"
"But how can this conception of the seer's Nirvana coincide with
their inactivity and renunciation of the world?"
"People misunderstand the fakir's belief. The Indian wise men think
that the work of perfection is performed by the spirit alone, and
that the activity of the body disturbs it; therefore the body must
rest while the soul accomplishes its full measure of work, while it
widens the circle of its interest, and absorbs into itself the
phenomenal world. The clumsy understanding of the crowd thereupon
comes to the conclusion that to become holy and attain to Nirvana,
one must not stir a finger, not even to support oneself."
Wilhelm thought over this new point of view, but Schrotter went on:
"Believe me, true wisdom is neither that of the fakir nor of the man
of the world; but as it appears to me, it neither despises the world
nor admires it. One must not depend on oneself too much, neither on
others. One must always be saying to oneself that one has no lasting
importance in the world, but that in this transitory state eternal
forces are at work, the same forces which drive the earth round the
sun, and which operate on all men and things. Do not let us
individualize too much; we are only a piece of the whole, to which
we hang by a thousand unknown threads.
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