God forces us to evolve
Pictured: Lord Shiva with tirisula (trident) and lingam
[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]
[now a Centre of the international Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission]
DAILY READINGS
Transcribed from the recordings made by Mother Radha
Day 1036
Swamiji speaking on the occasion of someone's birthday
And when you become 'that' light, then, this world worships you as an image of?…God. As an image of?…God. A perfect image of God. That's the last birth, therefore it must be the last death.
Nachiketa's story indirectly tells you the same thing. All bodies die when they meet and discuss the Self with Yama [the Hindu god of death], the great guru [spiritual preceptor/teacher]. The best part of Yama is that when the chela [disciple] realises in Nachiketa, the guru dies too. There is no guru and no chela. There is no guru and no?…chela. You'll find that with Markandeya, the great Rishi [sage, seer, saint]. He was supposed to have died at the age of 16. Through the advice of his mother and father – Narada – he went, the day Yama was supposed to come and take him and started worshipping Lord Shiva in the forest. Yama tried his level best to come and take his life away but when Yama came near him it appears that Nachiketa was holding onto the Shiva lingam, worshipping Lord Shiva. Then Yamraja threw his noose. He had to show duality. The lingam was also caught, along with Markandeya. When Markandeya meditated he became Lord Shiva.
So when Yama threw this noose, who did he actually capture? And how can that which can never be destroyed, be destoyed even by Yama? Even though he is an instrument of God? When Yama tried to pull the noose he was actually choking himself. Yama was choking himself because he was pulling that which was identified with everything in the form of Markandeya – which was Shiva. And he started being strangled. And then Lord Shiva says through his shakti, Parvati, 'what are you doing? I'll destroy you with this tirisula!' [trident, pictured] 
Tirusula [Swamiji laughs] is nothing else but the three different bodies [gunas] with which God destroys one, again and again. They are rajastic, tamasic and sattvic qualities. He makes you fed up [exhausted, irritated] when tamas lays you low. In rajas he makes you so full of activity, so full of passion, that you get fed up again. You don't want it, you want to run. But this time you don't run down [to a lower level] because you already know that rogue [tamas] is waiting there. You run up to sattvic. And when you get to sattvic, there too, sattva tries to bind you with happiness. Then you realise this happiness is only relative and you want to go beyond it. And when you go beyond it, you become everything – and therefore you reach beyond it.
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.
There are currently available, 150 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.
For more about the Holy Trinity, and also the founding Swamis of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, please mouse over their names below:
Sri Ramakrishna Sri Sarada Devi Swami Vivekananda
Swami Nischalananda Swami Shivapadananda
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - read online
Reference websites – please mouse over the name and click to connect:
Ramakrishna Math and Mission Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa Ramakrishna Dham