Swami Shivapadananda on seeing God in the ‘ugly’

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

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

Day 265

Question: Why do we only see God in beautiful things? Swamiji: Just think God is in all. God is
all. We do not have to see Him in all.

If you knock the door must be opened. For all those who have knowledge,
it has been opened, so make your mind pure, and worship [God in] the ugly.

What is death? Find out. Then you will think the ugly is the same as the
beautiful. You do not have to realise you are God, because you are God. That is
all. And when you worship the ugly you see only beauty everywhere. Then you can
go beyond. That is God.

To understand the guru just keep quiet and watch. The guru is only one.
Just as you only have one father, you cannot change him, no matter what. So
regard others, not as ‘my guru,’ but as ‘my teacher,’ or ‘my father’ and so on.
There is no substitute for the guru. You can have a substitute for God but not
for the guru. The guru gives you his power at initiation. He wants you to
become one with him – God – but he does not really care who comes and who goes.
You are not of great importance to him. Just think of him continuously and
serve him selflessly, become one with him.

As your thoughts become more pure, you will see him in all. Then his
physical form will disappear and only the spirit will remain. At present you
think of the guru as ‘that man over there.’ Rather think of his spirit form,
that is, without name and form, because guru is God, is your Self. The lower
kind of view of the guru, as the physical form, is a projection of your own
mind only. The higher view of the guru is him as a spirit form, or as your own
Self. You will get strength to do this, and more too. This is the Law.