Habit prevails at death
[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]
[now a Centre of the international Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission]
DAILY READINGS
Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.
Day 874
Transcribed from Guru Purnima talk in 1994
When you do japa [meditative repetition of a mantra or one of the many names ascribed to God] you must think of the meaning. It is no good just repeating the name. You must think of the meaning. Then heart, mind and soul are all one.
If you can't do that then you must surrender [to God's will/grace]. But how many of us can surrender? When you sing a kirtan [religious song] you are taking God's name but you are thinking of something else. You are thinking about what he or she [someone else] is doing, singing or going.
When you have taken [repeated] God's name for a long time, then it predominates, and so at the time of death you will [automatically] take God's name. It is the [dominant pattern of] thought at the time of death that determines your future birth.
[When] Someone dies, he [or she] may be unconscious when it happens. But a tape recorder only plays what is in it [i.e. what has been pre-recorded]. So too, it is the mind that determines your future birth. If I [momentarily] think something bad now and die, [still] all the good thoughts from the past come and flood it [as a result of the habit of positive repetition].
The habit that is cultivated with love is always there and there is no fear. When you do good, do not be proud that you do good. Why do you do good? Because you cannot help
but do good. What your faith is, your nature is; and what your nature is, you express.
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, over 100 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.
Click HERE for the second website on Swamiji's life and teachings.
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