Swami Vivekananda

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1.

No one knew why it would be good to love other beings as ourselves.

And the reason why is there -- in the idea of the Impersonal God; you

understand it when you learn that the wh ole world is one -- the

oneness of the universe -- the solidarity of all life -- that in

hurting anyone I am hurting myself, in loving anyone I am loving

myself. Hence we understand why it is that we ought not to hurt others.

 

2.

This is another great theme of the Vedanta, this Oneness of life, this

Oneness of everything. . . . If you go below the surface, you find

that Unity between man and man, between races and races, high and low,

rich and poor, gods and men, and men and animals. If you go deep

enough, all will be seen as only variations of the One, and he who has

attained to this conception of Oneness has no more delusion. What can

delue him? ... Where is there any more misery for him? ... He has

traced the reality of everything to the Lord, the Centre, the Unity of

everything, and that is Eternal Existence, Eternal Knowledge, Eternal

Bliss.

 

3.

In our dealings with our fellow-beings we constantly labour under this

mistake, and I am of opinion that the vast majority of our quarrels

with one another arise simply from this one cause that we are always

trying to judge others' gods by our own, others' ideals by our ideals,

and others' motives by our motives. Under certain circumstances I

might do a certain thing, and when I see another person taking the

same course I think he has also the same motive actuating him, little

dreaming that although the effect may be the same, yet many other

causes may produce the same thing. He may have performed the action

with quite a different motive from that which impelled me to do it. So

in judging of those ancient religions we must not take the standpoint

to which we incline, but must put ourselves into the position of

thought and life of those early times.

 

4.

The easiest way to keep others happy is to send a currnet of holy

thought to all creation. Mentally repeat, " Let all beintgs be happy;

let all beings be peaceful; let all beings be blissful. " So do to the

east, south, north and west. The more you do that the better you will

feel yourself. You will find at last that the easiest way to make

ourselves healthy is to see that others are healthy, and the easiest

way to make ourselves happy is to see that others are happy.

 

5.

Selfishness is the devil incarnate in every man. Every bit of self,

bit by bit, is devil. Take off self by one side and God enters by the

other.

 

6.

Teach yourselves, teach everyone his/her real nature, call upon the

sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come,

goodness will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent

will come, when this sleeping soul is roused to self-concsious

acitivty.