Vivekananda on the Vedas (part 77)

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Parts 1 to 76 were posted earlier. This is part 77. Your comments are welcome... Vivekananda Centre London

Earlier postings can be seen at http://www.vivekananda.btinternet.co.uk/veda.htm

 

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON THE VEDAS AND UPANISHADS

By Sister Gayatriprana

part 77

 

c) The Dualist Scheme of the Transmigration of Souls

1. The Results of Action Condition the Life of Humanity

What comes after death? All the Vedantic philosophers admit that this jiva is by its own nature pure. But ignorance covers up its real nature, they say. As by evil deeds it has covered itself with ignorance, so by good deeds it become conscious of its own nature again. Just as it is eternal, so its nature is pure. The nature of every being is pure. (21)

Both the dualists and the qualified dualists admit that the soul is by its nature pure, but through its own deeds it becomes impure. The qualified monists express it more beautifully than the dualists by saying that the soul's purity and perfection become contracted and again become manifest, and what we are trying to do is to re-manifest the intelligence, the purity, the power which is natural to the soul. Souls have a multitude of qualities, but not that of almightiness or all-knowingness. Every wicked deed contracts the nature of the soul and every good deed expands it; and these souls are all parts of God. (22)

According to [the popular idea of dualism] we have a body, of course, and behind the body there is what they call the fine body. This fine body is also made of matter, only very fine. It is the receptacle of all our karma, of all our actions and impressions, which are ready to spring up into visible forms. Every thought that we think, every deed that we do, after a certain time becomes fine, goes into seed form, so to speak, and lives in the fine body in a potential form; and after a time it emerges again and bears its results. These results condition the life of humanity. Thus it molds its own life. Humans are not bound by any other laws excepting those they make for themselves. Our thoughts, our words and deeds are the threads of the net which we throw around ourselves, for good or for evil. Once we set in motion a certain power we have to take the full consequences of it. This is the law of karma. (23)

 

Cross reference to:

Mai. Up., 6.34

Cha. Up., 5.10, 1-2

6.8.6