The blessings of caring for your parents
SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
633
Swamiji continues speaking on the Mahayajnas [five great sacrifices]
The last one is bhutayajna. Bhuta does not mean devil. Bhuta means those animals that are controlled by nature. The five mahabhutas are the five elements and bhuta here means 'controlled by nature'. An animal cannot think how to improve its life, so you have to think for it because you are higher than it. Just as you improve your child's life, so you improve the life of the poor, the miserable, the plant and the animal. You build wells and old age homes.
In the old days we were taught that to serve our father and mother was itself a worship – and by serving them we won heaven. Take sanatkumar for example, he did not go anywhere else, he did not put his blind mother and father in an old age home. He served them and by serving them the merit accrued to him. He was shining with this effulgence of service.
Old age homes really are a curse today. People think that the old ones are like dogs and cats. Ten o'clock when the bell rings, 'Just give them a cup of tea.' One o'clock when the bell goes again then the nurses will come and give them some food. If flies are sitting on some stinking face they just have to brush it away, like a dog's tail. This is a curse of the modern world.
Every child in India used to be taught that to serve their mother and father was the highest worship under the sun. For the sperm that passed through your mother was your father's; the fertilisation that took place was your mother's; and it is for this same mother and father, who brought you into this world, that you are today asking for help. You fools. You are missing a very good opportunity. Even if your father kicks you hundreds of times or if your mother swears at you thousands of times, who cares? How many nights was your mother kept awake by you – full of dirt etc. And she probably had to get the kicks and blows of your father as well. Perhaps your father even had to go and steal sometimes to look after you, tell lies to bring you up. Can you ever fulfill that?
Hey, children, wake up, look at it. We Hindus have become blind to this kind of concept. We should wake up now. In the guise of pleasure our intelligence is stolen away. Just a smile or some love from the opposite sex makes you forget the roots in which you were brought up. Those roots are your father and mother.
Even the gods become pleased if you do this, let alone men and women.
1) Care should be taken by the reader to
understand and take Swamiji's words in these postings, in context. Every
teaching or instruction that he gave was specific to the people who were with
Swamiji at the time. 2) Mouse-over the words highlighted in red in the
posting for further explanation or links.
There are currently available, over 100 different CDs
or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email
timhoare@webmail.co.za to order. Click HERE for the second website on Swamiji's life and
teachings.
Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Nischalananda Puri, Swami Shivapadananda
Click Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna to read online…
Reference websites (please mouse-over
the name to connect): Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Ramakrishna Centre of SA, Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa,
Ramakrishna Dham, Swami Shivapadananda 2