‘Conscious’ death
[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]
[now a Centre of the international Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission]
DAILY READINGS
Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.
Day 830
In his talk on the japa [meditative repetition of a mantra or one of the many names attributed to God] mala [prayer beads or rosary], the speaker said that you mustn't cross over the meru [the large bead at the tassle] – the meru always stands for the guru [spiritual preceptor] and the guru should not be crossed over. That Supreme guru, Brahman [the One, indivisible Universal consciousness], is present in everything and therefore you do not step across others. Remember that. Even a child sleeping. In the western world they don't understand that – they step across the child. Actually you must not do that because that is a living symbol of God. If Christ's symbol [the crucifix] is down on the ground you would not step across it, you would go around it.
So the living symbol of God is the human body – and the other bodies too. But particularly in the human body 'It' is so manifest that man can go towards God or away from God.
So that is the Meru? Never go across the guru, even if you become God-realised. Swami Vivekananda [Sri Ramakrishna's lead disciple] said, 'What is the use of that God-realisation when you cannot have guru bhakti [devotion and respect]?'
At the time of Mahasamadhi [literally: great or 'final' samadhi – the conscious leaving of the human body by a yogi or God-realised person] the prana [universal energy, Chi, Ki] withdraws slowly from different parts of the body to the heart region [anahata chakra – the 4th psychic centre in the subtle body], the centre of meditation, then slowly up to the crown of the head [sahasrara chakra – the 7th]. Then enlightenment [re-merging with the One consciousness] takes place and the prana leaves the body. It passes from light to greater lightness, from light to greater Light.
[In non-God-realised people] Most times the prana passes from darkness to greater darkness but if one has advanced spiritually it passes from darkness to lesser darkness until it leaves the body and passes into It.
It is a very wonderful phenomenon – to watch how you die. It is so beautiful that you can't even imagine it. That's what the gurus say, 'You have learned to take birth, now learn to die.' This actually means learn to get into samadhi [spiritual superconsciousness] – Mahasamadhi [great or 'final' samadhi].
1) Care should be taken by the reader to understand and take Swamiji's words in these postings, in context. Every teaching or instruction that he gave was specific to the people who were with Swamiji at the time.
2) Mouse-over the words highlighted in red in the posting for further explanation or links.
There are currently available, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.
Click HERE for the second website on Swamiji's life and teachings.
For more about the Holy Trinity, and also the founding Swamis of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, please mouse over their names below:
Sri Ramakrishna Sri Sarada Devi Swami Vivekananda
Swami Nischalananda Swami Shivapadananda
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - read online
Reference websites – please mouse over the name and click to connect:
Ramakrishna Math and Mission Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa Ramakrishna Dham