[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]
[now a Centre of the international Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission]
DAILY READINGS
Day 1008
Swamiji reading from and about Sri Ramakrishna at a yoga spiritual retreat camp – reading in italics:
Real understanding of Advaita [monism] does not enter into our being. The professed adherents of the Maya [God's power of illusion/delusion] theory, curiously enough, seem very anxious about their daily food and raiment [clothing].
[Swamiji laughing very merrily] The jnani [follower of the path/yoga of knowledge] says 'everything is lies', but Sri Ramakrishna says, 'It's very funny you know. These people say everything is lies, but yet they seem very anxious about their food and raiment. How true it is. You'll find that even in India. You'll go to the sannyasins [Hindu monks/Swamis] …great sannyasins – I'm not talking ill of them, please – far from that…great sannyasins sitting there. That sannyasin is saying, 'It's all Maya.' But that same monk asks, [Swamiji laughing heartily again] 'did you bring any flowers or fruit?' The tummy is worried. Mind is thinking ugliness – flowers will make it beautiful. Imagine, what kind of Maya this is? What kind of God-realisation is this? What is the use of this kind of theory?
Trifles offend us and we lose our tempers far too easily.
We move to anger?... far too easily.
Our knowledge of the Truth does not always influence our conduct. Advaita is not an easy thing. It involves discipline and worship.
What does Advaita also involve?...discipline, the number one thing, underline it you people and me together. Discipline…spirituality is a disciplined life. And what? Worship. Nothing less than worship. You worship because you cannot help worshipping. You don't worship because you are forced to worship.
When you look at the sun you admire the sun, not because you are forced to admire the sun, but you are helpless before its beauty. Therefore you admire it. Nobody forces you to admire the beauty. But yet you are forced. Something inside impels you to admire it and talk good about it. So here you worship not because you are forced to, but because you cannot help but worshipping it. What can you do? If a clown is dancing and doing all sort of funny things, you don't try to laugh, you are forced to laugh, you cannot help but to laugh [involuntarily]. So don't think worship is something different. Don't think that when you worship you're doing God a favour, because you can't help doing otherwise. [Swamiji asks a devotee in Hindi, 'do you understand, bhai?' The devotee says 'yes.'] Then if you heard it, do it. What does it require? Discipline and worship. Underline those things in your heart. In the books you may open, you'll possibly see it only a few times.
We tremble with fear at the sight of a snake or a tiger.
The same fellow says, 'only Brahman [the indivisible universal consciousness] is true'. He looks at the tiger but why then does he tremble – why should he tremble? Why does he run away from it? Just a few days ago – I won't mention names – a Swami came. Such a great Swami, people are touching his feet – he's jumping away and making them feel very minute. Making them feel dirty. Making them feel inferior. I can't understand this kind of an attitude of a sadhu [holy man/person]. A sadhu should behave in such a way that he doesn't make anyone feel smaller [less worthy] than they already do. I can't understand this. The same fellow who said 'everything is lies,' looks at the tiger or snake….a lot of advaitins [practitioners or aspirants on the path of Advaita Vedanta] in the dark they see a rope [and mistake it for a snake], [Swamiji having a merry chuckle] that which they call snake now turns into a real snake in the mind. And they run far. It happened at the cave [Vashishtha Guha, in Rishikesh, India – earthly abode of Swami Purushottamananda Puri, guru to Swami Nischalananda Puri, Swamiji's guru, Spiritual Preceptor].
Knowledge obtained through the senses makes the entire body quake. When a hungry man sees delicious food his mouth waters. The presence of food works upon one's body and life. When we meet a friend, or a dear kinsman [family member], we do not stop with him merely identifying himself. We feel a real joy – an inward thrill of delight. It is no use to affirm the validity of advaita merely through logic.
Merely through?...logic.
That will be like looking, unmoved, at a picture of a snake or a tiger.
That will be like looking at a?...picture, unmoved. What kind of picture? A tiger or a?...snake. If a person truly attains the Advaitic wisdom…
Ramakrishna doesn't use this word because he wants to use vocabulary and show how learned he is. You heard that a certain Swami said he was a 'simpleton'. The man who used the word does not know what he's talking about. Most probably he doesn't understand the term. Ramakrishna is not a foolish man – a fool. He's a wise man, appearing like a simple man.
Here he says, truly attains the Advaitic wisdom, should he not – at that very moment – feel at one with the supreme Truth? Even as the man trembles at the sight of a real tiger in the forest, he who has attained the true Advaitic wisdom, should - that very instant - feel an abundance of bliss and become one with Brahman in a state of samadhi [spiritual superconsciousness]. In a state of?...samadhi.
I want you to think – I'm not keeping quiet because I'm thinking – I want you to think.
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, 150 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.
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