Swami Shivapadananda on sense-control

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

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

Day 114

In India the sannyasis still follow Shankaracharya’s ideals. They want to realize God
for themselves. But Sri Ramakrishna said, “No! If God is seated in my heart He
must be seated in every heart, you must serve Him there.” That is very, very
beautiful.

It is very important to remain untouched by another person. Sri Sarada
Devi said, “How beautiful to offer an un-smelled flower to God.” Un-smelled by
anyone. When it is smelled it is joota, polluted.

Jesus Christ was a brahmachari [monastic celibate] his whole life long –
body mind and senses – especially one very important organ. You must be kept
untouched by anyone. You must be the Eternal bride of the Eternal Christ,
meaning of the Lord Himself. For Christians this would be Jesus Christ.

For a
Hindu this would be for his Ishta [chosen deity or ideal].

You must control the senses. Direct them towards the Lord Himself by
reading holy books, by japa, by fasting and above all by holy company.

Therefore you, as parents, have a very important duty to inform your
children, from the beginning, what is good for the Lord and what is not good
for the Lord. If you want the Lord, you must make sacrifices.

Most Rishis married but observed brahmacharya. After realizing God they
could direct other souls.

If you worship an Ishta Devata you will not get the revelation of the
Ishta Devata until and unless you keep brahmacharya. This is very, very
important. Practise mind and sense control in ordinary life, as a rider
controls a horse. Otherwise the horse runs amok.

Please wake up. Please wake up. Please wake up to the reality of
spirituality, you householders. Only through brahmacharya will you live happily
on earth. Brahmacharya is the sacrifice of all the pleasures of the world. It
is celibacy – meaning complete abstention.

1) Care should be taken by the reader to understand and take
Swamiji’s words in these postings, in context. Every teaching or
instruction that he gave was specific to the people who were with
Swamiji at the time.

2) Mouse-over the words highlighted in red in the posting for further explanation or links.

Besides
these daily readings Mother Radha recorded many hours of our beloved Swamiji
speaking. There are currently 40 different CDs available in sets of 10 for R200 per set.
This price includes postage. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.

Posted by Clive Simpkins