Swamiji speaks about the truly Holy having ONLY fear-free blessings, love and compassion to give.
Swamiji starts the discussion by relating the story of Swami Shivananda Mahapurush [pictured] – a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna – and how he responded when asked for a blessing.
Maharaj said that a [true] sannyasi has nothing but blessings to give.
The discussion continues to the inherent nature of the holy ones. There should not be any fear in engaging or dealing with them. Respect yes, but not fear.
[When we once had a discussion along these lines with Swamiji, he explained the correct attitude. Which is a combination of love and reverence – culminating in some cases – in awe, at their manifested love and greatness. Like many of us felt with Swamiji. But never fear!
One of the vows taken by a Hindu monk or nun during their final renunciation viraja homa ceremony – is a promise not to cause fear in ANY sentient being.]
[According to Śaunaka, these are the ten vows. Read the detail in the link, to see the comprehensiveness of the ahimsa – non-injury – requirements. So if you're dealing with a dictator who rules by fear – and there are a good number in all religions – they may be dressed in the garb of a renunciate, priest, monk, or nun, and be brilliant speakers, organisers or social workers, but they're faux holy people. They're egotists and control-freaks, living a life in violation of their vows. Pope Francis called them careerists.]
[Swamiji is on record as saying numerous times that too many (He actually said 90%!) Hindus are fearful of some so-called holy men, because of superstition and they're worried that some harm might befall them if they cause offence, inadvertently or otherwise. If that's your concern, you need to ask yourself who it is that you're revering as a holy person. Because if they're truly holy, there cannot and should not be fear.]
Swamiji discusses how we should approach asking questions of the holy. To ensure that they're not purely secular [unless to solve a specific problem in our lives], frivolous, or just to showcase our intellectual knowledge egos. But rather, ask something that will be of enduring value and will help us progress spiritually. Let questions be of the kind that will ultimately direct the mind towards God.
Swamiji re-tells the story of Sri Ramakrishna's experience with seeing the Lord Jesus, whom he described as a Maha Yogi, and who was absorbed into his own body. As Swamiji says, like Master [Sri Ramakrishna], Jesus was no different from God Himself.
Swamiji emphasises how Lord Jesus didn't have any cursing in his 'pocket'. Even when he was nailed to the cross he asked the Divine to bless and forgive his tormentors, because they were ignorant about what they were doing. That's the level of compassion of the truly holy. No compassion – they're not holy. Simple.
Swamiji describes the truly holy as a mobile Tirathstan.
To listen to these exquisite insights into the nature of the genuinely holy, please click on the link below. Jai Sri Ramakrishna!
Duration: 10:30
Click here for the Flipbook version of: → Swamiji's biography
It's a free-to-read, draft 396 page, extended version of 'A Life Lived For Others. No need to install a PDF reader. It'll work in your present browser.
However, if you'd prefer a straight-up PDF version, please click HERE.
Dear Devotee, if we use the term 'He or he', when referring to Swamiji, it's not impolite or disrespectful. It's to minimise the repetitiveness of saying or writing 'Swamiji' too many times.
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, 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.