Vivekananda Way

issue 10 Issue 18

This is the sixth issue in the 9-part series on Swami Vivekananda's message to the youth. For previous issues refer Vedanta Kesari: January � May 2019

IN THIS ISSUE: Message 6

ISSUE 18: MESSAGE 6: Be bold and fearless

ISSUE 19: MESSAGE 7: Expand your heart

ISSUE 20: MESSAGE 8: Be open to learning from anyone

ISSUE 21: MESSAGE 9: Develop a gigantic will

Be bold and fearless

In this issue we explore Swami Vivekananda's message of fearlessness.

Time and again he tells us that fearlessness is true religion:

If you read the Vedas, you will find this word always repeated — fearlessness — fear nothing CW:I.47.2 “

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However, it is important to recognize what can happen to us if we get trapped by our fears and how we can overcome them to become bold and fearless...

Are you often caged by fear in your education & career? From the examples given below choose whichever is applicable to you:

Fear of discomfort

Priya gets a job offer to work in a company where she always wanted to. But the company wants her to join the team at another city. Priya's thinking...

Even though this offer is extremely good, I don’t want to take up a job so far away from my hometown. Going to a new place would mean too many of adjustments, managing things on my own, leaving behind my friends that I grew up with. I'd rather stay where I am.

When we fear discomfort it prevents us from expanding ourselves or building ourselves in terms of our knowledge, capacities, skills, etc.

Ask yourself: Can I consciously step out of my comfort zone and face new challenges and situations?

Fear of loss

Bhargav, a young professional has been given an opportunity to take up a challenging job in an emerging field. This would give him a lot of opportunities to challenge himself and grow rapidly in the new field. But...

This is risky!

Right now I have a well-paying stable job and I'm used to a certain kind of lifestyle.What if something goes wrong and I lose all this? Better to let go of this opportunity!!

When we fear loss, we shut new possibilities for ourselves, in terms of our career, our personal growth, and may lose out on something great happening to us.

Ask yourself: Can I learn to let go a little and not be so attached to who I am or what I have with me?

Fear of failure

Arun is an executive of an advertising firm. He has been given a chance to lead a team of his own for the first time...

What if I mess up??? So much trust is being placed in me... What if I let everyone down!!!

I think I should refuse to take this up... It's better I continue doing what

I am good at!

When we fear failure, we don't set the bar high, and don't learn to deal with challenges, and further don't build the confidence to take up larger goals.

Ask yourself: Can I learn to continue trying and not giving up, despite failing?

Fear of losing social standing Surya loves history and wants to take up humanities after 10th Std. However...

SURYA'S MOM

Don't be crazy. If you take up humanities or arts people will think you've scored less marks in 10th and that you not smart enough for science.

Ok! Yeah! That's true...

SURYA

When we fear losing our social standing, or what others will think, we end up living a life defined by others and eventually find ourselves unfulfilled.

Ask yourself: Can I consciously try to believe in myself and act on that belief?

Fear of the unknown When Kumar is given a new kind of work that he is not trained in...

I have not been trained in all this, how can I do it then? Nobody has done this before, there's nobody to take guidance from. I can't do it!

When we fear the unknown, we let go of a chance to discover anything new in the world and consequently in ourselves. Instead we are stuck in what is familiar and safe, which may lead to stagnation. Ask yourself: Can I learn to take a 'leap of faith' and walk into the unknown?

Fear of 'what will become of me' Shweta is thinking about what kind of career she would want to pursue...

Engineering is everyone's first choice because it helps in building a successful career. I should take it up too... Otherwise I may not succeed and I'll be left behind!!!

When we fear what will become of us it forces us to follow the straight & trodden path, and we try to stick to the flock. We fall prey to herd mentality & do not create our own career paths. Ask yourself: Can I learn not to be dependent on anyone or anything and build my own future and career success?

If some of the above fears are applicable to you, then you may be caged by fear and you may not be achieving your full potential as a person.

This quote of Swami Vivekananda might apply to you: “ He who is over-cautious about himself falls into dangers at every step; he who is afraid of losing honour and respect, gets only disgrace; he who is always afraid of loss always loses. CW:VIII:433 Caged by fear

How to be bold and fearless? - A Six Point Formula based on Swami Vivekananda's ideas...

“All fears will vanish if you begin to assert your own nature. CW:V:286.5 We become fearless when we go on asserting that we are strong, that we are capable, that we are creators of our destiny, and that circumstances cannot bind us down. 1 Recognize your true nature

When he (man) can say, ‘I am in everything. In everybody. I am in all lives, I am the universe, then alone comes the state of fearlessness CW:II:80-81 Expand yourself

We become fearless when we stop creating artificial divisions & walls with other people, and learn to see commonalities or own-ness with everyone.

2

“Everything is fraught with fear: Renunciation alone is fearless. CW:VIII:279.5 We become fearless when we learn not to become overly attached to things, or accumulate things, and try to measure ourselves through our acquisitions. Rather, we become fearless when we learn to let go the moment we wish to. 6 Renounce

“…the less you think of yourself as an insignificant person, the less fear there will be for you. CW:III:89.1 Affirm your strength 5

We become fearless when we recognize that inside us is an intrinsic significance or an intrinsic value that all of us have, simply by the virtue of being who we are.

“Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. CW:VII:49.3 3 Depend on no one

We become fearless when we learn to become self-reliant, in all possible ways.

Struggle, don't lose heart 4

We have a place for struggle in the Vedanta, but not for fear. C.W. V. 286.5 “

We become fearless when we don’t treat failure as the end of the road, but rather see failure as a stepping stone to success.

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In one of his lectures delivered in New York, Swami Vivekananda referring to Alice in Wonderland commented, ‘It is the most wonderful book for children that has been written in this century. When I read it, I was delighted; it was always in my head to write that sort of a book for children. What pleased me most in it was what you think most incongruous, that there is no connection there. One idea comes and jumps into another, without any connection. When you were children, you thought that the most wonderful connection.’ Again, at Belur Math while conversing with his boyhood friend Priya Nath Sinha, Swami Vivekananda expressed a wish: ‘We must compose some books in … English with short stories from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Upanishads, etc., in very easy and simple language, and these are to be given to our little boys to read.’

Beginning from this month, we are happy to serialise Poorva: Magic, Miracles and the Mystical Twelve which has all the elements that Swamiji wanted – divine life-stories unfolding in a magical wonderland. —Ed. Poorva: Magic, Miracles and the Mystical Twelve A Curtain Raiser

Eleven-year old Poorva flits through the past centuries and witnesses key moments in the lives of twelve great devotees of Lord Vishnu. These saints of South India are collectively known as Azhwars. Poorva walks through solid walls, and flies on fluffly clouds and carpets. She talks with animals and birds and receives food from a Wishing Food Tree! She is thrilled, mesmerised, and shaken by fast unfolding events. It is an adventure from which she comes out wiser, nobler, and stronger.

About the author & illustrator

Smt Lakshmi Devnath, the author of Poorva: Magic, Miracles and the Mystical Twelve is known to our readers through the series ‘The Vedas: An Exploration’ which ends with this issue. Smt Lakshmi is a researcher and writer with various books and articles to her credit on Indian music and culture. She wrote Poorva to introduce children to our spirituality and culture. It is with this same concern that she has allowed the book to be serialised even while it is being sold in the market.

Smt. Lalithaa Thyagarajan through her beautiful paintings for this series, has enriched the divine mood of Poorva.

About the Book The book received a number of positive reviews when it was released some 10 years ago:

This is the need of the day, something original to make our spiritual history come alive. I could not leave the book until I finished reading it, even amidst all my other engagements. I wish the book a global circulation, which it deserves. – Swami Gautamananda, President, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai This is the first time I have seen a book cater to the needs of both children and adults – not a dull moment, not a boring event, not a hackneyed expression in the entire narrative. Lakshmi … has breathed life into the lives of all the Azhvars by bringing in historical data to support her narrative, making it more credible and educative. This book deserves to go global. – Dr. M. Narasimhachary, Founder-Professor and Head (retd.), Dept. of Vaishnavism, University of Madras

Combining the past and the present, the real and the fantastic … great for kids and people of all other ages … recreates the age of the twelve saint-poets … tells a simple yet engaging story, not losing the reader for a minute. – The New Indian Express

Poorva Invites...

Hi folks,

I’ve just returned from a rollicking adventure way back in the past. Believe it … because I saw the lives of twelve fantastic saint-poets (who once lived in our country) unfold before my very eyes. The journey took me unawares and raced forward till the very end, with its package of suspense and surprises.

But I must not tell you too much. Discover for yourself the thrill of conquering time and space. Bon voyage!

On your return, share with me the experiences of your trip.

Contact me at: poorva.magic@gmail.com Magically yours, Poorva