THE REAL NATURE OF MAN

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Posted by: " Uttishthata " uttishthata

Wed Sep 19, 2007 8:01 pm (PST)

 

THE REAL NATURE OF MAN - Swami Vivekananda

Continued from the pervious posting: http://groups. /

group/Uttishthat a/message/ 1997

 

There is a great tendency in modern times to talk too much of work

and decry thought. Doing is very good, but that comes from thinking.

Little manifestations of energy through the muscles are called work.

But where there is no thought, there will be no work. Fill the

brain, therefore, with high thoughts, highest ideals, place them day

and night before you, and out of that will come great work. Talk not

about impurity, but say that we are pure. We have hypnotised

ourselves into this thought that we are little, that we are born,

and that we are going to die, and into a constant state of fear.

 

There is a story about a lioness, who was big with young, going

about in search of prey; and seeing a flock of sheep, she jumped

upon them. She died in the effort; and a little baby lion was born,

motherless. It was taken care of by the sheep and the sheep brought

it up, and it grew up with them, ate grass, and bleated like the

sheep. And although in time it became a big, full-grown lion, it

thought it was a sheep. One day another lion came in search of prey

and was astonished to find that in the midst of this flock of sheep

was a lion, fleeing like the sheep at the approach of danger. He

tried to get near the sheep-lion, to tell it that it was not a sheep

but a lion; but the poor animal fled at his approach. However, he

watched his opportunity and one day found the sheep-lion sleeping.

He approached it and said, " You are a lion. " " I am a sheep, " cried

the other lion and could not believe the contrary but bleated. The

lion dragged him towards a lake and said, " Look here, here is my

reflection and yours. " Then came the comparison. It looked at the

lion and then at its own reflection, and in a moment came the idea

that it was a lion. The lion roared, the bleating was gone. You are

lions, you are souls, pure, infinite, and perfect. The might of the

universe is within you. " Why weepest thou, my friend? There is

neither birth nor death for thee. Why weepest thou? There is no

disease nor misery for thee, but thou art like the infinite sky;

clouds of various colours come over it, play for a moment, then

vanish. But the sky is ever the same eternal blue. "

 

Why do we see wickedness? There was a stump of a tree, and in the

dark, a thief came that way and said, " That is a policeman. " A young

man waiting for his beloved saw it and thought that it was his

sweetheart. A child who had been told ghost stories took it for a

ghost and began to shriek. But all the time it was the stump of a

tree. We see the world as we are. Suppose there is a baby in a room

with a bag of gold on the table and a thief comes and steals the

gold. Would the baby know it was stolen? That which we have inside,

we see outside. The baby has no thief inside and sees no thief

outside. So with all knowledge. Do not talk of the wickedness of the

world and all its sins. Weep that you are bound to see wickedness

yet. Weep that you are bound to see sin everywhere, and if you want

to help the world, do not condemn it. Do not weaken it more. For

what is sin and what is misery, and what are all these, but the

results of weakness? The world is made weaker and weaker every day

by such teachings. Men are taught from childhood that they are weak

and sinners. Teach them that they are all glorious children of

immortality, even those who are the weakest in manifestation. Let

positive, strong, helpful thought enter into their brains from very

childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to

weakening and paralysing ones. Say to your own minds, " I am He. I am

He. " Let it ring day and night in your minds like a song, and at the

point of death declare, " I am He. " That is the Truth; the infinite

strength of the world is yours. Drive out the superstition that has

covered your minds. Let us be brave. Know the Truth and practise the

Truth. The goal may be distant, but awake, arise, and stop not till

the goal is reached.

 

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 2 [ Page : 85 ]

(Delivered in London) The End.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

Bless people when they revile you. Think how much good they are

doing by helping to stamp out the false ego. Hold fast to the Atman,

think only pure thoughts, and you will accomplish more than a

regiment of mere preachers.

- Swami Vivekananda