Jnana-Yoga :2-9.

-




CHAPTER -2. THE REAL NATURE OF MAN : 9.

(Delivered in London)


The different philosophies seem to agree that this Atman, whatever it be, has neither form nor shape, and that which has neither form nor shape must be omnipresent.

Time begins with mind, space also is in the mind.

Causation cannot stand without time.

Without the idea of succession there cannot be any idea of causation.

Time, space and causation, therefore, are in the mind, and as this Atman is beyond the mind and formless, it must be beyond time, beyond space, and beyond causation.

Now, if it is beyond time, space, and causation, it must be infinite.

Then comes the highest speculation in our philosophy.

The infinite cannot be two. If the soul be infinite, there can be only one Soul, and all ideas of various souls — you having one soul, and I having another, and so forth — are not real.


The Real Man, therefore, is one and infinite, the omnipresent Spirit.

And the apparent man is only a limitation of that Real Man.

In that sense the mythologies are true that the apparent man, however great he may be, is only a dim reflection of the Real Man who is beyond.

The Real Man, the Spirit, being beyond cause and effect, not bound by time and space, must, therefore, be free. He was never bound, and could not be bound.
The apparent man, the reflection, is limited by time, space, and causation, and is, therefore,

Or in the language of some of our philosophers, he appears to be bound, but really is not.

This is the reality in our souls, this omnipresence, this spiritual nature, this infinity.

Every soul is infinite, therefore there is no question of birth and death.


Some children were being examined.

The examiner put them rather hard questions, and among them was this one :-

"Why does not the earth fall?"

He wanted to evoke answers about gravitation.

Most of the children could not answer at all; a few answered that it was gravitation or something.


One bright little girl answered it by putting another question :-

"Where should it fall?" The question is nonsense.

Where should the earth fall?

There is no falling or rising for the earth.

In infinite space there is no up or down; that is only in the relative.

Where is the going or coming for the infinite?

Whence should it come and whither should it go?

Swami Vivekananda
To be continued  ...


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jnana-Yoga - 3.7.

-
Image
CHAPTER - 3.  MAYA AND ILLUSION - 7. ( Delivered in London ) Coming from abstractions to the common, everyday details of our lives, we find that our whole life is a contradiction, a mixture of existence and non-existence. There is this contradiction in knowledge. It seems that man can know everything, if he only wants to know; but before he has gone a few steps, he finds an adamantine wail which he cannot pass. All his work is in a circle, and he cannot go beyond that circle. The problems which are nearest and dearest to him are impelling him on and calling, day and night, for a solution, but he cannot solve them, because he cannot go beyond his intellect. And yet that desire is implanted strongly in him. Still we know that the only good is to be obtained by controlling and checking it. With every breath, every impulse of our heart asks us to be selfish. At the same time, there is some power beyond us which says that it is unselfishness alone which is good. Swami Vivek
Read more

Karma-Yoga : Ch-4. Part-5.

-
Image
Chapter-4. What is Duty? Part-5. The Bhagavad-Gita frequently alludes to duties dependent upon birth and position in life. Birth and position in life and in society largely determine the mental and moral attitude of individuals towards the various activities of life. It is therefore our duty to do that work which will exalt and ennoble us in accordance with the ideals and activities of the society in which we are born. But it must be particularly remembered that the same ideals and activities do not prevail in all societies and countries; our ignorance of this is the main cause of much of the hatred of one nation towards another. An American thinks that whatever an American does in accordance with the custom of his country is the best thing to do, and that whoever does not follow his custom must be a very wicked man. A Hindu thinks that his customs are the only right ones and are the best in the world, and that whosoever does not obey them must be the most
Read more

WORK AND ITS SECRET : 2. : SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

-
Image
25/03/2019 WORK AND ITS SECRET -2. (Delivered at Los Angeles, California, January 4, 1900) If we examine our own lives, we find that the greatest cause of sorrow is this: we take up something, and put our whole energy on it — perhaps it is a failure and yet we cannot give it up. We know that it is hurting us, that any further clinging to it is simply bringing misery on us; still, we cannot tear ourselves away from it. The bee came to sip the honey, but its feet stuck to the honey-pot and it could not get away. Again and again, we are finding ourselves in that state. That is the whole secret of existence. Why are we here? We came here to sip the honey, and we find our hands and feet sticking to it. We are caught, though we came to catch. We came to enjoy; we are being enjoyed. We came to rule; we are being ruled. We came to work; we are being worked. All the time, we find that. And this comes into every detail of our life. We are being worked upon by other minds, and we a
Read more