Swami Shivapadananda shares a (missing) key element needed for us to reach God.
It sounds like Swamiji was talking at one of the branches of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa. Saying that he hadn't been there for some time, but was delighted to see that the devotees were getting together regularly for satsang, to increase their devotion for God.
Swamiji says that there's one special ingredient missing in our sadhana, which explains why we don't progress along the spiritual path as quickly as we could.
He tells a story involving Sri Ramakrishna and a man who came along and asked when he would have God-realisation. Master took the man for a little walk to the Ganga, and blessed him with a lesson that neither he, nor any of us, could ever forget. Please listen to Swamiji telling this story from Sri Ramakrishna's life, and meditate on it from a personal perspective. Do we have the 'missing ingredient'? If not, when will we have it?
As with so many talks, Swamiji goes on to stress the One-ness of God. He uses the ceiling lights in the venue to illustrate his point. Swamiji asks the devotees what the common element is behind the light globes illuminating the function. They distil it down to electricity. Swamiji discusses some of the multiple ways in which electricity is used. It can be used to heat water, cool things in a fridge, provide light, and power countless other applications. It is one, but its manifestations are many.
Swamiji stresses that in Hinduism, God, too, is ONE. But we're given the great grace of being able to worship that One, through our own preferred channel or Ishta Devata (chosen Deity or Ideal). Swamiji's emphasis is that God is One, but with many forms and expressions.
This is a very focused audio clip with primarily two powerful thoughts. 1) What are we missing in our approach to God? 2) A reminder that whoever we worship and however we do so, we are worshipping One and the same divinity.
Please click on the link below to enjoy the lesson. Jai Sri Ramakrishna!
Duration 08:03
The original audio recordings of these posts were made by close Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa and Swami Shivapadananda devotee, Mother Radha. The audio editing and noise reduction of the original 1970s tapes has been lovingly crafted, over many years, by her son and our gurubhai, Brother Tim. May Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji bless them both.
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Links to broaden your knowledge: Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, Sri Sarada Devi ashram, Durban
Picture on this post borrowed from Singapore First Aid Training