Swamiji speaks further on the Guru, and having faith in the Guru.
Swamiji starts with the delightful story of a couple in search of a Guru. This has so much learning packed into all facets of it.
Swamiji says faith is grace and grace is faith – and faith is the key to everything. [Reminiscent of the Lord Jesus saying that if one has faith the size of a mustard seed – and we know how tiny those are – we'd be able to say, 'Move!' to a mountain, and it would move. Christian Bible Matthew 17:20.]
Swamiji takes the discussion from faith in the Guru, to faith or trust in God – or even in a particular aspect of God. He says that our actions often clearly reveal that we don't have it.
In most cases faith is a quiet growth, says Swamiji, although some people do get it in a flash. But for most of us, it's a longer process.
Swamiji says that it's a blessing to have an enquiring mind. Because curiosity pushes one to go higher and higher. And Swamiji says if the necessary faith is not there, the Guru will 'plant' the faith – hence saying that Faith is Grace and Grace is Faith.
Swamiji wraps up the homily by telling the story of a young man from Phoenix, in KwaZulu Natal, who sauntered up to him at the ashram, with hand in pocket 😉 and said, 'Swamiji, have you seen God?' [For those of you who knew her, I can hear the very distinctive merry laughter of our late Sister Di Stott in the background.]
Swamiji lovingly humours the young man and the boy goes away satisfied. Swamiji says to much laughter, 'These are the modern Vivekanandas!' [For those unfamiliar with the event, it was the first question Swami Vivekananda, then Narendranath Datta, asked Sri Ramakrishna, when he first met him. 'Sir, have you seen God?']
So much learning is packed into this short discussion. To listen to it, please click on the link below. Jai Sri Ramakrishna!
Duration: 09:31
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.