From Talks 27 Nov 38

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HUMBLE REQUEST FOR CLARIFICATION

Do you believe this

MAN THE MAKER OF HIS DESTINY

By Swamy Vivekananda

 

There was a very powerful dynasty in Southern India. They made it a rule to take

the horoscope of all the prominent men living from time to time, calculated from

the time of their birth. In this way they got a record of leading facts

predicted, and compared them afterwards with events as they happened. This was

done for a thousand years, until they found certain agreements; these were

generalised and recorded and made into a huge book. The dynasty died out, but

the family of astrologers lived and had the book in their possession. It seems

possible that this is how astrology came into existence. Excessive attention to

the minutiae of astrology is one of the superstitions which has hurt the Hindus

very much.

I think the Greeks first took astrology to India and took from the Hindus the

science of astronomy and carried it back with them from Europe. Because in

India you will find old altars made according to a certain geometrical plan,

and certain things had to be done when the stars were in certain positions,

therefore I think the Greeks gave the Hindus astrology, and the Hindus gave

them astronomy.

I have seen some astrologers who predicted wonderful things; but I have no

reason to believe they predicted them only from the stars, or anything of the

sort. In many cases it is simply mind-reading. Sometimes wonderful predictions

are made, but in many cases it is arrant trash.

In London, a young man used to come to me and ask me, "What will become of me

next year?" I asked him why he asked me so. "I have lost all my money and have

become very, very poor." Money is the only God of many beings. Weak men, when

they lose everything and feel themselves weak, try all sorts of uncanny methods

of making money, and come to astrology and all these things. "It is the coward

and the fool who says, 'This is fate'" — so says the Sanskrit proverb. But it

is the strong man who stands up and says, "I will make my fate." It is people

who are getting old who talk of fate. Young men generally do not come to

astrology. We may be under planetary influence, but it should not matter much

to us. Buddha says, "Those that get a living by calculation of the stars by

such art and other lying tricks are to be avoided"; and he ought to know,

because he was the greatest Hindu ever born. Let stars come, what harm is

there? If a star disturbs my life, it would not be worth a cent. You will find

that astrology and all these mystical things are generally signs of a weak

mind; therefore as soon as they are becoming prominent in our minds, we should

see a physician, take good food and rest.

If you can get an explanation of a phenomenon from within its nature, it is

nonsense to look for an explanation from outside. If the world explains itself,

it is nonsense to go outside for an explanation. Have you found any phenomena in

the life of a man that you have ever seen which cannot be explained by the power

of the man himself? So what is the use of going to the stars or anything else in

the world? My own Karma is sufficient explanation of my present state. So in the

case of Jesus himself. We know that his father was only a carpenter. We need not

go to anybody else to find an explanation of his power. He was the outcome of

his own past, all of which was a preparation for that Jesus. Buddha goes back

and back to animal bodies and tells us how he ultimately became Buddha. So what

is the use of going to stars for explanation? They may have a little influence;

but it is our duty to ignore them rather than hearken to them and make

ourselves nervous. This I lay down as the first essential in all I teach:

anything that brings spiritual, mental, or physical weakness, touch it not with

the toes of your feet. Religion is the manifestation of the natural strength

that is in man. A spring of infinite power is coiled up and is inside this

little body, and that spring is spreading itself. And as it goes on spreading,

body after body is found insufficient; it throws them off and takes higher

bodies. This is the history of man, of religion, civilisation, or progress.

That giant Prometheus, who is bound, is getting himself unbound. It is always a

manifestation of strength, and all these ideas such as astrology, although there

may be a grain of truth in them, should be avoided.

There is an old story of an astrologer who came to a king and said, "You are

going to die in six months." The king was frightened out of his wits and was

almost about to die then and there from fear. But his minister was a clever

man, and this man told the king that these astrologers were fools. The king

would not believe him. So the minister saw no other way to make the king see

that they were fools but to invite the astrologer to the palace again. There he

asked him if his calculations were correct. The astrologer said that there could

not be a mistake, but to satisfy him he went through the whole of the

calculations again and then said that they were perfectly correct. The king's

face became livid. The minister said to the astrologer, "And when do you think

that you will die?In twelve years", was the reply. The minister quickly drew

his sword and separated the astrologer's head from the body and said to the

king, "Do you see this liar? He is dead this moment."

If you want your nation to live, keep away from all these things. The only test

of good things is that they make us strong. Good is life, evil is death. These

superstitious ideas are springing like mushrooms in your country, and women

wanting in logical analysis of things are ready to believe them. It is because

women are striving for liberation, and women have not yet established

themselves intellectually. One gets by heart a few lines of poetry from the top

of a novel and says she knows the whole of Browning. Another attends a course of

three lectures and then thinks she knows everything in the world. The difficulty

is that they are unable to throw off the natural superstition of women. They

have a lot of money and some intellectual learning, but when they have passed

through this transition stage and get on firm ground, they will be all right.

But they are played upon by charlatans. Do not be sorry; I do not mean to hurt

anyone, but I have to tell the truth. Do you not see how open you are to these

things? Do you not see how sincere these women are, how that divinity latent in

all never dies? It is only to know how to appeal to the Divine.

The more I live, the more I become convinced every day that every human being is

divine. In no man or woman, however vile, does that divinity die. Only he or she

does not know how to reach it and is waiting for the Truth. And wicked people

are trying to deceive him or her with all sorts of fooleries. If one man cheats

another for money, you say he is a fool and a blackguard. How much greater is

the iniquity of one who wants to fool others spiritually! This is too bad. It

is the one test, that truth must make you strong and put you above

superstition. The duty of the philosopher is to raise you above superstition.

Even this world, this body and mind are superstitions; what infinite souls you

are! And to be tricked by twinkling stars! It is a shameful condition. You are

divinities; the twinkling stars owe their existence to you.

I was once travelling in the Himalayas, and the long road stretched before us.

We poor monks cannot get any one to carry us, so we had to make all the way on

foot. There was an old man with us. The way goes up and down for hundreds of

miles, and when that old monk saw what was before him, he said, "Oh sir, how to

cross it; I cannot walk any more; my chest will break." I said to him, "Look

down at your feet." He did so, and I said, "The road that is under your feet is

the road that you have passed over and is the same road that you see before you;

it will soon be under your feet." The highest things are under your feet,

because you are Divine Stars; all these things are under your feet. You can

swallow the stars by the handful if you want; such is your real nature. Be

strong, get beyond all superstitions, and be free.

 

(From TheComplete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 8)

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601,

 

,,,,,,Maharshi "He who instructs an ardent seeker to do this or

that is not a true master .The seeker is already afflicted by his

activities and wants peace and rest .in other words he wants

cessation of his activities Iinstead of that he is told to do

something in addition to , or in place of , his activities ,Can that

be a help to the seeker ?

 

Activity is creation ;activity is the destruction of one's inherent

happiness .If activity be advocated the adviser is not a Master but

a Killer .Either the Creator {Brahma} or Death {Yama} may be

said to have come in the guise of such a Master .He cannot

liberate the aspirant but strengthens his fetters ......"