The Serpent and the Saint
When Swami Vivekananda arrived in America in the 1890s, he stood out wherever he went, dressed in saffron robes, calm, tall and full of quiet power. For many, he was unlike anything they had ever seen.
One day, a well-known American lady – refined, intelligent, but skeptical – saw him and felt uneasy.
Something about his intense gaze disturbed her. Later, she told her friends:
“He has eyes like a hissing serpent.”
She had judged him, as we often judge others, only by what she could see on the surface.
But everything changed the next day.
She attended one of his talks, where he spoke not of any religion or dogma, but of the divine power within every human being – the Ātman, our true Self beyond the body and mind.
As he spoke, something shifted in her. The same eyes that had once frightened her now seemed filled with light. When she met him afterward, she said softly,
“Swami, yesterday I thought you had the eyes of a hissing serpent.
But today, I see you have the eyes of one who has seen God.”
Vivekananda smiled and replied,
“My dear child, it doesn’t matter what you see in my eyes.
What matters is that today, your own eyes have begun to see a little more clearly.”
The Real Message: Be True, Not Decorative
This small story carries a deep truth – how easily we get caught up in appearances and how freeing it is to live from inner authenticity.
1. The Trap of the “False High”
The lady’s first reaction, and our modern habit of chasing likes, compliments, and approval, come from the same place – the belief that happiness lies outside us.
We all want to feel loved and appreciated. When someone praises us, our mind becomes still for a moment and in that silence, our own inner joy shines through. But then we make a mistake. We think that joy came from the praise, not from within.
So we start chasing the next “like,” the next compliment, the next high.
Vivekananda warned that this makes us weak – dependent on what others think, instead of resting in our own strength.
2. The Power of Being Yourself
Vivekananda never changed his robes, his accent or his manner to please others. He didn’t try to “fit in”. That was his silent teaching – a living example of what it means to be rooted in truth.
Because he knew who he was – the Ātman, the Self beyond all masks – he was completely free from fear of rejection. He didn’t need validation. And that fearlessness is what gave his words their power.
In the end, the lady’s vision changed – not because Vivekananda changed his appearance, but because she began to see more clearly.
The Takeaway
Chasing approval is like chasing your shadow – the more you run after it, the further it moves away.
Vivekananda’s life reminds us that real strength doesn’t come from how others see us,
but from seeing ourselves truly.
Be real. Be steady. Be rooted in what you are – not in what others think you should be.
That’s the kind of power that doesn’t fade.
Source
1. Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda
2. Sister Christine (Christine Greenstidel)
Vedik Mind 