A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

""MeVEDANTA IN INDIAN LIFE. 419their own countrymen? How many of you can do that ;just think of that : and why cannot you do that ? Is itthat j you do not know it Yo ? know more than they, thatiswhy it is ; you are more wise than is good for you, thatisyour difficulty ! It is all because your blood is only a,pint of tar, your brain is sloughing, your body is weak !Change the body, it must be changed. Physical weaknessis the caoe and nothing else. You talk of reforms, ofideals and aft these for the last 100 years and when itcomes to practice, you are not to be found anywhere ;sothat you have disgusted the whole world and the veryname of Reform is a thing of ridicule to the whole world !What is the cause ? Is it that you do not know ? Youknow too much. The only cause isyou are weak, weak,weak, your body is weak, your-fciind is weak ! You haveno faith in yourselves! Centuries and centuries, thousandyears of crushing tyranny of castes and kings and foreigners and your own people, have taken out all strengthfrom you, my brethren ! Like the trodden down andbroken, backboneless worms you are !Who will give us strength ? Let me tell you, strength,strength, is what we want. And the first step in gettingstrength is to uphold the Upanishads and believe that411 am the soul [Here the Swami repeated a Sanskritquotation, which he translatad tnus] the sword cannot cut ;Me no instruments pierce ;Me the fire cannotburn ;Me the air cannot dry ;I am the Omnipotent, I amthe Omniscient." So repeat these blessed saving words.Do not say we are weak, we can do anything and everything. What can we not do, every thing can be done byus ;we have the same glorious soul in every one and let usbelieve in it. Have faith as Nachiketa ;at the time ofhis father s sacrifice, faith come unto Nachiketa ; aye, I