What is the Ishta Deva [personal deity]?
[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]
[now a Centre of the international Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission]
DAILY READINGS
Selected from Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji.
Day 985
Swamiji invites devotees to ask some 'practical, spiritual questions.' He says: 'If you have difficulties in your meditation, or you are feeling doubt about anything, let's hear it.'
Devotee: Swamiji, could you explain the Ishta Devata [personal deity] please?
Swamiji: Swami Vivekananda [spiritual heir to Sri Ramakrishna] in his complete works says that the personal God is the highest reading of the impersonal. The personal God is the highest reading of the?…impersonal. Why do you make it personal? Because that is what we can understand. So, the Ishta Deva is nothing else but a minute form of the Supreme Being [Ishwara and ultimately Brahman, the one universal consciousness]. 'Apparently' it becomes minute [very small], for our sake. In reality, you can't give him form, you can't give him attributes, you can't give him name.
What he is, Ramakrishna put so beautifully: Only God himself knows what God is. Doesn't he say that? God is with form, God is without form and what God is, God himself knows. Man cannot say positively, 'It is this.' Therefore in the Vedas [the foundational Hindu scriptures], the way they negate is [by repeating], 'Neti, neti – not this, not this.' When everything which is transient, perishable, ephemeral, is negated – including your body, mind and intellect, then the truth shines because the truth cannot be negated. It is eternal, imperishable, Satchitananda [Existence, Knowledge, Bliss Absolute], infinite, you can't negate it. Does that answer your question?
Devotee: Yes, Swamiji.
Swamiji: It was a good question.
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, 150 different CDs or DVDs with mp3 files, of Swamiji speaking. Please email timhoare@webmail.co.za to order.
For more about the Holy Trinity, and also the founding Swamis of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, please mouse over their names below:
Sri Ramakrishna Sri Sarada Devi Swami Vivekananda
Swami Nischalananda Swami Shivapadananda
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna - read online
Reference websites – please mouse over the name and click to connect:
Ramakrishna Math and Mission Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa Ramakrishna Dham