AN INDIAN LULLABY - THE SOUL NEVER KILLS OR IS KILLED

There was once a Hindu queen, who so much desired that all her children should attain freedom in this life that she herself took all the care of them; and as she rocked them to sleep, she sang always the one song to them - "Tat tvam asi, Tat tvam asi" ("That thou art, that thou art")

Three of them become Sannyasins [ monks ], but the fourth was taken away to be brought up elsewhere to become a king. As he was leaving ho...me, the mother gave him a piece of paper which he was to read when he grew to manhood. On that piece of paper was written, " God alone is true. All else is false. The soul never kills or is killed. Live alone or in the company of holy ones." When the young prince read this, he too at once renounced the world
and became a Sannyasin.

- Swami Vivekananda
VII. 89-90
[LULLABY - A soothing song with which to lull a child to sleep]

WORK INCESSANTLY

You should work like a master and not as a slave; work incessantly, but do not do slave's work.

- Swami Vivekananda

HAVE FAITH IN MAN, WHETHER HE APPEARS TO BE AN ANGEL OR THE VERY DEVIL HIMSELF.

Have faith in man, whether he appears to you to be a very learned one or a most ignorant one. Have faith in man, whether he appears to be an angel or the very devil himself. Have faith in man first, and then having faith in him, belive that if there are defects in him, if he makes mistakes, if the embraces the crudest and the vilest doctrines, believe that it is not from his real nature that the...y come, but from the want of higher ideals. You give him the truth, and there your work is done. Let him compare it in his own mind with what he has already in him; and, mark my words, if you have really given him the truth, the false must vanish, light must dispel darkness, and truth will bring the good out. Put the good before them, see how eargerly they take it, see how the divine that never dies, that is always living in the human, comes up awakened and stretches out its hand for all that is good, and all that is glorious.

- Swami Vivekananda

PURITY IS OUR REAL NATURE

To the believers of original sin, Vivekananda said in America:

" Be not deluded by your religion teaching original sin, for the same religion preaches original purity. When adam fell, he fell from purity, { Applause }. Purity is our real nature, and to regain that is the subject of all religion. "

- Swami Vivekananda 

THE VERY INCARNATION OF LORD SHIVA

“CHHARAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ – THE VERY INCARNATION OF LORD SHIVA”

Two days from today, is the day when an great indian, was born - Whom Swami Vivekananda called as the very incarnation of lord Siva. 19 February, is the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. My words on Shivaji Maharaj is very limited, for how can we understand the grandeur of Shivaji Maharaj, by reading text books which were crafted during British role of India ? If I remember correctly, these test books only carried one page on him, out of which half page was his photo. But it is in these below words of Swami Vivekananda, that we as INDIANS should revisit this great Indian in the true spirit and try to imbibe him in our blood of this Indian body.

“ Shivaji was the greatest Hindu king that India had produced within the last thousand years; one who was the very incarnation of lord Siva, about whom prophecies were given out long before he was born; and his advent was eagerly expected by all the great souls and saints of Maharashtra as the deliverer of the Hindus from the hands of the Mlecchas, and as one who succeeded in the reestablishment of Dharma which had been trampled underfoot by the depredations of the devastating hordes of the Moghals ”

- Swami Vivekananda

“ Shivaji was one of the greatest national saviors who emancipated our society and our Dharma when they were faced with the threat of total destruction. He was a peerless hero, a pious and God-fearing king and verily a manifestation of all the virtues of a born leader of men described in our ancient scriptures. He also embodied the deathless spirit of our land and stood as the light of hope for our future”

- Swami Vivekananda
 

EACH ONE CAN ATTAIN THE HIGEST

 

If jesus could reach Chrsthood, if Siddhartha Gautama could reach Buddhahood, Vivekananda argued, each one can attain the higest if he or she so desires:

" If a thing happens once, it can happen again, we too can do so. If we cannot becom...e perfect here and now, we never can in any state or heaven or condition we may imagine. "

" What has it to do with you that Moses saw God in a burning bush ? The fact that Moses saw God in burning bush does not constitute your seeing him, does it ? If it does, then the fact that Moses ate is enough for you, you ought to stop eating. One is just a sensible as the other."

" It is not the study of external nature that makes [ one ] strong - But there is the internal nature of man - a million times more powerful than any volcanic eruption or any law of nature - which conquers nature, triumphs over all its laws, And that alone teaches man what he is."

- Swami Vivekananda
Page 100
[ From the book: Swami Vivekananda - Prophet and Pathfinder ]See More

WE WILL STOP AND COMPARE NOTES LATER ON.

" My children must be ready to jump into fire, if needed, to accomplish their work. Now work, work, work! We will stop and compare notes later on. Have patience, perseverance and purity. "

- Swami Vivekananda

WHAT IS RELIGION ?

What is religion? To pray, "Give me this and that"? Foolish ideas of religion! Those who believe them have no true idea of God and soul. My Master used to say, "The vulture rise higher and higher until he becomes a spec...k, but his eye is always on the piece of rotten carrion on the earth." After all, what is the result of your ideas of religion? To cleanse the streets and have more bread and clothes? Who cares for bread and clothes? Millions come and go every minute. Who cares? Why care for the joys and vicissitudes of this little world?

Go beyond that if you dare; go beyond law, let the whole universe vanish, and stand alone.

"I am Existence-Absolute, Knowledge-Absolute, Bliss-Absolute; I am He, I am He."

- Swami Vivekananda
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 3/Lectures and Discourses/The Free Soul

IN YOU IS ALL POWER.

 What makes you weep, my friend? In you is all power. Summon up your all-powerful nature, O mighty one, and this whole universe will lie at your feet. It is the self alone that predominates and not matter.

- Swami Vivekananda
(VI.274)

THE SIGN IS THAT GOOD OR ILL FORTUNE CAUSES NO CHANGE IN HIS MIND

It is very hard thing to understand, but you will come to learn in time that nothing in the universe has power over you until you allow it to exercise such a power. Nothing has power over the self of man, until the self becomes a fool and loses independence. So, by non - attachment, you overcome and deny the power of anything to act upon you. It is very easy to say that nothing has the right to act upon you until you allow it to do so; but what is the true sign of the man who really does not allow anything to work upon him, who is neither happy nor unhappy when acted upon by the external world? The sign is that good or ill fortune causes no change in his mind; in all conditions he continues to remain the same.

- Swami Vivekananda

IT IS IN THE NATURE OF THINGS THAT MANY HSOULD FALL, THAT TROUBLES SHOULD COME

It is in the natrue of things that many should fall, that troubles should come, that tremendous difficulties should arise, that selfishness and all the other devils in the human heart should struggle hard, when they are about to be driven out by the fire of spirituality. The road to the good is the roughest and steepest in the universe. It is a wonder that so many succeed; no wonder that so many fall. Character has to be established through a thousand strumbles.

-Swami Vivekananda
{ VIII.383 }