After reading certain books. We would have
made an effort to understand the book. After that.
Our perspectives on life will
differ. The world will look different all of a sudden. There are books that
give a completely different perception.
One such book which took time
and effort for me to read and understand is “Reflections” by Swami Vivekananda.
When I was a kid, we never had
any celebrity posters or cricketer posters in my home. But we had one huge
poster of Swami Vivekananda.
That is the largest poster
that we ever had. After growing up with “Arise, Awake, and stop not till the
goal is reached.”
I wanted to know his thought
process. So, I began to read his book “Reflections”. His command over the language
was astonishing and it was very difficult to read.
Vivekananda was the one who
put Hinduism on the world map. He traveled to the U.S from India and mesmerized
people with his speeches.
He emphasized that none of us
are sinners. Religion always tells us that we are sinners who had committed
sins.
We have to apologize for that.
We have to get rid of our sins by living a good life. These things were
repeatedly told to us.
But Vivekananda assured us
that we are not sinners. He said that all of us are a version of God in his
discourse. This made him very popular.
I was curious to learn about
his teachings and know the reason for his massive following. He was a youth
icon as well. I wanted to know who he was, so, I read his book.
When we love someone, we
cherish the things that they use. We are attached to their house, friends, and
parents. The clothes that they use.
We have extra care for their
things and people. If we learn to love God in the same way. Then we would love
everything that God has created.
We would fall in love with
everyone as all of us are God’s children. But instead, we are being partial to
our own people, and hate others, especially those who worship other gods.
And discriminate based on
caste, if that is the case. Then we are not being spiritual. Vivekananda feels
that holding onto a religion that discriminates is wrong.
This is not true love towards
God. Even our ancestors have indulged in discrimination. And the people who
were discriminated against fought for equality.
Saying that a person belonging
to a particular caste shouldn’t enter the temple, forbidding them from walking
on the road.
When I see boards outside the
temple forbidding people of other religions from entering, I feel very sad.
Vivekananda has stressed that
God is one. And say God as various reflections, There is no such thing as
different Gods.
The example that he gives for
that is this. Let’s consider raindrops and dewdrops. Every drop has a
reflection of the sun. But it doesn’t imply that there are many suns.
The sun is one, but it is
divided. Though it seems like there are many suns, the sun is just
one. All religions are a tool to journey toward God.
Though the paths are
different, the destination is one. Discriminating against people based on the path that
they choose is just not right.
I loved the story that I read
towards the end of the book. I didn’t read the whole book; I skipped a few pages
in between.
One of the stories that
caught my attention was. A girl is waiting for her lover in the garden.
Meanwhile, a sage was thinking of God and meditating on the side.
He had been meditating for
many days. The girl couldn’t control her excitement when she saw her lover. She
ran to hug him. She dashed into the sage while running.
She doesn’t notice him. She
ran and hugged her lover. The sage got angry. And he was furious as his
meditation got interrupted.
The sage tells her that she
doesn’t understand the value of love toward God. He is angry and questions her
actions.
The girl replied that she
wholeheartedly loves her man. And that everything else faded when she saw him. If
the sage’s belief and love towards God were actually strong.
Her presence should not have
disturbed him. Nothing should have distracted the sage if his love was pure.
If a person’s love is true.
We won’t be poking our nose into the life and love of others. We will be 100
percent focussed on our love.
The next is Karma Yoga,
which is attaining God through work. Karma Yoga is reaching out to God by
fulfilling our purpose.
If humans are actually God,
these four ways should help us realize ourselves. The best way among these is Bhakti yoga.
When we do something wholeheartedly,
there’s nothing more special than that. Irrespective of the path we choose, if
we are determined about our end result.
Which is realizing
ourselves. People prefer a way of worship. Like worshipping statues and
worshipping God in temples.
Because blind faith is difficult. Some
people need a physical form to worship, believe and live. We shouldn’t find
fault with them.
For some God is everywhere, for others
self is God. For some, the god they worship is the true God. If they conduct
rituals because of their belief, we can’t fault them.
That is also a path to reaching god. It is
the starting stage of a spiritual journey. Do you have a spiritual calling?
Some people have their spiritual
calling when they become old. But it can happen anytime and any day.
Swami Vivekananda had his spiritual
calling when he was very young. Many saints got their spiritual calling at a
young age.
But now we are so busy and distracted.
So, we might not recognize our spiritual calling. But in case you do not believe
in God and believe in the connection with the universe.
Then “Reflections” by Vivekananda might
be the ray of light for you. The main concept that he stresses is
non-attachment which is common to all religions.
Not being attached to anything.
Believing that the self is God and that self is the centerpiece of this world.
Not being attached to people or things.
If you are in search of such a life. Then
you can learn how to practice non-attachment. And how to apply non-attachment
in your life, the book teaches you this and much more.
After suffering a huge blow in my life.
I thought that there was a big vacuum in my life. And questioned my dad about whether
I would end up being alone forever.
My Dad didn’t assure me that I would
find my special someone or that the family will always be there for me. He spoke
of the times when I stood by him when he was struggling.
He assured me that if I am there for
myself, I don’t need anyone else. I guess he had also read a lot of Swami
Vivekananda’s book.
Vivekananda Echoes the same, when we
are struggling in life, we feel that there is no one for us.
But we are there for ourselves. We have
to be strong and should know how to handle our weaknesses. We have to learn to
face our fear.
To learn all this “Reflections” is a
great choice. You cannot finish the book in one go. Just like how regular
intake of healthy food is important.
In the same way, having healthy
thoughts and healthy guidance is good for us. You can read a chapter from this
book once in a while because a single chapter has only a few pages.
You can consume only that
much, for the thoughts in this book is quite heavy.
