SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
600
If you study the Ramayana you will find that Mother Sita's life was so very pure. Think about Mother Sita; she did not care for anything except her Rama; she did not give up her pure life for anything. And was Sri Rama any less than this? No. He was a king in his own right although for a time he was in a beggar's garb in the forest.
Their characters were not lost by this experience. Sri Rama's own kingdom did not tempt him; the 'kingdom' offered by Ravana did not tempt Mother Sita; nor was she tempted by all the psychic powers which were offered to her. Ravana said, 'Look, I control the moon, I control the stars, I even control death, O Sita. What is the beggar Rama compared to this? Marry me instead.' She refused straight away.
How many of us get attached to a holy man who performs a few miracles? Remember that no matter how advanced a holy man is, your Atman is still holier than him.
Ultimately Sri Rama and Mother Sita themselves were the victors because character was not lost; they led a simple life.
Similarly, a sannyasi [Hindu monk or Swami] is not tempted by the wealth of all the three worlds. He may wear a beggar's garb like Sri Rama but he knows he is a prince. He controls the ten senses. He is the son of God Himself. That is how you and I should be.
Sister Nivedita [Margaret Noble, a western disciple of Swami Vivekananda] had no miracles in her; but she had purity of heart. She could have done a lot of things with her beauty. But her purity in thought, word and deed became her all in all to serve her own guru, Swami Vivekananda. The thing that made her holy was devotion to her duty, devotion to her guru.
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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