There are certain works which are, as it were, the aggregate, the sumtotal, of a large number of smaller works. If we stand near the sea shore and hear the waves dashing against the shingle, we think itis such a great noise, and yet we know that one wave is reallycomposed of millions and millions of minute waves. Each one of theseis making a noise, and yet we do not catch it, it is only when theybecome the big aggregate that we hear. Similarly, every pulsation ofthe heart is work. Certain kinds of work we feel and they becometangible to us; they are, at the saem time, the aggregate of a numberof small works. If you really want to judge the character of a man,look not at his greatest performances. Every fool may become a heroat one time or another. Watch a man do his most common actions, thoseare indeed the things which will tell you the real character of agreat man. Great occasions rouse even the lowest of human beings tosome kind of greatness, but he alone is the really great man whosecharacter is great always, the same wherever he be.
- Vivekananda Famous Quotes on Spirituality and Karma
