Practical Vedanta

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Practical Vedantabetween weakness and strength is one of degree; the difference between virtue andvice is one of degree, the difference between heaven and hell is one of degree, thedifference between life and death is one of degree, all differences in this world areof degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything. All is One,which manifests Itself, either as thought, or life, or soul, or body, and thedifference is only in degree. As such, we have no right to look down withcontempt upon those who are not developed exactly in the same degree as we are.Condemn none; if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, foldyour hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way. Dragging downand condemning is not the way to work. Never is work accomplished in that way.We spend our energies in condemning others. Criticism and condemnation is avain way of spending our energies, for in the long run we come to learn that all areseeing the same thing, are more or less approaching the same ideal, and that mostof our differences are merely differences of expression.Take the idea of sin. I was telling you just now the Vedantic idea of it, and theother idea is that man is a sinner. They are practically the same, only the one takesthe positive and the other the negative side. One shows to man his strength and theother his weakness. There may be weakness, says the Vedanta, but never mind, wewant to grow. Disease was found out as soon as man was born. Everyone knowshis disease; it requires no one to tell us what our diseases are. But thinking all thetime that we are diseased will not cure us — medicine is necessary. We may forgetanything outside, we may try to become hypocrites to the external world, but inour heart of hearts we all know our weaknesses. But, says the Vedanta, beingreminded of weakness does not help much; give strength, and strength does notcome by thinking of weakness all the time. The remedy for weakness is notbrooding over weakness, but thinking of strength. Teach men of the strength that isalready within them. Instead of telling them they are sinners, the Vedanta takes theopposite position, and says, "You are pure and perfect, and what you call sin doesnot belong to you." Sins are very low degrees of Self-manifestation; manifest yourSelf in a high degree. That is the one thing to remember; all of us can do that.Never say, "No", never say, "I cannot", for you are infinite. Even time and spaceare as nothing compared with your nature. You can do anything and everything,you are almighty.These are the principles of ethics, but we shall now come down lower and workout the details. We shall see how this Vedanta can be carried into our everydaylife, the city life, the country life, the national life, and the home life of everynation. For, if a religion cannot help man wherever he may be, wherever he stands,it is not of much use; it will remain only a theory for the chosen few. Religion, tohelp mankind, must be ready and able to help him in whatever condition he is, inservitude or in freedom, in the depths of degradation or on the heights of purity;everywhere, equally, it should be able to come to his aid. The principles ofVedanta, or the ideal of religion, or whatever you may call it, will be fulfilled byits capacity for performing this great function.file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Chitra%20Selvar...ooksBySwami/PracticalVedanta/PracticalVedantaPDF.html (6 of 113)2/26/2007 12:24:33 AM
Practical VedantaThe ideal of faith in ourselves is of the greatest help to us. If faith in ourselves hadbeen more extensively taught and practiced, I am sure a very large portion of theevils and miseries that we have would have vanished. Throughout the history ofmankind, if any motive power has been more potent than another in the lives of allgreat men and women, it is that of faith in themselves. Born with theconsciousness that they were to be great, they became great. Let a man go down aslow as possible; there must come a time when out of sheer desperation he will takean upward curve and will learn to have faith in himself. But it is better for us thatwe should know it from the very first. Why should we have all these bitterexperiences in order to gain faith in ourselves? We can see that all the differencebetween man and man is owing to the existence or non-existence of faith inhimself. Faith in ourselves will do everything. I have experienced it in my ownlife, and am still doing so; and as I grow older that faith is becoming stronger andstronger. He is an atheist who does not believe in himself. The old religions saidthat he was an atheist who did not believe in God. The new religion says that he isthe atheist who does not believe in himself. But it is not selfish faith because theVedanta, again, is the doctrine of oneness. It means faith in all, because you areall. Love for yourselves means love for all, love for animals, love for everything,for you are all one. It is the great faith which will make the world better. I am sureof that. He is the highest man who can say with truth, "I know all about myself."Do you know how much energy, how many powers, how many forces are stilllurking behind that frame of yours? What scientist has known all that is in man?Millions of years have passed since man first came here, and yet but oneinfinitesimal part of his powers has been manifested. Therefore, you must not saythat you are weak. How do you know what possibilities lie behind that degradationon the surface? You know but little of that which is within you. For behind you isthe ocean of infinite power and blessedness."This Âtman is first to be heard of." Hear day and night that you are that Soul.Repeat it to yourselves day and night till it enters into your very veins, till it tinglesin every drop of blood, till it is in your flesh and bone. Let the whole body be fullof that one ideal, "I am the birthless, the deathless, the blissful, the omniscient, theomnipotent, ever-glorious Soul." Think on it day and night; think on it till itbecomes part and parcel of your life. Meditate upon it, and out of that will comework. "Out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaketh," and out of the fullnessof the heart the hand worketh also. Action will come. Fill yourselves with theideal; whatever you do, think well on it. All your actions will be magnified,transformed, deified, by the very power of the thought. If matter is powerful,thought is omnipotent. Bring this thought to bear upon your life, fill yourselveswith the thought of your almightiness, your majesty, and your glory. Would toGod no superstitions had been put into your head! Would to God we had not beensurrounded from our birth by all these superstitious influences and paralysingideas of our weakness and vileness! Would to God that mankind had had an easierpath through which to attain to the noblest and highest truths! But man had to passfile:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/Chitra%20Selvar...ooksBySwami/PracticalVedanta/PracticalVedantaPDF.html (7 of 113)2/26/2007 12:24:33 AM
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Practical Vedantaexistence is limit
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Practical Vedanta

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