Who we really are
SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
From Mother Radha's recordings of Swamiji
624
[Swamiji continues speaking on the Bhagavad Gita]
Swami Vivekananda said, 'There are two parallel lines; one is called matter and the other is called Consciousness.' If you take matter away then Consciousness will remain; and that Consciousness is you. Therefore the Vedas say 'Prajnanam brahma': Consciousness is Brahman. And that Consciousness is all-pervading; it is in everything. The only thing is that we do not know it. Consciousness never dies. A dead body has no consciousness. Consciousness is the truth, the Reality.
Furthermore Swami Vivekananda said: 'The day science can put the five elements together and make Consciousness, is the day you can prove the theory that 'Consciousness is Brahman,' is wrong. Until you can create consciousness please accept what we say.'
[Lord Krishna says] Whatever beings and objects that appear active and inert, know that they proceed from Me, they are in Me, yet I am not in them.
Here is another thing that is in you. You are, at the present moment, imagining that you are this body but you know that you are not the body because if I cut off your hand and throw it aside you are not a quarter that side and three quarters this side. You would only say, 'My hand is lying there.' Just like 'my jersey' or 'my coat' or 'my shirt'.
You say, 'My body.' Who is this who owns everything, and says, 'My, my,' every time? Who is this? Find the possessor of all this and you will know who you are. You are identifying yourself with a very fat body and you are saying, 'I am a fat man'. You are not fat. Your body is fat. Then you say, 'Oh, I am feeling very depressed.' You fool. You are not feeling depressed, your mind is feeling depressed. You say, 'I'm a very clever man.' It is not that you are a clever man, but that your intellect is sharp, your intellect is clever at a particular thing. Who is the 'you' that is operating through these three apparent bodies?
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