True Teacher

The true teacher is one who can throw his whole force into the tendency of the taught. Without real sympathy we can never teach well. Give up the notion that man is a responsible being, only the perfect man is responsible. The ignorant have drunk deep of the cup of delusion and are not sane. You, who know, must have infinite patience with these. Have nothing but love for them and find out the disease that has made them see the world in a wrong light, then help them to cure it and see aright. 

Remember always that only the free have free will; all the rest are in bondage and are not responsible for what they do. Will as will is bound. The water when melting on the top of the Himalayas is free, but becoming the river, it is bound by the banks; yet the original impetus carries it to the sea, and it regains its freedom. The first is the “fall of man”, the second is the “resurrection”. Not one atom can rest until it finds its freedom.

Some imaginations help to break the bondages of the rest. The whole universe is an imagination but one set of imagination will cure another set. Those which tell us that there is sin and sorrow and death in the world are terrible; but other set which says ever “I am holy, there is God, there is no pain”, these are good and help to break the bondages of others. The highest imagination that can break all the links of the chain is that of personal God. (VII, 99)

Swamiji sometimes used the example of a small container containing a very long coiled spring, to illustrate man’s innate desire for freedom.

 On October 2nd, as we celebrate the birth day of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our Nation, who, following the ideals of Truth, non violence and renunciation helped our nation to break the bondage of slavery, let us remember how he acknowledged the inspiring power of Swamiji’s life and message. The words quoted above throw light into the life of Mahatma Gandhi as well. To quote Gandhiji’s words about Swamiji “I have gone through his works very thoroughly, and after having gone through them, the love that I had for my country became a thousand fold. I ask you young men, not to go away empty handed without imbibing something of the spirit of the place where Swami Vivekananda lived and died.”