A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

IUNITY IN DIVERSITY. 235is awake in the internal man, alone is in finite, and seekfor the infinite cause of this whole Universe we must gothere, and in the infinite soul alone we can find it." Whatis there that is here, and what is here that is there. He whosees the manifold isgoing from death to death." Wehave seen how at first there was the desire to go to heaven.When these ancient Aryans became dissatisfied with theworld around them, naturally, they thoilght that after deaththey would go to some placewhere there would be allhappiness without any miseries ;these places they multiplied and called Svargas the word may be translated asheavens where there would be joy for ever, the bodywould become perfect, and also the mind, and there theywould live with their forefathers. But as soon as philosophy came, men found it was simply impossible and absurd.The very idea of an infinite in place would be a contradiction in terms. A place must begin and is in time, therefore,they had to give that up. They found out that the godswho lived in these heavens had once been human beingshere, and through their good works, or something else hadbecome gods, and the godhoods, as they called them, weredifferent states, different positions none of the ;gods spokenof in the Yedas are permanent individuals.For instance, Indra and Varuna are not the names ofcertain persons,but the names of places, governors and so on.The Indra who had been before is not the same person asthe Indra of the present day, according to them ;he haspassed away, and another man from here has gone up andfilled the place of Indra. So with all the gods. They arecertain positions, which are filled successively by humansouls, who have raised themselves to the position of gods,and yet even they die. In the old Rig Yecla we find theword immortality used with regard to these gods, but later