Swami Shivapadananda

Detailed advice on thought

[Pictured: the metaphorical Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden]

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 949

The human being is so complicated. Look at the eye, the ear and the heart. Look and then think of how big the heart is from an elephant to a mouse. Is feeling the same in an ant as in a man? Do ants get headaches? Each is glorifying the same thing - smaller and smaller till it comes to the atom. But we do not think. We take things for granted.

Don't give any advice unless someone asks for it.

If you do perfect sadhana [spiritual practice] you will get an answer to all your questions within.

Come to me with your heart, not with your mind. When you say, 'Should I do something this way or that way,' it is the head not the heart.

Think 'peace' and all dis-harmony, internal, external and heavenly, is destroyed. Add Om [or AUM, the pranava] because that wards off inauspiciousness. Om peace, peace, peace [AUM shanti, shanti, shanti] is a very powerful mantra [sacred phrase, word, sound syllable or one of the many names attributed to God]. Do this morning, noon and night and you will find peace all 'round.

As soon as Adam and Eve were aware of the pairs of opposites, they fell. The sun is full of consciousness of light - but we are only aware of light when we are conscious of darkness.

Meditate on a sattvic Deity [Ishta Deva] and you become Brahman [the One, indivisible, universal consciousness] Itself.

In this ashram [hermitage, monastery, spiritual retreat] they find problems with each other, but if they look closely they will find they themselves are the problem. Let them remove it from their own self and they will find there is no problem.

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

Thoughts for contemplation

 

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 848

   

If you look at everything as Brahman [the one, indivisible universal consciousness], you will see yourself as Brahman's part [and therefore inseparable from Brahman]. The person who sees Brahman is Brahman.

Whatever you do in this world with detachment is sacrifice.

On the spiritual path it is not that you do not see evil, but that you just turn from the evil.

Fill the mind with Vedantic [philosophical, spiritual, discriminating] thoughts till you fall asleep.

The spiritual foods are meditation, japa [meditative repetition of a mantra, or one of the many names attributed to God], contemplation - or watching the mind steadily [being the witness]. When the mind gets tired of doing that, it goes towards God.

A God-realised man, when he comes down [from a high spiritual state or other plane of consciousness], does not become selfish, nor does he want to hide his spiritual realisation - he wants to share it with others.

If you think of your Deity [Ishta Deva] and keep it in your mind, you will become the form of the Deity. Beautiful.

Devotee: Though we all look at the same things we each see different things.

Swamiji: Yes. I see the [higher] Self. Everywhere I look I see the Self.

Devotee: Inside myself sometimes I feel bound . . .

Swamiji: That is a good feeling, most people do not even think of that.

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