Swami Vivekananda says :
I have been asked many times how we can work if we do not have the passion which we generally feel for work. I also thought in that way years ago, but as I am growing older, getting more experience, I find it is not true. The less passion there is, the better we work. The calmer we are, the better for us, and the more the amount of work we can do. When we let loose our feelings, we waste so much energy, shatter our nerves, disturb our minds, and accomplish very little work. The energy which ought to have gone out as work is spent as mere feeling, which counts for nothing. It is only when the mind is very calm and collected that the whole of its energy is spent in doing good work. And if you read the lives of the great workers which the world has produced, you will find that they were wonderfully calm men. Nothing, as it were, could throw them off their balance. That is why the man who becomes angry never does a great amount of work, and the man whom nothing can make angry accomplishes so much. The man who gives way to anger, or hatred, or any other passion, cannot work; he only breaks himself to pieces, and does nothing practical. It is the calm, forgiving, equable, well-balanced mind that does the greatest amount of work. ( II -293)
Friday, 31 October 2014
Thursday, 30 October 2014
योग: कर्मसु कौशलम् : Vivekananda Kendra News
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Gita teaches Karma-Yoga. We should work through Yoga (concentration). In such concentration in action (Karma-Yoga), there is no consciousness of the lower ego present. The consciousness that I am doing this and that is never present when one works through Yoga.
- Swami Vivekananda (V, 247 – 248)
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मुक्तसंग्ङोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वित:।
सिद्धयसिद्धयोर्निर्विकार: कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ॥१८.२६॥
Freed from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with courage and enthusiasm and unperturbed by success or failure, the worker is known as a pure (Sattvika) one. Four outstanding and essential qualities of a worker. - Bhagwad Gita : XVIII-26
Be a Master
Swami Vivekananda says :
We are all beggars. Whatever we do, we want a return. We are all traders. We are traders in life, we are traders in virtue, we are traders in religion. And alas! we are also traders in love.
If you come to trade, if it is a question of give-and-take, if it is a question of buy-and-sell, abide by the laws of buying and selling. There is a bad time and there is a good time; there is a rise and a fall in prices: always you expect the blow to come. It is like looking at the mirror. Your face is reflected: you make a grimace — there is one in the mirror; if you laugh, the mirror laughs. This is buying and selling, giving and taking. (II, 4)
We are all beggars. Whatever we do, we want a return. We are all traders. We are traders in life, we are traders in virtue, we are traders in religion. And alas! we are also traders in love.
If you come to trade, if it is a question of give-and-take, if it is a question of buy-and-sell, abide by the laws of buying and selling. There is a bad time and there is a good time; there is a rise and a fall in prices: always you expect the blow to come. It is like looking at the mirror. Your face is reflected: you make a grimace — there is one in the mirror; if you laugh, the mirror laughs. This is buying and selling, giving and taking. (II, 4)
Wednesday, 29 October 2014
Bhagini Nivedita
28 October is Bhagini Nivedita's Birth day. All of you must have remembered her.
It occurred to us late, hence sending Her some important views on Hinduism and Organisation
It occurred to us late, hence sending Her some important views on Hinduism and Organisation
HINDUISM AND ORGANIZATION. (From the book Religion and Dharma by Sister Nivedita)
HINDUISM is one of the finest and most coherent growths in the world. Its disadvantages arise out of the fact that it is a growth, not an organization ; a tree, not a machine. In an age in which the whole world worships the machine, for its exactness, its calculableness, and its dirigibility, this fact, while it makes for a greater permanence, also involves a certain number of desiderata. The fruits of the tree of Hinduism are of an excellence unparalleled; but it is not easy to reach by its means those benefits that do not occur spontaneously, ends that have to be foreseen and deliberately planned and arranged for.
For instance, alone amongst the world's faiths perhaps, ours has no quarrel of any sort with truth. Under its sway, the scientific mind is absolutely free to pursue to the uttermost its researches into the Infinite Nescience of things, the philosopher is encouraged to elucidate his conclusions, and simple piety does not dream of passing judgment on things admittedly too high for it. All this is true of Hinduism. At the same time, what has it done to grasp the highest scientific education for its children, or to impel its people forward upon the pursuit of mastery in learning or in ministering to social service ? There is nothing in Hinduism to forbid an attempt on our part to compass these things, and the only thing that could drive us to make the effort, namely a vigilant and energetic sense of affairs, a public spirit that took account of things as a whole, was undoubtedly indicated by the Swami Vivekananda, as part of what he meant by Aggressive Hinduism. We ought to make our faith aggressive, not only internationally, by sending out missionaries, but also socially, by self-improvement ; not only doctrinally, by accepting converts, but also spiritually, by intensifying its activity. What we need is to supplement religion by public spirit, an enlightened self-sense in which every member of the community has a part.
Class-preference is obsolete in matters of education. The career of the intellect is now for him who has the talent. By us, this principle has to be boldly and enthusiastically accepted. Even as the school is open to all, so must every form of social ministration be made. The college, the orphanage, the hospital, the women's refuge, these must be opened by such as have the devotion and energy for the task, and nothing must be said of the birth of the servant of humanity. By virtue of his consecration, he becomes a saint, even as, by his jnanam, the philosopher makes himself a rishi. Activity is eased and heightened if it is socialized : that is to say, if it is the work of a body, espousing a common conviction, and not of a solitary individual,wandering the world, and divided between his idea itself and the question of its support. This common conviction, driving into work, is the reason why small religious sects are so often the source of vast move-ments of human amelioration. Many of these outstanding problems of Hinduism have been attacked, for instance, by the Brahmo Samaj, with considerable success. The little church forms a background and home for the worker. It sends him out to his task, rejoices over his success, and welcomes him back with laurels, or with ministration, when he turns home to die. Without some such city of the heart, it is difficult to see how the worker is to keep up his energy and courage. The praise and pleasure of our own little group of beloved ones is very sweet to all of us, and quite properly spurs us on to surmount many an obstacle that we should not otherwise attempt.
Let the soul grow, by saying " not this ! not this !" to what height it will ; but let it have the occasion for practising this discrimination.
We must take up our problems, then, as social groups. Let no man enter on the apostolate that is to shake the world, alone. Everything done, every discovery made, even every poem written, and every dream dreamed, is a social achievement. Society has contributed to it, and will receive its benefits. Let the missionary, then, on whom the effort seems to rest, not reckon himself to be the chief actor. There must be some two or three, knit together by some well wrought bond, in every undertaking that is to benefit humanity. Perhaps they were comrades at school and college. Perhaps they are disciples of a single master. Possibly they belong to the same village. Maybe they are fellow-workmen in some common employment. Whatever be the shaping force, there must be association of aim and co-operation of effort, if there is to be success, and there must be a strong bond of love amongst those few ardent souls who form the central core.
Voluntary association, the desire of a body to take on corporate individuality, is thus the point of departure within Hinduism for civic activity. But we must not forget how much every activity owes to the general movement of society around it. Work must be done by the few as the servants, not as the enemies, of the many. Every single movement needs other counter-movements to supplement it, if it is to maintain itself in vigour. Thus, the difficulty about technical education in
And where shall we find the starting-point for this new assault on the citadel of our own ignorance1? Let us find it boldly amongst religious forces. In Buddhist countries, the monastery is the centre round which are grouped schools, libraries, museums, and efforts at technical education. Why should we not, in our Southerncities expect the temple, similarly, to take the lead, in the fostering of the new and higher education ?
Why should we dread the Brahman's tendency to exclusiveness and reaction ? If it be really true that we are capable of sanity, is the Brahman to remain an exception to that sanity? Let us expect of our own country and of our own people, the highest and noblest and most progressive outlook that any people in the world might take. And in doing this, let us look to become Hindus, in a true sense, for the first time. For it is a question whether so grand a word ought to be borne by us unless we have first earned and approved our right to it. Ought not the name of our countryand our faith to be to us as a sort of order of merit, a guerdon of loyal love, the token of accepted toil ?
Tuesday, 28 October 2014
Help the Lord!
Swami Vivekananda says :
Help the Lord! There is a proverb in our language, "Shall we teach the Architect of the universe how to build?" So those are the highest of mankind who do not work. The next time you see these silly phrases about the world and how we must all help God and do this or that for Him, remember this. Do not think such thoughts; they are too selfish. All the work you do is subjective, is done for your own benefit. God has not fallen into a ditch for you and me to help Him out by building a hospital or something of that sort. He allows you to work. He allows you to exercise your muscles in this great gymnasium, not in order to help Him but that you may help yourself. Do you think even an ant will die for want of your help? Most arrant blasphemy! The world does not need you at all.
The world goes on you are like a drop in the ocean. A leaf does not move, the wind does not blow without Him. Blessed are we that we are given the privilege of working for Him, not of helping Him. Cut out this word "help" from your mind. You cannot help; it is blaspheming. You are here yourself at His pleasure.
Do you mean to say, you help Him? You worship. When you give a morsel of food to the dog, you worship the dog as God. God is in that dog. He is the dog. He is all and in all. We are allowed to worship Him. Stand in that reverent attitude to the whole universe, and then will come perfect non-attachment. This should be your duty. This is the proper attitude of work. This is the secret taught by Karma-Yoga (V-245)
Help the Lord! There is a proverb in our language, "Shall we teach the Architect of the universe how to build?" So those are the highest of mankind who do not work. The next time you see these silly phrases about the world and how we must all help God and do this or that for Him, remember this. Do not think such thoughts; they are too selfish. All the work you do is subjective, is done for your own benefit. God has not fallen into a ditch for you and me to help Him out by building a hospital or something of that sort. He allows you to work. He allows you to exercise your muscles in this great gymnasium, not in order to help Him but that you may help yourself. Do you think even an ant will die for want of your help? Most arrant blasphemy! The world does not need you at all.
The world goes on you are like a drop in the ocean. A leaf does not move, the wind does not blow without Him. Blessed are we that we are given the privilege of working for Him, not of helping Him. Cut out this word "help" from your mind. You cannot help; it is blaspheming. You are here yourself at His pleasure.
Do you mean to say, you help Him? You worship. When you give a morsel of food to the dog, you worship the dog as God. God is in that dog. He is the dog. He is all and in all. We are allowed to worship Him. Stand in that reverent attitude to the whole universe, and then will come perfect non-attachment. This should be your duty. This is the proper attitude of work. This is the secret taught by Karma-Yoga (V-245)
Monday, 27 October 2014
Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam
Swami Vivekananda says :
Gita teaches Karma-Yoga. We should work through Yoga (concentration). In such concentration in action (Karma-Yoga), there is no consciousness of the lower ego present. The consciousness that I am doing this and that is never present when one works through Yoga. The Western people do not understand this. They say that if there be no consciousness of ego, if this ego is gone, how then can a man work? But when one works with concentration, losing all consciousness of oneself the work that is done will be infinitely better, and this every one may have experienced in his own life. We perform many works subconsciously, such as the digestion of food etc., many others consciously, and others again by becoming immersed in Samâdhi as it were, when there is no consciousness of the smaller ego. If the painter, losing the consciousness of his ego, becomes completely immersed in his painting, he will be able to produce masterpieces. The good cook concentrates his whole self on the food-material he handles; he loses all other consciousness for the time being. But they are only able to do perfectly a single work in this way, to which they are habituated. The Gita teaches that all works should be done thus. He who is one with the Lord through Yoga performs all his works by becoming immersed in concentration, and does not seek any personal benefit. Such a performance of work brings only good to the world, no evil can come out of it. Those who work thus never do anything for themselves. The result of every work is mixed with good and evil. There is no good work that has not a touch of evil in it. Like smoke round the fire, some evil always clings to work. We should engage in such works as bring the largest amount of good and the smallest measure of evil. (V, 247 – 248)
Gita teaches Karma-Yoga. We should work through Yoga (concentration). In such concentration in action (Karma-Yoga), there is no consciousness of the lower ego present. The consciousness that I am doing this and that is never present when one works through Yoga. The Western people do not understand this. They say that if there be no consciousness of ego, if this ego is gone, how then can a man work? But when one works with concentration, losing all consciousness of oneself the work that is done will be infinitely better, and this every one may have experienced in his own life. We perform many works subconsciously, such as the digestion of food etc., many others consciously, and others again by becoming immersed in Samâdhi as it were, when there is no consciousness of the smaller ego. If the painter, losing the consciousness of his ego, becomes completely immersed in his painting, he will be able to produce masterpieces. The good cook concentrates his whole self on the food-material he handles; he loses all other consciousness for the time being. But they are only able to do perfectly a single work in this way, to which they are habituated. The Gita teaches that all works should be done thus. He who is one with the Lord through Yoga performs all his works by becoming immersed in concentration, and does not seek any personal benefit. Such a performance of work brings only good to the world, no evil can come out of it. Those who work thus never do anything for themselves. The result of every work is mixed with good and evil. There is no good work that has not a touch of evil in it. Like smoke round the fire, some evil always clings to work. We should engage in such works as bring the largest amount of good and the smallest measure of evil. (V, 247 – 248)
Sunday, 26 October 2014
Truth : The Nature of all Souls
Swami Vivekananda says :
….. only to selfishness comes fear. He who has nothing to desire for himself, whom does he fear, and what can frighten him? What fear has death for him? What fear has evil for him? So if we are Advaitists, we must think from this moment that our old self is dead and gone. The old Mr., Mrs., and Miss So-and-so are gone, they were mere superstitions, and what remains is the ever-pure, the ever-strong, the almighty, the all-knowing – that alone remains for us, and then all fear vanishes from us. Who can injure us, the omnipresent?
All weakness has vanished from us, and our only work is to arouse this knowledge in our fellow beings. These doctrines are old, older than many mountains possibly. All truth is eternal. Truth is nobody's property; no race, no individual can lay any exclusive claim to it.
Truth is the nature of all souls. Who can lay an, special claim to it? But it has to be made practical, to be made simple (for the highest truths are always simple), so that it may penetrate every pore of human society, and become the property of the highest intellects and the commonest minds, of the man, woman, and child at the same time. All these ratiocinations of logic, all these bundles of metaphysics, all these theologies and ceremonies may have been good in their own time, but let us try to make things simpler and bring about the golden days when every man will be a worshipper, and the Reality in every man will be the object of worship. (II, 357 – 358)
….. only to selfishness comes fear. He who has nothing to desire for himself, whom does he fear, and what can frighten him? What fear has death for him? What fear has evil for him? So if we are Advaitists, we must think from this moment that our old self is dead and gone. The old Mr., Mrs., and Miss So-and-so are gone, they were mere superstitions, and what remains is the ever-pure, the ever-strong, the almighty, the all-knowing – that alone remains for us, and then all fear vanishes from us. Who can injure us, the omnipresent?
All weakness has vanished from us, and our only work is to arouse this knowledge in our fellow beings. These doctrines are old, older than many mountains possibly. All truth is eternal. Truth is nobody's property; no race, no individual can lay any exclusive claim to it.
Truth is the nature of all souls. Who can lay an, special claim to it? But it has to be made practical, to be made simple (for the highest truths are always simple), so that it may penetrate every pore of human society, and become the property of the highest intellects and the commonest minds, of the man, woman, and child at the same time. All these ratiocinations of logic, all these bundles of metaphysics, all these theologies and ceremonies may have been good in their own time, but let us try to make things simpler and bring about the golden days when every man will be a worshipper, and the Reality in every man will be the object of worship. (II, 357 – 358)
Friday, 24 October 2014
Swami Loved India
DEEPAVALI ASKS US EVERY YEAR 'LOVE INDIA'
Swamiji loved India because She was the cradle of civilization, the birthplace of the realization of the Ultimate Truth and it was from here that the light of omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotency of Truth radiated to other parts of the world.
Swamiji loved India because She was Dharmabhumi. It was here that Truth lent itself to be translated into human thoughts, words and interactions establishing the interconnectedness, interrelatedness and interdependence of the whole Universe.
Swamiji loved India because She was Karmabhumi, where karma or work has been so intensively analysed leading to the discovery that work could indeed be a means to manifest the Divinity within man.
Swamiji loved India because She was Yanjabhumi. It was here that the immense potential of the spiritual energy hidden in the Nishkama Karma was discovered and brought out for the common good of the people.
Swamiji loved India because here was a Tapobhumi where the rishis formulated the superfine technique of stopping the wastage of spiritual energy through controlling the senses from their outgoing habit and directing it towards realization of the Truth.
Thus, Loving India for SWAMIJI was to imbibe her philosophy which was as deep as the ocean, as high as the Himalayas and as vast as the Indian plans. Karma - Bhakti - Jnana Yogas illustrate the wide scope and opportunities available to man to experiment with his own life. This understanding made Swamiji carefully scrutinize and practise the four yogas and update them, so as to explain them in modern times, to the modern man, in modern language and idioms. That is what made Swami Vivekananda's teachings so very unique, practical and universal.
Swamiji loved India because She was the cradle of civilization, the birthplace of the realization of the Ultimate Truth and it was from here that the light of omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotency of Truth radiated to other parts of the world.
Swamiji loved India because She was Dharmabhumi. It was here that Truth lent itself to be translated into human thoughts, words and interactions establishing the interconnectedness, interrelatedness and interdependence of the whole Universe.
Swamiji loved India because She was Karmabhumi, where karma or work has been so intensively analysed leading to the discovery that work could indeed be a means to manifest the Divinity within man.
Swamiji loved India because She was Yanjabhumi. It was here that the immense potential of the spiritual energy hidden in the Nishkama Karma was discovered and brought out for the common good of the people.
Swamiji loved India because here was a Tapobhumi where the rishis formulated the superfine technique of stopping the wastage of spiritual energy through controlling the senses from their outgoing habit and directing it towards realization of the Truth.
Thus, Loving India for SWAMIJI was to imbibe her philosophy which was as deep as the ocean, as high as the Himalayas and as vast as the Indian plans. Karma - Bhakti - Jnana Yogas illustrate the wide scope and opportunities available to man to experiment with his own life. This understanding made Swamiji carefully scrutinize and practise the four yogas and update them, so as to explain them in modern times, to the modern man, in modern language and idioms. That is what made Swami Vivekananda's teachings so very unique, practical and universal.
....DR. M LAKSHMI KUMARI
DEEPAVALI
SHUBHA DEEPAVALI TO ALL
LIGHTS DISPEL DARKNESS! KNOWLEDGE DISPEL IGNORANCE!!
LIGHTS DISPEL DARKNESS! KNOWLEDGE DISPEL IGNORANCE!!
We all want to be free from miseries. As we all know, we are suffering from various kinds of misery - physical, mental and spiritual. All these miseries, summed up, can be expressed in one word - ignorance - ignorance of our own Self. We do not know what our real nature is or how we are related to our surroundings, sentient and insentient. The trouble is in our ignorance, and the removal of this ignorance is the ultimate goal of human beings. We have to work out our own salvation and free ourselves from this eternal ignorance we are suffering from and help others to the same.
From very birth, people who have the capacity to think have been trying to find out the way of removing all miseries and to reach the state of freedom from miseries which will be the ultimate objective of life. Efforts are going on, and sometimes we stop to think and look back to see whether we have made any progress. Progress is never scheduled according to time. It can be measured only by the amount of peace and happiness that we have attained. So, our introspection will make us often gloomy on account of the slowness of the progress. In spite of the tremendous advance made by science and human knowledge in various fields, much ground remains to be covered in the spiritual field. We have to go a long, long way.
One thing is to be remembered; everyone must be aware of his own contribution to be made towards the collective progress of mankind in this field. Nothing can be attained in isolation. We have to free ourselves from the ignorance that makes us feel that we are isolated individuals, that we have nothing to do with the external world. That is the initial mistake that we have made. I am as much concerned as everyone else in the welfare of others. Everybody is a part of myself and therefore, if anybody is kept in darkness or left alone, suffering from misery and ignorance, it is I who am suffering. That is why we have to serve others.
..... Swami Bhuteshanandaji
Thursday, 23 October 2014
शुभ दीपावली : Vivekananda Kendra : SHUBH DEEPAWALI
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विवेक विजाणु पंडित गण (Vivek WebMaster Team)
विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari)
Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org
Read n Get Articles, Magazines, Books @ http://prakashan.vivekanandakendra.org
Landline : Himachal:+91-(0)177-2835-995, Kanyakumari:+91-(0)4652-247-012
Let's work on "Swamiji's Vision - Eknathji's Mission"
Follow Vivekananda Kendra on blog twitter g+ facebook rss delicious youtube Donate Online
विवेक विजाणु पंडित गण (Vivek WebMaster Team)
विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari)
Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org
Read n Get Articles, Magazines, Books @ http://prakashan.vivekanandakendra.org
Landline : Himachal:+91-(0)177-2835-995, Kanyakumari:+91-(0)4652-247-012
मुक्तसंग्ङोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वित:।
सिद्धयसिद्धयोर्निर्विकार: कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ॥१८.२६॥
Freed from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with courage and enthusiasm and unperturbed by success or failure, the worker is known as a pure (Sattvika) one. Four outstanding and essential qualities of a worker. - Bhagwad Gita : XVIII-26
Karmani eva adhikar: te
Swami Vivekananda says :
Every man should take up his own ideal and endeavour to accomplish it. That is a surer way of progress than taking up other men's ideals, which he can never hope to accomplish. For instance, we take a child and at once give him the task of walking twenty miles. Either the little one dies, or one in a thousand crawls the twenty miles, to reach the end exhausted and half-dead. That is like what we generally try to do with the world. All the men and women, in any society, are not of the same mind, capacity, or of the same power to do things; they must have different ideals, and we have no right to sneer at any ideal. Let every one do the best he can for realising his own ideal. Nor is it right that I should be judged by your standard or you by mine. The apple tree should not be judged by the standard of the oak, nor the oak by that of the apple. To judge the apple tree you must take the apple standard, and for the oak, its own standard. (I, 41)
Every man should take up his own ideal and endeavour to accomplish it. That is a surer way of progress than taking up other men's ideals, which he can never hope to accomplish. For instance, we take a child and at once give him the task of walking twenty miles. Either the little one dies, or one in a thousand crawls the twenty miles, to reach the end exhausted and half-dead. That is like what we generally try to do with the world. All the men and women, in any society, are not of the same mind, capacity, or of the same power to do things; they must have different ideals, and we have no right to sneer at any ideal. Let every one do the best he can for realising his own ideal. Nor is it right that I should be judged by your standard or you by mine. The apple tree should not be judged by the standard of the oak, nor the oak by that of the apple. To judge the apple tree you must take the apple standard, and for the oak, its own standard. (I, 41)
Tuesday, 21 October 2014
Shubha Deepavali
Swami Vivekananda says :
WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY DEEPAVALI!
LET'S LIGHT THE LAMP OF JNANA, LOVE, ACTIVITY AND REMOVE THE DARKNESS OF AJNANA, HATE N INACTIVITY!!
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 will calmness come. It is very easy to say, "Hate nobody, resist not evil," but we know what that kind of thing generally means in practice. When the eyes of society are turned towards us, we may make a show of non-resistance, but in our hearts it is canker all the time. We feel the utter want of the calm of nonresistance; we feel that it would be better for us to resist. If you desire wealth, and know at the same time that the whole world regards him who aims at wealth as a very wicked man, you, perhaps, will not dare to plunge into the struggle for wealth, yet your mind will be running day and night after money. This is hypocrisy and will serve no purpose. Plunge into the world, and then, after a time, when you have suffered and enjoyed all that is in it, will renunciation come; then will calmness come. So fulfil your desire for power and everything else, and after you have fulfilled the desire, will come the time when you will know that they are all very little things; but 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. (I, 40)
WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY DEEPAVALI!
LET'S LIGHT THE LAMP OF JNANA, LOVE, ACTIVITY AND REMOVE THE DARKNESS OF AJNANA, HATE N INACTIVITY!!
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 will calmness come. It is very easy to say, "Hate nobody, resist not evil," but we know what that kind of thing generally means in practice. When the eyes of society are turned towards us, we may make a show of non-resistance, but in our hearts it is canker all the time. We feel the utter want of the calm of nonresistance; we feel that it would be better for us to resist. If you desire wealth, and know at the same time that the whole world regards him who aims at wealth as a very wicked man, you, perhaps, will not dare to plunge into the struggle for wealth, yet your mind will be running day and night after money. This is hypocrisy and will serve no purpose. Plunge into the world, and then, after a time, when you have suffered and enjoyed all that is in it, will renunciation come; then will calmness come. So fulfil your desire for power and everything else, and after you have fulfilled the desire, will come the time when you will know that they are all very little things; but 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. (I, 40)
Work without desire
Swami Vivekananda says :
All outgoing energy following a selfish motive is frittered away; it will not cause power to return to you; but if restrained, it will result in development of power. This self-control will tend to produce a mighty will, a character which makes a Christ or a Buddha. Foolish men do not know this secret.
Even the lowest forms of work are not to be despised. Let the man, who knows no better, work for selfish ends, for name and fame; but everyone should always try to get towards higher and higher motives and to understand them. "To work we have the right, but not to the fruits thereof:" Leave the fruits alone. Why care for results? If you wish to help a man, never think what that man's attitude should be towards you. If you want to do a great or a good work, do not trouble to think what the result will be. (I, 33 –34)
All outgoing energy following a selfish motive is frittered away; it will not cause power to return to you; but if restrained, it will result in development of power. This self-control will tend to produce a mighty will, a character which makes a Christ or a Buddha. Foolish men do not know this secret.
Even the lowest forms of work are not to be despised. Let the man, who knows no better, work for selfish ends, for name and fame; but everyone should always try to get towards higher and higher motives and to understand them. "To work we have the right, but not to the fruits thereof:" Leave the fruits alone. Why care for results? If you wish to help a man, never think what that man's attitude should be towards you. If you want to do a great or a good work, do not trouble to think what the result will be. (I, 33 –34)
Sunday, 19 October 2014
Help yourselves
Swami Vivekananda says :
Our duty to others means helping others; doing good to the world. Why should we do good to the world? Apparently to help the world, but really to help ourselves. We should always try to help the world, that should be the highest motive in us; but if we consider well, we find that the world does not require our help at all. This world was not made that you or I should come and help it. I once read a sermon in which it was said, "All this beautiful world is very good, because it gives us time and opportunity to help others." Apparently, this is a very beautiful sentiment, but is it not a blasphemy to say that the world needs our help? We cannot deny that there is much misery in it; to go out and help others is, therefore, the best thing we can do, although in the long run, we shall find that helping others is only helping ourselves. (I, 75)
Our duty to others means helping others; doing good to the world. Why should we do good to the world? Apparently to help the world, but really to help ourselves. We should always try to help the world, that should be the highest motive in us; but if we consider well, we find that the world does not require our help at all. This world was not made that you or I should come and help it. I once read a sermon in which it was said, "All this beautiful world is very good, because it gives us time and opportunity to help others." Apparently, this is a very beautiful sentiment, but is it not a blasphemy to say that the world needs our help? We cannot deny that there is much misery in it; to go out and help others is, therefore, the best thing we can do, although in the long run, we shall find that helping others is only helping ourselves. (I, 75)
Saturday, 18 October 2014
Pravrutti & Nivrutti
Swami Vivekananda says :
Here are two Sanskrit words. The one is Pravritti, which means revolving towards, and the other is Nivritti, which means revolving away. The "revolving towards" is what we call the world, the "I and mine"; it includes all those things which are always enriching that "me" by wealth and money and power, and name and fame, and which are of a grasping nature, always tending to accumulate everything in one centre, that centre being "myself". That is the Pravritti, the natural tendency of every human being; taking everything from everywhere and heaping it around one centre, that centre being man's own sweet self. When this tendency begins to break, when it is Nivritti or "going away from," then begin morality and religion. Both Pravritti and Nivritti are of the nature of work: the former is evil work, and the latter is good work.
This Nivritti is the fundamental basis of all morality and all religion, and the very perfection of it is entire self-abnegation, readiness to sacrifice mind and body and everything for another being. When a man has reached that state, he has attained to the perfection of Karma-Yoga. This is the highest result of good works. Although a man has not studied a single system of philosophy, although he does not believe in any God, and never has believed, although he has not prayed even once in his whole life, if the simple power of good actions has brought him to that state where he is ready to give up his life and all else for others, he has arrived at the same point to which the religious man will come through his prayers and the philosopher through his knowledge; and so you may find that the philosopher, the worker, and the devotee, all meet at one point, that one point being selfabnegation. However much their systems of philosophy and religion may differ, all mankind stand in reverence and awe before the man who is ready to sacrifice himself for others. (I, 85 – 86)
Here are two Sanskrit words. The one is Pravritti, which means revolving towards, and the other is Nivritti, which means revolving away. The "revolving towards" is what we call the world, the "I and mine"; it includes all those things which are always enriching that "me" by wealth and money and power, and name and fame, and which are of a grasping nature, always tending to accumulate everything in one centre, that centre being "myself". That is the Pravritti, the natural tendency of every human being; taking everything from everywhere and heaping it around one centre, that centre being man's own sweet self. When this tendency begins to break, when it is Nivritti or "going away from," then begin morality and religion. Both Pravritti and Nivritti are of the nature of work: the former is evil work, and the latter is good work.
This Nivritti is the fundamental basis of all morality and all religion, and the very perfection of it is entire self-abnegation, readiness to sacrifice mind and body and everything for another being. When a man has reached that state, he has attained to the perfection of Karma-Yoga. This is the highest result of good works. Although a man has not studied a single system of philosophy, although he does not believe in any God, and never has believed, although he has not prayed even once in his whole life, if the simple power of good actions has brought him to that state where he is ready to give up his life and all else for others, he has arrived at the same point to which the religious man will come through his prayers and the philosopher through his knowledge; and so you may find that the philosopher, the worker, and the devotee, all meet at one point, that one point being selfabnegation. However much their systems of philosophy and religion may differ, all mankind stand in reverence and awe before the man who is ready to sacrifice himself for others. (I, 85 – 86)
Friday, 17 October 2014
Power of Restraint
Swami Vivekananda says :
It is the greatest manifestation of power — this tremendous restraint; self-restraint is a manifestation of greater power than all outgoing action. A carriage with four horses may rush down a hill unrestrained, or the coachman may curb the horses. Which is the greater manifestation of power, to let them go or to hold them? A cannonball flying through the air goes a long distance and falls. Another is cut short in its flight by striking against a wall, and the impact generates intense heat. All outgoing energy following a selfish motive is frittered away; it will not cause power to return to you; but if restrained, it will result in development of power. This self-control will tend to produce a mighty will, a character which makes a Christ or a Buddha. Foolish men do not know this secret (I, 33)
It is the greatest manifestation of power — this tremendous restraint; self-restraint is a manifestation of greater power than all outgoing action. A carriage with four horses may rush down a hill unrestrained, or the coachman may curb the horses. Which is the greater manifestation of power, to let them go or to hold them? A cannonball flying through the air goes a long distance and falls. Another is cut short in its flight by striking against a wall, and the impact generates intense heat. All outgoing energy following a selfish motive is frittered away; it will not cause power to return to you; but if restrained, it will result in development of power. This self-control will tend to produce a mighty will, a character which makes a Christ or a Buddha. Foolish men do not know this secret (I, 33)
Unselfishness : the watchword of Karmayoga
Swami Vivekananda says
There is to be found in every religion the manifestation of this struggle towards freedom. It is the groundwork of all morality, of unselfishness, which means getting rid of the idea that men are the same as their little body. When we see a man doing good work, helping others, it means that he cannot be confined within the limited circle of "me and mine". There is no limit to this getting out of selfishness. All the great systems of ethics preach absolute unselfishness as the goal. Supposing this absolute unselfishness can be reached by a man, what becomes of him? He is no more the little Mr. So-and-so; he has acquired infinite expansion. The little personality which he had before is now lost to him for ever; he has become infinite, and the attainment of this infinite expansion is indeed the goal of all religions and of all moral and philosophical teachings. (I, 109)
There is to be found in every religion the manifestation of this struggle towards freedom. It is the groundwork of all morality, of unselfishness, which means getting rid of the idea that men are the same as their little body. When we see a man doing good work, helping others, it means that he cannot be confined within the limited circle of "me and mine". There is no limit to this getting out of selfishness. All the great systems of ethics preach absolute unselfishness as the goal. Supposing this absolute unselfishness can be reached by a man, what becomes of him? He is no more the little Mr. So-and-so; he has acquired infinite expansion. The little personality which he had before is now lost to him for ever; he has become infinite, and the attainment of this infinite expansion is indeed the goal of all religions and of all moral and philosophical teachings. (I, 109)
Thursday, 16 October 2014
Chembai Special : Vivekananda Kendra News
ॐ
The Indian tendency, on the other hand, to represent the ideal, the supersensual, has become degraded into painting grotesque images. Now, true Art can be compared to a lily which springs from the ground, takes its nourishment from the ground, is in touch with the ground, and yet is quite high above it. So Art must be in touch with nature — and wherever that touch is gone, Art degenerates — yet it must be above nature. Art is — representing the beautiful. There must be Art in everything.
-Swami Vivekananda
Homage to Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar (Malayalam:ചെമ്പൈ വൈദ്യനാഥ ഭാഗവതർ, b. 1 September 1896, d. 16 October 1974),was a Carnatic music singer from Palakkad (state of Kerala, India) Read More
News Updates from Vivekanandakendra.org :
Universal Brotherhood Day Celebrated at Wakro Vivekananda Kendra is a thought movement, a spiritually oriented service mission. Vivekananda Kendra Arun Jyoti Wakro has organized Universal Brotherhood Day at the Apana Vidya Bhawan, Wakro. Read More
Safal Yuva - Yuva Bharat Prashikshan at Tezu
Safal Yuva - Yuva Bharat Presentation is based on success story on Vivekananda Rock Memorial has been Prashikshan at Tezu. Read More
Safal Yuva - Yuva Bharat Presentation is based on success story on Vivekananda Rock Memorial has been Prashikshan at Tezu. Read More
Vimarsh organised at Namsai At 07.10.2014 Vivekananda kendra Arun Jyoti, Namsai organised "VIMARSHA" program a dialogue for creative leaders topic on 'Timeless India-Resurgent India' at Arunachal University of Studies hall Namsai. Read More
Vimarsh organised at Tezu
Vivekananda kendra Arun Jyoti, Tezu organised "VIMARSHA" program a dialouge for creative leaders topic on 'Timeless India - Resurgent India' at VKV hall Tezu. Read More
Vivekananda kendra Arun Jyoti, Tezu organised "VIMARSHA" program a dialouge for creative leaders topic on 'Timeless India - Resurgent India' at VKV hall Tezu. Read More
Yuva Vimarsh - A Dialouge For Creative Leaders
08.10.2014 Ignited Youth Forum of Vivekananda Kendra organised "YUVA VIMARSHA" a dialogue for creative leaders at IGG college Tezu. Read More
08.10.2014 Ignited Youth Forum of Vivekananda Kendra organised "YUVA VIMARSHA" a dialogue for creative leaders at IGG college Tezu. Read More
Sanskar Varga Sammelan at Tezu Vivekananda Kendra Arun Jyoti, Tezu has organized One day Sanskar Varga Sammelan specially designed for the Karyakarta of Tezu on 12th October 2014 at Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya Tezu, There were 37 participant in the camp. Read More
Updates from Prakashan.vivekanandakendra.org
Jesus, Christianity and Swami Vivekananda
Author: Virag Pachpore
Publication Year: June - 2014
Edition: 1
Format: Soft Cover
Pages: 192
Price: 80
Read More
Yuva Bharati : Editorial : Oct - 2014
Need for Integral Education Manjul Bhargava became one of the youngest fulltime professors at Princeton University when he was 28. At 40 he is again one of the youngest mathematician to have won the prestigious 'Fields Medal' the Nobel equivalent for Mathematics. His work extends the work of classical mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. His parents, especially his mother Mira Bhargava, herself a mathematician and grandparents interested him in Sanskrit literature. Bhargava sees his work as a continuation of the legacy of Brahmagupta. Read More
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Wednesday, 15 October 2014
Be Unattached!
Swami Vivekananda says:
Be "unattached"; let things work; let brain centres work; work incessantly, but let not a ripple conquer the mind. Work as if you were a stranger in this land, a sojourner; work incessantly, but do not bind yourselves; bondage is terrible. This world is not our habitation, it is only one of the many stages through which we are passing. Remember that great saying of the Sânkhya, "The whole of nature is for the soul, not the soul for nature." The very reason of nature's existence is for the education of the soul; it has no other meaning; it is there because the soul must have knowledge, and through knowledge free itself. If we remember this always, we shall never be attached to nature; we shall know that nature is a book in which we are to read, and that when we have gained the required knowledge, the book is of no more value to us. Instead of that, however, we are identifying ourselves with nature; we are thinking that the soul is for nature, that the spirit is for the flesh, and, as the common saying has it, we think that man "lives to eat" and not "eats to live". We are continually making this mistake; we are regarding nature as ourselves and are becoming attached to it; and as soon as this attachment comes, there is the deep impression on the soul, which binds us down and makes us work not from freedom but like slaves. (I, 56 – 57)
Be "unattached"; let things work; let brain centres work; work incessantly, but let not a ripple conquer the mind. Work as if you were a stranger in this land, a sojourner; work incessantly, but do not bind yourselves; bondage is terrible. This world is not our habitation, it is only one of the many stages through which we are passing. Remember that great saying of the Sânkhya, "The whole of nature is for the soul, not the soul for nature." The very reason of nature's existence is for the education of the soul; it has no other meaning; it is there because the soul must have knowledge, and through knowledge free itself. If we remember this always, we shall never be attached to nature; we shall know that nature is a book in which we are to read, and that when we have gained the required knowledge, the book is of no more value to us. Instead of that, however, we are identifying ourselves with nature; we are thinking that the soul is for nature, that the spirit is for the flesh, and, as the common saying has it, we think that man "lives to eat" and not "eats to live". We are continually making this mistake; we are regarding nature as ourselves and are becoming attached to it; and as soon as this attachment comes, there is the deep impression on the soul, which binds us down and makes us work not from freedom but like slaves. (I, 56 – 57)
Work – Means are as important as the goal
Swami Vivekananda says
One of the greatest lessons I have learnt in my life is to pay as much attention to the means of work as to its end. He was a great man from whom I learnt it, and his own life was a practical demonstration of this great principle I have been always learning great lessons from that one principle, and it appears to me that all the secret of success is there; to pay as much attention to the means as to the end.
Our great defect in life is that we are so much drawn to the ideal, the goal is so much more enchanting, so much more alluring, so much bigger in our mental horizon, that we lose sight of the details altogether.
But whenever failure comes, if we analyse it critically, in ninetynine per cent of cases we shall find that it was because we did not pay attention to the means. Proper attention to the finishing, strengthening, of the means is what we need. With the means all right, the end must come. We forget that it is the cause that produces the effect; the effect cannot come by itself; and unless the causes are exact, proper, and powerful, the effect will not be produced.
Once the ideal is chosen and the means determined, we may almost let go the ideal, because we are sure it will be there, when the means are perfected. When the cause is there, there is no more difficulty about the effect, the effect is bound to come. If we take care of the cause, the effect will take care of itself.
The realization of the ideal is the effect. The means are the cause: attention to the means, therefore, is the great secret of life. We also read this in the Gita and learn that we have to work, constantly work with all our power; to put our whole mind in the work, whatever it be, that we are doing. At the same time, we must not be attached. That is to say, we must not be drawn away from the work by anything else; still, we must be able to quit the work whenever we like.(II, 1 -2)
One of the greatest lessons I have learnt in my life is to pay as much attention to the means of work as to its end. He was a great man from whom I learnt it, and his own life was a practical demonstration of this great principle I have been always learning great lessons from that one principle, and it appears to me that all the secret of success is there; to pay as much attention to the means as to the end.
Our great defect in life is that we are so much drawn to the ideal, the goal is so much more enchanting, so much more alluring, so much bigger in our mental horizon, that we lose sight of the details altogether.
But whenever failure comes, if we analyse it critically, in ninetynine per cent of cases we shall find that it was because we did not pay attention to the means. Proper attention to the finishing, strengthening, of the means is what we need. With the means all right, the end must come. We forget that it is the cause that produces the effect; the effect cannot come by itself; and unless the causes are exact, proper, and powerful, the effect will not be produced.
Once the ideal is chosen and the means determined, we may almost let go the ideal, because we are sure it will be there, when the means are perfected. When the cause is there, there is no more difficulty about the effect, the effect is bound to come. If we take care of the cause, the effect will take care of itself.
The realization of the ideal is the effect. The means are the cause: attention to the means, therefore, is the great secret of life. We also read this in the Gita and learn that we have to work, constantly work with all our power; to put our whole mind in the work, whatever it be, that we are doing. At the same time, we must not be attached. That is to say, we must not be drawn away from the work by anything else; still, we must be able to quit the work whenever we like.(II, 1 -2)
Monday, 13 October 2014
Work without Motive
Swami Vivekananda says :
What is the meaning of working without motive?
Nowadays many understand it in the sense that one is to work in such a way that neither pleasure nor pain touches his mind. If this be its real meaning, then the animals might be said to work without motive. Some animals devour their own offspring, and they do not feel any pangs at all in doing so. Robbers ruin other people by robbing them of their possessions; but if they feel quite callous to pleasure or pain, then they also would be working without motive. If the meaning of it be such, then one who has a stony heart, the worst of criminals, might be considered to be working without motive. The walls have no feelings of pleasure or pain, neither has a stone, and it cannot be said that they are working without motive. In the above sense the doctrine is a potent instrument in the hands of the wicked. They would go on doing wicked deeds, and would pronounce themselves as working without a motive. If such be the significance of working without a motive, then a fearful doctrine has been put forth by the preaching of the Gita. Certainly this is not the meaning. Furthermore, if we look into the lives of those who were connected with the preaching of the Gita, we should find them living quite a different life. Arjuna killed Bhishma and Drona in battle, but withal, he sacrificed all his self-interest and desires and his lower self millions of times. (V, 247)
What is the meaning of working without motive?
Nowadays many understand it in the sense that one is to work in such a way that neither pleasure nor pain touches his mind. If this be its real meaning, then the animals might be said to work without motive. Some animals devour their own offspring, and they do not feel any pangs at all in doing so. Robbers ruin other people by robbing them of their possessions; but if they feel quite callous to pleasure or pain, then they also would be working without motive. If the meaning of it be such, then one who has a stony heart, the worst of criminals, might be considered to be working without motive. The walls have no feelings of pleasure or pain, neither has a stone, and it cannot be said that they are working without motive. In the above sense the doctrine is a potent instrument in the hands of the wicked. They would go on doing wicked deeds, and would pronounce themselves as working without a motive. If such be the significance of working without a motive, then a fearful doctrine has been put forth by the preaching of the Gita. Certainly this is not the meaning. Furthermore, if we look into the lives of those who were connected with the preaching of the Gita, we should find them living quite a different life. Arjuna killed Bhishma and Drona in battle, but withal, he sacrificed all his self-interest and desires and his lower self millions of times. (V, 247)
Sunday, 12 October 2014
SHRADDHANJALI
SHRADDHANJALI TO LOKMATA NIVEDITA : 13 OCTOBER
Sister Nivedita, alias Margaret Elizabeth Noble, was born at Dunganon, County Tyrone, Ireland, on 28 October 1867. She was the eldest daughter of Samuel Richmond and Mary Isabel. The Nobles were of Scottish descent and had been settled in Ireland for about five centuries.
Margaret was educated at the Halifax College run by the Chapter of the Congregationalist Church. She took up teaching work in 1884 at Keswick, in 1886 at Wrexham and in 1889 at Chester. Greatly influenced by the `New Education' method of Pestalozzi and Froebel, she started in 1892 a school of her own called `Ruskin School' in Wunbkedib. Her remarkable intellectual gifts made her well-known in the high society of London. Since childhood Christian religious doctrines were instilled into her. But search for truth led her in 1895-96 to Swami Vivekananda's teachings of the Vedanta (`Complete Works of Sister Nivedita', II 471). Later in India she followed the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, and was particularly devoted to Kali and Shiva of the Hindu deities.
She came to Calcutta on 28 January 1898, was initiated into Brahmacharya (a celibate yogic order) and was given the name `Nivedita' by Vivekananda on 25 March. She immediately became intensely active in her work of uplifting India. She opened a kindergarten school for Hindu girls in November 1989, joined plague relief works of the Ramakrishna Mission from March 1899, left for the West in July to collect funds for her school, formed "The Ramakrishna Guild of Help' in America, went to Paris in July 1900 (where Vivekananda attended the Congress of the History of Religions), left for England alone in September 1900, and returned to India in February 1902.
Nivedita's interest in the Indian political struggle for Independence led her to be disowned from the purely spiritual Ramakrishna Order after Vivekananda's death in July 1902, though in truth she maintained close relations with the Order and Sri Sarada Devi. The Ramakrishna Mission's decision to publically disown themselves from Nivedita was the first in a long line of compromise with the principles which they had been set up for.
Nivedita's work, however, continued. She went on lecture tours throughout India from September 1902 to 1904 to rouse the national consciousness of the people. In 1905-06 she was actively associated with all public affairs in Bengal. The strain of relief work in the flood and famine-stricken areas of East Bengal in 1906 broke her health. In August 1907 she left for Europe and America, and returned to India in July 1909. She went to America again in October 1910, and returned in April 1911. In October 1911 she went to Darjeeling for a change. There she resided for a while, but her health failed under her intense work load, and she died on 13 October 1913.
Nivedita wrote extensively and has left behind a legacy of works which are worthy of study today. Her innumerable articles were published in journals like the Review of Reviews, the Prabuddha Bharata, the Modern Review, etc. Her first book was `Kali the Mother' (1900). Of her principal works the `Web of Indian Life' (1904) gives a more positive picture of India to the blindly critical West, and the `Master As I Saw Him' (1910) is an interpretation of Vivekananda's life and teachings.
The supreme goal towards which Nivedita worked was to see India emerge as a strong and powerful nation. Initially Nivedita stated that she desired to see England and India love each other (`Sister Nivedita' by Atmaprana, 1967, p. 59). But later she was embittered and disillusioned. From 1902 onwards she spoke and wrote against the British policy in India, and actively rallied revolutionary forces to fight the British with arms.
She attacked British polititians such as Lord Curzon for the Universities Act of 1904, for his insulting their shameless insults hurled at Indian culture and people, and for the clear attempts to encite Muslims in order to retard the Indian freedom movement. She was distressed by the disastrous condition of Indian economy and held British Imperialism responsible for it. Her politics became active and aggressive and she lost patience with moderate politics of the petitioner. Yet she was friendly with leaders of all schools of political thought like G. K. Gokhale and Bepin Chandra Pal, and young revolutionaries like Taraknath Das.
She encouarged and whole-heartedly supported the Swadeshi (self-reliance) Movement both in principle and in practice. She helped nationalist groups like the `Dawn Society' and the `Anusilan Samity'; was a member of the Central Council of Action formed by Sri Aurobindo Ghose and took up the editorship of the Karmayogin publication when he left British India. She wanted the whole nation to be educated on national lines (`Complete Works of Sister Navidita', IV, pp. 329-53). She encouraged the study of science, and helped Jagdish Chandra Bose in bringing to light his theories and discoveries. She believed that a rebirth of Indian Art was essential for the regeneration of India. She disproved the fiction of the Hellenic influence in Indian Art, inspired Rabindranath Tagore, who later won a Nobel Prize for his tremendous literature, as well as others to revive its glorious tradition.
Nivedita was one of the foremost in the galaxy of the twentieth century Hindu revivalists and her memory should be enshrined in the hearts of Hindus. Tall and fair, with deep blue eyes and brown hair, Nivedita was an image of purity and austerity in her simple white gown and with a rosary of rudraksha round her neck. A person of intense spirituality, force of character, strength of mind, intellectual power and wide range of studies, she could have achieved distinction in any sphere of life. Yet with unique self-effacement she lived a simple and austere life dedicated to the cause of India and Hinduism, on which the western world had systematically poured contempt.
She was described as `a real lioness' by Vivekananda, `Lokmata' by Rabindranath Tagore, and `Agnisikha' by Aurobindo Ghose. In England she was known as `The Champion for India', but who above all was a 'Sister' to the Indian people whom she loved. Her contribution to the promotion of national consciousness is immeasurable. "My task is to awaken the nation," she said once. Even today her book 'Cradle Tales of Hinduism' is read to children world wide, infusing them with the essence of Hindu consciousness. It was her dream to see in India the great re-establishment of Dharma, that is, national righteousness.