Swami Shivapadananda

Disturbing someone else's faith

 

Over the Christmas period (2009) on social media like Twitter, some self-proclaimed 'atheists' were mocking the idea of Jesus' virgin birth, the date on which it's celebrated, and casting doubt that Jesus lived at all. The birthday of Jesus is lovingly celebrated with much fanfare at the Ramakrishna Math and Mission Headquarters, Belur, near Kolkata in India - as it is in Ramakrishna movement centres around the world.

Swami Shivapadananda used to say to those of us who were fortunate enough to be in his circle of teaching: 'You have no right to disturb the faith of another person.' It's one thing to share information about one's particular path and discuss or even debate issues. But such discussion should always be from the perspective of respect for where the other person is and the path they follow. It's not our business to 'convert' people from anything, to anything.

Let us always remember the core teaching of Sri Ramakrishna: 'Religions are like rivers. They all flow into that one ocean called God.' God's grace and the universal divine intelligence are in charge of what path they walk and how they reach the destination. As Swami Vivekananda famously said: 'We don't move from untruth to truth - but from truth to higher truth.' The truth never changes of course, but our perspective and understanding of it changes as we grow in spirituality.

Let us always embrace the teaching of universality of religions as taught by Sri Ramakrishna. All religions are worthy. The sincere seeker can find the goal by following any one of them. This was proved by Sri Ramakrishna himself. May we be loving, uplifting and inspiring messengers of that good news.

May we remember a life lived for others

On this day set aside to commemorate the 'birth' of the Incarnation of God, Jesus Christ, may we remember the true significance of His appearance in a human body. May we see beyond the food and festivities to the deeper message of 'I and my Father are one'. May we seek and find, that One-ness. That Yoga, or union. May we remember who we really are.

 

Christmas

 

Swami Shivapadananda on the sacrifice of Christ

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Taken from Mother Radha’s notes, written at Swamiji’s feet.

Day 198

Christmas talk continued:
Sri Ramakrishna said, “We move from consciousness to Consciousness.” This indicates that we move from duality to the One. Jesus Christ was conscious of duality when he said, “Why hast Thou forsaken me?” When he manifested the Spirit, he knew there is no two. Hence: “I and my Father are One.”

Hanuman was asked by Rama, “What do you think of me?” He replied, “When I think you are the body, then I am your servant. When I think you are jivatma [individual soul], I am your part. When I think you are Spirit, I am thyself [the supreme soul].”

Jesus Christ said, “I am the vine and you are the branches - I am the son, and you are the Father - I and my Father are One.”

Burning a candle is like the sacrifice of his life. The candle gives light to light the image of God, but it grows smaller and smaller and smaller till it is no more - there is only God’s image. Yes. Your life should be like that, and my life should be like that - burning with tapasya [self-denial, austerity], with yearning, with bhakti [devotion], with knowledge.

Thou art all sons and daughters of God, born in the stable to carry the burdens of others. The child of [Mother] Mary is prakriti [nature].

May the spirit of Jesus the Christ and the great ones, render you pure. May you be born in it today, that you may sacrifice yourself at the altar. There is no reason why we, who worship Sri Ramakrishna, should not adore Master in the manifestation of Christ. Sri Ramakrishna one day saw Jesus Christ and he was absorbed into Sri Ramakrishna’s body.

 

Swami Shivapadananda on the significance of Jesus

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Taken from Mother Radha’s notes, written at Swamiji’s feet.

Day 197

At Christmas, continued:

How serene Jesus Christ was, how full of compassion he was, how soft was his body. His walk and bearing inspired awe.

Even nature listened to him - the tempests on the sea calmed when he spoke to them. That means the tempest without and the tempest within, that means your mind. The tempest without is only controlled when the tempest within is controlled. He is like the Ganga [river Ganges] flowing on holy ground.   

He went to the unholy ones to make them whole. His presence forced peace to descend into the hearts of men.

Besides nature, Jesus loved sheep, he carried them, he played with them - like Krishna played with the cows, and their udders were always full of milk awaiting Krishna’s touch. This was natural yearning.

Did he [Jesus] not demonstrate the nature of man? Therefore he is called the ‘Son of man.’ They must sacrifice their evil qualities and grow into Man.

In the nature of the animal, the fittest survive. The God-man’s nature is to sacrifice - to give, give, give till he can give no more. He knows that the day he stops sacrificing, death comes into his life. The sun gives light. The day it stops giving light, the death of the sun has begun. Did Jesus Christ not sacrifice himself for you and me? He is not conscious of ‘I’ (like us) but of ‘Thou’.

So as the son of God, will you give up your life for your Father and Mother? Will you give up your life for dharma [righteousness/what is right]? Or do you take the others’ life to save your life? The Avatars [incarnations of God] are instruments. They are ever-sacrificing their all, bringing people to God. Who is his greatest friend? His disciple. Does he marry and have children? No. His disciples are his children. Who to marry but himself [the Divine Self]? He wants to be One, he does not want to be two.

 

Swami Shivapadananda on becoming Christ-like

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY

READINGS

Taken from Mother Radha’s notes, written at Swamiji’s feet.

Day 18

An Excerpt from a Book by Swami Yatishwarananda

In front of the guru you must be a gentle man or woman. Only then can you become a spiritual man or woman.

Not by barking, grumbling, grousing and always finding fault. Then you are not a gentle man or woman at all and you can never realize God, do whatever you like. I tell people again and again, before becoming a devotee, before you think of taking up spiritual life, see that you become gentle men and women.

 

Book: Most of our problems have nothing to do with spiritual life. They are caused by our own wrong attitude and conduct. Most of us have attitude problems, and some you are not prepared to acknowledge - and that is worse than anything else because you lie to yourself.

I always admire Sarada Devi Ashram [the ‘convent’ monastery established by Swami Shivapadananda in Asherville, Durban, South Africa]. It is a very nice and disciplined place. Some of you ladies should go and live there for a week or so and find out what I am talking about. I cannot see any spiritual person going there and not loving it. I cannot see any spiritual person not liking Gargi [now Pravrajika Ishta Prana, a Hindu nun or Sannyasini.] 

All things happen through the grace of Master [Sri Ramakrishna]. So we have to be very grateful to Master.

When you are serving the spiritual Ideal then you must expect kicks and blows, grumbles and grouses, insults and injuries. You must. It must come because these are all like test papers set by Master Himself!

Look at the insults that came on Christ. They spat on him, they dragged him and they made him carry the cross and called it his cross and they nailed him on the cross. But he was carrying our cross. Yet look at his purity of heart. Look at the words he could use on people who assaulted him, who were killing him just like an ordinary being. But what did he say? Look at his love. The more the suffering came on him - the more trouble came on him - the more death came into him - out of him poured love. He was put to death only to show us something immortal. The mortal frame must go, to give place to the Immortal. Try to live like this.

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