Swami Shivapadananda

Swami Shivapadananda on the faith of Ekalavya

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 474

   

If you are restless even the stones can reveal God to you - let alone the gurus. An example of this is given in the Mahabharata when Ekalavya went to Dronacharya to ask if he would teach him archery. But Dronacharya refused because he only taught the Kshatriyas and the Brahmins. Ekalavya was neither of these, he was an outcast, a forester and he used to shoot birds and wild pigs to eat.

I feel so sorry for Ekalavya. He is described as being a long, slender man, dark in colour - Arjuna on the other hand is described as nice and white and bright. And Arjuna, being a Kshatriya, could be taught by the guru.

Thus, Ekalavya went back to the South and there made a simple statue of Dronacharya. He prayed to it every day and practised archery.

After many years Dronacharya went to the South with his best pupil, Arjuna. He had promised Arjuna in the meantime that he would not teach archery to anybody else and therefore Arjuna would remain the best. When they came to the South - there are many versions of this story - they came across a dog barking and suddenly it was shot in the mouth by six arrows at incredible speed. When Arjuna saw this he looked at his guru and asked, "But who can do this? I thought I was the best." Just then they saw a slender, dark, old man coming out of the forest.

Ekalavya prostrated to Dronacharya and Dronacharya blessed him. Arjuna looked at his guru suspiciously and thought to himself: It looks as if he's taught somebody else. Dronacharya caught his thought and asked the stranger, "Who is your guru?" Ekalavya said, "Maharaj, you are my guru." Dronacharya was shocked to hear this and of course Arjuna's suspicions were even stronger.

Disciples have jealousies. There are no two ways about it. Gurubhais must watch themselves. Do not let this jealousy appear. The other man must be your guru personified, or your Deity [Ishta Devata] personified. Only then can you keep this jealousy down.

Arjuna looked sneeringly at his guru. Dronacharya asked Ekalavya, "When did I teach you?" He replied, "Maharaj, do you remember years ago a young boy came to you and asked you to teach him archery?" "Yes," said Dronacharya, "but I refused him." "Yes, Maharaj, you refused me but I came back here to the forest. Come and see my statue. Meet my guru." When Dronacharya saw the distorted statue he asked, "Who is this a statue of?" "You," came the reply. It did not look like him at all. "It's me?" he asked. "Yes. I prayed to you as my guru, I worshipped you and that is how I learned archery," said Ekalavya. Dronacharya thought to himself: I have to keep my promise to Arjuna. So he said, "This means I am your guru and you have to give me guru dakshina."

Here we come to the very beautiful part. I feel like crying when I think about it. I had hoped my guru would live for a little while so that I could prove to him, by his grace, that I too could be like Ekalavya. But he did not give me the opportunity.

Ekalavya then said, "Lord, I have surrendered my body, mind and soul to you, what else can I give you?" Now the most important instrument in archery is the thumb, so the guru said, "I want your thumb." Ekalavya said, "Is that all, my Lord? Take it." He cut it off and gave it to his guru. Ekalavya, prostrated and walked into the forest contented, for he had surrendered his all.

There are currently available, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order. Click HERE for the second website on Swamiji's life and teachings.

Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Ramakrishna Dham

 

Swami Shivapadananda on Swami Vivekananda’s yearning to know God

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 473

   

Swamiji speaking on the early pre-monastic life of Swami Vivekananda    

When Swami Vivekananda grew up he passed his degree. Around this time he went to Devendranath Tagore, the Brahmo Samaj leader, and asked him, "Have you seen God?" He looked at Swami Vivekananda and said, "I can see you have the eyes of a yogi." Now some people say he evaded the question by not saying if he had seen God or not, but I do not think so. He only saw in the other man a greater yogi and instead of saying what is not, he said what is.

When Naren [Swami Vivekananda's pre-monastic name] went to Sri Ramakrishna he asked very direct questions. He asked Master, "Sir, have you seen God?" Sri Ramakrishna in his childlike way said, "Yes, yes, I see God, but I see God more intensely than I see you." In other words, I see God all the time but I only see you now and then, you come and go. Then before Swami Vivekananda could ask the next question Master said, "And you can see Him too." He did not say, I can show Him to you, he said, you can see Him too. He said this because it is the birthright of every individual to see God, to know God, to realise God.

Do you have the yearning restlessness that Swami Vivekananda had? Both the Master and the disciple were restless to know God. For twelve years Sri Ramakrishna had rubbed his face on the ground. He had neglected his body and blood even oozed out of his pores in his desire to see God. Swami Vivekananda too was restless because he wanted to know the truth. What do I mean by restless? I mean wanting. I know we are not supposed to want worldly things, but we are supposed to want God and God alone. Are you restless to see God?

Sri Ramakrishna did not have a guru in the beginning. He was so restless for God that he could not wait. He even wanted to put an end to his life - that was the kind of restlessness he had. One day, in the [Divine] Mother's Temple, he took the sword in his hand and was about to slash his throat. How could God, who is all love and compassion, bear to see his own child committing suicide for his sake? Then the Master saw, in a flood of light, that which was later on transformed into Mother Kali.

There are currently available, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order. Click HERE for the second website on Swamiji's life and teachings.

Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Ramakrishna Dham

 

Swami Shivapadananda on the truthfulness of Swami Vivekananda

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 472

   

Swamiji continues talking about the pre-monastic Swami Vivekananda

Naren [Narendranath Datta, later Swami Vivekananda] was also truthful. At school, during a lesson, the teacher heard talking in the class and thinking that it was Naren he said, "Right, Naren, you tell the class what I just said." Naren repeated the whole thing word for word, so the teacher thought it could not have been him talking. Later on however, after the other boy had been punished, Naren went to the teacher and admitted that it had been him. His mind could not tolerate lies because he had a conscience. It seems that some of our consciences have become paralysed. You have no conscience if you speak lies and bluff others. Swami Vivekananda, from that young age, manifested this love of truth. This is an example of how your children too should be.

This same Swami Vivekananda liked to play games. He would gather all his friends around him and tell each one which part to play: "You are a servant, you are a shoe maker, you must sweep the floor and I am the king." [laughter] Even when he was young that inner nature of his manifest itself. He was a ruler - he grew up ruling. He ruled his own mind and body and today he rules a universe with his thoughts. He is the one that changed the thought waves of the whole universe.

It appears that he loved his charioteer - the man who drove him to school in a horse drawn carriage. He would say, "When I grow up I'll become a charioteer." In the beginning he learned from this man how to discipline the horses. Later he disciplined the 'horse' of his own mind and became the charioteer for thousands of people in India and the rest of the world.

Do not take anything on faith unless it is proved. No superstition whatsoever could catch hold of Swami Vivekananda. We are living in a scientific age and we should not accept everything without question.

There are currently available, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order. Click HERE for the second website on Swamiji's life and teachings.

Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Ramakrishna Dham

   

 

Swami Shivapadananda on superstition

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 471

   

As he grew up Naren [who later became Swami Vivekananda] loved physical training. At that time he was in the materialistic world and he wanted to look like a real man. So he went to the gymnasium and trained. He was known to be the top student in that gymnasium. It is also remembered how he nursed someone who was hurt when everyone else ran away, thus showing his inner compassion. He could not bear to see a man suffer.

Even from an early age he was not prepared to accept any superstition whatsoever. For example: a man told him, "There's a ghost in that tree and if you climb it he'll break your neck." So he waited for the man and his own friends to go away and then he climbed into the tree to see if the ghost was there or not. If you think this is easy, you try it. Let your mother say in the darkness that there is a devil there and see if you do not get frightened. Later when his friend asked him if there was a ghost there he said, "Fool. If there had been a ghost my neck would have been broken - you wouldn't have had anybody to ask. That man was bluffing."

From a young age these things started showing in Naren. That is why we observe a child closely from the time he or she is young. When we see a bad habit in the child we should trim it straight away. People say, "Spare the rod and spoil the child." Sometimes even the rod is good - but not many times of course.

If the young Swami Vivekananda was not prepared to cater to superstition in his worldly dealings, how do you think he would cater to superstition in the scriptures?

There are currently available, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order. Click HERE for the second website on Swamiji's life and teachings.

Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Ramakrishna Dham

 

Swami Shivapadananda on the childhood of Swami Vivekananda

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 470

   

The young Swami Vivekananda learned the Mahabharata and the Ramayana on his mother's lap. Is it any wonder that he grew to love the poor and the miserable at that young age? Above all he grew to love the sannyasis. His mother said that he was a very naughty child. She used to exclaim, "I prayed to Lord Shiva to give me a child but he sent one of his demons." He proved her right when one day, at her wits end, she put him under a tap and turned on the water. In desperation, whilst the boy was still screaming, she started repeating "Om Namah Shivaaya, Om Namah Shivaaya, Om Namah Shivaaya" - because that was her Deity - and found to her amazement that he stopped crying. The water was poured on his head, which was the linga personified and Om Namah Shivaaya completed it. That is how she learned the trick. Whenever he was naughty she put him under the tap and repeated Om Namah Shivaaya, Om Namah Shivaaya.

It is a joke to us but every time she repeated Om Namah Shivaaya, Lord Shiva's name penetrated him and awakened the good and divine samskaras in him. Lord Shiva's name manifest itself inside this little child. Even if a mother playfully takes God's name and whacks the child, the child is bound to be transformed, sooner or later. Some mothers say ungodly words when they hit their children; but this mother said Lord Shiva's name.

As the young Swami Vivekananda grew he would take all the best things in the house and give them to the poor people - especially to the sadhus and the sannyasis. Though his mother and father were very charitable, they eventually became fed up. Whenever they saw a sadhu coming along the street they would call the boy and say, "Come here Naren, come inside and see this." Then they would lock the door. It happened many times that when they opened the door they found that the father's new shoes, his hat or his jersey was gone. When they asked him where a particular thing was, he would say, "I put it down there for the sadhus to take home." Well, this was too much for his parents.

There are currently available, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order. Click here for the second website on Swamiji's life and teachings.

Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Sri Ramakrishna Dham

 

Swami Shivapadananda on Ramakrishna’s incarnation

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 469

   

When God incarnates, when God comes to this Earth, He brings his chosen ones through whom He does His own work. The main thing is to accomplish the work.

Sri Ramakrishna once described how in a vision he saw himself as a small child, going upwards. He found that that indivisible Satchitananda had become that child. He went higher and higher, going through many stages and there he found seven [sapta] Rishis seated. He looked at one of the Rishis and went to play on his lap and asked him to come down to Earth [as an Incarnation - Avatar]. The Rishi however was reluctant to come down. When this small child asked the Rishi once more to come down, the Rishi looked at the child, nodded and came down. I want you to imagine this at the back of your mind. How can an adult refuse a baby's guileless, innocent request? Later on Sri Ramakrishna said that the little child was himself and the Rishi was  Swami Vivekananda. [pictured]

Swami Vivekananda was rightly born in a lawyer's house. His father fought many cases and like attracts like, talking attracts talking, explanation attracts explanation. His father, Vishvanath [Datta], explained the laws of this world to his son; and Swami Vivekananda himself was later to know the laws of the Universe? Does not the seed grow in the soil that is conducive to its growth? I am sure that as a lawyer the father must have explained the law and many other things to him. Swami Vivekananda always liked to enquire into the truth of the matter, just as lawyers like to enquire into the truth of the evidence. A lot of lawyers enquire only into a portion of the evidence but make it appear true. In this case it was just the opposite. Whatever Vishvanath did he enquired into the whole truth of the matter and Swami Vivekananda learned this characteristic from him.

There are currently available, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.

Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Sri Ramakrishna Dham

 

Swami Shivapadananda on the Guru’s guidance

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 468

   

A man called Chandra came to Sri Ramakrishna and prayed, "Lord, please give me the vision of my Chosen Ideal [Ishta Deva], I want to have some spiritual experience." Sri Ramakrishna looked at him and touched him. He immediately felt blissful. He went back to the office and tried to attend to his work but he could not get going. He wanted to do his books but he couldn't do them. He could only feel the bliss of God. When he went home he could not see his wife, he could only feel the bliss of God. Then he prayed, "O God, please take this away from me. I don't want it, I can't attend to my worldly duties."

This event shows that we value worldly duties more than godly bliss. Afterwards, by Sri Ramakrishna's grace, that form was withdrawn. But once a week or so, Chandra would still have this experience. This is the greatness of the great gurus.

That is why we say that no guru should give you God-realisation; but rather they should prepare you for God-realisation because it is your natural state. Who can give you something that is natural? If you are a man, why should I make you a man? The only thing I should do is to try and describe to you how a man looks and then, when you see yourself, you would recognise that you are a man. So the guru who describes this to you will put more maya [the power of delusion], a higher [more subtle] maya, to take away the lesser, thicker maya. Thus the revelation will come and you will see the truth.

It is said that Sri Krishna and Arjuna were born as Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda in this age. They also came as Sri Rama and Hanumanji. For it was Hanumanji and not Lakshman who spread the name of Sri Rama - just as Swami Vivekananda spread the name of Sri Ramakrishna.

There are currently available, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.

Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Sri Ramakrishna Dham

Swami Shivapadananda on Swami Vivekananda’s experience of the Vishvaroop

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 467

After the first few visits to Master [Sri Ramakrishna] the young Naren [Swami Vivekananda's premonastic name] had a similar experience to Arjuna. He went to see Sri Ramakrishna and the Master touched him. He went into an ecstatic mood. He became fearful and said to Master, "Oh, what are you doing to me? I am fearful, I am going to lose my individuality. I have got my mother and my father ...." Then Sri Ramakrishna said, "All right, let it wait a little," and master brought him out of it. There was another time too when Swami Vivekananda visited Sri Ramakrishna. Sri Ramakrishna touched him with his leg and he felt the whole world reeling. He became blissful - then he became fearful.

He wanted the test but when the test was given it was as if the container was not yet ready to contain it. The blissful and the fearful were both there. Swami Vivekananda said that for almost three days he found this state existed everywhere. When he walked on the road he wanted to go and embrace the cars. The cars did not know that he was looking at God. He would have been knocked over but the people pulled him out of the road. He looked at his mother and to him his mother looked like Sri Ramakrishna. When he took his food he said, "Ah, Sri Ramakrishna." He saw the Vishvaroopa [Universal, Cosmic consciousness] was one: Sri Ramakrishna. Then he prayed for this experience to go down because he could not manage it. He was not yet ready and slowly Sri Ramakrishna withdrew it. Later on this fearful Swami Vivekananda preached fearlessness.

Sri Ramakrishna said to him, "This gift is given to you. But until you are ready and until you have finished my work, I have got the key. Later I'll open the treasure-house for you. Then you will not be fearful. Instead, just like a moth rushing to the light, you will want to rush off willingly, naturally."

There are unnatural ways of trying to make yourself rush into it but all sadhanas and prayers in the life of Swami Vivekananda prepared him to keep his state as natural as possible.

There are currently available, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.

Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Sri Ramakrishna Dham

Swami Shivapadananda on spiritual experiences

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 466

   

[Swamiji's talk on the Bhagavad Gita continues]

We know that when we wake up, the dream world and deep sleep state vanish. When we are in the dream state, the waking state and deep sleep state vanish. But it is not like that in the Vishvaroopa [cosmic or universal state]. In the Vishvaroopa everything is included - Sri Krishna and Arjuna were there too. But then when Sri Krishna became Lord Vishnu other things became minus [minimised], and Arjuna could only see Lord Vishnu, the world and himself. Then the form of Lord Vishnu with four hands was removed and Sri Krishna with two hands stood there. The Lord went from finite to more finite, until he became Sri Krishna, the friend.

In the Bhagavad Gita, chapter twelve (on Bhakti Yoga) Sri Krishna explains how to worship him. He that appears with two arms, he that appears with four arms, is still finite - Arjuna could see it. Though we cannot see the whole mountain at one time we know that the mountain is there, with different trees, different valleys, different holes, different snakes, different creatures. But an ordinary man's mind, [like Arjuna's] is too small even to conceive of that. Beyond that the devotee and God become one. That which one cannot see passes all understanding.

You must remember that if a guru says, "I can give you God-realisation," then the "give you" part is a lie. He cannot give you God-realisation. He can only show you the method to attain God-realisation. You have to follow it yourself. But people force the guru to give them some experiences. Christ's disciples asked him, "Lord, give us a sign." Here, when Sri Krishna gave the sign to Arjuna what happened? Arjuna had not reached a state of purity and so instead of seeing God and becoming blissful he became fearful. This is what will happen to us if the experience comes before we are pure. We will find that instead of becoming peaceful we will become pieces-full, we will be torn to pieces. That is why our gurus do not want to give us this experience. It is not that it is not in their power - it is because it would confuse our minds further. Just like Arjuna's mind which, instead of being enlightened, became confused.

There are currently available, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.

Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Sri Ramakrishna Dham

Swamiji explains Arjuna’s fear of God’s Universal aspect

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 465

 

Swamiji explains Arjuna's words as found in the Bhagavad Gita, Ch. 11, V. 15 to 31; and 43 to 46

When Arjuna had the vision of the Vishvaroopa, he became wonder-struck and very fearful. He said to Sri Krishna, "O Lord, you have showed me that one plus one does not only equal two, it equals four halves, eight quarters. In you there are many diverse ways of thought. In you there are living beings, in you there are dead beings, in you there is fire, in you there is water. O Lord, these contradictory happenings - which cannot happen simultaneously at the human level - are happening. I am fearful, my Lord, because even when I see it I cannot understand it. My mind is so small, O Lord, I am fearful. I know Lord that you are the God of the whole universe."

[Swamiji quotes from Isa Upanishad]

Isa vasyam idagung sarvam

yat kim ca jagatyam jagat.

Tena tyak tena bhunjithah

magridha kasya svid dhanam.

[Swamiji's paraphrase of Arjuna continues] "You permeate permeation. You permeate Yourself. You even permeate all things which are apparently not You. O God, I cannot understand it even though you showed it to me. Now I want to see my Chosen Ideal's form, that Ideal that I worship, that Ideal that my mother and father worshipped before I was born. Lord, now reveal yourself with shanka (conch), chakra (discus), gada (club), padma (lotus), with a smiling, benign look, blessing me. It seems to me that on one side there is beauty in that form of Yours and on the other side there is ugliness. On one side I see there is happiness and on the other, in the same form, I see fearfulness. It seems to me that my mind is so small, in this Vishvaroopa, that fear is overtaking me. I cannot understand it, my Lord. Reveal to me the form that I worshipped all this time."

Then Sri Krishna revealed to him his Chosen Ideal's [Ishta Deva's] form, Lord Vishnu's form with the shanka, chakra, gada and padma. Then smiling, he became his friend, Sri Krishna, again.

There are currently available, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.

Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Sri Ramakrishna Dham