Talk Excerpt 229. Swamiji says the difference between holy and unholy, is the purity of the heart.
From Mother Radha’s notes, written at Swamiji’s feet.
Are we worthy of our Deity [Ishta Devata], Bhavatarini, [the aspect of [Maha] Kali that Sri Ramakrishna worshipped] who saved the whole universe?
Sri Ramakrishna said, ‘So long I live I learn.’ Master consider himself to be an eternal student.
In the Vivekachudamani it says that the Guru is a smoldering fire that burns without fuel – there is no action, it is actionless.
Sri Ramakrishna saw a public woman [prostitute] and he went into samadhi – but a sensual man sees that and desires her.
Think: What gives a worldly man a push to enjoy worldly pleasure – what gives a holy man a push to enjoy spirituality? The difference is in the impurity and purity of the heart.
When you go to the Guru what should you do? Worship him with devotion, be humble, besiege him with questions pertaining to spirituality. Do not ask him about worldly matters. Bhakti [spiritual devotion] is a mental quality. Touch his feet and do his behest. Wait till the appropriate time comes to talk, be pure in body and mind. Say to him, ‘You are the ocean of compassion, I have fallen into the ocean of samsara [worldliness, birth/rebirth], please rescue me.’
How to purify the mind? Only say what you can [or will] do. If you can’t do something, don’t say.
Keep good company. If a person or a group of people make your mind go towards God, it is good. Read holy books.
How to get dispassion [vairagya]? By not having a passion for the things of the world – by only having passion or love for God.
Pray for love of His lotus feet. He will do everything for you – but you must want God, not the world.
The free-to-read or download, 396 page Flipbook version of Swamiji’s biography is available by clicking HERE.
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 an individual or a group of people with him, at the time.