Being Spiritual, Staying Practical

Sometime in the early seventies, Swami Sarvagatananda, then the head of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society in Boston, told one of his devoted students to write down whatever she learned every day. She quickly discovered that what she learned was what she heard the swami tell her.

The result is an inspiring and interesting collection of comments of the swami on spiritual practice that are still fresh and alive today as they were when he first said them. This is an both an inspiring and incredibly helpful book.

Excerpts
-- Every person has his or her own  individual approach. Where they are or where they have been or where they will be - cannot be seen from outside. No one can be compared with anyone else.

 -- To feel, "How can I help" is higher than meditation. It really purifies the mind to help others, but it must always be with a spiritual attitude. Selfishness is our worst enemy. If you have to be around a difficult person, reflect. Do not react. Rather, go out of your way to help that person if possible. 

-- When you say that Thakur (Ramakrishna) is always with us, do you mean in the all-pervasive sense like Brahman of Vedanta, or in a more personal way?

Reply: It is true in a much more intense and personal way. Within the cosmic realm, these incarnations — and there are only a few — are like huge rockets, which once fired, have remained in orbit. But we must be conscious, became aware of their presence. The minute you think of him, he is there. Many people, lay as well as monastic, including Americans, have experienced his presence through the intensity of their devotion.