A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

""""For"CHRIST, THE MESSENGER. 485renunciation, Now make the spirit pure. Renunciation !Givdlup aft that thou hast and follow me,"he said toNicodemus. JSTicodemus fled. He dared not give up. Weare all more or less like that. The voice is going on dayar>^ .night. In the midst of our pleasures and joys, in themidst of worldly things, we think that we have forgotteneverything else. There is the pause of a moment and thevoice rjngs in tjie ear Give :upall that thou feast andfollow me.him that giveth up this life, he findethlife immortal."yieThere it is. In the midst of all ourweakness there is a momejnt of pause and the voice rings :Give up all that thou hast ; give it to the poor and followme. L This is the one ideal he preaches, and this has beenthe weal preached byall the great; prophets of the world :renounce. What is meant by this renunciatiorr-^"1* Thereis only one ideal in :morality unselfishness. Be selfless.The ideal is perfect unselfishness. When a man is struckon the right cheek, he turns to the striker the left also.When a man carries off another s coat, the other gives awayhis cloak also.But we work as best as we can, without dragging theideal down. Let us confess that here is the ideal : whena man has no more self, no possessions, nothing to call "meor mine," given up entirely himself, destroyed himself, heis nothing, and he is not himself,in that man is GodHimself ;for the self-will is gone, crushed out, annihilated.That is the ideal man. We cannot reach that yet:yet,let us worship the ideal ;and slowly, with faltering stepsit may be, struggle to reach the ideal. May be to-morrow,may be a thousand years hence, but that ideal has to bereached. For it is not only the means, but it is the end*It is salvation itself to be unselfish, perfectly selfless, forthe man dies, and God alone remains.r