9 May 2026
Saturday
The swimmer in the river has to push aside the waters in front to the sides and to kick the waters to the back so that he can move forward straight and fast. Forcing the water back is the act that takes him forward. That is to say, do not attach importance to it, throw it back, give it up, renounce; that alone can help you to progress, even an inch. Instead, man collects and stores, accumulates and takes pride in what he holds firm, regardless of the preciousness of the human trait of renunciation. So, we sink in material possessions, victories, and vagaries. We do not float or swim across the temptations. We must try to discover and learn the means of progress. We may well ask, how can a man sunk in relative knowledge become aware of Atma? But there is no reason for despair or for condemning ourselves as mean and low. For when small men take big decisions, they earn encouragement from the great. When the tiny squirrel decided to share in building the passage across the sea, did it not receive the blessings of Lord Rama? The squirrel knew that its help could only be infinitesimal, but the feeling of dedication which prompted it won the grace of God.
From Swami’s discourse of 8 January 1983
Also on words from this discourse: The Bondage of Not Knowing Who We Are, 11 May 2026, The Pause Between the Ticks, 7 May 2026
The swimmer in the river has to push aside the waters in front to the sides and to kick the waters to the back so that he can move forward straight and fast. Forcing the water back is the act that takes him forward. That is to say, do not attach importance to it, throw it back, give it up, renounce; that alone can help you to progress, even an inch. Instead, man collects and stores, accumulates and takes pride in what he holds firm, regardless of the preciousness of the human trait of renunciation. So, we sink in material possessions, victories, and vagaries. We do not float or swim across the temptations. We must try to discover and learn the means of progress. We may well ask, how can a man sunk in relative knowledge become aware of Atma? But there is no reason for despair or for condemning ourselves as mean and low. For when small men take big decisions, they earn encouragement from the great. When the tiny squirrel decided to share in building the passage across the sea, did it not receive the blessings of Lord Rama? The squirrel knew that its help could only be infinitesimal, but the feeling of dedication which prompted it won the grace of God.