Swamiji on Deity-fanaticism, and the Self revealing Itself.
Swamiji speaks about Deity fanaticism and sharing that he went through such a period. During his Lord Shiva 'phase', if anyone spoke of any other deity, he temporarily didn't want anything to do with them. Swamiji shares that it was at his Guru, Swami Nischalananda's feet, that he got the full understanding. There's some fascinating comment about us and devil worship, which is very worth listening to, and understanding.
State of mind is conducive to feeling, says Swamiji and it's better to be joyful than sad when it comes to spiritual matters. He goes on to tell a story about a yogi who wanted to keep worldly people away from himself. So when people of high standing or a worldly disposition approached, he'd start using foul language. One person managed to get close to him, despite the tactic, and politely but directly asked him why he used such bad language. You have to hear what the yogi's answer was. What a lesson for all of us!
Swamiji goes on to talk about the calibre of teachers, and how even in conveying basic secular knowledge, the capability of the teacher is important. But in the spiritual realm, the subtlety is such that even excellent students may not understand it. Not just first class students, says Swamiji, but excellent students.
Swamiji explains that the scriptures say that the Self reveals Itself to whomsoever it chooses. We don't 'qualify' for it, or earn it. It comes down to grace. Swamiji draws a distinction between the 'Self' with form' – Ishwara/Ishvara – as opposed to the formless and absolute. He clarifies, using an analogy about clouds obscuring the sun.
Swamiji says don't get caught in personality worship. Rather take what anyone says back to scriptural level, verify it, and then accept the teaching. Don't force anyone to accept a particular personality-type.
Swamiji wraps up the discussion by using a comical example of someone overhearing prescription information from a doctor – when it's not intended as a cure for their own condition at all.
To listen to this collection of wise tips, please click on the link below. Jai Sri Ramakrishna!
Duration: 09:38
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-onwards tapes, has been lovingly engineered, over many years, by her son and our dear gurubhai, Brother Tim. May Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji bless them both.
Admin tip: Underlined words are links. If you click on them, they'll take you to an explanation of the particular word or term. [In these overviews, Admin comments are typically in a smaller green font, and square bracketed, like this statement.]
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Context: As always, care should be taken to remember that what Swamiji was saying, may have been very specific to the needs of people with him at the time. Please bear this in mind.
Links to our Guruparampara (spiritual lineage) organisations, which will broaden your knowledge base: Ramakrishna Math and Mission and our alma maters, the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa and the Sri Sarada Devi Ashram in Durban.
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