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Book Name: In Search of the Miraculous Vol 2Previous     Next
 

you will not know me. You recognize only words; you cannot recognize enlightenment. It is only a matter of coincidence that I know and can also speak about it."

So there was some difficulty for Vivekananda which he must rectify in his lives to come. But this difficulty was inevitable. Therefore Ramakrishna out of sheer necessity brought it upon him. Vivek-ananda felt a loss but his loss belonged to the world of dreams. But even then, why should one undergo loss even in a dreamlike realm? If we need a dream then why not have a good dream?

There is a fable of Aesop:

Once a cat was lying under a tree dreaming. A dog comes along and he too rests under the tree. The cat seems to be dreaming a lovely dream, and the dog is curious to find out what it is all about.

When she wakes, the dog asks her what she has dreamed. The cat says, "Oh, it was a lovely dream. The sky was pouring mice."

The dog looks down in disdain and says, "You fool! It never rains mice. We also dream, and we always see bones pouring down -- and our scriptures also say that it always rains bones. Mice never fall like rain, you stupid cat! If you must dream, dream of bones."

For the dog, bones are meaningful. Why should he dream of mice? But for the cat, bones are useless.

So I say to you: if you have to dream, why dream a bad dream? And if you are to awaken, then make maximum use of your own ability, your own strength, your own resolve -- and do not wait for the other person to help you. Help will come, but that is another matter. You should not wait for and expect help, because the more you expect the weaker will become your resolve. Stop thinking on those lines altogether. Expect no help and make a total effort, remembering that you are all alone. Help will come from many sources -- but that is a different matter altogether.

Therefore, my emphasis is on your own willpower, so that no other hindrance is created for you. And when you get something from someone it should always be unasked for and unexpected by you. It should come like the wind, and then it may go away like the wind.

This is why I said that Vivekananda suffered a loss, and

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