“All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.” Swami Vivekananda
To be fallible is to be human too. But if you want to feel the power in you and your potential to be what you were mean to be, all you have to do is read Swami Vivekanada.
I am a voracious reader, but have rarely been inspired as much by any other. To top it, all of his works are speeches he has delivered, which have been collected and compiled. Therefore, it was not as if he had actually sat and written it.
It has been said that Swamiji never prepared his talks. He went up to the podium and began speaking.Pearls of widom, effortlessly. That is what makes it truly remarkable. Even if one were to try, one cannot look for error. They were perfect in implication, rhetoric and peppered with spirituality.
Having gained a deep insight into the vedas, and the writings of our sages, it was as if he had imbed it wholly. What emerged was a simplified, day to day lesson on life and living. Never before had Hinduism and its philosophy been propounded in a manner which the common man could relate with and grasp. After him, there have been one in every decade. If you know what I mean. But he was the original.
Lets take this quotation. How true. And how motivating. It is we who have limited our powers with our thinking. So it is not our ability to achieve or to overcome which is questionable, it is our interpretation of our situation which should be questioned.
There is an opportunity waiting, in every challenge of life. Only, we choose to interpret it as an obstacle. That normally happens when the gaze has shifted from the goal that perceived obstacles present themselves so. Perhaps, there is another lesson waiting to be learnt for the journey ahead.
The oft repeated saying of light a candle when it gets dark, inspires us to light the candle of wisdom. Life is the greatest university, if one is a willing student. Wisdom our best friend. Always present, just a step behind, waiting to be beckoned and ever willing to be a guide.
And when all else fails to get you out of the dumps, read Swami Vivekananda. He has never let me down. He will be there for you as well.
Sachiniti 
It is truly amazing that he spoke all his books:)
I think he will be available online..?
Comment by Monica — April 21, 2006 @ 12:54 pm |
i am motivated to now actually listen to what mother has told me all my life and read his books
she has suggested many times that I read him and Osho but never did…
thanks!
Comment by silbil — April 21, 2006 @ 1:51 pm |
Monica,
you only have to Google for him and there he is…
Worth a read once a day, I would suggest.He is so real and unpretentious. so flowing with wisdom and yet so totally casual about what he has to offer. You might have guessed by now..Yes I am in love with him:)
Silbil,
Your moms right, as usual. Since I do not know much of osho, cannot respond for sure. However the little I have read does point out to the fact that he was inspired by Vivekananda as well. Greatly, in fact.
Comment by Kaveetaa Kaul — April 21, 2006 @ 3:26 pm |
Sometimes these sayings help us to pause and put on our thinking caps. after that life does not seem so bad after all:)
Comment by Neha — April 21, 2006 @ 4:46 pm |
I have read just one of his books ..the one on karma yoga. I meant to pick up more when in india..somehow it never happened.Will do this time
Comment by doublebarrel — April 21, 2006 @ 6:44 pm |
Neha,
you know the funny part is that rarely does one think of reading up books of the kind as the first option. It is always fiction, tech, extra terrestrials whatever. But once you get the hang of it, acquire a taste for it, none can come close. It took me a while before I picked it up. Now , if given a choice, i rarely go in for fiction.
doublebarrel,
You have read then one of the best treatises on karma yoga ever .I must have read it atleast 4 times . The amazing thing is that it presents a fresh perspective each time. One cannot tire of Vivekananda.
Comment by Kaveetaa Kaul — April 21, 2006 @ 8:49 pm |
hi
those who have been motivated to read more of philosophy of Swami Vivekananda or others try this link
http://www.hinduwebsite.com
I am reading more about Buddshim first…
Comment by silbil — April 22, 2006 @ 10:31 am |
He has been like a pillar of strength for me. We need to be reminded of his books over and over again. Men like him come once in a way.
Comment by anonymous — August 19, 2006 @ 11:11 am |