Talk Excerpt 231. Swamiji says that the vastness of the banyan tree is in a tiny seed. As is spirituality within us.

From Mother Radha’s notes, written at Swamiji’s feet.

You may squabble, but remember you are all children of the Master [Sri Ramakrishna]. Afterwards you must be one again.

Question: When a sannyasi [monk, nun, renunciate] comes here to the ashram, how must we behave?

Swamiji: As you would with your father.

Sri Ramakrishna’s devotees have no problem, only that they must not indulge in the free play of the senses, or become greedy.

[Holy Mother] Sri Sarada Devi said, ‘O my child, just as the wind removes the cloud, so the name of God destroys our ignorance.’

Difficulties come to all. And when God incarnates, difficulties come to him.

A small seed contains the whole banyan tree – but it is unaware of it. Sri Ramakrishna said, ‘All is Narayana.’ This includes the elephant and the mahut [the rider on the elephant]. (This refers to Sri Ramakrishna’s parable about the elephant and its rider – in which both are indeed manifestations of God. But if you don’t get out of the way of a charging elephant, you’ll get crushed].

The heart’s primary feeling is love. But it is contaminated with ego and becomes anger, etc.

Children must be encouraged to make up new games and to spontaneously sit quietly for one minute a day. Then the purity will always be there. One minute of silence will give the ability, when facing a problem, to withdraw into the silence. This early period is most important.

Early in the morning, parents must recite the Lord’s Suprabhatam, and the violent passions will be calmed.

Once a week the whole family should sit together, meditate for 1 minute, then each one should sing a devotional song. This only takes about 10 or 15 minutes altogether.

At 6 in the morning the mother and father should sit together to meditate. The child will see this. When the whole family is involved, it creates a greater impact.

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.