Sri Sarada Devi’s [Sri Ramakrishna’s nun-wife] life was one of simplicity - and therefore her teachings are self-explanatory. You do not have to reason.
Just follow the rules. When you have grown in spirituality I will not tell you what to wear, how to wear it, how to sit, how to stand. Then you will not need the fences [to protect the vulnerable sapling]. You will grow above the fences.
You must please the Lord with more determination, discrimination and the virtues. You must force yourself to do these things. It is not a natural growth in man. The virtues are: love of truth, simplicity of living, control of natural desires, reading of scriptures, tolerance, endurance, equanimity in the pairs of opposites.
My guru [Swami Nischalananda Puri] said, ‘If you want to know a man’s mind, open his wardrobe.’ [Messy mind – messy closet.]
Devotion includes all activities of life. That is, it includes all you do. As we withdraw from the world we must grow in benevolent universal love - love of the Self.
