The author had quoted from this Upanishad and explained its ideas in several of his lectures, class-talks, and conversations. All this material, spread throughout the nine volumes of his Complete Works, has been brought together in this book for the first time. What makes this compilation a treasure trove of original ideas and masterly insights is that the author goes straight to the heart of the subject to focus on the essentials, and to evolve practical methods from abstract principles.
Those who die, merely suffering the woes of life like cats and dogs, are they human beings? The worthy are those who, even when agitated by the sharp interaction of pleasure and pain, are discriminating and, knowing them to be of an evanescent nature, become passionately devoted to the Atman. This is all the difference between human beings and animals. - Swami Vivekananda