana Yoga?

Sri Ramakrishna: Jnana Yoga is communion with God by means of knowledge. Knowledge (Jnana) varies in degree and kind from person to person. There is first the Jnana or insight of men of the world – ordinary mortals. This knowledge is not sufficiently powerful. It may be compared to the flame of a lamp, which illumines only the interior of a room. The Jnana of a Bhakta (devotee) is a stronger light. It may be compared to the light of the moon which reveals things both inside and outside a room. But the Jnana of the Avatara is still more powerful, and may be likened to the sun. He is the sun of Divine knowledge whose light dispels the accumulated ignorance of ages.

Methods of Jnana Yoga: The Ego:

If a man knows his own self, he knows other beings and God. What is my ego? Ponder deeply, and you will know that there is no such thing as ‘I’. As you peel off the skin of an onion, you find it consists only of skin; you cannot find any kernel in it. So too on analysing the ego, you will find that there is no real entity that you can call ‘I’. Such an analysis of the ego convinces one that the ultimate substance is God alone. When egotism drops away, Divinity manifests Itself.

Bhakti(Devotion) The path of Love

Nothing can be impressed on smooth glass, but when the surface is coated with proper chemicals, pictures can be impressed upon it, as in photography. In the same way, on the human heart coated with the chemicals of Bhakti, the image of Divinity can be impressed.

Unless one screens the eyes of unbroken horses, they will not move a single step. Is it possible to realise God unless one’s passions have already been controlled? In a sense not. But that is true only of Jnana Yoga, the path of Knowledge. The knowing one says, “One must first be pure if one desires to see God. One must first control one’s passions. First self-discipline, then knowledge of God.”There is however, another path leading to God – the path of devotion (Bhakti Yoga). If one man gains love of God, if once the chanting of His holy name begins to thrill the devotee with joy, what effort is needed for the control of passions afterwards? The control comes of itself. Can a man suffering from intense grief be in a mood to enter into a quarrel, or to enjoy a feast, or to give his mind up to the pleasures of the senses? So one absorbed in the love of God cannot think of sense-pleasures.

A poet has compared devotion to God to a tiger. As the tiger devours animals, devotion also swallows up all the ‘arch-enemies’ of man, such as lust, passion and the rest. Once the devotion to God is fully awakened, all evil passions like lust and anger are completely destroyed.

Why does a Bhakta (devotee) forsake everything for the sake of God?

The insect flies from darkness as soon as it sees a light. The ant loses its life in the syrup without leaving it. So does the Bhakta cling to God forever, and leaves all.

The Master: Does the moth seek darkness once it has seen light?

Questioner: It does not - it will rather rush into the flame and perish.

The Master: But such is not the case with the true worshipper of God. The Divine Light to which he is drawn does not burn and cause death. It is like the lustre of a gem, shining yet soft, cool and soothing. It burns not, but illumines the heart with peace and joy.

Worship of Images

While raising a building, the scaffolding is indispensable; but when the work is completed, no one feels the necessity of it. So also image-worship is necessary in the beginning but not afterwards.

Do you believe in a God with form or in a formless God?"

"In the formless aspect," was the reply.

The Master asked: But how can you grasp the formless aspect all at once? When the archers are learning to shoot, they first aim at the plantain tree, then at a thin tree, then at a fruit, then at the leaves, and finally at a flying bird. First meditate on the aspect with form. This will enable you to see the formless later.

As a boy begins to learn writing by drawing big scrawl before he can master a smaller hand, so we must acquire the power of concentration by first fixing the mind on forms; and we have attained success therein, we can easily fix it upon the Formless.

You see many stars in the sky at night, but not when the sun rises. Can you therefore say that there are no stars in the heaven during the day? O man, because you cannot find God in the days of your ignorance, say not that there is no God.

Adopt adequate means for the end you seek to attain. You cannot get butter by crying yourself hoarse, “There is butter in the milk!” If you wish to make butter, you must turn the milk into curds, and churn it well. Then alone you can get butter. So if you long to see God, practise spiritual exercises. What is the use of merely crying, “Lord! Lord?”

Satsang -Company of the holy - Benefits of Pious Company

When going through spiritual exercises do not associate with those who never concern themselves with matters spiritual. Such people scoff at those who worship God and meditate upon Him and they ridicule piety and the pious. Keep yourself aloof from them.

As many people warm themselves in the fire kindled by someone else who has taken the trouble of collecting the firewood and other necessary things, similarly many fix their mind on the Lord by associating with and following the instruction of holy men who have come to know the Lord after many a hard penance.

God is one, but His aspects are many. As the master of a house is father to one, brother to another and husband to a third, and is called by different names by different persons, so the one God is described in various ways according to the particular aspects in which He appears to particular worshippers.

The Destiny of Man

The digit one may be raised to a figure of any value by adding zeros after it; but if that one is omitted, zeroes by themselves have no value. Similarly so long as the jiva (individual soul) does not cling to God, Who is the One, he has no value, for all things here get their value from their connection with God. So long as the Jiva clings to God, Who is the value-giving figure behind the world, and does all his work for Him, he gains more and more thereby; on the contrary, if he overlooks God and adds to his work many grand achievements, all done for his own glorification, he will gain nothing there from.

First gain God, and then gain wealth; but do not try to do the contrary. If, after acquiring spirituality, you lead a worldly life, you will never lose your peace of mind.

Do you talk of social reform? Well, you may do so after realising God. Remember, the Rishis of old gave up the world in order to attain God. This is the one thing needful. All other things shall be added to you, if indeed you care to have them. First see God, and then talk of lectures and social reforms.

A newcomer to a city should first secure a comfortable room for his rest at night, and after keeping his luggage there, he may freely go about the city for sightseeing. Otherwise he may have to suffer much in the darkness of night to get a place for rest. Similarly, after securing his eternal resting place in God, a newcomer to this world can fearlessly move about doing his daily work. Otherwise, when the dark and dreadful night of death comes over him, he will have to encounter great difficulties and sufferings.

Man in Bondage

There are three dolls- the first made of salt, the second made of cloth, and the third of stone. If these dolls are immersed in water, the first doll made of salt will become dissolved and lose its form. The second doll made from cloth will absorb a large quantity of water but retain its form. The third doll, made of stone, will remain impervious to water. The first doll made from salt represents the man who merges his self in the universal and all-pervading Self and becomes one with It. He is the liberated man. The second doll from cloth represents the Bhakta (devotee) or the true lover of God, who is full of Divine bliss and knowledge. And the third doll made of stone, represents the worldly man who will not admit even a particle of true knowledge into his heart.

Death and Reincarnation

When an unbaked pot is broken, the potter can use the mud to make a new one; but when a baked one is broken, he cannot do the same any longer. So when a person dies in a state of ignorance, he is born again but when he becomes well baked in the fire of true knowledge and dies a perfect man, he is not born again.

A grain of boiled paddy does not sprout again when sown. Only unboiled paddy sends forth the shoot. Similarly when one dies after becoming a Siddha, a perfect man, he has not to be born again, but an Asiddha, an imperfect man, has to be born again until he becomes a Siddha.

Perseverance

The hereditary peasant does not give up tilling the soil though it may not rain for twelve years; but a merchant who has recently taken to agriculture is discouraged by one season of drought. The true believer is never discouraged even if he fails to see God in spite of lifelong devotion.

Faith

A stone may remain in water for numberless years; yet the water will never penetrate into it. But clay is soon soaked into mud by the contact of water. So the strong heart of the faithful does not despair in the midst of trials and persecutions, but the man of weak faith is shaken even by the most trifling cause.

Sri Ramakrishna taught more by his life than by words. He never wrote or lectured, but imparted all his teachings in the shape of informal conversations, some of which have been faithfully recorded by his disciples.