Swami Shivapadananda on service and our inherent divinity
SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.
Day 477
Every Incarnation [Avatar] has a Rishi; and Sri Ramakrishna's Rishi is Swami Vivekananda.
Sri Ramakrishna gave the greatest mantra when he said, "Service to man is service to God." Serve man as you serve God – just as you do when you go into the temple. When you serve the murthi [image or sculpture] do you say to yourself, "I am serving the murthi?" No. You say, "I am serving God." Similarly when you meet another person, be he a miserable man, a down-trodden man, a rich man or a poor man, serve him. Feel the same thing that you feel in the shrine for the murthi – that he is God and I am serving God in him.
What do I want from God? I do not want anything from God, but let Him increase the love, the bhakti, in my heart so that I will love him more each second of my life in this world. I do not pray to God for material prosperity, I do not pray to God to cure my diseases but rather to increase my love for His Lotus Feet. You will find that sick people have realised God, healthy people have realised God and even mad people have realised God. The most important thing is to realise God.
Swami Vivekananda said, "Service to man is worship of God." This is the instruction of the modern times. He also said, "Each soul is potentially divine." You must believe that you are divine. But how many of you really believe that you are divine? If one of you seated here believes it then tomorrow you will perform miracles. You surely do not believe it.
No doubt here at the Yoga Camp we can all say, "Each soul is potentially divine," but later on, when you go home and have a fight with your wife, let us see what you say then. Or let your child make mischief and then see what you say. You will find your thoughts changing. You have not believed it yet, therefore it is not happening. Believe it when you say, "I am divine."
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.