Swami Shivapadananda

‘Dead’ to the right things

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji

683

   

Swamiji continues speaking on the Katha Upanishad

This Upanishad is the story or the Katha of the Universal Soul.

Man dies first in the physical sense to be born in the spiritual sense. Nachiketa had had his physical death whilst he was still alive because he had his mind and senses under control, he was dead to that extent. Where the yogi is awake the worldly man is asleep; and where the worldly man is asleep the yogi is awake. From that point of view you will see that Nachiketa was awake to his spiritual nature, therefore he was dead to his physical nature.

If in meditation I meet Sri Rama, does it happen in the mental state? No. It happens in the spiritual state.

At first you can take the stories from the Upanishads as traditional history. When children hear these stories they become more faithful and seek God. Later on they become symbolised as the inner conscience. When you are doing wrong there will be a conscience telling you: 'That's not right. Don't do that.'

Nachiketa was that kind of a disciple who, after taking the fruit of Self-realisation, came back to the world with the power of serving. And that is why up to this day he is serving us in the form of this book - the Katha Upanishad.

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

Katha Upanishad and faith

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji

679

   

Swamiji speaks on the Katha Upanishad [a Hindu philosophical treatise]

We also hear about Nachiketa, the young son, who was full of faith and devotion to the scriptures, to the mother and father, and lastly to the guru.

At this time his father was performing the vishwajit yajna but Nachiketa had so much faith in the scriptures that he thought his father was doing the wrong thing. He thought that his father was giving everything away. Vishwa means universe, jit means wins. So his father was performing a yajna or sacrifice that would win the whole universe. But, in that universal sacrifice you need to give away everything and as his son belonged to him he also had to give him away to somebody else.

Now Nachiketa thought that his father somehow must be making a mistake (not necessarily consciously, it could be unconsciously even) and he felt it was the duty of the son to try to help the father. So he said, 'Father you are going to give everything away - these cows you are giving away, money you are giving away, are you giving me away too?' He asked the question three times and finally the father said, 'Yes, I'll give you to Yamaraja [the King of Death].' Nachiketa had so much faith in his father's word that he said, 'I want to go to Yamaraja.'

If he had had no faith in his father's words Nachiketa would have ignored the instruction given by his father. If my father said, 'I'll give you to Death,' what is the easiest thing to do? To hang yourself. [laughter] But he did not commit suicide. He said, 'Wait a minute, I don't know how to take a birth and I also don't know the method of death.' So he said, 'Please send me to Death.' In other words: teach me how to die. We can infer from this that his father taught him all the yogas. And so, after having the faith in his earthly father, he goes now to the spiritual guru through practising discipline - the brahmacharya ashrama [stage of life, in this case]. He goes to the spiritual guru who is Death himself. He did not die, he went to Death and he asked Death (death as time that devours the past, present and future) these questions.

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