SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
602
When you go on pilgrimage it must not be for sightseeing. You must go to awaken your spirituality, to yearn for God Himself. You must feel the same love that the Rishi who founded that particular temple that you are visiting felt. Feel the same sacrifice that the Rishi who founded that particular holy place felt.
When Swami Vivekananda [pictured] took Sister Nivedita and the band of devotees from the West on pilgrimage, he had an experience at Amarnath. Swami Vivekananda said that he obtained the gift of immortality from Lord Shiva. Sister Nivedita [Margaret Noble, the Swami's western disciple] later qualified it by saying, 'Lord Shiva told him that whenever he wished to leave his body he would leave it.' Now that is immortality. He would still have to throw away the body, but throw it away at will.
Swami Vivekananda obtained his freedom there, at that particular time. He became conscious of his absolute freedom. Most of us can get free from many things but we never get free from death. We die when we do not want to die. Therefore that is not jivan mukta, it is 'mortal-mukta'.
Swami Vivekananda became absolutely free - just like Hanumanji who gives up the body when he feels like it, or keeps the body when he feels like it.
It is surprising that a westerner like Sister Nivedita could say that she felt that Sri Sarada Devi was the final word in Indian motherhood. Sister Nivedita also warned that we [of the Hindu culture] should not imitate the western world. She said, 'You may take the good in it but never imitate them in any other way.'
One of Sri Ramakrishna's disciples said, 'A woman can do anything in this world.' I say that a woman can even be like the Rani of Jhansi who got on a horse to fight and defend her country. Through it all she never lost her modesty. A woman who loses her modesty is no woman. In all things that you do, have that modesty.
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 Puri, Swami Shivapadananda Click Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna to read online... Reference websites (please mouse-over
the name to connect): Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of SA, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa,
Ramakrishna Dham, Swami Shivapadananda 2
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