A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

""THE REAL AND THE APPARENT MAN. 211to this apparent individuality, that veryman will tell youthat extreme &elf -abnegation is the centre of all morality ;and what is perfect self-abnegation ? What remains ?Self-abnegation means the abnegation of this apparent"self, the abnegation of all selfishness. This idea of me"and mine ahankara and mama, is the result of pastsuperstition, and the more this present self rolls away, themore the Real Self becomes manifest in its full glory. Thisis realself-abnegation, the centre, the basis, the gist of allmoral teaching, and whether men know it or not, the wholeworld is slowly going towards that, practising that more orless. Only the vast majority of mankind do it unconsciously. Let them do it consciously. Let them make thesacrifice knowing that this is not the real self ;this isnothing but limitation. One glimpse of that infinitereality which is behind, one spark of that infinite fire thatis the All, represents the present man, but that Infinite ishis true nature.What is the utility, the effect, the result of this knowledge ? In these days we have to measure everything byutility.That is to say generally, by how many pounds,What right has a personshillings and pence it represents.to ask that truth should be judged by the standard of utility or money ? Suppose there is no utility, will it be lesstruth ? Utility is not the test of truth. Nevertheless,there is the highest utility in this. Happiness, we see, iswhat everyone is seeking for but the; majority seek it inthings which are evanescent, and which are not real. Nohappiness was ever found in the senses. There never wasa person who found happiness in the senses, or in enjoyments of the senses.Happiness is only found in the spirit.Therefore the highest utility to mankind is to find thishappiness in the spirit.The next point is, that ignorance