Smoking and sadhana advice

 

 

[Pictured: Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother]

 

SWAMI 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 908

Smoking [cigarettes etc.] creates the physical craving of the cells. Take chewing gum or a sweet instead when you feel this craving. Drinking [of alcohol] and smoking should be given up altogether. They do not do good to you. Drinking affects the pancreas. Drinking and smoking are two evils that a man must leave. It is like your sweat turns into money and you burn it [i.e. a total waste].

You do it because your parents did it - especially if the mother smoked when she was pregnant. She takes a cigarette and the cells of the child come to crave for it. That is why pregnant women should repeat the name of God and read the scriptures. But they do not do that and so we have so many rogues and thieves in the world.

[Swamiji to a Hanuman devotee]

When meditating, first see Sri Ramakrishna seated on your head on a lotus [flower] and worship him. After that you prostrate to him and carry on with your worship. Hanuman is the guru [spiritual preceptor] personalised. Hanuman is the bodiless guru. Other gurus may have bodies but he guides you without a body. May the Guru of gurus be happy on us.

See the Ishta Devata [personal deity or chosen ideal] sitting in the sun. Think of it as Supreme Intelligence. The sun is not just a gaseous mass, it is living intelligence.

You must keep doing what I tell you to do. Do not reverse [regress].

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