Swamiji advises on ‘right attitude’ seeing peace and positives. Talks excerpt 177.
From Mother Radha’s notes, written at Swamiji’s feet.
It is dangerous to seek for companionship. Slowly seek the companionship of the Ishta Devata [your personal deity] , or Brahman. The only companion is good thoughts about the Absolute. All other companions are good – but not the best.
Only you and God should know anything that is done in spirituality – or you, God and the teacher. Otherwise it is an ego trip – the fastest trip to destruction. [Swamiji used to insist that spiritual experiences, if they happened, should not be discussed with anyone. Not even the Guru. Because the Guru will know that they’ve occurred, or he will have given them].
If you say, ‘Peace, peace, peace, [shanti, shanti, shanti]’ you see peace where there is apparently no peace – and because of the power of the Master [Sri Ramakrishna], of the Supreme Self, it gives peace.
But we pay attention to negative things around us, and so we attract more negative things. In troubled water you will see peace, though others may not see it. The electrical wire may be worn out, but the electricity itself is perfect. We are so used to finding the negative. We must rather acknowledge the positive side.
[Holy Mother] Sri Sarada Devi said, ‘Do not find fault with others.’ Thus, as you concentrate on the positive, the negative is washed away.
The only thing a sadhaka [spiritual aspirant/practitioner] must know, is how to get devotion to the Lotus Feet of the Ishta Devata, to the Lotus Feet of God.
We must take some of these words and put them into practice. No matter how many times you fail, try again and again.
A child must at all times respect and obey his father and mother – except when they stand in the way of God-realisation.
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These recordings were made from the 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 an individual or a group of people with him, at the time.