A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

"IMMORTALITY.HAT question has been asked a greater number oftimes ;what idea has sent men more to search theuniverse for an answer, what question is nearerand dearer to the human heart, what question is moreinseparably connected with our existence, than this one,the immortality of the human soul ? It has been the themeof poets, and of sages, of priests and of prophets ; kings onthe throne have discussed it, beggarsin the street havedreamt of it.The best of human kind have approached it,and the worst of human kind have always hoped for it.The interest in the theme has not died yet, nor will it die,as human nature exists. Various answers haveso longbeen presented to the world by various minds. Thousands,again, in every period of history have given up the discussion, and yet the question remains fresh as ever.Manytimes in the turmoils and struggles of our lives we seem toforget the question, all of a sudden, some one dies ; one,perhaps, whom we loved, one near and clear to our heart, issnatched away from us. The struggle, the din and Jburmoilof the world around us, cease for a moment, become silent,and the soul asks the old question, What after this ? rWhat becomes of the soul ? All human knowledge proceedsout of experience ;we cannot know anything except byexperience. All our reasoning is based upon generalisedexperience, all our knowledge is but a sort of harmonisedexperience. Looking around us, what do we find ? Acontinuous change. The plant comes out of the seed, and