Swami Shivapadananda

Swami Shivapadananda on vows

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 452

   

A vow is a vow; and Rabindranath Tagore [pictured] drives that point home very, very well. Gandhiji went and asked him one day, "Maharaj [honorific, title of great respect. Literal meaning: great king], you are sick, why don't you have a rest?" He said, "No, no. At the time when I took my sacred thread I promised that I would not sleep during the day. Now I am already sixty something, how many more years have I to go? Why should I agree with you?" What beautiful inspiration - to stick to truth.

In the scriptures we read: Raghu kula rit sada chali aye prana jaye para vachana najaye. But that is where the sannyasis [monks, Swamis], the brahmacharis [male monastic novices], the married people's weakness lies. Their vows are given up for something else.

Even those who are engaged in worldly activities such as office work or business should hold to truth. Truthfulness alone is the spiritual discipline in the Kali Yuga. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna especially instructs householders that if a man leads a householder's life he must have unflagging devotion to truth. And that God can be realised through truth alone.

Even in trifling matters Sri Ramakrishna could not deviate from truthfulness. Example: As a child he had promised the blacksmith woman, Dhani, that he would receive his first bhiksha from her after the upanayanum [investiture with sacred thread] ceremony. At the time of upanayanum Gadadhar [Sri Ramakrishna's pre-monastic name] insisted on fulfilling his promise and the custom-bound elders had to agree to this unorthodox step.

We read how Bali's guru said, "Don't give this gift to him - he is Lord Vishnu in a different form." Bali said, "But Lord, I've already made him a promise and you told me I must keep my promises. How can I give up that promise? You are the one who taught me not to speak untruth." Just like that. 

Swami Shivapadananda on Truth perspectives

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 451

   

As you know a yogi is not supposed to eat excessive ginger, garlic, onions and my dear favourite chillies. [laughter] Then there is the inner nature of a thing - like potatoes. They don't disturb your mind but they disturb your health. If you eat a lot of potatoes you get too much starch in your body and this can lead to sugar diabetes. In this way some foods affect the mind and others affect the body.

Sri Krishna made it very clear in the Bhagavad Gita: Moderation, moderation, moderation. So what I want you to know is that you should have everything under the sun, but in moderation.

A sannyasi on the other hand has his own dharma. He can't have everything. Brahmacharis can't have some things. But a person like Swami Vivekananda would walk around with a pepper in his pocket. [laughter]

So what is spirituality? What is yoga? It is common-sense. We are complicating the sense.

It is said that Sri Ramakrishna and truth are one. No wonder therefore that Sri Ramakrishna - whose advent on Earth was for the establishment of dharma - upholds truth through all his words and deeds. He says the best name he can give to God is Truth.

Wasn't it Gandhi who later said the same thing? Not that God is truth, but that truth is God.

God is not 'true', because your 'true' may be relative. But truth is not related to anything. So Sri Ramakrishna says that the best name you can give to God is Truth.

Under no circumstances should one give up truth. Under no circumstances. 

Swami Shivapadananda on Truth and Righteousness

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 450

   

There is a close connection between righteousness (dharma) and truth (satyam). The moral instructions of our ancient Upanishadic teachings begin with: Satyam vada dharmam chara. The definition of dharma is yatah avudhayuni. That which helps us to attain worldly prosperity and salvation is truth. Not only worldly prosperity but worldly prosperity plus emancipation. You can obtain worldly prosperity by robbing your own brother, your own sister, your own friend, your own guru, but you cannot get spiritual prosperity. Burning is that man who robs. The fire of Lanka will burn him to ashes. Truth is something that cannot be burned. Untruth is such a dangerous thing - even the gods cannot handle it. Mark my words.

In the Upanishads it is said that truth and righteousness are one and the same. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says: What is righteousness is indeed truth. Hence people say of one speaking that which is true, that he speaks that which is righteous. And of one speaking that which is righteous that he speaks that which is true. Both of them are but righteousness.

In the Bhagavata 9.19.39 it is stated that, "Truth is the flower and fruit of the tree that is the living body." Satyam pushpa phala.

Truth is the virtue to be realised if one wants to reach final liberation.

What is meant by truth? That which remains for ever is truth. Thus the whole world is untrue because it will not remain for ever. When the universe ceases to exist during the Final Dissolution, God alone exists. He is beginningless and endless. So God is the only truth. The way to reach God is also known as truth. God is unchanging.

Swami Shivapadananda on absolute truthfulness

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 449

   

The Mundaka Upanishad proclaims that truth alone triumphs: "Satyam eva jayate." Truth always triumphs. Although untruth gives you a little sense pleasure for a time in the end that untruth will perish.

The divine path, the life of spiritual striving, is paved with truth - Mandukya Upanishad [Similar name but different Upanishad] 3.1.6. The same Upanishad again says: "Satyena labhayat." The Atman can be realised only through truth and tapasya [austerity, self-denial].

In the Puranas we hear beautiful stories illustrating the greatness of truth. The exemplary characters of the Puranas are those who have given up everything for the sake of truth. Take King Harishchandra for instance. He gives up his wife and only child and he himself becomes the servant of a chandala in order to keep his word.

Mahabali is another hero who lost everything for the sake of truth. He even disobeyed his guru to keep the word he had given to Vamana. Thereby he received the blessings of Lord Vishnu who came as Vamana. He tested Mahabali in many ways. In spite of all the humiliations he had to undergo Mahabali did not give up his truthfulness. By adherence to truth he conquered maya, so the Lord blessed him with the highest – something which is not even attained by the gods.

In the Ramayana we see Sri Rama [pictured], the very embodiment of truth, saying "Satyam evesh varo loke." Truth is the Lord of the world. Prosperity depends on truth. All originates from truth; everything. There is nothing greater than the truth. Again he says, "Satya loka pratishtita." The whole world is established in truth.

Righteousness and truth are the greatest pillars on which the universe rests. Mahabali was given the highest truth, the highest goal, and that was Self-realisation. 

Swami Shivapadananda on congruence and authenticity

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 448

   

In the Ramayana we read: Ragu kula rit sada chali aye prana jaye para vachana najaye. In the lineage of Sri Rama the Raghus will give up their lives for the sake of the principle of dharma [righteousness]. Thus it's better to die for the sake of dharma than dying for adharma [unrighteousness].

Man has a free will. Man is an intelligent being. Man should not use God to do the wrong things. You should use God to do the right things.

Ravana came as a holy man into the forest and took Sita away - he was dressed as a sannyasi [monk], as a holy man. But Ravana took advantage. He made use of dharma to do adharma. In the cloak of a holy man he stole. But the end result was that his kingdom of Lanka was destroyed – even though he had moksha [liberation] at Sri Rama's hands.

So this one fact you must remember: God has given us free will - even though that free will is limited by our past karma. By our conscience we know when we do something if it's right or wrong.

We must even give up our lives to do the right thing.

Sri Ramakrishna always stood by truth. It is written in the scriptures that to make ourselves perfect we must have the same idea in thought, speech and action. He said it so beautifully; that mind, word and deed will all be the same for a truthful, great man. 

Swami Shivapadananda on congruence

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 447

   

Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that you have the right to work but not to the fruits thereof. That means that if you do bad action God appears as bad action. If you do good action God appears as good action.

When Sri Krishna went to Kamsa, Kamsa saw Sri Krishna as a demon, as Lord Yama. He said, "Don't kill me." Sri Krishna told him, "Look, I don't kill you, your own karma kills you. Your own karma has come in this form to kill you." And when the same Sri Krishna went to the Rishis they found him to be the embodiment of their prayers, their blessings.

God appears to man as man is within. Example: Duryodhana was sent to find "one good man" in the world. He went everywhere but he came back and told Sri Krishna he could not find one good man. The Lord asked Dharamputra to go and find one bad man. He went everywhere but he didn't find one bad man. What this actually means is: what you are within, you will see without. If you are a dharmic [righteous]  person, you'll see dharmic things. If you are an adharmic [unrighteous]  person, you'll see adharmic things.

Sometimes people use God as a partner to do wrong things but when that person gets caught, God doesn't go to jail for him - he himself goes to jail.

Devotee: Why does God allow him to go to jail then, Swamiji?

Swamiji: Because of his actions. Man is given free will to choose what is right and what is wrong and at the same time man has past karmas with him. His past karmas will impel him to do wrong things if he has these bad karmas. But he, as a man, must now stand and say, "No. I won't do the wrong thing, I would rather give up my life for the truthful thing." 

Swami Shivapadananda on Sri Ramakrishna’s promises

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 446

   

Yoga retreat camp discussion continued

To do your sadhana [spiritual practice] the scriptures say you have to get up at sunrise, nay, before sunrise. You can only get up before sunrise if you go to bed early, so please try to do this.

Gurudev [Swami Nischalananda Puri, Swamiji's Guru] got the idea for these Camps from the Gospel [of Sri Ramakrishna], where Sri Ramakrishna said to Swami Vivekananda [pictured], "Time is too short in this life, days are shorter still. There is no time for anyone, they are all busy winning bread. But once or twice a year if they take three, four or twelve days off and do sadhana sincerely, if they cry for God for three days and three nights sincerely, God must reveal Himself to them." Our sadhana is based on this. We know that Master's [Sri Ramakrishna's] words are mantras [sacred sound syllables or names of God] and what he has said will not fail.

Remember that of these garlands of flowers I put on you, some have thorns and some have real roses.

God can take whatever form you like. If you think of God as Lord Shiva, He'll take form as Lord Shiva. If you think of God as Ravana, He will come as Ravana.

The Bhagavad Gita says, "Lust, anger and greed are the open doors to hell." Ravana had all these ruling him. Sri Rama did not have any of these ruling him - he was beyond lust, anger and greed. He had all his senses under control. Sri Rama stands for disciplined human beings, and Ravana stands for non-disciplined human beings.

Swami Shivapadananda on God-consciousness

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 445

 

 

Yoga retreat Camp talk:

Try to do japa [repetition of a mantra or God's names] as much as you can. Here at the Camp all your spare time should be given to japa, likhit japa [writing of the mantra of God's names], reading of some religious book, or reflecting on the thoughts you've heard.

When you practise the spiritual disciplines then you are a human - otherwise you are another animal. Both types go to the temple. The rich man takes his dog when he goes there. The rich man is supposed to come out improved, but he comes out worse than the dog. So we want to convert the dog - the mind. Transform it into God, into selflessness.

Sri Ramakrishna's dressing was something extraordinary. Sometimes he used to walk in the streets of Calcutta [Kolkota] and find hundreds of people following him, nay thousands, and he would think, "Oh, these people are taking my mind away from God." So he would take off his dhoti [body cloth] and put it under his arm and look around - all had disappeared. Then he would repeat God's name.

You have to dress in such a way that you don't expose your body - that would look very vulgar. Just as you take pride in dressing your Deity at the time of prayer at home, dress yourself like that.

Speak to others with respect, speak truthfully and above all, as Gurudev [Swami Nischalananda Puri, Swamiji's Guru] said, speak sweetly.

We should try to greet others before they greet us. Are you not meeting God each time you meet somebody? This is subjective rather than objective. 

Swami Shivapadananda on Truth and Tribulations

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 444

Yoga retreat camp talk continued:

The purpose is in your own heart, the purpose is in your own mind, the purpose is in your own hands. You have to choose otherwise it [Mother Nature] will choose you. When you choose, you've got your mind under control. When other things choose you, your mind is weak.

This is the time for you to know that God dwells in all and that you should join all. Simultaneously, this is the time to know that you should be detached.

You come to the Camp to make your mind very, very uncomfortable, so that the comfort of the Spirit can manifest.

Devotee: You said that nothing can burn truth, but how is it that a true man or an honest man can be sent to jail or be punished?

Swamiji: You see son, that is not truth. We didn't say that a man who is following a truthful path will not go through trials and tribulations. Sri Rama himself went through trials and tribulations; Sita went through trials and tribulations. That has nothing to do with it. When a man goes to jail that is the time to test him – to know if he is going to leave the truth now and go to untruth. If he can stay in jail and yet take the punishment and in his heart be convinced that, "I am speaking the truth," then he is a blessed man. Christ was crucified yet if Christ wanted he could have told a lie - but he preferred, just like Sri Rama, to give up his life rather than break away from truth or principle.

You should ask the guru those questions which trouble your mind in sadhana. If you don't ask these questions it will delay your sadhana. Ask the guru those questions which pertain to God Himself, and the way of life to live to go towards God. If we've got certain doubts, we must ask about them in order to clear them up. 

Swami Shivapadananda on seeing God in everything

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 443

We must be truthful. We must try our level best to see God in everything and to serve God. We must know that everything belongs to God and God permeates everything.

In the Isa Upanishad we read:

Isa vasyam idam gung sarvam

yat kim ca jagatyam jagat.

By this thought you should live: that it all belongs to God.

Tena tyak tena bhunjithah,

ma gridahah kasya svid dhanam.

By this way renounce all short-sightedness, all limited things and, with the eye of your mind, see God permeating everything, covering everything.

Gurudev [Swami Nischalananda Puri - Swamiji's Guru, pictured] used to tell us, "The fool is he who asks no questions. He doesn't want to reveal his foolishness, with the result that he remains a fool all his life." Just remember that.

Devotee: When doing sadhana, do we have to concentrate on the mantra [bija or seed word, sacred syllable or names of God] and the form at the same time?

Swamiji: If your mind can be concentrated just on the mantra itself, knowing that the mantra stands for a particular Deity and with it, if you can think about the attributes of the Deity - like love, compassion, truthfulness - then you don't have to worry much about the form itself. But with the form is very good because it stops your vision from going on to other different forms.