Swami Shivapadananda on grace of God and mind
SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
591
Swamiji speaking at a Yoga camp
Just as Jesus was born on a Christmas Day, bringing new life to the world, similarly Master's [Sri Ramakrishna's] sannyasi [monastic] disciples, unknown to themselves, performed a havan [ritual fire worship or viraja homa] on this day and took their vows of chastity, poverty and purity; they re-dedicated their lives to the upliftment of themselves and the upliftment of others.
Sri Ramakrishna gives us a new lease of life so that, after these Yoga Camps, we also may re-dedicate ourselves to the task ahead of us. We are the custodians of the treasure of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda and Sri Sarada Devi [the Holy Mother] If at least two people can become conscious of God in their hearts, in their surroundings, and in people, then this Camp has borne fruit.
When my guru, Swami Nischalananda, brought this kind of sadhana [spiritual practice] to the people of South Africa it was during hard times. People were not conscious that you could meet on one platform with different faiths. He however made it possible for us to meet and worship the same God, by the grace of our sadguru and Master, Sri Ramakrishna.
Of the many people that Gurudev [Swami Nischalananda] marched with and trained, a few have dedicated their lives to God. Of those few, one perchance may reach God. Nevertheless we take our inspiration from the fact that we have started the journey.
There are many people in this world, like us, who have not yet won the grace of their minds because they are attracted to the perishable things of this world. Having had the grace of your mind and the grace of Sri Ramakrishna if we do not make further use of these gifts then we are the losers.
There are many examples amongst us of those householders who have put these blessings into practice. You must all have heard about Ricky from Ladysmith. [ a town in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa] At the time of his death he took the photograph of Master, put it on his chest and died. This was a young man who was not even married, but look at his departure from this world. These are living examples and you can be one of them.
Do not live a life of selfishness, do not be conscious that you are gathering merit or demerit, just be conscious that you are serving your Master and do it to the best of your ability, with faith, love and devotion.
Try to lead the life that you have learned here in the Camp in your homes. Put into practice the things we have learned at Camp when you meet friends and others.
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, 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.
Reference websites (please mouse-over
the name to connect): Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of SA, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa,
Ramakrishna Dham, Swami Shivapadananda 2