A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

"270 THE COSMOS: THE MICROCOSM.that have been made in our past, with which the mindhas come to inhabit the new body.I, as I stand here, am the effect, the result, of all theinfinite past which is tacked on to me. And whynecessary for me to remember all the past ? And yetthe power of superstition that these very men willis itsuch isbelievethey have at one time been monkeys, at another lemurs,but they dare not ask why do we not remember our monkeybirth.When a great ancient sage, a great ancient seer,who came face to face with the truth, a pnophetof old, sayssomething, these modern men stand up and say Oh, hewas a fool !" But just use another name ; Huxley says it,or Tyndall then it must be true, and they take it for;granted. In place of ancient superstitions they have erectedmodern superstitions, in place of old popes of religion, theyhave installed modern popes of science. So, we see thatthis objection as to memory is not valid, and that is aboutthe only serious objection that is raised against this theory.Although we have seen that it is not necessary for thetheory to prove there shall be memory, at the same time,we are in a position to assert that there are instances inthis world where this memory comes, and that each oneof you, in that life in which you will become free, will getback this memory, and that alone will make you free. Thenalone you will find that this world is but a dream ;thenalone you will really find, realize in the soul of your soulthat you are but actors and the world the stage, then alonewill the idea of non -attachment come to you with power ofthunder, then all this thirst for enjoyment, this clinging onto life, this world, will vanish for ever ;then the mind willsee clearly as daylight how many times this existed for you,how many millions of times you had fathers and mothers,sons and daughters, husbands and wives, relatives and