Swami Shivapadananda on the uniqueness of Sri Ramakrishna
SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.
Day 484
Swamiji reads from Sri Ramakrishna and his Disciples by Sister Devamata, and comments
At one time Sri Ramakrishna felt the need of a more hidden spot for his spiritual practices. On the high platform beneath the Banyan 
tree [example pictured] he was too much in the public gaze, so he and Hriday [his Nephew] built a little hut under the shade of a wide reaching branch not far away. They planted a hedge about it with a creeper which wound itself through overhanging foliage and roof thatch in such tangled profusion that the tiny hut was completely veiled from inquisitive eyes. But the temple cows ate up both the hedge and the creeper and it became necessary to construct a fence of bamboo poles. When materials were lacking for the building of this, Sri Ramakrishna prayed to his Divine Mother, (notice that he did not ask man), and as the flood tide [on the River Ganges] receded it laid on the river bank a bundle of poles with strong cord and a sharp knife. His prayers were never fruitless.
Swamiji: Mother Ganga took it from somebody and brought it and left it there. If you want something, pray, and it must come. I am convinced of this. If your prayer is sincere it must come – the Master is my witness. Whatever you wish for will come. But if you wish for chillies, you will get them, and you know how they burn? If you wish for ice-cream you know what a taste you get? So you can wish for whatever you like but be careful.
Reads: Later still, desiring greater seclusion, he sought shelter under a Bel tree concealed within a tangled jungle of brambles and thick undergrowth in the far corner of the Dakshineswar Temple grounds. One morning he could not be found. Those who watched over his needs looked and looked for him but in vain. They decided at last that he had begun to meditate sitting on the tidal-wall beside the Ganges and, losing outer consciousness, had fallen into the river. Great was their grief and distress of mind. A Temple cow chanced to go astray that same day and the gardener searched for it without avail. Toward the evening however, when it was time for milking, he plunged into the jungle near the garden wall and there, under the Bel tree, sat Sri Ramakrishna in deep meditation. He had been meditating the whole day. The lost cow too was not far away.
Swamiji: It looks like Mother sent the cow there to find out where Sri Ramakrishna was. Similarly, dharma [righteousness] must be followed to reach the goal.
Reads: At one time Mathur Babu asked the Master, 'Can God make a bush that produces only red flowers bear white ones?' 'God can,' Master answered. Mathur did not believe him. But the following day Master saw, in the garden, a hibiscus bush covered with deep red blossoms. There was just one stalk on which, beside the red flower, was a snowy white one. Master picked both on the stem and showed them to Mathur. Then he laughed.
Swamiji: You see, it did not make any sense to Mathur. He thought it must be a freak of nature.
Reads: Once, Mathur laid at Master's feet a very beautiful shawl. Sri Ramakrishna took delight in its beauty and wrapped it around himself. But when Hriday reminded his uncle that much had been paid for the shawl and that he should take good care of it, wearing it only on important occasions, Sri Ramakrishna replied, 'Shall I let this miserable shawl take my mind from God?' Then he held a corner of it in the fire. 'Now it is burned and has no value,' he exclaimed with satisfied content, 'I can wear it in peace without fear of greed or pride.'
Swamiji: When we read like this, take the text and contrast it with your mind – how your mind would have acted under those circumstances and in that environment. Hriday himself was conscious about how costly it was, but Sri Ramakrishna was not. There was another time when somebody gave him something. He took it at night and left it near the dustbin. Someone asked him why he had done that. He said, "Someone who needs it will take it and go away."
This is the deity that you are worshipping. A deity without any outer show but with inner realisation. A deity that saw into the minds and hearts of others. A deity that did not know what he was doing for twelve long years because he was absorbed by God and God thought. A deity who did not know when he stopped breathing and had to be reminded. Now this may sound like fiction but it is true.
This was written by Devamata and I am reading it to you because she decided to reveal certain secrets. In other books certain secrets are revealed – although the Ramakrishna Mission never allows anyone to tell their secret experiences, except to their guru.
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.