Swami Shivapadananda

Outdated habits will leave you

 

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]

[now a Centre of the international Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission]

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 894

   

Sri Ramakrishna said, 'You do not have to leave out anything. As you become sattvic [more balanced, harmonious, spiritual] you will leave everything yourself.'

Sri Ramakrishna was very careful about non-condemnation. Sri Ramakrishna said, 'If you pluck the flower [i.e. try to abruptly end someone's particular spiritual or religious approach or process] first - there will be no fruit [beneficial result]. So wait till it [the approach or habit] drops off by itself.'

Gurudev [Swamiji's beloved Guru, His Holiness Sri Swami Nischalananda Maharaj, first President and Spiritual Head of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa] told me: Don't give any advice unless someone asks for it.

If you do perfect sadhana [spiritual practice] then within you [then] you will get an answer to all your questions.

Come to me with your heart, not with your mind. When you say, 'Should I do it this or that?', it is the head - not the heart - asking.

Think peace and all disharmony, internal, external and heavenly is destroyed. Add AUM because that wards off inauspiciousness. AUM peace, peace, peace [AUM shanti, shanti, shanti] is a very powerful mantra [sacred word, sound syllable or one of the many names attributed to God]. Do this morning, noon and night and you will find peace all round.

1) Care should be taken by the reader to understand and take Swamiji's words in these postings, in context. Every teaching or instruction that he gave was specific to the people who were with Swamiji at the time. 

2) Mouse-over the words highlighted in red in the posting for further explanation or links.

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.

For more about the Holy Trinity, and also the founding Swamis of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, please mouse over their names below:

Sri Ramakrishna    Sri Sarada Devi     Swami Vivekananda  

Swami Nischalananda  Swami Shivapadananda 

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - read online

Reference websites - please mouse over the name and click to connect:

Ramakrishna Math and Mission    Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa    Ramakrishna Dham

 

   

 

Breaking habits

A blessed 12th February 2010 Maha Shivaratri to all devotees 

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]

DAILY READINGS

From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji

734

   

'Sacrifice' is the word that you must highlight in your life. Are you prepared to sacrifice your feelings? If you are, then that's all right.

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, 'O Arjuna you say it is very difficult to control the mind; you say it is easier to control an elephant. Yes, I agree with you. It is very difficult but it becomes easy through practice and vairagya' [dispassion] You must not get attached. Dispassion.

Visitor: What happens if in the past one had become attached to lust, for instance, and one wants to break that old habit? It is very difficult . . .

Swamiji: Yes, it is difficult. We don't deny that it is difficult. That is why sacrifice comes into it. In spiritual life our gurus [spiritual preceptors/teachers] tell us: 'Adopt the attitude of non-cooperation with your mind.' Just adopt that idea. You are going to suffer in any case, right? You are going to do something wrong and you are going to suffer. You are a slave. Rather suffer trying to be a master than suffer being a slave.

Swami Vivekananda [the lead disciple of Sri Ramakrishna] told his brother disciples a similar thing when his brother disciples said, 'Look, there is no place to stay. Let's think about a way out. We are suffering.' Swami Vivekananda, with firm spiritual strength said, 'Do you think that if I can't get milk to drink I will drink filth and eat dirt? Rather I die.'

That's the phrase: 'Rather I die.' For what? For the right thing.

1) Care should be taken by the reader to understand and take Swamiji's words in these postings, in context. Every teaching or instruction that he gave was specific to the people who were with Swamiji at the time. 2) Mouse-over the words highlighted in red in the posting for further explanation or links.

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.

Sri Ramakrishna    Sri Sarada Devi     Swami Vivekananda  

Swami Nischalananda  Swami Shivapadananda 

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - read online

Reference websites - please mouse over the name and click to connect:

Ramakrishna Math and Mission    Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa    Ramakrishna Dham

 

A retreat scolding!

 

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]

DAILY READINGS

From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji

729

   

[Last talk at a Yoga Camp]

Most of you think that you are good. But in the quiet hours of your lives you will be surprised at what you are capable of thinking - thoughts that God would not even worry to look at.

Your greatest friend, the mind, tells you in the quiet hours what you really are. And when there are many people around you, these other people attract your attention, and therefore you do not know what you are and who you are. So re-double your effort in your daily life.

If there was any discomfort suffered by you during the time of the camp I must say, 'Thank you God for having given them the difficulties and give them a little bit more suffering.' [laughter] I say this because you will think in turn of the millions of people who have suffered the discomfort that has become part of their lives. You will be able to appreciate their suffering in different ways. Sometimes we have a mattress that may be very hard, sometimes you have a blanket which instead of making you hot makes you cold. Remember that hundreds of people are living like that out in the fields.

Another discomfort is a salt-less diet. A patient has to have a salt-less diet when he gets high blood pressure, but we should try it out now. Gurudev [Swamiji's beloved Guru, Swami Nischalananda Puri] used to give us sugarless tea. I think we should make these camps just a little more austere.

To the youths: You should have known that for three days this was no place for smoking or for the speaking of ungodly things, yet you went back to that behaviour - the behaviour which you hide from your parents. I feel very disappointed indeed with the youths from this point of view. I say to you that one day you are going to become adults so why not start living and joining the adults now. Start learning good manners and the good way of life. They say, 'As your company is, so you are.' We do not want you to become childish, we want you to become responsible men and women.

 1) Care should be taken by the reader to understand and take Swamiji's words in these postings, in context. Every teaching or instruction that he gave was specific to the people who were with Swamiji at the time. 2) Mouse-over the words highlighted in red in the posting for further explanation or links.

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.

Sri Ramakrishna    Sri Sarada Devi     Swami Vivekananda  

Swami Nischalananda  Swami Shivapadananda 

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - read online

Reference websites - please mouse over the name and click to connect:

Ramakrishna Math and Mission    Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa    Ramakrishna Dham

   

 

Bitter?

 

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]

DAILY READINGS

From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji

717

   

God finds Himself at home in the whole universe. He is not a restless creature. Even when sannyasis [monastic renunciates, monks] go on pilgrimage they go because the mind is restless. They feel their mind will not be restful in one place so they keep going from holy place to holy place. Some of them get big holes and others become whole. It becomes a disease of travelling - and yet they think they are holy.

When realised souls go on pilgrimage that is different. They go to re-awaken the Consciousness that is already in that particular place of pilgrimage.

Someone went to a guru [spiritual preceptor/teacher] and said, 'I want to go on pilgrimage.' The guru asked, 'Why?' He said, 'Because one becomes holy by going on pilgrimage.' So the guru gave him a bitter gourd (it's a kind of vegetable called karela [pictured above] in Hindi. It looks like brinjal [eggplant or aubergine] but it is very bitter.) Giving it to him the guru said, 'Take this with you on pilgrimage and please bring it back.'

After two years the disciple returned and the guru asked, 'How are you? Did you enjoy your pilgrimage?' 'Yes. Very, very good,' came the reply. 'Did it have the desired effect?' asked the guru. 'I think so,' answered the disciple.

Then the guru said, 'Let me see the bitter gourd. Bring it here.' He took it and ate a bit. It was still bitter, so he said, 'If the nature of this vegetable cannot change I do not know how your nature has changed. [Laughter] You went away bitter and you came back bitter, perhaps more bitter because the worship of different people must have made your ego go higher and higher.'

This is why Christ says, 'You must worship God behind locked doors.' [i.e. do not make a show of your 'spirituality']

1) Care should be taken by the reader to understand and take Swamiji's words in these postings, in context. Every teaching or instruction that he gave was specific to the people who were with Swamiji at the time. 2) Mouse-over the words highlighted in red in the posting for further explanation or links.

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.

Sri Ramakrishna    Sri Sarada Devi     Swami Vivekananda  

Swami Nischalananda  Swami Shivapadananda 

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - read online

Reference websites - please mouse over the name and click to connect:

Ramakrishna Math and Mission    Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa    Ramakrishna Dham