swami vivekananda-12: On Fanaticism

In this excerpt, Swami Vivekananda focuses, amicably and with humor, on the reformer’s single-minded zeal and points out that it is a distortion of "selfless activity." Included in the Complete Works (5: 242-45) as "Notes from Lectures and Discourse," this was originally published in the London edition (no longer available) of Vivekananda’s Karma Yoga. The book was compiled from the transcripts of class talks Swamiji gave in New York in December 1895 and January 1896.

Kinds of Fanaticism

There are fanatics of various kinds. Some people are wine fanatics and cigar fanatics. Some think that if men gave up smoking cigars, the world would arrive at the millennium. Women are generally amongst these fanatics. There was a young lady here one day, in this class. She was one of a number of ladies in Chicago who have built a house where they take in the working people and give them music and gymnastics. One day this young lady was talking about the evils of the world and said she knew the remedy. I asked, "How do you know?" and she answered, "Have you seen Hull House?" In her opinion, this Hull House is the one panacea for all the evils that flesh is heir to. This will grow upon her. I am sorry for her. There are some fanatics in India who think that if a woman could marry again when her husband died, it would cure all evil. This is fanaticism.

When I was a boy I thought that fanaticism was a great element in work, but now, as I grow older, I find out that it is not.

There may be a woman who steals and has no objection to taking someone else’s bag and going away with it. But perhaps that woman does not smoke. She becomes a smoke fanatic, and as soon as she finds a man smoking, she strongly disapproves of him, because he smokes a cigar. There may be a man who goes about cheating people; there is no trusting him; no woman is safe with him. But perhaps this scoundrel does not drink wine. If so, he sees nothing good in anyone who drinks wine. All these wicked things that he himself does are of no consideration. This is only natural human selfishness and one-sidedness.

Fanaticism Is a Disease

You must also remember that the world has God to govern it, and He has not left it to our charity. The Lord God is its Governor and Maintainer, and in spite of these wine fanatics and cigar fanatics, and all sorts of marriage fanatics, it would go on. If all these persons were to die, it would go on none the worse.

Do you not remember in your own history how the "Mayflower" people came out here, and began to call themselves Puritans? They were very pure and good as far as they went, until they began to persecute other people; and throughout the history of humanity it has been the same. Even those that run away from persecution indulge in persecuting others as soon as a favorable opportunity to do so occurs.

In ninety cases out of a hundred, fanatics must have bad livers, or they are dyspeptics, or are in some way diseased. By degrees even physicians will find out that fanaticism is a kind of disease. I have seen plenty of it. The Lord save me from it!

My experience comes to this, that it is rather wise to avoid all sorts of fanatical reforms. This world is slowly going on; let it go slowly. Why are you in a hurry? Sleep well and keep your nerves in good order; eat right food, and have sympathy with the world. Fanatics only make hatred. Do you mean to say that the temperance fanatic loves these poor people who become drunkards? Fanatics are fanatics simply because they expect to get something for themselves in return. As soon as the battle is over, they go for the spoil.

Fanaticism versus Love

When you come out of the company of fanatics you may learn how to really love and sympathize. And the more you attain of love and sympathy, the less will be your power to condemn these poor creatures; rather you will sympathize with their faults. It will become possible for you to sympathize with drunkards and to know that they are also human beings like you.1 You will then try to understand the many circumstances that are dragging them down, and feel that if you had been in their place you would perhaps have committed suicide.

I remember a woman whose husband was a great drunkard, and she complained to me of his becoming so. I replied, "Madam, if there were twenty millions of wives like yourself, all husbands would become drunkards." I am convinced that a large number of drunkards are manufactured by their wives. My business is to tell the truth and not to flatter anyone. These unruly women from whose minds the words bear and forbear are gone for ever, and whose false ideas of independence lead them to think that men should be at their feet, and who begin to howl as soon as men dare to say anything to them which they do not like--such women are becoming the bane of the world, and it is a wonder that they do not drive half the men in it to commit suicide. In this way things should not go on. Life is not so easy as they believe it to be; it is a more serious business!

We must have not only faith but also intellectual faith. To make a person take up everything and believe in it, would be to make him or her a lunatic. I once had a book sent me, which said I must believe everything told in it. It said there was no soul, but that there were gods and goddesses in heaven, and a thread of light going from each of our heads to heaven! How did the writer know all these things? She had been inspired, and wanted me to believe it too; and because I refused, she said, 'You must be a very bad man; there is no hope for you!" This is fanaticism.

source: www.vivekananda.org

swami vivekananda-11: A Letter

A Message of Sympathy to a Friend

This is from a letter that Swami Vivekananda wrote on May 23, 1893, to D. R. Balaji Rao, who was passing through a difficult period of severe domestic affliction. The extract reproduced here is from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 4: 354-55.

"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Thus said the old Jewish saint when suffering the greatest calamities that could befall us, and he erred not.

Herein lies the whole secret of existence. Waves may roll over the surface and tempest rage, but deep down there is the stratum of infinite calmness, infinite peace, and infinite bliss. "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." And why? Because it is during these moments of visitations when the heart is wrung by hands which never stop for the father's cries or the mother's wail, when under the load of sorrow, dejection, and despair, the world seems to be cut off from under our feet, and when the whole horizon seems to be nothing but an impenetrable sheet of misery and utter despair--that the internal eyes open, light flashes all of a sudden, the dream vanishes, and intuitively we come face to face with the grandest mystery in nature--Existence.

Yes, then it is--when the load would be sufficient to sink a lot of frail vessels--that the genius, a person of strength, the hero, sees that infinite, absolute, ever-blissful existence per se, that infinite being who is called and worshipped under different names in different climes. Then it is, the shackles that bind the soul down to this hole of misery break, as it were, for a time, and unfettered it rises and rises until it reaches the throne of the Lord, "where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest". Cease not, brother, to send up petitions day and night, cease not to say day and night—Thy will be done.

"Ours is not to question why, Ours but to do and die."

Blessed be Thy name, O Lord! And Thy will be done. Lord, we know that we are to submit; Lord, we know that it is the Mother's hand that is striking, and "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." There is, Father of Love, an agony at the heart which is fighting against that calm resignation which Thou teachest. Give us strength, O Thou who sawest Thy whole family destroyed before Thine eyes, with Thine hands crossed on Thy breast. Come, Lord, Thou Great Teacher, who has taught us that the soldier is only to obey and speak not. Come, Lord, come Arjuna's Charioteer, and teach me as Thou once taughtest him, that resignation in Thyself is the highest end and aim of this life, so that with those great ones of old, I may also firmly and resignedly cry, Om Sri Krishnarpanamastu.

May the Lord send you peace is the prayer day and night of ---

Vivekananda

source: www.vivekananda.org

swami vivekananda-10: The Design Theory

The following notes from Swami Vivekananda's class talk are reproduced from his Complete Works, 6: 97-98. Being "notes"-and not a verbatim report, like his other lectures in the Complete Works-these are sketchy and may not represent the exact words spoken by Vivekananda. But they give a fairly good indication of his ideas on the subject.

The idea that nature in all her orderly arrangements shows design on the part of the Creator of the universe is good as a kindergarten teaching to show the beauty, power, and glory of God, in order to lead children in religion up to a philosophical conception of God; but apart from that, it is not good, and perfectly illogical. As a philosophical idea, it is entirely without foundation, if God is taken to be omnipotent.

If nature shows the power of God in creating the universe, [then] to have a design in so doing also shows His weakness. If God is omnipotent, He needs no design, no scheme, to do anything. He has but to will it, and it is done. No question, no scheme, no plan, of God in nature.

The material universe is the result of our limited consciousness. When we become conscious of our divinity, all matter, all nature, as we know it, will cease to exist.

The material world, as such, has no place in the consciousness of God as a necessity of any end. If it had, God would be limited by the universe. To say that nature exists by His permission is not to say that it exists as a necessity for Him to make us perfect, or for any other reason.

It is a creation for our necessity, not God's. There is no scheme of God in the plan of the universe. How could there be any if He is omnipotent? Why should He have need of a plan, or a scheme, or a reason to do anything? To say that He has is to limit Him and to rob Him of His character of omnipotence.

For instance, if you came to a very wide river, so wide that you could not get across it except by building a bridge, the very fact that you would have to build the bridge to get across the river would show your limitation; it would show your weakness, even if the ability to build the bridge did show your strength. If you were not limited but could just fly or jump across, you would not be under the necessity of building a bridge; and to build the bridge just to exhibit your power to do so would show your weakness again by showing your vanity, more than it would show anything else.

Monism and dualism are essentially the same. The difference consists in the expression. As the dualists hold the Father and the Son to be two, the monists hold them to be really one. Dualism is in nature, in manifestation, and monism is pure spirituality in the essence.

The idea of renunciation and sacrifice is in all religions as a means to reach God.

source: www.vivekananda.org

swami vivekananda-9: Work Without Motive

This is a summary of Swami Vivekananda's talk given to the members of the Ramakrishna Mission at the meeting held on 20 March 1898, at 57 Ramakanta Bose Street, Baghbazar, Kolkata. The text is also available in the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 5: 246-49.

When the Gita was first preached, there was then going on a great controversy between two sects. One party considered the Vedic rituals (yajnas) and animal sacrifices to constitute the whole of religion. The other preached that the killing of numberless horses and cattle cannot be called religion. The people belonging to the latter party were mostly monks (sannyasins) and followers of the path of knowledge (jnana). They believed that the giving up of all work and the gaining of the knowledge of the Self (atman) was the only path to spiritual freedom (moksha). By the preaching of His great doctrine of work without attachment, the author of the Gita set at rest the disputes of these two antagonistic sects.

Many are of opinion that the Gita was not written at the time of theMahabharata but was subsequently added to it. This is not correct. The special teachings of the Gita are to be found in every part of the Mahabharata, and if the Gita is to be expunged as forming no part of it, every other portion of it which embodies the same teaching should be similarly treated.

Now, what does it mean to work without motive? Nowadays many understand it to mean that we must work in such a way that neither pleasure nor pain touches our minds. If this be its real meaning, then the animals can be said to work without motive. Some animals devour their own offspring and they do not seem to feel any pangs at all in doing so. Robbers ruin other people by robbing them of their possessions; but if they feel quite callous to pleasure or pain, then they also would be working without motive. If the meaning of it be such, then one who has a stony heart, the worst of criminals, might be considered to be working without motive. The walls have no feelings of pleasure or pain, neither has a stone, but it cannot be said that they work without motive.

In the above sense the doctrine is a potent instrument in the hands of the wicked. They would go on doing wicked deeds, and would pronounce themselves as working without a motive. If such be the significance of working without a motive, then a fearful doctrine has been put forth by the Gita. Certainly this is not the meaning. Furthermore, if we look into the lives of those who were connected with the preaching of the Gita, we should find them living quite a different life. Arjuna killed Bhishma and Drona in battle, but withal, he sacrificed all his self-interest and desires and his lower self millions of times.

The Gita teaches karma yoga. All work must be done with concentration (yoga). In such concentration in action (karma yoga), there is no consciousness of the lower ego present. The consciousness that "I am doing work" is never present when one works through yoga. Westerners do not understand this. They say that if there be no consciousness of ego, if this ego is gone, how then can a person work? But when we work with concentration, losing all consciousness of ourselves, the work that is done is infinitely better. Every one may have experienced this in their own lives.

We do many things unconsciously, such as the digestion of food etc. We do other things consciously, and some things we do by becoming immersed in Samadhi, as it were, when there is no consciousness of the ego. If painters lose the consciousness of their egos and become completely immersed in painting, they will be able to produce masterpieces. Good cooks concentrate their whole self on the food-material they handle; they lose all other consciousness for the time being. But people are able to work perfectly in this way only in fields they specialize in. The Gita teaches that everywork should be done in that way. Those who are one with the Lord through Yoga do allwork by becoming immersed in concentration. They do not seek any personal benefit. Such a performance of work brings only good to the world, no evil can come out of it. Those who work thus never do anything for themselves.

The result of every work is mixed with good and evil. There is no good work that has not a touch of evil in it. Like smoke round the fire, some evil always clings to work. We should engage in those activities that bring the largest amount of good and the smallest amount of evil. One example of this is the killing of Bhishma and Drona by Arjuna. If this had not been done, Duryodhana could not have been conquered, the force of evil would have triumphed over the force of good, and thus a great calamity would have fallen on the country. The government of the country would have been usurped by a body of proud unrighteous kings, to the great misfortune of the people. Another example is the killing of Kamsa, Jarasandha, and other tyrants by Sri Krishna. Not a single one of Krishna’s deeds was done for himself. Every one of them was for the good of others.

We are reading the Gita by candle-light but, at the same time, many insects are being burnt to death. Thus it is seen that some evil clings to even good work no matter what. Those who work without any consciousness of their lower ego are not affected with evil, for they work for the good of the world. To work without motive, to work unattached, brings the highest bliss and freedom. This secret of karma yoga is taught by Sri Krishna in the Gita.

source: www.vivekananda.org

swami vivekananda-8b: Personality Development

continued from previous post

2. MENTAL DIMENSION :

The mind is superior to the body. It is the mind that makes the body, but not vice versa. Mind is a repository of thoughts. Negative and evil thoughts make the mind weak. Weak and uncontrolled mind always succumbs to temptations, creating havoc with a person. The habits of brooding over failures gives rise to negative thoughts. Swami Vivekananda's words will certainly help us to overcome such weaknesses. He said: 'The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength. Teach men of the strength that is already within them'.

There are a few fortunate souls who are lucky enough to attain success without pitfalls; the rest have to pass though the hurdles and difficulties. But the real hero is he who welcomes challenges in life and faces them with boldness and courage. Such a person crossing all the hurdles comes out successfully like a lion. The following incident took place during Swami Vivekananda wandering days, when he was staying at Varanasi. It conveys a profound message to the whole world. One day, while returning from the Durga temple, Swamiji was chased by some monkeys. TO save himself , Swamiji started running, but the monkeys ran still faster and grew increasingly aggressive. Meanwhile, an old monk who was witnessing the scene called out to him: 'Stop running. Face the brutes.' Swamiji heard his call and turned to 'face the brutes.; Then the monkeys stopped harassing him. Swamiji drew a great lesson from this incident. He learnt that one should not run away, when faced with danger or difficulty; and instead, one must face it boldly. In his later life, addressing a gathering in New York, he said: 'That is a lesson for all life-face the terrible, face it boldly. Like the monkeys, the hardships of life fall back, when we cease to flee before them. Cowards never win victories. We have to face fear and troubles and ignorance, if we expect them to flee before us.

STRONG MIND

1. A strong mind always remains calm even in adversities.
2. It never succumbs to temptations, and develops tremendous courage to say 'NO' to immoral thoughts and action.
3. It always remains free from prejudice, suspicion and jealousy.
4. Clarity of thinking makes it possible to take right decisions and come to right judgements.
5. Such a mind will never indulge in wrong action, prompted by evil emotions, such as desire, anger, greed, greed, hatred, etc., but will be always guided by serious, deep and right thinking.
6. Positive thinking, concentration, fearlessness, adventurous nature, and self-confidence are the vital qualities of a strong mind.

WEAK MIND

1. A weak mind gets irritation and loses temper over trifling matters and reacts violently.
2. Such a mind can easily succumb to temptations, like bribery, stealing, etc.
3. Due to confusion, suspicion, and prejudice, if fails to take the right decision and make impartial judgements.
4. Such a mind always compromises with and surrenders to evil forces.
5.It cannot face challenges in life, and tries to escape from them by adoption easy and cheap methods.
6. Such a mind always takes recourse to weeping and grumbling.
7. Such a mind never appreciates good qualities in others.
8. Restlessness, fear, tension, laziness, frustration, superstition, and negative thinking are the main characteristics of a weak mind.

Even a weak and uncontrolled mind can be controlled by applying strong will power and regular training. The body needs nutritious food, so does the mind need good ideas. Though t-power is a great source for strengthening the mind. Sri Ramakrishna used to say that mind is just like a laundered cloth; whatever colour you dip it in, it will take the same colour. Our actions are the concert forms of our thoughts. Once we change our way of thinking and develop a habit to think noble and positive ideas, it will bring tremendous change in our conduct and behaviour. Swami Vivekananda has give us hope, when he said: 'Whatever you think, that you will be, if you think yourselves strong, strong you will be. If you think yourselves weak, weak you will be.' Underestimating one's own capacity and constantly thinking in a negative way, such as, i am good for nothing, I am hopeless, I am worthless, I am a sinner. is the prime cause of our mental weakness. Tremendous power is hidden within us : positive thinking is the only way to bring it out.

The habits of reading good, mind-strengthening, and wholesome literature always provides healthy food for our mind. _the selection of such reading material and the company of good people will certainly enhance our mental strength. Specially for the youth, Swami Vivekananda's literature is most inspiring, and a storehouse of all positive and constructive ideas. While explaining the impact of this literature to Romain Rolland, Rabindranath Tagore said: 'If you want to understand India, study Vivekananda; in him, everything is positive nothing negative.'

So, positive thinking, the habit of reading good books, and the practice of meditation are the few means to improve our mental strength, which forms a part of our personality.

3. INTELLECTUAL DIMENSION :

Strength is of four types, i,.e. the physical, the mental, the intellectual, and the spiritual. Intellectual strength is superior to physical, and mental strength, and hence it forms an important part of our personality. Though this intellectual faculty is present in everyone, in most of the cases it remains dormant due to lack of proper training and intellectual exercise. Excessive use of modern electronic gadgets has converted man into a machine. The result is computers are keeping everything in memory, and, we, the human beings, are keeping our memory undeveloped. Originality, creativity, and deep thinking are taking leave of mankind; and artificiality, imitation, and shallow and superficial thinking ate making their presence felt every where.

To cultivate different talents, such as music, fine arts, poetry, dance, drama, etc.,creative thinking is absolutely necessary. Deep thinking brings out the hidden talents in man or woman in the form of inspiration, which is possible only though the power of concentration of . The power of concentration helps us to grasp subtle and higher things. And here comes the role of the intellect. Our senses and mind are restless. Since the intellect is superior to them, it alone can brig them under control. And, therefore, one must develop tremendous will power to control the mind and fix it on higher things, to achieve success in life.

The mind always tries to deceive us. It give us convincing arguments to lead a comfortable life by applying short cut methods. It does not want to follow any discipline in the name of freedom, and, prefers easygoing life. Sometimes it forces us , even to do wrong things deviating from the path of righteousness. Hence we need strong intellect, which will detect the evil motives of the mind and will assert its strength to follow the right path, which leads to real success. Therefore, to develop a strong, discriminative, and determinative intellect, it is necessary to cultivate intellectual faculty.

4. SPIRITUAL DIMENSION :

In this mortal body, there is something immortal, eternal, and of the nature of pure consciousness, bliss, peace, and source of tremendous power, energy, and knowledge. It is of the nature of effulgent light; never undergoes any change, Free from birth, old age, and death. From it spring all divine qualities, such as love, compassion, service, purity, truthfulness, fearlessness , etc. That is our divine nature. This spiritual dimension is superior to all other aspects of personality. Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita: 'The subtle organs are superior o the gross body, the mind is superior to the organs, but the intellect is superior to the mind. However, the one who dwells in this body is superior to intellect.' Though the divine dwell within our hearts, we are not aware of the fact. The physical body is a product of nature and made of the five element, which will go back to its source after death. But the divine within is entirely separate from the gross and subtle manifestation of nature. If that is true, then why are we not able to realize it ? Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita 'Knowledge remains covered by ignorance. Thereby the creatures become deluded.' The moment we remove this scree of ignorance, the knowledge of the Atman will shine forth, and then will manifest all the great virtues in our personality. SWami Vivekananda said: "Teach yourselves, teach everyone, his real nature, call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will com, goodness will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come, when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity.'

There are four different paths suited to different temperaments. They are: Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga, Karma yoga, and Raja yoga. That is the path of devotion, the path of discrimination, the path of selfless action, and the path of meditation. Regular practice of these four yogas will help us to manifest our divine nature, removing all impurities from the mind. And, therefore, ever day, we must spare sometimes for prayer, meditation, japa, selfless service, and practice of discrimination, which will certainly help us to develop the spiritual dimension of our personality.

CONCLUSION :

A harmonious growth of the physical, the mental, the intellectual and the spiritual dimension is essential for the all-round development of personality. Struggle for perfection in all these aspects will ultimately lead us to the development of the real personality. Once we succeed in doing that, there will be a tremendous qualitative change in our lives. A great number of such people will certainly form a better society; and the y will raise this nation once again to its highest glory.

swami vivekananda-8a: Personality Development

There is a deep interest for personality development, specially among the youth. They are in a hurry and expect instant change in the personality. In fact, they do not understand the difference between 'change' and 'development'. It is quite possible to change one's personality overnight. The beauty parlours, hair dressing. ready-made garments, cosmetics, and high-heeled shoes can do this magic, which is only a temporary change, and does not help in developing the real personality. It is not advisable to resort to such cheap methods, wasting time, money and energy.

1. PHYSICAL DIMENSION :

The human body is a rare gift of God. Good health is the source of happiness and success in life. Since the body and mind are closely related to each other, ill health causes mental worries and depression, not enabling to pursue a definite goal in life. Swami Vivekananda has rightly said that most of our miseries are cause by our physical weaknesses.

Our ancient teachers said: 'The body is the means for the pursuit of religion'. Therefore, if is our duty to maintain good health. Swami Vivekananda repeatedly asserted that we must develop muscles of iron and nerves of steel. In one of his lectures,he said: 'Be Strong, my young friends, that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to heaven though football than though the study of GITA. These are my bold words, but i have to say them, for i love you. In know where the shoe pinches. I have gained a little experience. You will understand the GITA better with your biceps, your muscles, a lieele strong.' Poor health not only creates tension in the person concerned, but also disturbs the whole family. To meet the medical expenses, the whole family has to suffer from financial strain. A healthy person always keeps his mind cool in all circumstances. He performs his duties efficiently, enthusiastically, and cheerfully. The development of physical strength, which is indispensable to serve others, to protect one's self-interest, should not be abused for destroying national property. Uncontrolled physical energy many times erupts in the form of caste and communal riots, anti-social activities, violence, robbery, harassment, etc., disturbing the peace and harmony in social. One must canalize this physical energy into constructive purpose.

Habits play a vital role in developing physical dimension. Bad habits, such as drinking, smoking, drugs addiction, etc., can do great harm to the physical health, making a person weak and susceptible to chronic diseases. One must be very careful and should never fall a prey to such harmful habits. Even the company of such people who are the victims of bad habits should be shunned at all cost. The influence of bad company is very harmful to the teenagers. Their tender and immature mind can easily succumb to the temptations of bad habits. Therefore, parents and teachers should keep watch over them and motivate them to cultivate good habits. Developing good habits regarding food, sleep, exercise, and work is the secret of good health.

Practice of YOGASANA and breathing exercises is the most effective method to keep the body fit, but one must practise them under the guidance of a competent teacher.

In ancient India, learning in the Gurukula system, students used to spent their early days in the company of enlightened teachers. By practising strict discipline, such as, BRAHMACHARYA, physical austerities, service to guru, study of different branches of knowledge, etc., they would attain tremendous energy within themselves. They were capable of retaining all the Vedas in their memory. The obvious reason is conservation of sensual pleasures makes the senses bereft of vigour and strength, and unfit got higher achievements in life. Though our sages were married, they had tremendous control over their senses. By the practice of BRAHMACHARYA, one can easily transform the sexual energy into OJAS, which makes the brain and the nervous system strong and brights new vigour and enthusiasm in blood. Single-point concentration and memory power are the results of BRAHMAVHARYA.

-continued from the next post

swami vivekananda-7: Spirit and Nature

The following notes taken from Swami Vivekananda's talks and lectures are reproduced here from his Complete Works, 6: 98-100. Being "notes"-and not a verbatim report, like his other lectures in the Complete Works-these are sketchy and may not represent the exact words spoken by Vivekananda. But they give a fairly good indication of his ideas on the subject.

Religion is the realization of Spirit as Spirit; not Spirit as matter.

Religion is a growth. Each one must experience it for oneself. The Christians believe that Jesus Christ died to save us all. With Christians it is belief in a doctrine and this belief constitutes their salvation. In Vedanta, doctrine has nothing whatever to do with salvation. Each one may believe in whatever doctrine he or she likes, or in no doctrine at all.

What difference does it make to you whether Jesus Christ lived at a certain time or not? What has it to do with you that Moses saw God in the burning bush? The fact that Moses saw God in the burning bush does not constitute your seeing Him, does it? If it does, then the fact that Moses ate is enough for you; you ought to stop eating. One is just as sensible as the other. Records of great spiritual luminaries of the past do us no good whatever except that they urge us onward to do the same, to experience religion ourselves. Whatever Christ or Moses or anybody else did does not help us in the least, except to urge us on.

Every one has a special nature peculiar to oneself, which they must follow and through which they will find their way to freedom. Your teacher should be able to tell you what your particular path in nature is and to put you in it. The teacher should know by your face where you belong and should be able to indicate it to you. You should never try to follow another's path, for that is their way, not yours. When your own path is found, you have nothing more to do than fold your arms and the tide will carry you to freedom. Therefore when you find your path, never swerve from it. Your way is the best for you, but that is no proof that it is the best for others as well.

The truly spiritual see Spirit as Spirit, not as matter. It is Spirit that makes nature move. Spirit is the reality in nature. Action is in nature, not in the Spirit. Spirit is always the same, changeless, eternal. Spirit and matter are in reality the same; but Spirit, as such, never becomes matter; and matter, as such, never becomes Spirit.

The Spirit never acts. Why should it? It merely is, and that is sufficient. It is pure existence absolute and has no need for action.

You-as Spirit-are not bound by law. Law belongs to nature. The mind is in nature and is bound by law. All nature is bound by law, the law of its own action, and this law can never be broken. If you could break a law of nature, all nature would come to an end in an instant. There would be no more nature. Those who attain freedom break the law of nature, and for them nature fades away and has no more power over them. All of us will one day break the law for all time, and that will end our trouble with nature.

Relatively speaking, Governments, societies, etc. are evils. All societies are based on bad generalization. The moment you form yourselves into an organization, you begin to hate everybody outside of that organization. When you join an organization, you are putting bounds upon yourself, you are limiting your own freedom. The greatest goodness is the highest freedom. Our aim should be to allow the individual to move towards this freedom. More of goodness, less of artificial laws. Such laws are not laws at all. If it were a law, it could not be broken. The fact that these so-called laws are broken, shows clearly that they are not "laws." A law is that which cannot be broken.

Whenever you suppress a thought, it is simply pressed down out of sight, in a coil like a spring, only to spring out again at a moment's notice, with all the pent-up force resulting from the suppression, and do in a few moments what it would have done in a much longer period.

Every ounce of pleasure brings its pound of pain. It is the same energy that at one time manifests itself as pleasure, at another time as pain. As soon as one set of sensations stops, another begins. But in some cases, in more advanced persons, one may have two, yea, even a hundred different thoughts entering into active operation at the same time.

Mind is action of its own nature. Mind-activity means creation. The thought is followed by the word, and the word by the form. All of this creating will have to stop, both mental and physical, before the mind can reflect the Spirit.

source: www.vivekananda.org

swami vivekananda-6: Our Present Social Problems

This is translated from a Bengali letter written by Swami Vivekananda to Srimati Mrinalini Bose from Deoghar (Vaidyanâth) on December 23, 1898. Reproduced from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 4: 488-92.

"The Lord whose nature is unspeakable love." That this characteristic of God mentioned by Narada is manifest and admitted on all hands is the firm conviction of my life. The aggregate of many individuals is called samashti (the whole), and each individual is called vyashti (a part). You and I --each is vyashti, society is samashti. You, I, an animal, a bird, a worm, an insect, a tree, a creeper, the earth, a planet, a star--each is vyashti, while this universe is samashti, which is called Virat, Hiranyagarbha, or Isvara in Vedanta, or Brahma, Vishnu, Devi, etc., in the Puranas. Whether or not vyashtihas individual freedom, and if it has, what should be its measure, whether or notvyashti should completely sacrifice its own will, its own happiness for samashti--are the perennial problems before every society. Society everywhere is busy finding the solution of these problems. These, like big waves, are agitating modern Western society. The doctrine that demands the sacrifice of individual freedom to social supremacy is called socialism, while that which advocates the cause of the individual is called individualism.

Our motherland is a glowing example of the results and consequence of the eternal subjection of the individual to society and forced self-sacrifice by dint of institution and discipline. In this country people are born according to scriptural injunctions, they eat and drink by prescribed rules throughout life, they go through marriage and kindred functions in the same way; in short, they even die according to scriptural injunctions.

The hard discipline, with the exception of one great good point, is fraught with evil. The good point is that people can do one or two things well with very little effort, having practiced them every day through generations. The delicious rice and curry that a cook of this country prepares with the aid of three lumps of earth and a few sticks can be had nowhere else. With the simple mechanism of an antediluvian loom, worth one rupee, and the feet put in a pit, it is possible to make kincobs worth twenty rupees a yard, in this country alone. A torn mat, an earthen lamp, and that fed by castor oil--with the aid of materials such as these, wonderful savants are produced in this country alone. An all-forbearing attachment to an ugly and deformed wife, and a lifelong devotion to a worthless and villainous husband are possible in this country alone. Thus far the bright side.

But all these things are done by people guided like lifeless machines. There is no mental activity, no opening of the heart, no vibration of life, no flux of hope; there is no strong stimulation of the will, no experience of keen pleasure, nor the contact with intense sorrow; there is no stir of inventive genius, no desire for novelty, no appreciation of new things. Clouds never pass away from this mind, the radiant picture of the morning sun never charms this heart. It never even occurs to this mind if there is any better state than this; where it does, it cannot convince; in the event of conviction, effort is lacking; and even where there is effort, lack of enthusiasm kills it out.

If living by rule alone ensures excellence, if it be virtue to follow strictly the rules and customs handed down through generations, say then, who is more virtuous than a tree, who is a greater devotee, a holier saint, than a railway train? Who has ever seen a piece of stone transgress a natural law? Who has ever known cattle to commit sin?

The huge steamer, the mighty railway engine—they are non-intelligent; they move, turn, and run, but they are without intelligence. And yonder tiny worm which moved away from the railway line to save its life, why is it intelligent? There is no manifestation of will in the machine, the machine never wishes to transgress law; the worm wants to oppose law--rises against law whether it succeeds or not; therefore it is intelligent. Greater is the happiness, higher is the individual, in proportion as this will is more successfully manifest. The will of God is perfectly fruitful; therefore He is the highest.

What is education? Is it book-learning? No. Is it diverse knowledge? Not even that. The training by which the current and expression of will are brought under control and become fruitful is called education. Now consider, is that education as a result of which the will, being continuously choked by force through generations, is well-nigh killed out; is that education under whose sway even the old ideas, let alone the new ones, are disappearing one by one; is that education which is slowly making every one of us a machine? It is more blessed, in my opinion, even to go wrong, impelled by one's free will and intelligence than to be good as an automaton.

Again, can that be called society which is formed by an aggregate of people who are like lumps of clay, like lifeless machines, like heaped up pebbles? How can such society fare well? Were good possible, then instead of being slaves for hundreds of years, we would have been the greatest nation on earth, and this soil of India, instead of being a mine of stupidity, would have been the eternal fountain-head of learning.

Is not self-sacrifice, then, a virtue? Is it not the most virtuous deed to sacrifice the happiness of one, the welfare of one, for the sake of the many? Exactly, but as the Bengali adage goes, "Can beauty be manufactured by rubbing and scrubbing? Can love be generated by effort and compulsion?" What glory is there in the renunciation of an eternal beggar? What virtue is there in the sense-control of one devoid of sense-power? What again is the self-sacrifice of one devoid of idea, devoid of heart, devoid of high ambition, and devoid of the conception of what constitutes society? What expression of devotedness to a husband is there by forcing a widow to commit Sati? Why make people do virtuous deeds by teaching superstitions?

I say, liberate, undo the shackles of people as much as you can. Can dirt be washed by dirt? Can bondage by removed by bondage? Where is the instance? When you would be able to sacrifice all desire for happiness for the sake of society, then you would be the Buddha, then you would be free: that is far off.

Again, do you think the way to do it lies through oppression? "Oh, what examples of self-denial are our widows! Oh, how sweet is child-marriage! Is another such custom possible! Can there be anything but love between husband and wife in such a marriage!"--such is the whine going round nowadays. But as to the men, the masters of the situation, there is no need of self-denial for them! Is there a virtue higher than serving others? But the same does not apply to Brahmins--you others do it! The truth is that in this country parents and relatives can ruthlessly sacrifice the best interests of their children and others for their selfish ends to save themselves by compromise to society; and the teaching of generations rendering the mind callous has made it perfectly easy.

Only the brave can deny self. The coward, afraid of the lash, with one hand wipes their eyes and give with the other. Of what avail are such gifts? It is a far cry to love universal. The young plant should be hedged in and taken care of. A person can hope gradually to attain universal love by learning to love one object unselfishly. If devotion to one particular Ishta-Deva is attained, devotion to the universal Virat is gradually possible.

Therefore, when one has been able to deny self for an individual, one should talk of self-sacrifice for the sake of society, not before. It is action with desire that leads to action without desire. Is the renunciation of desire possible if desire did not exist in the beginning? And what could it mean? Can light have any meaning if there is no darkness? Worship with desire, with attachment, comes first. Commence with the worship of the little, then the greater will come of itself.

Mother, be not anxious. It is against the big tree that the great wind strikes. "Poking a fire makes it burn better," "A snake struck on the head raises its hood"--and so on. When there comes affliction in the heart, when the storm of sorrow blows all around, and it seems light will be seen no more, when hope and courage are almost gone, it is then, in the midst of this great spiritual tempest, that the light of Brahman within gleams. Brought up in the lap of luxury, lying on a bed of roses and never shedding a tear, who has ever become great, who has ever unfolded the Brahman within? Why do you fear to weep? Weep! Weeping clears the eyes and brings about intuition. Then the vision of diversity—human beings, animals, trees--slowly melting away, makes room for the infinite realization of Brahman everywhere and in every thing. Then "verily, seeing the same God equally existent everywhere, a person does not injure the Self by the self, and so goes to the Supreme Goal" (Gita, 13.28).

source: www.vivekananda.org

swami vivekananda-5: A Plan of Work for India

This is from a letter that Swami Vivekananda wrote from Chicago on January 3, 1895, to Justice Sir Subrahmanya Iyer in Chennai, India. The extract reproduced here is from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 4: 371-73.

It is with a heart full of love, gratitude, and trust that I take up my pen to write to you. Let me tell you first, that you are one of the few men that I have met in my life who are thorough in their convictions. You have a whole-souled possession of a wonderful combination of feeling and knowledge, and withal a practical ability to bring ideas into realized forms. Above all, you are sincere, and as such I confide to you some of my ideas.

The work has begun well in India, and it should not only be kept up but pushed on with the greatest vigor. Now or never is the time. After taking a far and wide view of things, my mind has now been concentrated on the following plan. First, it would be well to open a Theological College in Madras, and then gradually extend its scope, to give a thorough education to young men in the Vedas and the different Bhashyas and philosophies, including knowledge of the other religions of the world. At the same time a paper in English and the vernacular should be started as an organ of the College.

This is the first step to be taken, and huge things grow out of small undertakings. Madras just now is following the golden mean by appreciating both the ancient and modern phases of life.

I fully agree with the educated classes in India that a thorough overhauling of society is necessary. But how to do it? The destructive plans of reformers have failed. My plan is this. We have not done badly in the past, certainly not. Our society is not badbut good, only I want it to be better still. Not from error to truth, nor from bad to good, but from truth to higher truth, from good to better, best. I tell my countrymen that so far they have done well--now is the time to do better.

Now, take the case of caste--in Sanskrit, jati, i.e. species. Now, this is the first idea of creation. Variation (vichitrata), that is to say jati, means creation. "I am One, I become many" (various Vedas). Unity is before creation; diversity is creation. Now if this diversity stops, creation will be destroyed. So long as any species is vigorous and active, it must throw out varieties. When it ceases or is stopped from breeding varieties, it dies. Now the original idea of jati was this freedom of the individual to express his nature, his prakriti, his jati, his caste; and so it remained for thousands of years. Not even in the latest books is inter-dining prohibited; nor in any of the older books is intermarriage forbidden. Then what was the cause of India's downfall? The giving up of this idea of caste. As the Gita says, with the extinction of caste the world will be destroyed. Now does it seem true that with the stoppage of these variations the world will be destroyed?

The present caste is not the real jati, but a hindrance to its progress. It really has prevented the free action of jati, i.e. caste or variation. Any crystallized custom or privilege or hereditary class in any shape really prevents caste (jati) from having its full sway; and whenever any nation ceases to produce this immense variety, it must die. Therefore what I have to tell you, my countrymen, is this, that India fell because you prevented and abolished caste. Every frozen aristocracy or privileged class is a blow to caste and is not-caste. Let jati have its sway; break down every barrier in the way of caste, and we shall rise. Now look at Europe. When it succeeded in giving free scope to caste and took away most of the barriers that stood in the way of individuals, each developing his or her caste--Europe rose. In America, there is the best scope for caste (real jati) to develop, and so the people are great. Every Hindu knows that astrologers try to fix the caste of every boy or girl as soon as he or she is born. That is the real caste--the individuality, and astrology (jyotisha) recognizes that. And we can only rise by giving it full sway again. This variety does not mean neither inequality nor any special privilege.

This is my method--to show the Hindus that they have to give up nothing but only to move on in the line laid down by the sages and shake off their inertia, the result of centuries of servitude. Of course, we had to stop advancing during the Muslim tyranny, for then it was not a question of progress but of life and death. Now that that pressure has gone, we must move forward, not on the lines of destruction directed by renegades and missionaries, but along our own line, our own road. Everything is hideous because the building is unfinished. We had to stop building during centuries of oppression. Now finish the building and everything will look beautiful in its own place. This is my plan. I am thoroughly convinced of this. Each nation has a main current in life; in India it is religion. Make it strong and the waters on either side must move along with it. This is one phase of my line of thought. In time, I hope to bring them all out, but at present I find I have a mission in this country [USA] also. Moreover, I expect help in this country and from here alone. But up to date I could not do anything except spreading my ideas. Now I want that a similar attempt be made in India.

I do not know when I shall go over to India. I obey the leading of the Lord. I am in His hands.

"In this world in search of wealth, Thou art, O Lord, the greatest jewel I have found. I sacrifice myself unto Thee."

"In search of some one to love, Thou art the One Beloved I have found. I sacrifice myself unto Thee" (Yajurveda Samhita). May the Lord bless you for ever and ever!

source: www.vivekananda.org

swami vivekananda 4: I Am That I Am

These are notes of a lecture given by Swami Vivekananda in San Francisco on March 20, 1900, and are reproduced here from his Complete Works 8: 244-49. These notes were originally taken in shorthand by Ida Ansell, edited by Swami Ashokananda, and published in The Voice of India.

The subject tonight is us human beings in contrast with nature. For a long time the word "nature" was used almost exclusively to denote external phenomena. These phenomena were found to behave methodically; and they often repeated themselves: that which had happened in the past happened again--nothing happened only once. Thus it was concluded that nature was uniform. Uniformity is closely associated with the idea of nature; without it natural phenomena cannot be understood. This uniformity is the basis of what we call law.

Gradually the word "nature" and the idea of uniformity came to be applied also to internal phenomena, the phenomena of life and mind. All that is differentiated is nature. Nature is the quality of the plant, the quality of the animal, and the quality of human beings. Our human life behaves according to definite methods; so do our minds. Thoughts do not just happen, there is a certain method in their rise, existence and fall. In other words, just as external phenomena are bound by law, internal phenomena-that is to say, the life and mind of a human being-are also bound by law.

When we consider law in relation to our human mind and human existence, it is at once obvious that there can be no such thing as free will and free existence. We know how animal nature is wholly regulated by law. The animal does not appear to exercise any free will. The same is true of us; human nature also is bound by law. The law governing functions of the human mind is called the law of karma.

Nobody has ever seen anything produced out of nothing; if anything arises in the mind, it must have been produced from something. When we speak of "free" will, we mean that the will is not caused by anything. But that cannot be true: the will is caused; and since it is caused, it cannot be free--it is bound by law. That I am willing to talk to you and you come to listen to me, that is law. Everything that I do or think or feel, every part of my conduct or behavior, my every movement-all of this is caused and therefore none of this is "free." This regulation of our life and mind--that is the law of Karma.

If such a doctrine had been introduced in olden times into a Western community, it would have produced a tremendous commotion. Westerners do not want to think that their minds are governed by law. In India it was accepted as soon as it was propounded by the most ancient Indian system of philosophy. There is no such thing as freedom of the mind; it cannot be. Why did not this teaching create any disturbance in the Indian mind? India received it calmly; that is the specialty of Indian thought, wherein it differs from every other thought in the world.

The external and internal natures are not two different things; they are really one. Nature is the sum total of all phenomena. "Nature" means all that is: all that "moves" is nature. We make a tremendous distinction between matter and mind; we think that the mind is entirely different from matter. Actually, they are but one nature, half of which is continually acting on the other half. Matter is pressing upon the mind in the form of various sensations. These sensations are nothing but force. The force from the outside evokes the force within. From the will to respond to or get away from the outer force, the inner force becomes what we call thought.

Both matter and mind are really nothing but forces; and if you analyze them far enough, you will find that at root they are one. The very fact that the external force can somehow evoke the internal force shows that somewhere they join each other--they must be continuous and, therefore, basically the same force. When you get to the root of things, they become simple and general. Since the same force appears in one form as matter and in another form as mind, there is no reason to think matter and mind are different. Mind is changed into matter, and matter is changed into mind. Thought force becomes nerve force and muscular force; muscular and nerve forces become thought force. Nature is all this force, whether expressed as matter or mind.

The difference between the subtlest mind and the grossest matter is only one of degree. Therefore the whole universe may be called either mind or matter, it does not matter which. You may call the mind "refined matter" or you may call matter "concretized mind"-it would makes little difference. Nor is it any use discussing which comes first-mind or matter. Is the mind first, out of which matter has come? Or is matter first, out of which the mind has come? Many of the philosophical arguments proceed from these futile questions. It is like asking whether the egg or the hen is first. Both are first, and both last-mind and matter, matter and mind. If I say matter existed first and, growing finer and finer, it then became mind, then I must admit that before matter there must have been mind. Otherwise, where did matter come from? Matter precedes mind, and mind precedes matter. It is the hen and the egg question all through.

The whole of nature is bound by the law of causation and is in time and space. We cannot see anything outside of space, yet we do not know space. We cannot perceive anything outside of time, yet we do not know time. We cannot understand anything except in terms of causality, yet we do not know what causation is. These three things-time, space, and causality-manifest in and through every phenomena, but they are not in themselves phenomena. They are as it were the forms or moulds in which everything must be cast before it can be apprehended. Matter is substance plustime, space, and causation. Mind is substance plus time, space and causation.

This fact can be expressed in another way. Everything is substance plus name and form. Name and form come and go, but substance remains ever the same. Substance, form, and name make this pitcher. When it is broken, you do not call it pitcher any more, nor do you see its pitcher form. Its name and form vanish, but its substance remains. All the differentiation in substance is made by name and form. These are not real, because they vanish. What we call nature is not the substance, unchanging and indestructible. Nature is time, space and causation. Nature is name and form. Nature is Maya. Maya means name and form, into which everything is cast. Maya is not real. We could not destroy it or change it if it were real. The substance is the noumenon, Maya is phenomena. There is the "real" me [called atman, in Sanskrit] which nothing can destroy, and there is the "phenomenal" me which is continually changing and disappearing.

The fact is that everything existing has two aspects. One is noumenal, unchanging and indestructible; the other is phenomenal, changing and destructible. A human being in his or her true nature is substance, soul, spirit (atman). This soul, or spirit, never changes, is never destroyed; but it appears to be clothed with a form and to have a name associated with it. This form and name are not immutable or indestructible; they continually change and are destroyed. Yet we foolishly seek immortality in this changeable aspect, in the body and mind-we want to have an eternal body. That kind of immortality is not possible.

What is the relation between the atman and nature? In so far as nature stands for name and form or for time, space, and causality, I-as atman-am not part of nature, because I am free, I am immortal, I am unchanging and infinite. The question does not arise whether I have free will or not; I am beyond any will at all. Wherever there is will, it is never free. There is no freedom of will whatever. There is freedom of that which becomes will when name and form get hold of it, making it their slave. That substance--the atman--as it were moulds itself, as it were throws itself into the cast of name and form, and immediately becomes bound, whereas it was free before. And yet its original nature is still there. That is why the atman says, "I am free. In spite of all this bondage, I am free." And it never forgets this.

But when the atman has-as it were-become the will, it is no more free. Nature pulls the strings, and it has to dance as nature wants it to. Thus have you and I danced throughout the years. All the things that we see, do, feel, know, all our thoughts and actions, are nothing but dancing to the dictates of nature. There has been, and there is, no freedom in any of this. From the lowest to the highest, all thoughts and actions are bound by law, and none of these pertain to the atman, our real Self.

My true Self-the atman-is beyond all law. Be in tune with slavery, with nature, and you live under law, you are happy under law. But the more you obey nature and its dictates, the more bound you become; the more in harmony with ignorance you are, the more you are at the beck and call of everything in the universe. Is this harmony with nature, this obedience to law, in accord with the true nature and destiny of us human beings? What mineral ever quarreled with and disputed any law? What tree or plant ever defied any law? This table is in harmony with nature, with law; but a table it remains always, it does not become any better. We human beings struggle and fight against nature, we makes many mistakes, and we suffer. But eventually we conquer nature and realize our freedom. When we are free, nature becomes our slave.

The awakening of the soul to its bondage and its effort to stand up and assert itself--this is called life. Success in this struggle is called evolution. The eventual triumph, when all the slavery is blown away, is called salvation, Nirvana, freedom. Everything in the universe is struggling for liberty. When I am bound by nature, by name and form, by time, space and causality, I do not know what I truly am. But even in this bondage my atman is not completely lost. I strain against the bonds; one by one they break, and I become conscious of my innate grandeur. Then comes complete liberation. I attain to the clearest and fullest consciousness of myself--I know that I am the atman, the infinite spirit, the master of nature, not its slave. Beyond all differentiation and combination, beyond space, time and causation, I am that I am.

source: www.vivekananda.org

swami vivekananda-3: Concentration

These are Frank Rhodehamel's notes of Swami Vivekananda's lecture given in Alameda (California, USA) on April 16, 1900, and are reproduced here from his Complete Works, 6: 123-25. Being "notes"-and not a verbatim report, like his other lectures in the Complete Works-these are sketchy and may not represent the exact words spoken by Vivekananda. But they give a fairly good indication of his ideas on the subject.

Concentration is the essence of all knowledge. Nothing can be done without concentration. Ordinary people waste ninety per cent of thought force and therefore they are constantly committing blunders. The trained mind never makes a mistake. When the mind is concentrated and turned backward on itself, everything within us will be our servant, not our master. The Greeks applied their concentration to the external world, and the result was perfection in art, literature, etc. The Hindu concentrated on the internal world, upon the unseen realm in the Self, and developed the science of Yoga.

Yoga means controlling the senses, will and mind. The benefit of its study is that we learn to control instead of being controlled. Mind seems to be layer on layer. Our real goal is to cross all these intervening strata of our being and find God. The end and aim of Yoga is to realize God. To do this we must go beyond relative knowledge, go beyond the sense-world. The world is awake to the senses, the children of the Lord are asleep on that plane. The world is asleep to the Eternal, the children of the Lord are awake in that realm(1). There is but one way to control the senses-to see Him who is the Reality in the universe. Then and only then can we really conquer our senses.

Concentration means restraining the mind into smaller and smaller limits. There are eight processes for restraining the mind. The first is Yama, controlling the mind by avoiding externals. All morality is included in this. Beget no evil. Injure no living creature. If you injure nothing for twelve years, then even lions and tigers will go down before you. Practice truthfulness. Twelve years of absolute truthfulness in thought, word, and deed gives us whatever we wish. Be chaste in thought, word, and action. Chastity is the basis of all religions. Personal purity is imperative. Next is Niyama, not allowing the mind to wander in any direction. Then comes Asana, posture. There are eighty-four postures: but the best is the most natural to each person; that is, which can be kept longest with the greatest ease. After this comes Pranayama, restraint of breath. Next is Pratyahara, drawing in of the organs from their objects. Then comes Dharana, concentration, followed by Dhyana, contemplation or meditation. (This is the kernel of the Yoga system.) And finally there is, Samadhi, superconsciousness.

The purer the body and mind, the quicker the desired result will be obtained. You must be perfectly pure. Do not think of evil things, such thoughts will surely drag you down. If you are perfectly pure and practice faithfully, your mind can finally be made a searchlight of infinite power. There is no limit to its scope. But there must be constant practice and non-attachment to the world.

When we reach the superconscious state, body-consciousness melts away. Then alone does we become free and immortal. To all external appearances, unconsciousness and superconsciousness are the same; but they differ as a lump of clay from a lump of gold. The one whose whole soul is given up to God has reached the superconscious plane.

source:www.vivekananda.org

Perfect Phone Call

I recently came across an article in the 'Times of India'. The article was about conclusions arrived by researchers and experts. They say a perfect phone call lasts for about 9 minutes and 36 seconds. And this duration is divided between the following:
3mins-time spent to catch up with news about family and friends.
1min - personal problems
1min - about work/school.
42 secs - on current affairs
24 secs - on weather.
24 secs - chatting about the opposite sex
12 secs - celebrity gossip.
1min & 42 secs - on laughing
12 secs -on silence
1 min - on other general topics.

Isn't it interesting? So next time when you start a phone conversation keep a notebook and stop watch nearby!

I hope researchers have given exception for lovers!

swami vivekananda-2

Some Golden Words Of Swami Vivekananda

1. When there is a conflict between the heart and the brain, let the heart be followed.

2. A man of intellect can turn into a devil, but never a man of heart.

3. Religion is not a theoretical need but a practical necessity.

4. Renunciation does not mean simply dispassion for the world. It
means dispassion for the world and also longing for God.

5. There is no misery where there is no want.

6. The secret of life is not enjoyment, but education through experience.

7. Every new thought must create opposition.

8. Renunciation is the withdrawal of mind from other things and
concentrating it on God.

9. Every man who thinks ahead of his time is sure to be misunderstood.

10. In this short life there is no time for the exchange of compliments.

11. Do not wait to cross the river when the water has all run down.

12. The greatest sin is fear.

13. Better the scolding of the wise than the adulation of the fools.

14. If you love God's creation more than God, you will be disillusioned.

15. Everything can be sacrificed for truth, but truth can't be sacrificed for anything.

16. God has become man, man will become god again.

17. If it is impossible to attain perfection here and now, there is no
proof that we can attain perfection in any other life.

18. That part of the Vedas which agrees with reason is the Vedas, and nothing else.

19. If you want to do anything evil, do it before the eyes of your superiors.

20. Happiness presents itself before man, wearing the crown of sorrow on its head.

21. If one is a slave to his passions and desires, one cannot feel the pure joy of real freedom.

22. If you can't attain salvation in this life, what proof is there that you can attain it in the life or lives to come?

23. Never mind if your contribution is only a mite, your help only a little, blades of grass united into a rope will hold in confinement the maddest of elephants.

24. The cow never tells a lie, and the stone never steals, but, nevertheless, the cow remains a cow and the stone remains a stone. Man steals and man tells a lie, and again it is man that becomes the god.

25. When even man never hears the cries of the fool, do you think God will?

26. Strength is life, weakness is death.

27. Never are the wants of a beggar fulfilled.

28. We want the education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one's own feet.

29. Let the heart be opened first, and all else will follow of itself.

30. Tell the man his defaults directly but praise his virtues before others.

31. Activity is life and inactivity is death.

32. Salvation is not achieved by inactivity but by spiritual activities.

33. Even the least work done for others awakens the power within.

34. New things have to be learned, have to be introduced and worked out, but is that to be done by sweeping away all that is old, just because it is old?

35. The man who says he has nothing more to learn is already at his last grasp As long as I live, so do I learn.

36. No one can save a person who hires a carriage to go from one street to another, and then complain of diabetes.

37. By the control of the subconscious mind you get control over the conscious.

38. It is the constant struggle against nature that constitutes human progress, not conformity with it.

39. The very essence of education is concentration of mind, not the collecting of facts.

40. As we get further and further away from sense-pleasures, “knowledge for the sake of knowledge” becomes the supreme pleasure of mind.

41. It is through the many that we reach the one.

42. The soul is the circle of which the circumference is nowhere, but the center is the body. God is a circle whose circumference is nowhere, but whose center is everywhere.

43. The body itself is the biggest disease.

44. If any one of you believes what I teach, I will be sorry. I will only be too glad if I can excite in you the power of thinking for yourselves.

45. When the world is the end and God the means to attain that end, that is material. When God is the end and the world is only the means to attain that end, spirituality has begun.

46. The fear of God is the beginning of religion, but the love of God is the end of religion.

47. Do not give up anything! Things will give you up.

48. The sage is often ignorant of physical science, because he reads the wrong book- the book within; and the scientist is too often ignorant of religion, because he reads the wrong book- the book without.

49. Experience is the only source of knowledge.

50. Do one thing at a time and while doing it put your whole soul into it to the exclusion of all else.

Something to Ponder

Why do we need to study? – To earn us a place in the working industry.
Why do we need to work? – So that we’ll get paid handsomely.
Why do we need money? – So that we can survive this life
Why do we need to survive this life? …

Some people may answer ‘because God gave us life’(this is the most nonsense answer). But many didn’t have to answer to this question.
If studying up to degree level can ‘book’ us a good position in the working world, why are there so many unemployed graduates? And in many cases, Masters Graduates had to lie in their resumes that they only had a degree in hand, simply because ‘their qualification is too high for the position’. So is it true that the higher your education level, the better job you’ll get?
And who said that we’ll get paid handsomely if we work smart and hard enough? Everything seemed to have an increase in price, except for salaries. This issue had been brought up many times, especially during the 30 percents raise in petrol price. Are we really getting what we are worth?
No money to talk. True enough, without money, we are unlikely to survive well in this world. But what’s really the true meaning of survival? Sitting there, reading the newspaper, knowing how some countries are badly hit by disasters, how the society had changed for the worse… Is this what we are living for? Is this the reason why we want to survive this life? To see all sorts of negativity happening every day?
Do we want to live this life just because we are given life, or is there more to it? What’s the purpose of life? It’s something I’m always in search for the answer. Perhaps, somebody can enlighten me?