Swamiji gives nuanced advice for sadhana. Talk Excerpt 187.
From Mother Radha’s notes, written at Swamiji’s feet.
Do not make an enemy of your mind – that leads to a nervous breakdown. Methodically go up.
Swami Nishreyasananda left me his old watch. He left me a message: ‘Watch out!’ [Devotees laugh]
Each of you is a masterpiece – unique – a prince or a princess.
At night repeat ‘Om hreem‘ [Swamiji told us this harmonises inside and out]. Repeat: ‘Sarva mangala mangalye . . .’ [Click HERE for the mantra and details].
Anything you feel, think or do is maya [within the realm of ‘partial truth‘, as Swamiji described maya to us..
Keep the respect of the ashram [Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa] high. Keep the mind pure. Do duty without ego, do it with love, with a smile on your face. Do it with love and devotion and an intense feeling of compassion.
If you see through the senses, you see many. If you see beyond the senses, you see One.
You are not born, not bound. Man is never a slave, though he thinks he is. Dharma and adharma are both chains – one [the first] is gold, one is steel.
Do not ever forget Grace [kripa], it appears when you, through every effort, tried but failed.
When you discipline yourself you become alert, you become more sattvic and truths of the scriptures will pour into you.
When meditating, your body should not touch the body of another. The vibration in each body changes all the time, high and low, and the mind goes here and there. We are all saints in the making.
Do not let anyone use your bed or your mala [prayer beads].
There are 21 days left this year, try to speak sweetly for 21 days no matter how people speak to you. This is a sadhana [spiritual practise] I am giving you.
The free-to-read, 396 page Flipbook version of Swamiji’s biography is available by clicking HERE.
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.