Swami Shivapadananda on finding purpose

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

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

Day 415

 
 

The nature of God is such that it gives, and asks nothing – like the sun which is so natural: it must give heat to the world. No sooner does the sun leave its own nature, and gives something else, than it is dead. We have left our nature – we are dead.

Master's [Sri Ramakrishna's] first message is: You must become God-conscious. If I know who I am, if you know who you are, then who is God? Are you mere bone, flesh, marrow, or are you immortal?
His second message is: The cause of this disturbance in our nature is lust and gold consciousness – we are greedy. You lust after other things, this leads to chaos. So you must renounce lust and gold.

Even then there is danger because Sri Ramakrishna said: The greatest obstacle to God-realisation is spiritual pride, spiritual arrogance, i.e. you think you know God, you think you are great, you think, 'I am chosen' – 'I'. Guard against these. Then you will find what you are looking for.

Jesus the Christ said, 'Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.' You must struggle your whole life to make yourself pure, to discover who you are, and what your duty is in this world.

In India there are gurus, spiritual teachers, who have no pride, no arrogance.

This Sri Ramakrishna we worship, spoke from his own experience. Because he couldn't read, he couldn't copy from others. Everything he said was from his own experience.
Master [Sri Ramakrishna] said that every religion is true in itself, and like a river that runs crooked or straight, ultimately it must flow into God, the sea.

A lion eats other animals. Goats eat grass. Your duty is to devour your own ego, then every action of yours will glorify God. 

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.

Reference websites: Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa, Sri Ramakrishna Dham