स्वर्गीय श्री रंगा हरिजी का सामाजिक योगदान

साहित्य : सरल और शुद्ध

"तिरुवनन्तपुरम् राजभवन (केरल के राज्यपाल का आधिकारिक निवास) में मुझे नोट्स के साथ रामायण के चयनित छंदों वाली एक पुस्तक मिली। मैंने इसे पढ़ा; जब मैंने इसे एक बार पढ़ा तो मुझे लगा जैसे मुझे इसे कई बार और पढ़ना होगा। मैं उस अज्ञात बुजुर्ग के बारे में जानना चाहता था जिसने पुस्तक का संकलन किया था। इस तरह मेरा परिचय श्री रंगा हरिजी से हुआ। उन्होंने पहली ही भेंट में मेरी कई शंकाओं का समाधान कर दिया।"

राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ के ९० वर्षीय वयोवृद्ध प्रचारक श्री रंगा हरिजी का निधन २९ अक्टूबर को कोच्चि में हुआ। अन्तिम दिनों के दौरान उनकी दो पुस्तकें प्रकाशित हुईं, जिनमें एक था – 'पृथ्वी सूक्तम'। इसका विमोचन दिल्ली में सरसंघचालक डॉ. मोहन भागवत ने किया। कार्यक्रम की अध्यक्षता केरल के राज्यपाल आरिफ मोहम्मद खान ने की। उन्होंने इस पुस्तक के सम्बन्ध में अपने अनुभव बताए, जिसका ऊपर उल्लेख किया गया है।

श्री रंगा हरिजी की दूसरी पुस्तक 'महाभारत युधिष्ठिर की थानल' है। केरल के बालाश्रम में रंगा हरिजी की उपस्थिति में संघ के अखिल भारतीय सह सरकार्यवाह डॉ. मनमोहन वैद्य ने इसका विमोचन किया।

इस तरह की कई पुस्तकों के माध्यम से, श्री रंगा हरिजी ने लगभग ७० वर्षों तक संघ प्रचारक के रूप में अपने तपोमय जीवन के दौरान लाखों स्वयंसेवकों और हजारों प्रचारकों को प्रेरित किया और उनका मार्गदर्शन किया। अर्थशास्त्र में बी.ए. करने के बाद वे सन १९५१ में प्रचारक बन गए।

श्री रंगा हरिजी एक महान संगठनकर्ता थे। वे १० वर्षों तक केरल प्रान्त के प्रचारक रहे, इस दौरान उन्होंने यहाँ हिन्दू एकीकरण कार्य को और मजबूत किया गया। एक स्पष्ट निर्णयकर्ता, एक ऐसा व्यक्ति जिसने एक शोधकर्ता, इतिहासकार, लेखक और वक्ता के रूप में कई आयामों पर अपनी छाप छोड़ी। अपनी मातृभाषा मलयालम् के अतिरिक्त, वे मराठी, कोंकणी, तमिल, संस्कृत, असमिया और पंजाबी जैसी विभिन्न भाषाओं में पारंगत थे। उनके पास विभिन्न विषयों पर ज्ञान का भंडार था।

उन्होंने एशिया और ऑस्ट्रेलिया में हिन्दू स्वयंसेवक संघ का मार्गदर्शन किया और २२ देशों की व्यापक यात्राएं कीं; उन्होंने प्री-क्रिश्चियन रिलीजन एंड ट्रडिशन के वैश्विक सम्मेलनों में भाग लिया।

संघ कार्य में अपने योगदान के रूप में उन्होंने अनेक पुस्तकें लिखीं, जिनमें संघ के संस्थापक डॉ. हेडगेवार की जीवनी उल्लेखनीय है। श्री गुरुजी (एम.एस. गोलवलकर) के सम्पूर्ण कार्यों का स्मारकीय १२ खंडों का संकलन उनके वर्षों के शोध का फल था। उन्होंने ७० से अधिक पुस्तकें लिखीं। श्री रंगा हरिजी की कृतियाँ, - 'व्यास भरतथिले भीष्मर' (व्यास भारत में भीष्म), 'व्यास भारत में कृष्ण', 'व्यास भारत में कर्ण', 'व्यास भारत में द्रौपदी', और 'व्यास भारत में नारद' सामान्य जनता को समझने की दृष्टि से बहुत उपयोगी है।

उनका जीवन संघकार्य के माध्यम से समाज के प्रति पूर्णतः समर्पित था। उन्होंने सभी परिस्थितियों में अथक परिश्रम किया। मातृभूमि के लिए अपने जीवन का प्रतिपल समर्पित करने के उनके संकल्प को कोई भी डिगा नहीं सका। ऐसा लग रहा था कि ईश्वर की यही इच्छा थी। रंगा हरिजी की स्मरणशक्ति उनके जीवन के अन्तिम क्षण तक एकदम सही थी। किन्तु जब वे संघ के अखिल भारतीय बौद्धिक प्रमुख थे तो एक सड़क दुर्घटना ने उनकी स्मृति पूरी तरह छीन ली। तत्कालीन सरसंघचालक श्री सुदर्शनजी ने निर्देश दिया कि मलयालम् जाननेवाली एक नर्स उनकी देखभाल करेगी क्योंकि उनकी स्मृति से मातृभाषा का भी लोप हो चुका था। सबसे बढ़कर, उनके उपासना देवता श्री नरसिम्हा मूर्ति का मंत्र भी भूल गए थे। मानो हृदय निचोड़ लिया गया हो, एक शब्द भी न बोल पाने के कारण आँखों से आँसू बहते रहे। वह संघ कार्य को जारी रखने के लिए किसी भी कीमत पर अपनी स्मृति वापस चाहते थे, जिससे वे वास्तव में भगवान का कार्य मानते थे। यदि कोई भगवान की शरण लेता है, तो भगवान अवश्य उत्तर देते हैं, ऐसा श्री रामकृष्ण परमहंस ने कहा था। अपने हृदय की गहराई से उन्होंने ईश्वर से प्रार्थना की। भावपूर्ण प्रार्थना का उत्तर मिला। धीरे-धीरे उनके दिमाग में नरसिम्हा मूर्ति मंत्र वापस आ गया। फिर एक-एक करके सब कुछ पहले की तरह स्पष्ट हो गया। इस बात का खुलासा उन्होंने स्वयं ही किया है। समाज के प्रति उनका समर्पण देखकर नर्स इतनी आश्चर्यचकित हुई कि उन्होंने कहा कि इससे उनके जीवन में भी बदलाव आया।

उन्होंने अपने जीवन के अन्तिम दिनों में बिस्तर पर पड़े रहने के दौरान उनसे मिले संघ कार्यकर्ताओं से कई बातें साझा कीं। उनमें से एक था, - उनका अब और लिखना बंद करने का निर्णय। उन्होंने कहा कि उन्होंने जो पहली पुस्तक लिखी, वह स्वामी विवेकानन्द के प्रवचनों से एकनाथजी रानडे द्वारा संकलित 'राऊजिंग कॉल टू द हिन्दू नेशन' का मलयालम अनुवाद था। उन्होंने आखिरी पुस्तक श्री रामकृष्ण परमहंस पर लिखी थी! उन्होंने बताया कि श्री गुरुजी गोलवलकर की जो जीवनी उन्होंने लिखी थी उसमें कई सूक्ष्म बातें हैं।

एक अन्तिम पत्र में, श्री रंगा हरिजी की इच्छा थी कि उनका अन्तिम संस्कार सार्वजनिक श्मशान में किया जाए और उन्होंने कहा था कि उनके लिए कोई अन्तिम प्रणाम नहीं होना चाहिए, साथ ही उन्होंने यह भी कहा था कि संगठन में की जानेवाली प्रार्थना शवस्थान (श्मशान) में नहीं की जानी चाहिए।

श्री रंगा हरि का जीवन उन सभी लोगों के लिए प्रेरक है जो भारतमाता के लिए कार्य करने की इच्छा रखते हैं।   - श्री पद्म कुमार, दक्षिण क्षेत्र सेवा प्रमुख

"रंगा हरि ज्ञान का सागर है। ज्ञान, विचार और बुद्धि के उस स्पष्ट प्रकाश को मेरा प्रणाम।"  - स्वामी चिदानंदपुरी, अद्वैत आश्रम

राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ के वरिष्ठ प्रचारक श्री रंगा हरिजी के प्रति विवेकानन्द केन्द्र अपनी विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करता है।

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ECHOES OF THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - 9

There were many prophecies in the Deccan about the birth of a Deliverer from the oppressions of the Moghals. It looks as if this very oppression gave rise to a growth of religious spirit amongst the people which was such a peculiar feature of the times. Quite a galaxy of god-intoxicated, and self-realised men were going about the country preaching the people that the upholding of the Dharma was the be-all and the end-all of life. Samartha Rama Das, Thuka-ram, Ekanath and a host of others were all more or less contemporaries of Sivaji.

"There is one prophecy" said Swamiji, " that comes to my mind and that is that of the Hermit of Matheran given as a piece of advice to his pupil Nettaji Palkar. This Hermit of Matheran was once a great soldier, a pious man who had renounced the world and devoted the last days of his life, entirely to Yogic practices and meditation of God. He was a past-master in the arts of not only military warfare, but also in the use of the sword, spear and the bow. And this Nettaji Palkar plays a very important part in the exploits of Sivaji as his right hand in leading the command of his selected troops of Mowlies. When Nattaji Palkar after serving his apprenticeship under the great saint learnt from him the art of throwing spear, archery and sword-play he was directed by the Hermit to leave him and go abroad to serve his motherland. The following advice is said to have been given to him by the Hermit. " My son, see that thou usest aright the knowledge and power that thou hast gained. Never draw thy sword except to defend the oppressed and in the cause of thy religion and thy countrymen. Amongst the signs of approaching death are the clear visions of the future that pour in upon my soul, the great God Siva has again and again appeared to me and revealed to me that he has taken the form of a man to free Maharashtra. Would that it were vouchsafed to me to fight by his side in the glorious struggle! It may not be; but it is something that I can send him as his servant thee, the son of my heart.

" Often I see the incarnate God leading his warriors against the bearded hosts of Islam, and ever I see thee at his right hand in the day of victory and the hour of danger. For he is not always victorious and triumphant. No, he is like yonder stately anjan-tree, that bends ever and anon before the might of tempest, but is never broken or uprooted. Sometimes he is a fugitive and sometimes I see him bending low to the lordly foe. But he ever rises again, and the seeming suppliant plunges his deadly sword into the heart of the enemy, who is deluded into thinking him conquered. O! for one hour of the joy of battle by his side, when he turns like a tiger on his pursuers and drives them to perdition!

"Oh, my son, treasure my visions in thy heart, for perchance this may be the last time that fate allows me to address thee. Thou wilt stand by the side of the great saviour of his people, when at last triumphant over all his enemies, he takes his seat on his golden throne under the silken umbrella, the symbol of his regal power, as an Emperor of Maharashtra. I see in my mind's eye the Brahmins and ministers sprinkling over his head the waters brought from the most sacred rivers and fountains of India, and the golden lotus flowers set with precious jewels distributed among the immense concourse assembled on the airy mountain of Rairi to greet him on the great day that consummates his work on earth. Even farther into the misty future my vision bears me, to the time when the incarnate God returns to his heavenly home. His work remains firmly built by his wisdom and might. His successors lead their followers far beyond the bounds of Maharashtra, till they sit as conquerors in the palaces of Dehli and Agra, and water their steeds in the sacred stream of the Ganges.

- DR. M. C. NANJUNDA ROW
(Vedanta Kesari - Nov 1914)

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ECHOES OF THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - 8

Then Swamiji began to give a brief account of the life of Shivaji, with great feeling and enthusiasm and we listened to the same with great eagerness and rapt attention; for so engrossing and interesting it was to listen to those soul-stirring words of Swamiji who spoke at the time with so great an earnestness and yet with so much pity and kindness. It was a pity there was no one to take down all that he spoke that evening in shorthand, nor did I make any notes at the time either, for my mind was so absorbed in following his narrative that the idea of taking down any notes never entered my brain. Yet the indelible impressions he made on even our callous hearts that memorable evening do still persist though somewhat dimmed, and the following is but an imperfect reproduction of those impressions.

"Doctor," began Swamiji, "it is a pity that in our schools, History of India written by foreigners alone is taught to our boys. The foreign writers of the Mahratta History can never shake off their bias nor understand the real character and greatness and the inner motive of the actions of Sivaji. We cannot blame them for their beliefs which more or less depended on the writings of the Mussalman chroniclers who out of spite and hatred, denounced Shivaji as a Falim or freebooter. On the other hand there are many Mahratta bakhars or chroniclers who have written about him but who, true to their ancient puranic ideal, looked upon Sivaji as an incarnation of God born to relieve His devotees from the oppressions of Mahomedan fanaticism and to re-establish the Dharma. Naturally the foreign writes leaned on the side of the Mussalman chroniclers and considered the account given by the Mahrattas as mere superstition. But fortunately there are many independent Persian manuscripts dealing with the history of Aurangzeeb, Sivaji and the Bijapur kings. They corroborate the account of the Mahratta chroniclers so far as facts are concerned though they do not share in their belief of the superhuman nature of the exploits of Sivaji. And if young men who have any patriotic feeling towards the history of their motherland were to make researches in finding out and translating these manuscripts much truer light may be thrown on the greatness of the doings of Sivaji and of many others who helped in the formation of the great Mahratta Confederacy and it will be a valuable addition to our knowledge of the real History of India."

"But before proceeding to narrate some of the main incidents from Sivaji s life, said Swamiji "let us see what was the state of India just before the birth of Sivaji. The rise of Maharatta power in India was one of those sudden and surprising revolutions which amid the troubled currents of political events, have been so frequently seen to spring from the reaction of despotism. The Moghal Empire under the absolute direction of Aurangzeeb extended over nearly the whole of India. Aurangzeeb was a tyrant who ruled ably though despotically. The Maharattas were a hardy and active race who inhabited the extensive plains of the Deccan surrounded by those elevated chains of mountains called the Ghats which formed a natural and almost impregnable barrier against the inroads of any invading army. Nearly three centuries of Mahomedan invasion which preceded the birth of Sivaji had left lasting memories of great horrors and oppressions by Mahomedans, and the threatened invasion of the Deccan by the troops of the tyrant Aurangzeeb gave rise in the minds of many, to all sorts of apprehensions of the renewal of fanatical intolerance and cruelty which the Mahomedan conquerors were prone to exhibit in their dealings with the people of the country. There was already ruin of all virtue and religion and the noblest in the land had been made to suffer. Hence a universal prayer seemed to have gone from the heart of these people to the great God of Mercy for the birth of a deliverer. The time also seemed ripe for the birth of such a person and ample opportunities were afforded to a leader of daring and comprehensive mind to assemble the Maharattas who formed now the disunited members of a vast and dislocated empire, and to establish them into an independent community, upon the wreck of that power by which they had been subdued. Such a leader was Shivaji the founder of the Maharatta dynasty, which finally became the most flourishing in Hindustan."

- DR. M. C. NANJUNDA ROW
(Vedanta Kesari - Nov 1914)

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ECHOES OF THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - 7

It was a beautiful moonlit night and Swamiji was sitting in the verandah of the bungalow of the late Mr. Bhattacharjee on the South Beach of Madras (already referred to), conversing in Hindi with Mr. Munshi Jagamohanlal, the private secretary of the Maharajah of Khetri. This gentleman had been sent by the Maharajah to trace out the whereabouts of the Swamiji and to fetch him back to Khetri to bless the newly born son and heir to the State. When Swamiji was at Khetri about a year previously, the Maharajah of Khetri had begged of him to confer the boon of a son and Swamiji while he was in one of his higher moods had actually blessed him saying that God had granted his prayer. So the Maharajah wanted Swamiji back in his palace at any cost and could not remain contented until he saw him. When I went over there after my office work I prostrated before Swamiji and took my seat; and suddenly Swamiji began to sing a Hindi song in praise of Sivaji in his own masterly way, the last two lines of which were:—

दावा द्रुमदंड पर चित्ता मृग भुंड पर,
भूषण बितंड पर जैसे मृगराज हैं ;
तेज तम अंशपर काह्न जिम कंसपर,
त्यों मिलेच्छ वंसपर शर शिवराज हैं ॥

(As forest-fire is to the forest trees, a leopard to the deer-herds and a lion to the stately elephants; as the sun is to the darkness of the night, as Krishna was to Kansa, so was king Sivaji, a lion, towards the hordes of Mlechchas.)

It was a long song as I learnt it afterwards; but I who had learnt in my school days that Sivaji was a cunning unprincipled freebooter, "an upstart robber," a marauder and a treacherous murderer, suddenly interrupted Swamiji and asked him how that praise and those lines were justified in the case of Sivaji. Was he not a mere child of fortune, a marauder who collected similar men like himself and succeeded in establishing a kingdom by sheer cunning and treachery? Swamiji immediately gave up his singing and saw me full in the face, his face being lit up with the fire of indignation and said, "Shame on you, Doctor. You are a Maharatta and still that is all you know of the greatest king that India had produced within the last three hundred years; one who was the very incarnation of Siva, about whom prophecies were given out long before he was born ; and his advent was eagerly expected by all the great souls and saints of Maharashtra as the deliverer of the Hindus from the hands of the Mlechchas and one who succeeded in the establishment of the Dharma which had been trampled under foot by the depredations of the devastating hordes of the Moghals. This is what comes of your reading Indian History written by foreigners who could have no sympathy with you, nor could they have any respect for your culture, traditions, manners and customs which they could not understand. Is there a greater hero, a greater saint, a greater bhakta and a greater king than Sivaji? Sivaji was the very embodiment of a born ruler of men as typified in your great Epics. He was the type of the real son of India representing the true consciousness of the nation. It was he who showed what the future of India is going to be sooner or later, a group of independent units under one umbrella as it were, i.e., undėr one supreme imperial suzerainty." I was simply thunderstruck and seemed to myself so small, so foolish and so ignorant; still the spirit of enquiry in me could not be put down even by those eloquent and fiery words of indignation which Swamiji gave expression to, for I thought whatever might be said of Sivaji there could be no explanation for his treacherous conduct towards Afzul Khan, the great Pathan commander sent from the court of Bijapur, whom he is said to have killed under circumstances which any one who has a spark of morality, in him could not but abhor. Still with some amount of hesitation but with a mischievous curiosity to find out how Swamiji could condone this treacherous deed of Sivaji, I begged of him to tell us something about the real life-history of Sivaji and what he thought of his one act which had been considered the greatest blot in his life and on account of which his character had been painted so black.

- DR. M. C. NANJUNDA ROW
(Vedanta Kesari - Nov 1914)

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ECHOES OF THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - 6

Then there was another set of phenomena which affected the higher nature of man and the Swamiji gave the instance of the thief who went to the cave of "Pavhari Baba," the saint of Ghazipur, to rob him. The thief entered his hermitage, but on seeing the saint awake he dropped the few utensils he had taken and was bolting away. But the saint gathered the things and ran after the thief and overtaking him the saint fell upon his knees and, with tears in his eyes, begged the thief's pardon for having disturbed him by intruding and insisted on his accepting the stolen goods saying "they are yours, they are yours. Your need is greater than mine." But what was the effect? When Swamiji went to Hrishikesh, he met a great Sadhu in a small asrama and during the course of the conversation he elicited the fact that that Sadhu was the thief who had come under the influence of the great saint of Ghazipur, under those peculiar circumstances and renounced the world that very moment.

Swamiji ended his discourse by saying "You see that as St. Paul says there are what are called the Graces of the Spirit and the powers of the Spirit. The powers of the spirit can be attained by even persons who without being highly spiritual, practise mental concentration; but what counts for spirituality and attainment of Salvation or Mukthi are the Graces of the Spirit which while unconsciously possessing these powers make light of them and the graces of the spirit manifest themselves as Love, Light and Bliss."

In this connection, it would be interesting to quote from his Biography, a piece of advice which Swamiji condescended out of pity to give to a learned Theosophist who besieged Swamiji with all sorts of queries asking him whether he had been in the Himalayas and whether he had met there any Mahatmas who possessed all sorts of incredible powers, who left their physical bodies in Thibet and appeared to persons in Madras and so on. The Swamiji regarded the man with much interest and seeing that he had a great heart but was entangled in this pseudo-mysticism because of his credulous nature, he gave him a bit of his mind and effectively diverted him from his distorted notions of what constituted spirituality. Swamiji spoke with great vehemence of feeling, and said to him, "My man, you seem rather intelligent. With your learning and enlightenment how could you unhesitatingly swallow all those wild fantastic tales? It befits a person of your type to exercise your own discrimination. Spirituality has nothing to do with the display of psychical powers which, when analysed, show that the man who performs them is the slave of desire and the most egotistical of egotists. Spirituality involves the acquisition of that true power, which is character. It is the vanquishing of passion and the rooting out of desire. All the chasing after psychical illusions, which means nothing in the solution of the great problems of our life, is a terrible wasting of energy, the most intense form of selfishness, and leads to degeneracy of mind and physical conditions. It is this nonsense which is demoralising our nation. Turn your attention to the realities of life about you. What we need now is practical common sense, a public spirit and a philosophy and religion which will make us men, which will make us stand on our own feet. We want a religion which will give us faith in ourselves, a rational self-respect, and the power to feed and educate the poor and relieve the misery around us. What will you do with a Mahatma residing somewhere in the Himalayas and appearing before you from the sky, when the people around you are dying of starvation and the millions are degenerating for; want of education? Nonsense! if you want to find God, serve man! If you want to acquire power, serve your brother-men." The gentleman on hearing this was overcome by emotion, and understood the righteousness of the Swami's attitude. He assured him that he would thenceforth follow his valuable precepts. Indeed, the Swami had little patience with men who debauched their manhood in mystery-mongering, effeminating themselves and wasting their energy, which should have been employed in the development of the highest powers of the soul.'

- DR. M. C. NANJUNDA ROW
(Vedanta Kesari - Oct 1914)

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ECHOES OF THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - 5

It was a lovely moonlit night at Mr. Bhattacharya's on the Beach side; the Swamiji was just then in the best of his moods. His face was literally shining as if subdued rays of light proceeded from his beaming countenance and made a halo round him. He was singing just a little before that soul stirring song—"तेरि गति लखि न पडे"—which was freely translated by himself as: "Oh Lord thy ways are inscrutable." It was a great song of complete self-surrender and submission to the will of the Divine Mother. With rapture he translated sentence after sentence of the song and the whole party that had assembled in that memorable evening, were kept spell-bound till he finished his singing. There was a lull and the silence that continued after Swamiji stopped his singing was awe-inspiring and it was only broken when Swamiji again opened his mouth and began to explain how at times a power or spiritual influence took possession of him and how he felt as if transformed from within and was able to mould the lives of any one that would come in contact with him, and how he felt that energy flowing through every part of his body to the surrounding objects and influencing them. If any one at that time was touched by the Swamiji he would experience Samadhi and understand its mysteries, and would then give up the attachment to the world more quickly than thousand years of Sadhana. As he just finished talking, one of the audience, the late Mr. P. Singaravelu Mudaliar, then Professor of Physics in the Madras Christian College,—known later as 'Kidi', a pet name given by Swamiji—a great soul who was an embodiment of sincerity and who always translated his convictions into actions without fear of the consequences that may result therefrom—suddenly rushed to the Swami and caught hold of his feet and the Swamiji laid his hands upon him and blessed him, and said, "Oh, what have you done? Why have you taken this rash step! Whatever the consequences but you cannot avoid them." Just then, we all marked on the face of Mr. Singaravelu a look of supreme contentment, and what he felt exactly at the time no one knows as he could not be coaxed to give expression to it, but this much was evident that from that day, he was a different man: He renounced the world, his wife and children and all, gave up his professorship and began to work for the cause of Swamiji alone. Those who knew him, can very well remember, how till to the very end he lived as a Sannyasin spending hours and hours in various Sadhana and meditation. Swamiji, soon after he touched Singaravelu and blessed him, suddenly cooled down, so to speak, and began to talk and joke in a lighter vein and looked his former self again.

On another occasion when the talk turned upon that evening's incident and the influence it had upon the life of 'Kidi,' he explained that everything was the result of Grace of God and it was wonderful how that Grace took hold of a person unawares and transformed him altogether and gave him all powers or Siddhis such as thought-reading, getting into Samadhi and making others get into Samadhi, reading of one's own past births and healing the sick by touch, and so on. "Whosoever," he further added, "will practice unbroken Brahmacharya for twelve years and meditate on God in solitude will certainly render himself fit for such inflow of God's Grace, and this is not impossible." Afterwards Swamiji was asked if he had any knowledge of persons who possessed such powers or seen any exhibitions of the same, and he then recounted what he saw performed by a respectable Brahmin while at Hyderabad. It so happened that when he paid a visit to Hyderabad he was told that there was a Brahmin who could produce numbers of things, from where nobody knew. Swamij went to see the Brahmin and found him suffering from fever. As soon as the Brahmin saw Swamiji he prostrated before him and begged him to place his hands on him that his fever might leave him. Swamiji did as desired and he became actually well. The next day he went over to the place where Swamiji was staying to show him his feats. There were a number of other gentlemen present at the time, one of whom was a friend of mine, who corroborated everything Swamiji had said. The Brahmin first stripped himself naked leaving only his Kowpinam. Swamiji had a white blanket and he begged Swamiji for it. He then wrapped himself with the blanket and sat in a corner. All these gentlemen were looking at him. He said suddenly "Gentlemen, write down whatever you want" and they wrote down accordingly the names of fruits that never grew in that country, such as, bunches of grapes, oranges, and so on; and one gentleman, that friend of mine, wrote down cooked Kesari rice. And what was their surprise when the Brahmin brought out from underneath the blanket, bushels of grapes, oranges and other fruits and on the top of all hot steaming Kesari bhath. He asked all to eat them but Swamiji objected saying that it was all hypnotism, but the man himself ate some and made all others eat. "Finally," said Swamiji, "he ended by producing a quantity of freshly cut roses. Each flower was perfect with dew drops on the petals and not one crushed, and not one injured and what a lot of them."

- DR. M. C. NANJUNDA ROW
(Vedanta Kesari - Oct 1914)

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ECHOES OF THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - 4

Having this idea of sanctity of all work in his heart, no one burned with indignation so much as Swamiji did, at the way in which we have been treating the lower classes and reducing "the images of God to mere beasts of burden" as Swamiji used to say; and most of our present day activities in connection with the depressed class mission can be directly or indirectly traced to his impassionate denunciation of the selfish doings of the higher classes and their spirit of "Don't—Touchism" and to his great teaching that the salvation of this country entirely depends on the general education and uplifting of the masses and the lower classes. In this connection he narrated an incident from the life of the late Dr. Mohendralal Sircar which made a deep and indelible impression on him. One day, Dr. Sircar and a friend of his were going along a road in Calcutta, when a bhangy (scavenger) with a load of night-soil passed them from the opposite direction. The stench from it was so abominable as to make that friend close his nose with his dhoti or cloth, but the Doctor passed on unconcerned without showing any signs of disgust. This was a wonder to the friend, who knew how nervous and fastidious was Dr. Sircar who would eat bread only when the wheat was examined grain by grain by his wife and ground. The friend therefore questioned him if his sense of smell had become blunt. To which Dr. Sircar replied "Sir, it is we that have reduced that poor man to this wretched condition. He carries my excreta on his head; am I to cover my nose and shun him?" This is just exactly what we have been doing. Swamiji's sympathy for the masses and especially the lower classes was so profound that he very often used to shed tears when he thought of their miserable condition and his own inability to uplift them all at once.

Continuing his talk on the messages of these great teachers, he said, Lord Buddha's message was also similar though expressed in a different way, suited to his own times. His teaching was: "Root out selfishness and everything that makes you selfish and follow the four-fold path of love." "As soon as selfish desires arise," said Swamiji, "as soon as selfish pursuit is followed immediately the whole man, the real man is gone and you become a slave.'' "Time flies. The world is finite and all misery. Note the first utterance of the child when it enters into the world, it weeps. That is the fact, the child weeps. This is a place for weeping! If we listened to this great message we should not be selfish''.

Then the other great messenger was Jesus of Nazareth, and his message was also the same: "Behold the kingdom of heaven is at hand and repent ye and follow me. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me." (St. Mathew X 37-38). And yet Christ has also said "Render unto Caeser, Caesar's dues and to God God's," i. e., do your civil and other worldly duties loyally but at the same time let your heart abide in God. Thus said Swamiji, there is a place for all these messages in our hearts.

Then, are there no other teachers "Oh yes" said Swamiji, "Why? There is Mahomed the great messenger of equality, of the brotherhood of man, of his own Religion at least practically. Mahomed by his own life showed that amongst Mahomedans there should be perfect equality and brotherhood without any question of caste, race, creed, colour or sex. A Hindu or a Negro of Africa is hated by them as a Kafir but the moment he becomes a Mahomedan, he can sit and eat from the plate of another Mahomedan however noble and great he may be." "But what do we Hindus do exclaimed Swamiji, "If any one outside our sect touches our food we throw it away! Notwithstanding our grand philosophy our weakness consists in not practising the grand truths of that philosophy; but the greatness of Mahomed is in showing the perfect equality of man regardless of race or colour. The colour bar does not stand in his way of recognising any one as his brother, if he is only of his religion.''

But will other great prophets come on into this world? "Certainly," replied Swamiji, "There have been many more and many more will come, but what of that? Do not care for that, nor look forward to that. I would rather that each one of you become a prophet, for all of you have the same germ within you. Each one of these great teachers has been great; each has left something for us; they have been our Gods. We salute them, we are their servants. You must revere all these great teachers but at the same time, you must try to supplement their teachings with your own realisations and become a prophet yourself unto others. It is not an impossible task, for if these great teachers have been prophets and children of God, we also are the same. They reached their perfection and we are going to attain ours now. Remember the words of Jesus. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. This very moment let everyone of us make a staunch resolution that 'I will become a prophet, I will become a messenger of Light, I will become a child of God, nay, I will become a God'."

On the tree of the absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss (Sat-Chit-Ananda) there hang innumerable Ramas, Krishnas, Buddhas, Christs, and such others, out of which one or two come down to this world now and then and produce mighty changes and revolutions.

Think not that Sita, Rama, Sri Krishna, Radha, and such others, were not historical personages, but mere allegories, or that the Scriptures have an inner and esoteric meaning only. Nay, they were beings of flesh and blood just as you are, but because they are Divinities, their lives can be interpreted both historically and spiritually.

- DR. M. C. NANJUNDA ROW
(Vedanta Kesari - Aug 1914)

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ECHOES OF THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - 3

When Swamiji declared that his religion was one of which Christianity was an offshoot and Buddhism a rebel child, he added "Three books I loved best and often I carried them with me, viz., the Gita, the Light of Asia by Edwin Arnold and the Imitation of Christ by Thomas-a-Kempis." It was then, he showed the great harmony that existed in the teachings of all great Religions. It seems now, that the great Parliament of Religions, held at Chicago, was a special opportunity created by God for the preaching of this great harmony by Swami Vivekananda. Before Swami Vivekananda appeared on the stage of this world, there were distant and hazy talks about there being elements of truth in all religions, but no one really understood wherein the great harmony consisted and how it was a real harmony and not an empty phrase, like 'Universal Brotherhood ' so often used for the purpose of exploitation. Even the harmonious evolution of religious thought as manifest in the doctrines of the three schools of Vedanta was not clearly known, until Swamiji showed their real significance.

Said he: "Three great teachers are the Living Gods on Earth— Sri Krishna, Buddha and the Christ. All these great teachers are true, because each one has come to preach a great idea. Sri Krishna was the oldest of these, and his teachings as given in the immortal Gita are the noblest, grandest and all-comprehensive. The central idea is non-attachment to worldly things. Let the heart's love be bestowed on only One who never changeth and that is God. For any love given to things of the world, to father, mother, children, wife or husband, to wealth, name and fame with a feeling of attachment leads to misery. Hence God alone is the only attraction, no other, and all work should be dedicated to him. "Sarvam Srikrishnarpanamasthu." With this feeling of complete faith in God, one should work. "Work, work day and night, says the Gita," Swamiji used to say: "Flying from work is never the way to peace." Gita begins with an admonition to Arjuna not to shrink from one's duties but to take them up manfully and not think of the result.

"To work alone you have the right but not to the results thereof." The lines—

                          "Ours is not the question why
                           Ours is but to do and die,"

were very often quoted by the Swamiji. He further said "Do not pay much attention to the nature of the work you have to do. Ask your mind, if you are unselfish? if you are, never mind anything, plunge in and do your duty near at hand and you will realise the truth of the Gita.'' "Whosoever in the midst of immense activity finds intense peace, whosoever in the midst of the greatest peace finds the greatest activity, he is a Yogi, he is a great soul, he has arrived at perfection." Further the Swamiji continued, "Every work is sacred. There is no duty in this world which we have any right to call menial; a sweeper's work is quite as good as that of the Emperor on his throne."

To be continued..

- DR. M. C. NANJUNDA ROW
(Vedanta Kesari - Aug 1914)

--
Celebrating 50 Glorious Years of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial : विवेकानन्द शिला स्मारक - एक भारत विजयी भारत : www.vrmvk.in
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ECHOES OF THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - 3

When Swamiji declared that his religion was one of which Christianity was an offshoot and Buddhism a rebel child, he added "Three books I loved best and often I carried them with me, viz., the Gita, the Light of Asia by Edwin Arnold and the Imitation of Christ by Thomas-a-Kempis." It was then, he showed the great harmony that existed in the teachings of all great Religions. It seems now, that the great Parliament of Religions, held at Chicago, was a special opportunity created by God for the preaching of this great harmony by Swami Vivekananda. Before Swami Vivekananda appeared on the stage of this world, there were distant and hazy talks about there being elements of truth in all religions, but no one really understood wherein the great harmony consisted and how it was a real harmony and not an empty phrase, like 'Universal Brotherhood ' so often used for the purpose of exploitation. Even the harmonious evolution of religious thought as manifest in the doctrines of the three schools of Vedanta was not clearly known, until Swamiji showed their real significance.

Said he: "Three great teachers are the Living Gods on Earth— Sri Krishna, Buddha and the Christ. All these great teachers are true, because each one has come to preach a great idea. Sri Krishna was the oldest of these, and his teachings as given in the immortal Gita are the noblest, grandest and all-comprehensive. The central idea is non-attachment to worldly things. Let the heart's love be bestowed on only One who never changeth and that is God. For any love given to things of the world, to father, mother, children, wife or husband, to wealth, name and fame with a feeling of attachment leads to misery. Hence God alone is the only attraction, no other, and all work should be dedicated to him. "Sarvam Srikrishnarpanamasthu." With this feeling of complete faith in God, one should work. "Work, work day and night, says the Gita," Swamiji used to say: "Flying from work is never the way to peace." Gita begins with an admonition to Arjuna not to shrink from one's duties but to take them up manfully and not think of the result.

"To work alone you have the right but not to the results thereof." The lines—

                          "Ours is not the question why
                           Ours is but to do and die,"

were very often quoted by the Swamiji. He further said "Do not pay much attention to the nature of the work you have to do. Ask your mind, if you are unselfish? if you are, never mind anything, plunge in and do your duty near at hand and you will realise the truth of the Gita.'' "Whosoever in the midst of immense activity finds intense peace, whosoever in the midst of the greatest peace finds the greatest activity, he is a Yogi, he is a great soul, he has arrived at perfection." Further the Swamiji continued, "Every work is sacred. There is no duty in this world which we have any right to call menial; a sweeper's work is quite as good as that of the Emperor on his throne."

To be continued..

- DR. M. C. NANJUNDA ROW
(Vedanta Kesari - Aug 1914)

--
Celebrating 50 Glorious Years of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial : विवेकानन्द शिला स्मारक - एक भारत विजयी भारत : www.vrmvk.in
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ECHOES OF THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - 2

"The one point of difference between Hinduism and other religions is that in Hinduism man passes from truth to truth, from a lower truth to a higher truth and not from error to truth. If one studies the Vedas between the lines, he sees only a religion of harmony. The Vedas should be studied through the spectacle of evolution. They contain the whole history of the progress of religious evolution until religion has reached its perfection in unity (Advaitism). There can be no new religious thought which is not already contained in Hinduism." To elucidate the point further Swamiji said again "just as Chemistry ceases to improve when one element is found from which all others are deducible, Physics cease to progress when one energy is found, of which all the other forces are manifestations, so Religion also ceases to progress when unity is reached, and such is the case with Hinduism"

When questioned, what is your religion Swami? the very majestic reply was elicited. "My religion is one of which Christianity is an offshoot and Buddhism a rebel child." So saying he further expatiated on the differences between the Hindus and other nations: "There have been two progresses in the world,—(1) Political, (2) Religious. In the former, the Greeks were everything, the modern political institutions are only the development of the Grecian; in the latter the Hindus were everything. The very early religious advancement of the Hindus, and their keen perception of that superfineness in everything which made them cling always to higher alternatives in affairs of life, have reduced the Hindus to what they are. The time has now come that the Hindus have to learn a little bit of brutality from the west and teach them a little bit of humanity.''

"The present religion of the Hindu is simply 'don't touchism,' and indifferentism or trying to imitate the west, not only in matters social, but in religion also, following the garbled teachings of western students of Hindu religion." Finally the Swami closed the discourse by giving a warning in the following words :—"If necessary, improve your social customs, marry your widows, knock on the head of caste if it has served its purpose, but do not give up religion. One may be radical in social matters but one should be orthodox in religion."

- DR. M. C. NANJUNDA ROW
(Vedanta Kesari - July 1914)

ECHOES OF THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - 1

Fortunate are the few that were destined in this life to sit, for even a few days at least, at the feet of the great Swami and to have listened to his soul-stirring teachings on our religion, history, social customs, etc., as contrasted with those of the West. In fact it is impossible to forget the quiet but the most enthusiastic meetings that used to be held between the numerous admiring friends and students of the college and the Swami in the bungalow (now known as Rahmut Bagh) on the beach near San Thome, Madras, which was occupied by the late Mr. Bhattacharjee, then Assistant Accountant-General, facing the broad expanse of the blue waters of the sea below and bluer sky above. It was in one of those meetings on an evening of March or April 1893, held in open air, a question was asked:—"Swamiji, why is Sri Krishna painted blue?" and Swamiji who was intently gazing towards the vast sheet of water, suddenly turned round and answered, "Because, blue is the colour of infinity. Look at space near you it is colourless, but look at the infinite sky above you it is blue; look at a handful of water of the sea, it is colourless, but the vast expanse of the sea is blue. Look at the earth about you, it is of some colour but a huge mountain at a distance looks blue, hence Sri Krishna, who is all-pervading and immanent in nature is painted blue and he is the symbol of Infinity." It is impossible to represent exactly the very words of the Swamiji, but the above is the substance of what he said that evening.

Then the talk turned upon eastern and western philosophers and many were the students who spoke highly of Spencer's philosophy. The Swami graciously acquiesced in the praises bestowed on the merits of Spencer's philosophy and even added "what is Spencer's unknowable? It is our Maya." But quickly retorted the Swami: "These western philosophers are afraid of the unknowable, whereas our philosophers have taken a big jump into the unknown and have conquered it. That is the difference between the tall talk of philosophy of the West and the realisation of the East. Your western philosophers are like vultures trying to soar high up in the sky above but all the while with their eyes fixed on the carrion below. They cannot cross the unknowable and therefore they fall back and can never give up the worship of the Almighty Dollar. The real spirit of renunciation is foreign to the western nations. Many do renounce and many do make tremendous sacrifices but all the while they do so with an expectation of Praise and Puja for attainment of a more refined and greater powers, but the real sacrifice of one's own complete self can only be seen in the lives of some of our greatest saints and Rishis. Many give up worldly powers, true! but it is with a view to obtain the more subtle so-called astral powers and Siddhis."

"What then are the essentials of the Hinduism? " asked one of the professors of a college and the Swami readily answered, "The three essentials of Hinduism are belief in God, in the Vedas as revelation and in the Doctrine of Karma and Rebirth."

To be continued 

-DR. M. C. NANJUNDA ROW

(Vedanta Kesari - July 1914)

VIVEKANANDA OUR SUPREME TEACHER - 2

It is the realisation of "the one great principle of unity" at the back of the phenomenal world consisting of the configurations of matter or individual consciousness that made our Swami inveigh in words that burn against those Modern Indian leaders and re­formers who acted on the principle that India must either import the religion of Christ wholesale, or at least what they considered its essentials omitting the worship of its founder's divinity and the inseparability of his association, as their only bestower, with the material advances made by humanity on earth, The Swami declared in memorable words :—"Are we to take always, to sit at the feet of the Westerns to learn everything, even religion? We can learn machines from them. We can learn many other things. But we have to teach them something, and that is our religion, that is our spirituality." And again:— "The world is waiting for that treasure; little do you know how much of hunger and thirst there is outside of India for these wonderful treasures of our fore­fathers." It is here that the Swami showed the superiority and the resources of his genius and shines forth for all time as the glory of Modern India. He was not ashamed of the fact that his native land had fared ill in the race for power and riches among nations. The Bengalee poet already mentioned has well said:— "The ideal that India tried to realise led her best men to the isolation of a contemplative life and the treasures that she gained for mankind by penetrating into the mysteries of reality cost her dear in the sphere of worldly success." And again :— "Man can destroy and plunder, earn and accumulate, invent and discover, but he is great because his soul comprehends all." Ten years earlier, our great Swami had declared that India's mission in the world is "to conserve, to preserve, to accumulate as it were into a dynamo, all the spiritual energy of the race, and pour forth that concentrated energy in a deluge on the world whenever circum­stances are propitious." He also declared himself as follows regarding the realisation in India of "the One only without a second":— "It is not only in our books, but it runs through every phase of our national literature and it is in the national life. Here and here alone it is practised every day, and any man whose eyes are open can see that it is practised here and here alone." Home, country, humanity, and the Supreme Self (Paramatman) are suc­cessively broader and higher conception. When we have reached the infinite perfection of the Supreme Self or Absolute Existence, we have gained the highest, and there can be nothing higher; and then no material gains, not even national glories, can engross the mind of man to the exclusion of Brahman.

Let not our readers suppose that the great Swami advised his countrymen and co-religionists or others who came under the magic of his influence to abandon all worldly activities and run away into the forest to practise all sorts of austerities in the pursuit, without distractions, of That content surpassing wealth The sage in meditation found.

All of us are aware of the truth taught in the Gita:— "Among thousands of men only one perchance strives for perfection, and even of those who strive for and obtain it only someone knows me in truth." And again:— "At the end of many births the wise man reaches me saying,—Vasudeva is the All; he is the Mahatma, very hard to find." While carrying on the worldly activities suited to our time and coming destiny, we ought not to abandon that marvellous system of spiritual life devised to produce such "true Mahatmas" as Sri Krishna refers to in his instruction to Arjuna and run after the foreign creeds, or the locally manu­factured versions of them which are so much in favour with a section of our novi homines which pants and yearns after the seductions of Maya. We must not only maintain it intact, but even take it to other lands and peoples to make them sharers to the extent possible for them so that they too may be enabled to break through the illusory turmoil of Samsara and to attain to a saner comprehension of their relation to the material universe and to the rest of the human race, to practise less of that heartless policy of exploitation, that incessant jostling and heedless pushing of others which tends to the destruction or demoralisation of race after race in this beautiful planet of ours, and converts it into a veritable Pandemonium where the only idea of right that prevails is what has been appropriately described as "the strength of the strong and the cunning of the weak." Swami Vivekananda, alone among Modern Indian teachers, loyally recognised the glory of the accomplishments of India's spiritual genius and her place of pre-­eminence as the spiritual teacher of the humanity of the future. He alone has taught Modern India the need and the beneficence of continuing to exercise the privilege of practising and fulfil her vocation of proclaiming and imparting to all, that fruitful and fundamental verity of the Veda known as the Wisdom of Bhrigu and Varuna,—

"आनन्दो ब्रह्मेति व्यजानात् ॥ आनन्दाद्ध्येव खल्विमानि भूतानि जायन्ते ।

आनन्देन जातानि जीवन्ति । आनन्दं प्रयन्त्यभिसंविशन्तीति ॥"

"He realised that Brahman is the Innermost Bliss of Love (Ananda),-that from the Innermost Bliss of Love only these created objects and beings are born, that through the Inner­most Bliss of Love they live after being born, that finally they are withdrawn into, and become one with, the Innermost Bliss of Love."

(Vedanta Kesari May 1914)

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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VIVEKANANDA OUR SUPREME TEACHER - 1

Modern India has produced a profusion of religious teachers,—showing thereby that her genius and instincts are in especial tune with the spiritual side of man's nature and that she can best be influenced in all other directions through the efficient working of that side in all its manifold divisions and aspects. The question for consideration is whether the religious views, aims, and methods of these teachers are calculated to bring to her those healthy influences which, while preserving to her the unique gains and products of her special genius and character and thereby enabling her to influence the world through them, will also give to her a future development bringing her into line with the evolution of secular power and riches the attainment of which has enabled the West to overpower her ancient civilisation and polity. When Swami Vivekananda came to Trivandrum in the course of his travels in December 1892 and was directed to my home as the one where he could find accorded to him in ungrudging measure the obeisance and hospitality due to his holy and exalted rank as a Hindu Sannyasin, almost the first topic of our conversation, when I learned that he was a Bengalee, was the eminent status as a religious teacher of Keshub Chunder Sen and other great Brahmo leaders of Bengal. At once the Swami replied that India's im­mediate wants to-day were not religious but economic, that Keshub Chunder Sen, Dayananda Sarasvati and other modern religious teachers were simply feeble and misleading echoes— however disguised—of foreign religious ideas which were far below the lofty level and the rich products of India's own spiritual genius, that their work was calculated to destroy her mission in the world as the spiritual leader and saviour of the human race and its unique and marvellous fruits, that Sri Ramakrishna alone had taught the true ideal of unity of thought, work and aim for Modern India to strive after, and that he intended to proclaim his great Guru's message to the world regarding the truth and harmony of all religions at the Parliament of the World's Religions at Chicago. Swami Vivekananda, alone of all India's modern teachers and guides, has, under the impelling force of the inspiration he received from Sri Ramakrishna, brought it frequently home to us that India had long ago taught to the world, and even presented in the maturity of their logical developments, all the forms and stages of the religious consciousness which were possible of enunciation or realisation by the human mind, that their harmony and unity of aim had also already been formulated in India and placed on an irrefragable basis of reasoned discussion and polemical triumph, and that Modern Indians have only the duty cast on them of realising, in a broader and healthier measure of practice than hitherto, the wealth and completeness of our spiritual inheritance and also of utilising it for the spiritual elevation of humanity at larger and for the attainment of a completer national life and a large measure of national potency and national self-respect for the British India of the future.

There are many of us who in these days assert, with an egotistic assurance worthy of a better cause, that the much-vaunted Indian spirituality is a mere phrase or name with no reality at its back and that its insistence in certain quarters can only deceive the unwary. This assertion has been frequently met, and may here be briefly replied to. When we speak of Indian spirituality, we must not be understood as denying the existence, among Western people, of spirituality of a kind, though not consonant with Indian conceptions of the same. Nor do we mean that Indian spirituality in all its phases is necessarily associated either with the cessation of bread-winning activities, or with the realisa­tion of the Atman in its purity and perfection as "the One only without a second." We do not also wish it to be understood that we are prepared to assert that the ideal form of Indian spirituality exists in Modern India anywhere except among a few scattered saints and sages of whose very existence, work, or worth the noisy world knows nothing and cares nothing. I am prepared, on my own behalf, to make the confession that, till the great Swami Vivekananda himself revealed them to me, I had no knowledge of the message and ministry of Sri Ramakrishna, or even of his very existence,—though now I know that there are others like him, more or less advanced, though not his equals in eminence or celebrity. The ideal still exists as it has existed in the past, and consists in the practical observance in daily life of the traditional knowledge and discipline of Dharma, Viveka, and Vairagya— each influencing the others and all together leading to the goal of the realisation of " the One only without a second." Says the Kaivalya Upanishad : — "श्रद्धाभक्तिध्यानयोगादवैहि न कर्मणा न प्रजया धनेन त्यागेनैके अमृतत्वमानशुः ॥" "Do thou know it by sraddha, bhakti, dhyana, and yoga; not by work, nor by progeny, nor by wealth but by renunciation (tyaga) alone the great ones attained immortality." The crown of Indian spirituality consists in the practical observance in daily life of sraddha, bhakti, dhyana and yoga. Social service and philanthrophy constitute, in Vivekananda's happy phrase, mere "social scavengering" and are brought into existence, as they are in the new Indian life of to-day, by the action of purely secular motives and national aspirations.

India will surely lose all that is valuable in her past and present—all that is calculated to win for her the respect and allegiance of higher men—if she loses her love and practice of spirituality as above defined and resolves to sit at the feet of Western teachers to learn their notions of what are the essentials of religion and spirituality which to us who have received the gift of practical Vedantic illumination seem little less than, or but next door to, the creed of ethical agnosticism or reasoned dogmatism. In Modern India, as elsewhere, the age we live in is one which abounds in personal forces which cause a good deal of perplexity in regard to men's moral ideals and standards of conduct. A living writer, Professor Royce, of America, says:— "This perplexity is not wholly due to any waywardness of our time, or to any lack of moral seriousness. It is just our moral leaders, our reformers, our prophets who most perplex us. Whether these revolutionary leaders are right or wrong, they beset us, they give us no rest, they call in doubt our moral judgments, they undertake to transmute values." Modern India, as I have already said, has produced a fertile crop of these perplexing and perplexed personalities, of prophets, leaders, reformers who have mercilessly striven to disturb the foundations of Indian social and moral life, to deprive many men of their confidence in social standards and religious beliefs, and to paralyse the activity and efficiency of many men, good and true. Under their perplexing and often pernicious influence, several have either become converts to alien creeds under the pressure of missionary propagandism or, yielding to subtle and even subterranean influences, abandoned the discipline of Indian ideals of mental, physical and social purity known as Chitta-suddhi, ahara-suddhi, samsarga-suddhi, etc. They even make a boast of their so-called emancipation from all those barriers of tradition which find a place in our great Manu,—from even such of them as have survived the revolutions of untold ages and discerning men of genius here and there even now regard with approval and admiration. Even the example of the great Asiatic Nation—the Japanese—which has gained such memorable national triumphs in her recent annals, goes counter to their ideas of our present-day obligations under the imperative call of Indian national patriotism. In a volume just published, a Japanese writer, Mr. Okakura-Yoshisaburo, says:—"Japan, in spite of such mod­ern developments as the feminist or anarchist movements still remains in spirit very much the same as she ever was in days of yore." "Many of the so-called mental peculiarities of the Japanese owe their origin to the love of purity and its complementary hatred of defilement" "We remain to this very day the very same old set of harmless islanders with practically the same physical and men­tal traits that characterised our fathers at the dawn of authentic history." "We are not yet so civilised as to think with some of the Western people that all is fair in war and business." "By means of those two processes of personification and deification, which are still very active among us, we continue to this very day to endow natural powers and great men with divine qualities." "The Japanese spirit has so far suffered hardly any material change from the various alterations that have taken place in its environ­ment." They have even a class, called the Eta, corresponding to our Pariahs, of whom the author says:—"The origin of the Japanese pariah is altogether obscure . . . So far as linguistic and eth­nological evidences are concerned they betray no particular traces of foreign origin." He also speaks of "the disdain of a class of people chiefly concerned in the so-called 'filthy' branch of human occupation." If all this is true of Japan, why should we be in un­due haste to alter our conceptions of purity and renunciation at the call of those who, in the words of India's greatest living poet, Ravindranath Tagore, "seem to take a pride in thinking that they are subduing nature,—as if we are living in a hostile world where we have to wrest everything we want from an unwilling and alien arran­gement of things!" According to the same authority, "India put all her emphasis on the harmony that exists between the individual and the universal." "With meditation and service, with a regulation of her life, she cultivated her consciousness in such a way that everything had a spiritual meaning for her." "To find out the One is to possess the All; there, indeed, is our last and highest privilege." "As in the region of Knowledge so in that of Consciousness, man must clearly realise some central truth which will give him an out­look over the widest possible field. And that is the object which the Upanishad has in view when it says, Know thine own soul. Or, in other words, realise the one great principle of unity that there is in every man."

To be continued..

(Vedanta Kesari May 1914)

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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