Prabuddha Bharata or Awakened India

February 2013
Vol. 118, No. 2

`

10.00
A monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order
started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896
P
rabuddha

b
harata
or AwAkened IndIA
I
n these great Teachers you will always find
this sign: that they have intense faith in
themselves. Such intense faith is unique, and
we cannot understand it. We do not think
of ourselves in the same way, and, naturally,
we cannot understand them.
Then again, when they speak, the
world is bound to listen. When they speak,
each word is direct; it bursts like a bomb-
shell. Sometimes they do not speak at all,
but yet they convey the Truth from mind
to mind. They come to give. They com-
mand, they are the Messengers; you have to
receive the Command. Do you not remem-
ber in your own scriptures the authority
with which Jesus speaks? Go ye, therefore,
and teach all nations teaching them to ob-
serve all things whatsoever.
So, when each man stands and says
My Prophet is the only true Prophet, he
is not correcthe knows not the alpha of
religion. Religion is neither talk, nor theory,
nor intellectual consent. It is realisation in
the heart of our hearts; it is touching God;
it is feeling, realising that I am a spirit in
relation with the Universal Spirit and all
Its great manifestations. If you have really
entered the house of the Father, how can
you have seen His children and not known
them? And if you do not recognise them,
you have not entered the house of the
Father.
THE ROAD TO WISDOM
These great Messengers and Prophets
are great and true. Why? Because, each one
has come to preach a great idea. Take the
Prophets of India, for instance. They are the
oldest of the founders of religion. We take,
first, Krishna. You who have read the Gita
see all through the book that the one idea
is non-attachment. Remain unattached. The
hearts love is due to only One. To whom?
To Him who never changeth. Who is that
One? It is God. Do not make the mistake of
giving the heart to anything that is chang-
ing, because that is misery. You may give
it to a man; but if he dies, misery is the
result. You may give it to a friend, but he
may tomorrow become your enemy. If
you give it to your husband, he may one
day quarrel with you. You may give it to
your wife, and she may die the day after
tomorrow. Now, this is the way the world
is going on.. This is what our scriptures say.
Wherever there is love, wherever there is
a spark of joy, know that to be a spark of
His presence because He is joy, blessedness,
and love itself. Without that there cannot
be any love.
From The Complete Works of Swami
Vivekananda, 4.120-134.
Swami Vivekananda on
The Great Teachers of the World II
Contents
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Cover photo: Never Be Fully Satisfed with
What Youve Done,
by Yogesh Mhatre / Flickr
Vol. 118, No. 2
February 2013
Amrita Kalasha
A monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order
started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896
P
rabuddha
b
harata
or AwAkened IndIA
Traditional Wisdom
Tis Month
Editorial: Beyond the Known
Vivekanandas Impact on
the World of Ideas
Dr Satish K Kapoor
Vivekanandas Toughts on Society
Dr Sanjib Kumar Borkakoti
Spiritual Values for the Youth
Prof. Vijaya Kumar Murty
Divine Blessings from a Divine Being
A P N Pankaj
His Call Beckons
Dr Joyesh Bagchi
Te Being of Humankind
Prof S C Malik
Eternal Words
Swami Adbhutananda
Svarajya Siddhih:
Attaining Self-dominion
Gangadharendra Saraswati
Reviews
Reports
173
174
175
177

184
188
191
195
200
204
210

214
216
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Vivekananda as the Turning Point
Today it is absolutely imperative for the country
and the world to be informed about Vivekanandas
life-giving ideas and contributions. In the last hun-
dred years or more, a great change has come about
in the way human beings understand the world and
each other. It has been a phenomenon of global
dimension, silently working on a subtle plane. If we
track the source of this phenomenon, we shall be led
to two names: Ramakrishna and Vivekananda.
As the title of the book suggests, Vivekananda
is presented here as a urning poin in the
modern history.
Pages xvi +668 | Price ` 250 | Packing & Postage: ` 40
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59
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RAMAKRISHNA MISSION SEVASHRAMA
(A branch centre of Ramakrishna Mission, PO Belur Math, Dt. Howrah, West Bengal)
Swami Vivekananda Path, Bela, Muzaffarpur, Bihar843 116, Phone: 0621-2272127 /
2272963 Email: rkm.muzaffarpur@gmail.com Website: www.rkmmuzaffarpur.org
LET US BUILD A HOSPITAL
A branch of the Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math, this centre runs the oldest Eye Infirmary in Bihar. Now
we are constructing an Eye, ENT, Dental Hospital cum Diagnostic Centre to cater to the needs of the poor
and deserving local population.
Present Infrastructure: Oldest Eye Infirmary (thirty-bedded) in North Bihar established in 1947, with
departments of General dispensary, Dental, Homeopathy, X-Ray, Pathology, now dilapidated. Newly
purchased Ophthalmic equipment like Yag, Green Laser, Fundus Camera, Perimeter, Phaco etc are being
used regularly. No. of OPD patients increased from 50 to 140 daily, OPD hours increased from 3 hours to 6
hours. Daily evening Eye Surgery, 3 residential surgeons all the time.
Our Vision: Speciality in Eye, ENT and Dentistry, Various OPD Sections, Well equipped Operation Theatres,
Clinical Lab, R & D Section, Modern Diagnostics, Paramedical Training, and Doctors and Staff Quarters.
Cost of First Phase
of Construction: Construction of Medical Building (13,000 sq. ft.) (Remaining) ` 50 lakh
Construction of Doctors Quarters ` 60 lakh
Equipment and Maintenance ` 65 lakh
Permanent Fund ` 1 crore
Work in Progress: Foundation stone laid on 1 January 2011 (Kalpataru Day). Foundation work
completed on 30 June 2011. Plinth work completed in December 2011. Roof casting done.
We earnestly appeal to you to donate liberally towards the development of the infrastructure of health for the
poor. Your contribution may be sent through cheque/DD/MO favouring Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama,
Muzaffarpur or by transferring the amount to SBI A/c. No.10877071752; IFS Code : SBIN0006016 with
an intimation by email. All donations are exempt from the Income tax under section 80G of the Income Tax
Act. Your contribution towards the project for a place like Muzaffarpur, Bihar where health infrastructure is
very poor and people deserve your help will be palpably a real homage to Swami Vivekananda whose heart
bled for poor humanity.
Swami Bhavatmananda
Secretary
173 PB February 2013
February 2013
Vol. 118, No. 2
Our Infnite Nature
=|-t=- t=- t= t|:t=tt- i
Arise! Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached!
Traditional Wisdom
tt=-=t=-= -tt =|-=--= i
=t=t t = |-t= = t=--=t==-=- ii
Tat jiva is to be known as of the size of the tip of a hair, imagined to be
divided into a hundredth of its hundredth part; yet it happens to be infnite.
(Shvetashvatara Upanishad, 5.9)
=-=t=|-t =|-= t-=t|-=-=-m =r= =| i
= |=- = |r =-= =-t --= t= = = t= z ii
He who has realized and intimately known the Atman that has entered this
perilous and inaccessible place (the body), is the maker of the universe, for
he is the maker of all, (all is) his Atman, and he again is indeed the Atman
(of all).
(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 4.4.13)
|=|=-===-- r-t--|-= i
=====t| =--tt-t =-=- =t ii
(Brahman is) without doubt, endless, beyond reason and analogy, beyond all
proofs and causeless, knowing which the wise one becomes free.
(Amritabindu Upanishad, 9)
z = z =-t zt--=t-=
=t|= =-= ==t==t |r =-t=t= ii
Tis one is the Lord of all; this one is omniscient; this one is the inner
director (of all); this one is the source of all; this one is verily the place of
origin and dissolution of all beings.
(Mandukya Upanishad, 6)
No bleed here
PB February 2013 174
This MonTh
Weighed down with innumerable beliefs in its
long history, the mind has to be purifed in order
to go Beyond the Known and realize the Reality.
Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time
has come to manifest. Dr Satish K Kapoor,
Ex- British Council scholar and registrar of
Daya nanda Anglo Vedic University, Jalandhar,
writes of Vivekanandas Impact on the World
of Ideas.
Swami Vivekananda was a lover of humankind.
Dr Sanjib Kumar Borkakoti shows in Viveka-
nandas Toughts on Society how Swamiji
presented Vedantic principles in order to raise
society. Te author is a famous and respected
researcher of medieval Assamese literature with
many books to his credit.
Prof. Vijaya Kumar Murty of the Department of
Mathematics at the University of Toronto speaks
on the importance and relevance of Spiritual
Values for the Youth.
Te blessings of great souls are
not for leading comfortable
religious lives but to make
us struggle to realize the
Truth. In Divine Blessings
from a Divine Being A P
N Pankaj, an eminent litt-
rateur from Chandi-
garh, writes about
Swamijis blessings to
his disciple Saratchan-
dra Chakravarty.
People ofen fnd them-
selves standing confused
at the crossroads of life.
In His Call Beckons
Dr Joyesh Bagchi
shows how Swamijis
teachings awaken in us the
strength to struggle and fnd
direction and fulflment. Te author is a geologist
with the Geological Survey of India, New Delhi.
With tremendous worldwide social and indi-
vidual changes humans are shutting themselves
of from the reality of their existence. In Te
Being of Humankind Prof. S C Malik, of India
International Centre, Asia Project, New Delhi,
writes why and how we need to reorient our
consciousness.
In the ffh part of Eter-
nal Words, Swami
Adbhuta nanda speaks on
worldly possessions and
worldly wisdom and the
need to rely on God. Te
swamis words are trans-
lated from Sat Katha, published by Udbodhan
Ofce, Kolkata.
Te tenth instalment of Svarajya Siddhih: At-
taining Self-dominion, by the eighteenth cen-
tury Gangadharendra Saraswati, ffeenth pontif
of Kanchi Kamakoti Pitham, Kanchi puram, ex-
plains the jarring viewpoints of diferent philoso-
phies and Vedantas teachings about Brahman.
No bleed here
EDiToRiAL
Beyond the Known
H
umans, with their ingenuity and in-
telligence, behave sometimes like
devas and at other times like asuras,
and themselves have wondered at such an awful
contradiction. One may fnd various causes, ac-
cording to ones beliefs, but the most credible
explanation is that as a species rises higher, it en-
capsulates or embodies all the preceding evolu-
tionary stages or characteristics it has risen from.
A human being thus is a microcosm of the vio-
lent, yet remarkable, evolutionary history of life
on Earth. Far from being shocked, this is an en-
nobling and humbling thought. Vedanta goes
even further and shows a higher unity of all ex-
istence, as the Chhandogya Upanishad says: Te
inferior ones get included in the krita (upper
dice face) when it becomes a winner.
Sri Ramakrishna describes what he saw in one
of his visions: He [God] revealed to me a huge
reservoir with green scum. Te wind moved a
little of the scum and immediately the water be-
came visible; but in the twinkling of an eye, scum
from all sides came dancing in and again covered
the water. He revealed to me that the water was
like Satchidananda, and the scum like maya.
On account of maya Satchidananda is not seen.
Tough now and then one may get a glimpse of
It, again maya covers It.
Tis vision explains, by analogy, how the
mind takes over and covers the Reality. Know-
ledge is a characteristic of the mind, but almost
all knowledge is belief. Each mind has innumer-
able beliefs, and people live and die with them.
Generally, old beliefs are replaced by new ones,
but some people like to retain the old ones and
fght anything new. Beliefs are categorized as
wrong, right, neutral, ridiculous, stupid, fanat-
ical, and so on. Tis can be noticed by reading
the contents and comments posted on any topic
on the Internet. Beliefs are also considered as sur-
mise, suspicion, opinion, and conviction. Beliefs
rise from perception and memory along with
external factors such as culture, values, duties,
education, race, religion, and so on. Moreover,
the three gunas of sattva, rajas, and tamas defne
the mind as well as the quality of beliefs. Te
Bhagavadgita says: O Partha, that intellect is
born of tamas which, being covered by darkness,
considers vice as virtue, and verily perceives all
things contrary to what they are.
Scientists also have beliefs, but science as a
discipline is constantly questioning old beliefs
and coming up with new answers, which can
again be modifed through further research. Sci-
entists say: Knowing means nothing; testing
that knowledge is everything. In daily life most
minds access a shorthand summary of things
instead of the whole data lying behind. Tis
automatic response saves time and energy but
can and does give rise to stunted beliefs, which
are most of the times layered with imagination,
half-knowledge, and confabulation. Tis power
of beliefs is also subject to causality, as Swami
Vivekananda shows: A series of phenomena
becomes associated with things in our mind
in a sort of invariable order, so that whatever
we perceive at any time is immediately referred
to other facts in the mind. Tus one idea gives
No bleed here No bleed here
Prabuddha Bharata 14
rise to a multitude of ideas, and we are forced to
think accordingly.
When we see a beautiful fower, but with
higher understanding, we can mentally see the
inner structure, its processes, and the very ma-
terials of the fower. Tis is more liberating. Such
mental liberation brings integrity and power to
the mind. Tis is a sattvic mind. Tere was a time
when the earth was considered young, fat, and
at the centre of the universe. Tis was replaced
by the higher liberating knowledge that the
earth is very ancient, round, and is a tiny planet
in one of billions of galaxies. Of course, there
are people who use scientifc data and come up
with weird conclusions based on imagination,
superstitions, language, inhibitions, likes, and
dislikes. Many humans take this parallel journey
that leads to nowhere. In their case the scum
lies thick and unmoving.
Intuition and inspiration also rise from the
mind, giving place to higher knowledge. Tis is
the essential creative side of the human mind,
and it manifests in scientifc thinking, prob-
lem solving, mathematics, and technology. Tis
creative aspect of the mind is the engine that
drives society and creates wealth through inven-
tions, industries, and economies. It also gives
rise to rational, logical, and scientifc curiosity
and is the cutting edge or the outer limits of the
mind. Te ordinary mind, weighed down by old
beliefs, cocoons a person in the inner layers of
the mind, the subconscious unthinking part.
Wrong beliefs have to be broken, not pushed to
other minds like we are ready to do. Religious
beliefs, because of their hold on the mind, have
to engage with new knowledge and not morph
into an archaic system of morality, mythology,
mystery, and incorrectness. In this case religion
also must become free by replacing old beliefs
with rational ones. Religion will then become
modern and experiential and will bring great
good to humankind. Sri Ramakrishna taught
so long as I live, so long do I learn and pressed
us to go forward.
To come back to the main theme, the mind
has the tendency to cover the Reality and distort
it. Tis tendency in Vedanta is called avarana,
covering, and vikshepa, projecting. And this
occurs due to avidya, ignorance. Terefore, Ved-
anta says, we cannot know the Reality through
the mind. Tat is, not through a mind dirtied
and uncontrolled by beliefs, but the Reality can
be known through the pure mind, for the pure
mind and the Reality are one. Te Reality, like
the water of Satchidananda, is within us, and we
have covered it with innumerable beliefs, which
are like the scum on the water.
One of the principal tenets of the Vedantic
sadhana is manana, cogitation. It is using ones
intellect to discern by employing the methods
of logic, observation, and reasoning to arrive at
a conclusion about the Reality. When all doubts,
contrary beliefs, and illusions are eradicated one
then meditates on it. It is not simply gulping
down data unthinkingly. Sri Ramakrishna did
not appreciate unthinking people. He once said:
I can judge a man by his stick and umbrella. Tey
must belong to that man who was here some
time ago and swallowed a lot of my words with-
out understanding them. He was always happy
when Swamiji used to test him and his words.
People glibly and wrongly believe that one has to
take religion and supersensuous thoughts on the
basis of faith. Religion is a science, and scientifc
methods are used to clear the scum that covers
and hides the Reality.
Tis Reality is not diferent from our souls.
All our struggles through millions of years of
evolution were leading us to realize this Truth.
And when it happens the Narada Bhakti Sutra
says: Te fathers (ancestors) rejoice, the devas
dance in joy, and this earth gets a saviour. P
No bleed here
Vivekanandas Impact on the World of Ideas
Dr Satish K Kapoor
I
deas travel faster than light and keep
orbiting in the astral realm till they fnd a
suitable neural receiver to grow and develop.
Tese ideas do not rest and anyone can crystal-
lize them. Vivekanandas powerful ideas con-
tinue to impact humanity and will do so in the
future. Like matter that cannot be destroyed but
can only be transformed, powerful ideas too do
not die. Te prophets live even afer their phys-
ical death because they are spiritually alive and
have a strong identifcation with the message
they have to deliver. Truth never grows old and
what the puissant souls speak is nothing but the
truth. Vivekananda regarded truth as a corrosive
substance of infnite power, which burns its way
in wherever it fallsin sof substance at once,
hard granite slowly, but it must.1
Vivekananda, the Prophet
A prophet is one who speaks out.2 Viveka-
nanda spoke from the higher ranges of the
mind and through direct perception could see
the coming world problems, which if lef un-
checked could prove to be dangerous for hu-
manity. In the West he saw materialism and
individualism at its worstthe worship of
Shakti through sense gratifcationin the East
he saw poverty and ignorance masquerading as
religion. Te mission of resuscitating humanity
was his divine calling. I know my mission in
life, and no chauvinism about me, he wrote to
Alasinga; I belong as much to India as to the
world, no humbug about that. What coun-
try has any special claim on me? Am I any na-
tions slave?3
In what way did Vivekananda contribute
to the world of ideas? He was not a philoso-
pher in the formal senselike Plato, Aristo-
tle, Descartes, Locke, Spinoza, Kierkegaard, or
othersnor did he present his ideas through
dissertations or peer-reviewed journals to estab-
lish his theories. Yet his infuence on the world
of thought is perceptible from 1893, when he frst
appeared at the Worlds Parliament of Religions
in Chicago, and continues to this day, both in
India and abroad. His inspiring and innovative
ideas, loaded with the wisdom of ages and fully
in tune with the times, entered deep into the
psyche of his audiences, some of whom were well
known in diferent walks of life.
A philosopher may be a genius and impact
ones area of study even afer leaving the mortal
coil, but this infuence seldom transcends the
mind level. One may read Jacob Bhme (1575
1624) or Julien de La Mettrie (170951) with
interest, but may not view them with worship-
ful eyes or take their words as scripture. On the
other hand, the words of prophets touch the
heart and command our respect naturally.
Te mind of an intellectual person is en-
sconced in the past or the present, but the
prophet is far ahead and transcends time. Te
genius may have the eye of intellect and the
wing of thought4, to borrow William G Simms
(180670) expression, but a prophet has tremen-
dous insight. A genius may or may not adhere to
truth, but the prophet can die for it. Te genius
can remain preferably in an idealistic world; the
prophet has a mission to fulfl, so is ever on the
move. Te genius may or may not have the will
to do, but the prophet is goaded by the supreme
Will to act. Geniuses sometime deviate from the
path of virtue; prophets are virtue incarnate and
show light to humankind. Geniuses are known
to have sufered from melancholia or insanity
as in the case of Michelangelo (14751564) or
Franz Grillparzer (17911872), among othersa
fact validated by philosophers like Arthur Scho-
penhauer (17881860) and psychiatrists like Ce-
saro Lombroso (18351909).5 Prophets, on the
other hand, may have oversensitive nerves but
they remain on the track of Being. Te genius
loves truth, but the prophet lives it. A genius may
just infuence a small section of society, but a
prophet afects humanity during his lifetime and
afer. A prophet is a genius but a genius is not
always a prophet. In the case of Vivekananda,
he had the profundity of an intellectual, the in-
novativeness of a genius, the purity of a saint, the
zeal of a reformer, and the vision of a prophet.
Vivekanandas thoughts cannot be seen in
quantifable terms, as these have pervaded all
the domains of lifereligion, philosophy, art,
education, society, politics, and economics. Tis
essay delineates the impact of some of his ideas
as a social and religious thinker and philosopher,
as a spiritual humanist, and as one who taught
the art and science of living. His ideas are fresh
and vibrant and work on the minds of people
like an alchemical medium that transforms dross
into gold. It is not essential that outpourings of
the heart should be always consistent, but they
present the truth without adulteration and con-
tain the ardour of a divine soul. To quote Sri
Aurobindo (18721950): And what was Viveka-
nanda? A radiant glance from the eye of Shiva;
but behind him is the divine gaze from which he
came and Shiva himself and Brahma and Vishnu
and OMall exceeding. 6
Tough systematization of thought is essen-
tial for pedagogy, it takes away the spirit of an
idea, which forms its substratum. Vivekananda
did not put his thoughts in an ideological cru-
ciblelike theism, humanism, collectivism,
positivism, or some otherbecause that which
is concretized cannot take a form other than
that of the crucible and loses its malleability.
Vivekananda is not to be assessed by his tan-
gible works alone, but by the impact of his in-
visible spirit, which pervades society to this day.
Scholars have interpreted Vivekananda as per
their mental makeup, as a cyclonic Hindu monk,
a patriot, a paragon of Vedanta, an awakener of
souls, a social reformer, a saviour of Hinduism,
and so on. But this does not explain the vastness
of his mind, the glory of his spirit, or the quan-
tum of his contribution to humanity. To quote
Sri Aurobindo again:
Vivekananda was a soul of puissance if ever
there was one, a very lion among men, but the
defnite work he has lef behind is quite incom-
mensurate with our impression of his creative
might and energy. We perceive his infuence still
working gigantically, we know not well how, we
know not well where, in something that is not
yet formed, something leonine, grand, intuitive,
upheaving that has entered the soul of India
and we say, Behold, Vivekananda still lives in
the soul of his Mother and in the souls of her
children (17.332).
Many ideas frst expressed by Vivekananda
through his speeches and writings were de-
veloped by later Indian thinkers, some of
whom impacted world thought and culture.
Mahatma Gandhis (18721950) concept of
ends and means and of trusteeship, Sri Auro-
bindos notion of freedom, education, and In-
tegral Yoga, Jawaharlal Nehrus (18891964)
belief in the fundamental unity of India, and
Rabindranath Tagores (18611941) vision of
the universal man echo Vivekanandas ideas.
Te social and religious zeal of Sister Nivedita
Vivekanandas Impact on the World of Ideas 17
(18671911), the neo-Vedanta of Swami Rama-
tirtha (18731906), the patriotic fervour of
Netaji Subhaschandra Bose (18971945), and
many others were ignited by Vivekanandas writ-
ings. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (18881975)
was deeply touched by Swamijis defence of Hin-
duism. Some of Tagores immortal lineslike
if the world passes on in tears how could I sit
alone pursuing my own salvationrefect the
infuence of Vivekananda.7 Another popular
poem of Tagore says that God is not in chanting
and singing and telling of beads but is present
where the tiller is tilling the hard ground and
where the path-maker is breaking stones, 8 comes
close to Vivekanandas observation that devo-
tion to duty is the highest form of the worship
of God.9 Tagore felt that Vivekanandas gospel
marked the awakening of man in his fullness and
that is why it inspired our youth to the diverse
courses of liberation through work and sacri-
fce.10 He suggested that if you want to know
India, study Vivekananda. In him everything is
positive and nothing negative (34).
Vivekananda and Gandhi
Te idea that good means should
be employed to achieve the
end, normally attributed
to Mahatma Gandhi, ori-
ginally came from Viveka-
nanda, as can be seen from
his lecture Work and Its Se-
cret, delivered at Los Ange-
les, California, on 4 January
1900: One of the greatest
lessons I have learnt in my
life is to pay as much atten-
tion to the means of work as
to its end. With the means
all right, the end must come.
We forget that it is the cause
that produces the efect. Te means are the
cause: attention to the means, therefore, is the
secret of life.11
Tere is every possibility that Gandhi took a
cue from Vivekanandas views on untouch ability.
His remark that Hinduism today consists merely
in eating and not eating12 reminds one of
Vivekanandas well-known observation that he
made in reply to the Address of Welcome at Ma-
namadura: Our religion is in the kitchen. Our
God is the cooking-pot.13 Also these remarks
of Swamiji are on the same line: Te religion of
India at present is Dont- touchism (5.222). As
long as touch-me-not-ism is your creed and the
Mahatma Gandhi
in his youth
PB February 2013
kitchen-pot your deity, you cannot rise spiritu-
ally (5.267). Vivekanandas advice was to kick
such customs out! He demanded: Unless the
blood circulates over the whole body, has any
country risen at any time? (7.246). Compare
this to Gandhis observation: Hindus will cer-
tainly never deserve freedom nor get it, if they
allow their noble religion to be disgraced by the
retention of the taint of untouchability.14 Te
term Donttouchism coined by Vivekananda
continued to be used by social reformers and na-
tionalists in the pre-independence period till the
practice of untouchability was legally abolished
by the Indian Constitution in 1950.
Long before Gandhi evolved his concept of
trusteeship with an egalitarian perspective,15
Vivekananda had suggested that one should
hold money as custodian for what is Gods.16
Tis is in accord with the Isha Upanishad: Ma
gridha kasya svid dhanam; do not covet the
wealth of others.17 Gandhis ardent belief in
ahimsa in thought, word, and deedthough
derived from many sourcescan also be traced
to Vivekananda, who said: Tere is no virtue
higher than non-injury. Tere is no happiness
higher than what a man obtains by this attitude
of non-ofensiveness to all creation.18 To in-
jure another creates bondage and hides the truth
(7.68). Gandhi described fearlessness as the frst
requisite of spirituality, a point that forms the
core of Vivekanandas concept of man-making.
Te similarity is further revealed in their de-
scription of cowardice. While Vivekananda ob-
served: cowardice is no virtue (5.86), Gandhi
wrote: Cowardice is the greatest vice.
Like Vivekananda, Gandhi described religion
as Self-realization.19 Again, like him, he believed
in the essential unity of all religions. His view
that each religion has its own contribution to
make to human evolution20 reminds one of
Vivekananda, who said that all religions are
diferent forces in the economy of God,
working for the good of mankind.21 Gan-
dhis observation that the soul of religions
is one, but it is encased in a multitude of
forms22 seems to be a borrowing from
Vivekananda, who wrote: Every re-
ligion has a soul behind it, and that
soul may difer from the soul of an-
other religion.23 A parallel can also
be drawn between Gandhis con-
cept of education, which aimed at
the development of the mind, body
and soul,24 with what Vivekananda
observed: We want to become
Sri Aurobindo
harmonious beings, with the psychical, spirit-
ual, intellectual, and working (active) sides of
our nature equally developed.25 Gandhis love
and concern for the masses also reminds one of
the great swami. But Gandhi went a step ahead,
crystallizing his love into sarvodaya, welfare of
all; patriotism into svaraj, self-rule; and ahimsa,
non-violence, into satyagraha, call to truth.
Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo, the mystic philosopher, acknow-
ledged the invisible infuence of Vivekananda on
him in one of his letters to Motilal Roy, some-
time in 1913: Vivekananda in the Alipore Jail
gave me the foundations of that knowledge
which is the basis of our Sadhana.26 He believed
that Vivekananda was an awakened soul, who
had the supreme experience of the Self as de-
scribed in the Upanishads. He was convinced
that Sri Ramakrishna wanted him to be a great
power for changing the world-mind in a spirit-
ual direction (22.150). In Te Synthesis of Yoga
Sri Aurobindo quotes from Vivekanandas let-
ter, in which Swamiji says that he has lost all
wish for personal salvation and would like to
be born again and again to take away the mis-
eries of people. Vivekanandas yoga, he said, is
not limited to the realization of the Transcend-
ent by the individual soul, it embraces also the
realization of the Universalthe sum total of
all soulsand cannot therefore be confned to
the movement of a personal salvation and escape.
Even in his transcendence of cosmic limitations
he is still one with all in God; a divine work re-
mains for him in the universe (20.25758).
Sri Aurobindo noted that the philosophy of
Vedanta and yoga have exceeded their Asiatic
limit, and were impacting the life of people in
America and Europe; the ideas have long been
fltering into western thought by a hundred in-
direct channels (3.3445). He felt that the work
of the Teosophical Society and the appear-
ance of Vivekananda at the Worlds Parliament
of Religions had put the seal on Hindu revival
by rousing its self-assertive power vis--vis the
materialized mentality of the occident (14.14).
Referring to the impact of Vivekananda in the
context of a session of the Indian National Con-
gress in London, Sri Aurobindo observed that
Vivekanandas sojourn to the US, followed by the
work of other swamis, did more for India than a
hundred London Congresses could afect.27
It is natural that Sri Aurobindo, who held
Vivekananda in great esteem and recognized
his divine work, should have been infuenced
by his ideas, consciously or unconsciously. His
concept of freedom has its premise in Viveka-
nandas view that the whole universe, in its con-
stant motion, represents the dominant quest
for freedom: In freedom it rises, in freedom it
rests, and into freedom it melts away (2.125).
His nationalism, like that of Vivekanandas, had
a spiritual orientation, and his view of India as
mother, as Bharata-Shakti, and not as a mere
geographic expression, reminds one of Viveka-
nandas description of India as the blessed Punya
Bhumisacred landthe land of introspec-
tion and of spirituality.28
Sri Aurobindos view that each nation is a
Shakti of the evolving spirit in humanity, and
lives by the principle which it embodies29 is
similar to that of Vivekananda, who wrote: In
each nation, as in music, there is a main note,
a central theme, upon which all others turn. 30
Both evinced interest in Indias rehabilitation
from a subject state, so that the country could
fulfl its natural destiny of being the world leader
in spirituality. Both provided a spiritual founda-
tion to the concept of the unity of humankind
and stressed on the deeper dimensions of life.
Both relied on reasoning, thought, and intuition
to explore the world of knowledge.
No bleed here
Tere is a clear imprint of Vivekananda on
Sri Aurobindos concept of Integral Yoga, which
aims at awakening in humans the dynamic di-
vine potential through concentration of mind,
and other techniques. By this Yoga we not only
seek the Infnite, but we call upon the Infnite to
unfold himself in human life, wrote Sri Auro-
bindo.31 Basing his views on Vivekananda, whom
he quotes in this context, he argues that the per-
fection of the Integral Yoga will come when each
man is able to follow his own path of Yoga, pur-
suing the development of his own nature in its
upsurging towards that which transcends the na-
ture. For freedom is the fnal law and the last con-
summation (20.51). Compare this sentence with
Vivekanandas observation: Infnite divided by
infnite, added to infnite, multiplied by infnite
(remains) infnite. You are infnite. Te infnite
can never be made fnite. You are never bound. 32
Sri Aurobindos educational ideas were also
infuenced by Vivekananda. In the Hour of God
and other Writings he says: Te frst principle of
true teaching is that nothing can be taught. Te
teacher is not an instructor or task-master; he
is a helper and a guide.33 Compare this to what
Vivekananda said: Te teacher spoils everything
by thinking that he is teaching. Within man is
all knowledge and it requires only an awaken-
ing, and that much is the work of a teacher. 34
Again, like Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo disap-
proved of the concept of hammering the child
into shape as desired by many parents or teachers.
His view that education should help the growing
soul to draw out that in itself which is best and
make it perfect for a noble use,35 reminds one of
Vivekananda who observed: Education is the
manifestation of perfection already in man. 36
Vivekananda and Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru, Indias first prime minis-
ter, was impressed by Vivekanandas breadth of
vision, universal outlook, concern for the masses,
and intense patriotism. He wrote in his Prison
Diary on Sunday, 10 March 1935 that he had
read Vivekanandas Jnana Yoga lectures in Eur-
ope and should like to read more of him.37 In
a letter to his daughter, Indu, later Indira Gan-
dhi, from prison, dated 17 February 1945, he ac-
knowledged the receipt of three books of Swami
Vivekananda, Lectures fom Colombo to Almora,
Letters of Swami Vivekananda, and Karma Yoga
and thanked her for the same.38 In a subsequent
letter dated 19 April 1945 he asked her to procure
Romain Rollands books on Sri Ramakrishna and
Swami Vivekananda, although he was not sure
whether these were two separate books or one.
He further wrote that if they were not available
in the library, Upadhyaya should be asked to ob-
tain it from elsewhere. Specifying the search, he
mentioned that the Indian edition had been pub-
lished by the Ramakrishna Centre near Almora,
the Advaita Ashrama in Mayavati (13.609). In
another letter to Indu, dated 27 April 1945, he
educated her about the achievements of Viveka-
nanda in about 200 words. He described him as a
remarkable and fascinating man with enormous
energy and a fre and passion which drove him
on and eventually consumed him when he was
barely forty (13.614). Jawaharlal Nehru found
Vivekanandas lectures and letters to be of topical
interest even afer fve decades. He referred to his
conversation with Halide Edib, a Turkish writer,
who had been deeply impressed by Vivekanandas
presence when he visited her school in Constan-
tinople (ibid.). Till the end of April 1945 Jawa-
harlal Nehru had not studied Romain Rollands
books, as is evident from his letter dated 1 May
1945, in which he expressed the desire to read
his works in original French. Finally, he received
them in prison on 24 May 1945 (13.626).
In Te Discovery of India Jawaharlal Nehru
praises Vivekananda by describing him as a kind
No bleed here
of bridge between the past of India and her pres-
ent.39 He profusely quotes from Lectures fom
Colombo to Almora (1933) and Letters of Swami
Vivekananda (1942), both published by the
Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Himalayas, to ex-
plain his ideas on yoga, Vedanta, religion, nation-
alism, internationalism, contemporary society,
and other subjects. Afer quoting Albert Einstein
that the serious scientifc workers are the only
profoundly religious people in this materialis-
tic age, he adds in the footnote: Fify years ago,
Vivekananda regarded modern science as a mani-
festation of the real religious spirit, for it sought
to understand truth by sincere efort (558).
Jawaharlal Nehrus idea of the fundamental
unity of India bears the imprint of Vivekanandas
views. From the tone of his writing, it appears
that he appreciated Vivekanandas gospel of
strength and fearlessness, his crusading zeal for
the service of humanity, his condemnation of the
futile metaphysical discussions and the touch-
me-not-ism of upper castes, and his stress on
freedom and equality (3379).
(To be continued)
References
1. Te Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda,
9 vols (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 18, 1989;
9, 1997), 5.71.
2. Joseph McCabe, A Rationalist Encyclopaedia: A
Book of Reference on Religion, Philosophy, Ethics,
and Science (London: Watts, 1950), 465.
3. Complete Works, 5.95.
4. Te New Dictionary of Toughts: A Cyclopedia of
Quotations, comp. Tryon Edwards, C N Catre-
vas, and Jonathan Edwards (New York: Stand-
ard Book, undated), 216.
5. See Ernst Kretschmer, Te Psychology of Men of
Genius, trans. R B Cattell (London: Kegan Paul,
1931), Part 1, Chapter 1.
6. Sri Aurobindo, Te Hour of God and Other Writ-
ings, Birth Centenary Library, 30 vols (Pondi-
cherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1972), 17.98.
7. See Vivekananda: Te Great Spiritual Teacher
(Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2008), 339.
8. Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali, 11.
10. World Tinkers on RamakrishnaVivekananda,
ed. Swami Lokeswarananda (Calcutta: Rama-
krishna Mission Institute of Culture, 1992), 35.
12. Te Gandhi Reader: A Source Book of His Life
and Teachings, ed. Homer A Jack (New York:
Grove, 1994), 170.
14. Te Gandhi Reader, 172.
15. For Mahatma Gandhis views on trusteeship see
Harijan, 3 June 1939, 22 February 1942, and 12
April 1942.
17. Isha Upanishad, 1.
19. Young India, 6 October 1921.
20. K L Seshagiri Rao, Mahatma Gandhi and Com-
parative Religion (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,
1978), 116.
22. Uma Majumdar, Gandhis Pilgrimage of Faith:
From Darkness to Light (New York: suny,
2005), 235.
24. Mohit Chakrabarti, Te Gandhian Dimension of
Education (Delhi: Daya Books, 1940), 76.
26. Birth Centenary Library, 27.435.
27. See Birth Centenary Library, 2.171.
37. Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, ed. S Gopal,
46 vols (New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1974),
6.330.
38. See Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, 13.562.
39. Jawaharlal Nehru, Te Discovery of India (New
Delhi: Oxford University, 1981), 3367.
No bleed here
S
wami Vivekananda dedicated his life to
the uplif of humankind. He employed his
tremendous spiritual power, accumulated
during his intense sadhanas, to help people both
in India and abroad. It was Sri Ramakrishna who
before his mahasamadhi dedicated and em-
powered Swamiji to this task. Like his Master,
Swamiji never hesitated in ofering his time and
attention even to the most insignifcant person.
Sri Ramakrishna was an ascetic but not in the
traditional sense of the term, for he was also a
householder. He showed people how to live in
the world while holding on to God. Swamiji car-
ried this message to the people by showing that
human life and society had to be based on spir-
ituality and not on materialism.
Notwithstanding his immense love for hu-
manity, Swamiji frequently pointed out our
drawbacks, especially when we chose to discard
egalitarianism for exclusivity and selfshness.
He was even more scathing in his criticism of
human negativity and weaknesses, which hurt
him most. His criticism was to make people
exert themselves to create better individuals
and societies.
Vivekanandas Thoughts on Society
Dr Sanjib Kumar Borkakoti
Rationality and Equality
Swamiji was very objective and rational in his an-
alysis of society. It was his rationality and object-
ivity that made him progressive. It enabled him
to distil out some great traditions from the mass
of superstitions that were smothering India. He
showed people that all the noble ideas that were
timeless and universal in character should prevail
over ordinary and relative ideas of morality and
duty. Tis would unshackle society and make it
move forward. Swamiji went as far as to criticize
some aspects of the Smritis as being outdated
and irrational, while he presented, in keeping
with the times, new thoughts with a scientifc
bend. Ordinary teachers would have invited de-
rision by such actions, but he was a world teacher
with the power and authority to do so.
Swamiji was a great votary of equality. His
concept of equality, however, must be under-
stood in a larger philosophical context and not
in a utopian or fanciful way. Tere is inequality in
nature and society, but there also exists an under-
lying commonality. Disturb a body of water and
the water struggles to return to equilibrium;
similarly, all social struggles are directed to attain
No bleed here
Vivekanandas Toughts on Society 23
equality. Tis struggle runs through all spheres of
the individual and collective life. Swamiji even
showed that creation itself is disturbed equilib-
rium. Tus, struggle against inequality is a great
motivating factor for diferent social activities.
Such objective and practical interpretation of
metaphysics is very rare among religious leaders
or reformers, who generally denounce inequal-
ity as an unwarranted phenomenon. Science also
says that when equilibrium is reached, there is
no change and all activities stop. Creation starts
anew only when the equilibrium is again dis-
turbed. Since the universe is vast, it takes a long
time for it to again arrive at its original state.
But Swamijis explanation of inequality acting
as a catalyst for social change does not mean that
he did not show at what level real equality exists.
If equality never existed, where did its concept
arrive from and how is it ingrained in everyone?
Swamiji showed that all struggles against in-
equality would lead people to the reality called
the Atman, which is the same in all beings.
Society by its very nature is unequal, because
it is a simple division of labour. As society pro-
gresses and becomes complex; diferent profes-
sions or works rise, which in turn create social
divisions. Tis is more obvious in modern so-
cieties, where social divisions are multiplying
due to the increasing number of professions and
skills. In ancient India the varna system, four
castes, was held responsible for inequality in
society. Tis division was made on the basis of
aptitude and profession, but later it turned her-
editary and watertight. Swamiji categorically
said: It [caste] was a trade guild and not a re-
ligious institution.1 He even said that the caste
system was only an outgrowth of the political
institutions of India. He declared that caste was
a social institution (5.198).
Te four caste divisions were broad classi-
fcations, but even in ancient days there were
many sub-castes among the main four groups.
As society progresses many professions open
up, and people rise to fll into these work cat-
egories creating a caste. Tus there has always
been an upward movement of all its members.
Swamiji showed that future societies would have
much more professions and activities, and hence
people would rise and make society advance. He
derided the idea of static castes and their allied
customs as archaic and useless in present days.
He opened to every member of society the door
to individual and social progress and inspired
them to work hard.
Stress on Education
Swamiji knew well that culture and education
were the two tools that transform society. He
asked people at the lowest levels of society to
come up on their own strength, not by violence
and fanaticism but through education and cul-
ture. He understood that only education could
bring about right social changes. Terefore, the
privilege of having education, which was con-
fned to the higher echelons of society, had to
be made available to the masses as well. Today
Swamijis dream of a universal education is grad-
ually taking form. Tis is the surest and best
method of an all-round social development.
He said: Te elements of progress were always
actively present in India. As soon as a peaceful
government was there, these have always shown
themselves (ibid.).
Tough Swamiji stressed universal and higher
education, his concept of education was not
about flling peoples brains only with facts but
to enable them to think. He said that the ideal
of education was one that helped achieve mas-
tery over ones mind. Terefore, the goal of all
education is the attainment of self-control and
the realization of the great Upanishadic say-
ing: Tat tvam asi; you are Tat. How relevant
this concept is can be gauged from the fact that
there is so much intransigence among educated
people, who do not hesitate to harm others for
petty self-interests, not to speak of ill-treating the
less qualifed. Tis lack of discipline and ethics
has created havoc in modern societies.
Swamiji said that intellectual education alone
was not sufcient, as it did not take care of the
heart and made people selfsh. He was very crit-
ical of heartless intellectual people and appreci-
ated the person of heart. He said: When there is
confict between the heart and the brain, let the
heart be followed (1.412). Ironically, the ground
of Swamijis dissatisfaction has not disappeared;
on the contrary, criminal ofences perpetrated by
educated people are more frequent today.
Swamiji also advocated education for women.
Tis was revolutionary during his time, when
very few women were educated. He stressed that
they had to be educated and allowed to take de-
cisions independently. He understood very well
that education and social decision-making were
interrelated. He referred to the sage Manu, who
enjoined: Daughters should be supported and
educated with as much care and attention as the
sons (5.26). He appreciated modern society for
not following the scriptures dealing with old so-
cial codes that recommended child-marriage. He
also said that there was no diference between
men and women in the highest Reality.
Householders
Swamiji thought about all sections of soci-
ety, but particularly about the household-
ers. Householders are societys mainstay. He
never denounced the householder life in order
to highlight the life of renunciation. For him
every one was great in ones own place. Each
should follow ones own duty. In Karma Yoga
he spoke at length on the role of parents, chil-
dren, and everything related to the home. He
mainly stressed that unselfshness, chastity, and
purity must be practised by householders too.
Moreover, he instructed them to always speak
the truth, as he knew that falsehood was at the
root of all the corruptions of society.
Swamiji had a distinct opinion about the in-
stitution of marriage. He said that the institution
of marriage was a true form of renunciation: Te
formation of society, the institution of marriage,
the love for children, our good works, morality,
and ethics are all diferent forms of renunciation
(6.378). Tis is a new interpretation of family life
for modern society, although it is somehow em-
bedded in the teachings of the Upanishads and
the Puranas.
Swamiji also highlighted the sanctity of mar-
riage as an important part of the growth of civ-
ilization: So long as you live in society your
marriage certainly afects every member of it; and
therefore society has the right to dictate whom
you shall marry, and whom you shall not (3.408).
We must remember that Swamijis ideas on mar-
riage are to make society ft to realize the highest
truths of religion. He said: If a man or a woman
were allowed the freedom to take up any woman
or man as wife or husband, if individual pleasure,
satisfaction of animal instincts, were to be allowed
to run loose in society, the result must be evil, evil
children, wicked and demonical. Ay, man in every
country is, on the one hand, producing these bru-
tal children, and on the other hand multiplying
the police force to keep these brutes down (ibid.).
Swamiji spoke highly of the status of women
in Indian society. In India the woman is mother:
In India the mother is the centre of the family
and our highest ideal. She is to us the repre-
sentative of God, as God is the mother of the
Universe (2.506). At the same time, he was
quick to point out that: Te Mohammedan
woman difers vastly from her western sisters in
so far as her social and intellectual development
187
Vivekanandas Toughts on Society 25
is not so pronounced. But do not, on that ac-
count, think that the Mohammedan woman
is unhappy, because it is not so (ibid.). He de-
clared proudly that the ideal for women is Sita,
Savitri, and Damayanti, who were the embodi-
ments of purity.
Religious and Social Freedom
Swamiji was a religious preacher convinced that
the faith of each person should not be interfered
with. Religious freedom in India is what helped
grow religion in all its diverse aspects. On the
other hand, Indian society became stunted due
to many sectarian and dogmatic social rules and
regulations. Swamiji wanted the social chains of
India to be removed so that society could grow.
For the West he wanted the chains of religious
bigotry to be removed.
Tese religious conficts and repressions
have been like stumbling blocks to the devel-
opment of humankind for the last thousand
years. Swamiji wanted each society to preserve
its own ideal and at the same time expand to
incorporate the best of other societies ideals.
Tis would create a better world civilization.
Materialism has to be present in order to bring
the fruits of education and technology to all
people, but the proliferation of materialism has
always to be counteracted with spirituality. Te
ideal of a person is not to create a perfect soci-
ety, which is impossible, but to go beyond so-
ciety. Sri Ramakrishna stressed that the goal of
human life is to realize God. Society was to be
made a confict-free training ground to culti-
vate spirituality, like an ashrama, in order that
everyone can realize God. P
Reference
9, 1997), 2.515.
Spiritual Values for the Youth
Prof. Vijaya Kumar Murty
outh is that period of life when we
are full of excitement, optimism, and ebul-
lience about the adventures awaiting for us.
During that period one has abundant energy
in the body and the mind, and that energy is
refected in ones idealism, daring attitude, and
hope in life. For this reason Swami Viveka-
nandas message fnds its greatest resonance in
the youth.
Normally, values refer to certain principles
we hold dear and that refect our humanity and
culture. Knowingly or unknowingly, values help
us guide and shape our perspectives, views, and
actions in relation to ourselves and the world.
Te adjective spiritual implies those values that
are related to deeper outlooks and principles.
Given this defnition, it is hard to fnd anything
in Swamijis message that is not connected to
spiritual values!
Core Spiritual Values
Among the spiritual principles that Swamiji
proclaims, two are fundamental: the divinity
of the soul and the oneness of existence. Tese
principles can, of course, be traced to the Vedas.
Te divinity of the soul is captured in this Upa-
nishadic dictum: Tat tvam asi; you are Tat.1
Te oneness of existence is synthesized in the
expression: Sarvam khalvidam brahma; all this
is Brahman (3.14.1).
However, Swamiji cast these teachings in
such a way that their importance and relevance
to young people becomes more evident. We live
in an age dominated by an empirical approach to
truth, social service as the foundation of virtue,
and the need for individuals to have freedom
and opportunity to express themselves and pur-
sue their goals. Swamiji presents spiritual values
that not only include these priorities but even
transcend them.
Firstly, he teaches that not having faith in
oneself is called atheism. Secondly, he teaches
that the oneness of existence has a social impli-
cation demanding our working for the welfare
of all beings. While acknowledging the right of
the individuals to pursue their ideals and aspir-
ations, he also emphasized the responsibility of
the individuals to see that others also are free
to exercise those rights. Moreover, he made it
clear that these two are not unrelated, and that
it is in working for the well-being of the world
that our own well-being is secured. Tirdly, he
teaches that the criterion for evaluating the
quality and efectiveness of a discipline is that
out of its practice there should come strength
physical, moral, intellectual, and spiritualand
that our strength can only be actualized when
we work for strengthening every member of so-
ciety at all levels.
Swamiji expresses these principles in the lin-
gua franca of the day, English, and in a style
more familiar to modern audiences. He em-
phasizes that principles should be understood
in conjunction with a method to translate them
into action, and he does this through a mas-
terly exposition of yoga in its varied forms. We
should not underestimate the signifcance of
this contribution, as he takes the abstruse con-
cepts of philosophy and shows how to translate
them into action.
Y
Spiritual Values for the Youth 27
Divinity of the Soul
In explaining the ideal of Vedanta, Swamiji says:
In one word, this ideal is that you are divine,
Tou art Tat. Tis is the essence of Vedanta;
afer all its ramifcations and intellectual gym-
nastics, you know the human soul to be pure
and omniscient.2 But he follows this principle
with a unique twist that shows its immediate
applicability in the feld of action and in deter-
mining the direction and course of our lives: All
such ideas as that we can do this or cannot do
that are superstitions. We can do everything. Te
Vedanta teaches men to have faith in themselves
frst. As certain religions of the world say that a
man who does not believe in a Personal God out-
side of himself is an atheist, so the Vedanta says, a
man who does not believe in himself is an athe-
ist. Not believing in the glory of our own soul is
what the Vedanta calls atheism (ibid.).
We ofen observe how those who are in the
pride of their youth have an abundance of self-
confdence and feel that they have no need for
God. Teir view is that God is a crutch used by
people who are unable or unwilling to strive for
their goals through their own capabilities. Tey
feel that such people appeal to God for help to
intercede in their worldly afairs because of their
weakness and inability. And as they feel no lack
of ability or strength, they think they have no
need for God. However, Swamiji is able to intro-
duce to such people a new concept of God: one
that does not deny but rather extols their self-
reliance and self-confdence.
Tus Swamiji takes people from where they
are and gives them a new perspective on them-
selves and on life in general. He says: Each of
us is heir-apparent to the Emperor of emperors;
we are of the substance of God Himself. Nay,
according to the Advaita, we are God Himself
though we have forgotten our own nature in
thinking of ourselves as little men (3.160).
Oneness of Existence
From the frst principle, that of the inner div-
inity, Swamiji deduces some interpersonal and
social consequences. We have forgotten our di-
vine nature and thus made diferencesI am a
little better than you, or you than I, and so on
(ibid.). In other words, social diferentiation and
fragmentation is a result of this ignorance. Te
contrary is the idea of social unity and oneness
of existence. Swamiji says: Tis idea of oneness is
the great lesson India has to give, and mark you,
when this is understood, it changes the whole
aspect of things, because you look at the world
through other eyes than you have been doing
before. And this world is no more a battlefeld
where each soul is born to struggle with every
other soul and the strongest gets the victory and
the weakest goes to death (ibid.).
But why are we not aware of it? Even when
we think that we have understood the principle
intellectually, why are we not able to put it into
practice, in our actions and in our thoughts?
Swamijis answer is striking. He does not refer
to philosophy or metaphysics, he does not speak
explicitly of ignorance or maya, he instead gives a
very concrete cause: weaknesses at all levels, from
the physical to the intellectual. He addresses
this particular message with special force when
speaking to young people: We speak of many
things parrot-like, but never do them; speak-
ing and not doing has become a habit with us.
What is the cause of that? Physical weakness.
Tis sort of weak brain is not able to do any-
thing; we must strengthen it. First of all, our
young men must be strong. Religion will come
aferwards. Be strong, my young friends; that is
my advice to you (3.242).
And to further emphasize his point, he takes
a radical departure from conventional thought:
You will be nearer to Heaven through football
than through the study of the Gita. Tese are
No bleed here
bold words; but I have to say them, for I love
you. I know where the shoe pinches. I have
gained a little experience. You will understand
the Gita better with your biceps, your muscles,
a little stronger. You will understand the mighty
genius and the mighty strength of Krishna bet-
ter with a little of strong blood in you. You will
understand the Upanishads better and the glory
of the Atman when your body stands frm upon
your feet, and you feel yourselves as men (ibid.).
Swamiji insists on the importance of cultivat-
ing strength in all the aspects of our personality:
Strength, strength is what the Upanishads
speak to me from every page. Tis is the one
great thing to remember, it has been the one
great lesson I have been taught in my life;
strength, it says, strength, O man, be not weak.
Are there no human weaknesses?says man.
Tere are, say the Upanishads, but will more
weakness heal them, would you try to wash
dirt with dirt? Will sin cure sin, weakness cure
weakness? Strength, O man, strength, say the
Upanishads, stand up and be strong. Ay, it is the
only literature in the world where you fnd the
word Abhih, fearless, used again and again; in
no other scripture in the world is this adjective
applied either to God or to man. Abhih, fear-
less! (3.237).
What young person, restless to make his or
her mark in the world, will not be fred up and
enthused by such words? Te same people who
might have rebelled at the thought of anything
religious or spiritual are, afer being in contact
with these words, ready to embrace those ideals.
Swamiji continues:
Tis is the one great truth India has to teach
to the world, because it is nowhere else. Tis is
spirituality, the science of the soul. What makes
a man stand up and work? Strength. Strength is
goodness, weakness is sin. If there is one word
that you fnd coming out like a bomb from the
Upanishads, bursting like a bomb-shell upon
masses of ignorance, it is the word fearlessness.
And the only religion that ought to be taught is
the religion of fearlessness. Either in this world
or in the world of religion, it is true that fear is
the sure cause of degradation and sin. It is fear
that brings misery, fear that brings death, fear
that breeds evil. And what causes fear? Ignor-
ance of our own nature (3.160).
And he reiterates that strength should be the
criterion to evaluate the quality and efectiveness
of our spiritual disciplines:
Tis is the one question I put to every man,
woman, or child, when they are in physical, men-
tal, or spiritual training. Are you strong? Do you
feel strength?for I know it is truth alone that
gives strength. I know that truth alone gives life,
and nothing but going towards reality will make
us strong, and none will reach truth until he is
strong. Every system, therefore, which weakens
the mind, makes one superstitious, makes one
mope, makes one desire all sorts of wild impos-
sibilities, mysteries, and superstitions, I do not
like, because its efect is dangerous. Such systems
never bring any good; such things create mor-
bidity in the mind, make it weak, so weak that
in course of time it will be almost impossible to
receive truth or live up to it (2.201).
Te strength that Swamiji refers to is a com-
bination of the principles of the divinity of the
soul and the oneness of existence. Tere should
be strength for all; therefore, while we cultivate
strength in ourselves, we should try to bring out
the strength of every member of society. Faith in
oneself and the realization of strength in oneself
necessarily implies faith in all, the dedication of
ones strength and ability to help everyone realize
their individual potential. To the people assem-
bled at the famous Shiva temple at Rameswaram,
Swamiji said:
(Continued on page 199)
No bleed here
Divine Blessings from a Divine Being
A P N Pankaj
Be possessed of Shraddha (faith), of Virya
(courage), attain to the knowledge of the
Atman and sacrifce your life for the good of
othersthis is my wish and blessings.1
his is how Swami Vivekananda, about
a week before he left his mortal frame,
blessed one of his disciples, Sharatchandra
Chakravarty. It was evening, the guru and the
disciple had been conversing for some time, and
as the disciple prostrated at Swamijis feet and
sought his blessings, Swamiji placed his hand on
his head saying: If my blessings be of any good
to you, I saymay Bhagavan Shri Ramakrishna
give you his grace. I know of no blessings higher
than this (7.268).
Tere is a Hindi couplet that says: Jyon kele
ke pat mein, pat pat mein pat, tyon santo ki bat
mein, bat bat mein bat; just as there is another
layer beneath each layer of a plantain tree, so
are there several layers of meanings behind the
statement of a saint. Te intention of this article
is to bring out from the above quoted words of
Swamiji some of those layers of meanings.
Shraddha, Virya, Atmajnana
The terms shraddha, virya, and atmajnana,
knowledge of the Atman, are, in the present
context, interrelated and carry deep connota-
tions. Although these terms occur frequently
in spiritual parlance, they require elucidation in
some detail.
What kind of faith is sought to be conveyed
through the word shraddha? It is that faith with-
out which no action is of any consequence. Sri
Krishna says in the Bhagavadgita: Whatever
is sacrifced, given, or performed and what-
ever austerity is practised without shraddha, it
is called asat (unreal), O Partha; it is of no use
here or hereafer.2 Sri Krishna also says that it is
only through shraddha that one attains to jnana
(4.39) and declares: And of all the yogis, he who
with the inner self merged in Me, with shraddha
devotes himself to Me, is considered by Me the
most steadfast (6.47).
In the Taittiriya Upanishad the seer, in his
last teaching to the departing pupils, says:
Shraddhayadeyam ashraddhayadeyam; an of-
fering should be made with honour, an ofer-
ing should not be made with dishonour.3 By
faith is Agni kindled, through faith is oblation
ofered up. 4 Paying obeisance to Parvati and
Shiva, Tulasi das says: Bhavanishankarau vande
shraddha vishvasarupinau, yabhyam vina na-
pashyanti siddhah svantahsthamishvaram; I sa-
lute Parvati and Shiva who are embodiments of
reverence and faith, without which sages can-
not see the Lord residing in them.5

And Tulasi-
das goes on saying that just as it is not possible
for one to fnd order without the element of
earth, so also none can attain to dharma without
shraddha: Shraddha bina dharma nahin hoi,
binu mahi gandhe ki pavai koi; there can be no
piety without faith, can there be any smell other
than from earth? (7.90.2).
Shraddha is defned by Acharya Shankara as
follows: Acceptance, by frm judgement, as true
of what the scriptures and the guru instruct is
called by the sages shraddha, by means of which
the Reality is perceived. 6
T
No bleed here
Terefore, when Swamiji blesses his disciple,
the frst thing he speaks of is shraddha. And
without it time spent in japa, meditation, rituals,
and charity are all reduced to mechanical ac-
tions. Any act performed with shraddha is vested
with a power that opens the most inaccessible
realms of spirituality. Shraddha lends the indi-
vidual enormous self-confdence. One is made
according to ones faith, declares Sri Krishna.7
Swamiji used to emphasize the need of faith in
ourselves. And for one who has faith in oneself,
it is relatively easier to have faith in God, the
guru, and the scriptures.
Swamiji next blesses Sharatchandra to be
virya van, courageous. Virya also means vig-
our or power. Te word is the abstract noun
of vira, hero. And Swamiji has always harped
on fearlessness as an antidote for all individual
and social ills. He said that what he preached
was the message of the Upanishads, and that the
one cardinal message of the Upanishads is abhih,
fearlessness. Te Mundaka Upanishad declares
that this Atman cannot be attained by the one
devoid of strength. 8 Shankara, in his commen-
tary on this mantra, defnes balahinena as beref
of the vigour generated by constant adherence to
the Self . By blessing Sharatchandra to be virya-
van Swamiji wishes that he may be possessed of
not only physical strength or mental courage,
but also of the power of the spirit.
Tere is a connection between shraddha and
virya. Only a vira can have true shraddha, and
only a shraddhavan can be a real hero. It is only
by integrating these two qualities that emerges
a real evolved person. Swamiji brings these two
together in his blessings to show the path to at-
tain the next one: atmajnana.
Sri Krishna says: Even if you be the worst
sinner among all sinners, still you will cross over
all the wickedness with the raf of knowledge
alone. O Arjuna, as a blazing fre reduces pieces
of wood to ashes, similarly the fre of knowledge
reduces all actions to ashes. 9 Tis is the power of
atmajnana, by which the knot of the heart gets
untied, all doubts are dispelled, and all actions
become dissipated.10 Tulasidas afrms that ac-
tion with attachment to fruit can no longer be
possible once a person attains atmajnana: Karm
ki hohin svarupahi chinhen; can one continue to
perform actions (with attachment) even afer at-
taining Self-realization.11
And Shankara boldly declares: Let people
quote the scriptures and sacrifce to the gods, let
them perform rituals and worship the deities,
but there is no liberation without the realiza-
tion of ones identity with the Atman; no, not
even in the lifetime of a hundred Brahmas put
together.12
Atmajnana is not a subject of academic or
intellectual interest alone; one has to experience
the unity of the Atman and Brahman directly,
like a myrobalan in ones palmhastamalaka-
vat. To attain such aparokshanubhava, imme-
diate experience, an intense burning urge is
required. It is also necessary to seek refuge with
a competent guru.
Atmajnana is the culmination of the entire
journey that a human being has been experi-
encing for thousands of births. Trough these
lives of joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, afu-
ence and indigence, intelligence and ignorance,
hope and despairthrough all these transient
experiences, when one sees the evil in birth,
death, old age, diseases, and miseries,13 then an
intense urge for liberation arises and takes one to
the feet of the guru.
What blessing greater than this can a guru
give to a disciple? Swamiji encourages Sharat-
chandra to attain atmajnana. But he does not
stop there, because for Swamiji Sri Ramakrishna
has still a greater role afer atmajnana. A bless-
ing greater than the attainment of atmajnana?
No bleed here
Divine Blessings fom a Divine Being 31
Yes. Even afer arriving at the highest spiritual
state, Swamiji was to live in this world to serve
humankind. Sri Ramakrishna once reprimanded
Swamiji, then Narendranath, on knowing that he
wanted to remain immersed in samadhi: Shame
on you! You are seeking such an insignifcant
thing. Tere is a state higher than that even.
I thought you would be, like a banyan, shelter-
ing thousands from the scorching misery of the
world.14 In line with the same ordinance comes
the next blessing of Swamiji to Sharat chandra:
Sacrifce your life for the good of others.
Self-sacrifce
God declares that he is born in every age
sam bhavami yuge yugein diferent
incarnations and goes through
pain and sufering to alleviate
human misery and destroy ig-
norance.15 Te religious lit-
erature of the world is full
of people who sacrifced
themselves for the good
of otherseven kings like
Sibi and Rantideva, and
seers like Dadhichi. As
a matter of fact, the true
atmajnani is one who
sees God in everything and
everything in God, who sees
oneself as no different from
the rest of Gods creation
and considers the
ameli oration
of the plight of others as a help to oneself. Tere
is no more otherness for a person who can serve
the poor, the destitute, the ignorant, and the sick
considering them as members of his or her im-
mediate family.
Spreading the knowledge of the Self is also a
consequence of feeling oneness with all, for in
the fnal analysis ignorance about ones real na-
ture, ignorance of the Self, is the greatest mis-
ery. Spreading a high spiritual message through
ones life, by setting a personal example, and
through interaction with people is considered
the highest duty for one who has experienced
the essential oneness of the whole creation.
Such a person can work untiringly, accept-
ing a life of physical, mental, and
sense- restraint and, if necessary,
go through disease and afic-
tion to help others attain to
the realization of the Self.
Sri Ramakrishna and
Swami Vivekananda are
themselves examples of
people of that calibre.
Swamiji used to tell
his brother disciples,
his own disciples, and
his followers that they
should be ready to sacri-
fce their lives to raise the
level of sufering humanity
to the realization of their
inner divinity. And
t og e t her
Sharatchandra
Chakravarty
with this he also inculcated in us the understand-
ing of the basic needs of life, before preaching
any high ideal: In all India there are, say, a hun-
dred thousand really spiritual men and women.
Now, for the spiritualization of these, must three
hundred millions be sunk in savagery and starva-
tion? Why should any starve? Bread! Bread!
I do not believe in a God, who cannot give me
bread here, giving me eternal bliss in heaven!16
First the needy ought to be given education so
that they could earn their bread; the teaching of
the knowledge of the Self would come later. It
was, therefore, only proper for Swamiji to tell his
disciple Saratchandra to sacrifce his life for the
good of others. Only a real vira, having shraddha
in himself, his guru, and God is capable of that
kind of sacrifce.
Tis then is the fourfold sacrifce: shraddha,
virya, jnana, and utsarga, sacrifce. Tis is the
ultimate yajna, and it is to be performed with-
out any motive or craving for its fruit: this is
not mine. Tis is the call of the great spiritual-
ist, humanist, patriot, and true citizen Swami
Vivekananda, who himself was the epitome of
the fourfold sacrifce.
The Highest Blessing
Afer telling his disciple what he has to do,
Swamiji blessed him again by saying: If my bless-
ings be of any good to you, I saymay Bhagavan
Shri Ramakrishna give you his grace. I know of
no blessings higher than this.
We believe that behind Swamijis towering
intellect and rational approach, he was bathed
in sublime emotion and love of God. His deep
shraddha in his guru Sri Ramakrishna is also re-
fected in those words. Swamiji frmly believes
that without the kripa, grace, of the Master all the
blessings he gave to his disciple cannot fructify.
One must endeavour to evolve from the lower
levels of existence to the highest, but must not
forget that without the gurus and Gods kripa
self-efort alone cannot accomplish the spiritual
goal. Tat is why the Upanishad says that the Self
is attained by the one whom it chooses: Yame-
vaisha vrinute tena labhyah.17 In order that the
Self may choose us or we may realize God in our
life, we are required to constantly pray and seek
the grace of the guru and of God. Tulasidas says
that by mere efort it is not possible to attain the
goal. Only a few who experience Gods grace at-
tains to it: Yaha guna sadhan te nahin hoi, tum-
hari kripa pava koi koi; this virtue (of dispassion)
is not attained by practice, but only a few and far
between get it by your grace.18
As a fnal remark, I would like to draw a
comparison between Arjuna, who was chosen
as the medium to manifest Sri Krishnas mes-
sage, and Sharatchandra Chakravarty, who was
Swamijis chosen instrument through whom he
blessed all of us. P
References
9, 1997), 7.267.
2. Bhagavadgita, 17.28.
3. Taittiriya Upanishad, 1.11.3.
4. Rig Veda, 10.151.1.
5. Tulsidas, Ramacharitamanasa, 1.2.
6. Acharya Shankara, Vivekachudamani, 25.
7. See Bhagavadgita, 17.3.
8. Mundaka Upanishad, 3.2.4.
11. Ramacharitamanasa, 7.112.2
12. Vivekachudamani, 6.
14. Te Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, comp. and
ed. Swami Gambhirananda (Kolkata: Advaita
Ashrama, 2010), 34.
15. See Bhagavadgita, 4.7 8.
17. Katha Upanishad, 1.2.23.
18. Ramacharitamanasa, 3.21.3.
His Call Beckons
Dr Joyesh Bagchi
he century we live in is character-
ized by the painful dualities of unimagin-
able afuence and mind-numbing poverty,
centralized autocratic power and hopeless
powerlessness, surreal fights of knowledge and
abject ignorance, hypertrophy at one end and
atrophy at the other. Tis pain is further accen-
tuated by the cold indiference that the world
shows towards the amelioration of these prob-
lems and the propagation of heartless steps to-
wards managing the conficts that arise from
them. Furthermore, to satisfy the insatiable lust
for wealth and power the rich and powerful are
incessantly developing devious and despicable
ways of self-aggrandizement at the expense of
the helpless majority.
On the positive side we fnd that the century
is also pregnant with possibilities. Perhaps more
than ever before the world is afrming Swami
Vivekanandas keen insight:
Te problem of life is becoming deeper and
broader every day as the world moves on. Te
watchword and the essence have been preached
in the days of yore when the Vedantic truth was
frst discovered, the solidarity of all life. One
atom in this universe cannot move without
dragging the whole world along with it. Tere
cannot be any progress without the whole world
following in the wake, and it is becoming every
day clearer that the solution of any problem can
never be attained on racial, or national, or nar-
row grounds. Every idea has to become broad
till it covers the whole of this world, every aspir-
ation must go on increasing till it has engulfed
the whole of humanity, nay, the whole of life,
within its scope.1
On the one hand, globalized networks have
enabled the slow permeation of Vedantic prin-
ciples to give rise to a variegated number of
New Age movements. On the other hand, re-
cent history has proved that technology-assisted
anonymous networks of concerned courageous
individuals can engender social waves that would
bring invincible tyrannies to their knees.
Amidst pleasure and pain, struggle and resist-
ance, exuberance, chaos, and volatile expressions
of life that the world is witnessing, an either-or
situation is slowly emerging: either spiritualize
or descend into barbarism. Swami Vivekanandas
agenda of spiritualization of the whole human
race is occupying an urgent and prominent space
in the mental sphere of humankind. Either the
world discovers an unshakable, deep-lying, and
permanent basis for democratic and libertarian
ideals honed over the ages, or humanity will in-
evitably degenerate, just as do all things that are
not rooted in and nourished by spiritual truths.
Te life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda
have been illuminating the paths of innumerable
souls, giving a new meaning to their lives. Renun-
ciation and service were the twin glowing ideals
that he placed before us. Over the last century
the power behind his persona has been slowly un-
coiling itself in the world stage. Countless people
have attempted to mould their lives as per their
own readings of Swamijis ideals, a process that
has silently moulded the twentieth century.
However, a practical question faces all those
who struggle to express in their lives those
ideals: how to translate them in our twenty-frst-
century life. Responding to Swamijis call one
T
196
Prabuddha Bharata
PB February 2012
34
develops an intense desire to realize the Truth,
and yet one has to live in the present techno-
logical world of anguish, sufering, and resist-
ance. To live with an intense inward search and
the pain of the outward social existence is the
challenge of all spiritual seekers.
Te world presents a scenario of clashing
ideals in which scientifc knowledge and tech-
nology have accumulated immense power in
the hands of a few with greedy, sectarian, and
chauvinistic ends. Lived experience has led to
the realization that happiness and peace do not
accompany material prosperity.
At the same time it is a fact that this is the age
of the people. Everywhere in the world com-
mon people, the labouring lower classes,
are struggling to assert their nat-
ural rights, the right to work,
to play, to grow, to live with
dignity to thus achieve a
decent way of life. Te
human being is in-
deed asserting
its birthright to
be human. And
Swamiji is the
prophet of this
struggle to mani-
fest the blissful Di-
vine in each and
every one of us.
The past century has
been a politico-centric one,
with a history of pit-
falls that have
highlighted Swamijis warning: No amount of
political or social manipulation of human condi-
tions can cure the evils of life. It is a change of the
soul itself for the better that alone will cure the
evils of life. No amount of force, or government,
or legislative cruelty will change the conditions of
a race, but it is spiritual culture and ethical culture
alone that can change wrong racial tendencies for
the better (3.182). Spirituality encompasses a far
greater feld of human life than political doctrines
can ever envisage.
Swami Vivekanandas Call
It is the God within your own self that is propel-
ling you to seek for Him, to realize Him (2.81).
Our lives are a struggle to manifest the
Supreme Being under any cir-
cumstances, external and
internal, that tries to
press it down. We are
born rebelsrebel-
lion against the thral-
dom of the senses to
break free and real-
ize absolute free-
dom. Consciously
or unconsciously we
are all seeking this free-
dom, and our human es-
sence is the reef on which
all the mighty and powerful,
all tyrants and institutionalized
tyrannies have foundered.
Swamijis ideal is not
the one of a
His Call Beckons 35
permanent spiritual recluse, but that of a heart
aching for human misery on every levelphys-
ical, mental, emotional, intellectual, political,
and of course spiritual. He cried for the ignor-
ant, for the bereaved, for the suppressed, for the
miserable of all nations and creeds. With pain
and passion he had declared:
Him I call a Mahatman (great soul) whose
heart bleeds for the poor, otherwise he is a
Dura tman (wicked soul). Let us unite our
wills in continued prayer for their good. We
may die unknown, unpitied, unbewailed,
without accomplishing anythingbut not
one thought will be lost. It will take efect,
sooner or later. My heart is too full to express
my feeling; you know it, you can imagine it. So
long as the millions live in hunger and ignor-
ance, I hold every man a traitor who, having
been educated at their expense, pays not the
least heed to them! (5.58)
And again, reproving those cold and indifer-
ent supposedly spiritual seekers, he said: Do you
think that a man who does not exert himself at
all, who only takes the name of Hari, shutting
himself up in a room, who remains quiet and
indiferent even when seeing a huge amount of
wrong and violence done to others before his
very eyes, possesses the quality of Sattva? Noth-
ing of the kind, he is only enshrouded in dark
Tamas (5.352). To engage with the world self-
lessly, constructively, courageously, with em-
pathy and manliness is the ideal that Swamiji
presented for the modern age.
He laid immense stress on manliness, which
is one of the frst expressions in the body, mind,
heart, and will of the Divine, the Self. To pos-
sess the quality of manliness is to be established
in the Self, to rejoice in the Self, to want noth-
ing, to fear nothing, to dislike nothing, to serve
all. Free and strong men and women thinking
their own thoughts, speaking their own words,
and hewing their own route to the Infnite are
the ones who are able to make the future that
Swamiji envisioned. Perfect sincerity, holiness,
gigantic intellect, and an all-conquering will. Let
only a handful of men work with these, and the
whole world will be revolutionized. It is pa-
tient upbuilding of character, the intense strug-
gle to realise the truth, which alone will tell in
the future (8.335).
Only spiritually free and strong men and
women that take their stand on the Atman can
truly deify this world, can truly revere it and
work in it tirelessly, without desire or fear, and
motivated by love alone. Only such men and
women can meet the unprecedented challenges
of this age, can have the mental strength and will
power to renounce and serve without any desire
for wealth and name and fame.
Te Ramakrishna-Vivekananda tradition has
reiterated that renunciation is the foundation
of all spiritual disciplines. Swamiji was categor-
ical in declaring that renunciation is the fag and
banner of Indian civilization, foating over the
world, the one undying thought that India sends
again and again as a help to evolving races and
as a warning to all tyrannies. Renunciation is the
necessary category and fact of life that all sin-
cere seekers sooner or later stumble upon in their
journey to the Divine. In Swamijis words: Te
Absolute or the Infnite is trying to express itself
in the fnite, but there will come a time when
it will fnd that it is impossible, and it will then
have to beat a retreat, and this beating a retreat
means renunciation which is the real beginning
of religion. Renounce and give up (2.99100).
Te ideal of renunciation is also a reaction
to the modern ever-increasing horizon of mad
consumerism. It presents the ideal of a simplifed
joyous and expansive life at play with the Divine,
a response to the unsustainable society of afu-
ence characterized by contracted, insecure, and
alienated lives. Swamijis man-making religion
of renunciation and freedom is the antidote to
the thick brew of problems cooking in the world
today.
Spiritualization of the Human Race
One has to incessantly work to purify the mind
of all selfsh desires, to give oneself away with-
out any expectation of return, and to be beref
of any hankering for wealth, name, or fame. Tis
may appear to be a difcult, rather impossible,
ideal, but whether one likes it or not it has to
be attempted for the beneft of oneself and the
world. Te bold, brave, and fearless have to clear
the road for others to follow. Trough his clear
vision, Swamiji had forecasted: Sacrifce in the
past has been the Law, it will be, alas, for ages to
come. Te earths bravest and best will have to
sacrifce themselves for the good of many, for the
welfare of all. Buddhas by the hundred are neces-
sary with eternal love and pity (7.501).
One has to stand on ones feet and strug-
gle on in good and bad times, through dreary
and painful roads, for inscrutable is the divine
order of things. It is the anonymous, humble,
and poor but bold, brave, and free who are most
likely to change themselves and the world; this
is Swamijis feeling: Trust not the so-called rich,
they are more dead than alive. Te hope lies in
youin the meek, the lowly, but the faithful.
Have faith in the Lord; no policy, it is nothing.
Feel for the miserable and look up for helpit
shall come (5.16).

And again: We are poor, my
brothers, we are nobodies, but such have been
always the instruments of the Most High (5.58).
In spiritual life one has to undertake activity
without having an eye on its results as a practice.
Giving up the fruits of work means giving it up
to God. One has to work with self-abnegation
for the welfare of others. Whatever work one
does without attachment only brings good to
oneself and to the world. It is all for the good of
the many, for the happiness of the many.
History has stamped each culture with its dis-
tinct signature, an ideal or unique note in the
grand symphony of human civilization. Each
culture provides, so to say, its inimitable fra-
grance in the bouquet that is formed by the ac-
cumulated life experiences of humanity. As per
Swami Vivekananda, Indias uniqueness has been
stamped long back in history with a high note:
spirituality, which waxes and wanes in intensity
through the ups and downs of Indias fortune. It
is Indias task to nurture its expansive religious
acceptance, its ideal of onenessthe grand soli-
darity of lifeand also the universal spirit of
renunciation.
Te Vedantic ideals that were the exclusive
possession of a select few need to be dissemi-
nated far and wide in thought, word, and deed
for the good of humanity. In Swamijis words:
To become broad, to go out, to amalgamate, to
universalise, is the end of our aims. Te more
you go out and travel among the nations of the
world, the better for you and for your country.
Te frst manifest efect of life is expansion. You
must expand if you want to live. Te moment
you have ceased to expand, death is upon you,
danger is ahead (3.2712).
Te process of permeation has to be gradual,
without disturbing even the roadside dust: Our
message has gone out to the world many a time,
but slowly, silently, unperceived. It is on a par
with everything in India. Te one characteristic
of Indian thought is its silence, its calmness. At
the same time the tremendous power that is be-
hind it is never expressed by violence. It is always
the silent mesmerism of Indian thought (3.274).
However, there are several dangers in the way
that need to be shunned. One is the wrong con-
ception that we Indians are the people of the
world and the rest are inferior to us. Te other is
His Call Beckons 37
that in the guise of spirituality all kinds of perva-
sive superstitions, mystery-mongering, and hyp-
ocrisy have taken deep roots; these have to be
weeded out and thrown aside for ever. Swamiji
said: I would rather see every one of you rank
atheists than superstitious fools, for the atheist
is alive and you can make something out of him.
But if superstition enters, the brain is gone, the
brain is sofening, degradation has seized upon
the life (3.278).
Every system, therefore, which weakens the
mind, makes one superstitious, makes one
mope, makes one desire all sorts of wild impos-
sibilities, mysteries, and superstitions, I do not
like, because its efect is dangerous. Such sys-
tems never bring any good; such things create
morbidity in the mind, make it weak, so weak
that in course of time it will be almost impos-
sible to receive truth or live up to it. Strength,
therefore, is the one thing needful. Strength is
the medicine for the worlds disease. Strength is
the medicine which the poor must have when
tyrannised over by the rich. Strength is the
medicine that the ignorant must have when op-
pressed by the learned; and it is the medicine
that sinners must have when tyrannised over by
other sinners (2.201).
Incessant Practice
A strange mystical law at times embodies to ad-
just the route of ascension suited for the age.
In Ramakrishna-Vivekananda that law embod-
ied itself to call forth the soul within us. It is
well known that Swamijisindeed Sri Rama-
krishnasideal of a perfected personality in-
volves the integration of the four yogas of work,
devotion, psychic control, and philosophy. Life is
much more than mere conformity with the rules
of self-preservation and self-aggrandizement; life
is an incessant struggle, internal and external,
to manifest the Divine. Te intense and sincere
practice of spiritual disciplines internally and the
(Continued from page 190)
He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak,
and in the diseased, really worships Shiva; and if
he sees Shiva only in the image, his worship is but
preliminary. He who has served and helped one
poor man seeing Shiva in him, without thinking
of his caste, or creed, or race, or anything, with
him Shiva is more pleased than with the man who
sees Him only in temples (3.142). With one blow
he redirects the devotion of the devoted and en-
gages the sympathy and cooperation of those who
are not inclined to traditional devotion.
Te world has many of problems, but it also
has many young people. Swami Vivekanandas
spiritual values for the youth are a landmark for
the improvement of the whole world. P
References
1. Chhandogya Upanishad. 6.9.4.
9, 1997), 2.294.
continuation of spiritual practice by selfess en-
gagement with the world outside is the ideal that
Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji have established.
Swamiji, and as an extension of his ideal the
Ramakrishna movement, stands for actual prac-
tice and realization of the spiritual truths and not
mere intellectual assent to doctrines and dogmas.
Religion is not parroting the thoughts of others, it
is being and becoming, it is realization. Te world
is a gymnasium where one has to live and work to
transcend ones desire and ego to fnally manifest
ones true nature, the Divine within. P
References
9, 1997), 3.269.
The Being of Humankind
Prof S C Malik
S
wami Vivekananda suggested many dif-
ferent ways to deal with the present human
predicament. I will refer to one, out of the
many, which deals with universalization and
identity. More than a century ago Swamiji initi-
ated a powerful worldwide movement to bring
about global harmony. He was a perfect example
of one who had realized the Self and strove to
bring this realization to all humanity.
For Swamiji, Consciousness was the focal
point of all research and dialogue, for it is the
unity underlying all disparate people, religions,
and ideologies. Tis focal point can remove all
forms of bigotry, persecution, sectarianism, and
religious fundamentalism. Swamiji states that
ignorance of the Self is the cause of the prob-
lems of the world. He elaborates by saying that
the source of the human predicament is the mis-
taken belief that the Self is a mortal, pain-ridden
mind-body complex. Swamijis message is that
universal Consciousness, or the one Being, is
the true nature of all the manifold forms, just
as water is the true nature of all diferent whirl-
pools, waves, bubbles, and currents in the ocean.
It is mandatory for humankind today to realize
the interconnectedness of the universe within
the context of Consciousness, which is concep-
tualized diferently in diferent cultures and reli-
gions as God, Self, Being, or in many other ways.
Te knowledge of the Self is not a thought,
or a feeling, or an acquired belief. It is a state of
intense awareness of the Reality, of what one al-
ready is, has always been, and will always be. In
the quest for real knowledge, Truth is directly
lived and perceived as it is: Man is to become di-
vine by realising the divine.1 Meditation and dis-
cernment are the means to separate the Self from
its identifcation with the mind and the body. It
is the process of knowing oneself , to paraphrase
the Socratic dictum. But humanity has done little
Te Being of Humankind 39
progress in the way to know itself, its true nature.
Swamiji reminds us that each one has the poten-
tial to realize the Self: Prophets were not unique;
they were men as you and I. Te very fact that
one man ever reached that state, proves that it is
possible for every man to do so (1.185).
Tis paper briefy examines why humankind
does not fnd or move towards the ideal stated by
Swamiji. It points to the fact that outdated para-
digms continue to dominate civilization even in
the twenty-frst century, and that we are uncon-
sciously following them and causing unpreced-
ented disastrous results all around.
The Essence within
Modern civilization continues to be confronted
by a series of crises, the predominant being a
psycho-spiritual one. And this crisis has not been
given serious consideration. Humankind has
taken giant scientifc and technological strides,
but all these marvellous successes have also
brought about impending nuclear and ecological
disasters. Unprecedented famines, natural disas-
ters, wars in which millions of innocent people
have been systematically annihilated are taking
place. And those that are not directly afected by
these things have to sufer the tremendous socio-
political and economic upheavals that are caus-
ing an identity crisis all over the world.
Underlying the current problems are certain
assumptions, like a linear-time way of thinking,
which is based on a cause and efect framework
that creates the illusion of a series of logically
connected events. Tere is also a binary sys-
tem that confronts you with me, nature with
human, East with West, subjectivity with ob-
jectivity, science with spirituality, and so on. All
these outmoded paradigms have brought about
disturbances everywhere.
It is clear that a new paradigmatic shif has
become imperative to bring into focus Swamijis
idea of Being. Tis shif is required in the human
psyche. Despite brilliant scientifc and intellec-
tual assessments, all blueprints of progress are in-
evitably subsumed under the old linear-thought
paradigm. Tis old paradigm works by fragment-
ing things in order to analyse the problem and
reorganize a total picture through a piecemeal
examination of accumulated data. Tough cur-
rent science speaks of interconnectedness, it too
is swallowed under this old way of thinking. It
results in the belief that ideals can be achieved
within a linear-time frame, given enough time,
and that one day all problems will be cleared.
One is seldom aware of this in the conditioned
ways we live. Each one of us is so deeply con-
ditioned that this way of thinking seems to be
the only practical way to have and achieve any-
thing, including spirituality. Naturally, these at-
tempts are futile; it is like wearing cracked glasses
and then trying to put together the broken view
of the world.
Te paradigm shif under discussion involves
the awakening of those dormant areas of the
brain wherein lies intuition and insight, away
from the mechanical working of the reptilian-
mammalian brain. Te awareness of being con-
ditioned is a prerequisite for awakening those
dormant areas of the brain. Tere are only a few
individuals who are creative in all spheres of life,
because they function as pure Consciousness.
Tey are in touch with the innermost psyche
of the universal mind. Te reference is to those
ontological unitary states that are existential-
experiential. Tis knowledge comes from the
impersonal whole mind, and it comes without
efort, spontaneously. In these states there are
no comparisons and no categories subjected to
measurementit is a mind without measure. It
is that state in which the discursive thought is
absent. Tis is a no-movement silence, generally
referred to as inefable.
No bleed here
We are this essence, and not who we think
we are in terms of symbols and metaphors of
the conceptual world. It is the One that is to
be remembered by each person at all times. But
when one tries to understand it, the conditioned
mind takes over by redefning such moments
into mechanical thought, via rationalization
and analysis. By dwelling in the Being, which
is in touch with inner silent spaces, one learns
to listen rather than merely hear, and see rather
than merely look. Tis allows the body-brain or-
ganism to function sensitively, fully. It is a state
where one is no-thing and yet everything, when
the absence of the I makes room for the univer-
sal Presence to be manifest. Te reference is to
the creative process par excellence, where percep-
tion is action and everything is now.
Fragmentation and Linear Time
In the evolutionary history of humans the frag-
mentary way of thinking helped us cope with
the external world. But now overspecialization
of things and knowledge has made us emotion-
ally fragmented and socially dysfunctional.
Fragmentation is not merely conceptual, it is
psychological and is the cause of the basic an-
guish of modern humans. Against this illness,
fundamental questions of a diferent order have
to be raised, since no amount of old accumulated
data can provide a breakthrough. A prerequis-
ite for doing it is, for a true enquirer, to jump
out of not only ones professional, national, and
parochial identities, but also out of ones socio-
cultural identity.
At another level, science has narrowed the
gap between the subject and the object; the
viewer and the viewed are inextricably tied to
each other. As a result all subjective knowledge
is changing the view of the objective world, and
hence the writing of human events is not ob-
jectively possible. An understanding of cultural
phenomena requires a multidimensional inter-
relatedness that happens simultaneously, in pro-
cesses and patterns that do not take recourse to
linear cause-efect concepts. Causation also cre-
ates psychological anxieties, since thought moves
between the past and the future without realiz-
ing that both are in fact the same.
Knowing
It is important to examine, in the above con-
text, how and in what way do we know what
we know, given our conditioning. At the psy-
chological level, the processes of knowing and
communicating are operational at the follow-
ing three levels: (i) thought processes, consisting
of images, symbols, concepts, language; (ii) ex-
periencing, which consists of emotions, feelings,
intuition; and, (iii) being-ness, consisting of in-
sight, attention, awareness, and consciousness.
Tese three areas interact, especially in mo-
ments of total holistic functioning of the mind.
But normally life operates at the frst and second
levels, and this is what governs normal human
behaviour. Of course, nothing radical can hap-
pen as long as one is not even aware that one
is in a box. Being-ness encompasses both the
frst and second levels and allows for creativ-
ity to be felt and experienced. Being is beyond
boundaries, beyond the known, beyond dual-
ities. In these creative raptures one lives moment
to moment, not from something to something
or from nothing to something, but from being
to being. Psychologically speaking it means the
dying, moment to moment, of all of ones yes-
terdays and tomorrows. Ones personal identity
remains at the minimum operational level since
the source of it all is being now, the universal
oneness, the Self.
In normal life one wants to be in the safe
box, to protect ones ego from anxiety, pain,
and so on. But the more one plays this game,
No bleed here
Te Being of Humankind 41
the more isolated one becomes in the feeling
of being alive. Tis isolated self feels lonely not
due to lack of people around, but because one
is not being ones Self, despite all eforts to re-
late and be nice to others. It is in this process
that a multitude of reactions form, and the me
and its extensions emerge from past memories,
actual or imagined, to increase the isolation.
One forgets that pure experiencing, or know-
ing, comes from the impersonal Consciousness,
in which the experiencer and the experienced
are only secondary.
But what is being, this timelessness? Tis is
the Reality, which is available to everyone, albeit
one may not be aware of it. Yet being is not a
thing, an object to be seen or felt or known. It
is like electricity, which is known only through
its efects but never by itself. Tere is no direct
proof of it in an objective sense. Te awareness
comes from knowing who one is, rather than
from who one thinks one is. Tis perception
makes one fully awake and alive.
Peace of Mind
Most of us continue to perpetuate the same
old way of living, which involves compromises,
limited choices, graf, and so on. Tis is a con-
sequence of the linear mind, through which we
want to bring order in the outer worldprob-
ably with all good intentions. But as the common
saying goes: the way to hell is paved with good
intentions! We are part of the action- reaction
mode of existence that operates unconsciously.
Te result is a slow development and progress,
and always with the illusion of the tomorrow.
But true revolutionary steps imply a total break
from the past, psychologically speaking, and a
discontinuity in the sense of a new creation in
the moments of now. Tinking, feeling, and ex-
periencing are one total process that the mind
splits into the knower, known, and knowing.
Tis is the usual mechanical way of living, cre-
ated by the fssion of duality. But it is from a
you and me world of fusion that real harmony
comes. Tis is the paradigmatic shif we are dis-
cussing about. It is like a river fowing naturally
down towards the ocean rather than struggling
against the stream of the universe. No longer is
one doing to fnd love; it is love that instantly
brings about doingand even having. Tis
being, which has its own divine intelligence, is
manifested in the hologram of the body-brain
system.
In recent years the dynamic nature of the uni-
verse as a total system has prominently emerged
in many felds. But somehow holism has become
another ism, something to be achieved within
another linear formulation, another formula to
be captured. Practical people make more plans,
set up institutions to manifest ancient mystic in-
sights within a so-called scientifc methodology.
But since personal psychological transformation
has not taken place, nothing seems to work nat-
urally. It is reduced to another intellectual de-
bate that functions, very subtly and attractively,
through logic and rationality. Afer all, nothing
will be allowed to threaten our old identities,
despite claims to the contrary, that encourage
us to go towards freedom. One of those ancient
identities is the right to question who am I?
If this question is properly pursued, then our
being becomes a becoming, and not vice versa.
As Socrates declared: An unexamined life is not
worth living.
It is time to provide a breakthrough from the
stranglehold of the linear mind. Ten only hu-
mankind can come out of its present crisis. P
Reference
9 vols (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 18, 1989,
9, 1997), 1.16.
No bleed here
Eternal Words
Swami Adbhutananda
Compiled by Swami Siddhananda; translated by Swami Sarvadevananda
(Continued from the December 2012 issue )
D
o you come to watch what a
sadhu is doing or what he is not doing
at night? Tis is very bad. A sadhu is
independent. He will perform sadhanas at his
own volition. When he doesnt care to, he wont
do them. What is the need of your seeing such
things? A sadhu doesnt care for any one. What
will you accomplish by watching him?
It is inauspicious to criticize one whom God
ordains as ft and selects to do his special work.
Even God becomes displeased with someone
who criticizes.
One should not see faults in others; rather,
one should only see their merits. Everyone has
some fault or other. Some peoples faults stay
hidden.
Why does a person take delight in criticizing
others? It is done to glorify oneself.
Does one whose mind cries out for God give
ear to a few petty words of praise and blame? In
this world such things will always be present.
Wearing the ochre cloth, if you cannot give up
such things, what have you achieved?
It is forbidden for a sannyasin to slander
others or gossip. It is wrong to wear an ochre
cloth with the idea of being praised. One must
frst understand the nobility of that cloth and
only then should one wear it. If one does what-
ever one likes, it is not religion but waywardness.
It is malicious to entertain the divisive
thought that the people of ones country should
have abundant food while another countrys
people should starve to death.
Worldly Possessions
and Worldly Wisdom
We are such scoundrels that if but once there
rises a desire to call upon God, we immediately
start calculating by thinking: If I call upon him
ofering my heart and soul, who will feed me and
my family? Where shall I fnd a place to stay?
Not for one second do we think of the many
people in this world who have lef their hearths
and homes for God. Do they ever lack anything?
For those who renounce everything for him,
God surely feeds them, clothes them, and sup-
plies them with every strength and support. He
makes everything easy for them. It is more than
enough if by taking his name one can just come
out of this worldly life.
If a man who used to have a good income
dies, his son laments saying: What will happen
to me? His wife laments thinking: What will
happen to me? Tey never think for a moment
about the fate of the one who has passed away.
How many pray to God saying: Oh Lord, please
forgive him if he has committed any wrong.
Tey dont do that. Everyone is busy with ones
interest. Tis is the world.
In this world if one completes his education
but cant earn any money, people call him a fool.
But if the most dull-witted person happens to
make money, they call him a genius. Tere is no
respect for knowledge.
Tose who have some money will call a guile-
less person who has no pride or ego crazy. Tey
will certainly call a person with no money crazy.
No bleed here
Eternal Words 43
Meanwhile, you people who day and night live
by your egos think yourselves to be superior!
Tose people have cast of their pride and ego
entirely knowing them to be worthless. Dont
you see? Tis is undoubtedly the special grace of
God. See how that man is humbly coming here
to give a very ordinary gif; yet, he is not embar-
rassed. Tis is surely the right type of love. Some
people used to say: Sir, that sadhu is accepting
money. Hearing that, the Master used to get an-
noyed and say: What are these rascals talking
about? Should the sadhus live on air? Tey have
given up all worldly pleasures; yet, seeing them
have the slightest comfort, people feel jealous.
Is there any means of salvation for such people?
Because of this, the Master used to say: People
come here because they dont have to give a do-
nation! Tey are worldly people. Money is their
blood. Tey are pained to part with it.
How will a person understand the signif-
cance of dharma? Day and night they are only
saying: Oh money, where are you? Oh my
dear, how can I get you? For them money is
dharmamoney is karmamoney is verily the
supreme austerity. Where is money? My dear
money! Money, money, money, money!
Dont associate with worldly-minded house-
holders. One shouldnt even come within their
sphere of infuence. Do you think that I dont
see? Still, since one shouldnt say things that
will pain the hearts of others, I keep quiet.
But when I see you engage yourselves in too
many excesses, it is solely for your own good
that I warn you. Sadhus shouldnt mix with bad
householders. Tey will deposit their maya on
the sadhus shoulders.
Reliance on God
Surely God is there. Since we dont yearn to
know him, we cant recognize his existence. If
you want to realize God, you must accept pain
and sufering and reject as crow droppings all
honour, dishonour, and fear of public disgrace.
Ten only will his grace come.
When people are happy, do they seek God?
At those times a person thinks: I myself am the
master, the Lord. It is but natural that one wor-
ships God in times of trouble. But that man who
also calls on God during times of joy is a true
human being. Tulasidas says: All worship the
Lord in times of sorrow; none worship him in
times of joy. If one worships him in happiness,
from where can sorrow come?
Whoever accepts God will be saved. Such
persons will receive his bliss and be happy. Tose
who cannot accept him will sufer in anguish.
Just as one who having earned a degree be-
lieves that everything is futile if he cant get a
good job, know for certain that all of a mans
studies are in vain if, at their conclusion, he cant
grow in faith and devotion to God.
God is verily present within each person. Is he
not present in you? Due to our foolishness, we
cant comprehend this. Sri Krishna says: Verily,
I am full; everything is just a part of me.
What is the result of all of ones faith and
trust in God? If ones intentions and actions
are directed towards God and dishonest work
is rejected, both the individual and society will
prosper. Tere is a Master above. Te dishonest
worker is sure to sufer.
It will never work for everyone in the house-
hold to assume the role of the master of the
house. Tat household runs the best which has
just one master. Te same in spiritual life: if
one does not make God the master, one cant
achieve results. But we fail to fear the one whom
we should fear, while we fear the one whom we
should not! If a person knows that God is ever-
present, can he commit any ofence?
People call upon God to remove their mis-
eries. God is not the subject of fattery. Accept
PB February 2013
him. Tat is very good. Dont accept him. Tat is
also good. What does it matter to him whether
you believe in him or not?
All powers will come to the one who takes
refuge in God. God is all-powerful. Everyone is
subject to happiness and misery. Even the avata-
ras sufer greatly by taking a human birth. One
should pray to God and ask him: Let me not
forget you, either in happiness or misery. Let me
endure it all!
Hiding from God, what progress can you
make? He is beyond the ken of our worldly vi-
sion, yet he sees everything. He is omniscient.
God is not subject to rules or regulations.
Still, when he binds himself with his own
mayaacting as an embodied being in his lila
even he is not free. No one can know where his
rules end. At least it is not possible to discern it
with our little minds. But if one becomes sur-
charged with him, one can understand both God
and his devotees. Rules and regulations are there
for you and me.
Tere is a great diference between the in-
struction coming from God and the instruction
coming from a human. Gods pronouncements
are undoubtedly correct. Worship God; sing his
glories. All strength arises only from his strength.
If you dont acknowledge him, what does that
matter to God?
Everything happens in time. Nothing hap-
pens until the time is ripe. It will not do for you
to be restless. You should remain patient. Even
falling into some adversity, remain patient. If you
can hold steady in such a predicament and trust
in God, surely some spiritual beneft is bound to
come to you.
The Vision of God
So long as one lacks Self-realization, the under-
standing that the guru and God are one will not
rise. Tough you may discern a thousand times
and exercise your reason, doubts will surely beset
you. But if by chance at any point of time Self-
realization happens, all doubts will be destroyed
and you will experience that the guru and God
are one. So long as that does not happen, you
should know that you have some imperfection.
Tat sadhu who has realized God knows who
God is and what renunciation is. It is not
enough to merely take the garb of a monk!
God-realization is verily the utmost goal.
Tere is a vast diference between Self-
realization and book reading.
Can one be compelled to adopt the
spirit of Advaita? Te Master used to
say that when the fruit becomes big, the
fower falls of automatically. Te Mas-
ter couldnt even walk over grass. Such
is the all-pervasive undifferentiated
knowledge of Brahmanspontaneous
Self-knowledge. One should continue
discerning between the truth of Dvaita
and Advaita. Ten, gradually, realiza-
tion will come.
Prahlada realized God. One can
Narasimha killing Hiranyakashipu, as Prahlada watches at the left (18th cent.)
Eternal Words 45
realize God solely by living a pure and stainless
life. God is surely present. He can be seen. Te
life of Prahlada was pure and unblemished; he
had the faith that God is omnipresent. God gives
his vision to the one who calls him with an earn-
est cry.
Some say: Where is God? Does he exist?
Tose who are genuine renunciates are indeed
fortunate. Tey say: If God exists, we will go
to him frst because our lives are pure. We have
never harmed a soul in this world. Tose of you
who have oppressed and tortured others to gain
the pleasures of worldly life will not be able to
go near God. For this reason Swamiji used to
say: If there is no God, whether I realize him or
not, even so, I am saved from the troubles of this
world, for I have renounced all its worldly pleas-
ures and have done no harm to anyone. Only a
genuine renunciate can say this.
No one has seen God. Yet, that person is for-
tunate indeed who, afer seeing his works, can
acknowledge him.
Be like a Shiva linga that rises of its own
from beneath the ground and dont be like an
installed Shiva linga. Hearing that at a certain
place a Shiva linga has emerged of its own from
the ground, people go in large numbers to see
it. How many go to see a Shiva linga that has
been installed by people? Tat is why I tell you,
by engaging in devotion and sadhana realize the
truth yourself !
What more shall I say? God is. Tis is true
without a doubt. Call on him. By his grace, you
will get his vision.
Te Master used to say: Dont become hyp-
notized by seeing the universe; try to know the
Lord of the universe.
God manifests through action. Is God
far away? You dont see him because you lack
sadhana. He exists in every heart. He is nearer
than the near.
Karma done with desire creates bondage;
karma done without desire purifes the mind.
If ones heart becomes pure, God, who is Truth
itself, will manifest. Among all work the greatest
is to perform spiritual and devotional practices
and to call on God. If one earnestly calls on him,
he will certainly appear.
Did you go to see Vishvanath [the Shiva of
the main temple in Varanasi]? Yes! You should
go daily. Vishvanath is there. I tell you honestly,
he is there; he is palpably there. To some, he is
manifest, but to others, he is hidden.
Dependence on God
One day when the Pandavas were living in the
forest, the sage Durvasa asked Duryodhana:
When shall I go to see the Pandavas? Know-
ing that Durvasa had an extremely angry tem-
perament, Duryodhana deviously responded:
Please visit them afer dusk. Te Pandavas were
then living solely on alms and afer fnishing
their evening meal, they wouldnt be able to
host any guests. Unaware of any of this, Dur-
vasa thought Duryodhana probably told him
to visit the Pandavas at night because then the
Pandavas would come together afer hunting
all day. With this thought in his mind, Dur-
vasa and his sixty-thousand disciples set out
to visit the Pandavas at night. As soon as Yu-
dhisthira saw the sage Durvasa approaching,
he grew extremely alarmed thinking that the
Pandavas would likely be destroyed [by Dur-
vasas anger] that very day. Yudhisthira wel-
comed the sage saying: What a great fortune
is mine. Observing that dusk was nearly over
Durvasa announced: I shall eat here today. He
then proceeded to the riverbank to perform his
evening prayers. Tat was the twelfh day of the
moon, and Durvasa had been fasting from the
eleventh day. Remembering that there was no
food at the Pandavas home, Yudhisthira prayed
to his friend Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna could not
remain unmoved by his call; he appeared be-
fore Draupadi and told her: I am very hungry.
If you have anything at home, give it to me.
Draupadi responded: O Lord, there is nothing
as lefovers in our home. However, there were
in fact a few lefover spinach leaves. Afer eating
those leaves with a little water and burping, Sri
Krishna returned home. Seeing that Durvasa
had been delayed, Yudhisthira sent Bhima to
bring some news about him. Bhima saw that
Durvasa was about to fall asleep. Durvasa told
Bhima: I am very tired. I wont eat anything
tonight. Tomorrow I shall break my fast. On
hearing of this, Yudhisthira started thinking
that everything is the play of Sri Krishna! In
this way, those who depend always on God
need not face any difculties or troubles. One
can also see that everyone is pleased with those
with whom God is pleased.
If one keeps ones mind on God, all of ones
fears depart. Te main thing is to keep the mind
on God. How will a man realize this; by what
disguise will God come to him to give him the
right understanding? One should pray to him
earnestly. Let it not be for show. If a prayer is
from the heart, God listens.
God does not take the responsibility of one
with a selfsh motive.
King Yudhisthira was extremely honest. He
depended entirely on Sri Krishna. Te Pandavas
were deeply religious. Tey had not the least de-
sire to enjoy royal pleasures. Tey told the Kau-
ravas: Listen, please give us fve villages. As we
have taken physical bodies, we should have to
protect them by some means. Tere is no other
option. Many disasters took place because the
Kauravas didnt grant the Pandavas request. Due
to their total dependence on God, the Pandavas
were saved. God himself takes charge of those
who depend on him.
Nobody performs any spiritual practices.
Tey only come here to make me talk. See the
folly, they come here to test a holy man! If one
displeases a sadhu, one has to face many adver-
sities. Why should a sadhu talk just to amuse
your mind? My dear, such a sadhus actions are
beneath even those of a householder! A holy
man does not care for anyone except God.
For this reason alone sadhus do not mix with
worldly-minded householders. Is there any lack
of food for a sadhu? Te one who wears the
ochre cloth just to fll his stomach will worry;
but why should a (true) sadhu worry? Food will
come to him wherever he calls on God. God will
surely feed the sadhus.
Devotees dont want to trouble God for petty
things so long as they can manage themselves. It
seems to me that it is better not to bother God
for all those trifing things.
Mans desires are never satisfed. His sufer-
ing never leaves him at any point of time, even
when God gives him plenty of money. Sufering
is relieved only by telling God about ones suf-
fering. Men cry out superfcially: Oh Lord! Oh
Lord! Doesnt God already know who needs
what? He knows everyones needs and gives
everyone whatever accords with his karma. It is
because people lack faith and reliance on God
that they endure so much distress. Adversity
also comes to those who associate with them.
Such people themselves sufer and cause others
to sufer as well. People live in hope, but sufer
when their expectations are too high. For this
reason one should be content and trust in Gods
will. God is the embodiment of endless compas-
sion. Tere will be no more sufering if one can
discern by thinking: As God understands more
than I do, let me be satisfed with whatever, by
his grace, he gives to me.
Many become restless when aficted with
disease or stricken by adversities or such things.
Eternal Words 47
At those times one should keep steady, have pa-
tience, and call on God with intense faith and
devotion. One should try to heal the disease as
much as possible by following whatever med-
ical advice is prescribed. Te Master said: Surely
medicine works! Where will the medicin al
beneft of the plant go? Even if that remedy
doesnt cure you, what will you gain by worry-
ing? You should know that everything is now in
Gods hands.
A devotee will not trouble God. If a devotee
surrenders to God, taking his name, God will
surely feed that devotee. Why then is there any
need to complain to God? It is enough to do
meditation and japa afer eating the alms ob-
tained by begging. What additional need is there
to practise silence?
How can one who has no dependence on
God do meditation and japa? Unless one de-
pends on Him, nothing happens.
Purity and the Noble Ideal
If one remains pure, some day or another, one
will surely realize the essence of spirituality. God
manifests himself wherever there is Truth, as Sri
Krishna manifested himself before Arjuna.
Taking a human body in this Kali yuga, even
if one eats a little fsh or meat, whats the harm?
For one who lives a pure life there is no harm in
this. Even people who eat fsh and meat are call-
ing upon God saying: Oh Lord! Oh Lord! And
you people who abstain from eating fsh or meat
are leading impure lives! Be pure. God reveals his
grace to those who are stainless.
Can everyone digest the unearned food re-
ceived from the satra (almshouse)? Many times
it has the opposite result. It is very difcult to
digest the food from the satra because thousands
of desires cling to such food. One must perform
intense meditation and japa; only then is its im-
pact counteracted.
It cannot be expressed how pleased the Mas-
ter would be upon fnding that a person is tidy
and clean. He disliked any inclination for dirti-
ness. A person must be clean inside and outside.
It is highly regrettable that holy ones are leav-
ing this world. Who can say what disasters await
this world? It is truly inauspicious if the holy
ones leave. What a terrible time has come that
sadhus are leaving their bodies. Te Master used
to say: If sadhus no longer remain, it is a sign of
destruction. Te presence of sadhus creates in-
tense spiritual power; people with bad tenden-
cies cant become powerful.
Even if a Muslim gives you food with love,
you should eat it without hesitation knowing
that you will remain pure. Anything given with
faith and devotion is sattvic.
Nothing is attained at all if one doesnt
know the Truth. Try to know the Truth. No
malice can remain where God, who is the em-
bodiment of Truth, is present. If you dont
try to know the Truth, Truth will not reveal
itself to you and malevolence will persist in-
stead. Wherever there is untruthfulness, there
is pettiness. Where Truth is revealed, the en-
tire environment is transformed. Suppose in a
family one brother earns more than the other
and the elder brother tells the younger (or vice
versa): Why are you growing anxious because
you cant earn more money? Who knows how
many days we will stay in this world? As we have
entered into family life, it is enough if our chil-
dren can somehow get a square meal. Tis is a
true brother. A good wife tells her husband: He
is your own brother; we are only in this world
for a few days! Confrontations cannot arise
in such homes. When the current of dharma
grows strong, one even feels brotherly love to-
wards a stranger; the sense of trust, devotion,
and liberty are strengthened.
(To be continued)
No bleed here
Svarajya Siddhih:
Attaining Self-dominion
Gangadharendra Saraswati
Translated from Sanskrit and annotated by Swami Narasimhananda
(Continued from the December 2012 issue )
ill now it has been established that the
contemplation on Vedic dicta like Tou art
Tat leads to the knowledge of Brahman.
Tere are many arguments of many schools of
thought against this position, which will now
be taken up one by one. Presently, the arguments
against the purported analysis of the term Tou
are being enumerated in the next two verses,
which are in the rdla-vikrita metre.
1r i:iì i1i`-i oiii`-i i i+ !iiii--i-ir-iii+
+iià -i eiiìii iti+i-ii i+ ii`-ii--ii i`-ittioii-i 1
+ii-ii-i ii`-iti+iii-ii+ i`-ii -ii+
tii)ii-itioiiiìii-ii+ iii:ti ii i`-ir-ii: 11 \\ 11
Some (Charvakas) say that the body is the
Atman, some other (schools of Charvaka)
hold that the sense organs constitute the
Atman, and some others (among the Char-
vakas) say that the vital breath is the Atman.
Some others (among the schools of Charvaka)
hold that the mind is the Atman. Some others
(like the Vainashika Buddhists) consider the
transient intellect as the Atman. Others (like
Bhaskara) hold that the vijnamaya koa, the
sheath of the intellect, is the Atman. Others
(like the followers of Sankhya and Yoga) hold
that consciousness free from happiness and
misery is the Atman. Others (belonging to
the Kumarila Bhatta school of Mimamsa)
believe that the Atman is a combination of
matter and consciousness. Some others (be-
longing to the Prabhakara school of Mimamsa
and the Naiyayikas) hold that the Atman is
matter appearing as consciousness. Others (the
Advaita Vedantins) hold that the Atman is un-
afected by time, self-revealing, and non-dual.
What is the certainty (about the nature of the
Atman) there (in the midst of such confict-
ing opinions)?
There are conflicting theories about the
Atman. Charvakascrvka means one hav-
ing sweet speechgenerally hold that the indi-
vidual is not immortal. Even within this school
there are varying opinions. Some Charvakas,
who think like idiots, hold that the body, made
up of fesh and bones, is the Atman. When one
makes statements like I am fair-complexioned,
I am fat, it is the body that is referred to as the
substratum of fair-complexion-ness and fatness.
Knowledge, happiness, and the sense of ego are
only known from inference and are against di-
rect perception. Tis is so because inference is a
diferent means of knowledge and also because
it gives an opposite meaning not in accordance
with direct perception. Terefore, the gross body
seen by the eyes and having the characteristics of
growth and decay is the Atman. Tis is the opin-
ion of a school of Charvakas.
Another school of Charvakas says that in
statements like I am one-eyed, I am deaf , I am
unable to see, I am unable to hear, the nature
of the sense organs are taken to be the nature of
the Atman, and so the sense organs constitute
the Atman. Tis is the most logical conclusion
T
No bleed here
49 Svarajya Siddhih: Attaining Self-dominion
according to them. Tey hold that this is more
valid a conclusion than that of the frst group of
Charvakas because it goes deeper than the idea
of the gross body being the Atman.
Tere is another school of Charvakas who
do not agree with the two schools mentioned
above. Tey say that the gross body cannot be
the Atman, because if it were so then even a
dead body should be considered alive, which
is absurd. Te gross body, which is loved and
respected, is feared afer the death of the indi-
vidual. As Acharya Shankara eloquently puts it:
Afer the vital breath leaves the body, even the
wife is afraid of it. 71 Terefore, it is defnitely
not the body that is the Atman. Te sense or-
gans too cannot be said to be the Atman, be-
cause when in sleep or deep sleep the sense
organs do not work; the individual is yet alive
due to the presence of the vital breath. Further,
when the vital breath becomes weak, the indi-
vidual faints and loses consciousness and life is
put in danger. Tis school of Charvakas con-
cludes, therefore, that it is the vital breath that
is the Atman.
Another school of the Charvakas counters
this position. Tey hold that though the gross
body, the sense organs, and the vital breath are
needed for an individual to function, it is the
mind that controls all these. It is by the applica-
tion and withdrawal of the mind that knowl-
edge, happiness, misery, and the like arise, as is
seen in daily experience. Te scriptures too de-
clare: (Tey say), I was absent-minded, I did
not see it, I was absent-minded, I did not hear
it. It is through the mind that one sees and
hears. 72 Swami Vivekananda describes the role
of the mind in the process of sense perception:
I am looking at you. How many things are ne-
cessary for this vision? First, the eyes. For if I
am perfect in every other way, and yet have no
eyes, I shall not be able to see you. Secondly,
the real organ of vision. For the eyes are not
the organs. Tey are but the instruments of
vision, and behind them is the real organ, the
nerve centre in the brain. If that centre be in-
jured, a man may have the clearest pair of eyes,
yet he will not be able to see anything. So, it
is necessary that this centre, or the real organ,
be there. Tus, with all our senses. Te exter-
nal ear is but the instrument for carrying the
vibration of sound inward to the centre. Yet,
that is not sufcient. Suppose in your library
you are intently reading a book, and the clock
strikes, yet you do not hear it. Te sound is
there, the pulsations in the air are there, the
ear and the centre are also there, and these vi-
brations have been carried through the ear to
the centre, and yet you do not hear it. What is
wanting? Te mind is not there. Tus we see
that the third thing necessary is, that the mind
must be there. First the external instruments,
then the organ to which this external instru-
ment will carry the sensation, and lastly the
organ itself must be joined to the mind. When
the mind is not joined to the organ, the organ
and the ear may take the impression, and yet
we shall not be conscious of it.73
Tus this school of Charvakas holds that the
mind is the Atman. Now let us look at the difer-
ing standpoint of the Vainashika Buddhists, also
called Sarva-Vainashika or Shunyavadins. Who
are Vainashika Buddhists or Shunyavadins? Tey
form a school of Buddhism that does not cat-
egorize or ascribe a nature to the ultimate Reality
or the fnal Truth. It is probably the most misun-
derstood philosophy. Vedantins call this school
Vainashika Buddhism, the Buddhism of destruc-
tion. Tis school is labelled as a form of nihil-
ism. Te followers of this school, which dates
even before Ashvagosha and had Nagarjuna as
one of its principal exponents, call themselves
Madhyamikas, the followers of the middle-path
of Buddha. A scholar clarifes the standpoint of
this school of Buddhism:
No bleed here
Unfortunately the word Shnya has been
gravely misunderstood. Te literal meaning of
the word which is negation or void has been
the cause of much misunderstanding. The
word is used by the Mdhyamikas in a dif-
ferent philosophical sense. Ignoring the real
philosophical meaning of the word Shnya
and taking it only in its literal sense, many
thinkers, eastern and western, ancient, medi-
eval and modern have unfortunately commit-
ted that horrible blunder which has led them
to thoroughly misunderstand Shnyavada and
to condemn it as a hopeless scepticism and a
self-condemned nihilism. Shnya, according
to the Mdhyamika, we emphatically main-
tain, does not mean a nothing or an empty
void or a negative abyss. Shnya essentially
means Indescribable (avchya or anabhilpya)
as it is beyond the four categories of intellect
(chatukoi-vinirmukta). It is Reality which ul-
timately transcends existence, non-existence,
both and neither. It is neither afrmation nor
negation nor both nor neither.74
Tus these Vainashika Buddhists or Shunya-
vadins hold that the transient intellect, kanik
buddh, is the Atman. Tough the mind gets dis-
solved in the state of deep sleep and there is no
existence of the mind in that state, still the in-
dividual is alive. Te true nature of the Atman
is externally perceptible and imperceptible,
know able and unknowable, and its appearance
changes; therefore, the intellect, which is tran-
sient, alone is the Atman. It is the continuous
fow of the stream of consciousness. Tis is the
view of the Shunyavadi Buddhists.
Bhaskara and others have a diferent view.
Tey say that the Atman cannot be the tran-
sient intellect as it goes against experience. If
this point of view is upheld, Bhaskaras school
says that it will be impossible to explain the phe-
nomena of bondage and liberation and also it
will make the scriptures useless. Further, there
is no way to establish the constant fow of the
stream of consciousness, and so the eternal
vijnamaya koa, sheath of intellect, character-
ized by the sense of doer-ship and the relation
with the mind, is the Atman.
Te followers of Sankhya and Patanjalis
Yoga have a diferent opinion on the nature of
the Atman. Tey say that if it were held that the
Atman has the characteristics of happiness and
misery, then it will have modifcations, will not
be able to attain liberation, and will become
transient. Tus happiness and misery are modi-
fcations of only the external attributes ascribed
to the Atman. Te Atman is unattached, indif-
ferent, and of the nature of pure Consciousness.
Due to the ignorance of getting identifed with
the qualities of Prakriti, the Atman is caught
into the bondage of the sense of doer-ship and
on attaining knowledge is liberated from this
bondage. Tus Sankhya and Patanjalis Yoga
hold that the nature of the Atman is free from
happiness, ego, and the like and is just pure
Consciousness.
Te followers of Kumarila Bhatta believe
that the Atman is a combination of conscious-
ness and matter. Diferent persons experience
diferent results according to their actions. Tis
is the system or law of nature. Both good and
bad actions bear fruit. Te material part of the
Atman undergoes changes in the form of hap-
piness and misery. Te other part of the Atman
is Consciousness. Just like a frefy, which is
partly luminous and partly dark, the Atman is
partly conscious and partly material. Tis is the
viewpoint of the Mimamsa school of Kumarila
Bhatta. Te followers of the Prabhakara school
of Mimamsa and the followers of Nyaya hold
that though there is something material in the
Atman, Consciousness pervades it just like space
pervades a pot. Knowledge is the understanding
that matter has the semblance of Consciousness
because Consciousness pervades it. Tese are
No bleed here
51 Svarajya Siddhih: Attaining Self-dominion
the opinions of various schools regarding the
nature of the Atman.
The Advaita Vedantins believe that the
Atman is unafected by or beyond the three
phases of timepast, present, and future. Te
wandering mendicants who follow Advaita
Vedanta opine that the bliss arising out of self-
revealing knowledge, which is not dependent
on anything, is indicative of the destruction
of the false knowledge of duality and the real-
ization of the non-dual Atman. With so many
conficting opinions regarding the true nature
of the Atman, what will be the plight of the
seekers of Self-realization? What is the cer-
tainty of our attaining the goal? Without real-
izing ones true nature, we cannot have any
certaintythis is the idea.
+iir:ii`-i1i ri+i+ti1ri ii`-ii`+i i i+
i i -ii-itiii-i+ i1i+ i`-iii:-i-ii ii: 1
+i-i i`-ii`rii i+i i+-itiiiiì+i+ii-i+
tiii >iiìiiiii`+iiìiìi`1riiiiii iì-ii+i -ir: 11 \; 11
Some (the followers of the Pashupata and
Pancha ratra Agamas) say that the Atman is
atomic in size. Some (the Jainas) say that the
Atman is of the size of the gross body and some
(the followers of Nyaya) hold that the Atman
is infnite and all-pervading. (All these schools
believe that) the Atman can be known through
the mind. (The followers of Sankhya hold
that) the Atman can be known only through
inference. (The Vainashika Buddhists, the
Shunya vadins, opine that) the Atman can be
known only through a mental impression. (Te
Advaita Vedantins declare that) the Atman is
self-revealing and luminous. Since there are so
many contradictory opinions, the aspirants to
the knowledge of Brahman should contemplate
(on the Atman) again and again with the help
of the scriptures and reasoning.
Te true nature of the Atman is self-reveal-
ing, like the sun. It does not need any external
help. Tis Atman reveals itself even though
covered by the fve sheathsfrom the sheath
of food, anna maya koa, to the sheath of bliss,
nandamaya koa. But this realization of the
Atman does not come at oncethere are con-
ficting theories about it. Terefore, one needs
to go through a systematic process of studying
the scriptures and reasoning out their mean-
ing. Various branches of the Upanishads have
to be studied, and one needs to be frst intel-
lectually convinced about the true nature of
the Atman. Tis has to be done following the
time- honoured tradition of the teacher and the
taught, guru-iya-parampara. Afer listening
to the instruction Tou are Tat, the disciple
needs to constantly contemplate on it till the
knowledge of Brahman is attained. Te scrip-
tures describe this succinctly: Om is the bow,
the soul is the arrow, and Brahman is called its
target. It is to be hit by an unerring man. One
should become one with it just like an arrow.75
Acharya Shankara comments on this statement:
Just as the success of the arrow consists in its
becoming one with the target, similarly one
should bring about the result, consisting in be-
coming one with the Imperishable, by eliminat-
ing the ideas of the body etc. being the Self. 76
(To be continued)
References
71. Acharya Shankara, Charpata-Panjarika Sto-
tram, 14.
72. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 1.5.3.
9, 1997), 2.21314.
74. Chandradhar Sharma, A Critical Survey of In-
dian Philosophy (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,
2003), 86.
76. Munaka Upaniad with the Commentary of
akarcrya, trans. Swami Gambhirananda
(Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2007), 567.
REViEWs
For review in Prabuddha bharata,
publishers need to send two copies of their latest publications
Ramakrishna:
An Introduction
Swami Sunirmalananda
Ramakrishna Mission Institute of
Culture, Kolkata 700 029. Web-
site: www.sriramakrishna.org. 2011.
viii + 213 pp.
`
75.
he greatest gif an avatara vouchsafes to pos-
terity is his life. Te accounts of his life, so far
as they are faithful, fnd ready acceptance among
innumerable devotees. In each account people
fnd a unique opportunity to visualize the earthly
life of their beloved Lord. On the other hand, the
author of such accounts, if he happens to be a de-
votee, which is ofen the case, fnds a blessed task
in a work that enables him to relive the events
of a great life. It is no wonder, therefore, that
newer narrations of an avataras life continue to
appear even afer centuries, and even afer the
earlier authors seem to have lef nothing unsaid
on the subject.
Ramakrishna: An Introduction is a delightful
addition to the several short biographies available
on the Great Master. Presenting only the facts in a
very simple and lucid style, having brief chapters
with attractive titles, and printed in large fonts,
one is apt to think that the book is meant for teen-
agers. All the same, whether young or old, every-
one is sure to derive joy reading this book.
For the most part the author has given a
chronological presentation of signifcant events
in the Masters life. Tough the title suggests that
this is an introduction, there are many interest-
ing incidents mentioned that the reader would
not have found in the classical biographies. A few
noteworthy are: Keshabchandra Sen deputing
three Brahmo Samaj members to make an esti-
mate of Sri Ramakrishna (170); the last visit of
Sri Ramakrishna to Kamarpukur (179); and Sri
Ramakrishnas aborted trip, along with the Holy
Mother, to Kamarpukur when heavy rains forced
them to take shelter in a persons house who was
just then praying to God to send him a saint (68).
Thus even well-read people in Ramakrishna-
Vivekananda literature will fnd in this book a
few glimpses that somehow had eluded them.
Another signifcant feature of the book is that
the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna are given at the
end of each chapter, selected mostly to refect the
theme of the chapter. By this approach the book
succeeds in giving a complete introduction to Sri
Ramakrishna. However, the last decade in Sri
Ramakrishnas earthly life, in which he actively
preached and consolidated his mission, has re-
ceived comparatively less attention.
Both the author and the publisher deserve
compliments from the English-knowing readers
of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda literature.
Brahmachari Shantichaitanya
Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama, Vrindaban
Contemporary Indian
Philosophy
basant Kumar Lal
Motilal Banarasidass Publishers, 41
U A Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar,
Delhi 110 007. Website: www.mlbd
.com. 2012. xxi + 346 pp.
`
215.
hilosophy is the record of the souls adven-
ture to discover the cosmos and the relation-
ship of the jiva to the Paramatman, universal Soul.
Since ancient times great intellectuals in various
parts of the world have written and speculated on
these questions. In India, even from the days of
the Upanishads, enquiries on these lines were for-
mulated and sublime answers ofered. Tere has
been an unbroken continuity in such en quiries
and speculations over many centuries. Along trad-
itional lines came Acharyas Shankara, Rama nuja,
and Madhva, who laid the foundation for the
T
P
53 Reviews
systems of philosophy referred to respectively as
Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, and Dvaita. Te trad-
itional philosophers were not mere thinkers or lo-
gicians but rishis and mystics. In recent times, for
various reasons, the study and practice of philoso-
phy has considerably shrunk, leaving little scope
for fresh insights into ancient philosophical doc-
trines and tenets.
In the light of the above scenario, It is mean-
ingful that a book such as Contemporary Indian
Philosophy can reach the public; in it the thoughts
and philosophies of some well-known personal-
ities are presented clearly. Tose selected for study
are Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore,
Mahatma Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo, Krishnachan-
dra Bhattacharya, Dr S Radhakrishnan, and Sir
Mohammad Iqbal. Te author rightly mentions
that from the vast writings and sayings of these
personalities, only such topics were selected that
appear to be philosophical and that taken to-
gether could give a comprehensive picture of a
particular thought system. Te author also adds
that it is difcult to give an account of [their]
philosophy in terms of any accepted philosoph-
ical model (224). Equally pertinent is the point
he raises while discussing Sir Mohammad Iqbal:
Is Iqbal only a commentator on Islam, or is he an
original thinker? Tere is no harm in saying al-
most unhesitatingly that he is both (304). Tis
statement holds true for all the others as well.
A look at the studies made in the book brings
out the salient aspects of the thinkers covered.
Swami Vivekananda was a dynamic monk, non-
pareil in the exposition of Indian philosophy,
particularly the teachings of the Upanishads, to
world audiences. His understanding of diferent
paths or yogas for Self-realizationjnana, bhakti,
karma, and yogaare outstanding. Rabindranath
Tagore was essentially a poet, composer, visionary,
and versatile writer. His creativity had an unfail-
ing favour of the Upanishadic ideals. Mahatma
Gandhis personal and social philosophy, which
is based on frm faith in God, superiority of spir-
ituality over brute strength, efcacy of satyagraha,
truthfulness, brahmacharya, and so on, have been
well elucidated. Sri Aurobindo evolved into a sage,
in the course of his interesting life, through the
realization that the process of biological evolution
does not terminate in the emergence of the human
being but continues upward to the emergence of a
super being. He stressed various aspects of yoga
for spiritual attainment. Krishnachandra Bhatta-
charya, a modern philosopher, made negation the
basis of arriving at the Absolute itself (237). Te
Absolute has to be conceived as absolute negation
because any known content would make it defn-
ite. In this analysis one fnds prominent echoes of
the neti, neti; not this, not this approach of the
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Dr S Radhakrishnan
was celebrated for his attainment in building an
intellectual and cultural bridge between the trad-
itional wisdom of the East and the knowledge of
the West. His vast erudition and commentaries
are classics in philosophy. Sir Mohammad Iqbal
was a reputed poet who also conceived philosoph-
ical notions, particularly on the nature of intu-
ition. His general aim was his reconstruction of
religious thought in Islam (303).
The publishers must be congratulated for
showing how philosophy is not merely abstract
but practical and dynamic.
K Gopalan
Bengaluru
Adversities Are Opportunities
Swami Sunirmalananda
Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chen-
nai 600 004. Website: www.chen-
naimath.org. 2011. x + 89 pp.
`
25.
I
n simple language the author retells immortal
stories from the epics for todays complex world.
See and Paint (4):
Hanuman Chalisa
Illustrator: Sitaramacharyalu
Ramakrishna Math. 2011. 88 pp.
`
80.
he book presents a verse from the Hanuman
Chalisa in Sanskrit and its translation into
English on its lef pages, while the right pages are
reserved for children to paint relevant pictures
of the text, a way they can assimilate noble ideas.
Book REcEiVED
T
REpoRTs
Commemoration of the 150th Birth
Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda
In May 2012 the Central Board of Secondary
Education instructed all of its schools to organize
programmes throughout the year in commemo-
ration of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami
Vivekananda. Further, the Board has now initi-
ated an awardVivekananda School of Excel-
lence, 2013for the schools who have taken part
in the organization of the above programmes.
Te following centres organized various pro-
grammes to commemorate the 150th birth an-
niversary of Swami Vivekananda. Amstelveen
(Netherlands): Spiritual retreats, including talks
on Swamiji, on 16 and 17 June and 18 November.
Aurangabad: Lecture on 7 December, attended
by 400 college students, and public lectures on 7
and 8 December, attended by 300 people on each
day. A spiritual retreat on 8 December, attended
by 100 people. A youth awareness programme on
9 December, attended by 550 youth. Baranagar
Mission: Value education programmes at two
girls schools in December, attended by 290 stu-
dents in all. A parents conference on 19 Decem-
ber, attended by 68 parents. On 23 December
the ashrama held an Annakut (festival of food)
and served the cooked prasad to 3,000 slum-
dwellers. Belgaum: Interschool cultural compe-
titions between 12 and 18 December, in which
nearly 2,500 students took part. Bhubaneswar: A
state-level seminar on Harmony of Religions on
30 November, attended by about 500 delegates,
mostly college students from diferent districts
of Odisha. Calicut: A devotees convention on
16 December, in which nearly 200 devotees par-
ticipated. Chandigarh: Quiz competitions on
Swamijis life and message, in which altogether
8,897 students from 32 schools of Chandigarh,
Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh parti-
cipated. Chengalpattu: Processions, devotional
music, and flm shows on Swamiji at Kava dhur,
Dimmavaram, Mel Silawattam, Pulikkundram,
Kurampirai, Mariputhur, Adavilagam, and Kila-
pakkam on 24 and 25 November and on 1, 2, 8, 9,
15, and 16 December respectively. Cooch Behar:
A value education seminar at a local girls school
on 17 December, attended by nearly 400 stu-
dents. Delhi: A laser show titled Swamiji, made
by Sri Manick Sorcar, a renowned laserist of usa,
on 9 December; about 1,500 people watched the
show. Institute of Culture, Kolkata: A seminar
on Signifcance of the Ideas of Swami Viveka-
nanda in the Modern Age from 14 to 16 De-
cember, in which 134 distinguished scholars
participated. Itanagar: A regional tribal cultural
programme at Naharlagun on 23 November, at-
tended by about 500 people. Kanpur: Speeches
in fve colleges and two schools in Kanpur, at-
tended altogether by 4,773 students and 171
teachers. Limbdi: Cultural competitions from
26 to 29 December, in which 372 students from
20 schools took part. Lucknow: A workshop on
Youth Counselling and Positive Tinking on 13
December, attended by 300 parents and teachers.
Mangalore: An all-Karnataka youth convention
on 22 and 23 December, in which about 1,800
Annakut at
Baranagar Mission
Reports 55
delegates from 22 districts of Karnataka partici-
pated. Nine district-level youth conventions from
1 to 10 December, one each in the following dis-
tricts of Karnataka: Bellary, Raichur, Davanagere,
Chikmagalur, Shimoga, Uttara Kannada, Gadag,
Bagalkot, and Bijapur; in all, about 11,500 youths
attended these conventions. Muzafarpur: Cul-
tural competitions from 3 to 29 December, in
which nearly 5,400 students took part. Natta-
rampalli: A youth convention on 7 December,
presided over by Swami Suhita nanda, General
Secretary, Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna
Mission, and attended by about 1,500 students.
A Vivek Youth Torch Relay, an event in which
a torch was carried to 150 villages in and around
Nattarampalli, covering 150 km in 5 days; in all,
150 youths participated in the event. A spiritual
retreat on 9 December, in which nearly 1,000 de-
votees took part. Pune: Residential youth camp
on 24 and 25 November for 50 rural boys. Japa
Yajna on 11 November and 9 December for 150
devotees. Spiritual retreat from 30 November to
2 December for 350 delegates. Raipur: A pro-
gramme comprising speeches, recitations, de-
bate, drawing competition, and other activities,
in which nearly 800 students participated. Raj-
kot: Cultural competitions from 26 to 29 De-
cember, in which about 1,000 students of 80
schools took part. Ramharipur: A spiritual re-
treat on 23 December, attended by about 2,700
devotees. Ranchi Morabadi: Five conferences
for the ex-trainees of Divyayan on 5, 7, 11, 14, and
17 December, in which altogether 390 ex-trainees
took part. Salem: Discourses and competitions
at 18 places in Namakkal district on 4, 5, 6, 10, 11,
12, and 13 December, attended by 2,902 students.
Sargachhi: A two-day workshop on Viveka-
nandas idea of education and its implementa-
tion in the emerging education system on 14 and
15 December, attended by about 450 teachers and
parents. Sinthi: Six parents conferences from
29 November to 20 December, attended by 509
parents. Swamijis Ancestral House: A public
meeting on 1 December, attended by about 800
persons. Cultural programmes on 1 and 11 De-
cember, attended by nearly 400 youths in all.
News from Branch Centres
Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narainpur,
conducted a four-day sports meet from 23 to
26 November, in which 1,800 students from
37 schools of 3 districts participated. Sri Kedar
Kashyap, minister for Tribal Development, Gov-
ernment of Chhattisgarh, inaugurated the meet.
Besides, on 20 December Swami Gautama-
nanda, Adhyaksha, Ramakrishna Math, Chen-
nai, inaugurated an extension to the boys hostel
building B, an extension to the girls hostel
building, a building with kitchen store and hon-
orary workers quarters, and a farmer trainees
hostel building.
On 8 December Swami Suhitananda in-
augurated the newly constructed hostel build-
ing Swami Shivananda Students Home at
Ramakrishna Math, Nattarampalli, and Dr
K Rosaiah, governor of Tamil Nadu, unveiled
the newly installed life-size statue of Swami
Vivekananda at the ashrama. Besides, on
the same day the ashrama launched a mobile
bookstall-cum-exhibition.
Swami Suhitananda inaugurated the newly
constructed dining-hall of the Vidyarthi Bhavan
hostel at Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sar-
gachhi, on 14 December.
Ramakrishna Yogashrama, Koalpara, (sub-
centre of Matri Mandir, Jayrambati) celebrated
its centenary from 15 to 17 December. Special
worship, homa, public meeting, and cultural
programmes were conducted and a commemo-
rative volume was released. Besides, the newly
built frst foor of the monks quarters was in-
augurated on this occasion.
No bleed here
Achievements
Sayantan Das, a class-8 student of the school at
Ramakrishna Mission, Viveknagar, received
the National Child Award for Exceptional
Achievement for the year 2012 in the feld of
singing. Te award, instituted by the Govern-
ment of India, was handed over by the president
of India on 14 November at Rashtrapati Bha-
wan, New Delhi, and carried a certifcate, a silver
medal, and a sum of 10,000 rupees.
Abhijit Mandal, an MA (Sanskrit) 2nd year
student of the Vidyamandira at Ramakrishna
Mission Saradapitha, Belur, secured the frst
position at the regional level in two competi-
tions held by Rashtriya Sanskrit Samsthanam,
New Delhi, on 27 November at a Sanskrit Col-
lege in Kolkata.
Students of the Blind Boys Academy at
Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur,
secured the following positions in the 12th Na-
tional Paralympic Swimming Championship
held at Chennai from 4 to 9 December:
Relief
Distress Relief Te following centres distrib-
uted in December various items to needy people.
Baghbazar: 1,050 saris, 500 chaddars, and 350
food packets; Belgaum: 100 saris and 1,000 bed-
sheets; Indore: 450 kg dal, 300 kg sugar, and 150 l
edible oil; Naora: 300 solar lanterns. Baghbazar
centre also served cooked food to 33 needy per-
sons daily from 22 August to 28 Decembera
total of 4,257 mealsand provided, under Build
Your Own House scheme, building materials (ce-
ment, sand, stone chips, iron rods, and others) to
two needy people.
Winter Relief During November and De-
cember 12,471 blankets were distributed to needy
people through the following centres. Bagh-
bazar: 2,163; Baranagar Math: 350; Belgaum:
200; Chapra: 5,000; Kashipur: 250; Delhi: 426;
Indore: 550; Jalpaiguri: 250; Khetri: 34; Malda:
450; Manasadwip: 200; Nagpur: 908; Naora: 560;
Ranchi Morabadi: 430; Sargachhi: 200; Shyamla
Tal: 500. Besides, the following centres distrib-
uted winter clothing to the needy. Garbeta: 100
jackets; Khetri: 875 sweaters; Naora: 265 woollen
chaddars; Sargachhi: 95 jackets.
Synopsis of the Ramakrishna Mission Governing Bodys Report for 2011-12
Te 103rd Annual General Meeting of the Rama-
krishna Mission was held at Belur Math on Sun-
day, 16 December 2012 at 3.30 p.m.
Sri Ramakrishnas 175th birth anniversary was
celebrated by the Headquarters and the branch
centres by conducting seminars, interfaith meets,
parliaments of religions, processions, etc.
In commemoration of the 150th birth anni-
versary of Swami Vivekananda, unesco Head-
quarters at Paris inaugurated an exhibition on
Swamiji at the Town Hall of Paris. In collabor-
ation with Kolkata Metro Railway, telecast of
programmes on Swamiji in the cctvs at the dif-
ferent metro stations of the city was arranged.
Centres in Karnataka organized Swami Viveka-
nanda Jyoti Yatra covering almost all the districts
of Karnataka and traversing 4,000 km. Te four-
year-long service programmes started in difer-
ent parts of the country in 2010 continued. A
sum of 28.40 crore rupees was spent on these
Event Group Positions Group Positions Group Positions
50 Metre Freestyle Stroke
Senior
1 & 2
Junior
1 & 2
Sub-junior
2
50 Metre back Stroke 1, 2, & 3 1 & 2 2 & 3
50 Metre breast Stroke 2 & 3 1, 2, & 3 3
50 Metre butterfy Stroke 2 & 3 1 & 2 -
Reports 57
central-government-aided service projects from
8 October 2010 to 31 August 2012.
In the educational field the following
new developments deserve special mention:
(i) Vivekananda University started PhD courses
in Agricultural Biotechnology and Rural De-
velopment, and a one-year PG Diploma course
in Sports Science at its Narendrapur campus;
(ii) Vidyamandira college of Saradapitha centre
started MSc course in Applied Chemistry afli-
ated to Calcutta University; (iii) Vivekananda
College of Chennai Vidyapith was awarded A
grade (the highest grade) by the National Assess-
ment and Accreditation Council.
In the medical feld the following new de-
velopments deserve special mention: (i) In-
auguration of a modernized cardiac operation
theatre comprising fve-bed cardiac surgery
itu, heart lung machine, ventilators, etc. in
Lucknow hospital; (ii) installation of 16-slice
CT scanner system, RX lithotripter compat-
ible busket with accessories, etc. at Seva Pratis-
than hospital in Kolkata; (iii) setting up of a
dual slice spiral CT scan unit at Vrindaban
hospital; (iv) starting of rural mobile medical
service by Deoghar centre.
In the rural development feld the follow-
ing new projects deserve special mention:
(i) 2,227.76 acres of land was brought under
paddy seed production, 13 irrigation units and
117 percolation tanks were constructed, and a
mobile soil analysis laboratory was started by
Ranchi (Morabadi) centre; (ii) Lokasiksha Pari-
shad of Narendrapur centre started a number of
projects: promotion of rural eco-entrepreneurs
by imparting training on lac and tasar cultiva-
tion, processing of medicinal non-timber forest
products, remote village electrifcation, starting
of an adult education centre, etc.; (iii) Narainpur
centre (Chhattisgarh) dug 16 deep tube-wells, 4
ponds, and 6 wells in remote villages.
During the year under review the Rama-
krishna Math upgraded two sub-centresone
at Sinthi, Kolkata, and another at Gourhati,
Hooghly, both in West Bengalto independ-
ent branch centres.
Under the Math, the following new pro-
jects deserve special mention: (i) Production
of Indias frst stereoscopic 3D animated movie
on Swami Vivekananda by Chennai Math;
(ii) starting of mobile book stalls by Pune and
Trissur centres, (iii) installation of ultrasound
scanning machine with echocardiogram and col-
our doppler at Tiruvananthapuram hospital;
(iv) construction of a school building and a vo-
cational training centre building at Parevada vil-
lage for the Madari (snake charmers) community
and a shed for students at Bhuj by Rajkot centre.
Outside India the following new develop-
ments deserve special mention: (i) Japan centre
conducted relief operations in the wake of a
devastating earthquake and tsunami; (ii) Nadi
centre in Fiji conducted food relief and rehabili-
tation programmes; (iii) a postal stamp on Swami
Vivekananda was brought out by Pos Malaysia (a
post services company in Malaysia), on the initia-
tive of our Malaysia centre; (iv) Durban centre in
South Africa built an educational and skills devel-
opment centre for a high school at Kwa Mashu.
During the year the Mission and Math
undertook several relief and rehabilitation pro-
grammes in diferent parts of the country in-
volving an expenditure of 4.93 crore rupees,
benefting 3.64 lakh people belonging to 1.27
lakh families in 1,658 villages.
Welfare work was done by way of providing
scholarships to poor students, pecuniary help to
old, sick, and destitute people, etc. (about 55.88
lakh benefciaries); the expenditure incurred was
27.85 crore rupees.
Medical service was rendered to more
than 77.82 lakh people through 15 hospitals,
123 dispensaries, and 59 mobile medical units;
the expenditure incurred was 119.87 crore rupees.
Nearly 3.23 lakh students were studying in
our educational institutions from kindergarten
to university level. A sum of 220.42 crore rupees
was spent on educational work.
A number of rural and tribal development
projects were undertaken with a total expend-
iture of 37.46 crore rupees benefting about 67.74
lakh rural people.
We take this opportunity to express our
heartfelt thanks to our members and friends for
their kind cooperation and help.
Swami Suhitananda
General Secretary
Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission
Progress Report
Follows a brief progress report of the Central
Government grant-aided service projects in
commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary
of Swami Vivekananda from 8 October 2010 to
31 August 2012:
1. Print Media Project: Printed 10.82 lakh
copies of books on Swamijis life and teach-
ings in 23 languages and 13.25 lakh copies on 15
other titles in 10 languages. A sum of 254.26 lakh
rupees was spent.
2. Cultural Programmes Project: Organized
six state-level seminars on religious harmony/
interfaith harmony, interfaith dialogues in four
states, and a regional programme on tribal and
folk culture. A sum of 73.34 lakh rupees was spent.
3. Electronic Media Project: Audio dvds on
Personality Development (Part 1) and Edu-
cation as Viewed by Swami Vivekananda with
multimedia effect were produced. Work on
producing a full-length feature flm on the life
and teachings of Swami Vivekananda is in pro-
gress. A sum of 87.99 lakh rupees was spent.
4. Gadadhar Abhyudaya Prakalpa (Integrated
Child Development): 174 units started in 23
states. About 17,500 children were benefted. A
sum of 1,107.12 lakh rupees was spent.
5. Vivekananda Swasthya Parisheva Prakalpa
(Health Services Project for Mothers and Chil-
dren): 126 units started in 22 states. About
13,000 children were benefted. A sum of 720.70
lakh rupees was spent.
6. Sarada Palli Vikas Prakalpa (Women Self-
Empowerment): 10 units started in 8 states. In
all, 1,619 women were benefted. A sum of 99.76
lakh rupees was spent.
7. Swami Akhandananda Seva Prakalpa (Pov-
erty Alleviation): 10 units started in 6 states. Al-
together 1,135 people were benefted. A sum of
97.28 lakh rupees was spent.
8. Special Programmes for the Youth: Started
6 youth counselling cells in 5 states; organized
state level youth convention/camps in 5 states
(total participants: 10,111); held 6 state level and
3 regional level youth competitions (total par-
ticipants: 161,654); conducted sustained graded
value education programmes through (i) 381
units (non-formal type) in 13 states with 16,360
students of 253 institutions, and (ii) 2,290 units
(classroom-based) in 14 states with 102,965 stu-
dents of 656 schools; printed 15.49 lakh books for
182 titles in 5 languages under the non-formal pro-
gramme. A sum of 400.62 lakh rupees was spent.
In all, a sum of 28.40 crore rupees was spent
on the above projects.
Besides, a number of centres organized vari-
ous programmes without government aid:
Chennai Math centre launched a state-of-the-art
multimedia gallery Experience Vivekananda at
Vivekanandar Illam; Port Blair centre organized
Vivekananda Value Inculcation Programme for
students; Rajkot centre started Vivekananda
Service Corps, a unit of 52 young men who are
being trained in frst aid, disaster management,
and other relief-related services. P

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What are the main ideas discussed in the document?

What services does the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission provide?

February 2013

Vol. 118, No. 2

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