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.
Understanding human nature is the highest knowledge, and only by knowing it can we know God. It is also a fact that the knowledge of God is the highest knowledge, and only by knowing God can we understand human nature.
-Swami Vivekananda