- December 2024
- June 2024
- November 2022
- April 2022
- March 2021
- November 2020
- June 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- September 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- October 2018
- July 2018
- April 2018
- January 2018
- October 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- November 2016
- July 2016
- April 2016
- January 2016
- October 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- July 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- December 2013
- July 2013
- April 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- September 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- April 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
Celebrations Videos on Occasion of Swami Ramakrishnananda Jayanti
Posted in Miscellaneous, News, Notifications
Updated: [Audio Recording]: “THE VEIL OF ATTACHMENT ” BY SWAMI TYAGANANDA
[Latest Update : 31/01/2016]
Swami Tyagananda, Minister-in-charge of our Ramakrishna Vedanta Society, Boston, Massachusetts, USA has delivered a talk on “The veil of attachment” on 7th January 2016 at 5.30 pm in the temple prayer hall of Halasuru Ramakrishna Math, Bangalore
You can download from here (By Right Click and Save As):
THE VEIL OF ATTACHMENT
Posted in News
Kalpataru Day and 163rd Birthday Celebrations for Holy Mother on 1st Jan 2016
Posted in News, Notifications
MANTRA DIKSHA on 27th and 28th Sept, 2015
We recommend all interested spiritual aspirants to read a small booklet titled ‘Initiation’ (this book has been translated into various languages), by Swami Bhuteshanandaji Maharaj, the 12th President of the Ramakrishna Order. This book is available in almost all the centres of Ramakrishna Order. We also recommend reading the book ‘Spiritual Practice’ (titled ‘Spiritual Life’ and is available free for the general public in our website itself), by Swami Ashokanandaji Maharaj.
Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna on the importance of Guru in Spiritual Journey.
“One must get instruction from a guru. Once a man was looking for a stone image of Siva. Someone said to him: ‘Go to a certain river. There you will find a tree. Near it is a whirlpool. Dive into the water there, and you will find the image of Siva.’ So I say that one must get instruction from a teacher.”
“It is Satchidananda that comes to us in the form of the guru. If a man is initiated by a human guru, he will not achieve anything if he regards his guru as a mere man. The guru should be regarded as the direct manifestation of God. Only then can the disciple have faith in the mantra given by the guru. Once a man has faith he, achieves all. The sudra Ekalavya learnt archery in the forest before a clay image of Drona; He worshipped the image as the living Drona; that by itself enabled him to attain Mastery in archery.”
“Faith in the guru’s words. You should depend on his instruction. Do your duties in the world, holding fast to his words, like a person whirling round and holding fast to a pillar. One must not look on one’s guru as a mere human being: it is Satchidananda Himself who appears as the guru. When the disciple has the vision of the Ishta, through the guru’s grace, he finds the guru merging in Him.”
– Sri Ramakrishna
Spiritual Initiation Requires Preparation – A talk by Revered Swami Bhuteshanandaji Maharaj
“According to scriptural injunction, anyone approaching a guru for initiation must have certain qualifications. Here is an example. A sage named Narada went to Bhagavan Sanatkumara, a great teacher, for initiation. Sanatkumara said, “Tell me first what you know. Then I shall decide what should be taught.” Narada gave a detailed list of what he had studied, and none of the principal scriptures were left out. Yet, in spite of so much learning, he said, “I am not at peace, neither am I satisfied. I still feel discontent.” “Well, Narada,” said Sanatkumara. “I understand that you have studied quite a lot. But what you know are only some words. You have become a master of words, but you do not know your Self. Only a knower of the Self overcomes grief.” Then Narada humbly requested: “Bhagavan, kindly impart to me that knowledge by which I may get rid of all misery.” What does this story signify? It signifies the great necessity for preparing the ground of one’s mind before initiation.
Many desire to have spiritual initiation. But before initiation, there must be preparation. Those who are not prepared should be advised to wait. Being prepared helps one to proceed properly. This process is like preparing soil before planting seeds. The soil must be tilled and manure must be spread first. If the seed is sown after that, it grows well. One must prepare in a similar fashion before receiving mantra diksha, or spiritual initiation. This preparedness is conducive to success. And most humbly, I want to touch upon another point: There is no end to this preparation.
Unless the mind is pure, the mantra given with diksha will not be effective. The mind can be made pure through the practice of good conduct, humility and true yearning. Only then will the mantra, like a seed, sprout and flourish into a full-grown tree, bearing flowers and fruits. We must repeat that preparedness before receiving the mantra diksha is absolutely mandatory. In fact, nothing in spiritual life is achieved without preparation.
The scriptures recommend that a spiritual seeker should approach the guru for initiation only in humility, service, selfless devotion and purity. The moment of initiation is an invaluable one. We should receive the holy name in our heart with faith and devotion. We should concentrate our mind upon it. If we can dive deep into our being and remain engrossed in it, a most valuable gem will take shape within.
Once the field has been made ready, the seeker develops love for the name of God. It’s like establishing a Deity in a temple. Before the installation, the structure and the surrounding area must be made ready. Then only can we consider the installation ceremony. Receiving a mantra symbolizes installation of God in our life.
We do not usually initiate young boys and girls. Devotees who are parents with children often feel hurt because of this. But we pose the question to them: “Are these young ones ready for initiation?” No they are not—not at all. There is an appropriate time for mantra diksha. When the mind becomes restless for initiation, we know that time is near.
There is another point to be remembered in this context. Our daily conduct should be in tune with our state of being initiated. To accomplish this, we recommend five codes of conduct to be followed. There is nothing secret about these codes. Everybody should know about them. Hence, we speak to all. No one can move toward God without pure conduct. Here are the five codes of good conduct.
1. We should pray for the welfare of all. We should behave in such a manner that no one’s feelings are hurt and no harm is caused to anyone. We should follow ahimsa, noninjury. This not only implies not hurting others physically, it also means not thinking ill of anyone.
2. We must hold on to truth always. We should never have recourse to falsehood. And we must honor our commitments. Sri Ramakrishna used to say, “One who holds on to truth rests in the lap of God.” We will have to make a lot of sacrifice in life to observe truthfulness. It is not an easy job.
3. We must never cheat or deceive anyone in any way. Let us be satisfied with what is due. This is honesty in dealing with others.
4. We must bring all of our sense organs under our control. Let us not be guided by them. Control over one or two sense organs will not do. All the senses must be brought under strict control.
5. We must think of God and strive to realize him.We must lead a simple, straight forward and natural life. We should not seek luxury. This does not mean we should wear beggar’s clothes, but we must strive to maintain ourselves with minimum requirements. This also means we should be free from greed.
Mantra diksha should be taken with all seriousness. It should not be looked upon as a status symbol. Initiation is for God realization only. At times, we are forced to pass through a number of adverse situations. From where shall we get the strength and motivation to overcome them? If we get initiated after due preparation, that initiation itself will provide us with that necessary strength.”
Posted in News, Notifications