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वीरेश्वराय विद्महे विवेकानन्दाय धीमहि । तन्नो वीर:
प्रचोदयात् ।
Join the year long 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda : sv150.org Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari
Strength, strength is what the Upanishads speak to me from every
page. This is the one great thing to remember, it has been the one
great lesson I have been taught in my life; strength, it says,
strength, O man, be not weak. Are there no human weaknesses? —
says man. There are, say the Upanishads, but will more weakness
heal them, would you try to wash dirt with dirt? Will sin cure
sin, weakness cure weakness? Strength, O man, strength, say the
Upanishads, stand up and be strong. Ay, it is the only literature
in the world where you find the word "Abhih", "fearless", used
again and again; in no other scripture in the world is this
adjective applied either to God or to man. Abhih, fearless!
Ay, this is the one scripture in the world, of all others, that
does not talk of salvation, but of freedom. Be free from the bonds
of nature, be free from weakness! And it shows to you that you
have this freedom already in you. That is another peculiarity of
its teachings. You are a Dvaitist; never mind, you have got to
admit that by its very nature the soul is perfect; only by certain
actions of the soul has it become contracted.
The second great idea which the world is waiting to receive from
our Upanishads is the solidarity of this universe. The old lines
of demarcation and differentiation are vanishing rapidly.
Electricity and steam-power are placing the different parts of the
world in intercommunication with each other.
Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you. You will be
nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the
Gita. These are bold words; but I have to say them, for I love
you. I know where the shoe pinches. I have gained a little
experience. You will understand the Gita better with your biceps,
your muscles, a little stronger. You will understand the mighty
genius and the mighty strength of Krishna better with a little of
strong blood in you. You will understand the Upanishads better and
the glory of the Atman when your body stands firm upon your feet,
and you feel yourselves as men.
Let me tell you, strength, strength is what we want. And the first
step in getting strength is to uphold the Upanishads, and believe
— "I am the Soul", "Me the sword cannot cut; nor weapons pierce;
me the fire cannot burn; me the air cannot dry; I am the
Omnipotent, I am the Omniscient." So repeat these blessed, saving
words. Do not say we are weak; we can do anything and everything.
What can we not do? Everything can be done by us; we all have the
same glorious soul, let us believe in it. Have faith, as
Nachiketâ. At the time of his father's sacrifice, faith came unto
Nachiketa; ay, I wish that faith would come to each of you; and
every one of you would stand up a giant, a world-mover with a
gigantic intellect — an infinite God in every respect. That is
what I want you to become. This is the strength that you get from
the Upanishads, this is the faith that you get from there.
Look upon every man, woman, and every one as God. You cannot help
anyone, you can only serve: serve the children of the Lord, serve
the Lord Himself, if you have the privilege. If the Lord grants
that you can help any one of His children, blessed you are; do not
think too much of yourselves. Blessed you are that that privilege
was given to you when others had it not. Do it only as a worship.
I should see God in the poor, and it is for my salvation that I go
and worship them. The poor and the miserable are for our
salvation, so that we may serve the Lord, coming in the shape of
the diseased, coming in the shape of the lunatic, the leper, and
the sinner! Bold are my words; and let me repeat that it is the
greatest privilege in our life that we are allowed to serve the
Lord in all these shapes. Give up the idea that by ruling over
others you can do any good to them. But you can do just as much as
you can in the case of the plant; you can supply the growing seed
with the materials for the making up of its body, bringing to it
the earth, the water, the air, that it wants. It will take all
that it wants by its own nature. It will assimilate and grow by
its own nature.
Bring all light into the world. Light, bring light! Let light come
unto every one; the task will not be finished till every one has
reached the Lord. Bring light to the poor and bring more light to
the rich, for they require it more than the poor. Bring light to
the ignorant, and more light to the educated, for the vanities of
the education of our time are tremendous! Thus bring light to all
and leave the rest unto the Lord, for in the words of the same
Lord "To work you have the right and not to the fruits thereof."
"Let not your work produce results for you, and at the same time
may you never be without work."
May He who taught such grand ideas to our forefathers ages ago
help us to get strength to carry into practice His commands!
(CWSV : VOL : 3 : Vedanta in it's application to Indian life) Read
Full Lecture
Join the year long 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda : sv150.org Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari
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