Swami Shivapadananda on relationship with the Guru

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

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

Day 383

 
 

You cannot do the guru
[Spiritual Preceptor] a favour. Is pressing his leg a favour? No. What can you give the guru? Nothing. But if you take one step towards him he will take ten steps towards you. If you take one step away from him he will take ten steps away from you.

Give your whole self to the guru and to God. 99.9% is not enough.

There must be no gossip if you want to reach God. You do not want God-realisation, because you do not know what it is – what wealth is there. When you do, you will not wait one second.

How do you know you have Guru's grace? By calmness of mind, by seeing how much humanity loves you, by seeing how forgiving you are. So be detached, go within. Hands to work, but inside, cling to the guru's feet. Do not desire anything. Just be. Peace is there all the time but the mind is restless.

The witness is never affected. Practise this for three months. Think: The eyes see – I am the witness; it is the ego that is hurt.

If I love the guru I can do anything. If not, it does not matter.

The more you hate [someone], the more love you must put on that person. Win by love. A dew drop can fall on the most tender plant and not hurt it. It falls on strange places too, without hurting them. But a rain drop can harm, especially when it comes in storms and torrents.

We all make a mistake about bliss. Christ had bliss, but you think he did not cry too? You cannot have God without the world; and you cannot have the world without God. If you are a fish on a line, I cannot take you out [of the water] because you like it. So the guru lets you play [in the world] some more, but he is always there, he will not let you down.

Click on 'Continue Reading' below to find out about CDs of Swamiji speaking…