The Best Of Swami Vivekananda :- Excerpts from CWOSV.
Hear me out. The most brilliant character I've ever come across is Swami Vivekananda. Although after leaving his body 121 years ago, he continues to directly inspire youths who come across his thoughts - either through his recorded lectures, or stories etc.
I tell you plainly. The only authentic way to know Swami Vivekananda is not by watching videos on him, or by listening his stories. They are but glimpses, and other people's observations of his character. To establish direct connection with him, one must go through his own words, lectures, speeches etc. Reading them all, you'll really feel Swamiji is exclusively talking to you, helping you out, uplifting your soul.
"Spirituality can be communicated just as really as I can give you a flower. This is true in the most literal sense."
Swami Vivekananda
(CW/V4/Lectures and Discourses/My Master)
Hence, reading about such powerful spiritual giants as Swamiji, it is not merely reading; but a transmission of energy current into our souls - in the most literal sense.
And I am not blaspheming about all this, but have experienced it myself.
While reading Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, I was awestruck at the depth of brilliance of Swami Vivekananda.
So today I've finally decided to show up with proof. Literally.
No ocassion may be as fitting - To put forth before you all the notes I had taken from the Complete Works!
Basically I've excerpted out some of the most inspiring insights from those volumes into my own diary. Ofcourse they are not "notes" as such, because one cannot write notes of thousands and thousands of pages of literature!
Some of his lectures, words were so damn insightful that they made me note them down separately. So today I will share with you all, a few of them.
(Obviously these notes alone are not tagged the best. There were countless such entire lectures which I physically cannot handwrite separately.)
As far as I remember, these are the words of Swamiji from one of his letters to his Madras disciple - Alasinga Perumal.
Have you got the will to surmount mountain-high obstructions? If the whole world stands against you sword in hand, would you still dare to do what you think is right? If your wives and children are against you, if all your money goes, your name dies, your wealth vanishes, would you still stick to it? Would you still pursue it and go on steadily towards your own goal?
As the great King Bhartrihari says, ‘Let the sages blame or let them praise; let the goddess of fortune come or let her go wherever she likes; let death come today, or let it come in hundreds of years; he indeed is the steady man who does not move one inch from the way of truth.’
Have you got that steadfastness?. . . You need not write in the newspapers, you need not go about lecturing; your very face will shine. If you live in a cave, your thoughts will permeate even through the rock walls, will go vibrating all over the world for hundreds of years, maybe, until they will fasten on to some brain and work out there. Such is the power of thought, of sincerity, and of purity of purpose.
2. Work is Worship - Karma Yoga
The highest man cannot work, for there is no binding element, no attachment, no ignorance in him.
A ship is said to have passed over a mountain of magnet ore, and all the bolts and bars were drawn out, and it went to pieces.
It is in ignorance that struggle remains, because we are all really atheists. Real theists cannot work. We are atheists more or less. We do not see God or believe in Him. He is G-O-D to us, and nothing more. There are moments when we think He is near, but then we fall down again. When you see Him, who struggles for whom? Help the Lord! There is a proverb in our language, “Shall we teach the Architect of the universe how to build?” So those are the highest of mankind who do not work.
The next time you see these silly phrases about the world and how we must all help God and do this or that for Him, remember this. Do not think such thoughts; they are too selfish. All the work you do is subjective, is done for your own benefit. God has not fallen into a ditch for you and me to help Him out by building a hospital or something of that sort. He allows you to work. He allows you to exercise your muscles in this great gymnasium, not in order to help Him but that you may help yourself. Do you think even an ant will die for want of your help? Most arrant blasphemy! The world does not need you at all. The world goes on you are like a drop in the ocean. A leaf does not move, the wind does not blow without Him. Blessed are we that we are given the privilege of working for Him, not of helping Him.
Cut out this word “help” from your mind. You cannot help; it is blaspheming. You are here yourself at His pleasure. Do you mean to say, you help Him? You worship. When you give a morsel of food to the dog, you worship the dog as God. God is in that dog. He is the dog. He is all and in all. We are allowed to worship Him. Stand in that reverent attitude to the whole universe, and then will come perfect non-attachment. This should be your duty. This is the proper attitude of work. This is the secret taught by Karma-Yoga.
3. Philosophy of Life
We think that we are little minds, that we are little bodies; it is the mother of all selfishness. As soon as I think that I am a little body, I want to preserve it, to protect it, to keep it nice, at the expense of other bodies; then you and I become separate.
As soon as this idea of separation comes, it opens the door to all mischief and leads to all misery.
Man thinks foolishly that he can make himself happy, and after years of struggle finds out at last that true happiness consists in killing selfishness and that no one can make him happy except himself.
...
The more the shades around deepen, the more the ends approach and the more one understands the true meaning of life, that it is a dream; and we begin to understand the failure of everyone to grasp it, for they only attempted to get meaning out of the meaningless. To get reality out of a dream is boyish enthusiasm. "Everything is evanescent, everything is changeful" — knowing this, the sage gives up both pleasure and pain and becomes a witness of this panorama (the universe) without attaching himself to anything.
"They indeed have conquered Heaven even in this life whose mind has become fixed in sameness. God is pure and same to all, therefore they are said to be in God” (Gita, V.19).
4. The Way of A Sanyassin
This toy world would not be here, this play could not go on, if we were knowing players. We must play blindfolded. Some of us have taken the part of the rogue of the play, some heroic — never mind, it is all play. This is the only consolation. There are demons and lions and tigers and what not on the stage, but they are all muzzled. They snap but cannot bite. The world cannot touch our souls. If you want, even if the body be torn and bleeding, you may enjoy the greatest peace in your mind.
And the way to that is to attain hopelessness. Do you know that? Not the imbecile attitude of despair, but the contempt of the conqueror for things he has attained, for things he struggled for and then throws aside as beneath his worth.
This hopelessness, desirelessness, aimlessness, is just the harmony with nature. In nature there is no harmony, no reason, no sequence; it was chaos before, it is so still.
The lowest man is in consonance with nature in his earthy-headness; the highest the same in the fullness of knowledge. All three aimless, drifting, hopeless — all three happy.
5. Divinity of the Self
"Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, 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."
"With all our mistakes, with all our evil thoughts and evil deeds, there is a bright spot somewhere, there is still somewhere the golden thread through which we are always in touch with the divine. For, know for certain, that the moment the touch of the divine is lost there would be annihilation. And because none can be annihilated, there is always somewhere in our heart of hearts, however low and degraded we may be, a little circle of light which is in constant touch with the divine."
How was it exactly like to meet Swami Vivekananda?
In this intetesting section, we will see the reminiscences of a western disciple of Swamiji, who in her diary, shared her experience of meeting Swami Vivekananda for the first time.
"I well remember my first meeting with the Swami Vivekananda,.. Though filled with prejudice by my friends, I went to one of the Swami's classes, not so much to hear his lecture as to see for the first time a native of India, the land which I had learnt to love through reading the Bhagavad-Gita, the Song Celestial.
I was seated in the class-room waiting for the Swami's appearance when soon a man came in - one whose walk expressed dignity and whose general bearing showed majesty, like one who owns everything and desires nothing. After a short observation I also saw that he was a very superior man, and withal, one who quickly disclosed a most lovable character. Now I became anxious to hear the words he would speak; and after I had done so but a few minutes, firmly resolved to be a regular attendant at all his lectures and classes. That prejudice which was so strong within me when I entered, now seemed to be driven away by his profound knowledge and charming magnetism.
As wholesome food satisfies the hungry and fresh water quenches the thirsty, so my longing for truth was satisfied through the teaching of this wonderful man. And to this very day I have found nothing that gives a better answer and a clearer explanation to the various vital questions which arise in a man's mind than the Vedanta philosophy so ably taught by the Swami Vivekananda. Not only were his words in class-room and lecture-room those of instructive value, but also his conversations, while walking on the street or through Central Park, always conveyed the one message.
On one occasion expressed my regret to the Swami that his sublime teachings had no larger following, and his wise and fitting answer was: "I could have thousands more at my lectures if I wanted them. It is the sincere student who will help to make this work a success and not merely the large audiences. If I succeed in my whole life to help one man to reach freedom, I shall feel that my labours have not been in vain, but quite successful." This remark filled me with the desire to be one of his students."
Now let us end this blog, by bowing down to Swamiji.
अनित्यदृश्येषु विविच्य नित्यं
तस्मिन् समाधत्त इह स्म लीलया ।
विवेकवैराग्यविशुद्धचित्तम्
योऽसौ विवेकी तमहं नमामि ॥१॥
One who separates the transient (name & form) from the permanent (Brahman), who keeps his heart, purified by discernment and renunciation, fixed on the permanent, in play as it were, to such an intelligent One, I offer my salutations!
Jay Swamiji Maharaj,
Daksh Parekh.
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