[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 979
This post also has continuity/reference to Day 978
Love - when you love others, what do you love? Krishna Bhagawan says, 'When you love a wife you do not love the wife's body, you love the Self [soul, spirit, consciousness] that dwells in that wife. When you love a child you do not love the child's body.' But you mistakenly think you love the body when you love that life, that soul that is inside that child. And you love the husband for the same reason. Every other thing that you love, even gold, you love for the sake of soul, the sake of the Self, because the Self is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.
If your husband dies, that which manifested itself as Mr. so-and-so has left that body. Who is going to cry over a jewellery box when the jewel is gone? Burn it! Otherwise [Swamiji starting to tease] in three days time…[devotees laughing]…I've been to a lot of funerals. They use a lot of scent there. Perfume has two different purposes. One is to smell nice and be appreciated and the other, you cannot appreciate at all…the unpleasant smell [of the corpse].
Think carefully….you do not love anything else but God - that is in everything. So Krishna Bhagawan wonderfully says, 'You cannot reach me, you cannot get me by austerities [tapasya], by ritual worship [puja].' A lot of people do 'Om, Swaha [said as something is offered to the deity in ritual worship, puja]. Om ya Devi sarva bhuteshu, Om Swaha!' – and nothing happens. Even a parrot sitting in its cage can hear a pandit and copy him saying, 'Om Swaha!' So by doing all that you will not get God. That 'swaha' must purify your inner nature. If that saying of 'swaha' and the offering of flowers, lighting agarbatti [incense] and waving it before Sri Ramakrishna can purify your heart, then and then only can you go nearer God. But to open the door [to Self or God-realisation] is God's business. What is the criterion? Angazi! again. [the isiZulu term meaning, 'I don't know'. See Day 978 post for explanation.]
So, you love the Self, you cannot reach him by austerities, by ritual worship, you cannot reach him by doing a lot of scripture studies. [Swamiji quoting Lord Krishna] 'The only criterion, O Uddhava is…intense love'. Intense love. 'This love must be just like me, O Uddhava – it has to be above the pairs of opposites [like-dislike, attraction-aversion etc.]' You must not think that one person is a saint and fall at his feet and that the other person, who out of ignorance is doing the wrong thing, is a rogue. When rain comes down - whether it is a saint or a sinner it's one thing – it comes down equally on both. There are no bars [barriers], caste bar, colour bar, learned bar – no bar. It's only one thing. Love.
It is better in the opinion of the yogis – in the opinion of the bhaktas [followers of the path of devotion to the divine] – to die a man of love than die a man of hatred. Swami Vivekananda [spiritual heir to Sri Ramakrishna] was once seated with one of his brother monks who was feeling disillusioned. His brother disciple said, 'Things are not coming right, people are mocking us, nothing is coming right – maybe we must go back home again.'
Vivekananda turned, gave him one glance said, 'You mean to say that because you can't get clean water, we must go and drink filth and dirt?' and looked away. That did something to the brother disciple. Inside him something happened. He said, 'How true. How true.' If you're doing good, even if nothing is coming right, even if the world is battering you, must you now go and do bad things? No. Continue doing good! Rather die a good man than die a bad man.
So when you love God and love him intensely, you become above the pairs of opposites. And that is the kind of bhakta Krishna Bhagawan is looking for. Because he showed us in his daily actions how he joined the gopis [cowherds], he joined the poor people, he joined the kings, he joined the yogis, he joined the saints and sinners, he joined all these people. Yet he was able to uplift all these people. Nothing touched him, nothing.
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
