: every heart vibrates to that iron string." The saying of Swami Vivekananda sums up the transcendental idea of self-reliance:"Follow truth wherever it may lead you; carry ideas to their utmost logical conclusions. Do not be cowardly and hypocritical. You must have a great devotion to your ideal, devotion not of the moment, but calm, persevering, and steady devotion" (The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda 121).Once self-reliance is firmly established, one is able to see the true nature (the core), of all matter- living and nonliving, not just the mere surface. In this stage, the true beauty of everything, from a rock, a rose, water, or even an insect, can be realized by the observer (transcendentalist). Each part of nature contains all within it. Every particular in nature, a leaf, a drop, a crystal, a moment of time is related to the whole, and partakes of the perfection of the whole."...water is not just H2O but also an element of the soul- fluid, deep, changing, tidal, cleansing, amniotic, nurturing, and threatening. To know water intimately is to know something about ourselves and to appreciate its presence as a means for increasing the life of the soul" (Moore, The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life 8).The separation between two things vanishes and the uniformity of our existence is affirmed.Back in the process of self-reliance, one realizes that "individuality in universality is the plan of creation" (Swami Vivekananda 121). In other words, one realizes that everything in this universe is connected with each other and that the underlying principal is the same for everything. This is expressed in the quote "One in all and all in one" (Bhagavad Gita). That is, one consciousness is pervading over all matter in this universe. For example, many individual drops of water (individual people, animals, plants, objects . . . etc.) come together to create the vast ocean (universe). This ocean of consciousness is the transcendental...
