A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

MAYA AND ILLUSION. 161of misery What is the use ? The answer is, in the firstplace, that you have got to work in the way of lesseningmisery, for that is the only way to make yourselves happy.one of us finds it out sooner or later in our lives.EveryThe bright ones find it out a little earlier, and the dull onesa little later. The dull ones pay very dearly for the discovery and the bright ones less dearly. In the secondwe know there never willplace, apart from that, althoughcome a time when this Universe will be full of happinessand without misery, still this is the work to be done ;although misery increases, still, let us do our part at thesame time. Both these forces will make the Universe liveuntil there comes a time when we awake from our dreamsand give, up this building of mud-pies, which we are doingall the time, for it is true that it is only a building of mudpies.That one lesson we shall have to learn. It will takea long, long time for us to learn. The Yedanta says theInfinite has become the Finite. Attempts have been madein Germany to build a system of philosophy on such abasis. Such attempts are made even in England now, butthe analysis of the position of these philosophers is this,that the Infinite is trying to express itself in this Universe.Very good, and therefore there must come a time when theInfinite will succeed in expressing itself. As such theabsolute state is a lower state than the manifested, becausein the manifested state the absolute expresses itself, andwe are to help this expression more and more, until theInfinite on that side empties itself out on this side. It is verynice, and we have used the words infinite and manifestationand expression, and so on, but philosophers naturally askfor a logical fundamental basis that the FiniteInfinite, that one can be twenty millions, say.can be theThe Absolute and the Infinite become this Universe under limita-11