Daily Reading 111. Swamiji on breathing, child education, and mantra.
Taken from Mother Radha’s notes, written at Swamiji’s feet.
Devotee: In intense concentration breathing may stop . . . [spontaneous cessation].
Swamiji: That will not lead to a problem.
Devotee: When it slowly stops on its own?
Swamiji: That is a subtle place in your mind.
Question: What should we do when we find fault?
Swamiji: You may be a teacher, but to find fault is outside your job and gossip is bad, because it means you have registered a fault in your mind and you gossip about it.
Spiritually, life without training is a stale bit of bread. The highest thing for a child is education. You must set the highest example and the child will automatically follow. But are you setting the example?
Question: If we do not pray in Sanskrit [the ancient Indian ‘language of the gods’] do we derive the same benefit as those that do?
Swamiji: Ultimately you derive the same benefit from both. This is because the most important thing is the concept you have in your mind – and the faith and concept you have of your Deity. At the same time the Vedas [Hindu scriptures] stress the pronunciation of prayers, it is the very vitality of the Vedic religion. When the bhakti [devotional approach] cult came about, they were not so good at reading and writing, but because of the faith and purity in their minds, it brought results. Only, one is slow and the other is quick. With mantras [bija (seed) sacred-sound syllables or one of the many names attributed to God] pronunciation is more important, because each sound in the alphabet represents a different nerve in your body. There are 72,000 nerves [nadis] and each has a certain vibration according to your faith, intention and purity.
Excerpt from Meditation and Spiritual Life, by Swami Yatiswarananda: After God vision alone there is absolute fearlessness, which is Brahman [the One, undifferentiated consciousness]. There is fearfulness when we see duality [‘us’ and ‘others’, ourselves and God]. The Upanishad says, ‘The more we realise the true Self [which is one], the more fearless we become.’
Swamiji: The Self is realised stage by stage. First you see Relatively and then you see Absolutely. About ‘fear of other people’ – do away with that. Swami Vivekananda said, ‘Take the criticism of others with as much indifference as an elephant does the barking dogs.’ Sri Ramakrishna said, ‘There is no spiritual progress if there is shame or fear.’ As long as there is ego, there is no progress.
Reading: Consider all points and then do what you think is right. Others will see that you are strong and they will change their attitude. Thus you will develop inner strength.
Swamiji: If you are looking for secret instructions, there are no secret instructions. What is a mantra? Words with divine power. [Ordinary] Words are what people use and they are coloured with their own character.
Life is a battle of negative and positive, of the dharmic [righteous] and the adharmic [unrighteous]. The forces of good are always more than the forces of evil. I repeat, the forces of good are always more than the forces of evil.
Do not follow your impulses. The Upanishads [Hindu philosophical treatises] say, ‘Brahman is free from time, space and attributes.’ In meditation that will help you. We have been born into the world to cultivate love to God’s Lotus Feet.
Underlined words are hypertext links to clarification, explanation or other sources. Just tap on them.
The free-to-read or download, 396-page Flipbook version of Swamiji’s biography, ‘A Life Lived For Others‘, is available by clicking HERE. If you’d prefer the PDF version, please click HERE.
For our gurubhai Atmaprakash Kramer’s beautiful pictorial ‘memoir’ booklet of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, Avoca Ashram, please click HERE.
There’s also a Facebook site for Swamiji’s posts now. They feature newer readings published more recently. Click HERE to view.
These recordings or the excerpts from them, were made from the early 1970s onward, by Mother Radha, a close devotee of Swamiji’s and edited for uploading here by our gurubhai and her son, Brother Tim. Please be mindful that what Swamiji was saying may have been specific to those with him at the time.