In silence, in deep silence, in breathless silence, I am offering my gratitude to the mighty lion-soul of Swami Vivekananda, to his Master, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, and also to his Mother, his Divine Mother Absolute, Mother Kali.
VK 1. 19 May 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.↩
VK 2. 21 May 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.↩
VK 3. 23 May 1993, David A. Stein Junior High School, Bronx, New York.↩
VK 4. 26 May 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.↩
VK 5. 28 May 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.↩
VK 6. 29 May 1993, Riverdale Dance Theater, Bronx, New York.↩
VK 7. 2 June 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.↩
VK 8. 4 June 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.↩
VK 9. 5 June 1993, First Unitarian Church, Brooklyn, New York.↩
11 June 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.↩
VK 11. 16 June 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.↩
VK 12. 18 June 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.↩
VK 13. 19 June 1993, James J. Reynolds Jr. High School Brooklyn, New York.↩
VK 14. 25 June 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.↩
VK 15. 26 June 1993, Paul Robeson Theater, Brooklyn, New York.↩
VK 16. 30 June 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.↩
VK 17. 8 July 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
VK 18. 11 July 1993, Buchman Hall, New York, New York.↩
VK 19. 14 July 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
VK 20. 17 July 1993, St. Peter's Church, New York, New York.↩
VK 21. 21 July 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
VK 22. 23 July 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
VK 23. 24 July 1993, Public School 158, New York, New York.↩
VK 24. 28 July 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
VK 25. 30 July 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
VK 26. 31 July 1993, Christ and St. Stephen's Church, New York, New York.↩
VK 27. 4 August 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
VK 28. 7 August 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
VK 29. 10 August 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
VK 30. 11 August 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
VK 31. 20 August 1993, Julia Richman High School, New York, New York.↩
VK 32. 29 August 1993, State Ballroom, Palmer House Hotel, Chicago. This Peace Concert was offered as part of the proceedings of the Parliament of the World's Religions, held in Chicago from 28 August through 4 September 1993.↩
VK 33. 31 August 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York. The first edition published "Today's Peace Concert I am lovingly and soulfully offering to Swami Vivekananda, who came from the Heart of the Transcendental God and who served the Universal God." This has been replaced with the audio transcription above.↩
VK 34. 1 September 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
VK 35. 5 September 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
To his American brothers and sisters he said: “My American brothers and sisters, peace you need, peace.”
And to himself he said: “Grace I need from Above, Grace, to fulfil my God-ordained mission on earth.”
VK 36. 8 September 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York.↩
VK 37. 11 September 1993, Aspiration-Ground, Queens, New York. This Peace Concert was offered on the same day that Swami Vivekananda addressed the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago for the first time one hundred years ago — 11 September 1893.↩
> Vivekananda practised in his life the twin objectives of salvation for oneself and the welfare of the world: Atmanomokshaya and Jagadhitaryacha. He was as much concerned with the betterment of the world as with individual liberation. All the pages of his immortal writings breathe this twin purpose, justifying his reputation as the patriot-saint of India. A pioneer of Indian renaissance, he raised our religion to a pedestal of worshipful dignity.
VK 38. 16 September 1993, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, USA, New York, New York.↩
The City of Chicago, in spite of the many various good qualities that it embodies, would have been known only as a city of unpredictable weather! But for Chicago to become the cynosure of all major religions would have been an impossible task.
From the spiritual point of view, let us take Chicago as the aspiring humanity’s heart-flower, and Vivekananda as the illumining Divinity’s Soul-Fragrance.
May Chicago the temple and Vivekananda the shrine inseparably and supremely inspire and guide the Religion of all religions: man, and bring down the Vision of the Transcendent God and raise the Dedication of the Immanent God to transform humanity’s earth-bound cries and Divinity’s Heaven-free Smiles.
VK 39. 18 September 1993, Rosemont Horizon, Chicago↩
Uttisthata jagrata prapya varan nibodhata
Ksurasya dhara nisita duratyayaDurgam pathas tat kavayo vadanti41
```“Arise! Awake!” — this was Vivekananda’s choice motto.
“Arise! Awake!” — Uttisthata jagrata. Each human being must needs have this message supreme imprinted on the tablet of his aspiring heart.
“Arise! Awake!” If you want to follow the path of spirituality, then you must realise that this is a difficult path to walk along. “It is as sharp as the edge of a razor.” Hard, extremely hard it is to walk along this path, but again, we have learned from the sages of the hoary past that the Knowledge supreme that we are going to attain is not for the weakling; it is for the inner hero supreme. Even the soul that is our God-representative on earth cannot be won by the weakling.
Nayam atma bala hinena labhya — “The soul cannot be won by the weakling.” What do we mean by this? To win the soul means to listen to the dictates of the soul. Only he who is brave can abide by the dictates of his soul. The soul is the only reality that we have and that we are. Each time we ignore the dictates of our soul either consciously or unconsciously, we indefinitely delay our spiritual progress.
You may ask, “How can we know the dictates of our soul?” You can! There is a very simple way, an easier than the easiest way: It is by virtue of your heart’s cry. If you cry and pray to your Inner Pilot, the Lord Supreme, to illumine you, to liberate you from your ignorance-cherishing mind, then the heart can easily convey the message of your soul to you.
There are many truth-seekers and God-lovers who believe in God, but who find it difficult to believe in their souls. But if you believe in the ocean, which is God, then how can you fail to believe in the countless drops, waves and surges of the ocean, which are our souls?
Unfortunately, there are some seekers who do not want to believe in the existence of their souls because they are afraid of their soul’s operation in and through them. They feel so often they are committing Himalayan blunders. If the soul does exist, then perhaps the soul is extremely displeased with them and the soul, like the human mother, the physical mother, can reprimand the naughty children. But little do the children care to know that it is the supreme task of the mother to make her children perfect.
It is the bounden duty of the soul to make our body, vital, mind and heart perfect. The soul is our inner tutor. This tutor is all eagerness to help us learn the inner language, study the inner subject and grow into the infinite effulgence of Light and Delight. We must not only believe in the existence of the soul, but we must and must abide by the dictates of the soul and most ardently aspire to please the soul.
The soul is the guide. We definitely need the guide to lead us, guide us and take us to our Goal supreme.
I am making a fervent request to all of you to dive deep within every day in order to feel the presence of your soul. To please your soul is infinitely more difficult than to please the Absolute Supreme. The Absolute Supreme has His infinite Compassion and He can wait throughout Eternity for you if you are delaying your progress. But your soul, the real reality within you, knows that the sooner you reach your Goal the better, for a new beginning, a new, illumining, more illumining and most illumining beginning is awaiting your arrival.
As I always say, today’s goal is tomorrow’s starting point. We are all seekers — God-seekers and God-lovers. Let us have implicit faith in our soul, the God-representative within us. Let us try to abide by the dictates of our soul, for if we cannot please our primary school teacher, then we will never be able to proceed to high school, college and university.
VK 40. 19 May 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.
↩VK 40. Uttisthata jagrata prapya varan nibodhata... A Sanskrit mantra from the Upanishads. The translation is: “Arise, awake, realise and achieve the Highest with the help of the illumining, guiding and fulfilling Masters. The path is as sharp as the edge of a razor, difficult to cross, hard to tread — so declare the wise sages.”↩
VK 41. 2 June 1993, Public School 86, Queens, New York.↩
Sri Ramakrishna heard the song from his beloved Naren for the first time. Later on, many, many times Naren sang this song to please his Master. This particular song in the spiritual world, in the inner world, especially in the heart of Bengal, has become immortal. It has touched the very breath, if not of the Indian, then of the Bengali heart.
Originally the mind came from the high, higher, highest Source. In this song, the first line begins, “O my mind, go back to your own highest realm, to your own Source. In this foreign world do not roam. O my mind, let us go back, you and I, to the Source.”
In India I heard this song many, many times, and it inspired me to a great extent. About six or seven years ago I heard it for the first time from the wife of Dr. Jayaraman-ji, our dearest sister Tulsi-ben. Physically she is no longer with us, but spiritually she is. She sang this song at my request, and her prayerful heart and soulful voice gave my heart tremendous delight and a divine sense of satisfaction.
Naren inspired his Master to such an extent that the Master entered into his deep, deeper, deepest trance. As you all know, my Master is my Lord Beloved Supreme, and those who are in my boat, my students, also have the same Master, our Lord Beloved Supreme. My song may not or will not or cannot inspire my Master to enter into His Trance, but I can do something else. I can most prayerfully and most devotedly place the light and delight of this song at the Feet of my Lord Beloved Supreme, and I am making a special request to my students to do the same while I am singing this song.
VK 42. 11 July 1993, Buchman Hall, New York, New York.↩
I searched and searched
For my soul.At last I found my soul in
the Flute of Krishna.I searched and searched
For my heart.At last I found my heart in
the Cross of Christ.I searched and searched
For my mind.At last I found my mind in
the Meditation of Buddha.I searched and searched
For my vital.At last I found my vital in
the Life of Vivekananda.I searched and searched
For my body.At last I found my body on
the Lap of the Supreme.
43. From The Dance of life poetry series Part V, 1973.↩
From:Sri Chinmoy,Vivekananda: Divinity's Soul-Rainbow and humanity's heart-blossom, Agni Press, 1993
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/vk