Swami Shivapadananda on the validity of all the scriptures
SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
598
[Continued from 597]
In the Vedas [very ancient Hindu scriptures] you will find it said that only those who practise religion as embodied in the Vedas will get immortality, will dwell in heaven or will be eternally free. Because of this you may say that we must stick to the religion of the Vedas. But let me ask you: If I was born now do you think my name would be mentioned in the books that were printed a hundred years ago? No. It is logical to say my name would not be found there. When the Vedas were written there was no Bible, so the Bible is not mentioned in the Vedas. There was no Qur'an at that time so it is not mentioned in the Vedas. There was no Dhammapada, so it is not mentioned in the Vedas.
That is why Sri Ramakrishna did not say, 'Practise religion only as laid out in the Vedas . . . ' He said, 'Practise religion as laid out in all the scriptures.' Sri Ramakrishna did not say, 'Follow the Bible', but by practising its teachings himself, he followed it. By becoming a Christian he followed it. By virtue of this fact he is telling us: 'There is truth in that.' By practising the Qur'an he is telling us, 'The truth is also in that.'
But we as Hindus must not be blind. We do not owe anybody anything. We are proud to be Hindus. And Sri Ramakrishna himself said that a Hindu should not become a Christian, he should become a better Hindu; a Christian should not become a Hindu, he must become a better Christian. Why is this? If there is a tap in your house and another tap in my house what is the need for you to leave your house and come to my house for drinking water? The water is already there, drink it.
The Ramakrishna Centre [of Southern Africa] in no form whatsoever preaches conversion. But a bad man can be converted into a good man by following his particular dharma [righteous path or 'way']. If he is born in that dharma it will be easier for him to understand 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, 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.
Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Nischalananda Puri, Swami Shivapadananda
Click Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna to read online…
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