Talks Excerpt 360. Swamiji says: Treat the japa mala reverently; it is the guru.

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

Any time you say, ‘Ah, this is It!’, It is not.

There are many aspects that we may not know about, so there is no finality.

Never desire miracles, manifestations, experiences [all siddhis]. You will get stuck there – like thousands of yogis did.

Never see the fault of others. See your own fault that sees the fault in them.

If you have an experience during meditation – seeing the Lord and so on – do not desire a repetition. Because then it becomes a habit. See it and let it go. Sometimes it seems like a spiritual desert, you have no experiences and you think you are not progressing.

But I tell you: ‘No. All that part of the path, the middle path, is the razor’s edge path.’ Often you do not know which side of it you are on. If you know that it takes you towards God, good. If not, it is not good. Change it.

The desire to be what you are not – even that is karma.

Keep a spiritual diary.

Be humbler than the dust.

Buddha said: Be good, do good.

‘What you think, so you become.’

Do your sadhana regularly. Do meditation, japa and sing kirtan (devotional songs).

Treat the japa mala reverently; it is the guru. The more lovingly you treat it, the more concentration it gives. See the thread running through the guru-bead [the one before the tassel] only. You know it is in other places but in the guru-bead you see it.

You think the guru is outside you, but I tell you: ‘No, he is inside you, he is your Self.’

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.