THE REAL NATURE OF MAN

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Posted by: " Uttishthata " uttishthata

Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:03 pm (PST)

 

THE REAL NATURE OF MAN - Swami Vivekananda

 

Great is the tenacity with which man clings to the senses. Yet,

however substantial he may think the external world in which he

lives and moves, there comes a time in the lives of individuals and

of races when, involuntarily, they ask, " Is this real? " To the

person who never finds a moment to question the credentials of his

senses, whose every moment is occupied with some sort of sense-

enjoyment -- even to him death comes, and he also is compelled to

ask, " Is this real? " Religion begins with this question and ends

with its answer. Even in the remote past, where recorded history

cannot help us, in the mysterious light of mythology, back in the

dim twilight of civilisation, we find the same question was

asked, " What becomes of this? What is real? "

 

One of the most poetical of the Upanishads, the Katha Upanishad,

begins with the inquiry: " When a man dies, there is a dispute. One

party declares that he has gone for ever, the other insists that he

is still living. Which is true? " Various answers have been given.

The whole sphere of metaphysics, philosophy, and religion is really

filled with various answers to this question. At the same time,

attempts have been made to suppress it, to put a stop to the unrest

of mind which asks, " What is beyond? What is real? " But so long as

death remains, all these attempts at suppression will always prove

to be unsuccessful. We may talk about seeing nothing beyond and

keeping all our hopes and aspirations confined to the present

moment, and struggle hard not to think of anything beyond the world

of senses; and, perhaps, everything outside helps to keep us limited

within its narrow bounds.

 

The whole world may combine to prevent us from broadening out beyond

the present. Yet, so long as there is death, the question must come

again and again, " Is death the end of all these things to which we

are clinging, as if they were the most real of all realities, the

most substantial of all substances? " The world vanishes in a moment

and is gone. Standing on the brink of a precipice beyond which is

the infinite yawning chasm, every mind, however hardened, is bound

to recoil and ask, " Is this real? " The hopes of a lifetime, built up

little by little with all the energies of a great mind, vanish in a

second. Are they real? This question must be answered. Time never

lessens its power; on the other hand, it adds strength to it.

 

To be continued..

 

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 2 [ Page : 70 ]

(Delivered in London)

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

Love is always mutual and reflective. You may hate me, and if I want

to love you, you repulse me. But if I persist, in a month or a year

you are bound to love me. It is a well-known psychological

phenomenon.

- Swami Vivekananda