Swami Vivekananda

[Guest guest]

Our Heroes Must be Spiritual

 

The highest ideal in our scriptures is the impersonal, and would to

God everyone of us here were high enough to realise that impersonal

ideal; but, as that cannot be, it is absolutely necessary for the vast

majority of human beings to have a personal ideal; and no nation can

rise, can become great, can work at all, without enthusiastically

coming under the banner of one of these great ideals in life.

Political ideals, personages representing political ideals, even

social ideals, commercial ideals, would have no power in India. We

want spiritual ideals before us, we want enthusiastically to gather

round grand spiritual names. Our heroes must be spiritual. Such a hero

has been given to us in the person of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. If this

nation wants to rise, take my word for it, it will have to rally

enthusiastically round this name. It does not matter who preaches

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, whether I, or you, or anybody else. But him I

place before you, and it is for you to judge, and for the good of our

race, for the good of our nation, to judge now, what you shall do with

this great ideal of life. One thing we are to remember that it was the

purest of all lives that you have ever seen, or let me tell you

distinctly, that you have ever read of. And before you is the fact

that it is the most marvellous manifestation of soul-power that you

can read of, much less expect to see. Within ten years of his passing

away, this power has encircled the globe; that fact is before you. In

duty bound, therefore, for the good of our race, for the good of our

religion, I place this great spiritual ideal before you. Judge him not

through me. I am only a weak instrument. Let not his character be

judged by seeing me. It was so great that if I or any other of his

disciples spent hundreds of lives, we could not do justice to a

millionth part of what he really was. Judge for yourselves; in the

heart of your hearts is the Eternal Witness, and may He, the same

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, for the good of our nation, for the welfare

of our country, and for the good of humanity, open your hearts, make

you true and steady to work for the immense change which must come,

whether we exert ourselves or not. For the work of the Lord does not

wait for the like of you or me. He can raise His workers from the dust

by hundreds and by thousands. It is a glory and a privilege that we

are allowed to work at all under Him.