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VEDANTA IN PRACTICE
Hi I
SWAMI PARAMANANDA
Vedanta
in Practice
BY
SWAMI PARAMANANDAII
THE AUTHOR OF
'The Path
of
Devotion,"
etc.
New YorkThe Baker and Taylor CompanyMCMIX
LIBRARYTwo
of
CONGRESS
xf*K *\tf
Copies Received
JANa
7
1909
Copyrignt Entry
CLASS
Q
XXc, No,
Copyright, 1908
BY
SWAMI PARAMANANDA[All rights reserved]
THE PREMIER PRESS NEW YORK
This
little
book
Is
dedicated to the
memory
of
my
blessed Master,
Swami Vivekananda, whose pure
character, unselfish love and teachings of tol-
erance have tied the East and West insisterly
bonds of love and sympathy.
PREFACEIn givingreligious instruction,it is
always important to show
how
princi-
ples can be put into practice.
People
sometimes imagine that the principlesareall,
and that when one has learnedtalk glibly about them,is
them and can
nothing further
necessary.
This
is
as great a mistake as to suppose that
looking at a well-spread tablethatlessis
is
all
needed to satisfy hunger.
Unbe-
we
not only eat the food, but alsoit,
digest
and assimilate
so that
it
comes part of our
bodies, nourishingall
and preserving them,world would be of
the food in the
little
use to us.is
The aim
of these lectures7
to
show
8us
Preface
how
to avail ourselves of the great
principles of Vedanta, so that they will
become part of our dailyus
lives
;
to teach
how we canlive
put them into practice
and
by them every moment of our
existence.late
When we
can thus assimi-
them, they will nourish and sus-
tain our spiritual nature, just as food
preserves our physical frame.is
Vedanta
eminently practical, and each of thelecturesis
five
designed to help the
reader to put into practice the truth he
has learned.
They were given
in re-
sponse to the demand for instructionof this character, and they are sent out
with the earnest hope that somehelped by them.
may
be
CONTENTSPAGEI.
The NeedLife
of
Spiritual,
15
II.
Right Discrimination.Building of Character
...
3657
III.
IV.
Power of Concentration.1
77
V. Self- RealizationVI. Selections
93
from Upanishads and Other Scriptures 117
VEDANTA IN PRACTICE
1
'
Learn
this
humble
service.
by reverence by enquiry and by Those men of wisdom whowill teach
have realized the truth
you
this
Su-
preme Wisdom.1
'Knowing which, thouerror
shalt not again thusall
fall into
and by which thou shalt see
beings in thyself and also in Me.
"Evenful,
if
you are the most
sinful of the sin-
you
will cross over the
ocean of sin by the
bark of wisdom.
"As kindleddoes the wisdom
firefire
reduces fuel to ashes, so
reduce
all
actions to ashes.
Nothing indeedwisdom.'
in thisis
world purifies equal to
He who
perfectedit
by yoga
(relig-
ious practices) findsself.'
in time, within
him-
Bhagavad Gita
IV. 36-38.
I
THE NEED OF SPIRITUAL LIFEOftenthing shouldit
has been asked that somein
practical
Vedanta teachingwhich
be
given
somethingis
can be lived and carried out in ourevery-daylife.
This
a very vital
point in religion, and without this
cannot expect to be truly spiritual.
we Ofis
what use
is
religion, of
what use
spirituality, if
they have not somethingtangible,
to give usstantial,
more
more subFre-
than mere dry words?
quentlyreligionit;
we hearit
people complain of
and of those who believe inis
they say
all
superstition, in-
tended only for the uneducated and
weak-minded.
These men are doubt15
1
6
The Need
of Spiritual Life
less perfectly sincere in their
remarks,
because, their vision being limited, they
do not
see truth behind the claims of
religion,
and therefore try to deny
its
existence.
Thank God
that religious
truths
do not
in the least
depend onIf they
any such remarks or opinions.
did not have as their basis something
moreine,
solid
and sublime than we imag-
or perceive, or grasp through our
senses, they
would not beit
in existence
to-day.cial
For has
not been the spe-
tendency of a certain class of men,
in all ages,
even from prehistoric times,
to endeavor to crush religious truths
cut of existence?tellect
Men
of gigantic intheir
have often tried to disprove
reality
and usefulness.
Often great
scientists
have made bold assertionsthesetruths,
doubting
because they
could not realize them through scien-
The Need oftific
Spiritual Life
ij
methods.
Many, many waves ofreligion,
antagonism have swept overstillit
stands firm in
its
unshaken and undisturbed.proofis
own glory, What otherits lofti?
necessary to establish
ness and extraordinary strengthreligion stands
Trueeter-
on a pedestal of
nal truth, which noeffort canit
amount of humanHowever,
shake or move.
is
very interesting to observe thatof thesein
manyrisen
men who
at first
have
opposition,
come sooner orwonderfulit.
later to a realization of its
truth and
bowthis
their heads beforeis
Proof of
seen in the lives of
some greatTyndall,
scientists, like
Huxley andtheirlife-
etc.,
who,
after
long
experiences in material science,
admitted at the close of their lives that
cne must give up matter andit,
rise
above
in order to gain
knowledge of the
1
8
The Need of
Spiritual Life
spirit.
However we maywill
try or strug-
gle, it is certain that spiritter,
guides matIt
and
always do
so.
cannot
be otherwise.its
Society has always paidtospirituality,
homage
but never
spirituality to society.
This has been
the one unique and inevitable law inthis
world of ours.to our point, Ireallylife.
Coming backpractical
musttheit
say that religionside of
teachesfact,
In
is
based on realization.a
Whatis
right hasif
man
to say religionit
trueit
he has
not seen
and proved
for himself?
Similarly,
what
right has a
man
to
claimtised
itit
is
untrue before he has practried to realizeit ?
and
A blindmaysay
man
does not see the sun, and
that the sun does not shine; but canthat really affect the sun, or proveit
non-existent?
No,
it
cannot.
During
The Need ofa
Spiritual Life
19
cloudy day the brilliant suninvisible,
hidden andby, in
but
may be can we thereit
any way, conclude that
does
not exist?
Exactly in the same way,
as long as man's sun of
wisdom
is
cov-
ered by the veil of ignorance, he doesnot seespiritual
God norlife.
feel the
need of a
However, nobody can
remain forever in that state of unwis-
dom.
Every mistake we make, every
experiencebad,
we
gain,
whether good oralways
pleasant
or unpleasant,
takes us to
some higher understandingButit is
and
realization.
very impor-
tant for spiritual aspirants not to be-
come
self-centeredall
and narrow-minded.limited
Weon
know howis.
human
knowledgehis
One may
be very great
own
plane of thought, and an-
other
may
be as great or greater on
an entirely different plane of thought.
20
The Needthey,
of Spiritual Life quarrel andis
Shouldargueright
therefore,to
trying
prove that one
and the other wrong?whereis
Both arethe
right, both are true,
room
for
fight
or quarrel?
Each
under-
stands according to his
ownto
degree of
comprehension.the
This has been one ofspiritual
great
impediments
progress, that
men
entirely lose sight
of
all
things except what they see and
feel in their
own range
of vision. This
mistake comes from man's ignoranceor extreme egotism, which
makes him
short-sighted and self-centered.ever, this great obstacleis
Howis
to be over-
come throughother
realization.it.
There
no
way
out of
The moreis
igno-
rant the man, the greaterhis pride of knowledge.this perfectly well.
apt to beall
Weis
know
There
no harderignorant,
task than trying to
make an
The Need ofegotistical
Spiritual Life
21
man
understand beyond his
range of thought.
When man
is
ri-
pened in wisdom his whole nature be-
comes softened and tender.
His whole
nature changes, and he becomes broad
and sympathetic.
We can study thisofall
fact
from the
lives
great spiritual men.
Their wismeek.
dom makes them humble andThe wisdomrealize that
of
Socrates
made him
he knew nothing.
Who
can
really master all of the infinite store
of knowledge ?the
The more a manhim
learns,
more heis
finds beforelimit.
to learn.
There
no
Infinite is the
ocean
of wisdom.
The deeper youthe reason
dive in
that ocean, the greatermility.
grows your hu-
That
is
we
find so
much modestyof mankind.
in all the great teachers
How
can they help
it,
when they
see the
power of the Al-
22
The Need
of Spiritual Life
mighty One workingeverything ?
everywhere inin
They no longer grovel
the darkness of
ignorance, but sing
boldly the infinite glory of the Lord.
"Thouall
art
one Infinite Being, beyondconception,
human
beyond mind
and speech."
Thus sang the ancientThis
Seers-of -truth, concerning the infinite
glory of the Lord.called true
is
what
is
wisdom, knowing the ominvisible forceall
nipotent
power of the
which guides the universe and
that
dwells therein, both animate and inani-
mate.
After knowing, through
reali-
zation, this onecalled
and
irresistible
force,
by different names, as Lord,
God, Allah, and so on,help but resignsay,will,
their
how can men own wills and"Not
as did the Nazarene,
mythat
but Thine, be done"?this,
Notall
Jesus alone declared
but
who
The Need of
Spiritual Life
23
attain to this highest state of spiritual
wisdom sayand
the same.
Inis
all
countries
in all ages,
Truth
one withoutit
a second, and those
who
realize
also
come to the same goal and the sameunderstanding, although
we
often find
a difference in theor language.
wayis is
of expressionlittle
This
of
impor-
tance; the difference
only in words,
and notFoolsstand
in the ultimate meaning.
and
fanaticsis
do not under-
this,
and that
why
there
is
so
much unnecessarymatter of can I not worship
disturbance in the
religious opinions.
"WhyIdeal,
my
God,
my
by expressingin
my
devotional feelings
my own waydoI
without being con-
demned,
criticized or interfered
with?
WhyManygees
meet so much opposition?"it
ask this question, but
often
unanswered.
Narrow-minded
24
The Need of
Spiritual Life
people have only one
ing things, and that
way of regardway is only whatis false.
they think right. All else
Not
only do they not want to go beyondthe range of their
own
ideas, but they
wish others to accept their views.
We
have a very beautiful and appropriateillustrationin
the
Katha-Upanishad:
"Fools dwelling in darkness, wise intheir
own
conceit and puffed
up with
vain knowledge, go round and round,
staggering to andled
fro,
like blind
menlike
by the blind."
There are many
this in the world,
who, though wrapped
in the veil of ignorance, fancy in the
pride of their hearts that theyeverything.
know
They do not
stop there,
but try to lead others, and the resultis
that "the blind, leading the blind,fall
both
into the ditch."talk about the imprac-
So when we
The Need of
Spiritual Life
25
ticability of religion,
we must
stop for
a minute and think, beforeassertions.
making such
At
present
we have become
so dependent on matter, and have solost
sight of
the spirit that nothingbutter,
seems practical but bread and
and such things as are perceivable andgratifying to the senses.all
If
we weigh
our so-called intellectual arguments
against the value of religion,see clearly that there is
we
will
no other rea-
son for our objections, except that
we
have formed a morbid habit of depending entirely on matterternal
upon
the exthis
and transitory things of
world.that
But
it
is
a well-known fact
men
cannot live on bread alone.
Doubtless, food sustains our physicalbodies, butit
cannot bring any nourishlife,
mentself
to the inner
which
is
the real
of
man
the Atman.
And
sooner
26
The Need of
Spiritual Lifeis felt
or later this need
in every hu-
man
heart.
However
brutal, diabolical
and hard-hearted a man may be; nay,however greattruthshis hatred for spiritual
may be, some day, after going through many different experiences oflife,
he comes to the conclusion thatlive
he cannotthingreal,
without getting some-
something more substantial
than the mere external satisfactions ofthe world,entirely.
on which he depended sorestless.
This makes himif
Hefor
struggles ashis soul.
to get
some food
This brings him to a
realilife.
zation of the need of a spiritual
Thecome
value of religiontothis
is felt
when webefore.
point,
and not
Thena
alone
we
realize the transitori-
ness of this world and the necessity ofspiritual life.
This shows
how we
change our views according to our
The Need of
Spiritual Life
2Jcan-
growth and understanding.not
WeThe
make any oneis
spiritual until this
reed
felt
in his heart.
great
menis
of realization
know
this,
and that
the reason they
sympathize with
those
who haveone
not yet awakened tois
their spiritual necessities. It
throughbut
sympathythrough
can
teach,If
not
fault-finding.
you want toto hisin his
help anybody, youlevel,
must come
you must explain thingsThisis
language.
only possible for
cne
whoI
has himself attained spiritual
realization.
As
have already
said, religion is
realization
and thoroughly
practical.
Toing.ily
spiritual
men
it is
even more prac-
tical,
more
real
than eating and drinkeasthis
There are men who can verydo away with everything init
world, but find
impossible to live
28
The Need of
Spiritual Life
without Divine contemplation.
In one
pole of existence you will find that
mensur-
cannot live a day without dependingentirely
on matter or externalSimilarly
roundings.
you
will find, in
the other existence, otherit is
men
to
whom
impossible to live without entirely
depending on God and living a spirituallife.
This shows that the idea of pracin different stages of
ticability varieslife,
according to our growth and unIf
derstanding.
we always
bear this in
mind, then
we can
never commit the
blunder of denunciation, which comes
throughcism.
short-sightedness
or
fanati-
One
great virtuespiritual
we
can
all
learn
from India's
men.
They havetook
been very sincere, bold and broad intheirlives,
assertions.
Sometimes
it
and even ages to attain to one
The Need of
Spiritual Life
29
spiritual truth, but they bore
it
patient-
ly
and went throughhardshipsif
all
prescribed disausterities.
ciplines,
and
Even then
they failed they did not
find fault with the fundamental teaching, but recognized their
own humanThisis
weaknesses and limitations.
what
is
called true
wisdom
when we
learn to see ourlimitations.
own
imperfections and
Why should we be so verycannot understandit ?
narrow as to denounce anything, onlybecause
we
Our
duty
is
to follow faithfully the spiritual
practices with sincerityheart,
and purity oftill
and struggle hard
we haveNoth-
realized the truth for ourselves.
ing else can remove our doubts, noth-
ing
else
can make us peaceful and
happy.
Reasoning, talking and study-
ing different scriptures cannot give ushappiness, nor supply our inner needs.
30
The Need of
Spiritual Life
Undoubtedly they give some pleasureto intellectual people, but they cannot
bring any development of spiritual conceptions.
As
it
has been beautifully exgreat Vedantic
pressed
by avarious
sage:joining
"The
methods
of
words, the various methods of speaking in beautiful language, the various
methods of explaining the diction ofthe scriptures are only for the disputations
and enjoyments of the learned,
but they do not lead to freedom'." Often
we
see people carried
away by
this
sort of thing
and missing the ultimatelife.
goal of
human
Sri
Ramakrishna
gives a very beautiful parable to thiseffect.
Two
friends
went to a mango
orchard; one of them busied himself in
counting
the
different
trees,
their
branches and leaves, comparing theirsize
and color very
catefully.
This
The Need of
Spiritual Lifeinteresting
31to
was undoubtedly veryhim.
Meanwhile the other went
for-
ward, made the gardener his friend
and began
to enjoy the fruits.
Which
one of them do you suppose was reallythe wiser?
Certainly the one
joyed the
fruits.
There arelives
who enpeople whois
spend their whole
in this leaf-
counting business, thinking thiscnly practical thing inlife.
the
And
at last
they find themselves deceived by the
charm of Maya.
But a few, through
proper understanding, avoid this unprofitable labor of leaf-counting
and try
to acquire the friendship of the
owner
of this magnificent garden, and thus
enjoy the immortal and blissful
fruits.all
They
are the best and wisest of
hu-
manto
beings
who
direct their energies
realizing the
Real,
distinguishing
right
from wrong.
So we always need
32
The Need of
Spiritual Life
right discrimination, in order to live a
true spiritual
life.
Otherwise there
is
great danger of
abusing our powersin
and
energies,
and of spending them
wrong
directions.
But
right discrimi-
nation saves us from
this.
The next thing necessaryfaith.
to have
is
What
is
this faith?
Often we
are told not to have blind faith, not totake
anything for granted.
That
is
very true and very rational.to investigate, thatis for.is
We
ought
what our reasonhard and findit
WeBy
must
strive
the right path and then followfully.
faith-
faith is
meant
to trust the
scripturestruth.
and the words of Seers-ofis
This
verylife.
necessary
and
helpful in spiritual
The
question
may
be brought forth,their
Why
should
we
accept
words before we knowThisis
their truths ourselves?
very
The Need ofgoodas talk, but
Spiritual Life
33to
when we comedifferent.it
practice
we
find
it
It is
hard
to realize,
and sometimes
takes agesit is
to discover one truth.lutely necessary to
So
abso-
have faith in the
words of great prophets and sages whohave devoted their wholeing truth,scribedlives to realiz-
and to follow
their
pre-
directions.
This can be ex-
plained in other words.
As a
forlorn,
thirsty traveler needs the direction of
a
man who
is
well acquainted with a
strange country and knows where water is to be had, so
we, too, need the
help of those
who
can guide us to theIf we,
"water of
life."
through our
vanity, doubt the
words of those truewellall
friends
who knowways of
the various
intricate
spiritual life,
we
sim-
ply miss the opportunity to attain di-
vine
wisdom and may
die of spiritual
34thirst.
The NeedFaithit
of Spiritual Life
is
always helpful and
withoutpossible.
spiritual
growth becomes imsaid by
As
it i%
Lord Krish-
na in the Gita:faithless
"The
ignorant, theis
and one of doubting SelfThereis
ruined.
neither this world,
nor the other, nor happiness for oneof doubting mind."
Without
faith
weis
cannot work properly, and progressimpossible.
All
great
workers pos-
sessed wonderful faith in themselves
and
in the Lord.
What
can a doubt-
ing mind do?
It loses all its
powers
and energies by groping hither andthither in darkness.
Another name for
doubtwhile
is
darkness.
We
doubt
mucK
we
are in darkness.
So, lightaltar of
the candle of
wisdom on the
your heart and see the incomparablebeauty of your
own
Self and of the
Lord, and learn that these are one and
The Need ofinseparable.free
Spiritual Life
35
Do
this boldly
and becomeall
from
all fear,
care
and
limited
ideas that
you are a puny mortal, aand death, whicharise
slave to disease
from doubt of yourself. Or do as LordKrishna
commanded
his
disciple:
"With
the sword of
wisdom
cut asun-
der this doubt of Self lying in theheart,
born of ignorance, and arise."the real boldness.Blessed, in-
This
is
deed, are those
who
can obey such a
command
to attain freedom.
Man, you
talk of boldness, this is true boldness
which enables you to become the possessor of immortalfinitelybliss.
This
is in-
greater than
all
your physicalsacrifice
heroic actions,all
when you canandall
the selfishness
the vanities of
the world, to obey the
commandlife.
of the
Lord and
live
a spiritual
II
RIGHT DISCRIMINATION"Threethings are rare and only obtainable through the grace of the Su-
preme Being: humansire for liberation,
life,
earnest deas-
and the helpful
sociation of the Holy."
So
it is
said
by the great illumined sage, Sankara.
Why should it be so? Why humanshould be considered so greatquestioned.
life
may
be
According to the Vedanticofcreation,this
conception
humanall
bodyverse.
is
the greatest body in the uni-
Man
is
greater thanall
ani-
mals; nay, than
Devas
(angels)'.
Noer
other manifestation of
life isis
greatfit
than man.
Man
alone
in a
po^
sition to attain perfection.36
Even the
'Right Discrimination
37attain to
Devas havemeaning
to
come down and
perfection throughis that, in
human
bodies.
Theof
the lower creation,is
the animal plane, everythingdullness,
full
and thought cannot go
far-
ther than the limits of the body.
Ani-
mals cannot think of any high things.So, also, the Devas,
who
are supposed
to live in the heavens, cannot attain to
freedom
directly.ties
Too much
bodily
pleasure also
us to the physical
plane and obstructs growth, and high
thoughts cannot come.ciety
In
human
so-
we
find the
same
thing.
Those
who have
too
much
wealth, or those
who
are stricken with extreme poverty,fit
are not
for spiritual
attainment:
both are great impediments to the de-
velopment of thedle class
soul.
It is the
mid-
here
who alone we
attain
wisdom, because
find the forces of
mind
38
Right Discriminationbal-
and body properly adjusted andanced.
This
is
the reason
why human
birth is so
much esteemed
as the hu-
man
plane stands between the animal
and the angel
Next
is
to have the earnest desire
or thirst for liberation.
How many
among
us really desire freedomareall
al-
though we
humanand whoare
beings?
There are few who strongly desire tosearch for thethatfalse.all
real,
realize
external
things
unreal,
Those who
strive earnestly
and
sincerely to find the
way
to
freedomhelpfulillu-
and
succeed
in
getting
the
guidance of a true teacher, an
mined
soul, are
indeed blessed and have
accomplished the purpose ofistence.
human
ex-
Thislife,
is
the aim and object of
human
although the majority haveit
forgotten
and
have taken
other
Right Discriminationthing's as their ideals.
39
But there comes
a
moment
in every one's life
when he
cannot but turn toward the truth.is
He
indeed a true
man whobynature.
strives for
liberation,
self-mastery,
conquer-
ing his
lower
This human
body
is
a privilege, and those who,
after having obtained this great privilege,
do not put
it
to the right use,
miss their opportunity.
What makes man greater than the animals ? What makes one man greater than another?It is
through
intelli-
gence that the power of understandingcomes. Itis
through the opening of the
faculty of discrimination that one rises
higher in thoughts and in wisdom.the physical plane thereis
In
very
little
opening oftion.
this faculty
of discriminaplaneit
On
the intellectual
it
is
much more pronounced,
but
is
not
;
40
Right Discrimination
entirely revealed to a
man
until
he has
reached the realm of the Spiritual. Thisdiscriminationis
called,
in
Sanskrit,in every
Viveka and
is
most importantlife.
step of spiritual
Viveka means
discriminating between the real and theunreal, between the true
and the
false.
This world
is
a great mixture.
There
are good things as well as bad thingsthere are beautiful
things as well as
ugly things
;
there are beneficial things
a? well as harmful things;
and we are
placed in the midst of this turmoil tofind our
wayis
out of
it
to that state
where there
no
duality, but only
one
existence of Absolute Bliss.this
So we need
Viveka to help us and lead us in
the right path.
Without right discrimination we cannot
make any
progress whatsoever in
the spiritual path. Things of the world,
Right Discriminationbeautiful
41
and fascinating to the sensesto be real
appearingastraytion.
often lead usSamthe keenest
when we
lack right discriminais
Hard
indeedlife).
the path of
sdra (earthly
Even
human
beings are sometimes deceived
by the charm of Maya.the cause ofing,all
Ignorance
is
our misery and sufferexists because of
and ignorance
non-discrimination.
When we
take theit,
unreal for the real and cling to
we
become disappointed and thus
suffer.
We
see everything constantly chanus.
ging around
The baby becomes
the youth, the youth becomes the
man
who,
in his turn,
is
slowly approach-
ing old age.
The
strong are weakenedall.
by disease, and death comes toall
Yet
are clinging to thisthis
life,
lookingelse
upon
as
permanent
What
can be the cause of this delusion, except
42
Right Discrimination]
ignorance and forgetfulness of the trueSelf?
Weto
have
identified thelittle
immoris
tal Self
with thisfall.
body whichis
bound
"Ignorance
taking
that which
is
non-eternal, impure
and
non-Self, for the Eternal, pure, blissful
Atman (Self).'' Our present conceptionSelf.
of the Self
is
nothing beyond the body.
But the
body cannot be the
The body can
never become unchangeable or eternal.
Everything that has a beginning mustnecessarily have
an end.
It
cannot begoes,
otherwise.
The body comes and
being a combination of matter, but theSpirit remains always;
unchangeable
and
eternal.
Once, Indra, the head of the gods,
and Virochana, the head of the demons, went to learn about the Self
from a great
sage.
They both
studied
Right Discriminationwith him for a long time.day, their master declared,that.
43
Then, one
"Thou
art
Thou
thyself art that Self
which
thou art seeking."at first pleased,
Both of them were
and thought they had
accomplished
everything.
They
re-
turned to their homes and gave the
message to the people.
The demon,
having naturally a clouded and ignorant nature, could not understand thereal
meaning of the words of theliterally,
sage,
but took themhis
and thought
body was the
Self.
So he declared
to his people,
"Make
the body well and
strong by taking good food and exercise.
Be happy.
None
is
greater than
ourselves.
We
are Brahman."
Thus
he remained contented, and inquired nofurther.
But the god had a muchture,
finer na-
and he
at
once began to think:
44
Right Discriminationof our master's wordsis
"The meaning
cannot be that the Self
this body.
Howit is
can this body be the Self whileso ephemeral, changeable
and de-
pendent on matter?
The
Self does not
change at
all."
So he returnedthe Self?
to the
sage and asked, "Sir, did youthat this
mean
body
is
I see that
the body changes constantly and dies,
while the Selfmortal."
is
unchangeable and imreplied,
The sage
calmly,
"Thouself."
art that Self.
Find
it
out thy-
Then Indra thought perhapstal forces
the vi-
were the
Self.
But soon heif
found that they became weak
he did
not give them proper nourishment.
Soif
he came back to the sage to find
he
meant theanswered
vital forces.
But the sage
in theit
same way.
Then
In-
dra thought
must be the mind, but
Right Discrimination
45
soon he discovered that the mind couldnot be the Self, asit
is
sometimesunhappy.pa-
happy andThus,tience
at
other timesconstant
through
search,
and right discrimination, and
through the help of the sage, the godattained
Self-knowledge
the
Self
which
is
neither body nor mind, but
beyond both,not cut,
"whomfire
the sword can-
whom
cannot burn,
whom
water cannot melt, and air cannot dry.Birthless,
deathless,
One,
omniscient
and all-pervading." The god, throughproperdiscrimination,
reached
the
goal, while the poor, ignorant
demon
missedfor the
it
on account of
his fondness
body and bodily pleasures.need not go far to find out the
Wecuse
significance of this story.
me
if I
say that in
You will exhuman society
we
find a
good many demons whose
46Right Discrimination
thoughts do not go beyond the limitscf the body and are perfectly satisfied
with sense pleasures.
But therecan differenreal
are a few gods, too,tiate
who
through discrimination theunreal,
from the
and
release the soul
from the bondage of Maya.all
We
can
become
like
gods
if
we
only use
this
power
properly,
and manifest DiSimilarly
vinity within ourselves.
we
can degrade ourselves to the animalplaneif
we doupon
not use
it
properly.
Our
progression or retrogression dependsentirely
ourselves,
on our every
thought and action.
The Lord hasrise
given us the power of discrimination,
andbut
ifif
we use it we can we neglect it and
higher
are led
away
by our momentary impulses, then weobstruct our
growth and remain almost
as ignorant as animals.
"The tenden-
Right Discriminationcies of eating, sleeping, fear
47
and sense
enjoyments arebeings
common to both human and animals. The former excelin
the brutesstanding.
knowledge and underthose
But
who
lack
in
knowledge can bemals."
classified
with ani-
Some mayso.
think this
is
put in ait
rather exaggerated form, but
is
not
On
the contrary,it if
much
truth can
be found in
properly analyzed.
There are three planes of existencein this universe.cal
The
first is
the physi-
or material, the manifestation ofis
whichlife.
shown obviously
in
animal
The thoughts
in this plane of ex-
istence cannotsenses,
go beyond the body and
and the mind naturally dwells
in that circle.
The second
is
the plane
of intellect where
humanThe
beings are
supposed to stand.
manifestation
48of
Right Discriminationintellectis
especially seen in our
great scientists and mechanicians who,
through their
many
researches and in-
ventions, have helped mankind.
Theall
tendency of
intellect is to
overcome
physical limitations and to give
manin
more power over himself and naturegeneral.
This
is
undoubtedly higherstill
than the physical plane, butis
higher
a plane which
is
known
as the spir-
itual plane.
This stands entirely be-
yond the body and mind.ofphysical
No amountintellectual
strength
or
keenness can bring us to this plane.
This
is
the state in which
we
experi-
ence supernatural powers, which neither the senses nor the intellect can
bring to us.
These three planes of existence arethe
manifestationy
of
Sattva, Rajas
and Tamas
as they are called in San-
Right Discriminationskrit.
49ele-
These three are the principalall
ments out of whichare
living forms
manufactured.less theis
Our
bodies
are
more orthree.
combination of thesethe lowest, as repre-
Tamasby
sented
animals.
The nature
of
Tamas is darkness and dullness, and when these predominate in man he becomes stupid andis filled
inactive.
His mind
with
evil propensities,
and he andvery
fails to
distinguish between right
wrong.little
This
class
of
men
is
removed from the animals, becausenotpossessthe
they do
power
of
proper
judgment,
and
their
whole
thought and action are centralized intheir bodies.
Theyus
often injure others
to
fulfil
their selfish desires.
But the
in-
tellect
helpsthis
to
uplift
ourselvesplane.
above
dull,
material
Through
the help of intellect
we
be-
50
Right Discriminationactive
comeness.
and ambitious for happiis
This
the nature
of Rajas.
Through Rajas we became immenselyactive,
and thus overcome
all dullness.
In this way, through the power of reasoning,
we
progress much.
But soon
we
find that the
human
intellect falls
back
after reaching a certain point.
Here man struggles hard
to penetrate
the wall which stands betweenthe
him and
Unknown.
However, through the
earnest struggle of the soul, a channelis
opened which gives him the powerThisis
to see inner things.
is
the state
of Sattva, wherefied
man
neither satis-
by
fulfilling
the physical desires
nor contented to remain within the limits
of the
intellect,
but stands
steadily-
keeping the balance of both.state alone
In this
he can rightly discriminate.
Right DiscriminationSattva gives theables us to think
51
equilibrium and en-
and
act rightly.
According' to the manifestation ofthesethreequalities
Sattva, Rajas
and Tamos
we
see the differences in
human
beings.
The man who
possesses
the quality of goodness, in
him aloneand
we
see true fearlessness, uprightness,truthfulness,all
purity,
forgiveness
the absence of
anger and passion.
He
alone becomes peaceful and happyself-control.
through hisother
There
is
no
way
to get peace.
The man who
follows the path of Rajas (or the quality of passion)
never finds any peaceis
or
rest, as
there
no
limit to
human
desires.
The more we
gratify them,It is just5
the stronger they become.like
adding fuel to thethe flame stronger.
fire
we
but
make
How
can any
man
expect to find
52
Right Discrimination
peace and happiness
when he
is
over-
powered by Tamas or the darkness ofignorance ? Through our experience
we
comelearn
to the conclusion that
we mustwhich
how
to control our lower natures
and
manifest
goodness,
by
means alone we can hope tofection.
attain per-
Thus discrimination becomes
our true friend on the spiritual path by
showing us the right way and savingus from errors.
Nowtice
the question
vate this quality of
how to Sattvaf "Byis,
culti-
prac-
and non-attachment
it is
attained."
Of
course there are some suggestions
regarding food.
By
living
on
pure
food one can change his body and gain
Sattva elements.
It is true that
one
can be helpeddrink.
by proper food and
There are three causes which make
Right Discriminationfood impure.itself,it is
53the food;
The nature of
such as onions, garlic,
etc.
when
polluted by any foreign substance,dirt,
such as hair,
etc.;
and, thirdly,
whenson.
it
is
touched by an impure per-
By
avoiding these three,
we can
un-
doubtedly gain strength and goodness,but one thingber,
we must always rememis
and that
that
all
external ob-
servances are only secondary.purityis internal,
The
real
and only obtainable
through the constant practice of unselfishness
and
chastity.is
When we
lack
discrimination, there
great danger of
our falling into fanaticism
that
most
deadly ofever, if
all
foes to progress.
How-
we keepsafelyin
the goal constantly bein our hearts, thenall
fore our eyes
and
we canthatlie
overcome
obstacles
our way.
54All
Right Discriminationouter
observancesetc.,
regardingintended
cleanliness,
food,
are
only as helps toward our spiritual development, and should not be mistakenfor the goalitself.
So we must be ever
watchful, and guard ourselves from at-
taching undue importance to any merely external actions.
Everything in
this
world has
its
legitimate use
and also
can easily be abused.
So we need to
discriminate in every step, in order to
use our energies in the right direction.
The
following
will
illustrate
this:
"Once upon a time
there lived a yogi,at
a holy man, who practised dailycertain hours.
During
this
time he was
much
disturbed by a cat, so in order to
have unbroken meditation he confinedthe animal in the next room. This went
en for a long time,
until
finally
he
passed away, leaving behind him a dis-
Right Discriminationciple.
55
Now,
the disciple sincerely tried
to imitate his master in
every way.
With
that end in view, he spent
muchcat,
of his time trying to get hold of a
thinking that this animal had been anessential part of his master's medita-
tion!"
We
often
make a
similar blunder,
and, mistaking the non-essential for theessential,
waste our forces in vain.religious disharmonies
Most of our
are the direct result of these unassimilated ideas.
Great souls do things with
a certain purpose in view, and theirfollowers, not understanding the prop-
er spirit of their actions, misinterpret
them, often to their
own
hindrance.
Rituals and ceremonies should not be
our main object in worship, but shouldbe regarded merely as helps toward thegoal. If
we
forget,
and make them
56curthenfirst
Right Discrimination
and foremost consideration,are easily misled, and ourretarded.sincerely
weis
growththenfully;
Therefore,
let
us^
seek
and watch care-
always working steadily, with
perseverance, faith and discrimination
and through the grace of the Lord weshall attain salvation,
Ill
BUILDING OF CHARACTEREverythingsitory,is
in this
world
is
tran-
fleeting.
manifestation ofest
From the highest human life to the low-
worm,
all
are destined to perish.
No
man wasis
ever born
who
could stop his
body from changing constantly. Bodythe
name
of a series of changes.then,
What
remains,
but
character?
Time swallows up everythingcharacter; thisis
exceptit
the only thing
can-
not touch.If
we
look back and study the his-
tory of mankind,ter
we
find that,
no mat-
how hard
the struggle
may haveall
been to live here forever, in the end
have been conquered by death.57
Em-
58
Building of Character
perors and kings have striven to build
up somethingmighty Romanwonderfulare they?
permanent, something
imperishable, but in vain.
Look
at the
Empire, look at thecivilization,
Greek
whereinto
The one has crumbled
dust, the other lies in ruins.
And whatof
has outlived them?
The message
Jesus Christ, the son of a carpenter,
and that of the beggar Buddha,arestill
TheyThose
ruling the universe.
Mysteri-
ous are the ways of the Lord.
who wanted to live have died; those who were willing to die have continued Christ, who freely gave up to live. His life, lives eternally. Buddha, whorenounced a whole kingdom, rules overhalf the world.
Whynounce?
did these great Teachers re-
Because they found that evis
erything that
a combination of mat-
Building of Characterteris
59
destined
to
perish;
and theypermanent.
sought something
more
When Christ wast, tempted He cast aside the worldwell
by the
devil,
because
Heit
knew
its
hollowness and that
could never bring real happiness.
Soofthis
Buddha
resisted
the
temptations
Mara, because he had realized that
world could bring only sorrow in theend.
Both of these great Souls valued
character
more thanor threw
all
else,
and de-
voted
all their
attention to that.aside,all
Theyelse,
renounced,
knowing
that everything
waswouldall
transilive.
tory, that character alone
One
obvious thing inis,
spiritual
characters
that they especially tendit
toward renunciation, as withoutitual
spir-
growth
is
impossible.is
This ideamisunder-
of
renunciation
often
stood,
and the majority of human be-
Co
Building of Character
ings are even horrified by the mere
mention of
it.
Yet we know that
it
forms the very foundation oflife,
spiritual
and we see how
all
great
men drewthis
their inspiration
and strength from
Show me one great spiritual character who did not sacrifice all selfsource.
ishness
and go through supreme
re-
"You cannot serve both' God and mammon." There is a greatnunciation.deal of
meaning
in this simple saying
of the Lord.
It is
not as easy as
we
imaginetrue
it
to be;
we
cannot grasp the
meaning of
this saying as long as
our hearts are weak and impure.
What
makes us weak and impure?
Depend-
ence on matter and forgetfulness of theglorious spirit within; the love the world, with
more youand
all its vanities,
depend on
it,
the weaker you become in
internal strength.
Building of Character
61
Godand
is
the source of
all
our strengthforget
inspiration,
but
when we
Him, through the charm ofbecomespiritually blind.is
matter,
weis
The one
blinding, while the other
sight-giving
so
both cannot co-exist.
not have sincere love for
You canGod in your
heart and at the same time fondness for
worldly enjoyments.it
It is impossible;
is
inharmonious
as
darkness and
light.
One musthave
exist at a time.
Thusthe
the sages
declared
boldly
thought of
renunciation:
Give
up!
Give up the world and love God, the
whom we have come into existence, in whom we live and move and have our being. Do notSupreme Goal fromforget
Him, do not neglect
to serve
Him.
Love Him andgo.
serve
Him and
let all else
This
is
the
watchword
of
all
religions
and
religious teachers.
62
Building of Characteris
This love for God
the object and
aim of renunciation.Thereis
no violence or hard-heart^It
edness necessary in renunciation.is
a natural growth of the heart.love
When
we
God with our wholeis
heart and
soul then there
no room for any-
thingeasy.
else,
and renunciation becomes
One
thing worthy of mention in thisis,
connection
that
renunciation does
rot necessarily
mean
running awayrela-
from one's own home, friends andtives,
or being cruel to them.
One canprac-
acquire love fortisingness.
God
at
home by
non-attachment and unselfish-
The
question
may
be asked,
What do welove
gain by renunciation ?
Ouris
best reward, our greatest
good
to
God above
all
external things and
to gain
knowledge of the Supreme. So
Building of Character
63
we
see that renunciation
is
one of the
most importantof character.
factors in the building
Whatmind.gether
is
character?
Every
act
or
thought leaves an impression on theAll these impressions taken to-
make up
the character.
Whenand
a large number of similar impressionsare left on the mind, they unite
become a"habitis
habit.
It is truly said that
second
nature/'
Indeed,
Swami Vivekanandathatit
often
remarkedhad.
was
all
the natureis
we
What
we
are to-day
the result of our past.
This
gives us great consolation andif
hope, becausehabit, then
what we do
is
onlyit
we
can
make or unmake
through our thoughts and deeds.
There are two planes
in this universe
where our mindsreal,
dwell.
The Sat
the
the permanently existent
and the
64Asat
Building of Character
the
unreal, the fleeting, the non-\
existent.
One's standard of good andceeds from these.
evil
pn>is
Anything thatis
a
combination of mattering and changeable;
Asat,
is fleet-
when we
cling ig-
norantly to such transitory things togratify our
momentaryit
impulses,
we
become Asat, andcharacters which
is
such unsteady
we
call
bad or
evil.is
As, however, any one
who
bad
has become so through habit, throughholding his mind on the plane ofevil,
so he can overcome this tendency by
learning to hold his
mind on
the plane
of good, by cultivating a good habit of
thought.
At
first it will
be
difficult for
him, and he will have to struggle hard,butif
he persistently looks only for thethen, in the end, he
good everywhere,is
sure to conquer.
This
is
undoubt-
Building of Character
65
edly a very difficult task and, however
we may try, we are bound to sometimescomein contact with evil;
especially is
this true for those of
us
who
live in
the world,
as
we
cannot very well
avoid associating with various classesof people.
Whatwetotanjali's
are
we
to do then?thisis
How
are
overcomeadvice
difficulty?
Pa-
helpful:
"Friend-
ship,
mercy, gladness, indifference be-
ing thought of in regard to subjects,
happy, unhappy, good andtively, pacify the
evil,
respecis
mind."
This
thecan-
real secret.
It is evident thatevil,it
we
not entirely avoid
but
we canall
counteract and remedy
by holding
these four sorts of ideas regarding
things that
come before
us.
We
must
hold the feeling of friendship toward
66all,
Building of Character
and be merciful to those who are
in misery.
Whenfeel
others are happytoo-,
we
should
happy,
and to the wicked and
evil-mindedthe subjectly
we must be indifferent. If is good, we must be friendbecause true friendshipis
toward
it,
only possible and desirable with good
and sincere
people.
You
cannot give
a friendly embrace to a tiger or asnake; the wisest thingis
to avoid
them.
Then,
if
the subject of
thought
is
miserable,it.
we must be merciful toward When we see anybody suffer, weto
must try
remove
his misery with
a
feeling of love
and sympathy.unselfishnessfruits
This
we must do with
and non-attachment toward theof our actions.
Whether the one
whom
you help
is
grateful or otherwise, mat-
Building of Characterters not.
67the op-
Whenever you have
portunity of helping any one, you must
bear in mind thatfor your
it is
for your good,It is
own
salvation.
a privi-
lege to servemiserable,ters
God
in the
form of the
and thus build our charac-
and manifest Divinity.is
Next
gladness
:
we must
be glad
when
others are happy.
When
any one
becomes
prosperous,
victorious
and
successful,
we must
be happy to see
him happy.Instead of entertaining the feeling ofjealousy or hatred,the joyO'f
we mustThereis
rejoice in
others.
no peace
or happiness in that heart which can-
not stand the good fortune of others.
Theis
last
and most
difficult
precept
to be indifferent to evil subjects. This
is
hard, because
it
needs immense
self-
control to balance the
mind and
dis-
68
Building of Character
criminate rightly.
The
feelings of both
love and hatred are natural, but indifferenceis
very
difficult to practise.
Weevil,all.
can love good, but
we cannottalk
love
however we mayThere naturallytred, in
of loving
rises the opposite, ha-
our hearts.
For
instance,
if
a
man
does evil to us,
we
at once
becomein-
disturbed,
and react by wanting to
jure him.
But thereby we gain noth-
ing
;
we
only lose our strength and en-
ergy.
Every time we get angry or tryby hatred we weakenspiritual
to counteract evil
ourselves
and obstruct our
growth.
So
one
who
possesses theself-condifficulty
power of discrimination andtrol
can alone overcome this
by neither establishing friendship, noranimosity with theevil object.
While we hold our minds on thephysical plane,
we have become weak
Building of Character
69
on the
spiritual plane.
To
regain our
spiritual strength
we must withdraw
our minds from the plane of matter.great help to thisthe holy.is
Aof
the
company
Even a moment's
associa-
tion with great
men
will help us to
cross over the ocean
of worldliness.
Who
are great
men?
Those who areand who remain
unselfish,
all-loving
unmoved underlive in this
praise or blame,
who
world not to gain anything
for themselves, but to serve
and help
mankind for
love's
sake.
When we
comeand
in contact with such lofty souls,is
a deep impressionthis
made on our mindschange the
will
gradually
whole character.
The very same manaof
who was wicked may now becomesaint.
But, although the
company
holy
men may do much
to purify usis,
and change our natures, character
joafter
Building of Characterall,
what we form ourselves byhabits of thought
our
own
and by our
own
deeds.
We
alone are responsibleIf
for our characters.
we
are
nowgood.
bad,It
we can change and becomeall
depends upon ourselves.
As
long,
however, asplane
we remain on
the dual
on the planeis
of good and bad
therecome
danger of falling back.
We
must, therefore, go beyond both, andreach a state where our characters beperfect.
Then
neither
good nor upon
bad can any longer have an;
effect
them they remain untouched byThisa?is
either.
the only thing that
is
regarded
permanent inuntil
this transitory world.
But
we have
reached this state
are not free from danger.
Thus atries to
we man
w hor
lives in solitude
and
form
his character
may
appear to be perfect,
as long as he does not
come
into evil
Building of Characterassociation,until
Ji
but he cannot be judgedseen in the midst oftest.evil.
heis
is
Thatis
the
Ait
perfect character
one
who
can go through good and
bad unmoved.fully expressed
As
has been beautiis
by Emerson, "It
easy
in the
world toit
live after the world's
opinion;after our
is
easy in solitude to liveis
own; but the great man
he
who,
in the midst of the crowd, keeps
with perfect sweetnessence of solitude."
the independis
This
the exactis
definition of a perfect
man whoevil to
the
same under
all
circumstances.
We need boththe perfectblows, which
good and
form
character,
and the hardoften help uslook at the
we
call evil,
more than the good.lives of great
If
we
men, they seem to have
gained most from blowssity.
from adverwe
Good
is
necessary, too, but
J2
Building of Characterespecially try to be steadyevil.
must
whenThese
we come in contact with great men first overcametising the good,
evil
by pracstill
and then they rosetheycouldevil
higher,
where
not
be
touched by either good orneither
where
moved them.
Such a character was Suka, who wasthe son of a great sage and born perfect.
At an
early age the father sent
him
to the court of
King Janaka,
to
learn.
In order to
test
him, the king
gave certain instructions beforehand tohis courtiers,
and when the boy arrived
at the gate of the palace he
was allowedby theof-
to sit there three days
and three nightseven
without being
noticed
guards of the palace.ficials
Then highface
came and received him withhonor.Still
royal
his
did
not
change; he remained unmoved.
When
Building of Characterat last
73
he was led before the king, thefullit
king gave him a cup of milk,the brim, and told
to
him
to carry
sevspill-
en times around the hall withouting a drop.
In the midst of music and
dancing
the boy walked seven timeshall
around the
with the same
calm
face without spilling one drop of themilk.
Then
the
king
said
to
him,
"You have nothing morehave known the Truth
to learn.
Youto
go
home
your father."
The
only true help that you can renis
der to mankindcharacter,
when, by your veryothers.
you teach
Then you
do good by your every word, your every movement.
When,
forall
instance,
you remain steady underof
conditions
good and
evil,
those around you
learn the value of steadiness
and
be-
gin to try to practise
it
themselves.
:
74iTKus,ter,
Building of Character
by
tlie
example of your characlife
your whole
becomes a lesson
to others.
This reminds
me
of a very
beautiful
and appropriate saying we
Have in one of our Vedanta Scriptures
Under a banyan-tree a youngminedspiritual
illu-
teacher
and an old
gray-haired disciple were seated.disciple's
The
mind was
full
of doubts, of
ignorance, and he questionedbut the
teacher ever kept silence, and the disciple's
doubts were gradually dispelled.is
Such
the
force
of
character.Its
It
speaks louder than language.er is wonderfully effective
pow-
more thanall
anything else in
this universe.
Purity has been the foundation oftruly great characters.If
you build a
house on the sand,
it is
sure to tumble
down;
so,
if
we
build our characterspurity, they will not
on anything but
Building of Characterstand.is
75./
Impuritywithoutareis
is
a mixture; puritysecond.
one
a
Mixedpure
thoughts
seeing
many;see
thought
when you
only One.
When you
think of any one's evil side,that evil; just as
you yourself take
when you meditate onsaintliness.
a saint, you gain
come.lose
What you think, you beWhen we realize how much weevil
by dwelling on the plane of
we grow
watchful and hold the mind
only on the plane of good, and see in
everything the All-pervading God.
If
we wish
to save
ourselves,
we
shall
have to struggle hard, weregain, inch by inch,
shall
have tolost
what we haveevil in the
by dwelling on the
world.
But
it
may
be said,
every one has good,get out
mixed
feelings
sometimesHowcan
sometimes bad.of this state?
we
By
using the power of
y6
Building of Character
discrimination, by constantly training
the
mind
to distinguish the right
from
the wrong, and to seek only the good.
This
is
the practicalis
life.
Building of
character
the only true practice ofit
Yoga, andreally
is
the only
way we canIt is
help
humanity.
Christ helped
the world by His character.that
not
Heis
turned this earth into a heaven.not possible.evil
Thatas
There was justworld after
much
in the
cameis
as before, but
by His example
He He
helping each individual soul to overits
come
limitations
and to
strive to-
ward
perfection.
Neither Christ nor Buddha, or anyother prophet, claimed to be exceptions.
On
the contrary, they preached thatlike
all
can become
them.
We
can
all
be-
come
perfect
characters.
But
only
when we
build our characters
on the
Building of Character
77
firm foundations of purity, unselfishness,
and non-attachment
will they be
immovable, and become a blessing toall
mankind.
POWER OF CONCENTRATION
When
the subdued
mind
rests in the
Self alone, without longing for the objects of desire, that
man
is
said to be
a yogi (saint).
As
the flame of a lamp placed in aflicker,
windless spot does not
so there-
heart of the yogi of subdued
mind
mains steadfastvers not.
in
meditation and wa18, 19.
Bhagavad-Gita 6:
81
IV
POWER OF CONCENTRATIONWisdomence.is
the goal of
human
exist-
Even mento
of the lowest
intelli-
gence want
know
the secret of
things; because knowledge alone can
bring peace and happiness to our souls.
Ignorance
is
the
main source
of
all
misery and none really enjoys beingin
that state.
W,hy
do>
we
find so
manyaround
ignorant,us,
irresponsibleif
people
then,
all
are eager forthe desire
wisdom ? Because, althoughfor
wisdom
is
the natural instinct in
every
human
heart, butit.
few possess the
power of acquiringinactive, stupid
A
man who
is
and
full
of ignorance
has every desire to be all-knowing, only
84
Power
of Concentration
he does not want to work to gain
knowledge.
There are others who are
capable of work, and are immenselyactive,
but
who dowrong
not
know
the se-
cret of
work, and only exhaust theirindirections.
energies
The
door of knowledgeevery one of usto knock atit
is
ready to open toonly
if
we
know howknowledge
properly.
There
is
only one
wayis
to
and wisdom, and that
through the
power of concentration. power nobody canthing in this world.
Without
this
accomplish
any-
The
students
who
can concentrate their minds fully ontheir books are the best students.
With
the
least
effort
they accomplish the
most.
Thein
scientist, in his laboratory,all
concentrates
the
energies
of
hisdis-
mind
one direction, and thus
covers the secrets of Nature.
So does
Power
of Concentration
85
the astronomer fix his mind, throughhis telescope,etc.,
on
sun,
moon,
planets,
and they give up
their secrets to
him.
He
is
a good musician
who
canSo,else.
concentrate hisalso,
mind on
his music.
with artists and everybody,is
This
the only road to knowledge.
The more we can
concentrate
our
minds on the subject of our study, the
more rapidly the knowledge ofsubjectseeis
that
revealed to us.
Nowis
let
us
how
to acquire this
power of conbased
centration, as all our
wisdom
on
this, especially spiritual
wisdom. All
the different practices of yoga are entirely
based on concentration.in his
Patanjali,definesstuff'
Yoga Aphorisms,various
yoga as "restraining the 'mindfromtaking
forms."
This
is
only possible through the power
cf concentration.
What
is
the present
86
Power
of ConcentrationIf
state of
our minds?
we
properly
analyze,
we
shall find that
they take inone's
numerable
forms.
Sometimes
mind
is
happy, again unhappy; someetc.
times angry, and again quiet,is
It
always
restless.
Wewe
are
all sittinglittle
here just now.less,
If
are arun,
care-
and
let
the
mind
it
will per-
haps travel thousands of miles awaythis minute,
and
will begin
dreamingthepast
of
variouswill
impressions
of
which
make
it
accordingly happyprecisely the con-
or unhappy.
This
is
dition of our minds.
Among
those oi you
who have
read
Swami Vivekananda's
celebrated book
on Raja Yoga, some perhaps remember
how
the
mind
is
compared to a mad-
dened monkey.restless
"There was a monkey,all
by his own nature, as
mon-
keys are.
As
if
that were not enough,
Power
of Concentration
87
some one made him drinkwine, so that he becameless.still
freely of
more
rest-
Thena
ais
scorpion
stung
him.
Whenpoor
man
stung by a scorpion he
jumps aboutworse thanery, a
for a whole day, so the
monkeyever.
found
his
condition
To
complete his mis-
demon
entered into him.
WhatThein-
language can describe the uncontrollable restlessness of that
monkey?monkey,;
human mindit
is
like thatits
cessantly active by
ownits
nature then
becomes drunk with the wine of dethusincreasingturbulence.
sire,
After desire takes possession, comesthe sting of the scorpion of jealousy of
others
whose
desires
meet withthe
fulfil-
ment; and,pridetakesit
last of all,
demon ofmind,
possession
of the
makingtance/'
thinkis
itself
of
all
impor-
Such
the general conditio^
88
Power
of Concentration
of the mind.trol such a
How!
hard
it is
to conthis
mind
Nobody can do
for us.
We can
get
many
helpful sug-
gestions from our teachers, but
we
can
achieve self-mastery only through our
own
efforts.
It
must be our own work.disciple, after listening
Arjuna, theto the
wonderful teaching of the Gitahis master, Krishna, said,
from
"Thisthee, I
yoga of equanimity taught bysee notits
steady continuance, because
of the restlessness ofthat, the blessedless,
my
mind.":
Tois
Lord
replied
"Doubt-
O
Mighty-Armed, the mind
restless
and hard
to restrain,
yetit
byis
constant practice and dispassion
subdued."ourselves
There
is
no other way.
We
must accomplish the work of
subduing the mind by our perseverance
and unfailingitual
practice.
Yogis, or spir-
men, through their careful study,
Power
of Concentrationall
89
have found out
the various intricate
tendencies of thealso
mind and body andofconcentration,
how one
can subdue them through
different
practices
and so
attain absolute self-mastery.
Our mindforms:
manifests
itself in
various
Kshipta,
Mudha,mind
Vikshiptascattered.
and Ekagra. Kshipta means
We
often find our
in this stage
when our thoughts are various and the mind jumps from one thing to another.Thisis
a state of activity, and the mind
runs after sense pleasures.
But no
real
peace or happiness can be found whileit is
in this scattered state.is
The natureinactivity,
cf the second
dullness,
and one becomes indiscriminative andinjures others.
Next
is
Vikshipta, or
the weakening state of mind.state
In thisthe
we
struggle
to
centralize
mind, but often without success.
When
go
Power
of Concentration
we dothen
not find satisfaction, either in
the scattered or dull state of mind,
we
begin to struggle for someIf
higher form.
one perseveres, one
reaches the state of Ekagra, the concentrated or one-pointed mind.
Onlydo
when
the
mind
arrives at this state
we
attain to superconsciousnessfree
and bethree
come
forever.
Thethe
first
states are not fitted to bring spiritualrealization.
But
in
last
stage,
through the power of concentration,
wer
can collect
all
our mental and physidirect
cal energies,
and
them toward
the highest realization.
Whenit
the
mind
is
not concentrated,
is
weak and we cannot accomplishit.
anything withthefirst
Our mindis
in
one of
three states
like thin fibres,
which are scattered and separated one
from the other;
it
cannot stand any
;
Powerpressure,
of Concentration
91
but
breaks
easily.
But
through the power of concentration,
when we canthentions,
collect it into
one mass,all
we
are able to resist
distrac-
even as the twisted
fibres
can
resist the strength of
an elephant.is
The
value of concentrationIt helpslife.
un-
questionable.
every one in ev-
ery stage ofis
But the greatest man
he
who canwhat
concentrate hisReality, as
mind on
the
Supreme
"we becomeIntense
exactly
we
think."
thought forms our external and internal nature.
This
we can
often see in
the case of devoted husband and wife
they become like each other in their
manners; nay, evenance.
in
their appear-
This
fact
is
very
obviously
shownAssisi,
in the life of Saint Francis of
who by
constantly concentratingthe Christ became
his
mind on Jesus
92
Power
of Concentration
Christlike.
It is
even said his exter-
nal
figure
became transformed and
showed the marks of the stigmata.Suchit
is
the power' of concentration that
can change the whole nature of a
man.
By
concentrating our minds on
a pure, holy beingSimilarly,
we become
holy.
when we turn our thoughts
to material objects,alistic,
we become materiand we may accomplish muchplane.
on thatIt is
comparatively easy to concen-
trate ourit is
minds on external
objects, but
very hard to turn our thoughts on
things within.
Very few havedoit.
the pa-
tience or courage to
We
must
take some tangible object on which toconcentrate,till
and then go on practisingfully
we have
subdued
all
other
thoughts but that one.take the thought of
For
instance,
unselfishness, or
Powerpurity. Fill
of Concentration
93
your whole being with thatthat,feel
one thought, think of nothing but
dream of nothing butnothing butallythat, then
that,
and
you
will eventu-
become pure and
unselfish.
At
first
your thoughts"
will rise in opposition.
Eut every time you attempt
to subdue
them you
shall find yourself stronger,
and gradually, through constant practice,
you
will
conquer themis
fully.
Real
yoga practice
when weall
try to collect
our thoughts from
sources,
makeunion
them one, and connect them with ourInner Self.
Yoga means
this
with the Supreme Self which destroysall
ignorance.
Weis
cannot
feel
this
union, or have the vision of the Self,until
our mind
wholly subdued and,a lake,is
like the surface of
perfectly
calm and
quiet.
As long
as there are
ripples, in the
form of innumerable de-
94sires,
Power
of Concentration
the
we cannot see the bottom, where Atman dwells. So our duty is towith patience andpersever-
practise
ance until
we have
succeeded in making
our mind one-pointed and
have sub-
dued
all
mixed
and
wandering
thoughts.
This
is
not the work of a day, butlives.
may
take years; nay,
Progress,
however,
depends entirely upon our
earnestness.nestness,
There are degrees of earac-
and our success variesasis
cordingly,
shown by
different
temperaments.
Some
are exceedingly
slow in their nature, and do not have
any power of determination or perseverance; while others are wonderfullyenergetic and ready to givetheir lives in their attempts.
up evenSri
Ra-
makrishna gives a parable, tofect,
this ef-
of
two peasants who were work-
Powering in their
of Concentration
95
fields to
bring water.
Thenext
wife of one came and asked her hus-,
band to leave the workday.Jittle
until the
As
it
was
late,
the man, after ahis
hesitation,
left
work.
The
wife of the other came and urged him
and scolded him, but the man was determined to finish his work.after a
At
last,
whole day's
toil,
he was able tofield
bring the water into histake his rest in peace,
and couldhis task
knowing
had
been
accomplished.
There
are
many amongness
us
who
lack in steadfast-
and discrimination, and simply
waste their energies by jumping from
one thing to another without any success.
No;
matter what path
we mayandis
follow,faithful
we mustwithout
learn to be steadythis,
no knowledge
obtainable.
We
never lose this powerit,
after once
acquiring
and we can
g6
Power
of Concentration
utilize this force in
every way.
When
we
succeed in concentrating our minds,
then
meditationis
comes
naturally.
"There
no wisdom to the unsteady,to the unwise,
and no meditation
and
to the unmeditative
no peace;there
to the
peaceless
howis
can
be
happi-
ness?"
Whatweis
meditation?
Meditation
is
a constant remembrance of the objectmeditate upon.illustrated asoil
In other words,
it
"an unbroken stream
of
poured from one vessel to an-
other."
When we
attain to this kind
of remembrance in relation to the Su-
preme Being, thenheart break, andit
all
the bonds of the
becomes illuminatedSelf.
by the presence of themeditationvinity.
Through
we
feelis
the nearness of Di-
There
no other way to reach
Him.
No
external
power can give us
Power
of Concentration
97is
the vision of God.
Because
He
the
nearest of
all
friends, nearest of any-
thing that
we canand
perceive.
"He
is
greater than the greatest, smaller thanthe smallest,
He
dwells in the coreas
of every heart."to
As long
we
try
see
Himall
outside of us,
we
never
find
Him,
our, struggles are in vain.findit
But when, by experience, weimpossible to see
Him
outside of us,
then
we
turn our thoughts inside and
become meditative.
There are two forces andis
centrifugal
centripetal.
The tendency of oneall
to drive us
toward
external obis
jects,
and the tendency of the otherwithin.
to
draw us
When, through
the
power ofall
concentration,
we
ca,ni
subdue
the
various
disturbing
thoughts and desires, thenthe vision of the
we
shall get
Supreme
Self seated
98 on theall
Poweraltar of
of Concentration
our hearts.will
Then
alone
crookednessall
be
straightened
out and
doubts about the Self will
vanish forever.ly blissful,
We
shall be
supremethe
knowing
that
we and
Father are one.
VSELF-REALIZATIONRealizationallis
the
watchword of
religions.Self,
If there is a God, or a
Supremerealize
we must
see
It,
we musttheories
It.
Otherwise
these
about the existence ofsoul have verylittle
God and the value; if we canremain
not put them on a practical basis andrealize the truth of them, they
for us but
mere words.
This realiza-
tion is the only thing that can bringsatisfaction
to
us.
No amount
of
theory can ever satisfy our minds unless
we can
see the reality of things
for ourselves.
The
various methods of
joining words, the various methods of
speaking in beautiful language,
and
ioo
Self-Realization
having the skilfulness of expoundingthe Scriptures cleverly are only for the
enjoyment of the learned, but theynever lead to spiritual realization, nor
can they ever bring freedom.useis
Whatif
there in studying scriptures
we
thereby gain no spiritual
wisdom?and
Studying means to get the directions
which lead
to the ultimate goal,
when weany
forget that,
we do
not gain
profit whatsoever,
though we mayreadingall
spend our whole
life in
the
scriptures of the world.
Weinthis
have awise:
very beautiful saying,
"As a donkey
carries loads of sandal-
wood on
his
back,
only feeling the
weight of the burden without gettingthe benefit of the sweet perfume, sois it
with those
who
study innumerablethees-
scriptures
without knowing;
sence
the truthof them
their labor
Self-Realiza Honis like
i
oi
that of the donkey carrying the
load of wood."
What
I
mean
is,,
that
our aim and object should be realization,
and not to remain
satisfied
with
a network of words.
There
is
a great deal of difference
between a philosopher, alearning,
man
of book-
and a Seer-of-truth, a man
of realization.
The
philosopher
may
have studiedscriptures,
all
the Vedas, and other
and may be able to quote;
long passages from them but the Seerof-truth knows, because he has seen.
The
first
merely repeats what he hasthe
learned;
secondhis
says,
"Yes,bold.
I
know!" Thusperienceis
words are
Exof
the real and onlystrength.
way
acquiring
Real
strength
comes
through realization; when a
man
has seen
God he canis
declare with
conviction that there
a God.
When
1 02
Self-Realization
we have seen a thing, no matter how much people may deny the existence of that thing, we can still stand up boldly and declare, "I know it exists/'
We hear and study about the immortal
nature of our soul, yet
we
are
all
the time afraid of dying.
Why is that?
we have no conception of our real nature, we have no realization of the Self, the real man. In fact we haveBecause
no idea what Soul means; our knowledgeis
limited to this material body,
and
if
selves
we we
try to
form any idea of ourit
only do
through
this lim-
ited body,
whichSo,
is
subject to constant
changes.
however we may study,talk about the im-
and however we may
mortal nature of our Self; nay, however
we maylittle
repeat
So