Swamiji emphasises the role of faith in our spiritual success.
[There are various translation differences of this powerful verse from the Bhagavad Gita. But the sentiment in all, is the same.]
Swamiji re-states the theme of the incarnations [avatars] and how they come to our rescue, age after age. Swamiji uses a business analogy to say that the divine works on the basis of 'supply and demand'. When God is needed, God becomes available.
Switching gears, he moves onto the topic of faith, and quotes the Lord Jesus Christ saying that 'If you have faith the size 
of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.' – Matthew 17:20-21.
All Indian Mothers use mustard seeds in cooking, so they'll know the size. But for the men who don't,😉here's an indication in a regular sized spice bottle, of how tiny they are:
Swamiji tells tells an interesting and amusing story about Mother Parvati worrying about the millions bathing in the river Ganga, and the potential for heaven 'getting overcrowded' when their sins are washed away and they get moksha [liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth.]
In the story, Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati, in disguise, go to a cremation ghat on the banks of the Ganga. Please listen to Swamiji relating this story – and the eye-opening conclusion that comes from it.
Following the powerful conclusion to this story, Swamiji says that the prayers and rituals and meditation we engage in, are the equivalent of that dip in the Ganga. They have to be done with faith.
And if not, it means we are doing it automatically, and we won't get the maximum benefit out of it. Without faith, sin will not leave our minds. Sin means our minds will not become pure, holy.
Vibishana had so much faith in Sri Rama that he could walk on water. Listen to Swamiji telling the story of how that faith was lost on someone else – and the consequences. And the insight for us.
To meditate on these profound lessons, please click on the link below. Jai Sri Ramakrishna!
Duration: 09:22
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 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.
The beautiful image in today's post is borrowed from Vivekavani.com – HERE.