Skip to Content

615. Swami Vivekananda’s Vision

Spiritually, all men are equal, all nations are of equal significance, darkness and light are the same, the great Mahatma plucking some brinjals from the plant and meeting the Simon Commission are the same. Indians were dark in their souls in the vision of Swami Vivekananda, while his prayer changed them into souls of light. The dark souls change into bright souls after a prayer, as darkness and light are the same. In our hoary tradition, our spiritual wisdom has arrived at the knowledge that the work of a housewife and the tapas of a sannyasi can give the same result. The change lies in our attitude to work. Work is an activity that produces a result. The result has a range even as the work has a graded range. The result can be a minimum or it can be substantial, as a pass or a first class or distinction for a student taking the exam. Beyond the distinction lies perfection. Even in perfection there are several levels.

 

There are works that do not produce any results. They are called activities. Activities are composed of individual ACTS. Acts issue out of energy. So, the long range from energy to perfection constitutes human life. Musicians or artists know these differences very well. It is believed among them that one who can sing well without physical movements or facial distortions touches the divine heights of music. Swami Vivekananda was a great soul, a vibhuti. He could change the darkness of the Indians' souls into light by a single deep prayer.  The same occasion is presented to a humble musician in his performance. On occasions, his singing touches a climax and evokes a great applause or a standing ovation. It is the human tribute. God opens the door of heaven at the moment the musician touches the climax.

 

That opportunity lies before all men. When doing any work perfectly, man is rewarded with the boon of darsan of his Ishta Devata. In this sense, all men are equal in the Spirit. At the point of perfection, God emerges out of work. In the language of yoga or philosophy, the Infinite emerges out of the finite. In the idiom of an ordinary citizen, he can raise the salary of 5000 rupees a month to 50,000 rupees if only he can aim at perfection. Beyond that lies Perfect Perfection. Achieving that, the Rs. 50,000 a month can still be raised to a week or a day. For the present, the Infinite for a humble person of Rs. 5000 a month is Rs. 50,000. The Gita's injunction is we should do our duty. In the process, we must give up desire, desire for the fruit and finally the ego. Beyond that, the individual soul should surrender to God shedding all his beliefs in dharma. That way, the soul ripens. Lord Krishna offers moksha readily to the ripe soul if he surrenders to HIM. Perfection in work releases the Spirit in daily life.



story | by Dr. Radut