The song of the Sannyasin

Prose order of the poem composed by Swami Vivekananda 1. Wake up the note! Wake up the song that had its birth far away, where worldliness could never reach. Wake up the song that had its birth in mountain caves, and in the glades of deep forest, whose calm no sigh for lust or wealth or fame could ever dare to break. Wake up the song that had its birth in a far off place, where the streams of Knowledge followed by Bliss and Truth followed by Bliss flowed. Sing high that note, O bold Sannyasin. Say, Om tat sat, Om! 2. Strike off your fetters! Strike off the fetters that bind you down. Strike off the fetters of both shining gold and dark, base iron. Strike off your fetters of love & hate, good & bad, and all the dualities that throng your life. You should know that a slave is a slave after all; he is bound, whether he is caressed or whipped, and not a free man. For, chains bind you, whether they are made of shining gold or of dark, base iron. A golden chain is not lesser a chain than an iron one when it comes to binding you. Once you know this, then off with the chains, O bold Sannyasin! Say, Om tat sat, Om! 3. Let go of darkness, O bold Sannyasin. It is the will o the wisp that leads you with blinking light to pile gloom upon gloom. Quench forever this thirst for life. This thirst for life drags the soul from birth to death and again from death to re-birth. The truth is that he conquers all who conquers himself. I wish you to know this. Having known this, do not yield again to darkness nor thirst for life, O bold Sannyasin! Say, Om tat sat, Om! 4. They say, Whoever sows must reap the fruit, and cause must bring its sure effect. Good will bring good and bad will bring bad. None can escape this law. Whosoever wears a form must also wear the chains associated with that form. What they say is very true. But, far beyond both name and form is the ever free Atman. I wish you to know that you are that ever free Atman, O bold Sannyasin! Say, Om tat sat, Om! 5. There are multitudes who dream vacant dreams of being a father or a mother, having children and spouse and friends. Listen to me. Such people do not know the truth. The Self is sexless. How can the sexless Self be a father? Whose child can He be? Whose friend or foe can He be who is the only one existing? The sexless Self, the ever free Atman is all in all. Nothing else exists. And I tell you, O bold Sannyasin, you are that sexless Self. Say, Om tat sat, Om! 6. There is only one being. He is free. He is the knower. He is the Self. He has no name. He wears no form. He has no stains. In Him is Maya dreaming all this dream of multiplicity. He is the witness. He appears, as it were, as nature, as soul, as all this multiple things. I wish you to realize that you are that one being, free, the knower, the Self, the witness, having no name, wearing no form, having no stains. Say, Om tat sat, Om!

7. Where do you seek for freedom, my friend? Neither this world, nor any other can give you the freedom you seek. Your search for freedom in books and temples is in vain. My friend, it is your own hand that holds the rope that binds you and drags you along as a slave. Realize this fact, my friend, and stop lamenting. O bold Sannyasin, let go of your hold over the rope that binds you! Say, Om tat sat, Om! 8. Say thrice from the bottom of your heart, Let there be peace to all beings. I proclaim that no living being has any danger from me. I am the indwelling Self of all living beings, from the highest to the lowest. I withdraw from the struggle for existence. I renounce all heavens, earth and hells. I renounce all hopes and fears. Affirm this thrice and cut all your bonds, O bold Sannyasin! Say, Om tat sat, Om! 9. Give no more thought about how the body fares, whether it lives or dies. For its job, of cutting the chains that bind the soul is accomplished. Now let the body float down the stream of the law of karma. As per the operation of the law of karma, some will put garlands over the body, and then perhaps, some will kick it. In either case, say nothing. For, when the praiser and praised are one, when blamer and blamed are one, how can you recognize and distinguish either praise or blame? Realizing this, O bold Sannyasin, be calm. Say, Om tat sat, Om! 10. Truth never comes to that man who is lusty, hungry for name and fame, and greedy for profits over his fellow beings. No man who thinks of woman as his wife, that is, as a sex object, can ever be perfect. No man can ever be perfect who owns something, no matter how small that possession is. Again, no man, who is a slave to anger and hatred, can ever pass through Mayas gates into freedom and perfection. So, give up lust, greed and anger, O bold Sannyasin! Say, Om tat sat, Om! 11. Have no home, O bold Sannyasin. You are not a small embodied being that can be contained within a home, my friend. You are Existence itself. The sky is your roof. The grass is your bed. Your food is what chance might bring before your mouth from time to time. The food may be well cooked or badly prepared or stale. Do not judge it. No food or drink can ever taint the noble Self that knows itself to be such. Be free like the rolling river, O bold Sannyasin! Say, Om tat sat, Om! 12. Very few people know the Truth, my friend. The rest will hate and laugh at you, o great one. But pay no heed to them. O free soul, go from place to place, and help the needy ones to break themselves free from darkness, from the veil of Maya. Have no fear of pain. Neither search for pleasure. O bold Sannyasin, go beyond both pain and pleasure. Say, Om tat sat, Om! 13. In this way, while the law of karma is playing its tunes over the body, use the body to manifest the soul more and more. Let the soul manifest more and ever

more. There is no more birth and death. No more is there I and you. There is no longer any distinction between God and man. I has become everything, and everything is but I. and I am Bliss. Know that you are such, O bold Sannyasin. Say, Om tat sat, Om! ***********************