122. Unselfishness is more paying, only people have not the patience to practise it.
It is more paying from the point of view of health also. Love, truth and unselfishness are not merely moral figures of speech, but they form our highest ideal, because in them lies such a manifestation of power.
In the first place, a man who can work for five days, or even for five minutes, without any selfish motive whatever, without thinking of future, of heaven, of punishment, or anything of the kind, has in him the capacity to become a powerful moral giant.
123. All outgoing energy following a selfish motive is frittered away; it will not cause power to return to you; but if restrained, it will result in development of power.
This self-control will tend to produce a mighty will, a character which makes a Christ or a Buddha.
Foolish men do not know this secret; they nevertheless want to rule mankind.
Even a fool may rule the whole world if he works and waits.
Let him wait a few years, restrain that foolish idea of governing; and when that idea is wholly gone, he will be a power in the world.
124. The majority of us cannot see beyond a few years, just as some animals cannot see beyond a few steps.
Just a little narrow circle--that is our world.
We have not the patience to look beyond, and thus become immoral and wicked.
This is our weakness, our powerlessness.
125. Any action that makes us go Godward is a good action, and is our duty; any action that makes us go downward is evil, and is not our duty.
127. Expansion is life, contraction is death.
Love is life, and hatred is death.
128. In worshipping God we have been always worshipping our own hidden Self.
129. Are you unselfish? That is the question. It you are, you will be perfect without reading a single religious book without going into a single church or temple.
130. Every good work we do without any ulterior motive, instead of forging a new chin, will break one of the links in the existing chains.
Every good thought that we send to the world without thinking of any return will be stored up there and break one link in the chain, and make us purer and purer until we become the purest of mortal.
Swami Vivekananda
Karma Yoga ( the yoga of unselfish work)
