Swami Shivapadananda on Sri Ramakrishna’s promises

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.

Day 446

 
 

Yoga retreat camp discussion continued

To do your sadhana [spiritual practice] the scriptures say you have to get up at sunrise, nay, before sunrise. You can only get up before sunrise if you go to bed early, so please try to do this.

Gurudev [Swami Nischalananda Puri, Swamiji's Guru] got the idea for these Camps from the Gospel [of Sri Ramakrishna], where Sri Ramakrishna said to Swami Vivekananda [pictured], "Time is too short in this life, days are shorter still. There is no time for anyone, they are all busy winning bread. But once or twice a year if they take three, four or twelve days off and do sadhana sincerely, if they cry for God for three days and three nights sincerely, God must reveal Himself to them." Our sadhana is based on this. We know that Master's [Sri Ramakrishna's] words are mantras [sacred sound syllables or names of God] and what he has said will not fail.

Remember that of these garlands of flowers I put on you, some have thorns and some have real roses.

God can take whatever form you like. If you think of God as Lord Shiva, He'll take form as Lord Shiva. If you think of God as Ravana, He will come as Ravana.

The Bhagavad Gita says, "Lust, anger and greed are the open doors to hell." Ravana had all these ruling him. Sri Rama did not have any of these ruling him – he was beyond lust, anger and greed. He had all his senses under control. Sri Rama stands for disciplined human beings, and Ravana stands for non-disciplined human beings.