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.