Swamiji speaks about the road to perfection.
Swamiji very soberly says that another day, another evening, has almost gone by. And is asking devotees to consider what progress they have made. The purpose of this life being to develop greater love for God's lotus feet. Otherwise, he says, what's the point of us getting together?
Swamiji refers to a discussion held that morning, in which there was talk about life being based on certain principles [the four ashramas or life stages of spiritual development].
Swamiji stresses that we have to follow these disciplines, 'lifelong'. If we can't yet become perfect in them – or if we don't adequately pay attention to the moral and ethical aspects of our lives – then it's natural that we must go on trying to reach that perfection.
Swamiji uses an educational example, and quotes Swami Vivekananda's response to being asked whether or not he was God-realised. There's no fast-track to this process. If we don't have gentle qualities in this world, how can we even imagine what God-realisation entails?
The Lord Jesus is quoted saying, 'Do not throw pearls before swine.' Listen to Swamiji's explanation of why this is the case. The bottom line is, says Swamiji, 'You only want what you love.'
This is exemplified in an interaction between Mathur Babu [son-in-law to the Rani Roshmani who was the force behind the construction of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple complex in Kolkota.] Swamiji says that without the appropriate preparation, elevated spiritual moods or degrees of revelation may just bring about more suffering for one's family, and make it difficult to manage one's worldly responsibilities.
It's an intriguing listen. Mathur Babu asked for and received, an elevated spiritual state from Sri Ramakrishna. But had to ask Master [Sri Ramakrishna] to take it back – because he couldn't simultaneously exercise his worldly responsibilities. [Holy Mother, Sri Sarada Devi was emphatic with many of her disciples, that they needed to settle material and worldly responsibilities before renouncing – taking monastic vows – so as not to cause unnecessary harm or pain to their families.] Says Swamiji, we should not neglect our given duty – which is an essential stepping stone to higher things.
Swamiji stresses that we first need to practise that allotted duty and transform it into sadhana [spiritual practise through karma yoga – in which we work selflessly, without attachment to the results or outcomes]. Until that happens, the higher levels will not come. Love is one. But the higher type of love gives us freedom.
Swamiji draws the threads of the homily together, by saying that in addition to our duties, we must cultivate [he emphasises the appropriateness of that word] love for God's lotus feet. It's a growth process – so we must first cultivate it, and only then will it grow.
Swamiji says don't give up anything, but give a higher meaning to it. Instead of working for our wife or children, let's work for God's children. And we must never think we're doing anyone a favour. Because nobody can do anyone else a favour. Never!
To learn and grow from these guidelines and recommendations, please click on the link below. Jai Sri Ramakrishna!
Duration: 09:27
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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.
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Context: As always, care should be taken to remember that what Swamiji was saying, was often very specific to the needs of people with him at the time. Please bear this in mind.
Links to our Guru Parampara (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 in this post was generated through prompts to Microsoft Copilot AI (Artificial Intelligence).