ENJOYMENT OF THE SENSES

TODAY’S VIVEKANANDA QUOTE

In our everyday life we find that the less the sense-enjoyments, the higher the life of the person. Look at the dog when he eats. No human being ever ate with the same satisfaction. Observe the pig giving grunts of satisfaction as he eats; it is his heaven, and if the greatest archangel came and looked on, the pig would not even notice him. His whole existence is in his eating. No human being was ever born who could eat that way. 

Think of the power of hearing in animals, the power of seeing—all their senses are highly developed. Their enjoyment of the senses is extreme. They become simply mad with delight and pleasure. And the lower we are also, the more delight we find in the senses. As we evolve, the goal becomes reason and love. In proportion as these faculties develop, we lose the power of enjoying the senses.

Addresses on Bhakti Yoga: The First Steps (New York: December 16, 1895). Complete Works, 4. 13.

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