What Swami Vivekananda said a few decades ago is so awesome and so all pervasive that one can only gape in admiration. Hindu mythology says a few people finish all their Janmas – from amoeba to a highly evolved human being. Then God decides that they still need to do a small innings in the world so that they can teach all that they know to Mankind. One such person was Adi Shankaracharya. One is surely Swami Vivekananda.

Read this:

“We have to first learn the distinction between essentials and non essentials in everything. The essentials are eternal, the non-essentials have value only for a certain period of time. ….therefore let us go ahead and do even far greater things….that is what I have to tell you.”

Read this. Then read it again and again.

The essentials are eternal. Principles are permanent – they cannot be flexible. They are carved in stone.  Even a persons ‘need’ for good food, clean air, pure water, ….are eternal. For a pious person an ‘essential’ could be praying.

The non essentials are surely temporary – I pad 5 today, I pad 10 after a couple of years. Knowing that this is a temporary ‘need’ and therefore a non essential helps.

Take relationships – some relationships are permanent, many are temporary. I can connect to cousins and school friends. However I have not attended a single college re-union. Sure I am in touch with a few friends from college – but a college re-union never excites.

Amazing Swami Vivekananda, your greatest contribution to the world is your thoughts are so so deep that it looks young and fresh, a 100 years later. Awesome.