The Call of Sri Krishna: The Gospel of Super Excellence - 4 : Swami Krishnananda

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16/10/2018
The Call of Sri Krishna: The Gospel of Super Excellence -4. : Swami Krishnananda
(Talk given on Janmashtami, Sri Krishna's birthday.)

The development of talent, which has been so much stressed in the Vedas and the Gita, is a basic principle of the doctrine of evolution. Man starts as a seed with several kinds of powers hidden in him. They must be brought out and put to good use. This is essential for the happiness and progress of the individual as well as mankind.

"Each soul is potentially divine," said Swami Vivekananda. "The goal is to manifest this divine within by controlling nature, external and internal."

The possibilities for the development of talent are almost unlimited. Even the most learned, if they only feel humble and sincerely try, can gain deeper insights and climb to greater heights of wisdom. Similarly, age is no bar to the growth of talent. While physical development stops in middle age, intellectual development can go on even in ripe old age. Two ways to keep the mind alert and growing even in the evening of life are to apply it to tough problems and to continue learning something new all the time.

William James, the famous psychologist, used to say that the average person develops only one tenth of his latent mental ability. "Compared to what we ought to be," said he, "we are only half awake. We are making use of only a small part of our physical and mental resources. Stating the thing broadly, the human individual thus lives far within his limits. He possesses powers of various sorts which he habitually fails to use."

Alexis Carrel writes in Reflections on Life: "Everyone should realise the full measure of his inherited mental capacities, be these great or small. This obligation is universal. All are equally capable, if they are really determined, of releasing the hidden spiritual energy in their own depths. Though consciousness develops side by side with the body, it does not stop developing when the body has finished growing. Intellect, aesthetic activity, moral strength and religious sense continue to develop even in old age."

To be continued ..


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