SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
Day 516
Swamiji reads from: The Teachings of Swami Vivekananda
Reads: When you think you are a body ....
Swamiji speaks: Remember these words. Some people are looking for joy and some people are looking for the secretive path. They want Sri Ramakrishna to come and touch them so they will get in Samadhi [superconsciousness] - like [he did to] Swami Vivekananda. That is what they want. But here it is clear cut. Look at these words. Listen carefully.
Reads: When you think you are a body you are apart from the universe. When you think you are a soul you are a spark from the Great Eternal Fire. When you think you are the Atman [all-pervading spirit] you are All.
Swamiji: A sadhaka [spiritual aspirant or practitioner] must think: 'I am Brahman' [the One indivisible consciousness]. But when the thought comes, 'I am the body,' you must use the other mantra: 'neti neti' [not this, not this]. When you look at others as the body think: 'neti neti, Brahman has come and I must worship It.' Think like this continuously. Think, think, the word is think.
When you do japa [repetition of a mantra or God's many names] what are you doing? You are thinking about Lord Shiva, you are thinking about Lord Rama, you are thinking about Mother Kali. So, when you think about the Spirit you become the Spirit. There is no miracle about this, it is plain and simple - there is no secret initiation about it either.
When people went to Ramana Maharishi with problems he would say, 'Don't worry about the world. Enquire: Who am I?' If you asked him, 'Who must I pray to?' he would say, 'Who is asking?' They would reply, 'I.' Then he would say, 'Who is this 'I'?' He was direct. Ramana Maharishi spoke a lot on bhakti [divine devotion]. He wrote poems full of bhakti. But he always chose those things that pointed towards the Self - the real 'I' (not I-conscious nor I-absent) which shines out, Self-effulgent.
Swami Purushottamananda [the guru of Swamiji's Guru, Swami Nischalananda Puri – therefore Swamiji's 'Paramguru'] also drew people's notice to this. He would say, 'Who are you? Go and find out who the 'I' is, and the day you can find the 'I' out, you will disappear and God will appear.'
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.


