Swami Vivekananda says Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes

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(RECORDED BY MISS S. E. WALDO, A DISCIPLE)

Volume 7, Inspired Talks

 

After every happiness comes misery; they may be far apart or near. The more

advanced the soul, the more quickly does one follow the other. What we want is

neither happiness nor misery. Both make us forget our true nature; both are

chains — one iron, one gold; behind both is the Atman, who knows neither

happiness nor misery. These are states and states must ever change; but

thenature of the Soul is bliss, peace, unchanging. We have not to get it, we

have it; only wash away the dross and see it.

 

Stand upon the Self, then only can we truly love the world. Take a very, very

high stand; knowing out universal nature, we must look with perfect calmness

upon all the panorama of the world. It is but baby's play, and we know that, so

cannot be disturbed by it. If the mind is pleased with praise, it will be

displeased with blame. All pleasures of the senses or even of the mind are

evanescent but within ourselves is the one true unrelated pleasure, dependent

upon nothing. It is perfectly free, it is bliss. The more our bliss is within,

the more spiritual we are. The pleasure of the Self is what the world calls

religion.

 

There is no possibility of ever having pleasure without pain, good without evil;

for living itself is just the lost equilibrium. What we want is freedom, not

life, nor pleasure, nor good. Creation is infinite, without beginning and

without end — the ever-moving ripple in an infinite lake. There are yet

unreached depths and others where the equilibrium has been regained; but the

ripple is always progressing, the struggle to regain the balance is eternal.

Life and death are only different names for the same fact, the two sides of the

one coin. Both are Maya, the inexplicable state of striving at one time to live,

and a moment later to die. Beyond this is the true nature, the Atman. While we

recognise a God, it is really only the

Self which we have separated ourselves from and worship as outside of us; but it

is our true Self all the time — the one and only God.

 

Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes. It is liberty(Freedom of Choice) to be

affected by nothing; do not merely endure, be unattached. Remember the story of

the bull. A mosquito sat long on the horn of a certain bull. Then his conscience

troubled him, and he said, " Mr. Bull, I have been sitting here a long time,

perhaps I annoy you. I am sorry, I will go away. " But the bull replied, " Oh no,

not at all! Bring your whole family and live on my horn; what can you do to me? "

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Om namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Prasanth Jalasutram