Bhajans requested by Lingeswar Rao
Tue 12 Apr 1988, Side B
00:00 Remembering Lingeswar & friends
Dear Rao-maharaj
Now I have just turned it [the cassette] over. It's around 8:30; I was going to observe a little silence, then later, go back to the house; but still I continue thinking of you all; Surya, Padmadevi, your Aunt, Uncle, the working sister, the newly-married neighbor, your cousin in Hyderabad, the two sisters in Bhimavaram who gave up their house for a foreigner, the neighbors you are tutoring, your town of Bhimavaram, your city of Hyderabad, your holy land of India, the sages and saints who have tread the soil in the country, the peace and happiness of which they have sung numerous songs, how they have lived, like Rishis [they abided] in the Self, in God - the very embodiments of God. It gives me great pleasure to think of all these things and to think of you all. I think it is blessings on me by Bhagavan that I have met you, that I have visited your homes, I have sung bhajans with you, I have partaken of your food, your hospitality, your love and blessings. This is a wonderful and great thing in my life, that I can sit here in this temple all alone and think of you. Sit before Sri Bhagavan, sit before Sri-lalita-mahatripurasundari, immerse my thoughts in you and in Sri Bhagavan and the devi. I think, by the grace of Bhagavan, I have met you, I continue to think of you. I pray that Sri Bhagavan may fullfill all your prayers, ambitions, noble desires. Most of all I pray He may give you the peace and happiness and bliss of knowing Him, of abiding in Him; that He may give that to all of us. We're all his children, you are my family, more than my family, {? 03:26 ?} you are the same, WE are the same....our bodies in different countries; So I pray from the depths of my heart, that Sri Bhagavan may give everything that you desire and most of all give you the happiness of Himself.
[It's] the next morning, I'm in Sri Ramana Mandiram, about to listen to the Veda Parayana; and I've brought you along with me to listen. Then I will begin with and you can follow the morning program here; and also join me. Now, after the Veda Parayana, I have come down to the basement, And I'm about to prepare for the Ramakrishna puja. You can hear me moving the various items about which I use for this special morning puja. Only Rao-maharaj may know exactly what this puja is. I'm heating the milk; {? 5m 31s ?} We have a devotee here, Shep, whom we've had here in the Ashrama since Jun 1986. My neighbor, Mr.Connell, has a son who had this dog, Shep. He was going to put him away for various reasons. Mr Connell took him from his son and brought him here to the Ashrama. He [Shep] follows me through the routine. He comes to the temple in the morning, afternoon and evening. He is very loyal to the Ashrama. I warmed the milk a little bit, to give it to Shep. If you listen carefully, you hear Shep drinking his prasad. The puja is over and I just started to have some of the prasad, and the main thing I will have [is] the reading of the "Gospel of Ramakrishna" and I'm sitting here in the kitchen, as it is a bit cold outside this morning - below freezing. Other rooms here in the basement and the first floor I haven't been heating, so I'm just warming up the kitchen a little bit and having some of the prasad and your company and the company of Bhagavan Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Today we're at the Chapter 21....
07:43 A Day at Dakshineswar, Ch.21 [1]
27:33 Sri Lalita Sahasranam
[1] from Vol.1 of "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna" by Sw.Nikhilananda.