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Vivekananda Way
ISSUE 10 ISSUE 39
In this issue, we begin exploring Swami Vivekananda's second lecture in Madras. This is the first of a 2-part exploration of the lecture titled − Vedanta in its application to Indian life.
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focus in this issue: Vedanta in its application to Indian Life - 1
In this lecture, Swami Vivekananda dives deep into the essential source of Hinduism − which are the Upanishads. He exhorts us to return to this sublime source of Hinduism and recover its deepest and most glorious messages to humankind.
Why should modern Hindus rightfully call themselves Vedantists or Vaidikas?
Swami Vivekananda begins by examining the origins of the word Hindu, which is a common appellation of the race and religion.
Swami Vivekananda then points out that Hinduism is characterised by extraordinary variety and diversity, and the only point where there is agreement is belief in the scriptures, i.e. the Vedas. Therefore, designating ourselves around what we all agree upon may be more appropriate in modern times.
This word "Hindu" was the name that the ancient Persians used to apply to the river Sindhu. Now this word "Hindu" as applied to the inhabitants of the other side of the Indus, whatever might have been its meaning in ancient times has lost all its force in modern times; for all the people that live on this side of the Indus no longer belong to one religion. There are the Hindus proper, the Mohammedans, the Parsees, the Christians, the Buddhists, and Jains. The word "Hindu" in its literal sense ought to include all these; but as signifying the religion, it would not be proper to call all these Hindus.
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The only point where, perhaps, all our sects agree is that we all believe in the scriptures — the Vedas. This perhaps is certain that no man can have a right to be called a Hindu who does not admit the supreme authority of the Vedas.
All these Vedas, as you are aware, are divided into two portions — the Karma Kânda and the Jnâna Kânda. The Karma Kanda includes various sacrifices and ceremonials, of which the larger part has fallen into disuse in the present age. The Jnana Kanda, as embodying the spiritual teachings of the Vedas known as the Upanishads and the Vedanta, has always been cited as the highest authority by all our teachers, philosophers, and writers, whether dualist, or qualified monist, or monist.
3. In the Upanishads we find the germs of all subsequent development of religious thought
Swami Vivekananda clarifies that Vedantism or Vedanta must cover the whole ground of Indian religious life, and include not just dualism, qualified monism and Advaitism, but also parts of Buddhism and Jainism.
Swami Vivekananda also points out that upon severe analysis one would find that even the essence of Buddhism (including its ethics), and many of the good doctrines of Jainism are found in the Upanishads.
The word Vedanta must cover the whole ground of Indian religious life, and being part of the Vedas, by all acceptance it is the most ancient literature that we have...
...Advaitism is only one branch of the various philosophic systems that have been founded on the Upanishads. The followers of the Vishishtâdvaitic system have as much reverence for the Upanishads as the followers of the Advaita, and the Vishishtadvaitists claim as much authority for the Vedanta as the Advaitist. So do the dualists; so does every other sect in India...
...there is not one full-grown Indian ideal that cannot be traced back to the same source — the Upanishads. The distinction between Vedantism and Advaitism
The word Vedantist has become somewhat identified in the popular mind with the word Advaitist. This needs a little clarification. In India, along with the Vedas, we also have the Smritis and Puranas which aim to illustrate and elaborate upon the Vedas. The Vedas or Shrutis have more authority, and the Smritis and the Puranas, though more accessible, have less authority. According to Swami Vivekananda, different schools of thought give varying importance to the Shrutis and Smritis in their expositions. While the dualist sects gave too much importance to the latter, Shankara, the founder of the Advaitic school, relies predominantly on the Upanishads which are considered more authoritative. As a result, the Advaitists were considered Vedantists par excellence, leading to the common misconception that Vedanta is identified with Advaita.
According to Swami Vivekananda, there is not one full grown Indian ideal that cannot be traced back to the same source − the Upanishads. Many of the ideas, especially connected to Bhakti, are in the germ form in the Upanishads and are found fully developed in later times in the Puranas and other Smritis.
Certain ludicrous attempts have been made by persons without much Upanishadic scholarship to trace Bhakti to some foreign source; but as you know, these have all been proved to be failures, and all that you want of Bhakti is there, even in the Samhitas, not to speak of the Upanishads — it is there, worship and love and all the rest of it; only the ideals of Bhakti are becoming higher and higher.
Swami Vivekananda speaks about three sets of challenges that we face while understanding the Upanishads. These are elucidated below:
Challenge 1: The mixture of Vedantism and local culture
According to Swami Vivekananda, the Upanishads are the scriptures, but they have been differently explained and interpreted in subsequent Pauranika literature.
While it is true that the Upanishads have more authority than subsequent interpretations, it is found that much of the religious opinion and practice in India is 90% Pauranika and only 10% Vaidika.
The dominance of local interpretation over scriptures has resulted in tremendous confusion and contradiction. Furthermore, this has meant that most people cannot distinguish between Vedantism and their little local customs.
This has also meant that an ignorant villager, for example, cannot recognise that some of his customs do not have the sanction of the scriptures and that if he gave them up it would not hurt him at all, and may, in fact, make him a better human being.
And we all find the most contradictory usages prevailing in our midst and also religious opinions prevailing in our society which scarcely have any authority in the scriptures of the Hindus; and in many cases we read in books, and see with astonishment, customs of the country that neither have their authority in the Vedas nor in the Smritis or Puranas, but are simply local. And yet each ignorant villager thinks that if that little local custom dies out, he will no more remain a Hindu. In his mind Vedantism and these little local customs have been indissolubly identified. In reading the scriptures it is hard for him to understand that what he is doing has not the sanction of the scriptures, and that the giving up of them will not hurt him at all, but on the other hand will make him a better man
Challenge 2: The lost portions of our scriptures
We read in the Mahâbhâshya of Patanjali, that great philological work, that the Sâma-Veda had one thousand branches. Where are they all? Nobody knows. So with each of the Vedas; the major portion of these books have disappeared, and it is only the minor portion that remains to us. They were all taken charge of by particular families; and either these families died out, or were killed under foreign persecution, or somehow became extinct; and with them, that branch of the learning of the Vedas they took charge of became extinct also.
According to Swami Vivekananda, our scriptures have been very vast, but a large portion of them have been lost over time. For example, the major portion of the Vedas have disappeared, and only a minor portion remains to us.
The reason: The Vedas have several branches, each of which was taken up by particular families; and over the centuries these families became extinct due to foreign persecution and other reasons, leading to the dying out of that branch.
The loss of whole portions of the Vedas has meant that whenever some local beliefs are challenged, (and it is pointed out that the local custom is against the scriptures), the argument put forward is that this custom existed in some branch of the Shrutis which is now extinct.
As a result, it becomes very difficult to work through these various interpretations and discover the common plan or structure which has held our religion together for so long.
In the midst of all these varying methods of reading and commenting on our scriptures, it is very difficult indeed to find the thread that runs through all of them; for we become convinced at once that there must be some common ground underlying all these varying divisions and subdivisions. There must be harmony, a common plan, upon which all these little bits of buildings have been constructed, some basis common to this apparently hopeless mass of confusion which we call our religion. Otherwise it could not have stood so long, it could not have endured so long.
Challenge 3: Text torturing by commentators
Swami Vivekananda proposes a new way of accessing the scriptures
The Advaitic commentator, whenever an Advaitic text comes, preserves it just as it is; but the same commentator, as soon as a dualistic text presents itself, tortures it if he can, and brings the most queer meaning out of it. Sometimes the "Unborn" becomes a "goat", such are the wonderful changes effected. To suit the commentator, "Ajâ" the Unborn is explained as "Aja" a she-goat. In the same way, if not in a still worse fashion, the texts are handled by the dualistic commentator.
According to Swami Vivekananda, the other big difficulty we face is the text torturing by commentators. When an Advaitic commentator sees an Advaitic text, he preserves it just as it is. However, when presented with a dualist text, he will interpret it in the most odd manner until it supports his point of view. Similarly with a dualist commentator.
Why? The Sanskrit language is intricate, the Sanskrit of the Vedas is ancient, and the philology is so perfect that any amount of discussion can be carried out regarding the meaning of any one word. This creates further difficulties for us in understanding the Upanishads.
Swami Vivekananda says that the solution to this complicated challenge was provided by Sri Ramakrishna himself, who was at the same time a dualist, an Advaitist, a Bhakta, and a Jnani. It is he who showed Swami Vivekananda that the Upanishads and the texts of the scriptures can be understood from an independent and better basis rather than by blindly following the commentators.
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S CONCLUSION ... in my opinion and in my researches, I came to the conclusion that these texts are not at all contradictory. So we need have no fear of texttorturing at all! The texts are beautiful, ay, they are most wonderful; and they are not contradictory, but wonderfully harmonious, one idea leading up to the other. But the one fact I found is that in all the Upanishads, they begin with dualistic ideas, with worship and all that, and end with a grand flourish of Advaitic ideas. Lecture to be continued in the next issue
Magic , Miracles and the Mystical Twelve
LAKSHMI DEVNATH
Roles Reversed
The Story of Periaazhvaar
(Continued from the previous issue. . .)
Poorva was in the royal court and dressed for the occasion. “I feel absolutely rested … Did we halt anywhere for the night, or was there even a night at all?” she exclaimed, and then quickly checked herself as she saw the king take his seat. The scholars were escorted to their places with due honour.
The Swami was not around, and there was no one else she could talk to. Poorva observed the quaint clothes and head gear of the king’s staff and lazily set about counting the number of participants. The tally had risen to a hundred when Vishnuchitha walked in.
The king and Selva Nambi rushed to receive him. Ignoring the protests of several of those present in the gathering, the king accorded Vishnuchitha a place of honour.
“As a matter of fact, he considers himself unfit for this assembly. Poorva, this son of Mukunda Bhatta and Padmavalli Naacchiyaar is an incarnation of Garuda. And remember, Vishnu never lets down His devotees,” the Swami declared confidently. “I’ll let you in on a secret.” The Swami’s voice dropped to a whisper and Poorva wondered why. Should she remind him that they could not be heard?
The Swami said, “Late last night, Lord Vishnu appeared in Vishnuchitha’s dream and asked him to participate in the debate. But Vishnuchitha declined, saying that he was not capable of taking on great scholars. Only when he was assured of the Lord’s firm support did Vishnuchitha agree. Thereafter, Vishnu appeared in the dreams of Selva Nambi too and
ensured that His devotee would be accorded a reception befitting the most learned of scholars.” “How do you know all this?” “Last night, I was taking a stroll in the garden when I heard Vishnuchitha’s voice. Moving closer, I saw him pacing up and down, loudly recalling this dream over and over again. Obviously, he was overwhelmed by the Lord’s grace.” The Swami’s explanation was so matter-of-fact that Poorva, always expecting miracles and mysteries, felt thoroughly disappointed.
A clamour of voices attracted Poorva’s attention. The debate had begun. It was energetic and, at times, even heated. The scholars got up, one by one, to voice their views. At the end of it all, Vishnuchitha rose. He closed his eyes, meditated upon the Lord, and then began to speak. Words flowed in torrents. His quotations from the Vedas, Upanishads and other shaasthras left people gaping open-mouthed. Through reasoning backed by scriptural authority, he established the undeniable supremacy of Lord Narayana. He concluded by asserting that one should pray to Him in this birth so that one’s afterlife would be taken care of. When he finished, the hall echoed with applause. The king was moved to tears. The bag of gold coins fell of its own accord into Vishnuchitha’s hands!
Poorva’s eyes widened. “What wonderful things happen through mere devotion to Vishnu!” She felt the swish of silk. It was the king’s cloak that had brushed against her as he walked towards Vishnuchitha.
“I’m sure you have guessed by now that you’re in the presence of an Aazhvaar,” whispered the Swami, trailing her.
She looked at him. No way was she going to admit that she had not. “Sure,” she shrugged.
The king bowed before the Aazhvaar and said, “I shall remain eternally grateful to you for clearing my doubts. Permit me to adorn you with the title of ‘Pattarpiraan’.”
“Thanks,” said Poorva, turning around.
She could not spot Swami Thaatha, and there was no time to investigate, for everybody was hurrying towards the doorway. Poorva joined them, and in a matter of minutes, they had arrived at a temple. From the conversations of her neighbours, she
realized that it was the Koodal Azhagar temple. A man was explaining to a little boy perched on his shoulders: “Madurai is also called Koodal, and Azhagar means the ‘beautiful one’.”
Poorva craned her neck forward to see for herself the deity that had inspired such a beautiful description! It was then that she noticed the presence of the king and the Aazhvaar. The king invited the Aazhvaar to take his place on a decorated seat atop an elephant. The huge animal bent its knees to help the Aazhvaar mount it. As the creature heaved itself up, the air was filled with cries of, “Long live Pattarpiraan! Long live Vishnuchitha! Long live Pandya Maharaja!”
The elephant strode majestically forward, as if proud of carrying the Aazhvaar. The procession went through several streets. Vishnuchitha appeared deeply embarrassed at the honours being heaped upon him. Poorva saw him glance up at the skies, and the next moment, his face changed colour. His hands shook as he grabbed the bells tied around the elephant’s neck. Ringing them furiously and overcome with emotion, the Aazhvaar started singing: “Pallaandu pallaandu pallaayirathaandu …”
This verse sounds familiar – wonder where I’ve heard it? Of course, this is what Appa recites every morning! Several thoughts like these cropped up in Poorva’s mind. She caught sight of the Swami. His palms were joined together and he was lost in meditation. Instinctively, she looked up at the limitless skies and prayed.
The Aazhvaar’s soulful voice moved her. She focused on his verses as they came, one after another – twelve in all. She observed that while the first verse began with the word pallaandu, the rest ended with it. Was it possible that she had heard Selva Nambi’s name in one of the songs? She decided to get her doubts clarified by Swami Thaatha.
The Aazhvaar alighted from the elephant, and the king bid him a fond and tearful farewell.
“Poorva, let’s go back to Srivilliputhur now,” said Swami Thaatha.
“Thaatha, why do you keep disappearing?”
“So that you don’t get bored with my company,” replied the Swami in jest.
They took the road to Srivilliputhur. Poorva could not wait to ask her questions. “Swami Thaatha, what did the Aazhvaar see in the skies?”
“How come I never saw anyone?”
“I have a feeling you did.” Poorva recalled the sublime look on the Swami’s face.
The Swami ignored the comment. “When the Aazhvaar saw the Lord, he was struck by His beauty. Such was the wonderful sight that he feared someone might cast an evil eye on the Divine Form. He spontaneously burst into songs that blessed the Lord. The word
pallaandu means ‘many years’, and all the verses carry the general benediction: ‘May You live long, may You live for a hundred thousand years …’”
“No doubt. But so deep is this Aazhvaar’s love for Vishnu that for a moment he forgot that the Supreme needed no benediction. He became a concerned parent who feared that something might happen to his beautiful child and so blessed Him with longevity.
Not content with that, he sang pallaandu for Goddess Mahalakshmi, for Vishnu’s discus, for His conch, and so on. And you were right about hearing Selva Nambi’s name. The Aazhvaar sang: ‘Like the faultless Kottiyur Selva Nambi, I too am an old, faithful servant of yours …’”
The Swami paused so that he could have Poorva’s undivided attention. As she looked up at him, he said in a soft, measured tone, “Because Vishnuchitha took on the role of an elder who could bless the Supreme Lord Himself, he has come to be known as ‘Periaazhvaar’ – the eldest of the Aazhvaars.”
A mole poked its head out from its tunnel and immediately pulled it back. Poorva walked on, wondering what it would be like to live in a dark, dingy hole underground. The prospect did not seem very exciting. She shook off these thoughts hurriedly and asked, “I don’t understand. Why did Periaazhvaar have to repeat pallaandu so many times?”
This unrelated question surprised Poorva. She answered, “Obviously, till I stop feeling thirsty.”
“Convincing,” murmured Poorva, and the Swami silently thanked Periyavaachaan Pillai, the emperor amongst commentators, whom he had just quoted.
The two walked on. The whistling of the wind and the crackling of dry leaves under their feet was all that could be heard. (To be continued. . .)
Akshay Kumar Sen
DR. RUCHIRA MITRA This is the eleventh story in the series on devotees who had a role in the divine play of Bhagawan Sri Ramakrishna.
यमेवैष वृणुते तेन लभयरः
It is attained by him alone whom It chooses (Kathopanishad.
1.2:23)
Apoor devotee of Krishna came to Calcutta in search of a job and was employed as a home tutor in the affluent Tagore family. He used to do spiritual practices on the bank of the Ganga at night; but not being able to make any spiritual progress, he became restless in his search for a Guru. Once, he overheard some devotees conversing about a Paramahamsa. When he wanted to know more about him, they rudely brushed him aside. But the devotee determined to know more about the Paramahamsa. One day, he came to know that those devotees were going to a festival at a house where the Paramahamsa would also be coming. His heart pounding in expectation, he ran to them, held their feet with both his hands and pleaded, “Please allow me to accompany you!” Seeing his sincerity and humility, they relented; and this man, Akshay Kumar Sen, got the opportunity to meet the Paramahamsa — Sri Ramakrishna. It was 1885. Akshay was born in 1854 in Maynapur, a village in the Bankura district of Bengal to Haladhar Sen and Bidhumukhi Devi. Because of their extreme poverty Akshay was brought up in the backward village and educated in a rural school. On this first visit, Akshay noticed that Sri Ramakrishna cast a glance at him and smiled a little. He witnessed Sri Ramakrishna singing and dancing in a God-intoxicated state. Akshay forgot his body and surroundings, and felt as though he were in heaven, being carried away on a current of bliss. Vijaykrishna Goswami1 , who also was dancing, suddenly pointed to Sri Ramakrishna and exclaimed, “This is our Krishna!” These words were a revelation to Akshay — that Sri Ramakrishna was none other than Krishna for whom he had been yearning for long. On his way back, he accompanied Ramchandra Dutta2, who told him many wonderful things about Sri Ramakrishna.
He started visiting Sri Ramakrishna in Dakshineswar; and now began a period of great trial, during which he felt that Sri Ramakrishna ignored him. Sri Ramakrishna did not allow him to touch his feet, telling him, “First be pure”, which greatly hurt him. But he kept coming back to Sri Ramakrishna with patience and devotion. He wrote, “I used to think how it would be when the Master, out of mercy, touched my chest. Many days passed, but he did not fulfil my desire. I used to go to him with great hope, and return home with tearful eyes and disappointment.”
On 1 January 1886, Sri Ramakrishna showered blessings on his householder
disciples. Akshay recalls what happened to him: “Two beautiful champa flowers were in my hands. I was standing some distance away. From there he addressed me, ‘Hello, what are you doing?’ He then came near, touched my chest with his hand and recited something in my ear which, being a mahamantra, I shall keep secret. What did I see and what did I hear? I shall only say that my heart’s desire was fulfilled that day and I only wish to pass the rest of my days in singing the glory of Sri Ramakrishna.” At that moment he was overwhelmed by an intense spiritual ecstasy; unable tocontain this divine joy, he fell on the ground with his limbs twisted!
Mention must be made on his ugly appearance! He was pitch dark, thin and short! Hence, Vivekananda endearingly gave him the nickname ‘Shakchunni Master’ (ugly female ghost + tutor); and he became known by this name among the devotees. Akshay too enjoyed this nickname because he knew that Vivekananda used to give strange nicknames to the devotees whom he dearly loved!
After Sri Ramakrishna’s mahasamadhi, Akshay spent his days in his recollection. Though he suffered from poverty and other family problems, he would find great joy in worshipping Sri Ramakrishna’s photograph with flowers and singing his glory to the accompaniment of a one-stringed instrument. In 1887, he started writing Sri Ramakrishna’s life in the form of a long narrative poem in typical Bengali ‘kathakata’ style and named it Sri Sri Ramakrishna Punthi. He sent a copy toSwami Vivekananda. With almost ecstatic joy, Swamiji wrote from America to Swami Ramakrishnananda3, “Give Akshay a hundred thousand hearty embraces from me. Through his pen Sri Ramakrishna is manifesting himself. Blessed is Akshay....I do not find a single irrelevant word in it. I cannot tell in words the joy I have experienced by reading his book. ...Dear, dear Akshay I bless you with all my heart, my dear brother. May the Lord sit on your tongue... Akshay is the future apostle for the masses of Bengal. Take great care of Akshay, his faith and devotion have borne fruit.” Punthi has been translated into English prose under the title A Portrait of Sri Ramakrishna. Punthi is a complementary work to two other authoritative volumes on Sri Ramakrishna, the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by M., and Sri Ramakrishna the Great Master by Swami Saradananda. Akshay also wrote Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Ramakrishna Mahima (The Glory of Sri Ramakrishna). These books have given Akshay an everlasting place in the Ramakrishna Movement.
Akshay travelled to Kamarpukur, the birthplace of Sri Ramakrishna, and met Holy MotherSarada Devi. She invited the villagers who knew Sri Ramakrishna closely from childhood, to listen to Akshay reading his book. Holy Mother appreciated his rendering of Punthi and blessed him whole-heartedly, but prophesied that Akshay would have to suffer in old age. He remained poor and died of blooddysenteryin 1923. At the end, he uttered “I see the Master and Mother” and his face glowed!
Such is the story of a poor, ugly and barely educated villager who turned the table on Fate by his intense longing for God, and attained immortality! A man with little education and no literary skills, was able to compose works of great literary merit awakening deep devotion for God. Akshay is a living example of the dictum that by God’s grace, the dumb becomes eloquent and the lame scales the mountain.
Notes: 1) Brahmo leader, who later became a religious preceptor and had many disciples; belonged to the family of Advaita Goswami, Sri Chaitanya’s companion. 2) Sri Ramakrishna’s foremost householder disciple, who established Yogodyan, the first temple of Sri Ramakrishna and wrote books on him. 3) Sashi Maharaj — Swami Vivekananda’s monastic brother.
