Higher and ‘lower’ consciousness
SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
621
[Swamiji continues speaking on the Bhagavad Gita]
Devotee: When Sri Krishna says: 'There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me,' is this 'higher than Me' referring to man's higher and lower nature or only the higher nature?
Swamiji: 'Higher than Me' means Consciousness. There is nothing higher than Him. He is the source. Further on it says, 'I am the seed.' The seed is higher than everything.
Devotee: He says, 'All this is strung on Me.' All what?
Swamiji: This whole world, this whole Universe, is strung on Consciousness. If Consciousness was not there, the whole world would not be . . .
Devotee: Is it the lower nature strung on the higher nature?
Swamiji: Yes. The higher nature is expressed in this lower nature. It is the higher nature expressed as earth, water and other things.
Your leg is a lower part of you, isn't it? Is it strung to the higher part of you? If your head were not there how could that leg live? [laughter]
All are part of Him; but this is the lower part that we can see or perceive through the senses. If you see it, it becomes lower. But if you see the same thing from beyond the senses it becomes all Brahman.
Lord Krishna speaks: Know Me, O Arjuna, as the eternal seed of all beings.
Now the crux of the matter is the eternal seed. He is not a temporary seed. He is the eternal seed; always existing. It always exists and will always, in the future, be there. He is the eternal seed of everything, of all beings.
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.
Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Nischalananda Puri, Swami Shivapadananda
Click Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna to read online…
Reference websites (please mouse-over
the name to connect): Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of SA, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa,
Ramakrishna Dham, Swami Shivapadananda 2