Swami Shivapadananda talking to children about service to others – and cooking! 😉
Swamiji served up a mixed 'menu' for a group of young people. It followed the talk he'd given to the adult audience in that same venue. About yearning for God being the ingredient we're missing from our spiritual practise.
The lesson starts with Swamiji telling the youngsters a delightful story, about a rich man and his travelling companion. Not there to keep the rich man company, but to steal his money. A memorable way of conveying an important lesson about morals and ethics to the children.
Another story is shared about a conundrum facing the gods because of human skills at flying high above the planet and digging deep inside it. They need a secret location in which to conceal themselves. And they find one. Listen to the audio clip to discover where.
Swamiji talks to the young people in effortlessly understandable terms about how they can serve God in man. He shares with them the idea that in dealing with our fellow humans, the karma of others can become our dharma – a lesson Swamiji frequently emphasises. For the children he uses a personalised broken leg analogy, which they immediately relate to.
The discussion then moves on to the art of making a good potato curry. Swamiji has the children fully engaged with the idea that just throwing potatoes in a pot and hoping it'll turn out well, is not the method. He goes through the cooking process from the basics, with them happily participating, establishing the necessity of a sequence, seasoning, spices and care, to produce a good tasting curry.
Swamiji draws the threads of the lesson together by explaining that love is the 'ingredient' which will give flavour to the service they can offer others. He gives examples of how they can worship God by serving others, and grow themselves in the process.
Click on the link below, to enjoy. Jai Sri Ramakrishna!
Duration 10:17
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 Wisdom of the Sages