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
Day 1003
Swamiji speaking at a Yoga spiritual retreat camp.
There are three doors that need to be closed. They lead to one place only and that is?...hell. Haven't you heard people all tired and fed-up saying, 'I had a hell of a time!'? Hell of a time is located in hell. You can't get a hell of a time in heaven. Like Greenwich mean time. So a hell of a time must be in hell. So, we must close the doors to?...hell. And what are the three doors to hell?
The Bhagavad Gita [16:21] says Anger is the first one. So, control yourself with anything that makes you angry, if someone does the wrong thing. If he tramples on your clothing or tells you the wrong thing by mistake, he's actually holding you and leading you by the nose [i.e. he's in control of your moods and emotions].
Anger…next one? Greed. You must learn to share in the yoga camp. Don't say that only the Swami must have every comfortable thing. Others can go, where? To hell. Because you're already in hell. Share it. Greed. Greed of the body, greed of the mind and greed of the intellect.
Next is?...lust! If you have to feel lust, feel lust for God - let's lust after him. Because anything that is lustful can never go near him. Take the darkness to light. Catch hold of some darkness and take it to the light. [Swamiji chuckling] See what happens to the darkness the moment it gets to the light. It disappears. So catch hold of lust, don't be deluded - because you are all spirits. You are all?...spirits. What are the three doors? [devotees repeat, 'anger, greed and lust.']
Now remember I am telling you this because in the first thing that I opened and read today was that Gurudev [Swamiji's beloved Guru, Sri Swami Nischalananda Puri] put this into practice and therefore we are here. Now remember that – thank God I am telling it to you here, after reading it. Anger….greed…lust. I remember some time when I was in the yoga camp, when Gurudev said, 'Hey, you must get all of this under control.' Somebody else was doing something and I turned around and said, 'He got angry!' Gurudev gave me a slap on the back and said, 'that is just another expression of anger!' [all laugh] You think you're telling someone very nicely, 'you're getting angry.' What do you think you see inside you? It's anger making you tell that. Otherwise you will bring about calmness. You won't aggravate the situation.
Gurudev taught me in a very different way – all his disciples [chelas] were special to him. And each one felt that he was special to us. He was like that Krishna that was multiplying himself into thousands of likes and at the same time, dislikes, too. So remember this. I said, 'Oh, you're getting angry, huh?' He gave me a slap. 'What do you think - isn't that anger?' I thought he was going to scold the other fellow – but he scolded me instead. Remember this, the ego is a very slippery thing. Worse than an eel. Worse than that, even. It will slip out, you don't know how.
Hatred, close the door. Jealousy, close the door, you have no judgments to pass O mind. You have no right to pass any judgment on others. Close it. Just remember, this is what we are here for. This is what we are here for. Don't, even in a dream, find fault with anyone. Be like Mother Sarada Devi [nun-wife of Sri Ramakrishna, who said that if we want to be happy we should not find fault with others]. Try it! I'm not saying we haven't got it, we've got it, therefore we say it. Try it.
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