Swami Shivapadananda speaking on Hanuman Jayanti
SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
605
Swami Vivekananda said about Hanumanji that the Lord who brought happiness to Sri Rama, who brought happiness to Mother Sita, who brought happiness to the whole of Bharatdesh [India], should be worshipped and adored by all people regardless of their caste, colour or creed. He said that if India worships the ideal of Hanumanji, India will be blessed, India will be uplifted – for he said that Hanumanji is the embodiment of all the sadhanas [spiritual practices] that are found in the scriptures.
These sadhanas are divided into four popular headings: raja yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga. Hanumanji is the embodiment of all these yogas and more. It is difficult for us mortals to fully understand and appreciate this bhakta [great devotee,] Sri Hanuman.
Today we celebrate Hanumanji's birthday [Hanuman Jayanti] but in reality the [Bhagavad] Gita says the Lord never takes birth; and because He does not take birth, He never dies. Man, who takes birth, dies. Let us analyse this. Ninety nine point nine percent of the people in this world are helplessly given birth. They take birth unknowingly, ignorantly. Their past actions force them into this world. And because they ignorantly take birth they are mortals. Then when they die they die unconsciously, thus going into spheres or stages unknown to them.
But the great Incarnations [Avatars] of God take no birth. They consciously come to the world and they consciously leave the world. From that point of view there is no birth for the Lord and no death. As Hindus this is one fact that we must remember – especially because we believe in reincarnation.
Sri Krishna says in the Gita, 'With my yogamaya [power of illusion/delusion] I embody myself. I apparently take birth and after accomplishing my work I do not die but I leave the body consciously.' He is saying: 'Consciously I took the body, consciously I leave the body; therefore I have no birth and I have no death. The body, I know, will die; the body takes birth like some kind of envelope, some kind of a casing; I get into this casing called the body consciously, and I consciously leave this body, therefore I (the real I) have no birth, no death.'
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Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Nischalananda Puri, Swami Shivapadananda
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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