India's Religions through the Eyes of Swami Vivekananda

Page 1

India’s Religions through the Eyes of Swami Vivekananda India’s Religions as Swami Vivekananda saw it; Swami Vivekananda was considered as one of the great heroes of modern India. According to this great spiritual leader every country has a particular goal which the politicians and natives aim for bringing up their country. Indians bring up the spirituality which is the strength of our country. India’s Religions have great spirituality.

When one looks deeply into the Indian culture which can be found in the Rig Veda, the ancient scriptures, can understand that every man is in the search of spiritual life. The spiritual thought and knowledge led by the Vedas, Upanishads, and others were brought to the world by Swami Vivekananda. This article will tell you about the Hindu religion through the words of Swamiji.

According to Swami Vivekananda, the soul has the natural characteristic of purity and religion helps in bringing out this nature. Practicing morality is very important to lead a religious life. And this kind of life makes a person truthful and good natured by having good thoughts and doing good deeds. Therefore, Swamiji says that spirituality is man’s real and holy nature. And religion is realization of man’s true nature. Not all men are born with spiritual realization. He has to work hard to achieve it within himself.

It is not very easy to achieve it for a normal human being. It is possible only through the practice of yoga. There are many types of yoga suitable for different persons. The four main forms of yoga for the four different types of persons such as the person who are aiming for intellectual life can practice the jnana yoga, for deeds one should practice karma yoga, for balancing the emotions one should practice bhakti yoga, and raja yoga for balancing the mind.

The proper practice of yoga helps a person to realize the spiritual truth which the sages have achieved through immense practice of yoga. Swamiji calls yoga as the science that teaches scientifically the nature of religion.

There are several religions but the ‘Truth’ is just one which is called by different names by the sages. This means that different religions differ in their characteristics but all aim for one single goal that is God. Based on this theory, Swamiji points out that ‘unity in diversity’ is a fact. There are several living creatures apart from human beings and Swamiji illustrates that plant, animals, and human beings are one and all exist as living being in this universe.

Similarly, he illustrates this with the different religions. He also says that no religion should be

http://vedagyan.com/ @ 2011


converted to another. A person should stand on one religion and stick to it forever. India’s Religions to some might be Hinduism, while to others it is Islam, and there are even smaller numbers of Indians with other religions. According to Wikipedia inthe 2001 census, Hinduism accounted for 80.5% of the population of India, Islam (13.4%), Christianity (2.3%) and Sikhism (1.9%).

However, there should be unity among all the religions as all have the same goal which is God and spiritual realization. Therefore, Swamiji says that the unity of all religions will bring peace in the world. This is the spiritual inheritance which Swamiji wants to share with all of us.

To learn more about the Vedas and Hinduism visit http://Vedagyan.com.

Ayurveda traces its origins several thousand years ago to the Vedas, Atharvaveda in particular, and is connected to Hindu religion. Atharvaveda (one of four most ancient books of Indian knowledge, wisdom and culture) contains 114 hymns or formulations for the treatment of diseases. Ayurveda originated in and developed from these hymns.Ayurveda is now becoming more well­known and practiced in the Western world.

To learn more about Ayurveda and its benefits visit http://sangeetaayurveda.com.

By :­ Shankar

http://vedagyan.com/ @ 2011


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.