Living versus getting on

by Swami Dayananda Saraswati

"I consider that living begins when one contributes something that will bring about more joy, more happiness, more light, and more freedom. Until then one merely drags one's life through old age and on to the grave. Just 'getting on' is not really 'living'. To live is to be a positive contributor. Something happens to a person when he or she is able to do something for someone. It is not pride. It is something natural, an inner expansion that is an indication of growth because the essential nature of a human being is fullness, wholeness. This wholeness finds expression when one is able to help others regardless of whether the recipient is known to him or her." Swami Dayananda.

It is not that these values are necessary only for a spiritual seeker, they are equally necessary for anyone who wants to live a life free from conflicts. That means, understanding and assimilating these values is essential for day to day living, and compromising them, due to a lack of understanding, costs us the happiness we are seeking.

About the Author:

Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati likes to call himself a traditional teacher of Vedanta, a link in a long unbroken tradition, from Adi Shankara to the present day. Rooted in the richness of tradition, yet contemporary in his thinking and approach, he continuously edits his teaching style to ensure that the vision of Vedanta is communicated with clarity. Impeccable logic, brilliant analysis, erudition, precise use of language, together with a child like humour, make him the greatest living master of Advaita Vedanta. There is none to match his ability to make the audience see as clearly as he does.