Seeing your Deity move
[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]
DAILY READINGS
Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.
Day 812
Devotee: If, in meditation, we wish to see the [Ishta Deva's] Deity's movement, if we want to see Lord Shiva dancing [in his Nataraja (doing the dance of the Cosmos) aspect – pictured above] rather than seated, what should we do?
Swamiji: Three things come to my mind – things that I have done. Firstly I gave the body of my guru [spiritual preceptor – Sri Swami Nischalanandaji Puri] as the form of Lord Shiva and I knew that Lord Shiva was dwelling in it as the soul. So when I see the movement of my guru – even when I close my eyes I see him moving by the plants, by the lake etc – I feel Lord Shiva is moving.
Secondly there was a very funny thing which helped me in the beginning stages of sadhana [spiritual practice]. I would go and see films [movies] and in these films I would see [an actor depicting] Lord Shiva acting. I would always picture how he was walking and moving.
Lastly, you can practise seeing the Lord seated on one day and the next day you can practise seeing the Lord standing. After a couple of months you practise that God is touching you. As time goes by, action will come.
The most important thing in meditation is to see the movement of the eyes. You must try to see how the [Deity's] eyes are opening and closing. If you can capture this one movement, you'll capture the movement of the whole body. That's why, when I go in my shrine, I first look at the photo and maybe in the beginning I superimpose it – how He's opening his eyes, how He's closing them, how He is smiling. The most important thing in meditation is to capture the movement of the eyes.
Sometime or another you must have dreamed about a particular Deity moving and that dream itself must become a picture for meditation. In the dream you see Hanumanji moving. Awake you don't see it like that – but in the dream you saw it. So when you close your eyes try to picture that particular scene that you saw in the dream. It will come.
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