The Ishta Devata
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
648
Today, 1st October, is the 15th Mahasamadhi (leaving of the body) anniversary of our beloved teacher, friend and Guru, His Holiness Swami Shivapadananda Puri. [Pictured above] Swamiji was the 2nd President and Spiritual Head of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa. Very, very… special memories. He touched the lives of many thousands and continues to do so through his legacy of teachings, vibrant monasteries and devotees. He was a living example of respect for and inclusion of, ALL religions. We are privileged and grateful for the association.
Swamiji continues speaking on the Ishta Devata [Chosen Deity or Ideal]
Swami Vivekananda worshipped Sitaram [an aspect of Lord Rama] from a young age. He worshipped them but as he grew up he found that Sri Rama was married and had two children. He said, 'What? This man I am worshipping, who we call God, has two children.' He went to the Ganga [river Ganges] and consigned Sri Rama to the river. He then took Lord Shiva's picture and started worshipping it. (I do not know what happened when he found out that Lord Shiva had two wives and two children.) Anyway, when he went to Sri Ramakrishna, Master took one look at him and said, 'You worship Shiva. No. You must worship Rama. Rama is your ishta devata.' And he made Swami Vivekananda worship Sri Rama. Only Lord Shiva can have love for Sri Rama; and Hanumanji is Lord Shiva himself.
Ultimately we find that Swami Vivekananda was Lord Shiva himself so he could not worship Lord Shiva. He had to worship Sri Rama and his spiritual progress gained momentum, his love increased by leaps and bounds.
Devotee: How can I increase love for the ishta devata?
Swamiji: You must read more about it. Hear more about it. The more you read and hear about the glories of your ishta devata the more the love will increase.
If you do not hear and read about it then your devotion will definitely become stagnant, it will not increase. That is why in these yoga camps I insist that we speak about Sri Ramakrishna. Otherwise he can just be a man, a dead thing. The speaker gave a talk about Sri Ramakrishna today so you have a love for him. Similarly you must speak about your deity and hear about your deity.
You find the vaishnavites doing that a lot. They think about Lord Vishnu, they recite stories about Lord Vishnu and they glorify Lord Vishnu. So the love for Lord Vishnu is naturally increased.
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