We are all beggars. Whatever we do, we want a return. We are all traders. We are traders in life, we are traders in virtue, we are traders in religion. And alas! we are also traders in love.
If you come to trade, if it is a question of give-and-take, if it is a question of buy-and-sell, abide by the laws of buying and selling. There is a bad time and there is a good time; there is a rise and a fall in prices: always you expect the blow to come. It is like looking at the mirrors Your face is reflected: you make a grimace — there is one in the mirror; if you laugh, the mirror laughs. This is buying and selling, giving and taking. (II, 4)
There is only one way to achieve this. That is, to practise detachment. When we try to put this ideal into practice, many difficulties appear in front of us. Whatever may be the temptations and even if we fail again and again we should not lose courage. We should hold on to our divine nature. Nature may compel us to take revenge, to retaliate in the same measure. But we should control ourselves and be detached. Once we are able to do this, a super divine strength will rise in us and would eradicate all our miseries.
Here we find a great message from Swamiji. Within families, between husband and wife, among other family members, among the various groups in a society, everywhere we find such actions and reactions. Counselling does help to some extent. But that is not sufficient. We should be able to delve deep into ourselves and remove the wrong interpretations based on our ignorance. The ideal of Karma Yoga provides the best medicine to get rid of such unwanted tensions.
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