SWAMI LAKSHMIDHARANANDA
SWAMI LAKSHMIDHARANANDA is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order. Presently he is the Editor of Vedanta Kesari magazine published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, India
‘Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes. It is liberty to be affected by nothing; do not merely endure, be unattached,’1 was Swami Vivekananda’s dictum to sincere spiritual seekers. Does this imply that we should behave like inert beings, devoid of all judgements, and not ‘seek’ what is worthwhile and ‘avoid’ what is worthless? Far from it. Does this imply that a family man does not have to ‘seek’ to make a living or ‘avoid’ adverse circumstances for the welfare of his family? Not at all. Does this imply that someone need not ‘seek’ to be honest and ‘avoid’ dishonesty? Of course not. Does this imply that someone who lacks the ability to drive a car not ‘avoid’ driving the car when called for? Surely, he or she would lead himself or herself and others in the car to disaster! It is irresponsible not to abstain from doing what one is incapable of accomplishing. What then does this dictum imply?
This dictum of Swami Vivekananda has nothing to do with sustenance, aptitude, or moral evaluations. It is about handling emotional cravings and egoistic clingings that every sincere spiritual seeker must carefully transcend. It implies dealing with concretised habits and mental fixations that continue to dominate the way we lead our lives. Fixations tend to hinder our inner energies because they are involuntary and repetitive, and fail to really connect our being with what we do. We continue to do what we do out of sheer emotional habit, driven by a semi-conscious, passionate mind. And we avoid doing certain things though they may be of immense value to our lives. Our preconceived notions of what is ‘desirable’ and ‘undesirable’ bind us to rigid conceptualisations, forcing us to be selective in our lives and work. We do not demarcate between the ‘desirable’ and the ‘undesirable’ with a clear mind. To a large extent, because of our personal likes and dislikes we confuse our notion about things for the experience of the things themselves. We continue to be swayed between the feeling of pleasantness of ‘desired work’ and the feeling of unpleasantness of ‘undesired work’. Seeking fulfilment only through a particular kind of work is a mental limitation, because it constricts our potential and ability to progress. As a consequence, we are bound to be frustrated and depressed when we are deprived of doing what we like and are compelled to do what we dislike. This, however, cannot lead to the equanimity that allows us to meet every kind of experience with a strength of determination and a softness of flexibility. Without this equanimity, we are a long way from true contentment and real peace.
Moreover, society does not value every work equally. It lauds some and demeans others. Swayed by societal opinions, we too tend to build a false self-image by seeking to do some work and avoiding others. We then begin to live a false life, working only out of perceived social pressure. But that leads to disintegration in our personalities, and we become inauthentic. Our work becomes mechanical, not creative. For, creativity springs from the depths of our integrated being. Evading reality can never make us happy. It only creates conflict and frustration.
There may be various reasons why we avoid taking up something. We may fear sheer physical fatigue—that it may drain our energies and leave us depleted. We tend to forget that the very act of working with a free mind rejuvenates us and fills us with a sense of well-being. For the fear of the unknown and the loss of our comfort zone, we may prefer to stick to what we are ‘used to’ and justify that we can only do what we are ‘capable of’. This self-deception can never lead to self-fulfilment. Fear is an indication that our minds are resisting entering a new domain, leaving behind the familiar for something unfamiliar, something larger than the world we usually experience. If we cannot transcend our fear of unfamiliar domains of this world, how are we going to transcend this world itself and enter the realm of the Spirit?
The only way to liberate ourselves from these conditionings is through the practice of ‘neither seek nor avoid’, as advised by Swami Vivekananda. This practice expands our awareness, deconditions us, and enables us to accept whatever unfolds without attachment to the pleasant nor aversion to the unpleasant, born of our own emotional and egoistic constrictions. If we can experience the flow of life without grasping or condemning, we are on our way to enlightenment and freedom.
The practice of this ‘karma sankalpa tyaga’ makes us open-minded to accepting whatever comes our way. Openness liberates us from rigid choices and concretised habits. Far from turning into inert beings, as some fear, we enhance our self-awareness because our minds are no longer distracted by the emotional dualities which have been throwing us out of balance all these years. We become aware of our true motives and perceive things with an unprejudiced mind. This helps us attenuate the influence of our egoistic clingings on our lives. Being rooted in this self-awareness is what karma yoga calls as having a ‘witness attitude’. We merely witness the excitements of our minds and the anxieties of our egos as the play of Nature, without getting influenced, dominated, or enslaved by them. Self-awareness connects us with our inner being. We start feeling a sense of wholeness, of being total, and are fully present in the given work. We feel one with the work, whatever that work may be. ‘Even the greatest fool can accomplish a task if it be after his heart. But the intelligent man is he who can convert every work into one that suits his taste,’2 as Swami Vivekananda says. He wanted all work, physical or mental, to be done with equal ease and efficiency. That is the significance of his instruction: ‘You must be prepared to go into deep meditation now, and the next moment you must be ready to go and cultivate these fields. You must be prepared to explain the difficult intricacies of the Shastras now, and the next moment to go and sell the produce of the fields in the market.’3 The attitude of ‘neither seek nor avoid’ accomplishes this training of the mind. It leads to a state of consciousness that is unaffected by external conditions and internal impulses. We would no longer do any work for personal excitement or social approval, but rather because it would be the best thing to do in the given circumstances.
Openness to work is openness to all aspects of life itself, for is not life a constant activity? Openness to life expands our consciousness, and we become connected with others, not by the egoistic self-assertion of preferences and aversions but through love and sympathy on an impersonal plane. Since we do not seek anything or fear losing anything, we allow the experience of life to unfold itself. We begin to love all equally and unconditionally.
Swami Vivekananda powerfully asserted: ‘Teach yourselves, teach every one his real nature, call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, good will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity.’4 The ‘sleeping soul’ is roused to ‘self-conscious activity’ through self-awareness and working with the mind free from the duality of ‘seeking’ and ‘avoiding’. Creative energies stream forth spontaneously in such free minds. And excellence in everything is the natural consequence of such awakening.
With the continued practice of this attitude, we stop worrying about what is good and bad for us and allow the Divine to guide our lives. We achieve true self-surrender to the Divine. The ‘individual will’ gets liberated from emotions and ideations and becomes a part of the ‘Cosmic Will’. Realising that it is the Cosmic Will that propels all work, we cease to regard ourselves as ego-centric agents. Life now stands fully consecrated to the Cosmic Will. The mind becomes the pure conduit of the Cosmic Power. The body functions as an instrument of the Cosmic Action. All egoistic conditioning breaks down completely, and we fully participate in the Cosmic Sacrifice. The work we do is perfect because it is now according to the Cosmic Rhythm. All the complexities of the mind and the struggles of the ego fall off. Complete detachment is achieved, as Swami Vivekananda wanted. The inherent bliss manifests, because our lives are in tune with the Divine. We become divine and free.
Courtesy: Vedanta Kesari
References: 1) CW, 7.14 2) CW, 7.508 3) CW, 3.447 4) CW, 3.193
‘Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes. It is liberty to be affected by nothing; do not merely endure, be unattached,’1 was Swami Vivekananda’s dictum to sincere spiritual seekers. Does this imply that we should behave like inert beings, devoid of all judgements, and not ‘seek’ what is worthwhile and ‘avoid’ what is worthless? Far from it. Does this imply that a family man does not have to ‘seek’ to make a living or ‘avoid’ adverse circumstances for the welfare of his family? Not at all. Does this imply that someone need not ‘seek’ to be honest and ‘avoid’ dishonesty? Of course not. Does this imply that someone who lacks the ability to drive a car not ‘avoid’ driving the car when called for? Surely, he or she would lead himself or herself and others in the car to disaster! It is irresponsible not to abstain from doing what one is incapable of accomplishing. What then does this dictum imply?
This dictum of Swami Vivekananda has nothing to do with sustenance, aptitude, or moral evaluations. It is about handling emotional cravings and egoistic clingings that every sincere spiritual seeker must carefully transcend. It implies dealing with concretised habits and mental fixations that continue to dominate the way we lead our lives. Fixations tend to hinder our inner energies because they are involuntary and repetitive, and fail to really connect our being with what we do. We continue to do what we do out of sheer emotional habit, driven by a semi-conscious, passionate mind. And we avoid doing certain things though they may be of immense value to our lives. Our preconceived notions of what is ‘desirable’ and ‘undesirable’ bind us to rigid conceptualisations, forcing us to be selective in our lives and work. We do not demarcate between the ‘desirable’ and the ‘undesirable’ with a clear mind. To a large extent, because of our personal likes and dislikes we confuse our notion about things for the experience of the things themselves. We continue to be swayed between the feeling of pleasantness of ‘desired work’ and the feeling of unpleasantness of ‘undesired work’. Seeking fulfilment only through a particular kind of work is a mental limitation, because it constricts our potential and ability to progress. As a consequence, we are bound to be frustrated and depressed when we are deprived of doing what we like and are compelled to do what we dislike. This, however, cannot lead to the equanimity that allows us to meet every kind of experience with a strength of determination and a softness of flexibility. Without this equanimity, we are a long way from true contentment and real peace.
Moreover, society does not value every work equally. It lauds some and demeans others. Swayed by societal opinions, we too tend to build a false self-image by seeking to do some work and avoiding others. We then begin to live a false life, working only out of perceived social pressure. But that leads to disintegration in our personalities, and we become inauthentic. Our work becomes mechanical, not creative. For, creativity springs from the depths of our integrated being. Evading reality can never make us happy. It only creates conflict and frustration.
There may be various reasons why we avoid taking up something. We may fear sheer physical fatigue—that it may drain our energies and leave us depleted. We tend to forget that the very act of working with a free mind rejuvenates us and fills us with a sense of well-being. For the fear of the unknown and the loss of our comfort zone, we may prefer to stick to what we are ‘used to’ and justify that we can only do what we are ‘capable of’. This self-deception can never lead to self-fulfilment. Fear is an indication that our minds are resisting entering a new domain, leaving behind the familiar for something unfamiliar, something larger than the world we usually experience. If we cannot transcend our fear of unfamiliar domains of this world, how are we going to transcend this world itself and enter the realm of the Spirit?
The only way to liberate ourselves from these conditionings is through the practice of ‘neither seek nor avoid’, as advised by Swami Vivekananda. This practice expands our awareness, deconditions us, and enables us to accept whatever unfolds without attachment to the pleasant nor aversion to the unpleasant, born of our own emotional and egoistic constrictions. If we can experience the flow of life without grasping or condemning, we are on our way to enlightenment and freedom.
The practice of this ‘karma sankalpa tyaga’ makes us open-minded to accepting whatever comes our way. Openness liberates us from rigid choices and concretised habits. Far from turning into inert beings, as some fear, we enhance our self-awareness because our minds are no longer distracted by the emotional dualities which have been throwing us out of balance all these years. We become aware of our true motives and perceive things with an unprejudiced mind. This helps us attenuate the influence of our egoistic clingings on our lives. Being rooted in this self-awareness is what karma yoga calls as having a ‘witness attitude’. We merely witness the excitements of our minds and the anxieties of our egos as the play of Nature, without getting influenced, dominated, or enslaved by them. Self-awareness connects us with our inner being. We start feeling a sense of wholeness, of being total, and are fully present in the given work. We feel one with the work, whatever that work may be. ‘Even the greatest fool can accomplish a task if it be after his heart. But the intelligent man is he who can convert every work into one that suits his taste,’2 as Swami Vivekananda says. He wanted all work, physical or mental, to be done with equal ease and efficiency. That is the significance of his instruction: ‘You must be prepared to go into deep meditation now, and the next moment you must be ready to go and cultivate these fields. You must be prepared to explain the difficult intricacies of the Shastras now, and the next moment to go and sell the produce of the fields in the market.’3 The attitude of ‘neither seek nor avoid’ accomplishes this training of the mind. It leads to a state of consciousness that is unaffected by external conditions and internal impulses. We would no longer do any work for personal excitement or social approval, but rather because it would be the best thing to do in the given circumstances.
Openness to work is openness to all aspects of life itself, for is not life a constant activity? Openness to life expands our consciousness, and we become connected with others, not by the egoistic self-assertion of preferences and aversions but through love and sympathy on an impersonal plane. Since we do not seek anything or fear losing anything, we allow the experience of life to unfold itself. We begin to love all equally and unconditionally.
Swami Vivekananda powerfully asserted: ‘Teach yourselves, teach every one his real nature, call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, good will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity.’4 The ‘sleeping soul’ is roused to ‘self-conscious activity’ through self-awareness and working with the mind free from the duality of ‘seeking’ and ‘avoiding’. Creative energies stream forth spontaneously in such free minds. And excellence in everything is the natural consequence of such awakening.
With the continued practice of this attitude, we stop worrying about what is good and bad for us and allow the Divine to guide our lives. We achieve true self-surrender to the Divine. The ‘individual will’ gets liberated from emotions and ideations and becomes a part of the ‘Cosmic Will’. Realising that it is the Cosmic Will that propels all work, we cease to regard ourselves as ego-centric agents. Life now stands fully consecrated to the Cosmic Will. The mind becomes the pure conduit of the Cosmic Power. The body functions as an instrument of the Cosmic Action. All egoistic conditioning breaks down completely, and we fully participate in the Cosmic Sacrifice. The work we do is perfect because it is now according to the Cosmic Rhythm. All the complexities of the mind and the struggles of the ego fall off. Complete detachment is achieved, as Swami Vivekananda wanted. The inherent bliss manifests, because our lives are in tune with the Divine. We become divine and free.
Courtesy: Vedanta Kesari
References: 1) CW, 7.14 2) CW, 7.508 3) CW, 3.447 4) CW, 3.193