Swami Shivapadananda on Japa and Samadhi

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

Taken from Mother Radha's notes, written at Swamiji's feet.

Day 390

Devotee: But we are afraid to leave 'this' [life] in case there is no 'that' . . . Swamiji: Yes, fear is our greatest enemy. Devotee: But we have thought like that since birth . . Swamiji: Yes, when are we going to change the habit? Devotee: We get tired of breathing when we do japa [repetition of a mantra or God's names] . . Swamiji: But you do not, because when you get up to do something else, you go on breathing. In samadhi [superconsciousness] the heart stops beating and breathing stops, but we have got into the habit of going on breathing.

What do we use Tantric methods of yoga [i.e pranayama etc.] for? To purify the mind. But there are other methods too.

As a sadhaka it is not a question of 'becoming' something, because that means we are not that already. With God-realisation, it is there already, all we have to do is to get rid of the desires which cloud the mind, and to remember who we are.

See God as all this: "Ma [Divine Mother], you are maya [illusion/delusion], you have taken this form and this, this and this. It is you, Ma, who puts obstacles in my path. These are your blessings. Thank you. Let me learn."

Do japa. God and the name are one. This is what the Shivalinga is: God's name.

Guru's breath [in the form of the Guru] itself purifies you. The fact that he is breathing the same air purifies you.

Surrender to the guru's feet.

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