Jnana-Yoga :2-11.

-


CHAPTER -2. THE REAL NATURE OF MAN : 11.

(Delivered in London)


People are frightened when they are told this.

They will again and again ask you if they are not going to keep their individuality.

What is individuality?

I should like to see it.

A baby has no moustache; when he grows to be a man, perhaps he has a moustache and beard.

His individuality would be lost, if it were in the body.

If I lose one eye, or if I lose one of my hands, my individuality would be lost if it were in the body.

Then, a drunkard should not give up drinking because he would lose his individuality.

A thief should not be a good man because he would thereby lose his individuality.

No man ought to change his habits for fear of this.

There is no individuality except in the Infinite.

That is the only condition which does not change.

Everything else is in a constant state of flux.

Neither can individuality be in memory.

Suppose, on account of a blow on the head I forget all about my past; then, I have lost all individuality; I am gone.

I do not remember two or three years of my childhood, and if memory and existence are one, then whatever I forget is gone.

That part of my life which I do not remember, I did not live.

That is a very narrow idea of individuality.

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