Swami Shivapadananda on Swami Vivekananda’s yearning to know God
SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.
Day 473
Swamiji speaking on the early pre-monastic life of Swami Vivekananda
When Swami Vivekananda grew up he passed his degree. Around this time he went to Devendranath Tagore, the Brahmo Samaj leader, and asked him, "Have you seen God?" He looked at Swami Vivekananda and said, "I can see you have the eyes of a yogi." Now some people say he evaded the question by not saying if he had seen God or not, but I do not think so. He only saw in the other man a greater yogi and instead of saying what is not, he said what is.
When Naren [Swami Vivekananda's pre-monastic name] went to Sri Ramakrishna he asked very direct questions. He asked Master, "Sir, have you seen God?" Sri Ramakrishna in his childlike way said, "Yes, yes, I see God, but I see God more intensely than I see you." In other words, I see God all the time but I only see you now and then, you come and go. Then before Swami Vivekananda could ask the next question Master said, "And you can see Him too." He did not say, I can show Him to you, he said, you can see Him too. He said this because it is the birthright of every individual to see God, to know God, to realise God.
Do you have the yearning restlessness that Swami Vivekananda had? Both the Master and the disciple were restless to know God. For twelve years Sri Ramakrishna had rubbed his face on the ground. He had neglected his body and blood even oozed out of his pores in his desire to see God. Swami Vivekananda too was restless because he wanted to know the truth. What do I mean by restless? I mean wanting. I know we are not supposed to want worldly things, but we are supposed to want God and God alone. Are you restless to see God?
Sri Ramakrishna did not have a guru in the beginning. He was so restless for God that he could not wait. He even wanted to put an end to his life – that was the kind of restlessness he had. One day, in the [Divine] Mother's Temple, he took the sword in his hand and was about to slash his throat. How could God, who is all love and compassion, bear to see his own child committing suicide for his sake? Then the Master saw, in a flood of light, that which was later on transformed into Mother Kali.
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.
Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Ramakrishna Dham