Swami Shivapadananda

The body is our cage

 

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 928

   

Devotee: I was thinking that the obstacle in spiritual life is bad association.

Swamiji: The whole life you are associated. That is the only bad luck we've got with us: that we are associated with our body [body-conscious]. [Swamiji laughs] Why are you looking outside? It's because we are associated there.

This [indicating his body] is the cage. And you will only come to know when suffering comes just what a cage this is. While you are drunk with the drink of pleasure you don't think that it is a cage. But you are in a cage. As long as a caged bird is getting fresh air, food and water it doesn't think that it is in a cage. Just take away food and water from the bird and let it look at a lot of food and water outside the cage; that's when it will realize that it is in a cage.

Hard things come to show us: 'Ah, you foolish fellow, you are in a cage.' Mother Maya in the form of pleasure has captured you.

Sita's greatness came out because of suffering. Christ's greatness came out because of suffering. That's why they say it is very difficult for a rich man to realize God. And I keep saying this to you. Master [Sri Ramakrishna] said, 'Watch out. If you are relying on the cosy bed what are you going to learn?'

Devotee: But the rich man has time. He's got time to meditate and do whatever worship he wants.

Swamiji: He doesn't want to do that. He wants to make more money. He's rich and he wants to get more rich. He's got time, yes, but what to do? To make more money.

 

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

 

 

  

 

Nature of Maya

 

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

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

DAILY READINGS

From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji

782

Devotee: Swamiji, what is Maya? [the so-called illusory, 'deluding' power of God]

Swamiji: [laughs] You see, what you call 'Maya' – people say it is illusion. What kind of illusion? It's a mystical power of God. A mysterious power of God. But let me tell you, if it's a mysterious power, then it must exist, isn't it? Then it can't be an illusion? So then it is a mysterious power of God that belongs to God. But we – because we can't make out [understand] what it is, how it is... we call it illusion. Take it this way; a magician when he shows you something, you call it illusion. What is illusion? Not that thing in itself, which you see. But the sweetness of it - and working with reality - he's not making something appear when it's not there. So to the magician, it magic but to you it's a reality. To you it's a... reality. For him, it is magic. What makes it magic? Misunderstanding. What makes it magic to me, is misunderstanding. So I misunderstand this world, therefore I call it illusion. The day I understand it is reality.

Devotee: Swamiji, when do you reach that stage when you can understand it?

Swamiji: That's good – that's a very good question. You'll reach that stage when you have your mind and senses under control, which Jesus said very openly, 'Blessed are the pure at heart – not in mind, huh? – at heart. That means you will not be thinking of bad – you can't think of bad – forget it. Heart means you can't think of bad. Blessed are the pure at heart, for they shall see God.

Our scriptures say 'Ahimsa' – non violence in thought, word and deed. Now tell me, how many of us have reached that stage? Come on? [silence from the devotees] So then you blame God for not revealing himself to you? You may kill him, like they did with Jesus - or the latest one [assassination] that they did with [Mohandas] Gandhi. From that point of view this is a joke [coming up] and shouldn't be taken as reality. I say God is scared of us. [Swamiji chuckling].

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

What is Maya?

 

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

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

DAILY READINGS

From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji

780

 

Devotee: The world is Maya [God's power of illusion/delusion] Swamiji.

Swamiji: It's not Maya! You mustn't think that my boy. This world is not illusion. I love this world. This world is a beautiful place. It is God. This whole world is God. How can you say it's Maya? You know what is Maya? You don't know completely – that is Maya. But if you know completely, it is God's power. And God and His power cannot be separated – like milk and its whiteness. So how can you say it's Maya? [Chuckles]. I'm chasing after singular forms and names but why should I be after that when I can identify myself with the whole universe? 

You saw Sri Krishna's Vishwarup [universal form]? In the eleventh chapter [of the Bhagavad Gita]? Where he shows to Arjuna [his disciple] his universal form? So if you can become the whole universe, why should I go and serve one single man? If can water the root, why should I go and put water on the branches? There is no wasting time. A man who's got active mind, huh? Then he must use that activity because man's mind cannot stand still for one second. Therefore you must use that activity to serve God.

That is a very beautiful one, son, what you said. Don't get me wrong when I say this world is not Maya – but you must look at it nicely. You may call it a delusion but the complete thing is not a delusion - it is your own power. This whole universe is God's power. If you take each individual, if you don't mean the whole, you'll call it illusion. I'll give you another example of that. For instance – a river is flowing, right? We'll call it the Umgeni river [in KwaZulu, Natal]. Now in Umgeni river you'll get a [for the sake of this discussion] Victoria Falls [pictured above], we'll say. A man will say, 'Look at the Umgeni river – when it comes to the falls, what does he say? He focuses on the Victoria Falls and he forgets the big river. But he doesn't know [forgets] that the falls is a continuation of the river. So when you look at a man's hair, you look at a man. But we forget that the man is a continuation of the consciousness called God - as man. Just as the continuation of the water is the falls.

  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

 

 

Tongues and Trances

 

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji

688

Devotee: What is meant by 'speaking in tongues'?

Swamiji: When Christ said 'love' each one heard the word in his own language. The Hindi-speaking man would hear it as 'prema', The English speaking man would hear it as 'love'. That is speaking in tongues.

Vidya [wisdom, knowledge, understanding] maya [lit: God's divine delusion but leading to self-knowledge] will make you pure, loving and God-loving. Avidya maya [the opposite of vidya maya - leading to further entanglement] will make you more entangled in curing [illness], trances, and all that – and your life will not be transformed. The people like Sri Ramakrishna and others whose lives were transformed had vidya maya.

My father used to get into trance. My father's father used to get into trance. But when it came to me I said, 'No, I have transcended this already,' and all that stopped.

If you want to ask God for something, ask for bhakti [devotion] and jnana [wisdom/knowledge]. Nobody can take these away from you. Only ask for these two things, do not ask for anything else. We do not want powers.

Sri Ramakrishna at one time tested Naren [the pre monastic name of Swami Vivekananda]. He said, 'I have the eight yogic powers [siddhis]. If you want them, take them.' But Swami Vivekananda said, 'Can they give me God-realisation?' Master said, 'No.' So Swami Vivekananda said, 'Then I don't want them.'

That is the calibre to which we belong. If others want to get into a trance, let them. There is nothing wrong. Sri Krishna said in the [Bhagavad] Gita: 'Whatsoever you desire, I give.' You like something; and what you like you get. So if He is giving it to you, you are desiring it. Carry on.

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