SWAMI SHIVAPADANANDA
DAILY READINGS
Taken from Mother Radha's notes.

In a Hindu home, when devotees want to be happy, when the family wants to be happy, it cannot come without unity. The whole universe is made out of unity. 'United we stand, divided we fall'. Unity starts with unselfish purpose, then with the family, with society, with the nation, and the universe. The idea is to reach the universality of unity. This only comes with practise. We must set a goal.

Swami Vivekananda ['chief' disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, who brought Vedanta (the highest Hindu philosophical teachings) to the West via a World Parliament of Religions address in 1893] went to the temple of Mother Kali [Hindu goddess], to ask for what would take them out of trouble (because his mother and sisters were dying of starvation.) He thought: Let me ask Sri Ramakrishna to pray for me, to give me work and I will be blessed. But Master would not. He said, 'You ask the Divine Mother. Why do you want to test my faith? You must have the faith to ask Her directly.'

So Swami Vivekananda went into the temple and saw Mother pulsating, living, breathing. And he prayed for selfless love, devotion and knowledge. When he came out Sri Ramakrishna asked him what he had prayed for and he told him. So Master told him to go there again and pray. He went three times to ask for work - but all he could ask for was selfless love, devotion and knowledge.

Swami Vivekananda's real nature was selflessness, to love God. And so his real nature manifested when he went into the temple. Just as a mango seed can only show its nature by producing mango flower, and mango fruit.

In the end Sri Ramakrishna asked him, 'Did you ask Mother?' 'No,' was the reply. Then Master said, 'I bless you that your family will not starve, they will have basic food, shelter, clothing.' And that came to pass.

So pray for anybody. Ask anything. But the highest is love and devotion. Start in the heart. He must be everywhere because God is omnipresent.