Swami Shivapadananda on devotion to the Guru

 SWAMI
SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY READINGS

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

Day 365

Who is the
guru? The body? Yet when the body is dead it stinks. Will you give it flowers
then? Why not? What is the difference? Find out. Then you will discover that
the guru is in all.

When you
really love the guru, and when he says, ‘Follow Me,’ you will just follow. You
will never tell anyone. Be like ‘M’, [Sri Ramakrishna's biographer – pictured – read more at end of post] who obeyed the Master’s instructions
without question. 

Jesus said to
his disciple: ‘Follow Me’ and he did. He did not tell his wife and children and
so on. When you are prepared, when preparation is made, when you are pure,
sincere, this is what happens.

Devotee: I
know what you say is true Swamiji, but it seems incredible.

Swamiji: You
will see, you will see. But now we just cling to the world and worldly things.
Do not cry for the world, cry because you cannot see your guru in front of you.
You must have great devotion to the guru, he does everything for you.

If my sister
goes to the guru and I am jealous, is that love? We must at least pray, ‘O Ma,
I have not an atom of divine love in me. Teach me, guide me, open my heart, let
me learn what real love is.’ If the guru says, ‘Jump into the sea,’ will you?
Do you have that faith? Or will you stand and ask why?

If we can
worship God in a stone image, why not in man?

Some devotees
are always in my mind. This shows their great purity, their minds must be
one-pointed, turned this way, otherwise they would not be here.

Purity is like
the fragrance of the flower you offer to God. If the fragrance is not there,
the other smell is not nice.

Click on 'Continue Reading' below to read more about Mahendranath Gupta…

Mahendra Nath Gupta (M.)

M. was the pen name of Mahendra Nath Gupta. He was born in Kolkata on 14
July 1854. His parents were spiritual minded and he was deeply devoted to
his mother. When he was four, he went to the Car Festival at Mahesh with
his mother, and visited Dakshineswar on the way back. It is likely that
this was the first time that he saw Sri Ramakrishna. From his childhood M.
had mystical inclinations. He was a bright student and gained deep
knowledge in English literature, Western philosophy and other subjects.

After graduating from college, M. took up the profession of a teacher and
served as a head master in several schools. One afternoon, he went for a
walk with his nephew Sidhu to the temple garden of Dakshineswar. He was in
a depressed frame of mind, but the subsequent meeting with Sri Ramakrishna
removed all sadness. On his second visit, he tried to argue with Sri
Ramakrishna and got a scolding from the Master. As he described it later,
his ego was crushed. At the Master's instruction, M. practised inner
sannyasa, while not being indifferent to his worldly duties and
responsibilities.

M. used to note down Sri Ramakrishna's words in order to think about them
in the intervening period before he met him again. Gifted with artistic
ability and an accurate memory, he recreated vividly in writing what he
had seen or heard in the Master's presence. After the passing away of Sri
Ramakrishna, some of the disciples of the Master asked him to publish the
diary, but he was reluctant. Only after Sri Sarada Devi approved it, did
he feel that he had divine sanction. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, or Sri
Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita as it is called in Bengali, has not only made
M. immortal but it has also become the source of solace and hope for
millions today. About the new Gospel, Aldous Huxley remarks in his
Foreword: “Never have the casual and unstudied utterances of a great
religious teacher been set down with so minute a fidelity”.

M. regularly visited the Baranagore Monastery and supported the monastic
disciples in every possible way. On June 4, 1932, M. left his body in full
consciousness, uttering “Mother, Gurudeva, take me up in your arms”.

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.

Besides these daily readings Mother Radha recorded many hours of our beloved Swamiji speaking.

There are currently over 100 different CDs available in sets of 10 for R200 per set. This price includes postage. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.

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