A short exert from "Advice for Spiritual Living" by His Holiness Gurudev Swami Chidananda Saraswati (1916-2008), read by Rev. Dr. Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati.
"Blessed Immortal Atman!
"It is now the holy period of Navaratri as I write this. The atmosphere is surcharged with deep devotion to Maha-Devi and vibrant with the fervor of worshipfulness, adoration and prayer. Our thoughts are filled with the glorious Divine Mother, and Her Blessed and wondrous manifestation as Durga-Lakshmi-Saraswati. She is the great Mystery, the inscrutable Power of the Supreme Brahman, who holds in Her Hands both bondage and Liberation.
"The grace of the Divine Mother it is, that enables you to walk the path of Divine Life. Through Her benign blessings you are able to shine as a sincere spiritual seeker and a man of dharma. To worship the Mother with devotion is to be immediately uplifted by Her strength and power. She works within your inner being as the triple force of destruction, evolution and illumination. Destroying the impure and vicious aspects of one’s lower nature, the unworthy, base, and bestial in the individual personality, and helping evolve the human nature into sublime heights of goodness, nobility and the purity of beauteous virtue. She illumines the jiva with supreme divine wisdom. Thus the Divine Mother is the very life and support of the aspirant’s spiritual sadhana. She makes your quest fruitful with attainment. The Divine Mother grants kaivalya moksha or eternal release and immortality.
"To worship and to adore the Blessed Mother is to welcome Her divine help in working out your highest good and everlasting welfare. When you thus seek Her divine aid, Her compassionate response is immediate. She sets to redeem you in Her own way. She sends experiences both pleasant and painful, through trials and difficulties. She molds and strengthens you, through sorrow and suffering, She refines and purifies your nature. She enriches and blesses you with spiritual experience and raises you to exalted heights. She makes use of your very life and its experiences to make you perfect and bestow upon you divine peace and joy and the Illimitable splendor of Self-realization. Therefore, O beloved seeker! learn to accept the joys and sorrows, the temptations and the trials of your life with wisdom and understanding. Seek to recognize their hidden meaning and purpose for your own evolution and supreme good. Find Her divine hand behind all occurrences and see the Mother’s will working through them. Then will you behold your entire life as the expression of the Mother’s immeasurable love for you.
"Resolutely overcome all defects, faults and wrong tendencies in your nature and behavior. Develop noble character. Grow in virtue. Ever walk upon the path of perfect righteousness. Seek the immortal, Be thou an embodiment of Divine Life. Let the sacred name of Gurudev Sivananda be glorified by thy true discipleship into him. Personify his ethical and spiritual teachings. May the world find in you a source of inspiration. Let thy presence elevate all. May the Divine Mother shower Blessings upon you! Jai Sivananda!
Devi Gita (Class 24): ”She Shows Herself as the World” by Swami Bhajananananda Saraswati
Devi Gita (class 23): ”The Goddess Who is Speech” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati
Devi Gita (class 22): ”The Color of Fire” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati
”Sri Ramakrishna’s Love for the Devotees” by Rev. Swami Chetanananda
Devi Gita (class 21): ”We bow the Goddess” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati
Devi Gita (class 20): ”All Suited for Love” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati
”Stories of Swami Saradeshananda” (Part VI) by Swami Chetanananda
Devi Gita (class 19): ”Her Playful Mood” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati
Devi Gita (class 18): ”The Crescent Moon” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati
”Stories of Swami Saradeshananda” (Part IV) by Swami Chetanananda
”Stories of Swami Saradeshananda” (Part VI) by Swami Chetanananda
Devi Gita (class 17): ”She Was Adorned” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati
”Stories of Swami Saradeshananda” (Part II) by Swami Chetanananda
Devi Gita (class 16): ”Swelling Buds of the Lotus” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati
”Stories Swami Sharadeshananda” (Part I) by Swami Chetanananda
”Storeis of Swami Saradeshananda” part IV, by Swami Chetanananda
”Control of the Mind” from the letters of Swami Madhavananda, by Swami Chetanananda
Devi Gita (class 15): ”In the Form of a Woman” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati
Devi Gita (class 14): ”Without Beginning or End” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati
Devi Gita (class 13): ”Like Ten Million Suns” by Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati
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