Daily Reading 27. Swamiji on spiritual reading and practise.

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

When you meditate you must make yourself absent and God will do it for you. It is imagination at first. Later it becomes reality.

Jealousy in any form will obstruct your path.

Through meditation you get powers. So those who do meditation should talk less and do more japa.

An Excerpt from Meditation and Spiritual Life by Swami Yatiswarananda: It is essential when doing scriptural reading to put a part in writing and try to practise it in our own way. But as long as we do not take the key, put it into the lock and turn, nothing will happen. Words are the key; putting them into the locked mind and turning, is practise. Sri Ramakrishna asked Swamiji Vivekananda, ‘What do you want?’ ‘I want to be in samadhi a long time and come down sometimes and eat food.’

Swamiji: His hunger for Nirvikalpa samadhi did not leave Swami Vivekananda. With eyes closed you get into samadhi; and with eyes open you go into samadhi; and you see the One. This is the superconscious state.

Reading: People think of God as the giver of boons, and they hanker after pleasures.

Swamiji: Eighty percent of us fall under this heading.

Reading: Everything is a gift of God. So, try and be content always. Try to live a selfless life and to attain the Divine. In the world there is happiness and misery. Try to remain calm always.

Swamiji: If our love of God does not bring joy, then there is something wrong with our spiritual practise.

Reading: As God’s instrument your power is unlimited. Do not think of yourself, give and give and give.

Swamiji: We give. We do not care what others do.

Underlined words are 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.