Each soul is ­potentially divine

Swami Vivekananda undertook padayatra of our entire country as a wandering monk somewhere from 1887 to 1892.  His wanderings took him to Khetri.  The Raja of Khetri was deeply impressed by his knowledge, wisdom and saintly qualities.  He requested Swamiji to stay in his palace as his guest. One evening while he was talking to the Maharaja, Swamiji suddenly saw that arrangements were being made for some cultural programme. The Maharaja requested him to attend it.  But, soon Swamiji found out that a courtesan will entertain the Maharaj and other guests through her dance and singing.  Immediately, Swami Vivekananda left the place stating that such programmes are not for monks. The courtesan saw this and was deeply hurt.  She soon started singing the famous bhajan of Surdas, ‘prabhu more avgun chitna dhaaro, samdarshi hai naam tiharo’meaning, O my lord, look not at my faults since same-sightedness is your nature.  She sang with such pathos and the song reached the ears of Swami Vivekananda in his room.  He felt as if he was struck by lightning.  He reflected that as a knower of Brahman he cannot distinguish between good and evil this way.  He instantly realized that the same supreme reality is the underlying truth of all existence and that people resort to various modes of living depending upon so many factors.  He immediately came back to the Darbar hall and virtually sought pardon of the courtesan. She fell at the feet of Swamiji and sought his blessings. As his experiences and conviction grew deeper, Swamiji could literally experience the all-pervading divinity or consciousness everywhere.  That is why he went on to proclaim, “Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy — by one, or more, or all of these — and be free.”