Daily Reading 120. Swamiji says that without Grace, nothing is possible.
Taken from Mother Radha’s notes, written at Swamiji’s feet.
A saint does not know he is a saint, but a rogue knows he is a rogue. A saint always thinks of God, or of himself only as a servant of God. Shiva too is a servant of God – he never thinks he is God, though he swallowed all the poison that the others failed to do. Surya [the Sun] is a mobile linga. These [pointing to the stone murtis/sculptures] are immobile lingas. After Shiva puja do Surya puja – that means offer him water.
The mind is layer after layer. One layer is spiritual and one layer is worldly. That is why we feel spiritual one day and not spiritual the next. This is because we neglect the mind. Think that your mind is your child.
Who protects us when we sleep? Divine Grace. Someone said to Sri Ramakrishna, ‘I will come this afternoon.’ Master corrected him. He said, “Don’t say that. Say, ‘If God wills it, I will come this afternoon.’”
Without Grace nothing is possible. The greatest fruit of Grace is Self-realisation. You cannot get it without Grace. We get discrimination only through God’s Grace. Without Grace there is no satsang – this birth or last birth.
In self-forgetfulness comes God’s grace. God and His grace cannot be separated. You have a body through God’s Grace.
Divinity is in all the senses, at all times. It kills the ego. He who has discrimination can be brought to the level of Mother Sita, because when captured she did not move from Sri Lanka. She surrendered to God and prayed to Sri Rama.
Take God’s name knowingly or not. He is so compassionate that He will liberate you. If you give your body to the pleasure of the senses it will be a long cut [journey]. When you approach Him knowingly [deliberately, with intention], it is a short cut.
In pain you must see Him. Either you surrender completely to God and know that He does everything, or you praise Him. In misery take it as grace so that you remember God Himself – who is your inner nature – and that is what you will manifest outside. Light the fire of desire for God.
Protect yourself by seeing God in everything. A sannyasi [monk, renunciate, nun] does not cling to the world, nor does he renounce the world. He realises that everything is Brahman [the ONE indivisible consciousness].
What the scriptures say, is God’s will. When the scriptures say, ‘Don’t do something,’ it is because to do this it would be the ego’s will.
You do the work and He will reveal Himself in His own time. Remember you are only His instrument. You must do dharma [righteous behaviour or deeds]. Then when God sees this, He showers His grace. Sometimes you will not be aware of it. If you have ego, you are not aware of it. If you have sattvic [reduced] ego you will be aware. God’s grace is always working but is hidden by the ego.
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For our gurubhai Atmaprakash Kramer’s beautiful pictorial ‘memoir’ booklet of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, Avoca Ashram, please click HERE.
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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.