Strive to remain with God alone.

Q.: “Sir, why are we in bondage like this? Why do we not See God?”

Sri Ramakrishna: “Man’s ego itself is Maya. It is the veil that shuts out the Light. Verily, with the death of the “I” all troubles cease. If by the grace of the Lord a man once gains the knowledge that he is not the doer, then he assuredly becomes a Jivanmukta, one freed in this very life, and transcends all fear”.

“There are few, who can attain Samadhi and get rid of the Aham ― the feeling of “I” within. Generally it does not go. You may reason and discriminate without end, yet this “I” comes back again and again. Today you may cut down the Peepul tree, but tomorrow you will see it sprouting again”.
“If one ponders over this word “I”, trying to track it down, one sees that it is only a word, which denotes egotism. But it is extremely difficult to shake it off. So one must say: “You wicked “I”, if you will not go by any means, remain as the servant of God”. The ego, that feels itself to be the servant of God, is called the “ripe I””.

“If you feel proud, let it be in the thought that you are the servant of God, the son of God. Great men have the nature of children. They are always children before Him; so they are free from pride. All their strength is of God, and not their own. It belongs to Him and comes from Him”.

Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna
(“Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna”, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Madras, BOOK I Man and the World, Ch. IV, Maya as Ahamkara or Egoism, 101, 113, 119, 124)