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VEDANTA IN PRACTICE 
 
Hi 
 
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 SWAMI PARAMANANDA 
 
Vedanta in Practice 
 
 BY 
 
 SWAMI PARAMANANDA 
 
 II 
 
 THE AUTHOR OF 
 
 'The Path of Devotion," etc. 
 
 New York 
 The Baker and Taylor Company 
 
 MCMIX 
 
xf*K 
 
 LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
 Two Copies Received 
 
 JAN 7 1909 
 
 a Copyrignt Entry 
 CLASS Q» XXc, No, 
 
 *\tf 
 
 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 in 
 sisterly bonds of love and sympathy. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 In giving religious instruction, it is 
 always important to show how princi- 
 ples can be put into practice. People 
 sometimes imagine that the principles 
 are all, and that when one has learned 
 them and can talk glibly about them, 
 nothing further is necessary. This is 
 as great a mistake as to suppose that 
 looking at a well-spread table is all 
 that is needed to satisfy hunger. Un- 
 less we not only eat the food, but also 
 digest and assimilate it, so that it be- 
 comes part of our bodies, nourishing 
 and preserving them, all the food in the 
 world would be of little use to us. 
 
 The aim of these lectures is to show 
 7 
 
8 Preface 
 
 us how to avail ourselves of the great 
 principles of Vedanta, so that they will 
 become part of our daily lives ; to teach 
 us how we can put them into practice 
 and live by them every moment of our 
 existence. When we can thus assimi- 
 late them, they will nourish and sus- 
 tain our spiritual nature, just as food 
 preserves our physical frame. Vedanta 
 is eminently practical, and each of the 
 five lectures is designed to help the 
 reader to put into practice the truth he 
 has learned. They were given in re- 
 sponse to the demand for instruction 
 of this character, and they are sent out 
 with the earnest hope that some may be 
 helped by them. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. The Need of Spiritual 
 
 Life , 15 
 
 II. Right Discrimination. ... 36 
 
 III. Building of Character 57 
 
 IV. Power of Concentration. 77 
 
 V. Self- Realization 1 93 
 
 VI. Selections from Upani- 
 shads and Other Scrip- 
 tures 117 
 
VEDANTA IN PRACTICE 
 
1 ' Learn this by reverence by enquiry and by 
 humble service. Those men of wisdom who 
 have realized the truth will teach you this Su- 
 preme Wisdom. 
 
 1 'Knowing which, thou shalt not again thus 
 fall into error and by which thou shalt see all 
 beings in thyself and also in Me. 
 
 "Even if you are the most sinful of the sin- 
 ful, you will cross over the ocean of sin by the 
 bark of wisdom. 
 
 "As kindled fire reduces fuel to ashes, so 
 does the wisdom fire reduce all actions to ashes. 
 Nothing indeed in this world purifies equal to 
 wisdom. He who is perfected by yoga (relig- 
 ious practices) finds it in time, within him- 
 self.' ' 
 
 Bhagavad Gita IV. 36-38. 
 
I 
 
 THE NEED OF SPIRITUAL LIFE 
 
 Often it has been asked that some- 
 thing practical in Vedanta teaching 
 should be given — something which 
 can be lived and carried out in our 
 every-day life. This is a very vital 
 point in religion, and without this we 
 cannot expect to be truly spiritual. Of 
 what use is religion, of what use is 
 spirituality, if they have not something 
 to give us more tangible, more sub- 
 stantial, than mere dry words? Fre- 
 quently we hear people complain of 
 religion and of those who believe in 
 it; they say it is all superstition, in- 
 tended only for the uneducated and 
 weak-minded. These men are doubt- 
 
 15 
 
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 on 
 any such remarks or opinions. If they 
 did not have as their basis something 
 more solid and sublime than we imag- 
 ine, or perceive, or grasp through our 
 senses, they would not be in existence 
 to-day. For has it not been the spe- 
 cial tendency of a certain class of men, 
 in all ages, even from prehistoric times, 
 to endeavor to crush religious truths 
 cut of existence? Men of gigantic in- 
 tellect have often tried to disprove their 
 reality and usefulness. Often great 
 scientists have made bold assertions 
 doubting these truths, because they 
 could not realize them through scien- 
 
The Need of Spiritual Life ij 
 
 tific methods. Many, many waves of 
 antagonism have swept over religion, 
 still it stands firm in its own glory, 
 unshaken and undisturbed. What other 
 proof is necessary to establish its lofti- 
 ness and extraordinary strength ? True 
 religion stands on a pedestal of eter- 
 nal truth, which no amount of human 
 effort can shake or move. However, 
 it is very interesting to observe that 
 many of these men who at first have 
 risen in opposition, come sooner or 
 later to a realization of its wonderful 
 truth and bow their heads before it. 
 Proof of this is seen in the lives of 
 some great scientists, like Huxley and 
 Tyndall, etc., who, after their life- 
 long experiences in material science, 
 admitted at the close of their lives that 
 cne must give up matter and rise above 
 it, in order to gain knowledge of the 
 
1 8 The Need of Spiritual Life 
 
 spirit. However we may try or strug- 
 gle, it is certain that spirit guides mat- 
 ter, and will always do so. It cannot 
 be otherwise. Society has always paid 
 its homage to spirituality, but never 
 spirituality to society. This has been 
 the one unique and inevitable law in 
 this world of ours. 
 
 Coming back to our point, I must 
 say that religion really teaches the 
 practical side of life. In fact, it is 
 based on realization. What right has 
 a man to say religion is true if he has 
 not seen it and proved it for himself? 
 Similarly, what right has a man to 
 claim it is untrue before he has prac- 
 tised it and tried to realize it ? A blind 
 man does not see the sun, and may say 
 that the sun does not shine; but can 
 that really affect the sun, or prove it 
 non-existent? No, it cannot. During 
 
The Need of Spiritual Life 19 
 
 a cloudy day the brilliant sun may be 
 hidden and invisible, but can we there- 
 by, in any way, conclude that it 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 does 
 not see God nor feel the need of a 
 spiritual life. However, nobody can 
 remain forever in that state of unwis- 
 dom. Every mistake we make, every 
 experience we gain, whether good or 
 bad, pleasant or unpleasant, always 
 takes us to some higher understanding 
 and realization. But it is very impor- 
 tant for spiritual aspirants not to be- 
 come self-centered and narrow-minded. 
 We all know how limited human 
 knowledge is. One may be very great 
 on his own plane of thought, and an- 
 other may be as great or greater on 
 an entirely different plane of thought. 
 
20 The Need of Spiritual Life 
 
 Should they, therefore, quarrel and 
 argue — trying to prove that one is 
 right and the other wrong? Both are 
 right, both are true, where is the room 
 for fight or quarrel? Each under- 
 stands according to his own degree of 
 comprehension. This has been one of 
 the great impediments to spiritual 
 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 ignorance 
 or extreme egotism, which makes him 
 short-sighted and self-centered. How- 
 ever, this great obstacle is to be over- 
 come through realization. There is no 
 other way out of it. The more igno- 
 rant the man, the greater is apt to be 
 his pride of knowledge. We all know 
 this perfectly well. There is no harder 
 task than trying to make an ignorant, 
 
The Need of Spiritual Life 21 
 
 egotistical 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 this fact from the lives 
 of all great spiritual men. Their wis- 
 dom makes them humble and meek. 
 The wisdom of Socrates made him 
 realize that he knew nothing. Who can 
 really master all of the infinite store 
 of knowledge ? The more a man learns, 
 the more he finds before him to learn. 
 There is no limit. Infinite is the ocean 
 of wisdom. The deeper you dive in 
 that ocean, the greater grows your hu- 
 mility. That is the reason we find so 
 much modesty in all the great teachers 
 of mankind. How can they help it, 
 when they see the power of the Al- 
 
22 The Need of Spiritual Life 
 
 mighty One working everywhere in 
 everything ? They no longer grovel in 
 the darkness of ignorance, but sing 
 boldly the infinite glory of the Lord. 
 "Thou art one Infinite Being, beyond 
 all human conception, beyond mind 
 and speech." Thus sang the ancient 
 Seers-of -truth, concerning the infinite 
 glory of the Lord. This is what is 
 called true wisdom, knowing the om- 
 nipotent power of the invisible force 
 which guides the universe and all that 
 dwells therein, both animate and inani- 
 mate. After knowing, through reali- 
 zation, this one and irresistible force, 
 called by different names, as Lord, 
 God, Allah, and so on, how can men 
 help but resign their own wills and 
 say, as did the Nazarene, "Not my 
 will, but Thine, be done"? Not that 
 Jesus alone declared this, but all who 
 
The Need of Spiritual Life 23 
 
 attain to this highest state of spiritual 
 wisdom say the same. In all countries 
 and in all ages, Truth is one without 
 a second, and those who realize it also 
 come to the same goal and the same 
 understanding, although we often find 
 a difference in the way of expression 
 or language. This is of little impor- 
 tance; the difference is only in words, 
 and not in the ultimate meaning. 
 
 Fools and fanatics do not under- 
 stand this, and that is why there is so 
 much unnecessary disturbance in the 
 matter of religious opinions. "Why 
 can I not worship my God, my Ideal, 
 by expressing my devotional feelings 
 in my own way without being con- 
 demned, criticized o»r interfered with? 
 Why do I meet so much opposition?" 
 Many ask this question, but it often 
 gees unanswered. Narrow-minded 
 
24 The Need of Spiritual Life 
 
 people have only one way of regard- 
 ing things, and that way is only what 
 they think right. All else is false. Not 
 only do they not want to go beyond 
 the range of their own ideas, but they 
 wish others to accept their views. We 
 have a very beautiful and appropriate 
 illustration in the Katha-Upanishad: 
 "Fools dwelling in darkness, wise in 
 their own conceit and puffed up with 
 vain knowledge, go round and round, 
 staggering to and fro, like blind men 
 led by the blind." There are many like 
 this in the world, who, though wrapped 
 in the veil of ignorance, fancy in the 
 pride of their hearts that they know 
 everything. They do not stop there, 
 but try to lead others, and the result 
 is that "the blind, leading the blind, 
 both fall into the ditch." 
 
 So when we talk about the imprac- 
 
The Need of Spiritual Life 25 
 
 ticability of religion, we must stop for 
 a minute and think, before making such 
 assertions. At present we have become 
 so dependent on matter, and have so 
 lost sight of the spirit that nothing 
 seems practical but bread and butter, 
 and such things as are perceivable and 
 gratifying to the senses. If we weigh 
 all our so-called intellectual arguments 
 against the value of religion, we will 
 see clearly that there is no other rea- 
 son for our objections, except that we 
 have formed a morbid habit of depend- 
 ing entirely on matter — upon the ex- 
 ternal and transitory things of this 
 world. But it is a well-known fact 
 that men cannot live on bread alone. 
 Doubtless, food sustains our physical 
 bodies, but it cannot bring any nourish- 
 ment to the inner life, which is the real 
 self of man — the Atman. And sooner 
 
26 The Need of Spiritual Life 
 
 or later this need is felt in every hu- 
 man heart. However brutal, diabolical 
 and hard-hearted a man may be; nay, 
 however great his hatred for spiritual 
 truths may be, some day, after going 
 through many different experiences of 
 life, he comes to the conclusion that 
 he cannot live without getting some- 
 thing real, something more substantial 
 than the mere external satisfactions of 
 the world, on which he depended so 
 entirely. This makes him restless. He 
 struggles as if to get some food for 
 his soul. This brings him to a reali- 
 zation of the need of a spiritual life. 
 The value of religion is felt when we 
 come to this point, and not before. 
 Then alone we realize the transitori- 
 ness of this world and the necessity of 
 a spiritual life. This shows how we 
 change our views according to our 
 
The Need of Spiritual Life 2J 
 
 growth and understanding. We can- 
 not make any one spiritual until this 
 reed is felt in his heart. The great 
 men of realization know this, and that 
 is the reason they sympathize with 
 those who have not yet awakened to 
 their spiritual necessities. It is through 
 sympathy one can teach, but not 
 through fault-finding. If you want to 
 help anybody, you must come to his 
 level, you must explain things in his 
 language. This is only possible for 
 cne who has himself attained spiritual 
 realization. 
 
 As I have already said, religion is 
 realization and thoroughly practical. 
 To spiritual men it is even more prac- 
 tical, more real than eating and drink- 
 ing. There are men who can very eas- 
 ily do away with everything in this 
 world, but find it impossible to live 
 
28 The Need of Spiritual Life 
 
 without Divine contemplation. In one 
 pole of existence you will find that men 
 cannot live a day without depending 
 entirely on matter or external sur- 
 roundings. Similarly you will find, in 
 the other existence, other men to whom 
 it is impossible to live without entirely 
 depending on God and living a spiritual 
 life. This shows that the idea of prac- 
 ticability varies in different stages of 
 life, according to our growth and un- 
 derstanding. If we always bear this in 
 mind, then we can never commit the 
 blunder of denunciation, which comes 
 through short-sightedness or fanati- 
 cism. 
 
 One great virtue we can all learn 
 from India's spiritual men. They have 
 been very sincere, bold and broad in 
 their assertions. Sometimes it took 
 lives, and even ages to attain to one 
 
The Need of Spiritual Life 29 
 
 spiritual truth, but they bore it patient- 
 ly and went through all prescribed dis- 
 ciplines, hardships and austerities. 
 Even then if they failed they did not 
 find fault with the fundamental teach- 
 ing, but recognized their own human 
 weaknesses and limitations. This is 
 what is called true wisdom — when we 
 learn to see our own imperfections and 
 limitations. Why should we be so very 
 narrow as to denounce anything, only 
 because we cannot understand it ? Our 
 duty is to follow faithfully the spiritual 
 practices with sincerity and purity of 
 heart, and struggle hard till we have 
 realized the truth for ourselves. Noth- 
 ing else can remove our doubts, noth- 
 ing else can make us peaceful and 
 happy. Reasoning, talking and study- 
 ing different scriptures cannot give us 
 happiness, nor supply our inner needs. 
 
30 The Need of Spiritual Life 
 
 Undoubtedly they give some pleasure 
 to intellectual people, but they cannot 
 bring any development of spiritual con- 
 ceptions. As it has been beautifully ex- 
 pressed by a great Vedantic sage: 
 "The various methods of joining 
 words, the various methods of speak- 
 ing in beautiful language, the various 
 methods of explaining the diction of 
 the scriptures are only for the disputa- 
 tions and enjoyments of the learned, 
 but they do not lead to freedom'." Of- 
 ten we see people carried away by this 
 sort of thing and missing the ultimate 
 goal of human life. Sri Ramakrishna 
 gives a very beautiful parable to this 
 effect. Two friends went to a mango 
 orchard; one of them busied himself in 
 counting the different trees, their 
 branches and leaves, comparing their 
 size and color very catefully. This 
 
The Need of Spiritual Life 31 
 
 was undoubtedly very interesting to 
 him. 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 really 
 the wiser? Certainly the one who en- 
 joyed the fruits. There are people who 
 spend their whole lives in this leaf- 
 counting business, thinking this is the 
 cnly practical thing in life. And at last 
 they find themselves deceived by the 
 charm of Maya. But a few, through 
 proper understanding, avoid this un- 
 profitable 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. 
 They are the best and wisest of all hu- 
 man beings who direct their energies 
 to 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 powers 
 and energies, and of spending them in 
 wrong directions. But right discrimi- 
 nation saves us from this. 
 
 The next thing necessary to have is 
 faith. What is this faith? Often we 
 are told not to have blind faith, not to 
 take anything for granted. That is 
 very true and very rational. We ought 
 to investigate, that is what our reason 
 is for. We must strive hard and find 
 the right path and then follow it faith- 
 fully. By faith is meant to trust the 
 scriptures and the words of Seers-of- 
 truth. This is very necessary and 
 helpful in spiritual life. The question 
 may be brought forth, Why should we 
 accept their words before we know 
 their truths ourselves? This is very 
 
The Need of Spiritual Life 33 
 
 good as talk, but when we come to 
 practice we find it different. It is hard 
 to realize, and sometimes it takes ages 
 to discover one truth. So it is abso- 
 lutely necessary to have faith in the 
 words of great prophets and sages who 
 have devoted their whole lives to realiz- 
 ing truth, and to follow their pre- 
 scribed 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 wa- 
 ter is to be had, so we, too, need the 
 help of those who can guide us to the 
 "water of life." If we, through our 
 vanity, doubt the words of those true 
 friends who know well all the various 
 intricate ways of spiritual life, we sim- 
 ply miss the opportunity to attain di- 
 vine wisdom and may die of spiritual 
 
34 The Need of Spiritual Life 
 
 thirst. Faith is always helpful and 
 without it spiritual growth becomes im- 
 possible. As it i% said by Lord Krish- 
 na in the Gita: "The ignorant, the 
 faithless and one of doubting Self is 
 ruined. There is neither this world, 
 nor the other, nor happiness for one 
 of doubting mind." Without faith we 
 cannot work properly, and progress is 
 impossible. 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 and 
 thither in darkness. Another name for 
 doubt is darkness. We doubt mucK 
 while we are in darkness. So, light 
 the candle of wisdom on the altar of 
 your heart and see the incomparable 
 beauty of your own Self and of the 
 Lord, and learn that these are one and 
 
The Need of Spiritual Life 35 
 
 inseparable. Do this boldly and become 
 free from all fear, care and all limited 
 ideas that you are a puny mortal, a 
 slave to disease and death, which arise 
 from doubt of yourself. Or do as Lord 
 Krishna commanded his disciple: 
 "With the sword of wisdom cut asun- 
 der this doubt of Self lying in the 
 heart, born of ignorance, and arise." 
 This is the real boldness. Blessed, in- 
 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 pos- 
 sessor of immortal bliss. This is in- 
 finitely greater than all your physical 
 heroic actions, when you can sacrifice 
 all the selfishness and all the vanities of 
 the world, to obey the command of the 
 Lord and live a spiritual life. 
 
II 
 
 RIGHT DISCRIMINATION 
 
 "Three things are rare and only ob- 
 tainable through the grace of the Su- 
 preme Being: human life, earnest de- 
 sire for liberation, and the helpful as- 
 sociation of the Holy." So it is said 
 by the great illumined sage, Sankara. 
 Why should it be so? Why human life 
 should be considered so great may be 
 questioned. According to the Vedantic 
 conception of creation, this human 
 body is the greatest body in the uni- 
 verse. Man is greater than all ani- 
 mals; nay, than all Devas (angels)'. 
 No other manifestation of life is great- 
 er than man. Man alone is in a fit po^ 
 
 sition to attain perfection. Even the 
 36 
 
'Right Discrimination 37 
 
 Devas have to come down and attain to 
 perfection through human bodies. The 
 meaning is that, in the lower creation, 
 the animal plane, everything is full of 
 dullness, 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. Too much bodily 
 pleasure also ties us to the physical 
 plane and obstructs growth, and high 
 thoughts cannot come. In human so- 
 ciety we find the same thing. Those 
 who have too much wealth, or those 
 who are stricken with extreme poverty, 
 are not fit for spiritual attainment: 
 both are great impediments to the de- 
 velopment of the soul. It is the mid- 
 dle class who attain wisdom, because 
 here alone we find the forces of mind 
 
38 Right Discrimination 
 
 and body properly adjusted and bal- 
 anced. 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 freedom — al- 
 though we are all human beings? 
 There are few who strongly desire to 
 search for the real, and who realize 
 that all external things are unreal, 
 false. Those who strive earnestly and 
 sincerely to find the way to freedom 
 and succeed in getting the helpful 
 guidance of a true teacher, an illu- 
 mined soul, are indeed blessed and have 
 accomplished the purpose of human ex- 
 istence. This is the aim and object of 
 human life, although the majority have 
 forgotten it and have taken other 
 
Right Discrimination 39 
 
 thing's as their ideals. But there comes 
 a moment in every one's life when he 
 cannot but turn toward the truth. He 
 is indeed a true man who strives for 
 liberation, self-mastery, by conquer- 
 ing his lower nature. This human 
 body is a privilege, and those who, 
 after having obtained this great privi- 
 lege, do not put it to the right use, 
 miss their opportunity. 
 
 What makes man greater than the 
 animals ? What makes one man great- 
 er than another? It is through intelli- 
 gence that the power of understanding 
 comes. It is through the opening of the 
 faculty of discrimination that one rises 
 higher in thoughts and in wisdom. In 
 the physical plane there is very little 
 opening of this faculty of discrimina- 
 tion. On the intellectual plane it is 
 much more pronounced, but it is not 
 
40 Right Discrimination 
 
 entirely revealed to a man until he has 
 reached the realm of the Spiritual. This 
 discrimination is called, in Sanskrit, 
 Viveka and is most important in every 
 step of spiritual life. Viveka means 
 discriminating between the real and the 
 unreal, between the true and the false. 
 This world is a great mixture. There 
 are good things as well as bad things ; 
 there 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 to 
 find our way out of it to that state 
 where there is no duality, but only one 
 existence of Absolute Bliss. So we need 
 this Viveka to help us and lead us in 
 the right path. 
 
 Without right discrimination we can- 
 not make any progress whatsoever in 
 the spiritual path. Things of the world, 
 
Right Discrimination 41 
 
 beautiful and fascinating to the senses 
 — appearing to be real — often lead us 
 astray when we lack right discrimina- 
 tion. Hard indeed is the path of Sam- 
 sdra (earthly life). Even the keenest 
 human beings are sometimes deceived 
 by the charm of Maya. Ignorance is 
 the cause of all our misery and suffer- 
 ing, and ignorance exists because of 
 non-discrimination. When we take the 
 unreal for the real and cling to it, we 
 become disappointed and thus suffer. 
 
 We see everything constantly chan- 
 ging around us. The baby becomes 
 the youth, the youth becomes the man 
 who, in his turn, is slowly approach- 
 ing old age. The strong are weakened 
 by disease, and death comes to all. Yet 
 all are clinging to this life, looking 
 upon this as permanent What else 
 can be the cause of this delusion, except 
 
42 ] Right Discrimination 
 
 ignorance and forgetfulness of the true 
 Self? We have identified the immor- 
 tal Self with this little body which is 
 bound to fall. "Ignorance is taking 
 that which is non-eternal, impure and 
 non-Self, for the Eternal, pure, bliss- 
 ful Atman (Self).'' 
 
 Our present conception of the Self 
 is nothing beyond the body. But the 
 body cannot be the Self. The body can 
 never become unchangeable or eternal. 
 Everything that has a beginning must 
 necessarily have an end. It cannot be 
 otherwise. The body comes and goes, 
 being a combination of matter, but the 
 Spirit remains always; — unchangeable 
 and eternal. 
 
 Once, Indra, the head of the gods, 
 and Virochana, the head of the de- 
 mons, went to learn about the Self 
 from a great sage. They both studied 
 
Right Discrimination 43 
 
 with him for a long time. Then, one 
 day, their master declared, "Thou art 
 that. Thou thyself art that Self which 
 thou art seeking." Both of them were 
 at first pleased, 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 igno- 
 rant nature, could not understand the 
 real meaning of the words of the sage, 
 but took them literally, and thought 
 his body was the Self. So he declared 
 to his people, "Make the body well and 
 strong by taking good food and exer- 
 cise. Be happy. None is greater than 
 ourselves. We are Brahman." Thus 
 he remained contented, and inquired no 
 further. 
 
 But the god had a much finer na- 
 ture, and he at once began to think: 
 
44 Right Discrimination 
 
 "The meaning of our master's words 
 cannot be that the Self is this body. 
 How can this body be the Self while 
 it is so ephemeral, changeable and de- 
 pendent on matter? The Self does not 
 change at all." So he returned to the 
 sage and asked, "Sir, did you mean 
 that this body is the Self? I see that 
 the body changes constantly and dies, 
 while the Self is unchangeable and im- 
 mortal." The sage replied, calmly, 
 "Thou art that Self. Find it out thy- 
 self." 
 
 Then Indra thought perhaps the vi- 
 tal forces were the Self. But soon he 
 found that they became weak if he did 
 not give them proper nourishment. So 
 he came back to the sage to find if he 
 meant the vital forces. But the sage 
 answered in the same way. Then In- 
 dra thought it must be the mind, but 
 
Right Discrimination 45 
 
 soon he discovered that the mind could 
 not be the Self, as it is sometimes 
 happy and at other times unhappy. 
 Thus, through constant search, pa- 
 tience and right discrimination, and 
 through the help of the sage, the god 
 attained Self-knowledge — the Self 
 which is neither body nor mind, but 
 beyond both, "whom the sword can- 
 not cut, whom fire cannot burn, whom 
 water cannot melt, and air cannot dry. 
 Birthless, deathless, One, omniscient 
 and all-pervading." The god, through 
 proper discrimination, reached the 
 goal, while the poor, ignorant demon 
 missed it on account of his fondness 
 for the body and bodily pleasures. 
 
 We need not go far to find out the 
 significance of this story. You will ex- 
 cuse me if I say that in human society 
 we find a good many demons whose 
 
46 Right Discrimination 
 
 thoughts do not go beyond the limits 
 cf the body and are perfectly satis- 
 fied with sense pleasures. But there 
 are a few gods, too, who can differen- 
 tiate through discrimination the real 
 from the unreal, and release the soul 
 from the bondage of Maya. We can 
 all become like gods if we only use 
 this power properly, and manifest Di- 
 vinity within ourselves. Similarly we 
 can degrade ourselves to the animal 
 plane if we do not use it properly. Our 
 progression or retrogression depends 
 entirely upon ourselves, on our every 
 thought and action. The Lord has 
 given us the power of discrimination, 
 and if we use it we can rise higher — 
 but if we neglect it and are led away 
 by our momentary impulses, then we 
 obstruct our growth and remain almost 
 as ignorant as animals. "The tenden- 
 
Right Discrimination 47 
 
 cies of eating, sleeping, fear and sense 
 enjoyments are common to both human 
 beings and animals. The former excel 
 the brutes in knowledge and under- 
 standing. But those who lack in 
 knowledge can be classified with ani- 
 mals." 
 
 Some may think this is put in a 
 rather exaggerated form, but it is not 
 so. On the contrary, much truth can 
 be found in it if properly analyzed. 
 
 There are three planes of existence 
 in this universe. The first is the physi- 
 cal or material, the manifestation of 
 which is shown obviously in animal 
 life. The thoughts in this plane of ex- 
 istence cannot go beyond the body and 
 senses, and the mind naturally dwells 
 in that circle. The second is the plane 
 of intellect where human beings are 
 supposed to stand. The manifestation 
 
48 Right Discrimination 
 
 of intellect is especially seen in our 
 great scientists and mechanicians who, 
 through their many researches and in- 
 ventions, have helped mankind. The 
 tendency of intellect is to overcome all 
 physical limitations and to give man 
 more power over himself and nature in 
 general. This is undoubtedly higher 
 than the physical plane, but still higher 
 is a plane which is known as the spir- 
 itual plane. This stands entirely be- 
 yond the body and mind. No amount 
 of physical strength or intellectual 
 keenness can bring us to this plane. 
 This is the state in which we experi- 
 ence supernatural powers, which nei- 
 ther the senses nor the intellect can 
 bring to us. 
 
 These three planes of existence are 
 the manifestation of Sattva, Rajas 
 and Tamas y as they are called in San- 
 
Right Discrimination 49 
 
 skrit. These three are the principal ele- 
 ments out of which all living forms 
 are manufactured. Our bodies are 
 more or less the combination of these 
 three. Tamas is the lowest, as repre- 
 sented by animals. The nature of 
 Tamas is darkness and dullness, and 
 when these predominate in man he be- 
 comes stupid and inactive. His mind 
 is filled with evil propensities, and he 
 fails to distinguish between right and 
 wrong. This class of men is very 
 little removed from the animals, because 
 they do not possess the power of 
 proper judgment, and their whole 
 thought and action are centralized in 
 their bodies. They often injure others 
 to fulfil their selfish desires. But the in- 
 tellect helps us to uplift ourselves 
 above this dull, material plane. 
 Through the help of intellect we be- 
 
50 Right Discrimination 
 
 come active and ambitious for happi- 
 ness. This is the nature of Rajas. 
 Through Rajas we became immensely- 
 active, and thus overcome all dullness. 
 In this way, through the power of rea- 
 soning, 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 between him and 
 the Unknown. However, through the 
 earnest struggle of the soul, a channel 
 is opened which gives him the power 
 to see inner things. This is the state 
 of Sattva, where man is neither satis- 
 fied by fulfilling the physical desires 
 nor contented to remain within the lim- 
 its of the intellect, but stands steadily- 
 keeping the balance of both. In this 
 state alone he can rightly discriminate. 
 
Right Discrimination 51 
 
 Sattva gives the equilibrium and en- 
 ables us to think and act rightly. 
 
 According' to the manifestation of 
 these three qualities — Sattva, Rajas 
 and Tamos — we see the differences in 
 human beings. The man who possesses 
 the quality of goodness, in him alone 
 we see true fearlessness, uprightness, 
 purity, truthfulness, forgiveness and 
 the absence of all anger and passion. 
 He alone becomes peaceful and happy 
 through his self-control. There is no 
 other way to get peace. The man who 
 follows the path of Rajas (or the qual- 
 ity of passion) never finds any peace 
 or rest, as there is no limit to human 
 desires. The more we gratify them, 
 the stronger they become. It is just 
 like adding fuel to the fire 5 — we but 
 make the flame stronger. 
 
 How can any man expect to find 
 
52 Right Discrimination 
 
 peace and happiness when he is over- 
 powered by Tamas or the darkness of 
 ignorance ? Through our experience we 
 come to the conclusion that we must 
 learn how to control our lower natures 
 and manifest goodness, by which 
 means alone we can hope to attain per- 
 fection. Thus discrimination becomes 
 our true friend on the spiritual path by 
 showing us the right way and saving 
 us from errors. 
 
 Now the question is, how to culti- 
 vate this quality of Sattvaf "By prac- 
 tice 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 helped by proper food and 
 drink. 
 
 There are three causes which make 
 
Right Discrimination 53 
 
 food impure. The nature of the food 
 itself, such as onions, garlic, etc. ; when 
 it is polluted by any foreign substance, 
 such as hair, dirt, etc.; and, thirdly, 
 when it is touched by an impure per- 
 son. 
 
 By avoiding these three, we can un- 
 doubtedly gain strength and goodness, 
 but one thing we must always remem- 
 ber, and that is that all external ob- 
 servances are only secondary. The real 
 purity is internal, and only obtainable 
 through the constant practice of un- 
 selfishness and chastity. When we lack 
 discrimination, there is great danger of 
 our falling into fanaticism — that most 
 deadly of all foes to progress. How- 
 ever, if we keep the goal constantly be- 
 fore our eyes and in our hearts, then 
 we can safely overcome all obstacles 
 that lie in our way. 
 
54 Right Discrimination 
 
 All outer observances regarding 
 cleanliness, food, etc., are intended 
 only as helps toward our spiritual de- 
 velopment, and should not be mistaken 
 for the goal itself. So we must be ever 
 watchful, and guard ourselves from at- 
 taching undue importance to any mere- 
 ly 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, 
 a holy man, who practised daily at 
 certain hours. During this time he was 
 much disturbed by a cat, so in order to 
 have unbroken meditation he confined 
 the animal in the next room. This went 
 en for a long time, until finally he 
 passed away, leaving behind him a dis- 
 
Right Discrimination 55 
 
 ciple. Now, the disciple sincerely tried 
 to imitate his master in every way. 
 With that end in view, he spent much 
 of his time trying to get hold of a cat, 
 thinking that this animal had been an 
 essential part of his master's medita- 
 tion!" 
 
 We often make a similar blunder, 
 and, mistaking the non-essential for the 
 essential, waste our forces in vain. 
 
 Most of our religious disharmonies 
 are the direct result of these unassimi- 
 lated ideas. Great souls do things with 
 a certain purpose in view, and their 
 followers, 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 should 
 be regarded merely as helps toward the 
 goal. If we forget, and make them 
 
56 Right Discrimination 
 
 cur first and foremost consideration, 
 then we are easily misled, and our 
 growth is retarded. Therefore, let us^ 
 then seek sincerely and watch care- 
 fully; always working steadily, with 
 perseverance, faith and discrimination 
 and through the grace of the Lord we 
 shall attain salvation, 
 
Ill 
 
 BUILDING OF CHARACTER 
 
 Everything in this world is tran- 
 sitory, is fleeting. From the highest 
 manifestation of human life to the low- 
 est worm, all are destined to perish. No 
 man was ever born who could stop his 
 body from changing constantly. Body 
 is the name of a series of changes. 
 What remains, then, but character? 
 Time swallows up everything except 
 character; this is the only thing it can- 
 not touch. 
 
 If we look back and study the his- 
 tory of mankind, we find that, no mat- 
 ter how hard the struggle may have 
 been to live here forever, in the end all 
 
 have been conquered by death. Em- 
 57 
 
58 Building of Character 
 
 perors and kings have striven to build 
 up something permanent, something 
 imperishable, but in vain. Look at the 
 mighty Roman Empire, look at the 
 wonderful Greek civilization, where 
 are they? The one has crumbled into 
 dust, the other lies in ruins. And what 
 has outlived them? The message of 
 Jesus Christ, the son of a carpenter, 
 and that of the beggar Buddha, They 
 are still ruling the universe. Mysteri- 
 ous are the ways of the Lord. Those 
 who wanted to live have died; those 
 who were willing to die have continued 
 to live. Christ, who freely gave up 
 His life, lives eternally. Buddha, who 
 renounced a whole kingdom, rules over 
 half the world. 
 
 Why did these great Teachers re- 
 nounce? Because they found that ev- 
 erything that is a combination of mat- 
 
Building of Character 59 
 
 ter is destined to perish; and they 
 sought something more permanent. 
 When Christ wast, tempted by the devil, 
 He cast aside the world because He 
 well knew its hollowness and that it 
 could never bring real happiness. So 
 Buddha resisted the temptations of 
 Mara, because he had realized that this 
 world could bring only sorrow in the 
 end. Both of these great Souls valued 
 character more than all else, and de- 
 voted all their attention to that. They 
 renounced, or threw aside, all else, 
 knowing that everything was transi- 
 tory, that character alone would live. 
 
 One obvious thing in all spiritual 
 characters is, that they especially tend 
 toward renunciation, as without it spir- 
 itual growth is impossible. This idea 
 of renunciation is often misunder- 
 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 of spiritual 
 life, and we see how all great men drew 
 their inspiration and strength from this 
 source. Show me one great spiritual 
 character who did not sacrifice all self- 
 ishness and go through supreme re- 
 nunciation. "You cannot serve both' 
 God and mammon." There is a great 
 deal of meaning in this simple saying 
 of the Lord. It is not as easy as we 
 imagine it to be; we cannot grasp the 
 true 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 the 
 glorious spirit within; the more you 
 love the world, with all its vanities, and 
 depend on it, the weaker you become in 
 internal strength. 
 
Building of Character 61 
 
 God is the source of all our strength 
 and inspiration, but when we forget 
 Him, through the charm of matter, we 
 become spiritually blind. The one is 
 blinding, while the other is sight-giving 
 — so both cannot co-exist. You can- 
 not have sincere love for God in your 
 heart and at the same time fondness for 
 worldly enjoyments. It is impossible; 
 it is inharmonious — as darkness and 
 light. One must exist at a time. Thus 
 the sages have declared boldly the 
 thought of renunciation: Give up! 
 Give up the world and love God, the 
 Supreme Goal from whom we have 
 come into existence, in whom we live 
 and move and have our being. Do not 
 forget Him, do not neglect to serve 
 Him. Love Him and serve Him and 
 let all else go. This is the watchword 
 of all religions and religious teachers. 
 
62 Building of Character 
 
 This love for God is the object and 
 aim of renunciation. 
 
 There is no violence or hard-heart^ 
 edness necessary in renunciation. It 
 is a natural growth of the heart. When 
 we love God with our whole heart and 
 soul then there is no room for any- 
 thing else, and renunciation becomes 
 easy. 
 
 One thing worthy of mention in this 
 connection is, that renunciation does 
 rot necessarily mean running away 
 from one's own home, friends and rela- 
 tives, or being cruel to them. One can 
 acquire love for God at home by prac- 
 tising non-attachment and unselfish- 
 ness. The question may be asked, 
 What do we gain by renunciation ? Our 
 best reward, our greatest good is to 
 love 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 important factors in the building 
 of character. 
 
 What is character? Every act or 
 thought leaves an impression on the 
 mind. All these impressions taken to- 
 gether make up the character. When 
 a large number of similar impressions 
 are left on the mind, they unite and 
 become a habit. It is truly said that 
 "habit is second nature/' Indeed, 
 Swami Vivekananda often remarked 
 that it was all the nature we had. What 
 we are to-day is the result of our past. 
 This gives us great consolation and 
 hope, because if what we do is only 
 habit, then we can make or unmake it 
 through our thoughts and deeds. 
 
 There are two planes in this universe 
 where our minds dwell. The Sat — the 
 real, the permanently existent — and the 
 
64 Building of Character 
 
 Asat — the unreal, the fleeting, the non-\ 
 existent. 
 
 One's standard of good and evil pn> 
 ceeds from these. Anything that is a 
 combination of matter is Asat, is fleet- 
 ing and changeable; when we cling ig- 
 norantly to such transitory things to 
 gratify our momentary impulses, we 
 become Asat, and it is such unsteady 
 characters which we call bad or evil. 
 
 As, however, any one who is bad 
 has become so through habit, through 
 holding his mind on the plane of evil, 
 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, 
 but if he persistently looks only for the 
 good everywhere, then, in the end, he 
 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 sometimes 
 come in 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 classes 
 of people. 
 
 What are we to do then? How are 
 we to overcome this difficulty? Pa- 
 tanjali's advice is helpful: "Friend- 
 ship, mercy, gladness, indifference be- 
 ing thought of in regard to subjects, 
 happy, unhappy, good and evil, respec- 
 tively, pacify the mind." This is the 
 real secret. It is evident that we can- 
 not entirely avoid evil, but we can 
 counteract and remedy it by holding 
 these four sorts of ideas regarding all 
 things that come before us. We must 
 hold the feeling of friendship toward 
 
66 Building of Character 
 
 all, and be merciful to those who are 
 in misery. 
 
 When others are happy we should 
 feel happy, too-, and to the wicked and 
 evil-minded we must be indifferent. If 
 the subject is good, we must be friend- 
 ly toward it, because true friendship is 
 only possible and desirable with good 
 and sincere people. You cannot give 
 a friendly embrace to a tiger or a 
 snake; the wisest thing is to avoid 
 them. 
 
 Then, if the subject of thought is 
 miserable, we must be merciful toward 
 it. When we see anybody suffer, we 
 must try to remove his misery with a 
 feeling of love and sympathy. 
 
 This we must do with unselfishness 
 and non-attachment toward the fruits 
 of our actions. Whether the one whom 
 you help is grateful or otherwise, mat- 
 
Building of Character 67 
 
 ters not. Whenever you have the op- 
 portunity of helping any one, you must 
 bear in mind that it is for your good, 
 for your own salvation. It is a privi- 
 lege to serve God in the form of the 
 miserable, and thus build our charac- 
 ters and manifest Divinity. 
 
 Next is 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 of 
 jealousy or hatred, we must rejoice in 
 the joy O'f others. There is no peace 
 or happiness in that heart which can- 
 not stand the good fortune of others. 
 
 The last and most difficult precept 
 is 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 indif- 
 ference is very difficult to practise. We 
 can love good, but we cannot love evil, 
 however we may talk of loving all. 
 There naturally rises the opposite, ha- 
 tred, in our hearts. For instance, if a 
 man does evil to us, we at once become 
 disturbed, and react by wanting to in- 
 jure him. But thereby we gain noth- 
 ing ; we only lose our strength and en- 
 ergy. Every time we get angry or try 
 to counteract evil by hatred we weaken 
 ourselves and obstruct our spiritual 
 growth. So one who possesses the 
 power of discrimination and self-con- 
 trol can alone overcome this difficulty 
 by neither establishing friendship, nor 
 animosity with the evil object. 
 
 While we hold our minds on the 
 physical 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. A 
 great help to this is the company of 
 the holy. 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 are 
 unselfish, all-loving and who remain 
 unmoved under praise or blame, who 
 live in this world not to gain anything 
 for themselves, but to serve and help 
 mankind for love's sake. When we 
 come in contact with such lofty souls, 
 a deep impression is made on our minds 
 and this will gradually change the 
 whole character. The very same man 
 who was wicked may now become a 
 saint. But, although the company of 
 holy men may do much to purify us 
 and change our natures, character is, 
 
jo Building of Character 
 
 after all, what we form ourselves by 
 our own habits of thought and by our 
 own deeds. We alone are responsible 
 for our characters. If we are now bad, 
 we can change and become good. It 
 all depends upon ourselves. As long, 
 however, as we remain on the dual 
 plane — on the plane of good and bad 
 — there is danger of falling back. We 
 must, therefore, go beyond both, and 
 reach a state where our characters be- 
 come perfect. Then neither good nor 
 bad can any longer have an effect upon 
 them ; they remain untouched by either. 
 This is the only thing that is regarded 
 a? permanent in this transitory world. 
 But until we have reached this state we 
 are not free from danger. Thus a man 
 w r ho lives in solitude and tries to form 
 his character may appear to be perfect, 
 as long as he does not come into evil 
 
Building of Character Ji 
 
 association, but he cannot be judged 
 until he is seen in the midst of evil. 
 That is the test. A perfect character 
 is one who can go through good and 
 bad unmoved. As it has been beauti- 
 fully expressed by Emerson, "It is easy 
 in the world to live after the world's 
 opinion; it is easy in solitude to live 
 after our own; but the great man is he 
 who, in the midst of the crowd, keeps 
 with perfect sweetness the independ- 
 ence of solitude." This is the exact 
 definition of a perfect man who is the 
 same under all circumstances. 
 
 We need both good and evil to form 
 the perfect character, and the hard 
 blows, which we call evil, often help us 
 more than the good. If we look at the 
 lives of great men, they seem to have 
 gained most from blows — from adver- 
 sity. Good is necessary, too, but we 
 
J2 Building of Character 
 
 must especially try to be steady when 
 we come in contact with evil. These 
 great men first overcame evil by prac- 
 tising the good, and then they rose still 
 higher, where they could not be 
 touched by either good or evil — where 
 neither moved them. 
 
 Such a character was Suka, who was 
 the son of a great sage and born per- 
 fect. 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 to 
 his courtiers, and when the boy arrived 
 at the gate of the palace he was allowed 
 to sit there three days and three nights 
 without being noticed even by the 
 guards of the palace. Then high of- 
 ficials came and received him with 
 royal honor. Still his face did not 
 change; he remained unmoved. When 
 
Building of Character 73 
 
 at last he was led before the king, the 
 king gave him a cup of milk, full to 
 the brim, and told him to carry it sev- 
 en times around the hall without spill- 
 ing a drop. In the midst of music and 
 dancing the boy walked seven times 
 around the hall with the same calm 
 face without spilling one drop of the 
 milk. Then the king said to him, 
 "You have nothing more to learn. You 
 have known the Truth — go home to 
 your father." 
 
 The only true help that you can ren- 
 der to mankind is when, by your very 
 character, you teach others. Then you 
 do good by your every word, your ev- 
 ery movement. When, for instance, 
 you remain steady under all conditions 
 of good and evil, those around you 
 learn the value of steadiness and be- 
 gin to try to practise it themselves. 
 
74 Building of Character 
 
 iTKus, by tlie example of your charac- 
 ter, your whole life 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 young illu- 
 mined spiritual teacher and an old 
 gray-haired disciple were seated. The 
 disciple's mind was full of doubts, of 
 ignorance, and he questioned— but the 
 teacher ever kept silence, and the dis- 
 ciple's doubts were gradually dispelled. 
 Such is the force of character. It 
 speaks louder than language. Its pow- 
 er is wonderfully effective — more than 
 anything else in this universe. 
 
 Purity has been the foundation of all 
 truly great characters. If you build a 
 house on the sand, it is sure to tumble 
 down; so, if we build our characters 
 on anything but purity, they will not 
 
Building of Character 75 
 
 ./ 
 
 stand. Impurity is a mixture; purity 
 is one without a second. Mixed 
 thoughts are seeing many; pure 
 thought is when you see only One. 
 When you think of any one's evil side, 
 you yourself take that evil; just as 
 when you meditate on a saint, you gain 
 saintliness. What you think, you be- 
 come. When we realize how much we 
 lose by dwelling on the plane of evil 
 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, we shall have to 
 regain, inch by inch, what we have lost 
 by dwelling on the evil in the world. 
 But it may be said, every one has 
 mixed feelings — sometimes good, 
 sometimes bad. How can we get out 
 of this state? 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 practical life. Building of 
 character is the only true practice of 
 Yoga, and it is the only way we can 
 really help humanity. Christ helped 
 the world by His character. It is not 
 that He turned this earth into a heaven. 
 That is not possible. There was just 
 as much evil in the world after He 
 came as before, but by His example He 
 is helping each individual soul to over- 
 come its limitations and to strive to- 
 ward perfection. 
 
 Neither Christ nor Buddha, or any 
 other prophet, claimed to be exceptions. 
 On the contrary, they preached that all 
 can become like 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, unselfish- 
 ness, and non-attachment will they be 
 immovable, and become a blessing to 
 all mankind. 
 
POWER OF CONCENTRATION 
 
When the subdued mind rests in the 
 Self alone, without longing for the ob- 
 jects of desire, that man is said to be 
 a yogi (saint). 
 
 As the flame of a lamp placed in a 
 windless spot does not flicker, so the 
 heart of the yogi of subdued mind re- 
 mains steadfast in meditation and wa- 
 vers not. — Bhagavad-Gita 6: 18, 19. 
 
 81 
 
IV 
 
 POWER OF CONCENTRATION 
 
 Wisdom is the goal of human exist- 
 ence. Even men of the lowest intelli- 
 gence want to 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 being 
 in that state. W,hy do> we find so 
 many ignorant, irresponsible people 
 around us, then, if all are eager for 
 wisdom ? Because, although the desire 
 for wisdom is the natural instinct in 
 every human heart, but few possess the 
 power of acquiring it. A man who is 
 inactive, stupid 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 immensely 
 active, but who do not know the se- 
 cret of work, and only exhaust their 
 energies in wrong directions. The 
 door of knowledge is ready to open to 
 every one of us if we only know how 
 to knock at it properly. 
 
 There is only one way to knowledge 
 and wisdom, and that is through the 
 power of concentration. Without this 
 power nobody can accomplish any- 
 thing in this world. The students who 
 can concentrate their minds fully on 
 their books are the best students. With 
 the least effort they accomplish the 
 most. The scientist, in his laboratory, 
 concentrates all the energies of his 
 mind in one direction, and thus dis- 
 covers the secrets of Nature. So does 
 
Power of Concentration 85 
 
 the astronomer fix his mind, through 
 his telescope, on sun, moon, planets, 
 etc., and they give up their secrets to 
 him. He is a good musician who can 
 concentrate his mind on his music. So, 
 also, with artists and everybody, else. 
 This is the only road to knowledge. 
 The more we can concentrate our 
 minds on the subject of our study, the 
 more rapidly the knowledge of that 
 subject is revealed to us. Now let us 
 see how to acquire this power of con- 
 centration, as all our wisdom is based 
 on this, especially spiritual wisdom. All 
 the different practices of yoga are en- 
 tirely based on concentration. 
 
 Patanjali, in his Yoga Aphorisms, 
 defines yoga as "restraining the 'mind- 
 stuff' from taking various forms." 
 This is only possible through the power 
 cf concentration. What is the present 
 
86 Power of Concentration 
 
 state of our minds? If we properly 
 analyze, we shall find that they take in- 
 numerable forms. Sometimes one's 
 mind is happy, again unhappy; some- 
 times angry, and again quiet, etc. It 
 is always restless. We are all sitting 
 here just now. If we are a little care- 
 less, and let the mind run, it will per- 
 haps travel thousands of miles away 
 this minute, and will begin dreaming 
 of various impressions of the past 
 which will make it accordingly happy 
 or unhappy. This is precisely the con- 
 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. "There was a monkey, 
 restless by his own nature, as all mon- 
 keys are. As if that were not enough, 
 
Power of Concentration 87 
 
 some one made him drink freely of 
 wine, so that he became still more rest- 
 less. Then a scorpion stung him. 
 When a man is stung by a scorpion he 
 jumps about for a whole day, so the 
 poor monkey found his condition 
 worse than ever. To complete his mis- 
 ery, a demon entered into him. What 
 language can describe the uncontrolla- 
 ble restlessness of that monkey? The 
 human mind is like that monkey, in- 
 cessantly active by its own nature ; then 
 it becomes drunk with the wine of de- 
 sire, thus increasing its turbulence. 
 After desire takes possession, comes 
 the sting of the scorpion of jealousy of 
 others whose desires meet with fulfil- 
 ment; and, last of all, the demon of 
 pride takes possession of the mind, 
 making it think itself of all impor- 
 tance/' Such is the general conditio^ 
 
88 Power of Concentration 
 
 of the mind. How hard it is to con- 
 trol such a mind ! Nobody can do this 
 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. 
 Arjuna, the disciple, after listening 
 to the wonderful teaching of the Gita 
 from his master, Krishna, said, "This 
 yoga of equanimity taught by thee, I 
 see not its steady continuance, because 
 of the restlessness of my mind." To 
 that, the blessed Lord replied : "Doubt- 
 less, O Mighty-Armed, the mind is 
 restless and hard to restrain, yet by 
 constant practice and dispassion it is 
 subdued." There is no other way. We 
 ourselves must accomplish the work of 
 subduing the mind by our perseverance 
 and unfailing practice. Yogis, or spir- 
 itual men, through their careful study, 
 
Power of Concentration 89 
 
 have found out all the various intricate 
 tendencies of the mind and body and 
 also how one can subdue them through 
 different practices of concentration, 
 and so attain absolute self-mastery. 
 
 Our mind manifests itself in various 
 forms: Kshipta, Mudha, Vikshipta 
 and Ekagra. Kshipta means scattered. 
 We often find our mind in this stage 
 when our thoughts are various and the 
 mind jumps from one thing to another. 
 This is a state of activity, and the mind 
 runs after sense pleasures. But no real 
 peace or happiness can be found while 
 it is in this scattered state. The nature 
 cf the second is dullness, inactivity, 
 and one becomes indiscriminative and 
 injures others. Next is Vikshipta, or 
 the weakening state of mind. In this 
 state we struggle to centralize the 
 mind, but often without success. When 
 
go Power of Concentration 
 
 we do not find satisfaction, either in 
 the scattered or dull state of mind, 
 then we begin to struggle for some 
 higher form. If one perseveres, one 
 reaches the state of Ekagra, the con- 
 centrated or one-pointed mind. Only 
 when the mind arrives at this state do 
 we attain to superconsciousness and be- 
 come free forever. The first three 
 states are not fitted to bring spiritual 
 realization. But in the last stage, 
 through the power of concentration, 
 w r e can collect all our mental and physi- 
 cal energies, and direct them toward 
 the highest realization. 
 
 When the mind is not concentrated, 
 it is weak and we cannot accomplish 
 anything with it. Our mind in one of 
 the first three states is like thin fibres, 
 which are scattered and separated one 
 from the other; it cannot stand any 
 
Power of Concentration 91 
 
 pressure, but breaks easily. But 
 through the power of concentration, 
 when we can collect it into one mass, 
 then we are able to resist all distrac- 
 tions, even as the twisted fibres can 
 resist the strength of an elephant. 
 
 The value of concentration is un- 
 questionable. It helps every one in ev- 
 ery stage of life. But the greatest man 
 is he who can concentrate his mind on 
 the Supreme Reality, as "we become 
 exactly what we think." Intense 
 thought forms our external and inter- 
 nal nature. This we can often see in 
 the case of devoted husband and wife ; 
 they become like each other in their 
 manners; nay, even in their appear- 
 ance. This fact is very obviously 
 shown in the life of Saint Francis of 
 Assisi, who by constantly concentrating 
 his mind on Jesus the Christ became 
 
92 Power of Concentration 
 
 Christlike. It is even said his exter- 
 nal figure became transformed and 
 showed the marks of the stigmata. 
 Such is the power' of concentration that 
 it can change the whole nature of a 
 man. By concentrating our minds on 
 a pure, holy being we become holy. 
 Similarly, when we turn our thoughts 
 to material objects, we become materi- 
 alistic, and we may accomplish much 
 on that plane. 
 
 It is comparatively easy to concen- 
 trate our minds on external objects, but 
 it is very hard to turn our thoughts on 
 things within. Very few have the pa- 
 tience or courage to do it. We must 
 take some tangible object on which to 
 concentrate, and then go on practising 
 till we have fully subdued all other 
 thoughts but that one. For instance, 
 take the thought of unselfishness, or 
 
Power of Concentration 93 
 
 purity. Fill your whole being with that 
 one thought, think of nothing but that, 
 dream of nothing but that, and feel 
 nothing but that, then you will eventu- 
 ally 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 prac- 
 tice, you will conquer them fully. Real 
 yoga practice is when we try to collect 
 our thoughts from all sources, make 
 them one, and connect them with our 
 Inner Self. Yoga means this union 
 with the Supreme Self which destroys 
 all ignorance. We cannot feel this 
 union, or have the vision of the Self, 
 until our mind is wholly subdued and, 
 like the surface of a lake, is perfectly 
 calm and quiet. As long as there are 
 ripples, in the form of innumerable de- 
 
94 Power of Concentration 
 
 sires, we cannot see the bottom, where 
 the Atman dwells. So our duty is to 
 practise with patience and persever- 
 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, but 
 may take years; nay, lives. Progress, 
 however, depends entirely upon our 
 earnestness. There are degrees of ear- 
 nestness, and our success varies ac- 
 cordingly, as is shown by different 
 temperaments. Some are exceedingly 
 slow in their nature, and do not have 
 any power of determination or perse- 
 verance; while others are wonderfully 
 energetic and ready to give up even 
 their lives in their attempts. Sri Ra- 
 makrishna gives a parable, to this ef- 
 fect, of two peasants who were work- 
 
Power of Concentration 95 
 
 ing in their fields to bring water. The 
 wife of one came and asked her hus-, 
 band to leave the work until the next 
 day. As it was late, the man, after a 
 Jittle hesitation, left his work. The 
 wife of the other came and urged him 
 and scolded him, but the man was de- 
 termined to finish his work. At last, 
 after a whole day's toil, he was able to 
 bring the water into his field and could 
 take his rest in peace, knowing his task 
 had been accomplished. There are 
 many among us who lack in steadfast- 
 ness and discrimination, and simply 
 waste their energies by jumping from 
 one thing to another without any suc- 
 cess. No matter what path we may 
 follow, we must learn to be steady and 
 faithful ; without this, no knowledge is 
 obtainable. We never lose this power 
 after once acquiring it, and we can 
 
g6 Power of Concentration 
 
 utilize this force in every way. When 
 we succeed in concentrating our minds, 
 then meditation comes naturally. 
 "There is no wisdom to the unsteady, 
 and no meditation to the unwise, and 
 to the unmeditative no peace; to the 
 peaceless how can there be happi- 
 ness?" 
 
 What is meditation? Meditation is 
 a constant remembrance of the object 
 we meditate upon. In other words, it 
 is illustrated as "an unbroken stream 
 of oil poured from one vessel to an- 
 other." When we attain to this kind 
 of remembrance in relation to the Su- 
 preme Being, then all the bonds of the 
 heart break, and it becomes illuminated 
 by the presence of the Self. Through 
 meditation we feel the nearness of Di- 
 vinity. There is no other way to reach 
 Him. No external power can give us 
 
Power of Concentration 97 
 
 the vision of God. Because He is the 
 nearest of all friends, nearest of any- 
 thing that we can perceive. "He is 
 greater than the greatest, smaller than 
 the smallest, and He dwells in the core 
 of every heart." As long as we try 
 to see Him outside of us, we never 
 find Him, all our, struggles are in vain. 
 But when, by experience, we find it 
 impossible to see Him outside of us, 
 then we turn our thoughts inside and 
 become meditative. 
 
 There are two forces — centrifugal 
 and centripetal. The tendency of one 
 is to drive us toward all external ob- 
 jects, and the tendency of the other is 
 to draw us within. When, through 
 the power of concentration, we ca,ni 
 subdue all the various disturbing 
 thoughts and desires, then we shall get 
 the vision of the Supreme Self seated 
 
98 Power of Concentration 
 
 on the altar of our hearts. Then alone 
 all crookedness will be straightened 
 out and all doubts about the Self will 
 vanish forever. We shall be supreme- 
 ly blissful, knowing that we and the 
 Father are one. 
 
V 
 
 SELF-REALIZATION 
 
 Realization is the watchword of 
 all religions. If there is a God, or a 
 Supreme Self, we must see It, we must 
 realize It. Otherwise these theories 
 about the existence of God and the 
 soul have very little value; if we can- 
 not put them on a practical basis and 
 realize the truth of them, they remain 
 for us but mere words. This realiza- 
 tion is the only thing that can bring 
 satisfaction to us. No amount of 
 theory can ever satisfy our minds un- 
 less 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 expounding 
 the Scriptures cleverly are only for the 
 enjoyment of the learned, but they 
 never lead to spiritual realization, nor 
 can they ever bring freedom. What 
 use is there in studying scriptures if 
 we thereby gain no spiritual wisdom? 
 Studying means to get the directions 
 which lead to the ultimate goal, and 
 when we forget that, we do not gain 
 any profit whatsoever, though we may 
 spend our whole life in reading all the 
 scriptures of the world. We have a 
 very beautiful saying, in this wise: 
 "As a donkey carries loads of sandal- 
 wood on his back, only feeling the 
 weight of the burden without getting 
 the benefit of the sweet perfume, so it 
 is with those who study innumerable 
 scriptures without knowing the es- 
 sence — the truth — of them ; their labor 
 
Self-Realiza Hon i o i 
 
 is like that of the donkey carrying the 
 load of wood." What I mean is,, that 
 our aim and object should be realiza- 
 tion, and not to remain satisfied with 
 a network of words. 
 
 There is a great deal of difference 
 between a philosopher, a man of book- 
 learning, and a Seer-of-truth, a man 
 of realization. The philosopher may 
 have studied all the Vedas, and other 
 scriptures, and may be able to quote 
 long passages from them ; but the Seer- 
 of-truth knows, because he has seen. 
 The first merely repeats what he has 
 learned; the second says, "Yes, I 
 know!" Thus his words are bold. Ex- 
 perience is the real and only way of 
 acquiring strength. Real strength 
 comes through realization; when a 
 man has seen God he can declare with 
 conviction that there is 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 immor- 
 tal nature of our soul, yet we are all 
 the time afraid of dying. Why is that? 
 Because we have no conception of our 
 real nature, we have no realization of 
 the Self, the real man. In fact we have 
 no idea what Soul means; our knowl- 
 edge is limited to this material body, 
 and if we try to form any idea of our- 
 selves we only do it through this lim- 
 ited body, which is subject to constant 
 changes. So, however we may study, 
 and however we may talk about the im- 
 mortal nature of our Self; nay, how- 
 ever we may repeat Soham (I am He), 
 and other sacred words, all this carries 
 very little weight and strength without 
 
Self-Realization 1 03 
 
 the realization of the ultimate meaning 
 of these things. In India parrots are 
 trained to repeat holy names, and as 
 long as they are unmolested they will 
 repeat them ; but no sooner does a cat 
 come after them than they give their 
 natural cry, forgetting all about the 
 names they have been taught. Simi- 
 larly, people repeat the words of the 
 scriptures without comprehending their 
 meaning, and that is why, when trou- 
 ble comes, they are so miserable, so 
 weak, so much in fear of death. 
 
 But when we realize the Self, when 
 we perceive It, as we perceive the ex- 
 istence of those around us, then we can 
 no longer doubt. Then fear of death 
 or of disease will no longer exist. Na- 
 ture has no influence on the Supreme 
 Self of man, which is in reality one 
 and the same with God, so Self-reali- 
 
1 04 Self-Realiza Hon 
 
 zation and God-vision are not two dif- 
 ferent things. Man is the expression 
 of God, and God is the reality of man. 
 Real man and God are inseparable. 
 There is only one reality in this uni- 
 verse, whom the devotee worships as 
 a personal god, and a Jnani, or wise 
 man, as his own Self. The difference 
 is only in names and methods of reach- 
 ing the goal, but when the goal is 
 reached, both come to the same under- 
 standing, that there is but One by 
 Whom everything is pervaded. "This 
 Atman is not to be realized by the in- 
 tellect, nor by words, nor by hearing 
 from many sources; but by him by 
 whom this Atman is beloved, by him 
 alone is the Atman realized." The 
 thing necessary for us is to feel in- 
 tense love in our hearts for this At- 
 man, or God; otherwise He is not at- 
 
Self -Realization 1 05 
 
 tainable. There is no other way that 
 man can reach unto God, except 
 through love — love always unites. 
 This love for God comes unto those 
 blessed beings who are pure in heart, 
 from whom all attachment for unreal 
 things, all selfish desires have vanished. 
 This purity of heart and love for God 
 are the sum and substance of all re- 
 ligious teachings. 
 
 We may spend all our lives strug- 
 gling in search of truth, in temples, in 
 churches and in books ; but without un- 
 derstanding the significance of these 
 fundamental teachings all these efforts 
 will be in vain. Religion is practical, 
 and those who observe the practical 
 side of it realize the truth. You may 
 not know how to read a single book, 
 but if you have known the truth which 
 is behind them you are much better off 
 
1 06 , Self-Realiza Hon 
 
 than the so-called philosopher who may 
 speak in beautiful language, but who 
 has no realization whatsoever. It is a 
 dangerous thing to hear the truth from 
 one who has not realized, for he will 
 only bring confusion in the mind; but 
 one who has realized will teach with- 
 out uttering many words. As Swami 
 Vivekananda says in one of his lec- 
 tures, that he who has something to 
 give, gives in most simple language, 
 but one who has nothing to give he 
 sometimes writes two volumes to ex- 
 pound one word. So, you see that we 
 gain nothing when we come in contact 
 with such people; they only confuse 
 our brains. 
 
 He who has attained illumination 
 does not need to use many words. His 
 life itself is an answer to all questions 
 — for the sun of wisdom always shines 
 
Self -Realization 1 07 
 
 in his heart. This makes one bold ; be- 
 fore this strength all other strength is 
 insignificant. When Alexander the 
 Great was in India he met a sage with 
 whose wisdom he was so deeply im- 
 pressed that he wished to carry him 
 back to Greece, but the sage refused 
 to go. The king offered him wealth 
 and honor; still he refused. Then, at 
 last growing angry, the king said : "If 
 you do not come, I will kill you !" At 
 this the sage smiled, and replied: 
 "King, you never said anything more 
 foolish. You cannot kill me — me 
 whom the sword cannot pierce, whom 
 the fire cannot burn, whom water can- 
 not melt, and air cannot dry. I am 
 the eternal, indestructible soul !" Such 
 strength comes when we attain to Self- 
 realization; then we never depend on 
 anything or anybody, and we become 
 
1 08 Self -Realization 
 
 absolutely fearless. No matter how we 
 struggle to find rest, we learn that un- 
 less we get peace within ourselves we 
 cannot get it elsewhere. 
 
 But it is very hard for those who 
 identify themselves with the body and 
 have too much attachment for sense- 
 pleasures to realize the Self which is 
 beyond all limitation. You remember 
 the story how two seekers after Truth 
 went to a saint to learn about the Self. 
 The saint gave the same teaching to 
 both : "Tat twam asi [Thou art That] 
 — the Lord does not exist apart from 
 you; find Him out yourself within 
 yourself." The one, owing to his den- 
 sity and fondness for the body, under- 
 stood the saying of the saint to mean 
 that his material body was the Self; 
 but the other was finer in nature, and 
 through his earnestness and sincere in- 
 
Self -Realization 1 09 
 
 qtiiry came to realize the Self which is 
 beyond body, mind, senses and all hu- 
 man limitations. The thing necessary 
 for us is to always have right discrimi- 
 nation and non-attachment; too much 
 attachment and fondness for the body 
 create bondage and obstruct our spir- 
 itual growth. At the same time, those 
 who neglect to take proper care of their 
 bodies retard their spiritual growth 
 and may even make it impossible, as 
 is seen in some individual cases, where 
 the body is broken down by practising 
 too much asceticism. This body should 
 be regarded as an instrument through 
 help of which we are to work out our 
 salvation. For that reason we must 
 take all necessary care of our body to 
 keep it well and strong, without think- 
 ing it all in all. The human body is com- 
 pared to a Vina (string instrument) 
 
i io Self-Realisation 
 
 which produces beautiful music if 
 properly tuned. In order to tune prop- 
 erly we need to use moderation ; if we 
 put too much pressure on the strings, 
 they give way; and if we use no pres- 
 sure at all, no music is produced. Here, 
 if we use discrimination, we can save 
 ourselves from being radical material- 
 ists or extreme ascetics. Our aim and 
 object are neither the body nor bodily 
 enjoyment, but to gain that knowledge 
 of the Self which will bring us absolute 
 freedom. 
 
 We try to get pleasure in this world, 
 but nothing can give that, unless one 
 finds it within his own self. That which 
 is consciousness in this world is the 
 Self, and in That alone we find all our 
 happiness and bliss. Who cares for the 
 material body? We all love the Self, 
 no matter whether we know it or not. 
 
Self -Realization 1 1 1 
 
 We all love that consciousness which is 
 the Self of man, As long as that con- 
 sciousness dwells in the body, we care 
 for that body, but the moment the spir- 
 it leaves, we no longer care for the 
 empty shell. We may not recognize 
 this fact, for reason of our weakness 
 born of living on the material plane. 
 We follow the regular process of 
 physical life, and we train our chil- 
 dren also to do the same; the young 1 
 are taught to study a little, later to 
 earn money, then to marry, have pleas- 
 ure and all material prosperity. This 
 is the regular routine of life, and those 
 who do not wish to follow it are looked 
 upon as crazy people. Thus all are 
 trained from childhood, but are they 
 helped by this method of education? 
 No ! It makes them weak and depend- 
 ent, because it binds them to the ma- 
 
112 Self-Realization 
 
 terial plane. True morality will come 
 only when we depend on our true Self. 
 You wish to make your children moral, 
 but to do this you must hold up before 
 them the right ideal which will give 
 them real strength. Do not give them 
 the weakening thought that they must 
 depend on material things for their 
 happiness, but tell them, from their 
 childhood, that they are Spirit, and not 
 the physical body; that they are the 
 Immortal Self, which is above all ex- 
 ternal conditions. Only thus will you 
 make them strong and great powers. 
 No weak person can realize the Su- 
 preme Self. At present we think our- 
 selves weak, and we have become so, 
 but let us cease to think it, and all 
 weakness will drop off. Do not remind 
 any one O'f his weakness. Make even a 
 criminal feel the best that is in him. 
 
Self -Realization 113 
 
 If you wish to help any one, do not 
 regard his weak side, but call out all 
 that he has of good; only so will you 
 help him to realize his better nature. 
 However hard it may be, we must all 
 seek realization, for in that alone shall 
 we find real peace. 
 
 There are three different paths we 
 may take to attain this end, but all lead 
 to the same goal, Supreme Realization. 
 One who merely works for the Self 
 gets this realization, another who has 
 faith in the Lord — the same Lord 
 whom the worker worships in another 
 form — also realizes Him; while the 
 Jnani who travels by the path of 
 "neti, neti" (not this, not this) also 
 reaches Him. As when you enter a 
 dark room, to get some article, you 
 pass from one object to another, say- 
 ing "Not this," until you find the thing 
 
H4 Self 'Realization 
 
 you want ; then you cease your search ; 
 so also the Jnani puts aside one worldly 
 object after another until he finds that 
 for which he was searching, and so at- 
 tains the goal. Thus the first class — 
 the workers — by entire unselfishness, 
 giving all their labor freely and with- 
 out a thought of personal gain, make 
 every deed an act of worship, are puri- 
 fied in heart and attain realization. The 
 second class — the Bhaktas, or devotees 
 — worship the Lord with intense sin- 
 gle-hearted devotion, and through that 
 reach union with the Divine Object of 
 their worship and attain realization. 
 The last-mentioned class — the Jnanis 
 — take the hardest way to reach the 
 goal. Rigid self-control and constant 
 self-denial alone can carry them on the 
 way. Only the strong, mentally and 
 physically, can travel by this road, but 
 
Self -Realization 115 
 
 he who is determined, and perseveres 
 to the end, arrives at realization of the 
 Self. He sees It dwelling in every liv- 
 ing thing, and, thus seeing the Self ev- 
 erywhere and knowing his oneness 
 with It, he cannot hate or injure any 
 being. 
 
 This realization is the goal of all 
 mankind. We are all struggling to 
 reach it, though we may not know it. 
 Some have already learned how tran- 
 sitory are the things of the world, and 
 are searching for something more per- 
 manent, more real; others still cling 
 to the objects of the senses, but sooner 
 or later all must come to this one goal. 
 "Because this perception of the Self 
 alone cuts all the knots of our hearts, 
 destroys all doubts, and removes all 
 the binding effect of karma." 
 
 After once having the vision of the 
 
1 1 6 Self-Realiza Hon 
 
 Supreme, we really become blessed ; we 
 no longer depend on the outside world, 
 but we dwell within ourselves and be- 
 come Self-satisfied. The one object of 
 all the religious teachings of the world 
 is to bring unto us this realization; 
 though the path may be hard and dif- 
 ficult to tread on, yet must we march 
 on with real faith and perseverance, 
 and never give up through fear, or dis- 
 couragement. Forget not the call of 
 the awakened souls who found out the 
 way of immortal bliss, but "Arise! 
 awake, and stop not till the goal is 
 reached !" 
 
VI 
 SELECTIONS FROM 
 UPANISHADS 
 
 AND 
 
 OTHER SCRIPTURES 
 
DISCRIMINATION 
 
 "The good is one thing, the pleas- 
 ant another; these two, having differ- 
 ent objects, chain a man. It is well 
 with him who clings to the good; he 
 who chooses the pleasant, misses his 
 end." 
 
 "The good and the pleasant ap- 
 proach man : the wise goes round about 
 them and distinguishes them. Yea, the 
 wise prefers the good to the pleasant, 
 but the fool chooses the pleasant 
 through greed and avarice." 
 
 "Thou, O Nachiketas, after ponder- 
 ing all pleasures that are or seem de- 
 
 119 
 
1 20 Discrimination 
 
 lightful, hast dismissed them all. THou 
 hast not gone into the road that leadeth 
 to wealth, in which many men sink." 
 
 "Wide apart and leading to differ- 
 ent points are these two — ignorance, 
 and what is known as wisdom. I be- 
 lieve Nachiketas to be one who desires 
 knowledge, for even many pleasures 
 did not tear thee away." 
 
 "He [the Self] of whom many are 
 not even able to hear, whom many even 
 when they hear of Him do not com- 
 prehend; wonderful is a man, when 
 found, who is able to teach Him [the 
 Self] ; wonderful is he who compre- 
 hends Him, when taught by an able 
 teacher [man of realization]." 
 
 — Kathch Upanishad. 
 
GOD AND MAN 
 
 "Two birds, inseparable friends, 
 cling to the same tree. One of them 
 eats the sweet fruit, the other looks 
 on without eating." 
 
 "On the same tree man sits grieving, 
 immersed, bewildered by his own im- 
 potence. But when he sees the other 
 Lord [Isa] contented, and knows his 
 glory, then his grief passes away." 
 
 "When the Seer sees the brilliant 
 Maker and Lord [of the world] as the 
 Person who has His source in Brah- 
 man, then he is wise, and, shaking off 
 good and evil, he reaches the highest 
 
 oneness, free from passions." 
 121 
 
122 God and Man 
 
 "For He is the Breath shining forth 
 in all beings, and he who understands 
 this becomes truly wise, not a talker 
 only. He revels in the Self, he de- 
 lights in the Self, and, having per- 
 formed his works [truthfulness, pen- 
 ance, meditation, etc.], he rests firmly 
 established in Brahman, the best of 
 those who know the Truth. " 
 
 — Mundaka- Upanishad. 
 
REALIZATION 
 
 "Nor is that Self to be gained by 
 one who is destitute of strength, or 
 without earnestness, or without right 
 meditation. But if a wise man strives 
 after it by those means [by strength, 
 earnestness, and right meditation], 
 then his Self enters the home of Brah- 
 man." 
 
 "When they have reached Him [the 
 Self], the sages become satisfied 
 through knowledge; they are conscious 
 of their Self, their passions have 
 passed away, and they are tranquil. 
 The wise, having reached Him, who is 
 omnipresent everywhere, devoted to 
 the Self, enter into Him wholly." 
 123 
 
124 Realization 
 
 "Having well ascertained the object 
 of the knowledge of the Vedanta, hav- 
 ing purified their nature by the Yoga 
 of renunciation, all anchorites, enjoy- 
 ing the highest immortality, become 
 free at the time of the great end 
 [death] in the worlds of Brahma." 
 — Mundaka- Upanishad. 
 
 "The first results of Yoga they call 
 lightness, healthiness, steadiness, a 
 good complexion, an easy pronuncia- 
 tion, a sweet odor, and slight excre- 
 tions." 
 
 "As a metal disk [mirror] tarnished 
 by dust shines bright again after it has 
 been cleaned, so is the one incarnate 
 person satisfied and free from grief 
 
Realization 125 
 
 after he has seen the real nature of 
 the Self." 
 
 "And when, by means of the real 
 nature of his Self, he sees, as by a lamp, 
 the real nature of Brahman, then, hav- 
 ing known the Unborn, Eternal God, 
 who is beyond all natures, he is freed 
 from all fetters/' 
 
 "Let us know that highest, great 
 Lord of lords, the highest Deity of 
 deities, the Master of masters, the 
 highest above, as God, the Lord of the 
 World, the Adorable." 
 
 — Svetasvatara- Upanishad. 
 
THE "DHAMMAPADA"; OR, 
 PATH TO VIRTUE 
 
 All that we are is the result of what 
 we have thought : it is founded on our 
 thoughts, it is made up of our 
 thoughts. If a man speaks or acts 
 with an evil thought, pain follows him, 
 as the wheel follows the foot of the ox 
 that draws the carriage. 
 
 All that we are is the result of what 
 we have thought : it is founded on our 
 thoughts, it is made up of our 
 thoughts. If a man speaks or acts 
 with a pure thought, happiness follows 
 him like a shadow that never leaves 
 him. 
 
 The virtuous delights in this world, 
 
 126 
 
The "Dhammapada" 127 
 
 and he delights in the next ; he delights 
 in both. He delights and rejoices 
 when he sees the purity of his own 
 work. 
 
 Earnestness is the path of immortal- 
 ity, thoughtlessness the path of death. 
 Those who are in earnest do not die; 
 those who are thoughtless are as if 
 dead already. 
 
 Having understood this clearly, 
 those who are advanced in earnestness 
 delight in earnestness, and rejoice in 
 knowledge of the elect. 
 
 If an earnest person has roused him- 
 self, if he is not forgetful, if his deeds 
 are pure, if he acts with consideration, 
 if he restrains himself, and lives ac- 
 cording to law — then his glory will 
 increase. 
 
 By rousing himself, by earnestness, 
 by restraint and control, the wise man 
 
128 The "Dhammapada" 
 
 may make for himself an island which 
 no flood can overwhelm. 
 
 These wise people, meditative, 
 steady, always possessed of strong 
 powers, attain to Nirvana, the highest 
 happiness. 
 
 If you see a man who shows you 
 what is to be avoided, who administers 
 reproofs, and is intelligent, follow that 
 wise man as you would one who tells 
 of hidden treasures; it will be better, 
 not worse, for him who follows him. 
 
 Do not have evil-doers for friends, 
 do not have low people for friends: 
 have virtuous people for friends, have 
 for friends the best of men. 
 
 Few are there among men who ar- 
 rive at the other shore; the other peo- 
 ple here run up and down the shore. 
 But those who, when the law has been 
 well preached to them, follow the law, 
 
The "Dhammapada" 129 
 
 will pass over the dominion of death, 
 however difficult to cross. 
 
 There is no suffering for him who 
 has finished his journey, and aban- 
 doned grief, who has freed himself on 
 all sides, and thrown off all fetters. 
 
 The gods even envy him whose 
 senses, like horses well broken in by 
 the driver, have been subdued, who is 
 free from pride, and free from appe- 
 tites; his thought is quiet; quiet are 
 his word and deed, when he has ob- 
 tained freedom by true knowledge, 
 when he has thus become a quiet man. 
 
 If a man holds himself dear, let him 
 watch himself carefully; during one at 
 least out of the three watches a wise 
 man should be watchful. 
 
 Let each man direct himself first to 
 what is proper, then let him teach oth- 
 ers; thus a wise man will not suffer. 
 
130 The "Dhammapada" 
 
 If a man makes himself as tie teaches 
 others to be, then, being himself well 
 subdued, he may subdue others; for 
 one's own self is difficult to subdue. 
 
 He who gives himself to vanity, 
 and does not give himself to medita- 
 tion, forgetting the real aim of life and 
 grasping at pleasure, will in time envy 
 him who has exerted himself in medi- 
 tation. 
 
 Let a man leave anger, let him for- 
 sake pride, let him overcome all bond- 
 age ! No sufferings befall the man who 
 is not attached to name and form, and 
 who calls nothing his own. 
 
 He who holds back rising anger like 
 a rolling chariot, him I call a real 
 driver; other people are but holding 
 the reins. 
 
 A man is not learned because tie 
 
The "Dhammapada" 131 
 
 talks much; he who is patient, free 
 from hatred and fear, he is called 
 learned. 
 
 A man is not a supporter of the law 
 because he talks much; even if a man 
 has learnt little, but sees the law bodily, 
 he is a supporter of the law, a man 
 who never neglects the law. 
 
 A man is not an elder because his 
 head is gray ; his age may be ripe, but 
 he is called "Old-in-vain." 
 
 He in whom there is truth, virtue, 
 pity, restraint, moderation, he who is 
 free from impurity and is wise, he is 
 called an elder. 
 
 "These sons belong to me, and this 
 wealth belongs to me," with such 
 thoughts a fool is tormented. He him- 
 self does not belong to himself; how 
 much less sons and wealth? 
 
132 The "Dhammapada" 
 
 The fool who knows his foolishness 
 is wise at least so far; but a fool who 
 thinks himself wise, he is called a fool 
 indeed. 
 
TRANSLATION FROM THE 
 SANSKRIT 
 
 BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA 
 
 SHIVO HUM 
 
 I am neither body nor changes of the 
 
 body; 
 Nor am I senses or object of the 
 
 senses. 
 I am Existence Absolute, Knowledge 
 
 Absolute, Bliss Absolute; 
 
 I am He, I am He. 
 
 (Shivo Hum, Shivo Hum.) 
 
 I am neither sin nor virtue; nor tem- 
 ple, nor worship; 
 
 Nor pilgrimage, nor books. 
 
 I am Existence Absolute, Knowledge 
 
 Absolute, Bliss Absolute; 
 
 I am He, I am He. 
 
 (Shivo Hum, Shivo Hum.) 
 183 
 
134 Shivo Hum 
 
 I have neither death, nor fear of death ; 
 Nor was I ever born, nor had I parents. 
 I am Existence Absolute, Knowledge 
 
 Absolute, Bliss Absolute; 
 
 I am He, I am He. 
 
 (Shivo Hum, Shivo Hum.) 
 
 I am not misery, nor ever had I misery; 
 I am not enemy, nor had I enemies. 
 I am Existence Absolute, Knowledge 
 
 Absolute, Bliss Absolute ; 
 
 I am He, I am He. 
 
 (Shivo Hum, Shivo Hum.) 
 
 I am without form, without limit, be- 
 yond space, beyond time; 
 
 I am in everything; I am the basis of 
 the universe; everywhere am I. 
 
 I am Existence Absolute, Knowledge 
 Absolute, Bliss Absolute; 
 I am He, I am He. 
 (Shivo Hum, Shivo Hum.) 
 
MOHA-MUDGARA 
 
 OR 
 
 (hammer to delusion) 
 
 Who is thy wife? Who is thy son? 
 
 How curious is this world ! 
 
 Who art Thou thyself — and whence 
 
 comest Thou? 
 Think on the truth of these things, O 
 
 Brother. 
 Worship the Lord. Worship the Lord. 
 Worship the Lord, fool that thou art ! 
 
 Even from a son comes dread to the 
 
 rich, is a common proverb. 
 Take no pride in having riches, or 
 
 youth, or family-retainers. 
 135 
 
136 Moha-Mndgara 
 
 Time steals them all away in a mo- 
 ment; full of illusion is all this — 
 
 Giving up these, enter into the path of 
 Brahman, and enter into it quickly. 
 
 Worship the Lord. Worship the Lord. 
 
 Worship the Lord, fool that thou art! 
 
 Giving up lust, anger, greed and all at- 
 tachment, 
 
 Think, Brother, who art thou thyself 
 in reality; 
 
 One who is devoid of self-knowledge, 
 
 He suffers agony in the lightless cell. 
 
 Worship the Lord. Worship the Lord. 
 
 Worship the Lord, fool that thou art! 
 
 In enemy and friend, in son, in rela- 
 tions, 
 
 Strive not to make either strife or 
 peace. 
 
 But keep an even heart toward all 
 
Moha-Mudgara 137 
 
 If thou desirest to attain the stage of 
 
 omnipresence in a moment. 
 Worship the Lord. Worship the Lord. 
 Worship the Lord, fool that thou art! 
 
 Unstable as the drop of water on the 
 lotus-leaf, 
 
 So is this life extremely impermanent. 
 
 The company of sages — even for a mo- 
 ment — in this world 
 
 Proves a boat in crossing the sea of this 
 samsara. 
 
 Worship the Lord. Worship the Lord. 
 
 Worship the Lord, fool that thou art! 
 
 Day and night, evening and morning, 
 Autumn and spring coming again and 
 
 again, 
 Time playing — life going, 
 Even then not quenched the hope of the 
 
 life-breath. 
 
138 Moha-Mudgara 
 
 Worship the Lord. Worship the Lord. 
 Worship the Lord, fool that thou art! 
 
 The body becomes wrinkled, the head 
 becomes gray, 
 
 The mouth becomes toothless, the staff 
 trembles in hand; 
 
 Even then the jar of hope remains un- 
 broken. 
 
 Worship the Lord. Worship the Lord. 
 
 Worship the Lord, fool that thou art! 
 
 A child engaged in play, 
 
 When youth engaged in making love 
 
 In old age merged in anxiety — 
 
 Not one is engaged in contemplation of 
 
 the Supreme Brahman. 
 Worship the Lord. Worship the Lord. 
 Worship the Lord, fool that thou art! 
 
Moha-Mndgara 139 
 
 As long as there is birth, there is 
 death — 
 
 So long is Mother's womb lying (re- 
 birth). 
 
 This is the obvious object of this 
 world. 
 
 How in this world, O man, can be 
 your happiness ? 
 
 Worship the Lord. Worship the Lord. 
 
 Worship the Lord, fool that thou art! 
 
 On! on! and waver not until the 
 Ideal is realized. No rest, friend, 'til 
 that abode of peace is found. The heart 
 may sink with despair when even the 
 hardest struggle brings no good result. 
 Yet, that is the point where we most 
 need to show our strength, because that 
 is the test of life. From surface to 
 bottom, religious truths teach but one 
 thing, and that is strength, self-reli- 
 
140 Molia-Mudgara 
 
 ance. Let us all pray to the Supreme 
 sincerely and earnestly to open unto us 
 the gate of light, strength and wisdom. 
 May He grant unto the followers of all 
 religions — nay, all living beings — His 
 peace and bliss. Peace ! Peace ! Peace ! 
 
JAN 7 !3wi