UNITY IN DIVERSITY 5

[Guest guest]

Om Namah Sivaya

Discourse by Sri Swami Vivekananda

(Delivered in London, 3rd November 1896)

Various heavens are spoken of in the Brâhmana portions of the Vedas, but the

philosophical teaching of the Upanishads gives up the idea of going to heaven.

Happiness is not in this heaven or in that heaven, it is in the soul; places do not

signify anything. Here is another passage which shows the different states of

realisation "In the heaven of the forefathers, as a man sees things in a dream, so

the Real Truth is seen." As in dreams we see things hazy and not so distinct, so

we see the Reality there. There is another heaven called the Gandharva, in

which it is still less clear; as a man sees his own reflection in the water, so is the

Reality seen there. The highest heaven, of which the Hindus conceive is called

the Brahmaloka; and in this, the Truth is seen much more clearly, like light and

shade, but not yet quite distinctly. But as a man sees his own face in a mirror,

perfect, distinct, and clear, so is the Truth shining in the soul of man. The

highest heaven, therefore, is in our own souls; the greatest temple of worship is the human soul, greater than all heavens, says the Vedanta; for in no heaven

anywhere, can we understand the reality as distinctly and clearly as in this life,

in our own soul. Changing places does not help one much. I thought while I was

in India that the cave would give me clearer vision. I found it was not so. Then I

thought the forest would do so, then, Varanasi. But the same difficulty existed

everywhere, because we make our own worlds. If I am evil, the whole world is

evil to me. That is what the Upanishad says. And the same thing applies to all

worlds. If I die and go to heaven, I should find the same, for until I am pure it is

no use going to caves, or forests, or to Varanasi, or to heaven, and if I have

polished my mirror, it does not matter where I live, I get the Reality just as It is.

So it is useless, running hither and thither, and spending energy in vain, which

should be spent only in polishing the mirror. The same idea is expressed again:

"None sees Him, none sees His form with the eyes. It is in the mind, in the pure mind, that He is seen, and this immortality is gained."

Those who were at the summer lectures on Râja-Yoga will be interested to

know that what was taught then was a different kind of Yoga. The Yoga which

we are now considering consists chiefly in controlling the senses. When the

senses are held as slaves by the human soul, when they can no longer disturb

the mind, then the Yogi has reached the goal. "When all vain desires of the

heart have been given up, then this very mortal becomes immortal, then he

becomes one with God even here. When all the knots of the heart are cut

asunder, then the mortal becomes immortal, and he enjoys Brahman here."

 

 

 

 

 

Sivaya Namah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All New Mail – Tired of Vi@gr@! come-ons? Let our SpamGuard protect you.