Why do you love what you love?
[2nd President and Spiritual Head: the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa]
[now a Centre of the international Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission]
DAILY READINGS
Day 1021
Out of love, out of love, the whole world came, do you know? They say that up to now, the world was created out of bliss, it exists in bliss and it will end in bliss. This is what the scriptures say. Yet, we take this which came out of joy and get so much misery. Why? The understanding is not there. For that understanding I am performing certain practical things, so that I will understand the secret of love – and therefore what love is.
What man thinks is love, is a very, very, very dangerous thing. 'I love you my darling, but I must divorce you [much merriment from devotees] because I fell in love with somebody else.' Love, this is love? I want to give you the word 'love'. It only exists in word. It only exists in?…word. Because we don't understand the spirit. When you say, 'I love you,' you will not question the person. You'll do everything – die – to make the other person happy. You will do everything and die to keep the other person alive – that is love. Anything that demands even the slightest admiration is still tinged with personal motive. Therefore, a real bhakta [devotee, lover of God] will not say that 'I love God because he looks after me. I love God because he created me'.
There was once a guru [spiritual teacher/preceptor] who gave his disciples a piece of paper to write on it 'why I love God'. Each one gave their own reason. 'He created such a beautiful world', 'when I wanted work and my family was starving, I got work. Therefore I love him'. Some said, 'whenever I prayed to him he gave me what I wanted.' Others said, 'Oh I love him because he is love.' But when the teacher collected all the pieces of paper, he found one blank sheet – and all the students laughed. The teacher said, 'yet he knows the meaning of love.' [Swamiji chuckles] Because it does not know any reason why it loves. It just loves. So that kind of love we are trying to live, that kind of love we are trying to reach. Not because so and so brings me pretty flowers, that I love him. Not because he gives me a nice put-on smile, therefore I must love him. I just love him, regardless of anything else.
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