Swami Vivekananda
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The Ideal Human Being
Ashok Vohra, The Making Of An Ideal Human Being, May 20, 2017: The Times of India
According to Swami Vivekananda, man is essentially enlightened and is by nature divine. All men are `heirs of immortal bliss'. But, because of wrong education and theories he forgets his divinity and essential goodness. He starts believing that he is a sinner. So he starts worshipping and pursuing external matter and forgets spirituality within.
Swamiji persuaded those who strayed from their true nature to come out of the delusion and understand that `they are not matter, they are not bodies'. They have to realise that `matter is their servant, not they the servant of matter'.For this purpose he set for himself the goal of making them aware of “their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life“. Right type of education has as its foundation the maxim: “There is no sin in thee, there is no misery in thee; thou art the reservoir of omnipotent power. Arise, awake and manifest the Divinity within.“
Swamiji's teaching helps us realise that those who call us sinners are wrong. “It is foolishness, wickedness, downright rascality to say that you are sinners. You are all God.“
Such an education could result in enabling persons to respect others their neighbours, fellow citizens, immediate surroundings and their overall environment. An enlightened person has 10 characteristics. These are: “Contentment, forbearance, gentleness, respect for others' property , purity, self-control, knowledge, philosophic wisdom, veracity and patience.“
The aim of an enlightened being is to live according to his svadharma his true nature and learn to control his appetite. He takes from society as little as is essential for his survival, and gives to it as much as he can. His actions are not motivated by any self-interest.
Tyaga, renunciation and seva, service are his ideals. There is no selfishness in him. He synthesises the opposites materialism and idealism; the sensual and spiritual; abhyu daya and nihshreyas; preya and shreya. He does not live for himself alone; rather, he lives for the welfare of his fellow beings.
In a letter to the Maharaja of Mysore, Vivekananda, explaining the notion of enlightened men, wrote, “My noble prince, this life is short, the vanities of the world are transient, but they live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive!“ He wrote this, because he believed that not exclusion but inclusion is the right policy . According to him, “All expansion is life, and all contraction is death.“
We ought to love and serve others and not hate or exploit them because loving and serving others is expansion and hating and exploiting them is contraction. Expansion comes from a firm faith in the Kathopanisad dictum which says, “The infinite Atman is present in every being, but lies hidden and therefore is not manifest; but it can be realised by the subtle and penetrating reason of those who are trained to perceive subtler and subtler truths.“
An enlightened person, according to Vivekananda, by virtue of his training and education, is able to see the same Atman in every being and therefore treats them at par, even identical with himself. He, like Vivekananda, wishes, “May I be born again and again, and suffer thousands of miseries, so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls of all races and all species.“
Karma Yoga and Non-resistance
[ From the archives of the Times of India]
In reading the Bhagwad Gita, many in western countries may have felt astonished at the second chapter, wherein Sri Krishna calls Arjuna a hypocrite and a coward because of his refusal to fight, or offer resistance, on account of his adversaries being his friends and relatives, making the plea that non-resistance was the highest ideal of love. This is a great lesson for us all to learn, that in all matters the two extremes are alike.
The extreme positive and the extreme negative are always similar. When the vibrations of light are too slow, we do not see them, nor do we see them when they are too rapid. So with sound; when very low in pitch, we do not hear it; when very high, we do not hear it either. Of like nature is the difference between resistance and non-resistance. One man does not resist because he is weak, lazy, and cannot, not because he will not; the other man knows that he can strike an irresistible blow if he likes; yet he not only does not strike, but blesses his enemies. The one who from weakness resists not commits a sin, and as such cannot receive any benefit from non-resistance; while the other would commit a sin by offering resistance.
Buddha gave up his throne and renounced his position, that was true renunciation; but there cannot be any question of renunciation in the case of a beggar who has nothing to renounce. So we must always be careful about what we really mean when we speak of this non-resistance and ideal love. We must first take care to understand whether we have the power of resistance or not. Then, having the power, if we renounce it and do not resist, we are doing a grand act of love; but if we cannot resist and yet, at the same time, try to deceive ourselves into the belief that we are actuated by motives of the highest love, we are doing the exact opposite. Arjuna became a coward at the sight of the mighty array against him; his ‘‘love’’ made him forget his duty towards his country and king. That is why Sri Krishna told him that he was a hypocrite: Thou talkest like a wise man, but thy actions betray thee to be a coward; therefore stand up and fight!
Such is the central idea of karma yoga. The karma yogi is the man who understands that the highest ideal is non-resistance, and who also knows that this non-resistance is the highest manifestation of power in actual possession, and also what is called the resisting of evil is but a step on the way towards the manifestation of this highest power, namely, non-resistance. Before reaching this highest ideal, work, fight, strike straight from the shoulder. Then only, having gained the power to resist, will non-resistance be a virtue...
Inactivity should be avoided by all means. Activity always means resistance. Resist all evils, mental and physical; and when you have succeeded in resisting, then calmness will come...Plunge into the world and, after a time, when you have suffered and enjoyed all that is in it, renunciation will come and calmness...until you have fulfilled this desire, until you have passed through that activity, it is impossible for you to come to the state of calmness, serenity, and self-surrender. These ideas of serenity and renunciation have been around for thousands of years...yet few have really reached that stage.
Teachings, philosophy
Pavahari Baba: On achieving the impossible
Arvind Sharma, January 29, 2018: The Times of India
Let’s begin by examining the concept of the impossible before trying to answer such a tantalising question. Some things are clearly impossible in a physical sense. A nonagenarian who hopes to qualify for the Olympics for high jump is clearly hoping for the impossible unless of course one has a seniors’ Olympic event in mind.
But when Napoleon said that the word ‘impossible’ is found in the dictionary of fools, then clearly, he did not have such impossibilities in mind. What he perhaps had in mind was that certain goals or accomplishments, which we normally consider out of reach, may be capable of being achieved if only one was daring enough to entertain them and determined enough to go after them. One might have considered it impossible of France to achieve the kind of military victories that Napoleon achieved for his country.
This idea of the impossible becomes even more relevant when we come to the individual, who might consider certain accomplishments impossible without realising that with persistent effort and determination they could be achieved. Perhaps, in such a context, the word ‘impossible’ is best understood as really denoting the improbable, which our imagination considers impossible. With these introductory remarks let us now consider what some sages have to say about achieving the impossible.
Swami Vivekananda met Sage Pavahari Baba of Ghazipur in the course of his wanderings across India. Vivekananda was so impressed by the Baba that he wanted to be initiated by him but whenever he resolved to do so, he was dissuaded by the appearance of an apparition of Sri Ramakrishna. Pavahari Baba later immolated himself upon being unable to bear the sufferings of his country in Kali Yuga. Vivekananda, perhaps overwhelmed by the enormity of India’s problems asked Pavahari, “How does one achieve the impossible”?
Pavahari Baba replied: “By treating the means as the end and the end as the means.” One hesitates to offer an interpretation of such an oracular pronouncementand the reader may have his own understanding of it. But what was perhaps meant was that when we think of achieving something, we tend to focus on the end product more, rather than how that end product might be actually achieved in terms of the concrete steps required, to accomplish it. So what the sage was perhaps suggesting was that we should focus our attention entirely on the means with the same passion with which we covet the goal itself. That would be one way of treating the means as the end. And then once such a concrete step is realised, similarly, the success we have achieved should be considered only a step in relation to what remains to be achieved to accomplish the goal. This would be one way of treating the end as the means.
St Francis of Assisi’s remarks do seem to shed light on the exciting question under discussion. He says that one should begin by doing the necessary; then one should do the possible, and then he adds that if one does so one would find oneself accomplishing the impossible. His remarks clearly bear a family resemblance to what was uttered by Pavahari Baba in response to the question put to him by Swami Vivekananda. (The writer is Birks Professor of Comparative Religion, McGill University.)
Universalism of Vivekananda
Spiritual Universalism
Swami Vivekananda saw the entire universe as manifestation of the absolute One. There is only one Self in the universe, only one existence. When it passes through time, space and causation it appears to be diverse and is called by different names. In the heart of things there is fundamental unity.
When all life in the universe is seen as One, the selfish, narrow-minded outlook and compartmentalisation instantly collapse. Vivekananda stood for harmony of religions and divinity of humankind. He said that each soul is potentially divine, omnipotent and omniscient, awaiting manifestation. The aim of life is to realise the same through selfless service to humanity, assimilation of wisdom through deep introspection, devotion to divinity or a special psychophysical practice. These constitute the curriculum of yoga, the art of cosmic union with the Absolute.
Significantly, this spiritual process can be practised in non-religious mode as well, but it would be expedient to extract the essence of existing religions to benefit thereby. External rituals of religions are of secondary importance but their spiritual essence needs to be accepted. If we seek a universal religion which can be followed by everyone it must include all degrees of religious development.
Vivekananda said, “We want to lead mankind to the place where there is neither Vedas, nor Bible, nor Quran; yet this has to be done by harmonising all three. We need to learn that religions are but varied expressions of The Religion, which is Oneness, so that each may choose a path that suits him best.” This vision of a universal religion concerns no particular cult but signifies culmination of wisdom.
Swamiji was an exponent of vedantic humanism or all-embracing pantheism. For him, the watchword was religious acceptance and not tolerance. Tolerance comes out of a superiority complex. ‘You are wrong but I allow you to exist out of my generosity.’ This is blasphemy. Difference of views and ways of thinking are deeply rooted in the scheme of the universe. If everybody thinks alike what will be there to think any more? But we have no right to think that ‘I am right and others are wrong.’ Truth can be seen from many angles and expressed in diverse ways. We must accept this basic truth – that there are many truths that in reality are One.
The ideal for universal brotherhood is not a new concept and has been contemplated by many before him. But any endeavour for the same without spirituality had been self-defeating as has already been proved all over the globe. Our urge for universal brotherhood usually excludes those who are reluctant to join the group and thus becomes self-defeating. For example, communists became stridently communal against non-communists. So too with other belief systems.
Vivekananda did not propagate a world-negating concept of spirituality or escapism from the din and bustle of suffering multitudes. Self-less service of man was for him the desirable path for Self-realisation. Liberation is a matter of expansion of the self spread over the entire universe.
The essential divinity and thereby unity of all creatures has to be realised through unconditional love for all, wise detachment and extension of self through service of humanity beyond the dogmas and any sectarian faith.
This universalism par excellence or way of life engulfing whole gamut of existence must evolve as the religion or spirituality of the posterity as panacea for all the world-problems of the day.
Yogic Universalism
MN Kundu, Yogic Universalism Of Swami Vivekananda, January 8, 2018: The Times of India
There is only one Self in the universe, only one existence. When it manifests through time, space and causation, it appears to be diverse and is called by different names. In the heart of all things, there is fundamental unity. When all life in the whole universe is seen in vast oneness, the selfishness, narrow-mindedness and innumerable divisions instantly collapse.
Swami Vivekananda stood for harmony of religions and essentially divinity of humankind. He asserted that each soul is potentially divine. The main purpose of our life is to realise the same through the path of selfless service to humanity, assimilation of wisdom through deeper introspection, devotion to any concept of the Almighty or some special psychophysical practice. These constitute the curriculum of yoga, the art of cosmic union with the Absolute.
Significantly, this spiritual process can be practised in non-religious mode as well; but it would be expedient to extract the essence of existing religions to benefit thereby. The external rituals of religions are of secondary importance but the spiritual essence of religions needs to be accepted. If we seek a universal religion which can be followed by everyone it must include all degrees of religious development.
Vivekananda said, “We want to lead mankind to the place where there is neither the Vedas, nor the Bible, nor the Quran; yet this has to be done by harmonising the Vedas, Bible and the Quran. Mankind ought to be taught that religions are but varied expressions of ‘The Religion’, which is Oneness, so that each may choose the path that suits him best.” This vision of a universal religion is concerned with no particular cult but with the culmination of wisdom.
Swamiji was an exponent of Vedantic humanism, all-embracing pantheism. For him, the watchword was religious acceptance and not toleration. Toleration comes out of a superiority complex. ‘You are wrong but i allow you to exist out of my generosity.’ Difference of views and thinking are deeply rooted in the scheme of the universe. But we have no right to think that ‘I am right and others are wrong.’ Truth can be seen from many angles and expressed in diverse ways. We must accept this basic truth.
The ideal for universal brotherhood is not a new concept, and had been contemplated by many before Vivekananda. But any endeavour for the same without spirituality had been self-defeating. Our urge for universal brotherhood usually excludes those who are reluctant to join the group and thus becomes self-defeating.
Vivekananda did not propagate any world-negating concept of spirituality or escapism from the din and bustle of the suffering multitudes. Selfless service of man as manifestation of the Omnipresent was, for him, the desirable path for Self-realisation. Liberation is a matter of expansion of the Self, spread over the entire universe.
The essential divinity and thereby unity of all beings has to be realised through unconditional love for all, wise detachment and extension of self through service of humanity beyond dogmas and sectarian faiths.
This universalism par excellence, way of life engulfing whole gamut of existence, must evolve as the religion or spirituality of posterity as panacea for all the problems we face today.
Harmony of religions, universal toleration, all religions are true
At the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, 125 years ago, Swami Vivekananda delivered his landmark address, about the need for harmony of religions. He spoke not only about universal toleration but of acceptance of all religions as true; he appealed to all religious and spiritual leaders to shun all forms of religious fanaticism, persecution and violence. He will be remembered not only in India but throughout the world as Messiah of Tolerance and India’s Prophet of Harmony of Religions.
Swami Vivekananda’s perspective was inspired by his guru, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, who promoted the doctrine of ‘Jato Mat, Tato Path’ which recognises the potential of all religions to act as means of attaining spiritual enlightenment: ‘Ekam sad vipraha bahuda vavanti.’ Vivekananda would narrate the story of ‘kupa manduka’, frog-in-the-well, as being illustrative of the closed minds of religious bigots. He believed that holiness, purity and charity are not exclusive domains of any particular religion and that every religion has produced individuals of exalted character. He further said that if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and destruction of the others, “I pity him from the bottom of my heart.”
Swami Vivekananda turned the universal philosophy of Vedanta into a driver of social change, for he believed that true religion taught people to recognise the divinity of people and the need to engage in selfless service to the needy: Daridra Narayan seva. He had raised money for the construction of Belur Math to feed the famine-hit in 1897 and again in 1898 served plague victims in Kolkata. Belur Math temple incorporates the architecture associated with places of worship of each religion. There are monks in the Ramakrishna Order who are Muslim, Christian, Jew and Hindu; they live together peacefully and engage in service.
All narrow, limited, conflicting ideas of religion have to go, said the Swami. All sectarian ideas must be given up. There is only one, infinite religion that is eternal. Religious quarrels are always over the husks. When purity and spirituality go, leaving the soul dry, quarrels begin, and not before. Therefore he said, “Follow one and respect all because you may be born into any religion but you cannot not die in it.” The essence of religion is God-consciousness.
Swami Vivekananda said our watchword should be acceptance and not exclusion. “Toleration means that I think that you are wrong and I am just allowing you to live, that is, I am tolerating you. Is it not a blasphemy to think that you and I are allowing others to live? I accept all religions that were in the past, and worship with them. I worship God with every one of them, in whatever form they worship him.”
Let us hope that Swami Vivekananda’s call for unity, love and tolerance is given the importance it deserves so that more people can learn to live in harmony with one another. Swamiji did believe that we need to keep our hopes alive that the end of fanaticism and intolerance may be at hand – that we do have a choice and that we can do better, and thinking these thoughts and practising them gives us hope for a better world. A world without hate and conflict, where everyone respects the other, for there is enough room for all.
Vedanta
Jan 12 2015
Vivekananda saw practical Vedanta as Panacea
M N Kundu
Swami Vivekananda was never concerned with world-negating spirituality distanced from the din and bustle of daily living. He was intensely perturbed by the endless suffering of mankind and discovered that the root of all suffering lies in ignorance, disharmony, divisiveness and confinement of consciousness within finitudes. His esoteric experience of Advaita philosophy of Vedanta offered him a unique panacea. In the light of his experience of cosmic consciousness he found a bridge between science and spirituality, between religions and between the mundane and divine. From absolutely secular, scientific and experiential philosophy he developed the concept of practical Vedanta as a formula of living. Swamiji prescribed the following motto of life as self-realisation and selfless service to humanity: “Atmano mokshartham jagaddhitaya cha.“ The twofold complementary agenda can be best practised with the concept of practical Vedanta which is not a religious but a spiritual formula for all.
The central theme of Vedanta is essential unity in diversity or ultimate oneness of existence. Brahmn alone abides. Its manifestation through names, forms and attributes are merely apparent within time, space and causality rooted in cosmic delusion. Each soul is potentially divine and essentially one. Hence Vedan tic Self-realisation is infinite selfexpansion in the universe as expression of the Absolute. There is no divisiveness in One without a second as Christ also experienced, “I and my Father are one.“
Practical Vedanta is rooted in upanishadic revelations. But the best lesson is found in the Gita delivered at Kurukshetra which teaches us unattached action with spiritual anchorage.
Joyful action flows from the ce Joyful action flows from the centre of our being where we are not lost in the circumference of worldly doing and possessing with undue attachment.Then every action is divine action and play of the divine in the divine world.The mundane and spiritual get united in massive oneness and we experience joy in life as the play of consciousness.
For Swamiji renunciation did not lie in negating creation but in divinisation of entire creation and serving all. When we behold Creation as expression of the Absolute within and without our sense of personal loss, then gain or egosatisfaction get automatically sublimated. Instead of being player we become observer of cosmic drama with joy of Being.
The resultant effect is selfless love for entire Creation and absolute freedom from human bondage. Then our happiness no longer depends on anything or anybody but flows from within.
Sense of immortality gives us ous freedom to act without fear tremendous freedom to act without fear or temporal concern. Tremendous sense of harmony enables us to enjoy apparent diversity in thought, action, belief and worship. We become not tolerant but appreciative of one another and rise above sectarian boundaries where solutions to all problems flow from empathy.
Practical Vedanta starts with self-purification through selfless service which is possible only when we are grounded in cosmic Self through constant Self-inquiry and deep meditation.Self-expansion leads to falling in love with everybody with perception of own Self.Then our life becomes an instrument of cosmic will for playing divine tune as a finite expression of inexpressible Infinite.
Swamiji wanted us to attain this divine consciousness and make it our sole mission and direction. In that elevated consciousness our personal suffering becomes enactment, disharmony a veil of ignorance and the creation a cosmic drama. Behind all these remains blissful singular existence and consciousness of cosmic Self behind the plurality of names, forms and attributes. Therefore, he said, “Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached.“ (January 12 is Swami Vivekananda's birth anniversary.)
