Swami Shivapadananda on willpower
SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.
Day 495
where Sarada Devi lived in a small room on the ground floor)
When we become pure, our mind becomes less agitated, more concentrated and therefore our memory becomes stronger. Slowly, when we have built up our character, will-power takes over and we become strong-willed. At the moment we are weak-willed because our senses are ruling us – not our will or our discriminating power.
The more we cultivate morality the more morality becomes our character. The more character that comes, the more our will-power is strengthened, and when our will-power is strengthened we can do anything and everything.
Happiness must be here. If you cannot find anything here you will not find it there.
Even if a sannyasi [monk] shows you a vision of Sri Krishna today you will still be eating flesh and drinking alcohol tomorrow. That is why we do not believe in visions and other things – because they do not transform our inner lives. We believe in that which permanently transforms our minds. The mind must be attracted and made into that image itself. That is the basis of spiritual life.
Sri Ramakrishna stuck to truth, his father stuck to truth, and his grandfather also stuck to truth. Therefore in truth, God the truth was born. If you are untruthful do not think that you are going to have a beautiful, truthful baby, a Rama, born in your house. Like attracts like. If you dislike truth you will dislike a lot of things and your child will dislike a lot of things too. Do not ask me, "But what happened? Why is my child like this?" Nothing has happened, you attracted that kind of soul.
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