BHAKTI OR DEVOTION

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Posted by: " Uttishthata " uttishthata

Thu Jul 5, 2007 8:08 pm (PST)

 

BHAKTI OR DEVOTION - Swami Vivekananda

 

Thus we come to what is called supreme Bhakti, supreme devotion, in

which forms and symbols fall off. One who has reached that cannot

belong to any sect, for all sects are in him. To what shall he

belong? For all churches and temples are in him. Where is the church

big enough for him? Such a man cannot bind himself down to certain

limited forms. Where is the limit for unlimited love, with which he

has become one? In all religions which take up this ideal of love, we

find the struggle to express it. Although we understand what this

love means and see that everything in this world of affections and

attractions is a manifestation of that Infinite Love, the expression

of which has been attempted by sages and saints of different nations,

yet we find them using all the powers of language, transfiguring even

the most carnal expression into the divine.

 

Thus sang the royal Hebrew sage, thus sang they of India. " O beloved,

one kiss of Thy lips! Kissed by Thee, one's thirst for Thee

increaseth for ever! All sorrows cease, one forgets the past,

present, and future, and only thinks of Thee alone. " That is the

madness of the lover, when all desires have vanished. " Who cares for

salvation? Who cares to be saved? Who cares to be perfect even? Who

cares for freedom? " -- says the lover. " I do not want wealth, nor even

health; I do not want beauty, I do not want intellect: let me be born

again and again, amid all the evils that are in the world; I will not

complain, but let me love Thee, and that for love's sake. "

 

The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 2 [ Page : 51 ]

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

We must be bright and cheerful. Long faces do not make religion.

Religion should be the most joyful thing in the world, because it is

the best.

- Swami Vivekananda