Swami Shivapadananda on getting closer to God

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

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

Day 244

Swami Vivekananda said, “Life is the unfolding and development of a
being under circumstances tending to press it down.”

Sri Ramakrishna said, “You are not a sinner, you are a child of God.”
You are born in a new school of thought. Pray thus: O Lord, by your grace I am
here.

You must do sadhana [spiritual practice]. You must get up [out of bed]
on time. If you do not, the seed of laziness lies there. Do everything
moderately. But whatever is taboo for brahmachari [celibate, god-Conscious]
life, you should not do.

Question: How do we surrender? Swamiji: When you are oblivious of
yourself and only conscious of the Deity, then you have surrendered. That is
the key to surrender.

When you start to do sadhana properly, questions pop out. I know that
from personal experience.

A saint’s life is based on unity. As he unites with God, he unites the
whole world and that is why it is called Yoga.

Miracles can be spiritual or not spiritual. When they deceive the senses
they are not spiritual. If you do a miracle with a motive, to get something out
of it, it is not spiritual.

What a God-man does, an ordinary man cannot do. A holy man’s action is
knowledge. When Sri Ramakrishna does a miracle it increases the love for God in
you – that is spiritual.

Footnote: The picture is of the inner cave at Vashistha Guha, the cave inhabited by Swamiji’s guru’s guru, Swami Purushottamananda Puri. It’s near Rishikesh in the Himalayas.