( Swaami Vivekaanand in lecture on the Karma Yoga)

[Guest guest]

( Swaami Vivekaanand in lecture on the Karma Yoga)

 

 

The idea of complete sacrifice by a house holder is illustrated in a story of

MahaaBhaarata: After the battle of Kurukshetra the five Pandava brothers

performed a great sacrifice and made very

large gifts to the poor. All the people expressed amazement at the greatness and

richness of the sacrifice and said that such a sacrifice the world had never

seen before. But after the ceremony, there came a little mongoose half of whose

body was golden and the other half brown; he began to roll on ground of the

sacrificial hall. He said to those around, You are all liars; this is no

sacrifice. What?! they exclaimed, You say this is no sacrifice. Do you know

how many gold coins and jewels were poured out to the poor and every one became

rich and happy? But the mongoose said:

 

 

There was once a little village and in it dwelt a poor Brahmin with his wife,

his son and his sons wife. They were very poor and lived on small gifts made to

them for their teaching and preaching. There came in that land a three years

famine and the poor Brahmin suffered more than ever. At last when the family has

starved for some days, the

father brought some flour which was then cooked and divided into four bowls, one

for each member of the family. Just as they were about to eat it there was knock

on the door. The father opened it and there stood a guest. Now in India the

guest is a sacred person; he is as a God for the time being and must be treated

as such. So the poor Brahmin said. Come in Sir. You are welcome.

 

 

He set before the guest the bowl of his own portion of the food which the guest

quickly ate and said, Oh, Sir, you have killed me. I have been starving last

several days, and this little bit of your food has increased my hunger. Then the

wife said to her husband, Give him

my share. But the husband said, Not so. The wife however insisted, saying, Here

is a poor man and it is our duty as house holders to see that he is fed; and it

is my duty as a wife to give him my portion. Then she gave her share to the

guest, which he ate. And said he was still burning with hunger. So the son said,

Take my portion also; it is the duty of the son to help his father to fulfill

his obligations. The guest ate that but still remained unsatisfied; so the sons

wife gave him her portion also. That was sufficient and the guest departed

blessing them. That night those four people died of starvation. A few

drops of that flour-meal had fallen on the floor; and when I rolled my body on

them half of it became golden, as you see. Since then I am traveling all over

the world, hoping to find another sacrifice like that; but nowhere I have found

one; no where else the other half of my body turned into gold. That is why I say

this is no sacrifice.

 

 

This idea of charity is going out of India. When I was first

learning English, I read an English story book, in which there was a story about

a dutiful boy. He went to work, earned some money and gave part of it to his old

mother. This act of his was praised three or four pages. No Hindu boy can

understand the moral of that story. Now when in West I can understand this

Western idea.--every man for himself; and some men take every thing for

themselves; and fathers, and mothers, and wives,and children go to the wall (

face financial difficulties) . That should never and nowhere be the idea of the

house holder.

 

Now you see what Karma Yoga means.

Even at the point of death to help any one without asking questions. Never vaunt

(boast) of your gifts to the poor or expect their gratitude; but rather be

grateful to them for giving you the occasion of practicing charity to them.