Swami Shivapadananda on the nature of the Guru
SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
Taken from Mother Radha's notes, written at Swamiji's feet.
Day 376
Hanuman [the great devotee of Lord Rama] as the guru [spiritual preceptor], soils [i.e. contaminates] himself when he touches us. But like the mother and her child he does not mind, he just does it.
Devotee: But how do you give it all up, Swamiji?
Swamiji: By devotion to the guru, by love, surrender and the mantra [sacred word, syllable or God's names]. Love of God is the purest thing there is.
There is a story of the two disciples: One did regular sadhana [spiritual practice] every morning and evening and read the scriptures and so on. The other one spent most of the day sleeping, but he got up in the morning, collected wood, made a fire, cooked and then slept.
One day the first disciple said, 'Why do you not do more sadhana?' The second one said, 'Just take my arm and put it next to your ear.' He did that and found that every cell of the devotee's body was vibrating, 'Ram, Ram, Ram'. [the name of Lord Rama]
One showed what he did and the other did it without showing.
Only when you have great devotion to your guru can you meet other saints and sages and gain much from them.
You think you are serving the guru when you serve his body. You do, but only indirectly. Learn this, learn it.
Have faith and devotion to your guru. Go out and see him in all. See all as forms of Satchidananda [Existence, Knowledge, Bliss absolute]. God takes the highest form in man. In the guru he manifests more clearly as Satchidananda, [in the form of] bliss.
That is the murthi [image/statue]sculpture] of Krishna, take away the stone and you will see Krishna. So it is with people, love them and serve them as your guru.
The spiritual path is a razor's edge. Overcome spiritual jealousy with purity. Keep the mind above the belt.
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Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Sri Ramakrishna Dham