Guest guest Posted November 7, 2009 Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 Teachings of Swami Vivekananda Isolation of the soul from all objects, mental and physical, is the goal; when that is attained, the soul will find that it was alone all the time, and it required no one to make it happy. As long as we require someone else to make us happy, we are slaves. When the Purusha finds that It is free, and does not require anything to complete Itself, that this Nature is quite unnecessary, then freedom (Kaivalya) is attained. (V. 239) The Vedanta teaches that Nirvana can be attained here and now; that we do not have to wait for death to reach it. Nirvana is the realization of the Self; and after having once known that, if only for an instant, never again can one be deluded by the mirage of the personality. Having eyes, we must see the apparent, but all the time we know what it is; we have found out its true nature. It is the screen that hides the Self; which is unchanging. The screen opens, and we find the Self behind it. All change is in the screen. In the saint the screen is thin, and the reality can almost shine through. In the sinner the screen is thick, and we are liable to lose sight of the truth that the Atman is there, as well as behind the saint's screen. When the screen is wholly removed, we find it really never existed - that we were the Atman and nothing else, even the screen is forgotten. (V. 284-85) Source: The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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