Swami Shivapadananda on worshipping the seemingly ‘ugly’

SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA

DAILY

READINGS

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

Day 349

 

Morning and
evening do one mala
of your guru mantra
[sacred sound syllable or name of God], with your deity in your heart. After
that you can change the mantra but keep the same deity. Repeat the mantra all
the time.

All the time I am
there, with Shiva
[the aspect of God that destroys ignorance] – holding his feet. I speak to you
and then return to His feet.

 

A young child has
no ego. God is the doer.

 

If you knock it
must be opened. For all who have knocked, it has been opened. So make your mind
pure and worship even the ugly.

 

Take every line of
Swami Vivekananda’s
[chief disciple of Sri
Ramakrishna] poem on Mother
Kali [the female aspect of God, and consort of Lord Shiva, who destroys
ignorance and evil] and meditate on it. What is death? Find out, then you will
think that the ugly is the same as the beautiful.

 

You do not have to
realise you are God, because you are God, that is all. When you worship
the ugly you will see only beauty everywhere. Then you can go beyond, and That
is God.

 

Devotee [clearly
referring to a prior state of mind]: Nothing seemed to be wrong. I just
developed a headache and felt depressed . . .

Swamiji: This is
because it is inside and it must come out. Always be the witness to these
things.

 

There’s the story
of a man who tried to straighten the curly tail of a dog. [see posting picture]
He pulled and pulled (i.e. he did sadhana [spiritual practice]) but when he let it go, it curled
again! Similarly the mind goes back to the same old pattern of criticism etc.
when not controlled by sadhana.

 

You cannot reach
God by criticism of others

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