Swamiji on the heights of Guru Bhakti.
The theme of this recording, is the Guru and Guru Bhakti [deep devotion or love]. Swamiji says of himself, 'When I prostrate in my mind to others, I don't prostrate to MY guru in them. I prostrate to THE Guru.' [So not just the mortal, physical human form of the Guru, but the Universal form, which he or she really is.]
Swamiji tells the story of the 10th and last human Sikh Guru – Guru Gobind Singh and the 'water-carrier' in his army.
The story culminates in the water-carrier disciple saying that he can't differentiate between his own brother soldiers and 'an enemy'. He can only see his revered Guru, Guru Gobind Singh in all. What's particularly interesting, is that Swamiji says this isn't just a story – it's recorded historical fact. You'll hear Swamiji refer also to Guru Nanak at the end of the story – Guru Nanak was the founder of Sikhism.
There's a deeply affecting moment for sadhakas [spiritual seekers or aspirants] in this recording, as Swamiji speaks of the Guru's inability to see a chela or disciple as separate from himself, once they're initiated. They are his very own being.
To listen to these beautiful insights, please click on the link below. Jai Sri Ramakrishna!
Duration: 06:04
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.
The image on today's post is borrowed from here.