Disc 139 track 1. Swamiji orchestrates a delightful Q&A session.

To listen to Swamiji speaking, please fully open the post and then click HERE.

From Mother Radha’s recordings of Swamiji.

Swamiji quotes Sri Ramakrishna: ‘Take a man from where he is.’

Swamiji talks about God taking form [incarnating] as a child. And that [as in the case of the baby Krishna] the parents have to teach it and discipline it, as they raise the child. But it’s still God.

Swamiji relates the story of a woman who said she couldn’t fix her mind on God or meditate. A wonderful scenario unfolded when she followed Sri Ramakrishna’s advice and treated her beloved baby grandson as God. She served and adored him as the baby Krishna, and within a year actually realised God. Please listen to Swamiji sharing this delightful, true example. Swamiji repeats: As Sri Ramakrishna said, ‘Take a man from where he is.’

On sin: Swamiji says that if you say you’re a sinner, you’re looking at your reflection in a dirty mirror. The mirror is dirty and you’re saying that you’re dirty. Your job is to clean the mirror. 

Now follows a delightful and enlightening Q&A. It’s worth giving pause after each answer. There’s profound truth in the seemingly simple answers.

Q: What is the first and most important duty of a man of right understanding? A: To cut through the bonds of worldly desire. 

Q: How can one be liberated? A: By obtaining the knowledge of Brahman. 

Q: What poisons the spiritual aspirant [sadhaka]? A: Neglect of his Guru’s teachings. 

Q: For one who has achieved human birth, what is the most desirable objective? A: To realise that which is for his ultimate good, and to be constantly engaged in doing good to others. You must know what is good for you, that is to realise God, and then spontaneously do good to others. 

Q: What deludes a man like an intoxicating drink? A: Attachment to objects of the senses. 

Q: What are thieves? A: The objects which steal our hearts away from the truth – God. 

Q: What causes the bondage of worldly desire? A: Thirst to enjoy those objects. 

Q: What is the obstacle to spiritual growth? A: Laziness. Swamiji joking: ‘You get up in the morning, do worship and prayer and nothing happens.’ He laughs merrily. 

Q: In this world, what is the greatest terror? A: The fear of death. 

Q: Who is the greatest hero? A: He who is not terror-stricken by the arrows shot from the eyes of a beautiful girl, or a beautiful man. 

Q: Who is the greatest hero? A: The one who is not tempted by a woman or a man. 

Q: Who is poor? A: He who is not contented. You can have billions in money, but you’re not contented – you need to make more, and more, and more. 

Q: What is meanness? A: To beg from someone who has less than you. 

Q: Whom should we honour? A: He who does not beg from anyone. And only you who know God will not beg – otherwise all beg. 

Swamiji goes on to tell the story about a Muslim Fakir [usually a Sufi mystic] who went to the palace to ask certain things of king Akbar, so he could feed the people at his ashram. But when he heard the king praying and asking God for wealth and all sorts of other things, he got up to leave. The king noticed this and asked, ‘Why are you leaving?’ The holy man responded. ‘I do not ask from beggars. I do not beg from beggars.’ 

Q: Who in this world is truly alive? [Swamiji says ‘Don’t laugh at this and take it lightly] A: He whose character is free from blemish. 

Q: Who is awake? A: He who practises discrimination. [We hear our beloved Mother Radha [see post 500a HERE for a tribute to her] ask, ‘Not discipline?’] Swamiji answers: Discrimination is discipline. That’s the greatest discipline. You discriminate between what is God and what is not God. And cling to God. And give up that which is not God, or of God. 

Q: Who is asleep? A: He who lives in *ignorance. Says Swamiji: Remember that in the [Bhagavad] Gita where they say that when the worldly man is asleep, the wise man is awake. And where the wise man is awake, the worldly man is asleep. [A reminder that Swamiji always said *’ignorance’ means not enough insight, information or experience at that point, in the person’s development.]

Q: What rolls quickly away like drops of water from a lotus leaf? A: Youth, wealth and the years of a man’s life. Swamiji: If you think and suddenly realise what your age is, you’ll get a shock. 

Q: Who are said to be as pure as the rays of the moon? A: Holy men. 

Q: What is hell? A: To live in slavery to others. Swamiji explains the loss of independence, fear and obligation that comes with it. 

Q: What is happiness? A: Detachment [Vairagya]. 

Q: What is a man’s duty? A: To do good to all beings. [Swamiji always reminded us that ‘beings’ includes animals and all other sentient creatures.]

Q: What are worthless as soon as they are won? Swamiji says, ‘As soon as you win it, it’s worthless. But before you win it, it’s very valuable.’ A: Honour and fame. After getting there, then what? says Swamiji? 

Q: What brings happiness? A: The friendship of a holy man. Swamiji: ‘That’s a very funny thing. The friendship of a holy man.’ He jokes and says, ‘Ask Radha [Mother Radha who was sitting there – and we hear her chuckle in response] how much joy she gets by joining me?’ [For an insight into the wonderful and often entertaining Guru/chela relationship between Swamiji and Mother Radha – the note-taker and audio recorder of all of these talks – click HERE.]

Swamiji then switches gears to Radha the consort of Lord Krishna, and says: You see, Radha was all the time wanting Krishna – how much happiness did she get? Sita was all the time wanting to please Rama, what happiness did she get? But know that that which is apparent pain now, will lead to eternal happiness. The medicine may be bitter in the child’s mouth, but ultimately the same bitterness cures the disease. 

So that is happiness – the friendship of a holy man. If anything, he won’t destroy you. He may [metaphorically] whack you, but he’ll never destroy you, ever. He wants to make you discover your self – which is immortal. [Mother Radha asks, ‘But why friendship, Swamiji? Why that word?’ Swamiji responds: Well, because a friend [a good or trustworthy one] you can tell anything, at any time. There’s nothing hidden from [a good] friend. You can hide it from a husband, you can hide it from others…

The free-to-read or download, 396-page Flipbook version of Swamiji’s biography is available by clicking HERE. If you’d prefer the PDF version, please click HERE.

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 an individual or a group of people with him, at the time.