Dear Kushal,
My hearty compliments to you for analyzing outstanding contributions of Swami Vivekananda, emphasizing in particular that he made us aware that real God was not without but within us.
The Swami’s sole efforts were to awaken inherent divinity in all, as he sincerely believed that all of us were potential Jesus, Buddha or Brahman (God), and this was the essence of the Vedanta that he conveyed in most convincing manner. The West never heard it before from a man of religion and, therefore, was open to these new ideas from a new prophet.
True that the essence of the Vedanta, viz. Brahman is immanent in every living being and, therefore, every human can awaken to the state of Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman) or Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma (everything is Brahman), was known to the Vedantic seers/sages long ago. Nonetheless, discriminatory caste system and social exploitation inflicted immeasurable misery on the hapless multitude. It goes to the credit of Vivekananda to call for reversal of the above trend by following the precepts of the Vedanta in letter and spirit. “The service to God was service to the hungry and distraught people” said Vivekananda. “The worship of God in a temple could be postponed during the current life”. In that sense he was a practical Vedantist. From the following recorded events during his last few days, his passion for putting the Vedantic thoughts into practice became more and more emphatic.
Once the Swami asked his disciples in Belur monastery, “Can’t you sacrifice one life for the sake of others?” “Let the reading of Vedanta and the practice of meditation etc. be left for the next life”, he went on. “Let this body go in the service of others, and then I’ll know that you haven’t come to me in vain.” Little later he said: “After so much tapasya, austerity, I have known that the highest Truth is that He is present in all beings. These are all the manifested forms of Him. There is no other God to seek for. He alone is worshipping God who serves all beings.”
On another occasion, a few days before his Mahasamadhi, when the Ashramites in Belur were busy in their daily chores, one of them sweeping the courtyard with a big broom while some others were engaged in cleaning duty, and Swami Premananda after bath was climbing the steps to the shrine, suddenly Vivekananda’s eyes turned radiant. Charged with emotion, he said to a disciple: “Where will you go to seek Brahman? Here, here is the visible Brahman. Shame on those who, neglecting the visible Brahman, set their minds on other things. Here is the visible Brahman as tangible as a fruit in one’s hand. Can’t you see? Here – here – is Brahman!” These words of the Swami struck all present like an electric shock that made them immobile for quarter of an hour. Premananda fell into a trance and the rest also experienced indescribable tranquility, which broke with the voice of the Swami: “Premananda, now go to worship”.
On yet another occasion, the Swami said: “I don’t care a straw if this body goes. In order to awaken the soul of others, I am prepared to die again and again.”
Those words of the Swami clearly distinguish him from other Vedantists who spoke of liberation or God-realization through meditation, austerities or renunciation of worldly pleasures.
Vivekananda’s approach to life and prescription of ‘service to destitute’ were predominantly secular. Let us consider for instance his famous definition of atheism in his lecture on ‘Practical Vedanta’:
“The old religions said that he was an atheist who did not believe in God. The new religion says that he is the atheist who does not believe in himself “(p301, vol.2 ibid).
As for the ideal of life inherited by India, Vivekananda’s pronouncement was wholly secular in its content and substance: “The national ideals of India are RENUNCIATION and SERVICE”. (p 228, vol 5, ibid).
It was not as if the western audience was getting exposed for the first time to Upanishadic thoughts and concept. As a matter of fact, translated version of Upanishad had reached Europe about two centuries ago. Besides, thanks to the extensive research/work of Max Muller who was older than Vivekananda by 4 decades, translated version of the Vedas and the Upanishads were available in all major western countries at least two decades before the Swami addressed the World’s Parliament of Religions. We also have to bear in mind one important factor, i.e. prevailing religious intolerance. Even Max Muller was accused of blasphemy and of being anti-Christ, which led to his defeat in the election for the Boden Chair in Sanskrit to Sir Monier Williams, as Max Muller allegedly found merits in Pagan religious tradition over Christianity. In the above context, the task cut out for Vivekananda was extremely difficult, more so when some of the postulates of the Christian tradition were diametrically opposed to the fundamentals of the Vedanta that the Swami preached. Let us highlight some of the conflicting fundamentals of the Vedanta vis-à-vis the Abrahamic tradition.
First and foremost, the Vedantic Brahman is non-dualistic Purna or ‘All-inclusive, All-pervasive Whole’ beyond which nothing exists. This lies at the root of the concept of Sohaham (I am He) or Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman) and Tat Tvam Asi (Thou art That) or Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma (Everything is indeed Brahman). In Abrahamic tradition, God is One to the exclusion of all others. Obviously, therefore, the Abrahamic tradition treats any claim to Godhood as blasphemy. Second, the Vedanta speaks of re-incarnation, which is not accepted in Abrahamic tradition. Third, the Vedanta does not accept the concept of Satan or Devil, heaven or hell, and more importantly, the concept of sin, as have been repeatedly pronounced by the Swami in his lectures in the West. Those concepts are fundamental to the Abrahamic tradition. Obviously, the conflict between the two traditions was inevitable and unavoidable. That it did not happen barring the opposition of a few dogmatic priests was an incredible feat in the given circumstances. Over and above, monetary contributions from the USA and the UK to the missionaries for carrying on evangelical activities in India, including conversion, got substantially reduced thanks to the wide receptivity of the Swami’s enunciation of the Vedantic thoughts in the West.
It goes to the enormous credit of the Swami that he picked up the positives from all faiths/religions and did not go into conflict with any religion while dwelling upon the Vedantic fundamentals. He did not beseech anyone to convert to his line of thinking and did not find any difficulty in encouraging a Christian to continue as Christian while reposing faith in the Vedanta. The tenets of the Vedanta, according to him, were universal in its content and not the preserve of the Hindus alone. On the other hand he showed profound respect to the prophets of all other faiths, be it Buddha, Jesus or Mohammed.
The source of Vivekananda’s profound respect for other faiths was his Master Sri Ramakrishna, who through personal experimentation realized that all paths lead to the same destination. Vivekananda drew on those experiments of his Master and had no hesitation to accept the founders of other faiths as great prophets. As for the difference in the fundamentals of various faiths with the fundamentals of the Vedanta, the Swami’s explanation was that those differences revealed Truth at different levels of perception only. His utmost respect for each prophet stands adequately demonstrated through his talks and speeches delivered abroad and in India.
Addressing his western audience on Buddha in Detroit, the Swami said: “I wish I had one infinitesimal part of Buddha’s heart. Buddha may or may not have believed in God; that does not matter to me. He reached the same state of perfection to which others come by Bhakti – love of God – Yoga or Jnana. Perfection does not come from belief or faith.”
In his talk on Christ delivered at Los Angeles in 1900, Vivekananda became ecstatic while referring to Christ’s messages: “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you. Where goest thou to seek for the Kingdom of God”, asks Jesus of Nazareth, “when it is there within you”? “Give up all that thou hast; give it to the poor and follow me.” “This is the one ideal he preaches”, said the Swami, “and this has been the ideal preached by all the great prophets of the world: renunciation.” Recounting this very lecture of the Swami, Josephine Macleod, one of the closest followers of the Swami whom he called Joe, wrote as follows: “Swami lectured a great number of times at the Home of Truth and in various halls, but perhaps the most outstanding lecture I ever heard was his talk on "Jesus of Nazareth", when he seemed to radiate a white light from head to foot, so lost was he in the wonder and the power of Christ.”
While on Mohammed, Vivekananda told his audience on March 25, 1900 at San Francisco: “[Mohammedanism] came as a message for the masses….The first message was equality…..There is one religion – love. No more question of race, colour (or) anything else. Join it! That practical quality carried the day.”
It is this non-dogmatic, respectful and rational approach that drew the western audience toward him in large number. Some of the proclamations made by the Swami that impressed his western audience the most were as follows:
“The Vedanta recognizes no sin, it only recognizes error. And the greatest error, says the Vedanta, is to say that you are a sinner, a miserable creature, and that you have no power and you cannot do this or that” (London speech on Nov.10, 1896, vide p295, vol 2 ibid).
“Everything that makes for oneness is truth. Love is truth, and hatred is false, because hatred makes for multiplicity. It is hatred that separates man from man; therefore, it is wrong and false” (p304, vol2, ibid).
“Therefore know that thou art He; thou art the God of this universe, “Tat Tvam Asi” (That thou art). All these various ideas that I am a man or a woman, or sick or healthy, or strong or weak, or that I hate or I love, or have a little power, are but hallucinations” (p236, vol 2 ibid).
“Sins are very low degrees of self manifestation; manifest yourself in a higher degree” (p300, vol 2 ibid).
“When the primal element is discovered in chemical science, the work of the chemist will be finished. When unity is discovered, perfection in the science of religion is reached” (p 136, vol 6 ibid).
“When a man has reached the highest, when he sees neither man nor woman, neither sect nor creed, nor colour, nor birth, nor any of these differentiations, but goes beyond and finds that divinity which is the real man behind every human being – then alone he has reached the universal brotherhood, and that man alone is a Vedantist” (delivered at Boston, vide p391-2, vol 1ibid).
To what extent did Vivekananda impact western minds? We will pick up the cases of a few followers of the swami by way of illustration.
For Josephine Macleod, the Swami was the ‘new Buddha’ and “the biggest spiritual force that ever came to earth.” In a letter dated March 12, 1923, she wrote: “The thing that held me in Swamiji was his unlimitedness!. I never could touch the bottom — or top — or sides! The amazing size of him, and I think Nivedita's hold was that too'. In her letter dated December 5, 1923, she wrote, “Swamiji says, ‘The heart is the river of your life; the head is the bridge over the river – always follow your heart’.
Another American follower cum disciple of the Swami was Deva Mata (Ms. Sara Bull), who turned into a Vedantist. This is how she recounted her first experience of listening to the lecture of Vivekananda on ‘What is Vedanta’:
“He began to speak; and memory, time, place, people, all melted away. Nothing was left but a voice ringing through the void. It was as if a gate had swung open and I had passed out on a road leading to limitless attainment. The end of it was not visible; but the promise of what it would be shone through the thought and flashed through the personality of the one who gave it. He stood there — prophet of infinitude”.
Sister Nivedita has methodically documented her Master’s views and reflections on many issues, as also interesting anecdotes. Thus we get to know through her writings the Swami’s views on love and union. As Nivedita writes: “he suddenly said, ‘You see there is one thing called Love, and there is another thing called Union; and Union is greater than Love. I do not love religion; I have become identified with it’.” Nivedita has also vividly described the impact of one of the lectures of the Swami in following words:
“And then he came; his very entrance and his silence as he stood and waited to begin were like some great hymn. A whole worship in themselves. At last he spoke — his face broke into fun, and he asked what was to be his subject. Someone suggested the Vedanta philosophy and he began. Oneness — the Unity of all.... ‘And so the final essence of things is this Unity. What we see as many — as gold, love, Sorrow, the world — is really God.... We see many, yet there is but One Existence.... These names differ only in the degrees of their expression. The matter of today is the spirit of the future. The worm of today — the God of tomorrow. These distinctions which we so love are all parts of one Infinite fact and that one Infinite fact is the attainment of Freedom....All our struggle is for Freedom — we seek neither misery nor happiness, but Freedom.”
Comments, in principle, should not exceed the matter commented upon, and if it does, it surely becomes irritable. My intention was only to supplement your thoughts on the subject. I may be excused for my lengthy comments.
Regards.
Asish K. Raha
No comments:
Post a Comment