Swami Vivekananda and the Erasing of the Dividing Line
Swami Ranganathananda
This is a deeply insightful piece of writing by Swami Ranganathanandaji, the late thirteenth President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Originally titled 'Swami Vivekananda and the Future of India', this article was written on that fateful day, 15 August 1947, and contributed to the Pakistan Independence Day special issue of The Daily Gazette of Karachi, Pakistan. In these pages is evident the loftiness of the Swami’s historical vision, and its relevance stands undimmed even after six decades.
Those who have succeeded in attaching or detaching their minds at will have succeeded in Pratyahara, which means gathering towards, checking the outgoing powers of the mind, freeing it from the thralldom of the senses. When we can do this, we shall really possess character; then alone we shall have taken a long step towards freedom. Before that, we are mere machines.
-Swami Vivekananda
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