Daily Reading 54. Swamiji says the paths of bhakti [devotion] and knowledge [jnana] are identical in the end.

Taken from Mother Radha’s notes, written at Swamiji’s feet.

A pure mind reflects God. Always think it is the Lord’s work, think He is the Master and you are serving Him. Keep the mind in perfect equanimity [balance, harmony]. Devotion [love, ‘bhakti’] and
Knowledge [Jnana or Gyan] are identical in the end.

Bhakti is love of God and you play with Him in various ways, you want to become one with Him, the
Absolute. If you have body consciousness, have the attitude that you are the servant and He is the master, like Hanuman [the great devotee of Lord Rama]. Think: I am a jiva, an individual soul, You are the whole and I am a part. Think: I am the Atman. In the samadhi [superconscious] state I am Thou and Thou art I. For ordinary people, repeat the Lord’s name [do japa].

If you follow the teachings Sri Ramakrishna gave us you will surely attain what Sri Ramakrishna is. What he attained. What he is, is God. Who is the Guru? They are One.

When Hanuman was young he bust [broke] the Rishis’ [sage-saints] pots etc and they cursed him. They said, ‘You will forget your strength until your guru makes you realise it.’ Hanuman’s guru was Jambavan, and his God was Sri Rama.

Keep quoting what Sri Ramakrishna says. The guru’s words are never lies. But very few quote Sri Ramakrishna. We are not serious enough. He claimed us and we do not think about him.

One action leads to so many other actions and these lead you to be bound. If you cling to the Atman you save everything. A holy man must see that he should not think of something else but the Atman. That will make him great. The opposite of that makes him the opposite of greatness.

Creation is maya [‘partial truth’ as Swamiji always described it to us], and Truth is beyond that.

Sri Ramakrishna knew the whole of spirituality; and he revealed the Truth. The Truth awakens in you
only when you practise the sadhanas [spiritual practices] of this age.

When they accidentally broke the statue [murti] of Lord Krishna in the Dakshineswar Kali temple, the temple priests did not know what to do. Finally they asked Sri Ramakrishna, and what he said opened their minds. He told them a simple truth: Mend the figure and use it again. Sri Ramakrishna finally did it beautifully himself.

All great souls speak in simple language.

Master said, ‘Tapasya [austerity, denial of self-indulgence] is concentrated effort of the mind to gain a certain end.’ This means a concentrated effort of mind to gain control of mind and senses. Without hard practice no one attains Brahman. The subtlest thing is how much hard work you put in.

Sri Ramakrishna had realised God but he had to do tapasya for others to follow. He did twenty years
of tapasya – absorbed in God; meditating on the Lord; thinking ‘I am a worshipper’. Then all distinctions disappeared. He was perfectly identified with Her, Mother Kali, the source of all energy.

Sri Ramakrishna said, ‘I have done so much tapasya for you. You only have to do a minute fraction. I borrow one sixteenth portion from the Divine Mother and laugh and talk to you. When I hear about the Divine Mother I go into samadhi.

A devotee should think of God.

Samadhi [super-consciousness] is complete absorption in Brahman – the devotee becomes Shiva, the Absolute.

Someone offered fruit to Master [Sri Ramakrishna] and mentally he said to himself, ‘There are four for you and the rest are for the devotees.’ The Master knew this and just took his share. So when you offer something to God, God always knows.

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.