Nature calms mind
[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 977
The great saints and sages [Rishis] showed us the road for the kind of environment in which to practise sadhana [spiritual exercises]. In a way it is not surprising that when you look at these great Rishis, saints and sages they seem to become joyous and peaceful like their surroundings. The big question is, 'does the environment play a part in the life of a spiritual aspirant?' The answer? Yes.
You find that whenever you see a photo or painting of a yogi, a saint or Shiva, particularly Shiva – or Kartikeya – you find that there are hills, valleys, beautiful trees, huge mountains, blue sky and lovely clear water. Pools with running water making rippling sounds. You begin to think, why all of this? When I used to see the mountains and other things I used to think of beauty. God is beauty. So the yogis used to somehow be captivated by this beauty of nature. Look in the distance, it's blue. Blue represents infinity and God is infinite. They used to go there to think.
If you sit on a high mountain and you look way down below, you know what a tiny drop you are, compared to the vast area around you? Just like a speck of dust. Infinity is very well represented there. You don't even feel that you are a grain of sand, really. Because when you look down there you don't even notice a grain of sand. Even a tree seems like a toy tree.
You begin to think, what is the importance of you, you insignificant being, not even noticed by anybody. What are you proud of? What is your importance? I begin to think like this. We close ourselves in a [water] well and we project ourselves to be greater than the well, bigger than the well and we live in our own pride, made in our mind. And thus we live by false hope. But the quicker we find out that we are 'Mr. No-noticeable', then it helps you in your sadhana to become ego-less.
The next thing I used to watch were the ripples in the clear, running water. It made me think of so much purity – and at the same time this purity has rhythm. It's not just haphazard. It has a rhythm about it. The yogis say you must sit near a waterfall and then you can hear the Omkara [AUM sound, pranava]. And the Omkara is not just a sound. It is the deep rhythmic sound of creation. Deep…rhythmic sound of? – creation. This whole world is one harmonious mass, rhythmic, not just haphazard.
So when see these things in a picture or painting, in the life of a yogi or in the life of someone who wants to discover something within himself – look at why he runs away from all this hustle and bustle. I used to think before, why? Why? Now the answer is clear-cut. Why waste time? Why must one waste time on unnecessary things? What for? If you have started realising higher levels, then why waste it? Waste time in what? To fight the other man's mind. [Swamiji chuckling] You tell a fellow to do something, he doesn't do it, there's trouble. You tell someone to go to work, he doesn't go to work, there's trouble. Every second you're colliding [in conflict] with other people's minds. Now even if you don't collide consciously, unconsciously they give out vibrations, which are disharmonious vibrations. It's not a harmonious vibration. If I say, 'God' he'll say 'dog', another will say 'cat' and someone else will say 'money'. Just look at that. Contradictory vibrations, coming and impacting. The result is that you shatter your whole life trying only to defend yourself against this.
Where then do you go? You go to a holy place. In a holy place, you'll find there is less hustle and bustle, less collision [conflict] – but still there is collision. Your force [impetus/energies] won't also be so great to defend because other factors will contribute to your harmony. But you will still hit against certain vibrations. Devotees coming, devotees going, people complaining about this and that. You see someone not cooking the food correctly, that fellow's not operating the [printing] press correctly, someone not burning the camphor or doing the arati [ceremonial offering or waving of a lighted lamp in front of the deity] correctly. All that happens.
Then you think, why go to a natural place where there is quiet? Because then you have nothing to fight – nature is always in harmony with God's vibration – always! There is never a time when nature is out of rhythmic beat of God's tune. It is always in tune. So what greater aid can you get? If you are truly interested in attuning yourself with the rhythmic vibration of a God-guided life…..then God-guided life is this tree, these plants, because they have got no mind of their own to do anything. They are always guided to do what God has put [programmed] into them already. Man is the only creature that will do what he thinks is right to do. Animals live by instinct. The animal lives by?…instinct. God has put it there and you can identify it. But man – even if the god inside him says, 'You're doing the wrong thing,' he'll still go on doing the wrong thing. Think. Think carefully. Think about yourself. There's no use you projecting it outside – look at your own life.
So when people go to natural places, they must try as far as possible to be in tune with nature. The best way is to do japa [meditative repetition of a mantra or one of the many names attributed to God] and think about nature. What will happen is that you will also benefit. Rather than you giving out the wrong thought – thought that is contradictory to that environment, you will have a battle. There will be greater [harmonising] counter force because nature – and people living there – are more in tune with nature. So nature and you will fight it out.
Rather than that, just tune yourself to God. And you'll see what you derive. Try it – go to any holy place like this, you'll go calm and watch. Health is nothing – with this you'll get something like 'super health'. Something called…super health. So I beg and plead that you will realise this.
I have come to realise that these are the reasons why the yogis say 'why waste time, that's a very unimportant thing – for what? What is the reason to fight? For what? Why waste it [the energy]? Get it and tune it and get in tune with nature.' A plant never fights against nature. You've found a plant fighting against nature? Never. You'll never find the elements fighting with nature. You'll find the elements are always in tune with God's rhythmic vibration. Thus you take the aid of nature and calm your mind and get to nature. Don't worry about what happened in the past. No amount of thinking of the past will put you right. You'll just create more vibrations.
So our gurus [spiritual preceptors and teachers] say that don't worry about what wrong habits you have. Just start practising right habits. Don't start fighting against your own nature – the one you have formed already – try to get to natural things, that which was your nature in the beginning. And that is by doing the right thing.
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