Wednesday 16 March 2016

Inward looking

 Swami Vivekananda says the 5th attribute of Hinduism is : Soul is pure & perfect
And then comes the most differentiating, the grandest, and the most wonderful discovery in the realms of spirituality that has ever been made. Some of you, perhaps, who have been studying Western thought, may have observed already that there is another radical difference severing at one stroke all that is Western from all that is Eastern. It is this that we hold, whether we are Shaktas, Sauras, or Vaishnavas, even whether we are Bauddhas or Jainas, we all hold in India that the soul is by its nature pure and perfect, infinite in power and blessed.

….Whatever the difference may be, we come to the central core, and there is at once an irreconcilable difference between all that is Western and Eastern. The Eastern is looking inward for all that is great and good. When we worship, we close our eyes and try to find God within. The Western is looking up outside for his God. …This is one great point to understand, and, my friends, my brethren, let me tell you, this is the one point we shall have to insist upon in the future. (CWSV, vol. III, p. 375.)



No comments:

Post a Comment