Unit 1

PROSE

The Secret of Work

Sa Vheinai
INTRODUCTION
Born Narendranzth Datta in Kokata Swamì Vìekananda (1S62-1902) was deeply
incined towards spiritual practies trom his hildhood He joined the Brahmo Samaj. a
liberal Hindu refomation movement. In 18S1,he became the disciple of Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa and recived enlightenment. As leader of the Ramakrishna Order, he trained
and inspired disciples for extensive misionan ork. He was India's representative at the
Parliament of Religons in Chicago in l893
The text given below is an extrat adapted from Swami Vivekananda's essay "The Secret
of Work. In it, he eiates the idea of work, refering to the Bhagavad Giti extensively as
he does so. He states that one must work without expecting rewards for one's labour, and
that this mindset can be devloped only when one loves one's work

TEXT

The miseries ofthe world cannot be cured byphysical help onl. Until man's nature changes,
and no amount of
his physical needs will always arise, and misttes will always be felt, problen is to make
physical help will remove them completely. The only solution of the we see. Let men have
mankind pure. Ignorance is the mother of evil and of all the misery will misery cease jn
then alone
ight, let thembe pure and spiritualy strong and educated; a charitable asylum, we may
into
the world. We may convert every house în the country until man's character changes,
fill the land with hospitals, but human misery will continue must all work incessantly. We
We read in the Bhagavad Gità again and again that we
somewhere; there cannot also be any work
cannot do any work which will not do some good work must necessarily be a mixture of
Every
which will not cause some harm somewhere.
are commanded to work incessantly. Good and evil willboth have
good and evil; yet we good
consequences. Good action will entailupon us good effect; bad action bad. But
their The solution reached in the Gitä in regard to this
and bad both forge fetters for the soul.
is that if we do not attach ourselves to it, it will not hold our
cramping influence of work
soul in bondage.
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2
attached to it. To
This is the one central idea in the Git; work incessantly, but be not
out entirely, but
use the simile of a lake for the mind, no ripple or wave that rises in it, dies mark, with
it leavesa mark and there is a possibility of that wave coming out again. This
Every work that we
the possibility of the wave reappearing, is what is called samskara.
leaves such an impression
do, every movement of the body, every thought that we think, surface, thev
on the mind-stuff, and even when the impressions are not obvious on the
work in the subconscious region of the brain. What we are is determined every moment
the
by the sum total of these impressions on the mind. What I am just at this moment, is
effect of the sum total of all the impressions of my past life. This is really what is meant
by character; each man's character is determined by the sum total of these impressions.
If good impressions prevail, the character becomes good; if bad, it becomes bad. If a man
continuously hears bad_words,thinks bad thoughts, does bad acts, his mind will be full of
bad impressions;and they will influence his thought and work without his being conscious
of the fact. These bad impressions will always be working, and their resultant must be evil,
and theman will be a bad man: he cannot help it. The sum total of these impressions in
him will create a strong motive power for doing bad acts. He will be like a machine in the
hands ofhis impressions, and they will force him to do evil. Similarly, if a man thinks good
thoughts and does good work, the sum total of their impressions will be good; and this, in a
similar manner, will force him to do good even in spite of himself. When a man has done so
much good work and thought so many good thoughts that there is an irresistible tendency
in him to do good in spite of himself and even if he wishes to do evil, his mind, as the sum
total of his tendencies, will not allow him to do so; these will hold him back. When such is
the case, the man's good character is said to be established.s
As the tortoise tucks its feet and head inside the shell and will not come out even though
you may break the shell into pieces, even so the character of the man who has control over
his motivesand organs, is unchangeably established. He controls his own inner forces, and
nothing can drawthem out against his will. By this continuous reflex of good thoughts and
good impressions moving over the surface of the mind, the tendency to do good becomes
strong, and in consequence we are able to control the indriyas (sense-organs, the nerve
centres). Thus alone is character formed, and onlya man of character can get at trutb. Such
a man is safe for ever; he cannot do any evil. You may place him in any comnpany, but there
will be no danger for him. There is a still higher statethan having this good tendency, and
desire forliberation. Liberation means full freedom--freedom from the bondage
that is the
of good, as well as from the bondage of evil,A golden chain is as mucha chain as an iron
one. There is a thorn in my finger, and I use another to take the first one out, and when 1
have taken it out, I throw both of them aside. I have no necessity for keeping the second
thorn, because it is a thorn after all. So bad tendencies are to be counteracted by good ones,
and bad impressions on the mind should be removed by the fresh waves ofgood ones, untu
all that is evil almost disappears, or is subdued and hel in control in a corner of the mind;
but after that the good tendencies also have to be removed. Thus the 'attached' becomes
the 'unattached'. Work, but let not the action orthe thought produce a deep impression on
yOur mind. Let the ripples come and ga let great actions proceexd from the nmuscles and the
raia, but let them not make any deep impression on the soul.
How can this be donet We see that the impression of every action to which we get
attached remains I may meet hundreds of persons during the day, and among them meet
aso one whom l love but when l retire at night and try to think of all the faces I saw, only
ne fàe omes before the mind's eye-the face whichl saw perhaps only fot one minute
and which l loved, all the others have vanished. Owing tomy attachment to a particular
Rrson, his tace caused a deeper inpression on my mind than those of the others But
phrsically, the impressions have all been the same.
Therefore, be unattached, let the brain-centres work: work incessantly, but let not the
mind be aftected. Work as ifyou were a stranger in this land, àsojourner, work incessantly.
hur do not bind yourselves; bondage is terrible.This world is not our habitation, it is only
one of the many stages through which we are passing.
The gist of this teachìng is that you should work like a master and not like a slave; work
incessanty, but do not do slave's work. Do you not see how everybody works? Nobody can
e altogether at rest; ninety-nine per cent of men work like slaves, and the result is miserys
it is all selish work. But work with freedom, inspired by love! There is no true love possible
in the slave. Ifyou buy a slave and tie him down in chains and make him work for you, he
will work like a drudge, but thervill be no love in him, So when we ourselves work for the
things of the world as slaves, there can be no love in us, and work is not true work. This is
true of work done for relatives and triends, and is true ot work done for ourselves. Seltish
work is slave's work and here is atest. Every act oflove brings happiness; there is no act of
love which doesnot bring peace and blesseness in its train. Real existence, real knowledge,
and ral love areeternally connected with one another, the thre in one; where one of thenm
second-the
is, the others also must be; they are the three aspects of the One without a
Exristence-Knowledge- Bliss whole
Krishna says Look at me, Arjuna! If Istop from work for one moment, the
universe will decay. I have nothing to gain from work I am the one Lord,love but why do I
loves rel makes us
work? Because I love the world.' God is unattached because He
unattached have reached this
To attain this unattachment isalmost a life's work, but as soon as weof nature falls from
point, we have attained the goal of love and become free; the bondage
us, and we see nature as she is
you have given them? It is
Do you ask anything of your children in return for what
whatever you do for a particular
your duty to work for them, and there the matter ends In
towards it as you have towards your
person, a city, ora state, assume the same attitude
children-epect nothing in return. If you can invariably
take the position ofa giver, in
return,
to the world, without any thought of return.
which everything given by you is a free offering comes only where we expect a
Four work will bring you no attachment. Attachment
working as masters ot our own mìnd
If working like slaves results in selfish attachment,
talk of right and justice, but we find that
gives rise to the bliss of non-attachment. We often
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mere baby's talk. There are two things which guide the
in this world right and justice are The exercise of might is invariably an act of selfishness.
conduct of men: might and mercy. whatever power or advantage they have.
Mercy
and women try to make the most of stand on
Al men merciful. Even justice and right should
all to be
is heavenly, to be good we have return for the work we do, hinders our spiritual progress:
mercy. All thought of obtaining way in which this idea of mercy and selfless
misery. There is another
nay, in the end it brings upon work as worship'. Here we give
charity can be put into practice; that is, by looking
worshipping Him thus, we have no right
up all the fruits of our work unto the Lord, and, The Lord Himself works incessantly and
to expect anything from mankind forwhat we do. leaf, so work cannot bind the
is ever without attachment. Just as water cannot wet the lotus unattached man may
unselfish man bygiving rise to attachment to results. The selfless and
live in the very heart of a crowded and sinful city, yet he will not be touched by sin.
GLOSSARY

misery: suffering (plural miseries)

asylum: a shelter from danger or hardship
Bhagavad Gitâ. Hindu scripture consisting of Lord Krishna's teachings to Arjuna
incessantly:. continually
forge: to make something for a specific function
fetter: a shackle; something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner
cramping: restricting
simile: afigure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds
prevail: to be superior or larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance
tendency: an inclination to do something; an attitude of mind that favours one alternative
over others
reflex: an involuntary reaction
counteract: to act against
subdue: to put down by force or authority; to hold within limits or control
sojourner: a temporary resident; a traveller who stays for a short time
gist: summary
drudge: a person who has to do unpleasant, monotonous work
train: a series of consequences of an action
invariably: without variation or change, in every case
baby's talk: meaningless words
COMPREHENSION
Answer the following questions in about 50-65 words each.
1. What is the nature of work? How should work be
2. Explain 'samskara'. How do good and bad actions
performed?
3. How is good character said to be
influence one's 'samskara'?
established?
4. Discuss Swami Vivekananda's idea of
5. Explain what is meant by attachment' briefly and in your own words.
working like a master' and not as a slave.