Swami Shivapadananda on death of the ego

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

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

Day 391

Come on, renounce. Renounce what? Renounce the ego, that is all there is to renounce. What is the ego? Desires. If you must have desires, let them only be that they take you towards God and not towards the world.

We must practise wherever we are, however we are. Whether sitting, standing or sleeping, you must repeat God's name [the mantra]. It must go on all the time. Kundalini is a psychic thing so it does not really matter how you sit etc, that will happen of its own accord.

But we must turn towards God. How? Japam [repetition of God's names or a mantra]. Even sleep must be driven off because it stops us from repeating God's name.

[To a devotee] Only when death comes do we become immortal. The death of what? The ego. What is born must die so let us die to the world and be born in the spirit. Devotee: That's what they say: 'Wait, watch and pray.' Swamiji: Yes, but wait for whom? Watch what? Wait means give it to God and then leave it without anxiety. Watch means watch your ego, see if it keeps running after worries. If it does run, bring it back saying, 'I have given it to Him, now let me leave it.'

Be simple like a child, that is the easiest way.

Do not have [sexual] relations with your partner on the day of the full moon or the new moon, or on ekadasi.

We always go to the guru with preconceived ideas of how he will look, how he will behave etc. And as long as he fits in with that, there is no problem. But as soon as he does not, the mind doubts him. We think, 'How could he say that? How could he do that?' and so on. So go to the guru without concepts. See God in all the guru does. He is God. In a nutshell he is there to remove the 'I.'

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