Feel, feel from the heart

All those who want to serve people, Swami Vivekananda gives three pre-requisites:

First, feel from the heart. …Love opens the most impossible gates; love is the gate to all the secrets of the universe. Feel, therefore, my would-be reformers, my would-be patriots! Do you feel? Do you feel that millions and millions of the descendants of gods and of sages have become next-door neighbors to brutes? Do you feel that millions are starving today, and millions have been starving for ages? Do you feel that ignorance has come over the land as a dark cloud? Does it make you restless? Does it make you sleepless? Has it gone into your blood, coursing through your veins, becoming consonant with your heartbeats? Has it made you almost mad? Are you seized with that one idea of the misery of ruin, and have you forgotten all about your name, your fame, your wives, your children, your property, even your own bodies? Have you done that? That is the first step to become a patriot, the very first step. I did not go to America, as most of you know, for the Parliament of Religions, but this demon of a feeling was in me and within my soul. I travelled twelve years all over India, finding no way to work for my countrymen, and that is why I went to America. Most of you know that, who knew me then. Who cared about this Parliament of Religions? Here was my own flesh and blood sinking every day, and who cared for them? This was my first step.

Sympathy for d poor - Our Motto

The thought that recurred in his speeches and writings was that the service cannot be with ulterior motive. Service cannot be a trade: 'you give up your religion to receive our service.' He wrote on 24 Jan 1894 to His Disciples in Madras,
"My whole ambition in life is to set in motion a machinery which will bring noble ideas to the door of everybody, and then let men and women settle their own fate. Let them know what our forefathers as well as other nations have thought on the most momentous questions of life. Let them see specially what others are doing now, and then decide. We are to put the chemicals together, the crystallisation will be done by nature according to her laws. Work hard, be steady, and have faith in the Lord. Set to work, I am coming sooner or later. Keep the motto before you --"Elevation of the masses without injuring their religion".

     "Remember that the nation lives in the cottage. But, alas! nobody ever did anything for them. Our modern reformers are very busy about widow remarriage. Of course, I am a sympathiser in every reform, but the fate of a nation does not depend upon the number of husbands their widows get, but upon the condition of the masses. Can you raise them? Can you give them back their lost individuality without making them lose their innate spiritual nature? Can you become an occidental of occidentals in your spirit of equality, freedom, work, and energy, and at the same time a Hindu to the very backbone in religious culture and instincts? This is to be done and we will do it. You are all born to do it. Have faith in yourselves, great convictions are the mothers of great deeds. Onward for ever! Sympathy for the poor, the downtrodden, even unto death -- this is our motto."
. (CWSV, vol. V, p. 29.)

Serve Man

Once while talking to Prof. Sundararama Iyer at Trivandrum, Swamiji said, Practical patriotism means not a mere sentiment or even emotion of love of the motherland but a passion to serve our fellow countrymen.
"Practical patriotism means not a mere sentiment or even emotion of love of the motherland but a passion to serve our fellow-countrymen. I have gone all over India on foot and have seen with my own eyes the ignorance, misery and squalor of our people. My whole soul is afire and I am burning with a fierce desire to change such evil conditions. Let no one talk of Karma. If it was their Karma to suffer, it is our Karma to relieve the suffering. If you want to find God, serve man. To reach Narayana you must serve the Daridra Narayanas--the starving millions of India." (Life of Swami Vivekananda, vol. I, p. 338.)

The thought that recurred in his speeches and writings was that the service cannot be with ulterior motive. Service cannot be a trade: 'you give up your religion to receive our service.'

India has a message...

Waking up to our inherent strength would mean faith in ourselves, faith in India – the kind that we see Swami Vivekananda had. Imagine in those days when India was under the British domination, when she was wallowing in ignorance, poverty, without any faith in herself and imitating the West, Swamiji said that India had a message to give to the world! He saw a glorious India rising! It is that faith that we should all have - faith in ourselves and in our people.
Swami Vivekananda observed very painfully that we are the only people who have the highest philosophy and yet the treatment to our people is the worst. We talk of oneness with the whole creation and yet we remain unconcerned about what happens to our society.  Swami Vivekananda  said,
"But above all, let me once more remind you that here is need of practical work, and the first part of that is that you should go to the sinking millions of India, and take them by the hand, remembering the words of the Lord Krishna: "Even in this life they have conquered relative existence whose minds are firm - fixed on the sameness of everything, for God is pure and the same to all; therefore, such are said to be living in God." (CWSV, vol. III, p. 433.)

Strength Strength

Strength, strength is what the Upanishads speak to me from every page. This is the one great thing to remember, it has been the one great lesson I have been taught in my life; strength, it says, strength, O man, be not weak. Are there no human weaknesses?-- says man. There are, say the Upanishads, but will more weakness heal them, would you try to wash dirt with dirt? Will sin cure sin, weakness cure weakness? Strength, O man, strength, say the Upanishads, stand up and be strong. Ay, it is the only literature in the world where you find the word "Abhih", "fearless", used again and again; in no other scripture in the world is this adjective applied either to God or to man. Abhih, fearless!

How can the Upanishads give us strength of character and fearlessness? To explain this Swamiji narrated an incident,
 And in my mind rises from the past the vision of the great Emperor of the West, Alexander the Great, and I see, as it were in a picture, the great monarch standing on the bank of the Indus, talking to one of our Sannyasins in the forest; the old man he was talking to, perhaps naked, stark naked, sitting upon a block of stone, and the Emperor, astonished at his wisdom, tempting him with gold and honour to come over to Greece. And this man smiles at his gold, and smiles at his temptations, and
refuses; and then the Emperor standing on his authority as an Emperor, says, "I will kill you if you do not come", and the man burst into a laugh and says, "You never told such a falsehood in your life, as you tell just now. Who can kill me? Me you kill, Emperor of the material world! Never! For I am Spirit unborn and undecaying: never was I born and never do I die; I am the Infinite, the Omnipresent, the Omniscient; and you kill me, child that you are!" That is strength, that is strength! And the more I read the Upanishads, my friends, my countrymen, the more I weep for you, for therein is the great practical application. Strength, strength for us. What we need is strength! (CWSV, vol. III, pp. 237-238.)

Truth is strengthening

Strength, Strength, what we need is strength. Swamiji says :

Make your nerves strong. What we want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel. We have wept long enough. No more weeping, but stand on your feet and be men. It is a man-making religion that we want. It is man-making theories that we want. It is man - making education all round that we want. And here is the test of truth — anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually, and spiritually, reject as poison; there is no life in it, it cannot be true.
Truth is strengthening. Truth is purity, truth is all - knowledge; truth must be strengthening, must be enlightening, must be invigorating. These mysticisms, in spite of some grains of truth in them, are generally weakening. Believe me, I have a lifelong experience of it, and the one conclusion that I draw is that it is weakening. I have travelled all over India, searched almost every cave here, and lived in the Himalayas. I know people who lived there all their lives. I love my nation, I cannot see you degraded, weakened any more than you are now. Therefore I am bound for your sake and for truth's sake to cry, "Hold!" and to raise my voice against this degradation of my race. Give up these weakening mysticisms and be strong. Go back to your Upanishads -- the shining, the strengthening, the bright philosophy -- and part from all these mysterious things, all these weakening things. Take up this philosophy; the greatest truths are the simplest things in the world, simple as your own existence. The truths of the Upanishads are before you. Take them up, live up to them, and the salvation of India will be at hand. (CWSV, vol. III, pp. 224-25.)

Shakti! Strength - the need of the hour

Swami Vivekananda observes : We had slept for the last few centuries. He wanted us to wake up to our inherent strength. He said, What we need is strength, but who will give us strength? There are thousands to weaken us, and of stories we have had enough.
Swamiji says :
"…Everything that can weaken us as a race we have had for the last thousand years. It seems as if during that period the national life had this one end in view, viz. how to make us weaker and weaker till we have become real earthworms, crawling at the feet of everyone who dares to put his foot on us. Therefore, my friends, as one of your blood, as one that lives and dies with you, let me tell you that we want strength, strength, and every time strength.

And the Upanishads are the great mine of strength. Therein lies strength enough to invigorate the whole world; the whole world can be vivified, made strong, energised through them. They will call with trumpet voice upon the weak, the miserable, and the downtrodden of all races, all creeds, and all sects to stand on their feet and be free. Freedom, physical freedom, mental freedom, and spiritual freedom are the watchwords of the Upanishads." (CWSV, vol. III, p. 238.)

Wake up Bharat

The task before India was to reclaim her great spiritual heritage, apply it for self-renewal and present it to the world in a practical form. But she was in slumber. Swami Vivekananda gave a clarion call to India to wake-up from her slumber of hundreds of years.
Wake up Bharat to your inherent strength! Devanirmitam Desham, Rishinirmitam Rashtram – the land of India is the creation of God; the Indian Nation is the creation of the Rishis. The land of India is beautiful. It has all types of weather conditions, tremendous bio-diversity, plenty of sun and rain and richness of minerals. The blessings are many. In this land, the Rishis by their penance have given us a way of life, a vision of life which raises man to divine heights. What do we lack? And yet we, the Shakti-worshippers have become crying babies, weaklings. Swami Vivekananda used to say, To have the ideal is one thing, and to apply it practically to the details of daily life is quite another thing. (CWSV, vol. III, p. 194)

Samanvay in all faiths

The role of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa  and Swami Vivekananda  is tremendous. They removed all contradictions and brought Samanvay in all different faiths. Sister Nivedita explains this.
And yet this statement that his teaching holds nothing new is not absolutely true. It must never be forgotten that it was the Swami Vivekananda who, while proclaiming the sovereignty of the Advaita Philosophy, as including that experience in which all is one, without a second, also added to Hinduism the doctrine that Dvaita, Vishishtadvaita, and Advaita are but three phases or stages in a single development, of which the last-named constitutes the goal. This is part and parcel of  the still greater and more simple doctrine that the many and the One are the same Reality, perceived by the mind at different times and in different attitudes; or as Sri Ramakrishna expressed the same thing, "God is both with  form and without form. And He is that which includes both form and formlessness."

It is this which adds its crowning significance to our Master's life, for here he becomes the meeting-point, not only of East and West, but also of past and future. If the many and the One be indeed the same Reality, then it is not all modes of worship alone, but equally all modes of work, all modes of struggle, all modes of creation, which are paths of realisation. No distinction, henceforth, between sacred and secular. To labour is to pray. To conquer is to renounce. Life is itself religion. To have and to hold is as stern a trust as to quit and to avoid. This is the realisation which makes.

Vivekananda the great preacher of Karma, not as divorced from, but as expressing Jnana and Bhakti. To him, the workshop, the study, the farmyard, and the field are as true and fit scenes for the meeting of God with man as the cell of the monk or the door of the temple. To him, there is no difference between service of man and worship of God, between manliness and faith, between true righteousness and spirituality. All his words, from one point of view, read as a commentary upon this central conviction. "Art, science, and religion", he said once, "are but three different ways of expressing a single truth. But in order to understand this we must have the theory of Advaita. (CWSV, vol. I, pp. xv-xvi.)

Relevance of Swami Vivekananda

Mananeeya Niveditadidi writes :
It could be said by some that the knowledge of Vedanta is now already available to the people the world over. So in what way has India a role to play? In short, one could ask, 'Is India required?' The answer is an emphatic YES, because spirituality is not information, it is not in intellectual believing but it is in 'being and becoming'. Oneness is to be practiced in life, its application to family systems, social systems etc. is required again in a changed context. The vision continues; the values are to be expressed in life through systems – new or adapted - which are relevant at a given time and which are capable of expressing the values and vision. It is this task, which India has to undertake. India alone can do it for the benefit of humanity. Swami Vivekananda  was one of the first persons in this age to focus on this re-application of the wisdom of our Rishis. Sister Nivedita writes about it beautifully.

The Swami Vivekananda would have been less than he was, had anything in this Evangel of Hinduism been his own. Like the Krishna of the Gita, like Buddha, like Shankaracharya, like every great teacher that Indian thought has known, his sentences are laden with quotations from, the Vedas and Upanishads. He stands merely as the Revealer, the Interpreter to India of the treasures that she herself possesses in herself. The truths he preaches would have been as true, had he never been born. Nay more, they would have been equally authentic. The difference would have lain in their difficulty of access, in their want of modern clearness and incisiveness of statement, and in their loss of mutual coherence and unity. Had he not lived, texts that today will carry the bread of life to thousands might have remained the obscure disputes of scholars. He taught with authority, and not as one of the Pandits. For he himself had plunged to the depths of the realisation which he preached, and he came back like Ramanuja only to tell its secrets to the pariah, the outcast, and the foreigner. (CWSV, vol. I, pp. xiv- xv.)

Dharma.....

Dharma is not related to the God you worship. Dharma transcends even specific name and form of God. S. Gurumurthy explains in his book, Women: the Liberated vs. the Revered, that the function of Dharma is to harmonize the contradictions,
Dharma, which means 'that (which) sustains the world', was in part religious and in part it transcended religion. It is timeless value system [Sanatana Dharma], which is considered equal, even superior, to God. Dharma bound the King. And even God… in India Dharma prevailed over not only Kings and the Saints, but also Gods! …Dharma being supreme, even Gods and their actions were measured by their adherence to Dharma. …even Gods and their actions could not, even now do not, escape being measured and judged on the principles of Dharma…

Dharma was not only the yardstick to measure the conduct of humans and even Gods, it was also interpreted to harmonize and manage contradiction in human life. Contradictions arise because of the duality inherent in creation. The Indian view and way of life always recognized contradicting duality [Dwaitabhav] in everything connected to the world. The world, in the Hindu view, does not function on the principle of "like either this or that; also there is nothing in between".

Hindu view recognized a vast area of gray between black and white extremes. It is the context for application of a rule more than the text of the rule that is decisive. That is why Rama was great because he, as a dutiful son, obeyed his father unquestioningly; and Prahlada was great because, despite being otherwise obedient as a son he defied his father because of his devotion to God. Likewise, Sita was great because she obeyed her husband Rama unreservedly; and Mira is great because she, despite being a loyal wife, defied her husband because of her devotion to God. These contradictions are harmonized by the rule of Dharma. This is the bandwidth of the intellectual and spiritual tradition of ancient India. (pp. 8-11.)

Dharma...

Dharma is defined beautifully by Sri Guruji Golwalkar as,

The universal code of right conduct that awakens the Common Inner Bond, restrains selfishness, and keeps the people together in that harmonious state even without external authority. … It is through the full manifestation of dharma in human life that human beings will be able to live in that state of highest harmony in spite of the inherent disparities in nature. It is like the co-operation of blind man with a lame man. The lame man gets a leg and the blind man an eye. The spirit of co-operation takes away the sting of disparity.

Our view of the relation between individual and society has always been not one of conflict but of harmony and co-operation born out of the consciousness of a single Reality running through all the individuals. The individual is a living limb of the corporate social personality. The individual and the society supplement and complement each other with the result that both get strengthened and benefited. (Bunch of Thoughts, pp. 31-33.)
Dharma is not related to the God you worship.

Dharma

Dharma: Basis for harmony in the world of disparities

This acceptance of others, acceptance of differences and well-being of all is possible in the Indian civilisation because religion is not dogmatic. Swami Vivekananda explained it in the West, "Do not disturb the faith of any. For you must know that religion is not in doctrines. Religion lies in being and becoming, in realisation.' (CWSV, vol. VIII, p. 229.)

In the vision of Oneness man is not merely the body-mind complex, unconnected with the others; he is the expanding consciousness. The bigger, the expanded form of the individual is the family. The expanded form of the family is society. The expanded form of the society is nation. Nation is a part of creation. And ultimately everything is the expression of that One consciousness.

Therefore, religion is not 'believing' in God; it is 'being and becoming'. The term used in India is 'Dharma'. Dharma was translated as 'religion', but there is need to understand the difference between 'Dharma'  and 'Religion'.

Dharma is, to strive to express the divinity within; it is the striving of the smaller identity to be unselfish so that the bigger identities are nurtured and harmony is maintained; Dharma is to share, offer for the good of all because all are just the expression of one's own self; Dharma is to perform one's duty towards one's larger existence such as family, society, nation and the entire creation. If the society is Dharma-based, then everyone's needs are taken care of.

Acceptance of Diversity..contd..

ACCEPTANCE OF DIVERSITY

The history of mankind is filled with numerous instances of violent bloodshed because of the attitude of 'My God alone is true'. Swami Vivekananda explains very graphically how this syndrome came about and how India was fortunate to escape this fate of religious exclusivism. Swamiji says:

We observe in the histories of Babylon and among the Jews an interesting religious phenomenon happening. We find that each of these Babylonian and Jewish peoples was divided into so many tribes, each tribe having a god of its own, and that these little tribal gods had often a generic name. The gods among the Babylonians were all called Baals, and among them Baal Merodach was the chief. In course of time one of these many tribes would conquer and assimilate the other racially allied tribes, and the natural result would be that the god of the conquering tribe would be placed at the head of all the gods of the other tribes.
Thus the so - called boasted monotheism of the Semites was created. Among the Jews the gods went by the name of Molochs. Of these there was one Moloch who belonged to the tribe called Israel, and he was called the Moloch-yahveh or Moloch-yava. In time, this tribe of Israel slowly conquered some of the other tribes of the same race, destroyed their Molochs, and declared its own Moloch to be the Supreme Moloch of all the Molochs. And I am sure; most of you know the amount of bloodshed, of tyranny, and of brutal savagery that this religious conquest entailed. Later on, the Babylonians tried to destroy this supremacy of Moloch-yahveh, but could not succeed in doing so.
It seems to me, that such an attempt at tribal self-assertion in religious matters might have taken place on the frontiers of India also. …but India's history was to be otherwise… For one of the greatest sages that was ever born found out here in India even at that distant time, which history cannot reach, and into whose gloom even tradition itself dares not peep — in that distant time the sage arose and declared, "He who exists is one; the sages call Him variously – Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudha Vadanti" . This is one of the most memorable sentences that was ever uttered, one of the grandest truths that was ever discovered. And for us Hindus this truth has been the very backbone of our national existence. For throughout the vistas of the centuries of our national life, this one idea comes down, gaining in volume and in fullness till it has permeated the whole of our national existence, till it has mingled in our blood, and has become one with us. We live that grand truth in every vein, and our country has become the glorious land of religious toleration. It is here and here alone that they build temples and churches for the religions which have come with the object of condemning our own religion. This is one very great principle that the world is waiting to learn from us. Ay, you little know how much of intolerance is yet abroad. It struck me more than once that I should have to leave my bones on foreign shores owing to the prevalence of religious intolerance. Killing a man is nothing for religion's sake…
Therefore the world is waiting for this grand idea of universal toleration. It will be a great acquisition to civilisation. Nay, no civilisation can long exist unless this idea enters into it. No civilisation can grow unless fanaticism, bloodshed, and brutality stop. No civilisation can begin to lift up its head until we look charitably upon one another; and the first step towards that much - needed charity is to look charitably and kindly upon the religious convictions of others. Nay more, to understand that not only should we be charitable, but positively helpful to each other, however different our religious ideas and convictions may be. (CWSV, vol. III, pp. 185-188.)

Acceptance of Diversity

Acceptance of diversity

The third important contribution that India has to make towards the harmony of the world is acceptance of diversity with a vision of Oneness. Swami Vivekananda in his Chicago speeches explained this beautifully,

To the Hindu, man is not travelling from error to truth, but from truth to truth, from lower to higher truth. To him all the religions, from the lowest fetishism to the highest absolutism, mean so many attempts of the human soul to grasp and realize the Infinite, each determined by the conditions of its birth and association, and each of these marks a stage of progress; and every soul is a young eagle soaring higher and higher, gathering more and more strength, till it reaches the Glorious Sun.
Unity in variety is the plan of nature, and the Hindu has recognized it. Every other religion lays down certain fixed dogmas, and tries to force society to adopt them. It places before society only one coat which must fit Jack and John and Henry, all alike. If it does not fit John or Henry, he must go without a coat to cover his body. The Hindus have discovered that the absolute can only be realized, or thought of, or stated, through the relative, and the images, crosses, and crescents are simply so many symbols — so many pegs to hang the spiritual ideas on. It is not that this help is necessary for everyone, but those that do not need it have no right to say that it is wrong. (CWSV, vol. I, p.17.)

Divinity of Mankind

Divinity of mankind

Another great principle that India has to contribute for the good of humanity is 'the potential divinity of man'. It was the exposition of this grand truth by Swami Vivekananda in the Parliament of Religions at Chicago that thrilled the American audience. It had a very deep impact on the people who were fed-up of listening to religious teachings in which they were called sinners. Swami Vivekananda could see that the grip of religions had slackened. In the absence of any normative higher principles man was in fear of becoming too materialistic and selfish. Thus for the coming times, the understanding of divinity of man could give deeper meaning to human life. Swami Vivekananda said in the 'Paper of Hinduism'- his main speech at Chicago,
The Hindu believes that every soul is a circle whose circumference is nowhere, but whose centre is located in the body and that death means the change of this centre from body to body. Nor is the soul bound by the conditions of matter. In its very essence it is free, unbounded, holy, pure, and perfect. …
"Children of immortal bliss" — what a sweet, what a hopeful name! Allow me to call you, brethren, by that sweet name — heirs of immortal bliss — yea, the Hindu refuses to call you sinners. Ye are the Children of God, the sharers of immortal bliss, holy and perfect beings. Ye divinities on earth — sinners! It is a sin to call a man so; it is a standing libel on human nature. Come up, O lions, and shake off the delusion that you are sheep; you are souls immortal, spirits free, blessed and eternal; ye are not matter, ye are not bodies; matter is your servant, not you the servant of matter. (CWSV, vol. I, pp. 9-11.)
The deep impact this thought made on the thinkers of the West, is now being manifested in the teachings and propositions of new-age spiritualists such as Eckhart Tolley, Ken Wilber, Deepak Chopra, Stephen Covey and many others.

vision of Oneness...contd

Vision of Oneness

What has been the discovery of Danah Johar and Ian Marshall write in SQ and Fritjoff Capra in  Turning Point, the same was that of Indian Rishis.  Swami Vivekananda said,
It seems clear that the conclusions of modern materialistic science can be acceptable, harmoniously with their religion, only to the Vedantins or Hindus as they are called. It seems clear that modern materialism can hold its own and at the same time approach spirituality by taking up the conclusions of the Vedanta. It seems to us, and to all who care to know, that the conclusions of modern science are the very conclusions of the Vedanta reached ages ago; only, in modern science they are written in the language of matter.
This then is another claim of the Vedanta upon modern Western minds, its rationality, the wonderful rationalism of the Vedanta. I have myself been told by some of the best Western scientific minds of the day, how wonderfully rational the conclusions of the Vedanta are. I know one of them personally who scarcely has time to eat his meal or go out of his laboratory, but who yet would stand by the hour to attend my lectures on the Vedanta; for, as he expresses it, they are so scientific, they so exactly harmonize with the aspirations of the age and with the conclusions to which modern science is coming at the present time. (CWSV, vol. III, p.185.)

Vision of Oneness

Vision of Oneness.... contd

Fritjoff Capra writes in his book, Turning Point,
Subatomic particles, then, are not 'things' but are interconnections between 'things', and these 'things' in turn, are interconnections between other 'things', and so on. In quantum theory you never end with 'things'; you always deal with interconnections. …This is how modern physics reveals the basic oneness of the universe. It shows that we cannot decompose the world into independently existing smallest units. As we penetrate into matter, nature does not show us any isolated basic blocks, but rather appears as a complicated web of relations between the various parts of a unified whole. Heisenberg expresses it, "The world thus appears as a complicated tissue of events, in which connections of different kinds alternate or overlap or combine and thereby determine the texture of the whole. …Henry Strapp, of the University of California, writes, 'An elementary particle is not an independently existing unanalyzable entity. It is, in essence, a set of relationships that reach outward to other things.' (Turning Point, pp. 69-70.)
These discoveries in quantum physics do not frighten the Hindu as that has been the core of the Vedanta.

Vision of Oneness

Vision of Oneness ....contd
Modern Science too is coming to this conclusion.
As the One expresses itself as many existence is interconnected, interrelated and interdependent. Danah Johar and Ian Marshall write in SQ:
The Ultimate Intelligence, Quantum field theory describes all existing things as being states or patterns of dynamic oscillating energy. You and I, the chairs in which we sit, the food we eat are all patterns of this energy. And what does this energy oscillate on? The ground state of all being is a still ocean of background state of unexcited energy called the quantum vacuum. All things that exist are excitations of the quantum vacuum, and the vacuum therefore exists as the center within all things. Vacuum energy both underlies and permeates us. We are 'waves' on the ocean' of the vacuum. Quantum vacuum is the ultimate center and source of the self. When the self is truly centered it is centered in the ground of all beings. (p. 160)

The Message of Oneness

How will this spiritualization of humanity take place? What are those
life-giving principles?

1. The message of Oneness
What does spiritualization of the human race mean? Spiritualization does
not mean religious activities. It is the way of life based on the vision
of Oneness. Our Rishis had asked several questions, "Is there any
connection between all these unconnected parts, the diverse elements?" ;
"What is it by knowing which everything becomes known?" Kasmin nu
bhagavo vijnatam sarvamidam vijnatam bhavati?; "If everything in this
universe has a purpose, what is the purpose of human life?";"What is it
that does not change in this transient world?". Their thirst for the
infinite, for the unchangeable made them go to great lengths and study
the question in depth. With their sharp intellect which could transcend
itself and through their deep penance, they realized that everything is
the expression of the One. The ultimate purpose of human life is to
realize this Oneness.
This is the message that India has to give to the world.
Swamiji explains,
The other great idea that the world wants from us today, the thinking
part of Europe, nay, the whole world …is that eternal grand idea of the
spiritual Oneness of the whole universe. I need not tell you today, men
from Madras University, how the modern researches of the West have
demonstrated through physical means the oneness and the solidarity of
the whole universe; how, physically speaking, you and I, the sun, moon,
and stars are but little waves or wavelets in the midst of an infinite
ocean of matter; how Indian psychology demonstrated ages ago that,
similarly, both body and mind are but mere names or little wavelets in
the ocean of matter, the Samashti; and how, going one step further, it
is also shown in the Vedanta that behind that idea of the unity of the
whole show, the real Soul is one. There is but one Soul throughout the
universe, all is but One Existence. This great idea of the real and
basic solidarity of the whole universe ...is the one great life-giving
idea which the world wants from us today, and which the mute masses of
India want for their uplifting, for none can regenerate this land of
ours without the practical application and effective operation of this
ideal of the Oneness of things. (CWSV, vol. III, pp. 188-189.)

India's Mission

'What is it that India has to give to the world, or contribute to the harmony of civilizations?' India's mission is spiritualization of humanity.

 

Swami Vivekananda said,

"This is the theme of Indian life - work, the burden of her eternal songs, the backbone of her existence, the foundation of her being, the raison d'être of her very existence — the spiritualization of the human race. In this her life-course she has never deviated, whether the Tartar ruled or the Turk, whether the Mogul ruled or the English." (CWSV, vol. IV, p. 315.)

 

Swami Vivekananda warned us,

"We must not forget that what I mean …by spiritual thought is the sending out of life - giving principles, not the hundreds of superstitions that we have been hugging to our breasts for centuries. These have to be weeded out even on this soil, and thrown aside, so that they may die for ever." (CWSV, vol. III, pp. 277- 278.)

How will this spiritualization of humanity take place? What are those life-giving principles?

अार्दश कार्यकार्ता

यह कहने से काम नहीं चलेगा कि मेरे पास समय नहीं है। यदि हम इसकी आवश्यकता को समझकर ठीक प्रकार से प्रयत्न करेंगे, तो पर्याप्त समय निकल सकेगा। अपने चारों ओर इतना विशाल समाज फैला पड़ा है, जिसके बीच हमें प्रयत्न करना है। यदि हम कहें कि हमारे पास समय नहीं, तो यह हमारे लिये शोभा देने वाली बात नहीं। हममें से प्रत्येक, अपने दैनिक जीवन के विभिन्न व्यवहार करते समय समाज के साथ सम्पर्क स्थापित करता ही है। हमें इन सब व्यवहारों के बीच अपने कार्य का ध्यान बनाये रखना होगा।

प्रत्येक व्यक्ति की जो कुछ गुण-संपदा है, उसका भली प्रकार आकलन कर समाजहित में उसे प्रयुक्त करने की उसे प्रेरणा देनी चाहिए। व्यक्तियों के प्रत्यके व्यवहार में से कुछ न कुछ राष्ट्रहित का विचार निकालते बनना चाहिए। यहाँ तक कि जिन्हें अवगुण कहा जाता है, उनका भी राष्टहित में प्रयागे करने की कला मालूम होनी चाहिए।

जीवन में कभी कुछ माँगना नहीं। देशभक्ति का व्यापार क्या करना? समष्टिरूप परमात्मा को राष्ट्र के रूप में सेवा के लिये सामने व्यक्त देखकर, अपनी सम्पूर्ण शक्ति और बुद्धि उसके चरणों में अर्पण कर उसकी कृपा के ऊपर अपना जीवन चलाना है।

कृत्रिम अनुशासन, रूखी-सूखी पेड़ की टहनी के समान निष्प्राण और टूटनेवाला होता है। जीवमान, चैतन्यमय व्यक्ति की स्वेच्छा से स्वीकृत और समष्टि रूप अहंकार से ही ओतप्रोत जो अनुशासन है, वही संगठित रूप से खड़ा रह सकता है। वही चिरंजीव होता है। जो अमृत-रस से भरा है, उसे मारने की जगत् में किसी की शक्ति नहीं। वह अपने बोझ से भी कभी नहीं टूटता।

व्यक्ति-स्वातन्त्र्य का अर्थ मनमौजी होना कदापि नहीं। जो सबको मान्य हो और हितकारी हो उसी मर्यादा के अन्दर अपनी स्वतंत्रता का उपभोग प्रत्येक को करना होगा। स्वेच्छाचारिता के ढंग से चाहे जैसा उपभोग करते रहने की अनुमति उसे नहीं दी जा सकती।

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

Follow us on   blog   twitter   youtube   facebook   g+   delicious   rss   Donate Online

अार्दश कार्यकार्ता

अपना धर्म, जिसमें अभ्युदय और निःश्रेयस् दोनों निहित हैं, हमारी आँखों के सामने दिशा-दिग्दर्शन करनेवाले ध्रुव तारे के समान सदैव रहे तथा उसके अधिष्ठान पर राष्ट्र का पुनरुज्जीवन किया जाए। इसलिये व्यावहारिक दैनिक जीवन में उनके उपदेशों का अनुसरण करें, अपने को व्यक्तिश और सामाजिक दृष्टि से बलशाली बनायें, अपने सामूहिक जीवन में पावित्र्य लाएं, अपने हृदय में यह भाव जागृत करें कि हमें इस विश्व में एक जीवनोद्देश्य पूर्ण करना है। पूर्ण विश्वास रखें कि हम अमर जाति हैं। यदि हम एकात्मता की भावना से धर्म, जीवन की विषुद्धता और अंतिम सत्य की अनुभूति के आधार पर समाज को शक्तिशाली, निर्भय और संगठित करते हैं, तो पुनश्च विश्वगरुु का पद प्राप्त कर सकते हैं।

सामान्यतः मनुष्य जगत् के आकर्षणों से विचलित होता ही है। यदि किसी को राजनीति के क्षेत्र में जाने का अवसर मिल गया, तो वह सोचने लगता है कि वह भगवान् के समकक्ष हो गया है। अब उसके लिये कोई कर्तव्य शेष नहीं रहा। भगवान् ने गीता में कहा है - 'मेरे लिये कोई कर्तव्य नहीं। कर्म के लिये मेरे मन में कोई स्पृहा भी नहीं।' इसी प्रकार राजनीति के क्षेत्र में गया हुआ व्यक्ति भी अपने को भगवान् मान कर कहता है कि मेरे लिये अब कोई कर्म नहीं। राजनीतिक क्षेत्र में भाषणबाजी करना ही मेरे लिये सर्वश्रेष्ठ राष्ट्रकार्य है, बाकी सब नगण्य व क्षुद्र हैं। राजनीतिज्ञों में ऐसा अभिमान उत्पन्न् हो जाता है।

यदि अपने मन में यह दृढ़ धारणा हो कि यह राष्ट्र अपना है और यहाँ अपना राष्ट्र-जीवन है, यह राष्ट्र-जीवन श्रेष्ठ और उन्नत बने, इसका दायित्व अपने ऊपर ही है, तो यह समझना कठिन नहीं होगा कि वह दायित्व पूर्ण करने के लिये केवल वर्तमान बातों की ओर ध्यान न देते हुए चिरंतन रूप से प्रत्येक व्यक्ति के ह्दय कपस में राष्ट्र-भक्ति की भावना जागृत करने हेतु एक सुव्यवस्थित तथा, राष्ट्रीय भावना से प्रभावित ऐसा कार्य खड़ा करना पडे़गा।

यदि हमारे मन में विकार नहीं है, हमारी श्रध्दा का केन्द्र नहीं हिला है, तो हमारे मन में झंझावातों में उड़ने की प्रवृत्ति पैदा नहीं हो सकती। राष्ट्र का चैतन्य किसी न किसी रूप में प्रकट होगा ही। बीज बो दिया है, वट वृक्ष अवश्य ही खड़ा होगा। सम्पूर्ण भारत इसके नीचे आएगा। स्थान-स्थान पर नई जड़ जमेगी। इस निश्चय पर अडिग होकर चलेंगे तो संकट नहीं आ सकता। संकट तो अधूरी शक्ति पर आता है, पूर्ण पर नहीं। एकात्मता के आधार पर पूर्ण नीतिमत्ता से समाज को प्रबल एकसूत्रता में संगठित किया तो उस पर कोई संकट नहीं आएगा, बल्कि सम्पूर्ण राष्ट्र-जीवन उसकी प्रेरणा से चलेगा। सत्ताधीश कौन है, इसका सवाल नहीं। हम बढ़े हैं या नहीं, यह देखें।

जनसाधारण को शिक्षित करना तथा उनके द्वारा चुने गये योग्य व्यक्तियों को राष्ट्रहितकारी कार्याे में संलग्न बनाये रखने का अपना कार्य तभी संभव है और हम तब ही उसके पात्र बन सकते हैं, जब हमारा समाज के साथ आत्मीयतापूर्ण निकट का सम्बन्ध हो।

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

अार्दश कार्यकार्ता

• स्वार्थ, मोह, चारों ओर के वातावरण में व्याप्त भिन्न-भिन्न विचारों का संघर्ष तथा अन्य आकर्षणों से अपने हृदय को विचलित न होने देते हुए, अपनी मातृभूमि, अपना समाज, स्वधर्म और अपने चिरंजीव राष्ट्रजीवन का, अंतःकरण की सम्पूर्ण शक्ति लगाकर चिंतन करने में अपना जीवन समरस होना चाहिये। एकाग्रचित्त से किये गये चिंतन का स्वाभाविक रूप से यह फल मिलता है कि किसी भी बुरी बात की ओर मन आकृष्ट नहीं होता। परमेश्वर के व्यक्त स्वरूप से अपने पवित्र राष्ट्र के चिंतन में, समरस हुए जीवन में, कुविचार, अनीति, पाप आदि का प्रवेष हो ही नहीं सकता। समग्र समाज के अभ्युदय के लिये कार्य करना हो तो अपना जीवन पवित्र होना ही चाहिये।

• अपने चारों और चलनेवाले कार्यों का आकर्षण होना अस्वाभाविक नहीं है। जुलूस, सम्मेलन, सभा आदि की हलचल जहाँ रहती है, वहाँ मन में कुछ गुदगुदी उठ सकती है। उस कार्यपद्धति में मान-सम्मान प्राप्त होने के कारण अपने में से कुछ लोगों के मन में उसके प्रति आकर्षण उत्पन्न होकर, स्वयं भी उस अखाड़े में उतरकर दंगल में भाग लेने की इच्छा हो सकती है। मन में इस प्रकार की इच्छा उत्पन्न होते ही, इस प्रकार के कार्य से राष्ट्र का हित होगा, इस बात के समर्थन में बुद्धि अनेक तर्क प्रस्तुत करती है। क्योंकि उलटे-सीधे दोनों ही पक्षों के समर्थन में तर्क करने में बुद्धि सदैव सक्षम रहती है।

• व्यक्ति-व्यक्ति के जीवन में मातृभूमि की भक्ति जगाकर और उस सूत्र में संपूर्ण समाज को आबद्ध कर, समाज का संगठित सार्मथ्य निर्माण करने का मूलभूत कार्य डाॅक्टर साहब ने हमारे सामने रखा है। इसी कार्यार्थ हमें अपनी संपूर्ण शक्ति लगानी चाहिये। शाखाओं के द्वारा समाज में एकात्म जीवन निर्माण करने की पद्धति का पूर्णतः अवलंबन कर, इस कार्य की सिद्धि के लिये हम अपना संपूर्ण सार्म दाँव पर लगा देंगें, ऐसा दृढ़ निश्चय हृदय में धारण करना चाहिये।

• यदि अधिकाधिक अंतर्मुख होने का प्रयत्न करेंगे, तो हमें अपने जीवनकार्य और कर्तव्य का साक्षात्कार होगा और तब कर्तव्य की पुकार सुनाई देगी। हम श्रेष्ठ कार्यकर्ताओं और समाजसेवकों के प्रति केवल अभिमान धारण न करें, उनके अनुसार कर्म करने का प्रयास भी करें। लेकिन अंतर्मुख होना सरल बात नहीं है। उसके लिये शरीर, मन व बुद्धि की पूर्ण अंतर्बहि शुचिता आवश्यक है। विचार, वाणी और कर्म में ही नहीं तो स्वप्न में भी पूर्ण पवित्रता हो। इसके अतिरिक्त कुछ भी न हो। इसका अभ्यास करना पड़े़गा।

• सर्वप्रथम हमें अपना जीवन पवित्र बनाना होगा। खोखले शब्दों से हम दुनिया के लोगों को शिक्षा नहीं दे सकते। उक्ति के अनुरूप आचरण न हो तो शब्द निरर्थक हैं। यदि हम पवित्रता की बात कहना चाहते हों, तो हम उन वर्तमान सार्वजनिक नेताओं की नकल न करें, जो बार-बार पवित्रता पर भाषण तो देते हैं, परंतु यह जानने को कि वे स्वयं क्या हैं, निरीक्षण करने की इच्छा नहीं रखते। हम जो कहना चाहते हैं, उसके अनुसार हमारा आचरण होना चाहिये। भगवान् की कृपा से हमें एक श्रेष्ठ संस्कृति, एक जीवनोद्देश्य परंपरा से प्राप्त हुआ है। अतः उसके अनुसार हमारी कृति होनी चाहिये।

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

Follow us on   blog   twitter   youtube   facebook   g+   delicious   rss   Donate Online

कार्यकर्ता

1. हमें उत्तरदायित्वपूर्ण व्यवहार करनेवाले, ध्येयवादी, कठोर निश्चयी, अपना सब कुछ संगठन को समर्पित करनेवाले युवकों को एकसूत्र में पिरोना है। अपने स्वयं से प्रारंभ कर यह उत्तरदायित्व ग्रहण किया जाए। अपने अन्तःकरण में अन्य वृत्तियों को स्थान न रहे। सुवर्ण के कण-कण को तोड़ा गया तो भी शुद्ध सुवर्ण ही मिलता है, उसी प्रकार अपने मन का कण-कण संगठनमय रहना चाहिये। अखण्ड तैल-घारा के समान अपनी वृत्ति एकाग्र रहनी चाहिये। इतनी तन्मयता हो कि अपने सारे व्यवहार-भोजन, शयन आदि संगठन के लिये ही हों।

2. यद्यपि अत्यन्त प्रक्षोभजनक, उद्वेग पैदा करनेवाली घटनाएँं होती हों, तब भी अपना धीरज और गम्भीर वृत्ति नहीं छोड़नी चाहिये। लोग भले ही अपनी उस वृत्ति का उपहास करते हों, फिर भी हमें उसके बारे में मौन रहना चाहिये। हमें संगठन करना है, इसलिये अहंकार का त्याग करना होगा। अहंकार-त्याग ही सर्वस्व त्याग है। अहंकार का त्याग करने के पश्चात् त्याग करने को कुछ भी शेष नहीं बचता।

3. अपने काम में केवल श्रद्धा का गुण होना ही पर्याप्त नहीं है, उसके साथ बुद्धिमत्ता और नेतृत्व-कुशलता भी होनी चाहिये। कुछ स्वयंसेवक केवल श्रद्धा से आते हैं, वे उत्तम अनुयायी होते हैं। श्रद्धालुता में कभी-कभी स्वभाव का भोलापन होता है, क्वचित् पागलपन भी रहता है। वह नहीं चाहिये। अंधी-लूली श्रद्धा किस काम की ?

4. शुष्क तत्त्वचिंतन से मन इतस्ततः भटकने लगता है, बुद्धि कई बार अकर्मण्य बन जाती है। किंतु स्फूर्तिदायक आलंबन के प्राप्त होते ही तत्त्वचिंतन सुलभ हो जाता है। किसी आधार के अभाव में व्यापक और महान् शक्ति की अनुभूति यदि असंभव नहीं, तो भी कठिन अवश्य है। उस तत्त्व को हृदयंगम कर, तदनुरूप अपने जीवन को ढालने के लिये भावनाओं से ओतप्रोत अपने हृदय की स्थिति बनाना आवश्यक है। शुष्क शब्द उसके लिये सहायक नहीं हो सकते।

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

धर्म

1. धर्मनिरपेक्षता और राष्ट्रीयता को समानार्थी मानने के कारण एक बड़ा वैचारिक संभ्रम उत्पन्न होता है। ये दोनों शब्द किसी भी अर्थ में समानार्थी नहीं हैं। राष्ट्र एक परिपूर्ण प्राणवान् घटक है। राष्ट्रजीवन के अनेक अंग-उपांग होते हैं। उनमें से शासन करनेवाली संस्था उसका एक अंग है। परन्तु धर्मनिरपेक्षता शासनसंस्था के अनेक गुणविशेषों में से एक गुणविशेष है। इसलिये धर्मनिरपेक्षता व राष्ट्रीयता को समानार्थी कहने का अर्थ शरीर के किसी अवयव के कार्य को संपूर्ण शरीर का कार्य कहने के समान है। राष्ट्र और राज्य के मूलभूत स्वरूप के विषय में अज्ञान होने के कारण ही ऐसा होता है। यह बहुत ही खेदजनक है।
2. लोग समझते हैं कि दुनिया के इतिहास में राजनीतिक कार्य ही चिरंजीव हुए हैं। जब कि यह सत्य नहीं है। मान्घाता जैसे महीपति नष्ट हो गए। यहाँ तक की ज्ञानेश्वरी में कहा है, कि पुराण भी केवल मरे हुओं की कहानियाँ मात्र ही हैं। राजनीतिक विचार-प्रणाली, पंथ, सम्प्रदाय, राज्य कुछ भी चिरंजीव नहीं रहे। जल्दी हो या देर से पर नष्ट हो गए। धर्म पर जो अटल हैं, वे ही जीवित हैं।
3. आजकल इस प्रकार एक ही साँचे में व्यक्ति को जकड़ने का प्रयोग विदेशों में चल रहा है। जिस देश में भाषा, कृति व विचारों को एक निश्चित साँचे में जकड़ कर, किसी एक व्यक्ति के मार्गदर्शन में सबको चलाने का प्रयास किया गया, वहाँ एक प्रकार का दहशत का वातावरण है। अब अपने देश में भी उसका अनुकरण करने की चेष्टा हो रही है। किसी एक ही ढाँचे में सबके जीवन को जकड़ डालना, हमारी संस्कृति को अभिप्रेत नहीं। इस प्रकार का साँचेबंद जीवन हमारी परंपरा में निकृष्ट और त्याज्य माना गया है। यदि सभी लोगो के वर्ण, नाक, कान एक जैसे ही हो जाएँ, उसमें कोई भी भिन्नता न रहे, तो एक दूसरे को देखकर अंतःकरण ऊबने लगेगा। प्रत्येक की प्रतिमा अलग-अलग ही चाहिये। विविधता देखकर मन प्रसन्न होता है; विविधता से जीवन में सरसता उत्पन्न होती है।

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

धर्म

1. संघर्षमुक्त और दुःखमुक्त एकात्म मानव की कल्पना ही अपने अतिप्राचीन राष्ट्र की प्रेरक शक्ति है। वही अपना अनादि-अनंत स्फूर्ति केन्द्र है। सर्वेपिऽसुखिनः सन्तु, सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः सदैव से हमारी प्रार्थना रही है। हम परमेश्वर से यही निवेदन करते रहे हैं कि सब लोग सुखी और व्याधिमुक्त रहें। पश्चिमी जगत् के आज के विद्वान अभी भी 'अधिकतम लोगों के अधिकतम सुख' की संकल्पना से परे नहीं जा पाये हैं, पर हम भारतीयों को तो एक भी प्राणी का दुःख असहनीय है। प्राणिमात्र के चिरकल्याण के भव्य व उदात्त आदर्श को हमने अंगीकार किया है।

2. प्रत्येक राष्ट्र के जीवनसंगीत का एक विशिष्ट स्वर होता है। उसके साथ सुसंवाद साधने पर ही राष्ट्र की प्रगति होती है। अपने हिंदू राष्ट्र ने भी अनादिकाल से एक विशिष्टता का रक्षण किया है। भारतीय दृष्टि से अर्थ पुरुषार्थ और काम पुरुषार्थ भौतिक सुख के पहलू हैं। यह मानवी जीवन के केवल उपांग हैं। इनसे सब परिचित भी हैं। परन्तु अपने पूर्वजों ने धर्म व मोक्ष पुरुषार्थ को मानवी जीवन के लिये अधिक महत्त्वपूर्ण बताया है। धर्म, अर्थ, काम और मोक्ष इन चार पुरुषार्थों के आधार पर ही उन्होंने अपने समाज की रचना की। अतिप्राचीनकाल से अपना समाज संपत्ति और समृद्धि के लिये तो विख्यात रहा ही, लेकिन उससे भी अधिक ऊपर बताये गये बाकी जीवन के दो पहलुओं के लिये विशेष रूप से जाना गया। इसी लिये अत्यन्त नीतिमान्, आध्यात्मिक व तत्त्वज्ञानी समाज के नाते अपने को जाना जाता रहा है। अपने यहाँ मोक्ष प्राप्ति अर्थात् प्रत्यक्ष परमेश्वर से संबंध स्थापित करने को ही मनुष्य जीवन का अंतिम लक्ष्य माना गया।

3. आजकल एक शब्दप्रयोग किया जाता है कि 'मनुष्य के जीवनस्तर को ऊँचा उठाना है।' यह कहने का उनका अर्थ इतना ही होता है कि अधिकाधिक भौतिक सुखों को प्राप्त करना। इंद्रियों को सुख देनेवाले इन विशयों की प्राप्ति के लिये अर्थ का संचय करना क्रम-प्राप्त है। संपत्ति का संचय करने के लिये सत्ता की आवश्यकता होती है। इसलिये संसार के बलवान् राष्ट्र अपनी शक्ति के बलबूते पर अन्य राश्ट्रों का शोषण कर, उन्हें कष्ट दे अपनी झोली भरते हैं। इसी में से सत्ता संघर्ष प्रारंभ होता है। फिर युद्ध होते हैं, सारे नीति-नियम उद्ध्वस्त होते हैं। अधःपतन की इस प्रक्रिया को स्पर्धा का सुंदर नाम दिया जाता है।

4. एक मत या संप्रदाय के अनुयाइयों ने दूसरे मत या संप्रदाय के अनुयाइयों पर आक्रमण नहीं करना चाहिये, इतने पर हिंदू जीवन दर्शन ठहरा नहीं। हिंदू जीवनदर्शन जीवनव्यापी और सर्वसमावेशक है। हिंदू सत्ताधीशों में यह दर्शन अत्यधिक गइराई तक समाया हुआ है। इसी कारण हिंदू राजा अल्पसंख्यकों के मत व संप्रदायों का समादर करते रहे हैं। इतना ही नहीं, वे उन अल्पसंख्यकों के स्वाभाविक विकास में प्रत्यक्ष सहयोग भी करते रहे हैं। हमारे राजा कभी धर्म या संप्रदाय विरोधी नहीं रहे। वे तो सारे धर्मों का आधार होते थे, संरक्षक होते थे। धर्मनिरपेक्ष शब्द का वास्तविक आशय भी यही है। यह विधायक विचार ही भारत ने स्वीकार किया है। इस अर्थ में भारतीय राज्यशासन सच्चे अर्थ में सदैव से धर्मनिरपेक्ष रहा है। इसी कारण अपने देश में राज्य पद्धति का वर्णन करते समय धर्मनिरपेक्षता के विशेषण का उपयोग करना अनावश्यक है।

5. साम्यवाद में वर्गसंघर्ष का चाहे जितना विचार हो, परंतु अंत में ऐसी अवस्था का ही चित्र देखा है, जिसमें सभी संघर्ष शांत होकर वर्गविहीन तथा राज्यविहीन अवस्था का निर्माण हो। किंतु आज के स्वार्थलिप्त तथा विषयासक्त मानव के लिये यह बात कविकल्पना तथा आकाशपुष्प की भाँति मिथ्या है। मानव जब अतिमानव बनेगा, सृष्टि के साथ अपने संबंधों का साक्षात्कार करेगा, चारित्र्य को ऊपर उठाएगा और परस्पर एकात्मता की पूर्ण अनुभूति करेगा, तभी राज्यविहीन समाज की रचना संभव होगी। हमारे प्राचीन विचारकों ने भी कहा है-

न वै राज्यं न राजासीत् न दण्डो न च दाण्डिकः।
धर्मेणैव प्रजाः सर्वा रक्षन्ति स्म परस्परम्।।

न राज्य की आवश्यकता है, न राजा की, न दंड-विधान की और न दांडिक की। यदि आवश्यकता है तो केवल धर्म की। धर्म से ही प्रजा सौहार्द से रहेगी।

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

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