Sri Ramakrishna brought with him sixteen eternal companions to exemplify the different paths by which the Ultimate can be realized. The diligent steady of their lives will illumine our own progress in the spiritual field.
The important thing is how much less you think of the body, of yourself as matter -- as dead, dull, insentient matter; how much more you think of yourself as shining immortal being. The more you think of yourself as spirit, the more eager you will be to be absolutely free from matter, body and senses. This is the intense desire to be free.
-Swami Vivekananda