Sri Ramakrishna would often warn spiritual seekers about the distractions of the world which would take their minds away from God. Things related to the material world such as body and wealth are impermanent and why should one undergo enormous troubles for gaining these things. He would quote the example of Hatyogis whose attention was always fixed on one ideal namely longevity. They were not bothered about the realization of God at all. They practised exercises such as washing the intestine and drinking milk through a tube with the aim of increasing their longevity. He used to narrate stories to illustrate this point.
There lived a goldsmith whose tongue suddenly turned up and got stuck to his pallet. He looked like a man in trance (Samadhi). He became completely inert and remained so for a long time. People came to worship him. After several years his tongue suddenly returned to the normal position and he regained his consciousness. Soon after, he came back to his old profession and started working once again as a goldsmith. Sri Ramakrishna would say that such happenings relate to the physical plane and had nothing to do with transcendental truths. He used to narrate a story of a man who knew 82 yogic postures and talked big about Yoga Samadhi. But, inwardly he was attracted to lust and lucre. Once he found a bank note (debt instrument) worth several thousand rupees. He could not resist the temptation and swallowed it thinking that he would somehow bring it out later. But, the theft was discovered and the note was got out of him and he was sent to jail for three years. Thus Sri Ramakrishna would caution people against getting distracted by worldly allurements and emphasize that one should focus one’s mind on God or the Supreme Truth.