Talks Excerpts 713 and 714 combined. Swamiji gives some powerful advice on mind-management for spiritual aspirants.

From Mother Radha’s recordings of Swamiji.

Gurudev, Swami Nischalananda [Puri], was wonderful. He made us strong from second to second. He used to say, ‘Never place your faith in man, place it at the feet of the Lord in man.’

Today’s saint can become a devil tomorrow and tomorrow’s devil can today become a saint. Watch this very carefully. It happens in every corner of the world. You find a leader who is a great guru. Suddenly you find he has disappeared from the scene. Had you planted your faith in that person you would now be faithless. Rather plant faith in the Lord, who is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent and who is also in your heart. If you do this, then no matter how many sadhus come or go, your faith will still be firm in God Himself.

Gurudev said that we should not sing his name – and he was right. He said, ‘A swami’s name should not be sung.’ I am only telling you what he told me. He used to say, ‘Thousands are the names of God. Sing His name and sing His glory.’ Do you see how Gurudev taught us? He took the emphasis away from an ordinary man and put it on the Immortal Being.

In the Christian [Lord’s] prayer it says, ‘O Lord, lead me not into temptation.’ That is a very beautiful line. Some people ask, ‘How can God tempt you?’ We must try to understand that God has to test us to see how strong we are. So we have worldly temptations on one side and Divine tendencies on the other – the egotistic man and the selfless person. The egotistic person becomes attracted to pleasure in the form of lust, greed, anger, hatred, name and fame. How can we overcome these temptations? These can be overcome through prayer, cultivating good qualities like love, kindness and patience. Then, surrender to God. God will do what He wants to do.

Be wise and do not get caught in sensual pleasures. Increase your devotion to God and you will be saved.

Excerpt 714:
Let us say you find five hundred [South African] Rand [currency] on a table. You look around and there is nobody to see you. You try to grab it. That is temptation. God has put it there for you to see how weak you are.

When you know that your mind is attracted toward weakness, what should you do? Pray to God to save you from temptation. Say, ‘God, do not tempt me. I have given my heart to You and shall not sacrifice my love for anything in this Universe.’ Thus God becomes the Eternal Groom and we become the Eternal Bride. This temptation is called Maya [‘Partial truth‘ as Swamiji regularly explained to it us]. Maya is attracting you in the form of the senses. Detect it quickly and shift the emphasis from body consciousness to Spirit-consciousness.

Gurudev used to say: ‘Don’t trust your mind.’ This mind is a big rogue. It will hold you by the hands, just like a friend, tempt you, drop you down and then say, ‘Look what I have done to you!’ Your mind enjoys the joke. Watch it every second, clear your pathway by thinking about God.

Never follow the path of the wicked. Never say, ‘The other man is doing this wrong act, so why shouldn’t I?’ Religion is subjective and not objective. By being subjective and watching our behaviour, we progress Godward.

Gurudev also used to tell us: ‘If you are attracted to a single friend, be careful. Don’t allow your mind to be weak. Attachment can lead you down the wrong path.’ When we were at a spiritual retreat [Yoga Camp] in Tongaat, a [small] group of us used to love to discuss various topics. Gurudev warned us, ‘This kind of attachment is not good for a sadhaka. Make friends with others too. Don’t let your so-called friends take you away from God.’

So do not be attached to any [particular] ‘friend’ and think you are happy, because that is a weakness. Remember that.

The free-to-read or download, 396-page Flipbook version of Swamiji’s biography, ‘A Life Lived For Others‘, is available by clicking HERE. If you’d prefer the PDF version, please click HERE.

For our gurubhai Atmaprakash Kramer’s beautiful pictorial booklet, ‘Memories of my ashram days‘ at the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, Avoca Ashram, please click 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 those with him at the time.