A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

"KARMA-YOGA. 87be heldworldly wisdom ;if a man does not do so, he mayto be immoralThe householder is the basis, the prop, of the wholesociety he is the; principal earner. Everybody the poorthe weak, the children and the women who do not workall live upon the householder so there must be certain;duties that he has to perform, and these duties must makehim feel strong to perform them, and not make him thinkthat he isdoing things beneath his ideal. Therefore, if hehas done something weak, or has committed some mistake,he must not say so in public ;and if he isengaged insome enterprise and knows he is sure to fail in it,he mustnot speak of it. Such self-exposure is not only uncalledbut also unnerves the man and makes him unfit forfor, the performance of his legitimateduties in life. At thesame time, he must struggle hard to acquire these thingsfirstly knowledge, and secondly wealth. It is his duty,and if he does not do his duty he is nobody. A householder who does not struggle to get wealth is immoral.he is lazy, and content to lead a lazy life, he is immoral,because upon him depend hundreds. If he gets richeshundreds of others will be thereby supported.If there were not in this city hundreds who hadstriven to become rich, and who had acquired wealth,where would all his civilisation, and these almshousesand great houses be ?Going after wealth in such a case is not bad, becausethat wealth is for distribution. The householder is thecentre of life and society. It is a worship for him toacquire and spend wealth nobly, for the householder whostruggles to get rich by good means and for good purposesis doing practically the same thing for the attainment ofsalvation as the anchorite does in his cell when he is pray-If