The enclosed excerpt regarding sin has been taken from the book: Vivekananda: A Biography by Swami Nikhilananda.
Several young men, inspired by Swami Vivekananda’s fiery words, joined the Order. Four others, who had been practising disciplines in the monastery under the guidance of the older Swamis while Vivekananda was abroad, were now eager to receive the monastic initiation formally from their great leader.
His brother disciples expressed hesitation about one of them, because of some incidents of his past life. This aroused Swami Vivekananda’s emotion.
‘What is this?’ he said. ‘If we shrink from sinners, who else will save them? Besides, the very fact that someone has taken refuge at the monastery, in his desire to lead a better life, shows that his intentions are good, and we must help him. Suppose a man is bad and perverted; if you cannot change his character, why then have you put on the ochre robe of a monk? Why have you assumed the role of teachers?’
All four received their monastic initiation.
From the following incident one can learn the depths of the Swami’s compassion. Many inmates of the Math thought that he was not very discriminating in the choice of his disciples.
Almost anyone could obtain spiritual initiation from him after a little supplication, and some of them were found later to indulge in wicked actions.
One of his own monastic disciples, Swami Nirmalananda, spoke to him about his lack of proper judgement and his inability to understand human nature. The Swami’s face became red with emotion.
He exclaimed: ‘What did you say? You think that I do not understand human nature? About these unfortunate people I know not only all they have done in their present lives, but also what they did in their previous ones. I am fully aware of what they will do in the future. Then why do I show kindness to them? These hapless people have knocked at many doors for peace of mind and a word of encouragement, but everywhere have been repulsed. If I turn them down they will have no place to go.’
MORAL: There are 2 conclusions that we can draw from this story. The first is that divinity resides within the soul of all, hence sins are not permanent. A sinner of today can transform into a saint tomorrow. Angulimala, the dacoit who murdered people is a prime example. In one meeting with Buddha he transformed into a saintly monk.
The second conclusion we can draw is that a true guru, knows the past, present and future of all his disciples. Swami Vivekananda WAS and STILL IS such a true eternal guru.
Credit: The Instagram Page swamivivekananda_inspires has graciously provided us with the above excerpt. They have a Facebook page as well, which devotees can follow.
