Daily Reading 33. Swamiji on the right meditation and ‘teaching’ attitude.
From Mother Radha’s notes, taken at Swamiji’s feet.
There is nothing like japa, meditation and studying the scriptures. If you do not have good thoughts, then, rather than having bad thoughts, take a holy book and read their good thoughts!
God is independent, so if you sit cross-legged, you are independent of the chair or the seat. Relax and be respectful in front of God. It is very important to keep a routine time with God.
During meditation see the Deity in your heart. Look at his feet, legs, body, two hands, face. See him smiling, full of light, full of happiness. When He is smiling you are happier. Look at Master [Sri Ramakrishna] and say, Om eym sarva deva devi swaroopaaya Sri Ramakrishnaaya namah. [Meaning: I prostrate to Sri Ramakrishna, who embodies the consciousness of all the gods and goddesses.]
And pray: O Lord, give me bhakti [love], jnana [knowledge], visvas [faith]. Compel my mind to march the path through which the Self or the Deity will be revealed to me. Protect me from all things which will take me from You. Om shanti, shanti, shanti [Peace, peace, peace].
We do need some sort of spiritual rules and regulations. Otherwise we may think we are very spiritual people. But we will find that when the rules and regulations are put there, we feel restricted. That means you are really not free, though you thought you were.
The three wise men from the east came to see Jesus Christ when he was born. Each brought what they loved the most to offer to the Lord. We too must offer our best to God.
During a Chandogya Upanishad class reading: In humility the student approaches the teacher. Reality is only found in realisation; not in intellectual knowledge.
Swamiji: The only perfection is when you realise it yourself. Many so-called ‘holy men’ are just preachers. They learn the scriptures but do not realise the Self. They get caught in the ego of preaching, praise, pride.
Swamiji: Christ described it as, ‘That peace which passeth all understanding.’ We may relate it to the peace we have felt; but it is beyond that; it is beyond intellect, beyond understanding. When the mind is really calm, it will have double the strength.
Reading: The knowledge of the Atman disperses the darkness of the soul.
Swamiji: Mind only relates in relation to something else. That is why the peace of Self-realisation is beyond speech and mind. By saying ‘Paramatman’ again and again, you do not realise IT [note the capital letters]. You are only using a term for It. Only when you reach a state of realisation will you realise IT. When you realise the Paramatman as your own Self, you overcome grief and sorrow, you realise you are not the body, mind and intellect, you are beyond these. Deny the body and mind. What then? You are spirit. Sri Ramakrishna said: ‘If you do not find it here, you will not find it anywhere.’ I am not teaching you. I am worshipping God as you; and I look up to you. Not there, not that [Swamiji points to the devotees] but here, this [points to his own head].
Do not stop at the Puranas. Go on till the objective becomes the subjective.
Underlined words are hypertext links to clarification, explanation or other sources. Just tap on them.
The free-to-read or download, 396-page Flipbook version of Swamiji’s biography, ‘A Life Lived For Others‘, is available by clicking HERE. If you’d prefer the PDF version, please click HERE.
For our gurubhai Atmaprakash Kramer’s beautiful pictorial ‘memoir’ booklet of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, Avoca Ashram, please click HERE.
There’s also a Facebook site for Swamiji’s posts now. They feature newer readings published more recently. Click HERE to view.
These recordings or the excerpts from them, were made from the early 1970s onward, by Mother Radha, a close devotee of Swamiji’s and edited for uploading here by our gurubhai and her son, Brother Tim. Please be mindful that what Swamiji was saying may have been specific to those with him at the time.