Spiritual Practices of Sri Rama Krishna Paramahamsa
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa - Biography and Teaching________________________________
I have seen God and I converse with God. You can also see God and converse with him. These were the statements of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Some his disciples used to trouble him frequenty to show them the God. He facilitated their visualization of God.
Swami Vivekananda was one of them. One more such disciple was Swami Brahmananda. For a bigger list of his disciples and their writings visit Disciples of Ramakrishna.
You can read Vivekananda's account of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in the article My Master (Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa).
Swami Vivekananda said:
"Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity, within, by controlling nature, external and internal.
Do this either by work, or psychic control, or philosophy - by one, or more, or all of these - and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details."
The book titled "The Eternal Companion" published by Ramakrishna Mutt contains a brief biography of Swami Brahmananda and some his lectures.
His lectures were addressed to young sanyasins of the mission. He always told them to realize God. Is it easy? No. But he said it was not more difficult than getting a degree. Spiritual practice of number years is required to realize God.
The path recommended by Swamiji is External Worship, Japam (Recitation of a Mantra), Meditation (Thinking deeply about God in solitude) and Samadhi.
External Worship: Worshipping the God in the form of an idol.
Japam: One sings the glory of the Lord, by chanting or repeating the glorious names of the Lord and simultaneously imagining the blessed form behind the holy name. (Vishnu Sahasra Namam )
Meditation: In meditation, japam and prayer do not take place. It is a deep thought about him and myself. As meditation deepens, one will perceive the form of chosen deity.
Samadhi: The actual vision of the Omnipresent Reality.
People start their spiritual practice at a level that suits their interest and temperament and progress towards higher level.
The practitioner (termed sadhaka) has to perform spiritual practices for number of years to develop his mind spiritually. A spiritually developed mind only can realise the vision of a God. When will it take place? It is the mercy of God. But God will certainly show his mercy if a person desires it sincerely.
An interesting analogy was given by Swami Brahmanda and today I was lucky to read a poem on the same theme written by Swami Vivekananda.
Every person in this universe is a like a child who came out of the house to play outside. The mother told the person not go but the child insisted. Mother opened the gate and closed it with anger. Now the child is tired of play and other attractions of the outside. He wants to go back into his house. He calls his mother. But mother is angry. She is asking do you really want to come in. The child has to convince the mother that he is really tired of outside. He wants to come in. But the divine mother knows everything from inside. Does the child really want to? Every person who wants to see God is like this child.
For a poem of mine on this theme of a child going for wordly play from spiritual house.
You have to really want to see the God by doing the required effort. Will it take few lives?. You must be prepared. Why? There is perpetual bliss in the spiritual world. Do you want to put in 40 year effort for the eternal bliss? Do you want to put in 20 years effort for perpetual bliss? Do you want to put in 10 years effort for perpetual bliss? Do you want to put in 5 years effort for perpetual bliss? You decide the number of years to want to put in and make the effort and look for the result.
Swami Brahmananda said the young age of 16 to 30 years was the best period of spiritual quest.
Ramakrishna - Vivekananda Center of New York
Address:
17 East 94th Street
New York, NY 10128
Telephone:
(212) 534-9445
Fax:
(212) 828-1618
Email:
rvcnewyork@worldnet.att.net
Services and Classes
Swami Yuktatmananda conducts services on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. A brief description of the services are as follows:
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Updated: 18 Feb 2015, 25 Jan 2012
Address:
17 East 94th Street
New York, NY 10128
Telephone:
(212) 534-9445
Fax:
(212) 828-1618
Email:
rvcnewyork@worldnet.att.net
Services and Classes
Swami Yuktatmananda conducts services on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. A brief description of the services are as follows:
- Sunday Services
- On Sunday mornings at 11:00 A.M., Swami Yuktatmananda conducts the service and lectures on spiritual topics of practical importance. Some of these topics are: The Ways of Human Mind, Spiritual Transformation, The Message of Self-Knowledge, Vedanta and the Contemporary Religious Ferment, The True Spiritual Awakening, Guidelines for Mature Living, Action and Meditation, Harmony of Religions, The Problem of Suffering, Christ and His Message, Buddha and His Way, and others.
- Weekday Classes
- On Tuesday evenings at 8:00 P.M., Swami Yuktatmananda conducts a class on The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, and on Friday evenings at 8:00 P.M., a class on the scriptures of Vedanta: The Upanishads, The Bhagavad Gita, The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali, The Crest Jewel of Discrimination, The Works of Swami Vivekananda, The Teachings of the Direct Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, Narada Bhakti Sutras, Uddhava Gita: The Last Message of Sri Krishna, and others.
- Special Services
- The Center holds special services each year on the occasions of Sri Ramakrishna's Birthday, Holy Mother's Birthday, Swami Vivekananda's Birthday, Buddha's Birthday, Sri Sri Durga Puja, Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter. As part of these special services, the Choir of the Center performs traditional hymns and songs, both Western and Eastern. All the services and classes of the Center are free and open to the public.
- Special Lectures and Seminars
- Swami Yuktatmananda arranges special lectures and seminars at the Center for groups of students from colleges, universities, and other organizations who wish to visit the Center and learn more about its teachings. On special occasions, Swamis from other centers, spiritual leaders of different faiths, community leaders, and academicians are invited by Swami Yuktatmananda to speak at the Center.
- Library & Bookstall
- The Center maintains a Library and a Bookstall for the benefit of the members and the public. The Library is regularly used by members and friends of the Center, and contains a large number of books and periodicals on Vedanta and other philosophical and religious systems of the world. The Bookstall provides a valuable resource for Ramakrishna-Vivekananda literature, and books on Vedanta and other religious traditions. In addition, photographs and incense may be purchased here.
Other Ramakrishna Mission Centers in USA
- Vivekananda Cottage at Thousand Island Park
- The Center also maintains the Vivekananda Cottage, a summer cottage at Thousand Island Park, New York, in which Swami Vivekananda lived and taught for eight weeks in the summer of 1895. The teachings given at Thousand Island Park by Swami Vivekananda form part of the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda and are published by our Center as Inspired Talks.
The Vivekananda Cottage is located about 360 miles from New York City, near the Canadian border on Wellesley Island on the St. Lawrence River. It is generally available during the months of July and August as a place of pilgrimage for devotees who wish to visit.
Main website of Ramakrishna Mission
http://www.belurmath.org/
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Updated: 18 Feb 2015, 25 Jan 2012
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