Guru-chela relationship
[Pictured: Sri Swami Nischalananda Puri Maharaj, first President and Spiritual Head, the Ramakrishna Centre of SA]
[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]
[now a Centre of the international Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission]
DAILY READINGS
Day 1010
Swami Nischalananda [Swamiji's beloved Guru] , Gurudev, gave a lecture and I liked that lecture so much. Of course you know which part of me liked the lecture so much [the ego, ahamkara]. I thought, 'there's a terrific man!' – he looks like Vivekananda [Swami Vivekananda, spiritual heir to Sri Ramakrishna]. So after he came outside and he greeted everyone I said, 'Swamiji, Swamiji.' He said, 'yes, Inder?' [Swamiji's pre-monastic name] 'Your lecture…' He said, 'What happened?' 'Your lecture, your lecture, Swamiji, was like Vivekananda!' He immediately prostrated to me. 'I said, what is this? What are you doing Swamiji?' He said, 'only a Ramakrishna could recognise a Vivekananda!' You see how we think? That we are doing the great people a favour. So he says, 'If you made out who I am, you must be Ramakrishna – we worship you.' My ego went 'choops!' – down – straight away, and I felt so bad that in the evening I had to go and apologise. He looked at me like, 'Hmpf! As if I need that!' He could make you feel very dirty if he wanted to, [Swamiji laughing] make no mistake about that.
Following a devotee's [inaudible] question [evidently related to the Swami Nischalananda anecdote]: You cannot say to me 'he was in a different plane'. Gurudev once said to me, 'I thought I was your God?' I said, 'Of course!' He said, 'Oh, then where's your God? Where's your God? Answer? He must be everywhere' [omnipresent]. But if your God is in another plane, he's not here. So he's bluffing you. Then your concept is not right. If you say God is in some other plane, then that means he is absent here. You must not forget the infinity of God. The absolute-ness of God, when you call God a God. Don't ever make that mistake.
It's not just saying, 'Gurudev, Gurudev, Gurudev.' You're worshipping a false guru. What do you know about Guru yet? Like when you look at a beautiful girl you like her nose or her eyes or her lips or you know, like when the girls look at the boys they like certain features, and they think they like the man. Similarly when we think about the guru then we think about a particular aspect of him.
What do you know about the guru? When you say 'Guru', when you're speaking about the Supreme Guru [Satguru], he is nothing less than infinity – Itself. Absolute-ness [Brahman] itself. Otherwise the Guru that is man, will take you to hell. If you think the guru is man he must take you to hell. Because that's where name and form belongs. He can't take you anywhere else. So when you say 'guru' one one moment and the next you pull a face, what kind of guru-ism is thing? Angazi [an isiZulu word meaning, 'I don't know'] – [all laugh] So what do you know about it? Absolutely nothing.
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, 150 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.
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