Recorded at the Vedanta Society of Western Washington on December 8, 2013.

Drawing on a well-known statement of Swami Vivekananda, Swami Bhaskarananda examines the meaning of “Weakness is sin” from a Vedantic perspective. He clarifies weakness as a sense of mental or physical inadequacy rooted in identification with the body–mind complex, and sin as violation of one’s essential nature (dharma). Using traditional definitions, he explains dharma as that which sustains a thing’s true identity, and argues that for human beings this sustaining reality is divine consciousness rather than the changing conditions of body, mind, or circumstance.

He then unfolds a Vedantic analysis of fear, ego, and individuality, showing how weakness arises when consciousness identifies with matter and multiplicity, giving rise to fear and limitation. Through analogies drawn from scripture, nature, and everyday life, he emphasizes that strength means clarity of identity rather than physical force—a firmness grounded in understanding one’s real nature beyond time, space, and causation. Referring to teachings from the Upanishads and parallels in other traditions, he concludes that spiritual strength is cultivated by loosening attachment to transient names and forms, allowing awareness of inherent divinity to become steady and fearless.