'Terrible is the bondage of this world. Difficult is to escape from out the net of Maya. Life teaches us that in order to live truely one must go beyond life, one must conquer death. This is the supreme task, and the way to this conquest is through the victory over those physical instincts that lead unto death. I speak deeply to thee, my son, asking thee to keep wide, wide awake and pay heed to all that which comes to tempt thee. The only way in which to progress spiritually is to anticipate the faintest rise of temptation. Keep strict guard over thy mind. Constantly bust thyself that which is great and noble. In this manner thou shalt gradually make thyself free.
'When temptation comes, it often comes, as it were, of a sudden, before the mind has time to become aware of what is happenning. One is apparently hurried on to the point of yielding. All saints understand this. Therefore they anticipate evil thought; defeating its strength and the possibility of its rising by strenuos good thought. By thought is one made and unmade. Beware, then, that thou dost think good thoughts.
'Remember that it is the mind which thou must keep constantly buoyed up. Never let it be idle. Idleness is the counterpart of the evil, the nest wherein it bears itself most fruitfully. Beware of idleness. Take life seriously. Realize the shortness of time and the greatness of the task of Self-unfoldment before thee. Now is thy time, now is thy opportunity. Bitterly shalt thou repent if thou dost allow thyself to drift carelessly into conditions of limitation and struggle, worse than those in which thou dost now find thyself. Be worthy of a better future, a better birth, by making thy present life a success of the spirit.
'The world abounds with death. The law of Karma is inevitable. Take heed, lest death find thee in the midst of thy sinning, and lest Karmafollow thy yielding to physical desire with increased bondage and dire misery. My son, after thou hast once tasted of the nectar of immortality, how is it possible for thee to feed on the husks of swine?
'Yet, do not be alarmed. The Grace of God is greater than mountain-loads of sin. So long as thou dost believe, so long is there hope. But the way is almost infinite in length. Think of the lifetimes necessary for the complete eradication of the evil, for the final transformation of the human into the divine consciousness. Canst thou, then, not understand how seriously thou shouldst labour for thine own good? And if thou dost love me, wilt thou not, for my sake at least, try to reach the Goal? How long have I waited for thee to be made whole and struggle manfully! I have yearned for thy righteousness. I shall always stand by thee; I shall always love thee, but thou must shake off thy lethargy. Come out of thy moral slothfulness; come, be a man!
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Written by : Frank Alexander, a direct disciple of Swami Vivekananda.
1 comment:
The world today seems so very full of unrest and violence !
A moment of calmness is always suggested.
For different people it comes with different sense of fulfillment !
For me ...meditation comes in the form of a quiet breath of silence in the depth of night.
When the night is yearning to end , I am winding up to sleep.
Sleep is the moment ..with resets all the senses in my life.
And may be thats what that holds me through the day ..amidst a thousand other unrest.
Mental Compsure is very essential for a student.
And a persons ability to suffice in this world of severe competition is meditation.
The teaching of Swami Vivekananda told people to remain themselves and understand the zeal of power that lay within us.
The power within is so very essential to realise..
And that realisation comes with meditation.
Great post Vivek :)
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