Just In
- 5 hrs ago Golden Rules To Follow For Happy Marriage For A Long Lasting Relationship
- 5 hrs ago Gajalakshmi Rajyog In Aries 2024: Lucky Zodiac Signs Who Will Get Financial Benefits
- 9 hrs ago Met Gala 2024: Date, Theme, Venue, Guest List, All You Need To Know About The Fashion Event
- 15 hrs ago Summer Fashion: Your Bollywood Style White Outfits Guide To Keep It Cool And Chic
Don't Miss
- Finance FREE, FREE, FREE! 3:1 Bonus: Pharma Stock Hits Back-To-Back Upper Circuits; 500 Shares To Earn Rs 1,69,500
- Sports Manchester City vs Chelsea LIVE Streaming: Where to Watch FA Cup Semi-Final in India, UK, USA and Other Countries
- Movies Pukaar Dil Se Dil Tak Promo: Sayli Salunkhe Impresses In First Video Of Sony TV Show, Details About Her Role
- News Chinese President Xi Jinping Orders Biggest Military Reorganisation Since 2015
- Education Exam Pressure Does Not Exist; Studying Punctually is Crucial; Says Aditi, the PSEB 2024 Topper
- Automobiles Suzuki Swift Hatchback Scores 4 Star Safety Rating At JNCAP – ADAS, New Engine & More
- Technology Dell Introduces AI-Powered Laptops and Mobile Workstations for Enterprises in India
- Travel Journey From Delhi To Ooty: Top Transport Options And Attractions
Let Us Be Gods-Part IX
Swami Vivekananda found that this is such an age of materialism. Through the grace of science, so many things have been brought to us for sense enjoyment. So much is available that we are all being swept away by these things. Here, only one thing can save us. Intellect will not save us. Intellect hasn't got any power in itself. It cannot create will within oneself. It can give you knowledge, but it would not give you will power. The body would not give you this will power. It is only idealism, spiritual idealism, which will give you the necessary will power. How? You have to learn to think of yourselves in terms that will insure this will power, this ability to rise above the temptations of the senses. And what is that idealism? It is the recognition that I am the spirit, I am God; I am divine. Nothing short of that will do.
Of
course,
even
when
we
try
to
affirm
our
divine
nature,
it
would
not
become
real
at
once.
Then,
if
you
say,
'If
it
doesn't
become
real
at
once,
why
be
so
bombastic
about
it?
We
know
we
are
not
God
at
the
present
time.'
And
some
of
you
will
remind
me
here
that
it
is
not
safe
to
think
of
oneself
as
God.
Sri
Ramakrishna,
often
in
speaking
to
lay
devotees
would
say:
'Do
not
say
"I
am
He.
I
am
God,'
as
long
as
you
have
body-consciousness.'
You
understand
what
is
meant
by
body-consciousness?
Body-consciousness
means,
to
begin
with
the
crudest
form,
'I
am
the
body.'
Of
course,
nobody
says,
'I
am
the
body,'
because
everybody
knows
they
are
also
the
mind.
But,
most
people
feel
primarily
that
they
are
physical.
They
think
of
themselves
in
terms
of
the
body.
That
is
called
body-consciousness.
There is a higher form of body-consciousness, in which a man is simply aware of the existence of his body, but doesn't identify himself with the body. Well, that is also called body-consciousness. But I am speaking of it in this lower sense, in which we feel we are the body, or we are essentially physical. Sri Ramakrishna used to say: 'As long as you have this body-consciousness, you should not say "I am God."' On the other hand, he also said, 'He who says that he is bound, bound he becomes; he who says that he is free, free he becomes. He who says he is pure, pure he becomes. But he who says "I am sinful", more and more sinful he becomes.' What you think you become.
That is the practical affirmation of the divine nature of man. Once there was an argument between Swami Vivekananda and another monk, a very learned man. One day he asked Swamiji at Belur monastery, after Swamiji had returned from the West, 'Swamiji, our Master, Sri Ramakrishna, used to say that one should not mix with women. But here I find you have got Western women as your disciples. Some of them even come here. How is it? And I see you going to them and sitting near them, and so on.' Swamiji's face became red, and he said,
'He told you that. He did not tell me that, and through his grace I do not feel any difference between male and female anymore. I see the same Brahman everywhere. Everyone I see as Brahman.'
The other monk still tried to argue a little, but he got frightened, as he, himself, told that story afterwards. He said,
'After having said this, when I found Swamiji very grave and his face became bright, I was just frightened.' And then Swami Vivekananda said, 'You follow what he has told you. That is good for you. But what right have you to say that that is the teaching of Sri Ramakrishna? What right? He taught me monism, and he asked me to teach that to the world, which I have done. You follow what he has told you, but don't try to bring him down to your level, and to your idea of him. He taught many, many more things. Just remember this.'
To be continued About the author
Swami Ashokananda
Swami Ashokananda (1893-1969) was a much-venerated monk of the Ramakrishna Order. He was ordained into sannyasa by Swami Shivananda, and was the editor of Prabuddha Bharata, an English monthly of the Ramakrishna Order brought out from the Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati in Uttaranchal. He was an outstanding writer and speaker and the leader of the Vedanta Society of Northern California (San Fransisco) from 1931 until his passing away in 1969.