[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
785
Sri Ramakrishna gave Swami Vivekananda [his lead disciple] the state – [of spiritual] realisation - and said, 'All right, your key will be here.' [meaning with Sri Ramakrishna] Do you see who controlled him? Though he was free, but not completely free in a worldly sense. The spiritual was still making a puppet out of him. That is why in the end Swami Vivekananda cried and said, 'Now I understand that which He called Kali [an aspect of the Divine Mother] is controlling me. I can't do anything of my own will.'
Whilst living they [the great souls - Mahatmas] are free, I agree, but only the Incarnations [Avatars] can go and come. The others have to be controlled by the Ishwara of the Incarnation. It just has to be. Otherwise when they become merged they merge one way [i.e. they enter samadhi [spiritual superconsciousness] and leave the body].
Devotee: And the Incarnations also control whether they can merge or have to come back. They are being controlled by something - they haven't got their own karma.
Swamiji: No. The Incarnations must give you an answer anyhow. They bind themselves with a golden chain [of voluntary subtle desire]. But it is still a chain. You and I will have a desire to own a car, to get married, to settle down, to have land, but the incarnation will have a different kind of desire. He will put a desire like: 'I am going to do good to the whole world – 'sarvesham mangalam bhavatu.' [from the Shanti – peace - mantras [sacred words or sound syllables], meaning: 'may there be good to all'] That desire holds him. So by the force of that desire he will embody Himself - to do good only.
But you and I at dying time will think: 'But I want another motor car.' Want a motor car means you didn't get the universal aspect - you got the individual aspect. Individual aspect excludes, never includes.
The Incarnations are like a soul in an ice house and pushed in the middle of the sea. He knows: 'I can see the sea, I know I am part of the sea, but yet I don't merge myself with the sea.' There's water, there is ice, there's water. The [ice cube] box is made out of ice, and inside that ice is water. Outside is water. This water inside knows that this wall [of ice] is also H20: 'That is me myself, but I can't get there because I want to do good here.' Like that it is.
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:
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
