Swami Shivapadananda having a ‘fireside chat’ Q&A with devotees after satsang.
This clip sounds like Swamiji (pictured here with Brahmachari Gangadhar on a Cape Town trip) was sitting in the old Avoca ashram 'lounge' next to the shrine, after a satsang. People are still singing in the shrine, but one can clearly hear what Swamiji is saying.
He starts off the discussion by inviting those present to raise some practical, spiritual questions. Like difficulty with meditation, feelings of doubt, or how to do things.
[Admin: This is literally a 'fireside chat'. Because although we don't know what the season was at the time, Swamiji's seat was next to a fireplace in that room, and such talks were always deeply intimate and personalised to the needs of the devotees who were sitting there. Even today those of us who had the privilege of spending time with Swamiji, have many, many intensely happy memories of sitting in that room and learning from Swamiji.]
Mother Radha immediately asks Swamiji to explain what the Ishta Devata (personal, chosen Deity) is. Swamiji answers concisely, and then says it was a good question. [Admin: In our early ashram days, some of us had the sense that our Ishta Devata was somehow a fragment of Brahman or the ONE Divine Consciousness. Or that our chosen Ideal was somehow just an intercessory to the greater 'God'.] So Swamiji's answer will set your mind at rest and give you a clear context. It sweeps aside a veil of possible mis-perception, in a positive and constructive manner,
Swamiji goes on to discuss how Swami Yatiswarananda quoted what Sri Ramakrishna had to say about the nature of the mind. This explanation and technique has surfaced several times in these postings, and each time it's a fresh reminder of both how simple it can be, and how critically important it is to our spiritual progress.
In those early years of the 1970's it was a great privilege to be in the position of being able to directly ask such questions of Swamiji. Today, with many religious leaders, such questions would be answered from a theoretical perspective or by quoting scriptures alone. As opposed to it coming from a sannyasi in the Sri Ramakrishna tradition, who could answer from a personal and experiential perspective.
Swamiji continues the discussion by talking about the spiritual power and benefits of attending Satsang. If you have an aversion to attending some sort of regular religious gathering of like-minded people, Swamiji gives a very convincing rationale for doing so, as also explaining the benefits of reading holy books.
Swamiji shares some criteria for how we will know when our minds are becoming more pure. A personal spiritual blood test as it were. No medical aid required.😉
There's a very encouraging conclusion to this discussion. Swamiji is telling the householder (non-monastic) devotees present that all of this is not theory or some unachievable aspirational goal. It's absolutely attainable for all of us. And he explains why.
Please click on the link below to share in this valuable lesson. Jay Sri Ramakrishna!
Duration: 06:56
The original audio recordings of these posts were made by close Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa and Swami Shivapadananda devotee, Mother Radha. The audio editing and noise reduction of the original 1970s tapes has been lovingly crafted, over many years, by her son and our dear gurubhai, Brother Tim. May Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji bless them both.
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Links to broaden your knowledge: Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, Sri Sarada Devi ashram, Durban