One guru does not suit all
[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 1019
Swamiji speaking about people running after different teachers:
If you took the good out of them and didn't worry about the other part, then you'd be a good sadhaka [spiritual aspirant or practitioner]. But you go to the gurus [teachers or spiritual preceptors] and each one's word you are taking. You won't be left with a guru, you'll start telling the guru what to do. That's what will happen. Hear everything, what is good, take it – leave the rest – it will be good for someone else.
Funny, you know, If I say something it won't be conducive to this atmosphere – but it is so true. Man does that every time. What he throws out [discards], some germs have it. It's conducive to them. They like it – and yet to the man it's not valuable, he doesn't want it. But man also, is giving every time what is conducive to other things. So the guru is like that. He gives and he gives what is conducive to?…you.
You know when you go to a doctor in a surgery, the doctor examines you – 'breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Ah, two painkiller tablets, three times a day. Two painkiller tablets, three times a day.' Meantime another patient with a headache hears that and walks away. You ask why and he says, 'Well he had a headache and the doctor said take two of those tablets three times a day.' So he also starts taking two of the tablets three times a day – and now he's got [stomach] ulcers. He goes back to the doctor who asks, 'you've been taking some sort of drug?' 'Yes.' 'Which ones?' 'I heard you say to someone else, take two tablets three times a day. So I'm taking the same ones.' The doctor says, 'You fool, you have bad eyesight – that's why you have a headache! You need specs, not two tablets three times a day. [devotees chuckling] That first fellow had a cold or something, so he needed those tablets. So this is the trouble with us – we read things in a book and we apply that knowledge to ourselves.
There may be 50 specialists, but you go to that specialist who understands your body – and that is your guru. Don't deny the other specialists – they also passed their exams. But this specialist here, knows your trouble.
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