Its quite incredible how a few humans are able to rise so high above the average that it becomes hard to believe that they share the same genes as us. Vivekananda is one such person to have lived in the 19th century India. He was an untameable rebel all through his life. During the last year of his guru's life it did seem that Vivekananda has finally been conquered, but soon after the guru's demise, the rebellion re-surfaced in all its glory. What happened at Chicago in 1893 is only a glimpse of the infinite energy that this man possessed. But even after 150 years of his passing away, this question still remains unanswered : what was Vivekananda's main contribution? Several answers are provided and we shall carefully examine the major ones.
Vivekananda's guru, Ramakrishna, is known to have practiced the teachings of all major religions of this world and all the major sects of Hinduism. And based on his own experiences, he proclaimed the truth of the Vedas, "All paths though appearing as different, lead to the same goal". And Vivekananda himself believed in this quite strongly. But did the various faiths reconcile? I don't think so. Even in the writings of Vivekananda and his followers, though all faiths are considered to be valid, there is a very clear bias towards Advaita. And the usual statement made is that all other faiths are lower truths which eventually lead to Advaita. Now this is not really reconciliation but just a more gentle way of expressing the supremacy of one particular faith. So, Vivekananda might have made a genuine attempt at inter-faith reconciliation but eventually the human tendencies do take over even the wisest of men!
Path of Service : Seva Yoga
Vivekananda started an organisation called the Ramakrishna Mission with the motto: "For one's own salvation and for the welfare of the world". This was a complete paradigm shift in Hinduism. Earlier, practicing spirituality largely meant going away from the society and practicing meditation in solitude. On the contrary, Vivekananda proclaimed that serving mankind can also be a valid path to liberation. A few other Hindu saints had also said so earlier, but nothing compared to the intensity and clarity of Vivekananda. It is important not to confuse "Seva Yoga" with "Karma Yoga". Karma Yoga is the most central principle of Hinduism and is common to all its sects and philosophies. One can be a perfect Karma Yogi without indulging in 'service of mankind'. However, this idea of service as a path to liberation (Seva Yoga) may be new to Hinduism but not to religious thought as a whole. Christianity and, to some extent, Sikhism are largely based on this idea.
Bridging the gap between science and religion
Vivekananda was a very good student from the very beginning and also had a deep interest in science. During his trips to America, he made sure to meet at least a few of the top scientists to understand what they have to say about the universe. In some of his writings, he even goes to the extent of saying that all religious truths must finally be verified by scientific methods. Blind faith was something unbearable to Vivekananda. So yes, one could definitely say that Vivekananda laid the foundations for a constructive dialogue between science and spirituality. But unfortunately, modern science was in its infancy during his time. Even Einstein's theory was published three years after he passed away. But Vivekananda's contribution in this regard has certainly saved Hinduism from the onslaught of scientific thought which most other religions don't seem to be able to bear.
The Age of Men
The movie Lord of the Rings begins with a world inhabited by many kinds of human-like and God-like species and of course there is a dark lord who can only be defeated if all these species work unitedly. Finally darkness is defeated and thus begins the Age of Men. Even all the God-like species with magical powers retreat into the heavenly abodes. Along similar lines, Vivekananda once said, "For the next fifty years, let all the vain Gods disappear from our minds. This is the only God that is awake : our own race." To me, this seems to be the most striking aspect of Vivekananda's contribution and could well be considered to be the final summary of all his teachings. And the idea seems even more powerful when he says, "Liberty is the first condition of growth. Your ancestors gave every liberty to the soul, and religion grew. They put the body under every bondage, and society did not grow. The opposite is the case in the West -- every liberty to society, none to religion. Now are falling off the shackles from the feet of Eastern society as from those of Western religion." What these ideas have enabled is a fearless questioning of our traditions and long cherished beliefs. And this, my friends, is the beginning of liberation!
Nice article:)
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