Nobody can ‘give’ you God-realisation
[Pictured: Swami Shivapadananda with Br. Francis in the ocean
at Tongaat, KwaZulu Natal 1972)
[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 927
If a man says he is going to give you God-realisation he is the dirtiest liar. Not a clean liar. A clean liar tells it out of innocence. He's a dirty liar who tells you this because the God-realised man knows that nobody gave him God.
What the holy ones can only do is remove the obstacles, and the water [spirituality and insight] will overflow. That's all.
The way of a guru [spiritual preceptor, enlightened teacher] is: Firstly he must have a truthful sadhaka [spiritual practitioner, aspirant, devotee]; and the only thing that he must do is remove the obstacles. If he has an untruthful sadhaka he first has to teach him how to be truthful. Because untruthfulness has become the obstacle itself. The untruthful sadhaka will bluff. Even though he hasn't had any spiritual experiences he'll say, 'I saw God. I saw God.' So what can you do with a person like that? The truthful sadhaka will come and truthfully say, 'This is the problem. What can I do now?'
The guru will remove the obstacle and the sadhaka can progress. That's what our gurus told us. Nothing else. Because we are [all] already God.
The sheep in Swami Vivekananda's [spiritual heir to Sri Ramakrishna] parable didn't become a lion. It was a lion all the time [see story in Swami Vivekananda's own words below]. The obstacle was thinking that it was a sheep. The guru had to remove the obstacle by showing it, 'Look. Here you are. This is what you are.' But if that particular lion said, 'I made this sheep into a lion,' then he lies.
The story, in Swami Vivekananda's own words:
I will tell you a little story. There was once a baby lion left by its dying mother among some sheep. The sheep fed it and gave it shelter. The lion grew apace and said "Ba – a – a" when the sheep said "Ba – a – a". One day another lion came by. "What do you do here?" said the second lion in astonishment: for he heard the sheep-lion bleating with the rest. "Ba – a – a," said the other. "I am a little sheep, I am a little sheep, I am frightened." "Nonsense!" roared the first lion, "come with me; I will show you." And he took him to the side of a smooth stream and showed him that which was reflected therein. "You are a lion; look at me, look at the sheep, look at yourself." And the sheep – lion looked, and then he said, "Ba – a – a, I do not look like the sheep – it is true, I am a lion!" and with that he roared a roar that shook the hills to their depths.