I WILL RAISE MYSELF BY MYSELF

I WILL RAISE MYSELF BY MYSELF

I will raise myself by myself. Interdependence notwithstanding, the fundamental effort must be mine. Caught in this quagmire of material existence, who shall I trust to save myself better than trust myself? Drowning as I am in this ocean of transmigratory earthly existence, who shall swim for me to safety of the shore than I, myself? Who can eat and assimilate for me? Who can live my life for me and who can die a thousand deaths en route to liberation than I, myself? And whose bondage is it, whose liberation? Why, it is mine and mine alone, for all else is but multiplication of this Maya of phenomenal projection proceeding from my ignorance of the Self.

Bondage is mine, work in self-purification is mine, too, and liberation also shall be mine. All this needless dependence on others weakens the will and perpetuates bondage. So shall I cast off all aid save of the One that springs from within.

There is but One and the Many are little reflections of its boundless Self in the fragmented mirror of the Mind. Cleanse the mirror of the dust of desire and the Self reveals in undiminished splendour. But the work, the austerity, the cleansing of the soul must be mine. This is the Vedanta for the modern age.

This self-assertion is mine and it must not be misconstrued as megalomania or arrogance. It is an awakening of the soul unto determined, disciplined action for delivery unto the Divine within which again is one's transcendental Self. In short, evolution is the progression of the self from the one to the One. Hence, fire myself up shall I and sip the elixir of life.

Written by Sugata Bose