[Depicted: Sri Adi Shankaracharya with disciples]
[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]
[now a Centre of the international Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission]
DAILY READINGS
Transcribed from the recordings made by Mother Radha
Day 1034
Swamiji commenting on and reading brief excerpts from a book:
So [Sri Adi] Shankaracharya is telling everything truthfully. Isn't truth to be imbibed by somebody? Not somebody, but by all of us? So Shankara is very truthful. He could have hidden his human aspect and made himself great. But if he is relating it, then it makes him seem even higher in my eyes. But you must remember that Shankara is here to give, according to the beginning of this book, shraddha [faith] and trust, remember? He's here to give you faith and trust and really, he's the embodiment of bhakti [divine love or devotion]. What he's trying to do – he's trying to give you bhakti in the form of Rama [the Hindu avatar or incarnation], the Atman. So that part must not be?... forgotten.
Reads: In this way Sri Rama the father and mother of the universe has delighted the people of Ayodhya. This demonstrates how those who have conceived devotion to the feet of the Lord of the Raghus [the royal lineage] are repaid by him.
Swamiji: Now here the words that give Rama away, are 'the father and mother'. We know that Rama, if you take him as a body, it was the body of a male. But here it's the father and mother of the world. That must be beyond male and female. And what else do we know that is beyond male and female? It's the Atman itself.
Here the writer says that one should think about how wonderfully the Lord, in the form of Rama, repays his devotees by playing and giving various kinds of pleasure. The thing is that I have not, so far by my guru's [Sri Swami Nischalananda Puri] grace, gone to do that. The yogis never let you trust the body. That's one of the reasons and it's a very deep reason. Beside their own protection. There are certain vibrations, certain things, but here the Lord himself allows his mother [Kausalya] , [King] Dasaratha [his father] and others who were born with him as servants, contact as a privilege and a gift. Because every time you touch him, touch the Lord, you're getting purified. Understand what I mean?
Even on the altar [in a temple or shrine] you'll find they'll never let you go and touch the murti [statue,sculpture, image]. That's why in the temple you have the murti protected inside [the sanctum sanctorum]. Many people think, 'why is it up there?' If you could touch it, with all your thoughts you'll go and make it impure, then you won't have the same reverence. And reverence is one of the qualities that makes love for God grow. So to make somebody lose reverence, it's also wrong. But here, the Lord did just the opposite, because there was that advance. The Lord decided to become a child. And this is how he gave them the pleasure of handling him.
Reads: On the other hand, no one can liberate from the bondage of worldly existence him, who is averse to the Lord of?...Raghus. Shiva himself says, 'Nobody can liberate anybody who is against Lord Rama'. So if in your mind you have some thought that Shiva Bhagawan is more important and why are they talking about Rama, that's wrong. It's Shiva Bhagawan himself telling you that. How are you to say that Shiva Bhagawan is great, meanwhile he knows he's speaking about himself [the Atman] – beyond the form.
Reads: However much he may struggle, no matter how much you struggle to reach liberation, you won't.
Swamiji: Because one of the things that a sadhaka [spiritual aspirant or practitioner] should have - is that all vices should be offered in the fire of positivity. In the fire of divine thoughts. In the fire of good thoughts. So as long as you have one [unburnt] stick left called vice, hatred, a superiority complex, thinking you're doing somebody a favour – even that won't take you to God. Even if the opposite situation happened, Rama would say the same thing about Shiva. 'He who is against Shiva cannot be fit for my worship.' Neither will he be in a fit state for liberation [moksha or mukti].
Can anyone give me a very good recent example of this?... Swami Vivekananda! He didn't like Rama. You see that while he was practising he had Rama's picture. He used to worship Rama. Then when he heard that Rama was married he said, 'What kind of God is this? He's married? And to cap it all he had children?' Now that story started with him, you know. He put Lord Rama's picture in the Ganges – sort of drowned the old fellow [Swamiji jesting]. It showed his purity, his strength of mind. So he took to Shiva and said, 'You see, this is a yogi.' There was a predominance in him of the yogi [renunciate], until he came to Sri Ramakrishna. And Ramakrishna said, 'Who are you worshiping?' 'I'm worshipping Shiva.' 'No – go and do Rama's worship. First do Rama's worship – repeat Rama's mantras, then after that you can do Shiva's.' Then he was liberated. [Swamiji chuckles] He was a good example, whichever way you look at it. With a little bit of partiality.
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
