Swami Shivapadananda

Developing Discrimination/Discernment

 [Pictured: Lord Shiva, representing the aspect of God that destroys ignorance]

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 888

   

Swamiji speaking at the end of a Maha Shivaratri night

You worshipped Shiva all night, and repeated his name - with devotion and without devotion. It does not matter which, so long as you did your best. The first step is that you did not fall asleep.

Discrimination is the sword to cut down the tree of worldliness. In your household life there is knowledge of God too. You can use discrimination as the sword to cut down the tree in such a way that no tree will grow again.

An example of this is given: 'The hunter hunts after pleasures and desires. He sits in the tree, but one moment's sleep and he falls to his death and becomes another root.' This means he had more desires. This lead to birth and death.

The Vedas also give you birth and death and you go to heaven or hell. Even death is in the same tree. You should not fall asleep. God, out of His grace, has created this divine lila [divine play of God].

Sri Ramakrishna said, 'This is a mansion of mirth,' but only if you regard it as a divine lila. Do good and rise above the tree itself.

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

 

Balance and discrimination

 

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 861

 

Happiness can also give you a shock and can kill you [through a heart-attack]. How? A man was very poor and he didn't know how to get out of it. He also had a little bit of heart trouble. He took a ticket in the sweepstake [lotto] and the ticket won. The message came to his wife – the lucky thing [given his heart condition] is that he wasn't at home 'We won!' she was told. The wife said, 'How much?' The answer: two hundred and fifty thousand Rand [South African currency]. She said, 'How to break the news to my husband [without upsetting his heart condition]?' So she consulted the doctor and said, 'My husband's just won 250 000 in the sweepstake.' The doctor said, 'Well, why don't you tell him?' 'You know that he has a heart condition' replied the wife. 'I know psychology, I'll tell him', said the doctor.

So the doctor came and sat with the husband and while having a cup of tea he said, 'Look here, say you won 250 000, what would you do?' The man said, 'I'll give you half.' And the doctor died from shock. [much laughter from the devotees. Swamiji chuckling] That's happiness. So happiness too, kills.

That's why in the Bhagavad Gita it is said that moderation is key, that anyone who sleeps a lot cannot realise God, anyone who does not sleep at all cannot realise God. He who is very [excessively] happy will not realise God and he who is very sad will not realise God. He must travel the middle path [of balance]. Therefore discrimination comes [into it]. This, not that – just like that. Calm. Quiet. Composed. Buddha said if you over-tighten the Sitar [pictured above] strings, what will happen? The strings will snap. When you under-tune it [have the strings too slack] what will happen? It won't play correctly. It must be correctly tensioned. So your life has to be adjusted 'just there' [balanced, correctly pitched] with the aid of Dharma [righteous activities and living]. And thus you will get Moksha [liberation from the cycle of birth and re-birth or samasara]. May that glorious Being that is seated in your heart and through various ways through either sadness, pain, misery, happiness, bhakti [divine love], urge you along to grow and realise 'That', [may It] bless us so that we will get bhakti at His lotus feet and realise Him. And that faith that you have in you, that conscience – may it always say 'don't do the wrong thing'. Don't kill it [the conscience] by ignoring it. Let it grow. That is Nachiketa. It will take you [to God]. You will become a blessing to your father and mother. It will take you to heaven also. And the same faith that is there already in you will make you realise the Atman [universal soul]. Hari AUM Tat Sat. 

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

 

Discrimination

 

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 822

   

Devotee: What happens to a sinner's karma [life script] if he turns to God?

Swamiji: When an adharmic [unrighteous] man, a sinner, suddenly, by God's grace, becomes a good man - and if he is sincere - then it says in the Bhagavad Gita: 'He who leaves everything and surrenders to Me, I take care of him.' Somehow the Lord will see that that man's bad karma is destroyed. But if your question is, 'Is this temporary?' I cannot answer that question. It depends on his sincerity, how much he has repented, how much he has taken to God. Or maybe he is like one of us - for two days we are nice and for three days we are bad.

Lots of people in this world use God's name for motivation to steal. That's why a man who is [seemingly] very holy - don't trust him all the time. You must still use your discrimination. Why trust him altogether? Dealing with God you must deal with God - and God Himself will make you surrender to Him. But with people you must always have discrimination between right and wrong.

A lot of people stay with Swamiji and bask in Swamiji's light. Don't think that all the people that are with Swamiji are good people. There are amongst them such rogues. God can't stop anyone from joining Him, can He? Did you see Lord Shiva taking the snake [around his neck - see image above] off and throwing it away? No, he has to leave it there. So use your own discrimination.

Devotee: Swamiji said that one's past karma can affect one's child. How can we overcome this?

Swamiji: This is one of the reasons why the mother and father, before conceiving the child, perform certain kinds of austerities [tapasya] - for the child and for themselves. That's why it is so essential that the father and mother should not plant the seed out of season - not knowing what they are planting - they should plant it with God's name - with love of God.

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