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Sri Ramakrishna
Book: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by “M”
One of you had a question about this quote:
QUESTION: What did Sri Ramakrishna mean by saying all men are not equal?
ANSWER: What he meant is that though the soul of each person is divine, STILL all men are not equal in their spiritual development.
If the soul of each is divine, we should see only goodness and kindness in this world. But evil people too exist. What causes this difference? Why are there nasty, selfish, cunning and bad people in this world?
The difference is caused by the presence of the mind and the ego which layer over and eclipse the divinity of the soul. Those people who are egoistic, greedy, lusty and demonic are really ignorant of their divine nature.
They go about committing selfish, heinous acts making this world a horrible place. This is due to the ego. These people want to gratify their senses at all costs. Their ego is so immense that they lack empathy and will go to any lengths to fulfil their sensory desires.
Such individuals create chaos in this world because they have not worked hard on being selfless. They have not focused on controlling their ego, on transforming their thoughts and behavior and letting their soul’s divinity shine through.
For this reason Sri Ramakrishna says that though the soul of each person is divine, still there are good and bad people in this world. All men are not equal because everyone has not worked equally hard to control the ego. Those who have let their inner divinity remain eclipsed, commit evil acts out of ignorance (Avidya). While those with wisdom (Vidya) who have controlled their ego and manifested their divinity more and more, are of a godly disposition and are further along in their spiritual development.
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