PRACTICAL VEDANTA | PART 1 OF 4 | CWSV 2

PRACTICAL VEDANTA | INTRO + PARTS 1 THRU 4 ➤➤

THE COMPLETE WORKS | VOLUME 2 | SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

|| SECTION 2 | PRACTICAL VEDANTA & OTHER LECTURES ||

|| PRACTICAL VEDANTA | PART 1 OF 4 ||

I have been asked to say something about the practical position of the Vedanta philosophy . As I have told you , theory is very good indeed , but how are we to carry it into practice ? If it be absolutely impracticable , no theory is of any value whatever , except as intellectual gymnastics .

The Vedanta , therefore , as a religion must be intensely practical . We must be able to carry it out in every part of our lives . And not only this , the fictitious differentiation between religion and the life of the world must vanish , for the Vedanta teaches oneness — one life throughout .

The ideals of religion must cover the whole field of life , they must enter into all our thoughts , and more and more into practice . I will enter gradually on the practical side as we proceed . But this series of lectures is intended to be a basis , and so we must first apply ourselves to theories and understand how they are worked out , proceeding from forest caves to busy streets and cities ; and one peculiar feature we find is that many of these thoughts have been the outcome , not of retirement into forests , but have emanated from persons whom we expect to lead the busiest lives — from ruling monarchs .

Shvetaketu was the progeny of Aruni , a sage , most probably a recluse . Shvetaketu was brought up in the forest , but went to the city of the Panchalas and appeared at the court of the ruler , Pravahana Jaivali .

The ruler asked Shvetaketu ,

" Do you know how beings depart hence at death ? "
" No . "
" Do you know how they return hither ? "
" No . "
" Do you know the way of the fathers and the way of the GODs ? "
" No . "

Then the ruler asked other questions . Shvetaketu could not answer them . So the ruler said that Shvetaketu knew nothing .

The child went back to the parent , who admitted not being able to answer these questions . It was not that the parent was unwilling to answer these questions . It was not that the parent was unwilling to teach the child , but the parent did not know these things . So Gautama went to the ruler and asked to be taught these secrets .

The ruler said that these things had been hitherto known only among rulers ; the priests never knew them . The ruler , however , proceeded to teach .

In various Upanishads we find that this Vedanta philosophy is not the outcome of meditation in the forests only , but that the very best parts of it were thought out and expressed by brains which were busiest in the everyday affairs of life . We cannot conceive anyone busier than an absolute monarch , one ruling over millions of people , and yet , some of these rulers were deep thinkers .

Everything goes to show that this philosophy must be very practical ; and later on , when we come to the Bhagavad Gita — most of you , perhaps , have read it , it is the best commentary we have on the Vedanta philosophy — curiously enough the scene is laid on the battlefield , where Krishna teaches this philosophy to Arjuna ; and the doctrine which stands out luminously in every page of the Gita is intense activity , but in the midst of it , eternal calmness . This is the secret of work , to attain which is the goal of the Vedanta .

Inactivity , as we understand it in the sense of passivity , certainly cannot be the goal . Were it so , then the walls around us would be the most intelligent ; they are inactive . Clods of earth , stumps of trees , would be the greatest sages in the world ; they are inactive . Nor does inactivity become activity when it is combined with passion . Real activity , which is the goal of Vedanta , is combined with eternal calmness , the calmness which cannot be ruffled , the balance of mind which is never disturbed , whatever happens . And we all know from our experience in life that that is the best attitude for work .

I have been asked many times how we can work if we do not have the passion which we generally feel for work . I also thought in that way years ago , but as I am growing older , getting more experience , I find it is not true . The less passion there is , the better we work . The calmer we are , the better for us , and the more the amount of work we can do . When we let loose our feelings , we waste so much energy , shatter our nerves , disturb our minds , and accomplish very little work . The energy which ought to have gone out as work is spent as mere feeling , which counts for nothing .

It is only when the mind is very calm and collected that the whole of its energy is spent in doing good work . And if you read the lives of the great workers which the world has produced , you will find that they were wonderfully calm . Nothing , as it were , could throw them off their balance . That is why one who becomes angry never does a great amount of work , and the one whom nothing can make angry accomplishes so much . One who gives way to anger , or hatred , or any other passion , cannot work , only breaks oneself to pieces , and does nothing practical . It is the calm , forgiving , equable , well-balanced mind that does the greatest amount of work .

The Vedanta preaches the ideal ; and the ideal , as we know , is always far ahead of the real , of the practical , as we may call it . There are two tendencies in human nature : one to harmonise the ideal with the life , and the other to elevate the life to the ideal . It is a great thing to understand this , for the former tendency is the temptation of our lives . I think that I can only do a certain class of work . Most of it , perhaps , is bad ; most of it , perhaps , has a motive power of passion behind it , anger , or greed , or selfishness .

Now if anyone comes to preach to me a certain ideal , the first step towards which is to give up selfishness , to give up self-enjoyment , I think that is impractical . But when one brings an ideal which can be reconciled with my selfishness , I am glad at once and jump at it . That is the ideal for me . As the word " orthodox " has been manipulated into various forms , so has been the word " practical " . " My doxy is orthodoxy ; your doxy is heterodoxy . "

So with practicality . What I think is practical , is to me the only practicality in the world . If I am a shopkeeper , I think shopkeeping the only practical pursuit in the world . If I am a thief , I think stealing is the best means of being practical ; others are not practical . You see how we all use this word practical for things we like and can do .

Therefore I will ask you to understand that Vedanta , though it is intensely practical , is always so in the sense of the ideal . It does not preach an impossible ideal , however high it be , and it is high enough for an ideal .

In one word , this ideal is that you are divine , " Thou art That " .

This is the essence of Vedanta ; after all its ramifications and intellectual gymnastics , you know the human soul to be pure and omniscient , you see that such superstitions as birth and death would be entire nonsense when spoken of in connection with the soul . The soul was never born and will never die , and all these ideas that we are going to die and are afraid to die are mere superstitions . And all such ideas as that we can do this or cannot do that are superstitions . We can do everything .

The Vedanta teaches all to have faith in themselves first . As certain religions of the world say that one who does not believe in a Personal GOD outside of oneself is an atheist , so the Vedanta says , one who does not believe in oneself is an atheist . Not believing in the glory of our own soul is what the Vedanta calls atheism . To many this is , no doubt , a terrible idea ; and most of us think that this ideal can never be reached ; but the Vedanta insists that it can be realised by every one . There is neither adult or child , nor difference of race or sex , nor anything that stands as a bar to the realisation of the ideal , because Vedanta shows that it is realised already , it is already there .

All the powers in the universe are already ours . It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark . Know that there is no darkness around us . Take the hands away and there is the light which was from the beginning . Darkness never existed , weakness never existed . We who are fools cry that we are weak ; we who are fools cry that we are impure . Thus Vedanta not only insists that the ideal is practical , but that it has been so all the time ; and this Ideal , this Reality , is our own nature . Everything else that you see is false , untrue .

As soon as you say , " I am a little mortal being , " you are saying something which is not true , you are giving the lie to yourselves , you are hypnotising yourselves into something vile and weak and wretched .

The Vedanta recognises no sin , it only recognises error . And the greatest error , says the Vedanta , is to say that you are weak , that you are a sinner , a miserable creature , and that you have no power and you cannot do this and that . Every time you think in that way , you , as it were , rivet one more link in the chain that binds you down , you add one more layer of hypnotism on to your own soul .

Therefore , whosoever thinks one is weak is wrong , whosoever thinks one is impure is wrong , and is throwing a bad thought into the world . This we must always bear in mind that in the Vedanta there is no attempt at reconciling the present life — the hypnotised life , this false life which we have assumed — with the ideal ; but this false life must go , and the real life which is always existing must manifest itself , must shine out . No one becomes purer and purer , it is a matter of greater manifestation .

The veil drops away , and the native purity of the soul begins to manifest itself . Everything is ours already — infinite purity , freedom , love , and power .

The Vedanta also says that not only can this be realised in the depths of forests or caves , but by those in all possible conditions of life . We have seen that the people who discovered these truths were neither living in caves nor forests , nor following the ordinary vocations of life , but those who , we have every reason to believe , led the busiest of lives , those who had to command armies , to sit on thrones , and look to the welfare of millions — and all these , in the days of absolute monarchy , and not as in these days when a ruler is to a great extent a mere figurehead . Yet they could find time to think out all these thoughts , to realise them , and to teach them to humanity .

How much more then should it be practical for us whose lives , compared with theirs , are lives of leisure ? That we cannot realise them is a shame to us , seeing that we are comparatively free all the time , having very little to do . My requirements are as nothing compared with those of an ancient absolute monarch . My wants are as nothing compared with the demands of Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra , commanding a huge army ; and yet Arjuna could find time in the midst of the din and turmoil of battle to talk the highest philosophy and to carry it into life also .

Surely we ought to be able to do as much in this life of ours — comparatively free , easy , and comfortable . Most of us here have more time than we think we have , if we really want to use it for good . With the amount of freedom we have we can attain to two hundred ideals in this life , if we will , but we must not degrade the ideal to the actual . One of the most insinuating things comes to us in the shape of persons who apologise for our mistakes and teach us how to make special excuses for all our foolish wants and foolish desires ; and we think that their ideal is the only ideal we need have . But it is not so . The Vedanta teaches no such thing . The actual should be reconciled to the ideal , the present life should be made to coincide with life eternal .

For you must always remember that the one central ideal of Vedanta is this oneness . There are no two in anything , no two lives , nor even two different kinds of life for the two worlds . You will find the Vedas speaking of heavens and things like that at first ; but later on , when they come to the highest ideals of their philosophy , they brush away all these things .

There is but one life , one world , one existence . Everything is that One , the difference is in degree and not in kind . The difference between our lives is not in kind . The Vedanta entirely denies such ideas as that animals are separate from humans , and that they were made and created by GOD to be used for our food .

Some people have been kind enough to start an antivivisection society . I asked a member ,

" Why do you think , my friend , that it is quite lawful to kill animals for food , and not to kill one or two for scientific experiments ? " The member replied ,

" Vivisection is most horrible , but animals have been given to us for food . "

Oneness includes all animals . If the human's life is immortal , so also is the animal's . The difference is only in degree and not in kind . The amoeba and I are the same , the difference is only in degree ; and from the standpoint of the highest life , all these differences vanish . One may see a great deal of difference between grass and a little tree , but if you mount very high , the grass and the biggest tree will appear much the same . So , from the standpoint of the highest ideal , the lowest animal and the highest human are the same .

If you believe there is a GOD , the animals and the highest creatures must be the same . A GOD who is partial to One's children called human , and cruel to One's children called brute beasts , is worse than a demon . I would rather die a hundred times than worship such a GOD . My whole life would be a fight with such a GOD . But there is no difference , and those who say there is , are irresponsible , heartless people who do not know . Here is a case of the word practical used in a wrong sense .

I myself may not be a very strict vegetarian , but I understand the ideal . When I eat meat I know it is wrong . Even if I am bound to eat it under certain circumstances , I know it is cruel .

I must not drag my ideal down to the actual and apologise for my weak conduct in this way . The ideal is not to eat flesh , not to injure any being , for all animals are my siblings . If you can think of them as your siblings , you have made a little headway towards the kinship of all souls , not to speak of the kinship of humans ! That is child's play .

You generally find that this is not very acceptable to many , because it teaches them to give up the actual , and go higher up to the ideal . But if you bring out a theory which is reconciled with their present conduct , they regard it as entirely practical .

There is this strongly conservative tendency in human nature : we do not like to move one step forward . I think of humankind just as I read of persons who become frozen in snow ; all such , they say , want to go to sleep , and if you try to drag them up , they say ,

" Let me sleep ; it is so beautiful to sleep in the snow " , and they die there in that sleep .

So is our nature .

That is what we are doing all our life , getting frozen from the feet upwards , and yet wanting to sleep .

Therefore you must struggle towards the ideal , and if one comes who wants to bring that ideal down to your level , and teach a religion that does not carry that highest ideal , do not listen .

To me that is an impracticable religion . But if one teaches a religion which presents the highest ideal , I am ready . Beware when anyone is trying to apologise for sense vanities and sense weaknesses . If anyone wants to preach that way to us , poor , sense-bound clods of earth as we have made ourselves by following that teaching , we shall never progress .

I have seen many of these things , have had some experience of the world , and my country is the land where religious sects grow like mushrooms . Every year new sects arise . But one thing I have marked , that it is only those that never want to reconcile the person of flesh with the person of truth that make progress .

Wherever there is this false idea of reconciling fleshly vanities with the highest ideals , of dragging down GOD to the level of the human , there comes decay .

Humans should not be degraded to worldly slavery , but should be raised up to GOD .

At the same time , there is another side to the question . We must not look down with contempt on others . All of us are going towards the same goal . The difference between weakness and strength is one of degree ; the difference between virtue and vice is one of degree , the difference between heaven and hell is one of degree , the difference between life and death is one of degree , all differences in this world are of degree , and not of kind , because oneness is the secret of everything .

All is One , which manifests Itself , either as thought , or life , or soul , or body , and the difference is only in degree . As such , we have no right to look down with contempt upon those who are not developed exactly in the same degree as we are .

Condemn none ; if you can stretch out a helping hand , do so . If you cannot , fold your hands , bless your kindred , and let them go their own way .

Dragging down and condemning is not the way to work . Never is work accomplished in that way . We spend our energies in condemning others . Criticism and condemnation is a vain way of spending our energies , for in the long run we come to learn that all are seeing the same thing , are more or less approaching the same ideal , and that most of our differences are merely differences of expression .

Take the idea of sin . I was telling you just now the Vedantic idea of it , and the other idea is that the human is a sinner . They are practically the same , only the one takes the positive and the other the negative side . One shows to people their strength and the other their weakness . There may be weakness , says the Vedanta , but never mind , we want to grow . Disease was found out as soon as one was born . Everyone knows one's disease ; it requires no one to tell us what our diseases are . But thinking all the time that we are diseased will not cure us — medicine is necessary . We may forget anything outside , we may try to become hypocrites to the external world , but in our heart of hearts we all know our weaknesses .

But , says the Vedanta , being reminded of weakness does not help much ; give strength , and strength does not come by thinking of weakness all the time . The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness , but thinking of strength . Teach those of the strength that is already within them . Instead of telling them they are sinners , the Vedanta takes the opposite position , and says ,

" You are pure and perfect , and what you call sin does not belong to you . "

Sins are very low degrees of Self-manifestation ; manifest your Self in a high degree . That is the one thing to remember ; all of us can do that .

Never say , " No " , never say , " I cannot " , for you are infinite . Even time and space are as nothing compared with your nature . You can do anything and everything , you are almighty .

These are the principles of ethics , but we shall now come down lower and work out the details . We shall see how this Vedanta can be carried into our everyday life , the city life , the country life , the national life , and the home life of every nation .

For , if a religion cannot help one wherever one may be , wherever one stands , it is not of much use ; it will remain only a theory for the chosen few .

Religion , to help humankind , must be ready and able to help one in whatever condition one is , in servitude or in freedom , in the depths of degradation or on the heights of purity ; everywhere , equally , it should be able to come to one's aid . The principles of Vedanta , or the ideal of religion , or whatever you may call it , will be fulfilled by its capacity for performing this great function .

The ideal of faith in ourselves is of the greatest help to us . If faith in ourselves had been more extensively taught and practiced , I am sure a very large portion of the evils and miseries that we have would have vanished . Throughout the history of humankind , if any motive power has been more potent than another in the lives of all great people , it is that of faith in themselves . Born with the consciousness that they were to be great , they became great . Let one go down as low as possible ; there must come a time when out of sheer desperation one will take an upward curve and will learn to have faith in oneself . But it is better for us that we should know it from the very first . Why should we have all these bitter experiences in order to gain faith in ourselves ?

We can see that all the difference between people is owing to the existence or non-existence of faith in oneself . Faith in ourselves will do everything . I have experienced it in my own life , and am still doing so ; and as I grow older that faith is becoming stronger and stronger . One is an atheist who does not believe in oneself . The old religions said that one was an atheist who did not believe in GOD . The new religion says that one is the atheist who does not believe in oneself . But it is not selfish faith because the Vedanta , again , is the doctrine of oneness . It means faith in all , because you are all .

Love for yourselves means love for all , love for animals , love for everything , for you are all one . It is the great faith which will make the world better . I am sure of that . One is the highest human who can say with truth , " I know all about myself . " Do you know how much energy , how many powers , how many forces are still lurking behind that frame of yours ? What scientist has known all that is in the human ? Millions of years have passed since the human first came here , and yet but one infinitesimal part of those powers has been manifested .

Therefore , you must not say that you are weak . How do you know what possibilities lie behind that degradation on the surface ? You know but little of that which is within you . For behind you is the ocean of infinite power and blessedness .

" This Atman is first to be heard of . " Hear day and night that you are that Soul . Repeat it to yourselves day and night till it enters into your very veins , till it tingles in every drop of blood , till it is in your flesh and bone . Let the whole body be full of that one ideal , " I am the birthless , the deathless , the blissful , the omniscient , the omnipotent , ever-glorious Soul . " Think on it day and night ; think on it till it becomes part and parcel of your life . Meditate upon it , and out of that will come work .

" Out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaketh , " and out of the fullness of the heart the hand worketh also . Action will come . Fill yourselves with the ideal ; whatever you do , think well on it . All your actions will be magnified , transformed , deified , by the very power of the thought . If matter is powerful , thought is omnipotent .

Bring this thought to bear upon your life , fill yourselves with the thought of your almightiness , your majesty , and your glory . Would to GOD no superstitions had been put into your head ! Would to GOD we had not been surrounded from our birth by all these superstitious influences and paralysing ideas of our weakness and vileness ! Would to GOD that humankind had had an easier path through which to attain to the noblest and highest truths ! But humans had to pass through all this ; do not make the path more difficult for those who are coming after you .

These are sometimes terrible doctrines to teach . I know people who get frightened at these ideas , but for those who want to be practical , this is the first thing to learn .

Never tell yourselves or others that you are weak . Do good if you can , but do not injure the world . You know in your inmost heart that many of your limited ideas , this humbling of yourself and praying and weeping to imaginary beings are superstitions . Tell me one case where these prayers have been answered . All the answers that came were from your own hearts . You know there are no ghosts , but no sooner are you in the dark than you feel a little creepy sensation . That is so because in our childhood we have had all these fearful ideas put into our heads .

But do not teach these things to others through fear of society and public opinion , through fear of incurring the hatred of friends , or for fear of losing cherished superstitions . Be masters of all these . What is there to be taught more in religion than the oneness of the universe and faith in one's self ?

All the works of humankind for thousands of years past have been towards this one goal , and humankind is yet working it out . It is your turn now and you already know the truth . For it has been taught on all sides . Not only philosophy and psychology , but materialistic sciences have declared it .

Where is the scientific person today who fears to acknowledge the truth of this oneness of the universe ? Who is there who dares talk of many worlds ? All these are superstitions . There is only one life and one world , and this one life and one world is appearing to us as manifold . This manifoldness is like a dream . When you dream , one dream passes away and another comes . You do not live in your dreams . The dreams come one after another , scene after scene unfolds before you .

So it is in this world of ninety per cent misery and ten per cent happiness . Perhaps after a while it will appear as ninety per cent happiness , and we shall call it heaven , but a time comes to the sage when the whole thing vanishes , and this world appears as GOD Itself , and one's own soul as GOD . It is not therefore that there are many worlds , it is not that there are many lives . All this manifoldness is the manifestation of that One . That One is manifesting Itself as many , as matter , spirit , mind , thought , and everything else . It is that One , manifesting Itself as many . Therefore the first step for us to take is to teach the truth to ourselves and to others .

Let the world resound with this ideal , and let superstitions vanish . Tell it to those who are weak and persist in telling it . You are the Pure One ; awake and arise , O mighty one , this sleep does not become you . Awake and arise , it does not befit you . Think not that you are weak and miserable . Almighty , arise and awake , and manifest your own nature . It is not fitting that you think yourself a sinner . It is not fitting that you think yourself weak . Say that to the world , say it to yourselves , and see what a practical result comes , see how with an electric flash everything is manifested , how everything is changed . Tell that to humankind , and show them their power . Then we shall learn how to apply it in our daily lives .

To be able to use what we call Viveka ( discrimination ) , to learn how in every moment of our lives , in every one of our actions , to discriminate between what is right and wrong , true and false , we shall have to know the test of truth , which is purity , oneness . Everything that makes for oneness is truth .

Love is truth , and hatred is false , because hatred makes for multiplicity . It is hatred that separates ; therefore it is wrong and false . It is a disintegrating power ; it separates and destroys .

Love binds , love makes for that oneness . You become one , the parent with the child , families with the city , the whole world becomes one with the animals . For love is Existence , GOD Itself ; and all this is the manifestation of that One Love , more or less expressed . The difference is only in degree , but it is the manifestation of that One Love throughout .

Therefore in all our actions we have to judge whether it is making for diversity or for oneness . If for diversity we have to give it up , but if it makes for oneness we are sure it is good . So with our thoughts ; we have to decide whether they make for disintegration , multiplicity , or for oneness , binding soul to soul and bringing one influence to bear . If they do this , we will take them up , and if not , we will throw them off as criminal .

The whole idea of ethics is that it does not depend on anything unknowable , it does not teach anything unknown , but in the language of the Upanishad , " The GOD whom you worship as an unknown GOD , the same I preach unto thee . " It is through the Self that you know anything . I see the chair ; but to see the chair , I have first to perceive myself and then the chair . It is in and through the Self that the chair is perceived . It is in and through the Self that you are known to me , that the whole world is known to me ; and therefore to say this Self is unknown is sheer nonsense . Take off the Self and the whole universe vanishes . In and through the Self all knowledge comes .

Therefore it is the best known of all . It is yourself , that which you call I . You may wonder how this I of me can be the I of you . You may wonder how this limited I can be the unlimited Infinite , but it is so . The limited is a mere fiction . The Infinite has been covered up , as it were , and a little of It is manifesting as the I . Limitation can never come upon the unlimited ; it is a fiction .

The Self is known , therefore , to every one of us — adult or child — and even to animals . Without knowing GOD we can neither live nor move , nor have our being ; without knowing this Lord of all , we cannot breathe or live a second . The GOD of the Vedanta is the most known of all and is not the outcome of imagination .

If this is not preaching a practical GOD , how else could you teach a practical GOD ? Where is there a more practical GOD than GOD whom I see before me — a GOD omnipresent , in every being , more real than our senses ? For you are GOD , the Omnipresent GOD Almighty , the Soul of your souls , and if I say you are not , I tell an untruth . I know it , whether at all times I realise it or not . GOD is the Oneness , the Unity of all , the Reality of all life and all existence .

These ideas of the ethics of Vedanta have to be worked out in detail , and , therefore , you must have patience . As I have told you , we want to take the subject in detail and work it up thoroughly , to see how the ideas grow from very low ideals , and how the one great Ideal of oneness has developed and become shaped into the universal love ; and we ought to study these in order to avoid dangers . The world cannot find time to work it up from the lowest steps . But what is the use of our standing on higher steps if we cannot give the truth to others coming afterwards ?

Therefore , it is better to study it in all its workings ; and first , it is absolutely necessary to clear the intellectual portion , although we know that intellectuality is almost nothing ; for it is the heart that is of most importance .

It is through the heart that the Lord is seen , and not through the intellect . The intellect is only the street cleaner , cleansing the path for us , a secondary worker , the police officer ; but the police officer is not a positive necessity for the workings of society . The police officer is only to stop disturbances , to check wrong-doing , and that is all the work required of the intellect .

When you read intellectual books , you think when you have mastered them , " Bless the Lord that I am out of them " , because the intellect is blind and cannot move of itself , it has neither hands nor feet . It is feeling that works , that moves with speed infinitely superior to that of electricity or anything else .

Do you feel ? — that is the question . If you do , you will see the Lord : It is the feeling that you have today that will be intensified , deified , raised to the highest platform , until it feels everything , the oneness in everything , till it feels GOD in itself and in others . The intellect can never do that .

" Different methods of speaking words , different methods of explaining the texts of books , these are for the enjoyment of the learned , not for the salvation of the soul " ( Vivekachudamani 58 ) .

Those of you who have read Thomas a Kempis know how in every page there is insistence on this , and almost every holy person in the world has insisted on it . Intellect is necessary , for without it we fall into crude errors and make all sorts of mistakes . Intellect checks these ; but beyond that , do not try to build anything upon it . It is an inactive , secondary help ; the real help is feeling , love .

Do you feel for others ? If you do , you are growing in oneness . If you do not feel for others , you may be the most intellectual giant ever born , but you will be nothing ; you are but dry intellect , and you will remain so . And if you feel , even if you cannot read any book and do not know any language , you are in the right way . The Lord is yours .

Do you not know from the history of the world where the power of the prophets lay ? Where was it ? In the intellect ? Did any of them write a fine book on philosophy , on the most intricate ratiocinations of logic ? Not one of them . They only spoke a few words .

Feel like Christ and you will be a Christ ; feel like Buddha and you will be a Buddha . It is feeling that is the life , the strength , the vitality , without which no amount of intellectual activity can reach GOD . Intellect is like limbs without the power of locomotion . It is only when feeling enters and gives them motion that they move and work on others .

That is so all over the world , and it is a thing which you must always remember . It is one of the most practical things in Vedantic morality , for it is the teaching of the Vedanta that you are all prophets , and all must be prophets .

The book is not the proof of your conduct , but you are the proof of the book . How do you know that a book teaches truth ? Because you are truth and feel it . That is what the Vedanta says . What is the proof of the Christs and Buddhas of the world ? That you and I feel like them . That is how you and I understand that they were true . Our prophet-soul is the proof of their prophet-soul .

Your GODhead is the proof of GOD Itself . If you are not a prophet , there never has been anything true of GOD . If you are not GOD , there never was any GOD , and never will be .

This , says the Vedanta , is the ideal to follow . Every one of us will have to become a prophet , and you are that already . Only know it . Never think there is anything impossible for the soul . It is the greatest heresy to think so . If there is sin , this is the only sin — to say that you are weak , or others are weak .