A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

"Be"DeathMAYA AND FREEDOM. 191iind to everybody once came the temptation, buthe, the gaint, Conquered it, and he saysisbetter than a vegetating ignorant life ;it is better todie on the battlefield than live a life of defeat." Thatis the basis of Religion. When a man takes that standhe is in the way to find the truth, he is on the wayto God. That determination must be the first impulsetowards becoming religious. I will hew out a way formyself. Know the truth, or give up my life in the attempt. For on this side it is nothing, it is gone,it isvanishing every day. The beautiful, hopeful young person of to-day is the veteran of to-morrow. Hopes andjoys and pleasures will die like blossoms with to-morrow s frost. That is this side ;on the other side thereare the great charms of conquest, victorious over all theills of life, victorious over life itself, becoming conquerorof the Universe. In that way men would stand, Thosewho dare, therefore, to make the attempt for victory,for truth, for Religion, they are in the right way, andthat is what the Vedas preach. not in despair ;the way is very difficult it; is, as it were, walking onthe blade of a razor. Yet despair not, arise, awake,and find the ideal, the goal."Now all these various manifestations of Religion, inwhatever shape and form they have come to mankind,have this one common central basis. It is the preaching of freedom, the way out of this world. They nevercame to reconcile the world and Religion, but to cutthe Gordian knot, and establish Religion in its ownideal, and not to compromise with the world. That is whatevery Religion preaches, and the duty of the Vedanta is toharmonise all these aspirations, just as we have seen here acommon ground between all the religions of the world, the