Swamiji on bhakti and moksha.
Swamiji quoting from an unidentified book. Saying that Sri Shankaracharya [who Swamiji says was the embodiment of bhakti] came here to reveal some truth, and give us shraddha [in this case, faith and trust – not to be confused with Sraad, which is a ceremony honouring the departed.] Swamiji explains Shankaracharya's approach in conveying bhakti through the form of Lord Rama – representing the Atman.
Listen as Swamiji gives us guidance on the rules and constraints around touching the bodies of the holy ones. And the risk to them of our contaminating vibrations. But the blessing to us, of getting purified every time we touch them. Including, how in temples and the like, we ordinary devotees are not allowed to touch the murti [sculpture or image of the deity].
Swamiji speaks about the need for, and role of, 'reverence' on the spiritual journey. [Swamiji stressed to us that fear should not be part of our relationship with God. He said it should be exactly that - 'reverence' – a combination of love and awe.]
Swamiji wraps up the homily by saying that we won't achieve liberation if we still have even one vice. And the best way of getting rid of vices, is to burn them in the fire of positivity – in the fire of divine thoughts.
To listen to these growth-encouraging words, please click on the link below. Jai Sri Ramakrishna!
Duration: 06:06
NEW! For a fresh daily reading recorded and transcribed by Team Radha Ma and Brother Tim, Click HERE.
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-onwards tapes, has been lovingly engineered, over many years, by her son and our dear gurubhai, Brother Tim. May Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji bless them both.
Admin tip: Underlined words are links. If you click on them, they'll take you to an explanation of the particular word or term. [In these overviews, Admin comments are typically in a smaller green font, and square bracketed, like this statement.]
Dear reader, if you spot typos or or other errors, please feel free to email the site admin on info@imbizo.com with your suggested correction/s.
Context: As always, care should be taken to remember that what Swamiji was saying, may have been very specific to the needs of people with him at the time. Please bear this in mind.
Links to our Guruparampara (spiritual lineage) organisations, which will broaden your knowledge base: Ramakrishna Math and Mission and our alma maters, the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa and the Sri Sarada Devi Ashram in Durban. The Ramakrishna Centre of Johannesburg is also active in Gauteng province in South Africa.
There are various publications [The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna etc.] which you can download at no charge, from the Ramakrishna Centre of SA website page, HERE.
Today's post image was borrowed from Viveka Vani.