Pariprasna

Srimat Swami Tapasyananda Ji (1904 – 1991) was one of the VicePresidents of the Ramakrishna Order. His deeply convincing answers to devotees’ questions raised in spiritual retreats and in personal letters have been published in book form as Spiritual Quest: Questions & Answers. Pariprasna is a selection from this book.

QUESTION: Does matter limit spirit or does Spirit limit itself?

MAHARAJ: The first alternative arises only in dualistic or pluralistic systems of thought like the Samkhya and the Vaiseshika wherein spirit and matter have a cause-and-effect relation, but are independent entities. Two independent entities must necessarily limit each other, if they are in the same dimension and capable of interaction. Interaction is very necessary when we say that matter and spirit come together in forming living beings. But this will presuppose sameness of dimension and some kind of inherent unity, which means that absolute independence of matter from spirit will have to be given up. Thus the idea of matter limiting spirit falls.

So the other alternative that Spirit is the only existence and that it limits itself in creative manifestation is preferable. But when we refer to this pure Spirit as the source of creative manifestation through self-limitation, we have also got to admit that the Spirit has an inherent power of self-limitation, which is only another name for self-manifestation. So the Spirit will have to be conceived as having the power of self-manifestation. Immediately the question of the relation of the power to the Spirit arises. Human thought cannot help doing so. Then a doctrine of identityin difference comes in. The human mind cannot get through its thought process to any closer unity than identity-in difference, when it has to understand the Spirit in relation to the world phenomena. Probably in pure intuition this dichotomy may be overcome but when we make any intellectual statement of it, the dichotomy comes in.

QUESTION: What is the nature of a true Jivanmukta? Are all those who renounce the world Jivanmuktas in the strict sense of the term?

MAHARAJ: A Jivanmukta means one who is liberated even while one is physically living. It is in contrast with Videhamukta or one who is liberated and devoid of a body. The concept of Jivanmukti is difficult to understand. All of us are embodied beings, and we feel we are the body and nothing but the body, in spite of our intellectual acceptance of the soul theory. So when it is said that a Jivanmukta has a body and bodily life just like ourselves, it is very difficult to grasp in what sense he is different from us and is called free. The Vedanta theory says that one who attains spiritual enlightenment gains a new understanding and experience that he is not the body but a spirit associated no doubt with the body, but not identical with it. This sense of detachment from body, it is said, is as much an experience as our sense of identity with the body. But this detachment does not mean that he will be like a stock or stone, insensitive to any physical happenings or without any of the physical demands like the need for food and sleep. Detachment does not mean insensitiveness, but establishment in the state of a referee or a witness of the game in place of that of a player in it.

He experiences that he is a part and parcel of Satchidananda and is therefore unperturbed in the midst of experiences that are pleasurable or painful to the body. He is the master of his senses

and not their slave. He is free from fear, enmity, greed, lust and all such animal traits that are born of bodily identification. He is full of joy and love for all. His behaviour may look human, but it has no power to bind like a burnt rope. His personality will have the power to evoke higher spiritual sentiments in all who approach him with a receptive mind. He is himself full of sublime joy arid peace, and distributes this experience to all who go to him. Though possessing psychic powers, a truly saintly personage will never put them to use for attracting men to himself. Readiness to discard all psychic powers is as much a prerequisite of spiritual perfection as readiness to discard worldly ambitions and possessions.

As for the second part of the question it is obvious that all who have taken to the life of renunciation cannot be called Jivanmuktas. There are, however, some Advaitins, who maintain that both bondage and liberation are only false ascriptions and are for that reason unreal. If bondage is thus unreal, every one is a Jivanmukta not merely those who have taken to a life of renunciation. But such a view has only theoretical value and no practical interest. Practically speaking, a man takes to a life of renunciation as an aid to attainment of spiritual illumination. He cannot be called a Jivanmukta until he is established in the feeling that he is not the body but the spirit.

QUESTION: What is the place of Vedanta in modern society?

MAHARAJ: It is true that many in the past, and to a large extent even today, have been looking upon the Vedanta as a matter for recluses and as having no significance for the life of man in this world. That this is not true even according to the Indian tradition is proved by the fact that the Bhagavad Gita, a very authoritative text of the Vedanta, contains the message delivered by Sri Krishna to Arjuna, a very busy man, in the thick of battle. So while the Vedanta has a message for the recluse, it has an equally great relevancy also for the man in society who wants to live in a way that will lead to his higher evolution individually and to the betterment of the life of the society in general.

It was this aspect of the Vedanta that Swami Vivekananda voiced forth through an expression he coined, ‘Practical Vedanta’. The central message of the Vedanta, Swamiji points out, is the doctrine of the divinity of the spirit in man. The doctrine of Tat tvam asi, while it may have many higher meanings, was most significant, according to Swamiji, in this respect namely, that of reminding man that however low he has gone, however suppressed and depressed he might be, he remains basically unaffected in his central core. Just as a flint kept long in water or a gem lying in absolute darkness, retains its nature unaffected, so does the Atman, the spirit in man. This doctrine can therefore help man in re-educating his ego, and in infusing into him a sense of strength, self-confidence and worthwhileness of his existence. This attitude of man towards himself is a prime necessity for the development of his personality and for counteracting the tendency towards self-centredness. The Bhagavad Gita points out that the spirit of non-attachment is the only way to have internal peace and for the development of an ethical sense, out of which only real good can come to mankind.

Whether it was in the past or whether it is at the present, it is better that man has some convictions regarding his own nature. Man is a spirit, a spark of the divine fire. It is better for him to accept this fundamental truth about himself. We have passed through various views about man in the current century—the biological man, the biochemical man, the anthropological man, and the economic man. In all these views, which are only half truths about man, his basic nature, that he is a spirit, is forgotten. There is something in the modern way of thinking that stands against recognizing the basic nature of his, and perhaps that is why all the solutions of human problems based upon these half truths create more problems than they solve. The Vedanta declares the basic truth of man, and it has therefore a vital bearing on life today as at any time in the past.

Swami Vivekananda and the Concept of Freedom in Indian Culture

as dhriti or iccha, is only a special function of buddhi known as adhyavasaya or determination. The whole mind (known as antahkarana), including the buddhi, is governed by the action of samskaras. The only thing that is free is the Atman or the Self in its true nature; but, being limited by, and reflected in the buddhi, it appears as the empirical self known as the jiva or jivatman. It is this empirical self that experiences the urge to be free. Thus freedom and bondage refer to the self, and not to the will, in Hindu philosophy.

As the identification of the Self with mind and body gets reduced by the practice of yoga, the person experiences greater inner freedom and his will gets freed from the hold of desires and instincts. As Swami Vivekananda has stated, “Remember, only the free have free will.”

It should, however, be noted that these higher ideas of religion are known only to a small number of educated people in India. The common people are very often guided by superstitions, fatalistic thinking and village customs which have introduced a sense of helplessness, futility and hopelessness into their lives. Swamiji wanted to free their minds from this inner stranglehold and rouse the inherent strength to shape their own destiny. Hence he very much wanted to disseminate the liberating and strengthening higher ideas of religion in India. This leads us to the next topic.

Spiritual freedom

From the above discussion it is clear that all the types of freedom discussed thus far— social freedom, intellectual freedom and moral freedom—are freedom only in a relative sense. Absolute freedom is the absolute freedom of the Self, and this is what spiritual freedom means. To attain freedom of the Self means to cease to identify oneself with one’s body and mind and to identify oneself with the Supreme Self. This state of absolute freedom is known as mukti or moksha. In traditional Hinduism mukti is regarded as freedom from transmigration or rebirth. But since the cause of rebirth is the identification of the Self with body and mind, and the cause of this identification is ignorance of the true nature of the Self, Advaitins regard mukti as freedom from original ignorance resulting from the attainment of true knowledge.

The Advaita tradition speaks of two kinds of mukti. One is the state of immediate and ultimate release; this is known as sadyomukti. The other type, known as krama-mukti, takes place in stages. According to Sri Shankaracharya, those who practice meditation (upasana) on Saguna Brahman attain identity with Hiranyagarbha after death. Later on they may attain identity with the Supreme Impersonal Brahman and attain final liberation.

Several Hindu sects hold the view that mukti is a state which is attained only after death; this is known as videha-mukti. But the Advaita tradition holds that, since total destruction of ignorance is possible even when a person is alive, mukti is possible even while living; this kind of mukti is called jivanmukti. The goal of all spiritual endeavour is to attain this state of liberated-in-life.

In almost all the schools of Hindu thought, mukti, whatever be its nature, is an individual event, and only a few exceptionally qualified

individuals can attain it. Hence, there will the 16th century Vedantin, Appayya Dikshita.23 remain many millions who have not attained The basic argument of Appayya is as follows: liberation. Although this is the most commonly Mukti means identification with Ishwara only, held belief, there have been a few teachers who and not with the Impersonal Nirguna Brahman. believed in collective salvation, in the liberation As long as one jiva remains in bondage, of all; this is known as sarva-mukti. collective ignorance will persist. When all the

Swami Vivekananda has referred to the jivas are liberated, collective ignorance itself idea of sarva-mukti on more than one occasion. will vanish; and then Ishwara will ipso facto In the course of a conversation with his disciple become the Absolute Brahman. It is difficult to Sharat Chandra Chakravarty, Swamiji once say whether Swamiji accepted all the remarked, “What is the good arguments of Appayya, but of that spiritual practice or it is clear that Swamiji must realisation which does not Swami Vivekananda’s have found Appayya’s benefit others, does not primary concern was the view—that the liberated conduce to the well-being of alleviation of human jiva, after attaining oneness people sunk in ignorance suffering, and not with Ishwara, participates in and delusion, does not help in rescuing them from the clutches of lust and wealth? Do you think, so long as one jiva endures in bondage, you philosophical speculation. For him freedom meant freedom from suffering more than anything else. Ishwara’s work of doing good to the world—most attractive. Two points are to be noted in this context. One is will have any liberation? So that Swamiji’s primary long as he is not liberated— concern was the alleviation it may take several lifetimes—you will of human suffering, and not philosophical have to be born to help him, to make him speculation. For him freedom meant freedom realize Brahman. Every jiva is a part of from suffering more than anything else. His yourself—which is the rationale of all work for great heart bled at the sufferings of people. He others.” himself worked incessantly, travelling from

When the disciple exclaimed that it was a place to place teaching, exhorting, inspiring, new idea that without the salvation of all there guiding, awakening people everywhere. He laid would be no salvation for an individual, Swamiji his life at the altar of service to humanity. Out continued, “There is a class of Vedantists who of the agony of his soul he cried, “Will such a hold such a view. They say that individual day come when this life will go for the sake of liberation is not the real and perfect form of others’ good? The world is not a child’s play— liberation, but universal and collective and great men are those who build highways liberation is true Mukti. Of course, both for others with their heart’s blood. This has merits and defects can be pointed out in that been taking place through eternity, that one view.”21 builds a bridge by laying down his own body,

One of the earliest to propound the ideal and thousands of others cross the river through of sarva-mukti was Bhartriprapanca who its help. Be it so! Be it so!”24 probably lived one or two centuries before Sri The other point to be noted is that Swami Shankara.22 This idea was later championed by Vivekananda was first and foremost a spiritual

personality and his ultimate aim was the spiritual regeneration of humanity. Swamiji knew only too well that the only freedom worth striving for was spiritual freedom. He regarded all the other types of freedom as a means to the attainment of spiritual freedom. Social freedom, intellectual freedom, and moral freedom have each its own intrinsic value, no doubt. But they cannot give man lasting freedom from sorrow nor give ultimate fulfilment. Those types of freedom should be regarded as stepping-stones on the path to spiritual freedom.

In India Swamiji emphasised social freedom more because that was the crying need of the masses. For millions of sunken people living in destitution the only meaningful freedom is freedom from hunger. So Swamiji said, “Bread! Bread! I do not believe in a God, who cannot give me bread here, giving me eternal bliss in heaven! Pooh!”25 Swamiji’s words criticising untouchability, exploitation, and priestcraft fell like bombshells upon Indian society and blasted the bastions of vested interests, superstition and selfishness, and had a tremendous liberating influence on the Indian mind.

But Swamiji never missed an opportunity to remind people both in India and in the West that spiritual freedom is the ultimate goal of life. In his famous lecture on ‘Vedantism’ he clearly stated the relative merits of the different types of knowledge. “The highest of gifts is the giving of spiritual knowledge, the next is the giving of secular knowledge, and the next is the saving of life, the last is giving food and drink. He who gives spiritual knowledge saves the soul from many and many a birth. He who gives secular knowledge opens the eyes of human beings towards spiritual knowledge, and far below these rank all other gifts, even the saving of life. Therefore, it is necessary that you learn this and note that all other kinds of work are of much less value than that of imparting spiritual knowledge.”26

Swamiji emphasised spiritual knowledge because it alone can free men and women from misery for ever. As he pointed out, “One idea that I see clear as daylight is that misery is caused by ignorance and nothing else.”27 Spiritual freedom means the destruction of the very roots of ignorance and the attainment of everlasting peace.

Swamiji’s integral view

We have seen that, according to Swami Vivekananda, freedom is a characteristic attribute of life which manifests itself as an existential urge at the social, intellectual, moral, and spiritual levels of human existence. This urge has a negative aspect which is expressed as ‘freedom from’ and a positive aspect which is expressed as ‘freedom for’. It is usually the negative aspect of freedom that is stressed. We chafe at restrictions and struggle to go beyond our limitations. But what do we seek freedom for? To fulfil our needs. Man has a hierarchy of needs. At the social level we seek freedom to live, to work, to express, to worship, and so on. At the intellectual level we seek freedom to know, to feel, to think. At the moral level we seek freedom to lead a moral life. At the spiritual level we seek freedom to attain immortality and everlasting peace.

Can all these different types of freedom be unified into an integral quest, an all-inclusive ultimate purpose? One widely followed view, popularised by some of the modern psychologists, is that quest for happiness is the basic urge in man. It is, however, well known that no civilised person can remain satisfied with lower pleasures. Freedom must have a higher purpose.

Karl Marx regarded self-realisation as the basic urge in man. By self-realisation he meant

the expression of the inherent potentialities in man. He wanted to bring into existence a society where every individual would be free to express his creativity freely.

As the French philosopher Henri Bergson has pointed out, the paradox of freedom is that by the very exercise of freedom we lose it. A person who seeks freedom to fulfil all his desires and drives soon becomes a slave of them. In the words of Samuel Johnson, ‘The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt till they are too strong to be broken.’ This is true even of our intellectual life. We learn to think in a particular way and become imprisoned by our own thoughts.

Swami Vivekananda developed a holistic view of life which unifies all the different types of freedom into an integral quest and liberates man from all bonds at all levels of existence. The goal of life according to him is to manifest the potential divinity of the soul. Swamiji said, “My ideal, indeed, can be put into a few words, and that is: to preach unto mankind their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life.”28 When the social freedom, intellectual freedom, moral freedom and spiritual freedom that we seek become unified into a single evolutionary purpose, every second of human life becomes a meaningful and liberating experience.

In conclusion, we may state that Swami Vivekananda has made significant contributions to our understanding of different dimensions of human freedom at the individual and collective levels; he has given us an integral paradigm of liberating life; and he himself strove to extend the frontiers of human freedom.

For centuries to come there will echo in different parts of the civilized world the song of his soul, “Freedom, O freedom! Freedom, O freedom.” (Concluded.)

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Notes and References

17) The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda [hereafter 21) Complete Works. 7:235-36.

Complete Works]. 2:34. 22)For a study of Bhartriprapanca’s view, see M. 18)Ibid., 1:171 Hiriyanna, Indian Philosophical Studies Mysore: 19)Ibid., 8:43 Kavyalaya Publishers, 1957, pp. 79-94. 20)It may also be mentioned here that existentialist 23)For a critical examination of Appayya’s view see K.R. philosophers look upon freedom as a necessary Srinivasa Iyengar’s paper Sarva-mukti presented at a condition arising from man’s individuality. Freedom symposium of the Indian Philosophical Congress in means choice, and choice always means conflict. 1932.

Hence, freedom is not a state of happiness. As Sartre 24) Complete Works. 6: 273-74. has put it, “Man is condemned to be free.” Some 25)Ibid., 4:368. believing existentialists like Gabriel Marcel and 26)Ibid., 3:133.

Paul Tillich regard freedom as liberation from one’s 27)Ibid., 1:501. isolated individuality through participation in the 28)Ibid

Divine.

Lessons from Swamis

The Dec 2020 Special Issue of The Vedanta Kesari was on the topic ‘Lessons from Swamis’. New content on this topic is being serialised this year.

Swami Sukhadananda

Barada received his mantra-diksha from Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and joined the Ramakrishna Order at Habiganj Ashrama in 1932. Swami Virajanandaji gave him sannyasa-diksha in 1940. He served as the Head of Sargachhi Ashrama for over three decades from January 1943 to November, 1973. He was loved by all for his simple and austere sadhu life.

The guiding hand

In the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, we read (dated 26 Sept 1884): “Suppose a man has set out with a sincere desire to visit Jagannatha at Puri and by mistake has gone north instead of south; then certainly someone he meets on the way will tell him: ‘My good fellow, don’t go that way. Go to the south.’ And the man will reach Jagannath sooner or later.” I heard of an incident which exemplifies this statement of Sri Ramakrishna. This was told to me by Swami Anamayanandaji (Saroj Maharaj) who succeeded Sukhadananda Maharaj as the 4th Secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sargachhi.

In the Srihatta district of the erstwhile East Bengal, now Bangladesh, a young man called Barada had just got admitted to college. As good fortune would have it, he was already initiated by Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi. He heard that Holy Mother had come to Kolkata, and her health was very bad. Barada now had an intense desire to have her darshan. So he sold one of his new books and with whatever little money he got, he started for Kolkata. He knew that he had to alight at Sealdah railway station and then proceed to Mayer Bari (Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi’s residence) in Baghbazar. But he did not know whether he had to proceed in the northern or southern direction.

After alighting at Sealdah station, he started walking towards the south. After he had walked some distance, he unexpectedly came across an acquaintance who redirected him northwards and showed him the way to Mayer Bari. When he finally reached Mayer Bari, he was devastated to know that normal darshan of Holy Mother had been stopped. It was allowed only on special recommendation. Even as he stood there deeply disappointed, someone from upstairs called out, “If anyone has come here for darshan of Holy Mother, please come upstairs.” Barada happily went upstairs, had Mother’s darshan and also offered his pranams. When he came down, he saw a man creating a ruckus. Actually, that man had received permission for Holy Mother’s darshan but had just gone out when the attendant called out, and so missed his chance. When Barada had arrived, there were no other visitors, and he too had come for Mother’s darshan; and so as soon as he heard the call he had followed the attendant and met Mother!! Barada was so overwhelmed by Mother’s grace that he joined the Order and later came to be known as Swami Sukhadananda. He served as the Head of Sargachhi

Ashram for a long time. After retiring from active work Sukhadanandaji Maharaj continued to live in Sargachhi until his last breath in 1980. — Swami Devarajananda, Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math

The ego-less fight

Sri Ramakrishna says, “Pride and egotism stop you from attaining the Lord. A high mound cannot hold rainwater; the rainwater just flows down. Similarly, the shower of God’s grace doesn’t stay where there’s ego.”

In the early1970s, the standard of living was quite poor in Sargachhi Ashram. Food was ordinary. Daily breakfast consisted of watery curd, puffed rice and a little jaggery. It was followed by a cup of tea, and about the quality of tea, the lesser said the better.

One day, the tea was really awful. An old sadhu, about the same age as Swami Sukhadananda, the Secretary of the Ashrama, was unable to drink it. He poured it in a bowl and then poured water into it and exclaimed with irritation, “Is it tea? Is such tea fit for drinking?”

Hearing this, Sukhadanandaji blurted out, “Why don’t you supervise the cook, so that he prepares tea properly? You waste the whole day, roaming here and there, doing nothing.”

This old sadhu was Swami Nityayuktanandaji, popularly known as Bhaskar Maharaj. He was an initiated disciple of Swami Shivanandaji and had almost retired from active service. He was unable to carry out any work other than chopping a few vegetables in the morning. So, he said, “I can’t do all such things!” Then their exchange went like this:

Sukhadanandaji: Oh yes! How will you do this? Whole life you have done nothing worthwhile!

Bhaskar Maharaj: What do you do? You too don’t do anything.

Sukhadanandaji: I will drive you out.

Bhaskar Maharaj: I will expel you! And chase you out of your position as the Head!

Sukhadanandaji: Get out! Get lost!

Bhaskar Maharaj: You get out! [An explanation is required here. There are three levels of addressing people as ‘you’ in Bengali — ‘aapni’ denotes respect; people of the same level address each other as ‘tumi;’ and ‘tui’ denotes disrespect. The sadhus started speaking to each other using ‘aapni’ and as the altercation heated up, they shifted to addressing each other as ‘tumi’ and finally came down to ‘tui’.]

Fighting and shouting at each other, both the senior sadhus retired to their respective rooms in a huff. The other sadhus and brahmacharis were totally shocked and silently went back to their duties.

After 45 minutes, we saw from a distance, Sukhadanandaji walking towards Bhaskar Maharaj’s cottage. Sukhadanandaji then called the brahmachari on duty in the kitchen and instructed him to prepare two cups of proper tea and bring it to Bhaskar Maharaj’s room.

When Bhaskar Maharaj saw Sukhadanandaji coming, he stood up from his seat and most cordially invited him, “Come, come!” Sukhadanandaji called out, “Hello Bhaskar Maharaj! What are you doing?” [Now both of them addressed each other with the respectful ‘aapni’!]

Bhaskar Maharaj respectfully offered his chair to Sukhadanandaji. Tea came and both enjoyed the tea together. The bitterness of the fight was cleared within an hour. During lunchtime, both sat next to each other, as they normally did, and went for the evening walk together, as usual. It never seemed that such a fiasco had taken place in the morning! To us novitiates, it remained as a bright example of the ego-lessness of the sadhus! — Swami Devarajananda, Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math