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The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 2/Practical Vedanta and other lectures/Practical Vedanta: Part I:

I have been asked many times how we can work if we do not have the passion which we generally feel for work. I also thought in that way years ago, but as I am growing older, getting more experience, I find it is not true. The less passion there is, the better we work. The calmer we are, the better for us, and the more the amount of work we can do.

In this competitive world, can we work without passion? When someone goes to sports club or choose a profession, they are being asked if they have any passion for work because it's a common belief that if you are not passionate enough about what you do then you cannot attain perfection.

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Swami Vivekananda is talking from a yoga POV. Passion is a function of the ego (or ahankara) and someone who has advanced in yoga is able to separate the real Self from the ego. However, a little bit of ego is still required to be able to function in the world. If this ego is subordinate to the higher Self, then it is a dispassionate, blissful existence and this is what Swami Vivekananda is talking about. Achieving this is not easy. As far as your question is concerned, yes, love for one's work makes us excel at it. So like what you do and strive to be good at it. There is a meditative quality about that too. Remember "wax on , wax off" from the karate kid?

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  • Yeah so much complex meaning behind Swamiji's message.Thanks for explaining
    – Nayan Borah
    Nov 28, 2017 at 16:04
  • You are very welcome @NayanBorah
    – user1195
    Nov 28, 2017 at 16:06

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