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Vivekananda Way
ISSUE 43
In this issue, we cover the last part of the lecture Vedanta in its Application to Indian Life. Previously, we have covered this lecture in Issues 39, 41 and 42.
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focus in this issue: Vedanta in its Application to Indian Life - 4
In Part 4 of the lecture: What we want in India
In this part of the lecture Swami Vivekananda, 1. Examines the deeper causes of degradation of our nation and identifies three causes − (i) our physical weakness, (ii) our lack of faith in ourselves, and (iii) our "exclusivism". 2. Shows us that the answer to these challenges is the message of the Upanishads − i.e., developing strength (physical and mental); and recognizing the divinity in oneself, and acknowledging the divinity in others.
If foreigners need the message of the Upanishads, India needs it twenty times more
PART 1: WHAT WE NEED
Physical Strength
– According to Swami
Vivekananda, "in spite of the greatness of the Upanishads, in spite of our boasted ancestry of sages" we are weak, very weak as compared to other races. – He diagnoses the cause as physical weakness. The consequences of this physical weakness have been many, the most important being our inability to work hard, work together, work unselfishly, and learning to go beyond petty differences to work towards a common goal. continued. >>
First of all, our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards.
That is the state in which we are — hopelessly disorganised mobs, immensely selfish, fighting each other for centuries as to whether a certain mark is to be put on our forehead this way or that way, writing volumes and volumes upon such momentous questions as to whether the look of a man spoils my food or not! This we have been doing for the past few centuries. ... We speak of many things parrot-like, but never do them; speaking and not doing has become a habit with us. What is the cause of that? Physical weakness. This sort of weak brain is not able Designed & to do anything; we developed by
must strengthen it. ILLUMINE
Knowledge Resources
– Swami
Vivekananda's solution to this challenge is the development of physical strength − especially in our young people. He says that we must be strong first and religion can come afterwards.
Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita. These are bold words; but I have to say them, for I love you. ...You will understand the Gita better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger. You will understand the mighty genius and the mighty strength of Krishna better with a little of strong blood in you. You will understand the Upanishads better and the glory of the Atman when your body stands firm upon your feet, and you feel yourselves as men. Thus we have to apply these to our needs.
I do not mean to preach Advaitism, or Dvaitism, or any ism in the world. The only ism that we require now is this wonderful idea of the soul — its eternal might, its eternal strength, its eternal purity, and its eternal perfection.
Faith (Assert the divinity within)
– Swami Vivekananda helps us understand our own lack of faith in ourselves by comparing us with
Englishmen. He points our that
Englishmen (Westerners) believe that they are here to rule the world, and it is this belief that they are great and can do anything they wish to do that makes them great. This is despite the fact that they have a religion which teaches them that they are sinners. In fact, when they do catch India's ideals they are even able to come to India and teach
Indians their own religion, despite the ridicule of their own fellow countrymen.
In comparison, we Indians talk about reforms and ideals, but do not put anything into practice. The reason for this is weakness (physical and mental), and our lack of faith in ourselves. – According to Swami Vivekananda, the solution to uphold the Upanishads and affirm the divinity within ourselves. By continuously affirming our divinity, we will not only become strong, but we will be able to manifest our full potential as individuals.
Believe in the divinity within
Let me tell you, strength, strength is what we want. And the first step in getting strength is to uphold the Upanishads, and believe — "I am the Soul", "Me the sword cannot cut; nor weapons pierce; me the fire cannot burn; me the air cannot dry; I am the Omnipotent, I am the Omniscient." So repeat these blessed, saving words. Believe in yourself
Do not say we are weak; we can do anything and everything. What can we not do? Everything can be done by us; we all have the same glorious soul, let us believe in it.
.... And manifest your greatness
Have faith, as Nachiketâ. At the time of his father's sacrifice, faith came unto Nachiketâ; ay, I wish that faith would come to each of you; and every one of you would stand up a giant, a world-mover with a gigantic intellect — an infinite God in every respect. That is what I want you to become. This is the strength that you get from the Upanishads, this is the faith that you get from there.
I have the same God in me as you have in you. And that is what we want, no privilege for any one, equal chances for all
– According to Swami Vivekananda, the dominant idea for many centuries was that the
Upanishads was only relevant for the forest life of the recluse. [Although Shankara was a little kind and said that even grihasthas (householders) may study the Upanishads as it would do them good]. – However, Swami Vivekananda reminds us that the most authoritative commentary on the Vedas has been made by Krishna in the
Bhagvad Gita − and according to Krishna, it is clear that the Upanishads are meant not just for sanyasins but for everyone in every occupation of life. – Swami Vivekananda says that the conceptions of Vedanta must not be restricted to a forest or a cave, but must spread to every walk of life. – The Upanishads call to every man, woman, and child, whatever their occupation may be.
People from every occupation can live ideals of the Upanishads, even if it is to a small extent. – According to Swami Vivekananda, it is the nature of society to form itself into groups, but that should not mean that there should be privileges. – Swami Vivekananda is clear on the subject when he says that one person may be good at mending shoes, another may be clever at reading Vedas, or governing the country − but that does not give any one of these groups a reason to trample on another group. – Therefore, if you teach Vedanta, then each group is enabled to assert its essential divinity and demand the removal of privileges and further demand equal chances for all.
...conceptions of the Vedanta must come out, must remain not only in the forest, not only in the cave, but they must come out to work at the bar and the bench, in the pulpit, and in the cottage of the poor man, with the fishermen that are catching fish, and with the students that are studying. They call to every man, woman, and child whatever be their occupation, wherever they may be. ...Even the least thing well done brings marvellous results; therefore let every one do what little he can. If the fisherman thinks that he is the Spirit, he will be a better fisherman; if the student thinks he is the Spirit, he will be a better student. If the lawyer thinks that he is the Spirit, he will be a better lawyer, and so on ...I can perform one duty in social life, and you another; you can govern a country, and I can mend a pair of old shoes, but that is no reason why you are greater than I, for can you mend my shoes? Can I govern the country? I am clever in mending shoes, you are clever in reading Vedas, but that is no reason why you should trample on my head.
Each person, having been taught about the spirit within, will become better in whatever s/he does, and at the same time will recognize that no human being has special privileges over others.
farmer rich man
cobbler poor man
... let every one be taught that the divine is within, and every one will work out his own salvation
In his closing notes of this lecture, Swami Vivekananda lays out the implications of the divinity of every human being, on the way we serve:
Implication 1:
– Swami Vivekananda says that liberty is the first condition for growth. Therefore, it is fundamentally wrong for any individual to think that s/he will work out the salvation of others. – Every soul is the soul of God and therefore it would be wrong for us to assume that we know what is good for another soul.
– When you look upon each person as divine, you cannot help anyone you can only serve. By serving other human beings you are actually serving the Lord himself. The right attitude is to recognize that it is a privilege to be in a position of serving others. In fact, service should be done only as a worship of God in man. It is the greatest privilege of our life to be allowed to serve the Lord coming in the shape of the diseased, or the leper, the lunatic or the sinner. – We have to give up the idea of ruling over others and instead act as we would in the case of a plant, i.e. supplying the growing seed with materials for making up of its body, such as water, earth, and air. The plant will take all that it wants by its own nature and will assimilate and grow by its own nature.
Implication 2: Liberty is the first condition of growth. It is wrong, a thousand times wrong, if any of you dares to say, "I will work out the salvation of this woman or child."
Look upon every man, woman, and every one as God. You cannot help anyone, you can only serve: serve the children of the Lord, serve the Lord Himself
THE TASK AHEAD
Bring all light into the world. Light, bring light! Let light come unto every one; the task will not be finished till every one has reached the Lord. Bring light to the poor and bring more light to the rich, for they require it more than the poor. Bring light to the ignorant, and more light to the educated, for the vanities of the education of our time are tremendous! Thus bring light to all and leave the rest unto the Lord, for in the words of the same Lord "To work you have the right and not to the fruits thereof." "Let not your work produce results for you, and at the same time may you never be without work." A Benediction
May He who taught such grand ideas to our forefathers ages ago help us to get strength to carry into practice His commands!
Magic , Miracles and the Mystical Twelve
LAKSHMI DEVNATH
The Divine Bride
The Story of Aandal
(Continued from the previous issue. . .)
The loud crowing of a rooster awoke Poorva. She rolled out of bed and raced into the garden to look for the Swami. She had something new to tell him.
“There you are,” she remarked when she saw him, and added, “I can’t wait to tell you about the fantastic dream I had last night. The Lord appeared in Periaazhvaar’s dream and told him that henceforth He would prefer to wear those garlands that were worn by Kodhai.” Poorva wistfully added, “If this dream comes true, it’ll put an end to Periaazhvaar’s distress.”
The Swami laughed spiritedly, “Poorva, the dream within your dream was a real dream, in the sense that Periaazhvaar did have a dream last night, in which God conveyed to him exactly what you now told me. However, you may ask me, “How did you know about Periaazhvaar’s dream?”
Poorva looked at him dumbly. Registering only his last sentence – the rest of them were swimming in her head – she blankly repeated, “How did you know about Periaazhvaar’s dream?”
“Just happened to,” the Swami replied vaguely.
“Honestly, how did I dream about his dream?” Poorva was catching on now.
Poorva was out of his sight almost at once. She saw Periaazhvaar pick up the discarded garlands, place them in the basket and leave the house. He was muttering, “My daughter! She will indeed attain fame in the world as choodi kodutha chudar kodi and also
The author is a researcher and writer with various books and articles on Indian music and culture to her credit. lakshmidevnath@gmail.com Illustrator: Smt. Lalithaa Thyagarajan. lalithyagu@gmail.com
as Aandal.” Poorva wondered what these new words meant. She made a mental note to ask Swami Thaatha. Somehow, he seemed to know everything!
But as soon as she entered the garden, she saw the squirrel and started playing with it. She noticed that its injury had healed well. “I’m soooo … happy,” said Poorva, doing a little dance on the grass. The squirrel sat holding a nut between its forelegs, enjoying the entertainment.
“Brrrr …” A little shiver ran down Poorva’s spine. The weather was getting a little chilly. “Maybe you would like to wear this.” Poorva looked back to see the Swami holding out a shawl to her. “Tomorrow is the fifteenth of December – the first day of the Tamil month of Maargazhi. It is the coldest month of the year in our part of the country. Be careful or you might catch a cold,” cautioned the Swami and sneezed so loudly that the squirrel dropped the nut it was holding.
Poorva looked at the Swami and they both burst out laughing. Later, while sitting in the hut, it struck her that she had wanted to ask him something. Much to her irritation, she found that she could not recall it now. She soon gave up and began to stroke the squirrel, muttering, “You know what I’ve decided to call you? Curly.”
And chatting away with Curly, Poorva fell fast asleep. Her dreams were filled with visions of Kodhai, Periaazhvaar, and flower garlands.
Maargazhi thingal, madi niraindha nannaallaal …
The melodious voice dragged her out of sleep. Wide awake, she soaked the music in. And then, like the children who were mesmerized by the Pied Piper of Hamelin, she followed the notes of the song. It led her to the front of Periaazhvaar’s house. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the bewitching voice belonged to Kodhai.
Poorva looked admiringly at the exquisite kolam Kodhai was drawing on the ground with rice flour. Multi-talented – that’s what Kodhai is, she thought.
Curly, who had accompanied Poorva, darted across and nibbled at the kolam. Poorva carefully avoided a row of ants carrying away some of the flour. “Hmmm …” Poorva observed, “kolams do seem a beautiful way to give tiny creatures some food.”
She saw Kodhai, who was still singing, get up and walk out the gate. “Where is she off to this early in the morning?” Poorva asked Curly with curiosity. He looked at her blankly, and she decided to find out for herself.
Poorva followed Kodhai as she went from house to house. She was singing to awaken her friends and invite them to some function. Poorva noted that the song ended with the word empaavaay. Back in the garden, she wondered whether the girls were planning some kind of party.
Sharp pangs of hunger upset her mood. Looking at Curly, she grumbled, “You’ve had your breakfast. I’ve not.”
An appetizing aroma reached her. “Come in, Poorva. I have some delicious pongal for you,” called out the Swami.
Ten minutes and two full helpings later, Poorva opened her mouth once again – to speak. “Swami Thaatha …” she began.
“May I have the pleasure of guessing what you are about to say? You’re wondering why Aandal went from door to door singing and waking up all her friends. Last night, you wanted to ask me why Periaazhvaar called her ‘Aandal’ and ‘Choodi kodutha chudar kodi’. And now you’re curious as to why I also call Kodhai ‘Aandal’.”
As she heard the Swami rattle off her thoughts, an overwhelmed Poorva almost choked on the last bit of pongal. Swami Thaatha was simply great!
The Swami came to the point directly. “Aandal is preparing herself to be the Lord’s bride. I have a feeling that He is also waiting to be united with her. Aandal means ‘one who rules over the heart of the Lord’. Choodi kodutha chudar kodi means ‘a maiden shining like a golden creeper, who offered garlands after wearing them’. It is to achieve her aim of getting married to the Lord that she has undertaken to do a puja for the next thirty days. Do you know whose example she is following in this?”
Whose? gestured Poorva.
The Swami answered, “Of the gopis of yore in Gokulam. You must have read that they were very fond of Krishna and wanted to be with Him always. To this end, they undertook a fast for thirty days – the paavai nombu, it was called.
“Aandal is absolutely certain that only Vishnu is capable of granting everybody’s desires. Through the song that she sang this morning, she conveyed this message to her friends. Incidentally, she will compose one song for each of the thirty days of the puja. All the songs will end with the word empaavaay. It refers to their vow – the paavai nombu. This set of thirty songs will become very famous as the Thiruppaavai.”
Poorva tried to take in all that the Swami said. She asked, “Both father and daughter love Vishnu intensely, don’t they?”
“Yes, but with a difference. Periaazhvaar looks upon Him as his own child, while Aandal views Him as her husband.” He briskly added, “I suppose that is enough information for now. Go out and play with Curly and Chatter.” Poorva looked at him quizzically.
The Swami cheerfully said, “Inspired by you, I named him Chatter.” He pointed to a monkey perched on a tree close to the hut.
The monkey waved to her and Poorva rubbed her eyes to make sure she was not hallucinating. This trip was powered by magic – strange places and stranger incidents, familiar animals and unfamiliar behaviour …
Why fret, she smiled to herself, as long as they are all nice? (To be continued. . .)
Bhavanath Chattopadhyay
DR. RUCHIRA MITRA
यमेि्ष िृणुते तेन लभययः
It is attained by him alone whom It chooses (Kathopanishad. 1.2:23)
This is the fifteenth story in the series on devotees who had a role in the divine play of Bhagawan Sri Ramakrishna.
Once a beloved disciple of Sri Ramakrishna felt that he was losing ground in spiritual path as he was getting entangled in worldly life after marriage. He requested Sri Ramakrishna to remove his Maya. Sri Ramakrishna agreed and asked him to bring some food item on a Tuesday or a Saturday. Thus assured of deliverance by the grace of his guru, he arrived with sweets. Sri Ramakrishna took it eagerly with the intention of swallowing his Maya. But strangely, he could not take his hand to his mouth. He tried again and again, but failed. Unable to help his disciple, Sri Ramakrishna was in tears; he said, “Mother is not allowing me to do it.” Swami Saradananda explains this strange situation: in human mood the compassionate Master was eager to help people in the spiritual path; but when he ascended to the divine plane, he would find that the time had not come yet, or that it was not the will of the Divine Mother. This disappointed disciple was Bhavanath Chattopadhyay.
Bhavanath was born in 1863 in Baranagar near Dakshineswar. He was a fair and handsome teenager when he started visiting Sri Ramakrishna and received immense affection from him because of his simple, guileless nature.
Sri Ramakrishna used to tell the householder disciples, “Narendra, Bhavanath and Rakhal are my intimate disciples. They are not ordinary people. Serve them a meal one day.”1 “Feeding them is like feeding Narayana Himself. You will be greatly benefited if you feed them.”2 And again, “Rakhal, Narendra and Bhavanath are ever-perfect. They are spiritually awake from birth. They’ve assumed human bodies only to teach others.”3
Bhavanath consciously tried to renounce whatever he considered harmful for his spiritual progress. Once Narendranath (later Swami Vivekananda) informed Sri Ramakrishna: “Bhavanath has given up fish and betel-leaf.” Sri Ramakrishna then gently corrected Bhavanath: “Well, why is that? What’s wrong with fish and betel leaf? They’re not harmful. Giving up ‘lust and greed’ is the real renunciation.”4
In 1883 Bhavanath got married but initially his spiritual life was not hampered. He brought his wife to Sri Ramakrishna for blessings. Sri Ramakrishna assured him: “It’s enough if you develop love for an incarnation of God.”5 He cited Bhavanath’s example while teaching his disciples. “Bhavanath is married,
The author is a devotee and researcher on Ramakrishna-Vivekananda literature. Her doctoral thesis was on the life stories of Sri Ramakrishna. ruchiranewid@gmail.com
but he only talks of spiritual matters with his wife. Both of them pass their time talking about God. When I said to him, ‘Have fun with your wife,’ he spoke sharply in anger, ‘What! Shall we live a life of frivolity?’”6
Another day, seeing Bhavanath appear in ochre cloth, kamandalu in hand, Sri Ramakrishna commented with a smile, “This shows the state of his mind. That is why he is dressed this way.”7
When Sri Ramakrishna was in the state of Samadhi, he would experience intense pain if a person with an impure mind touched him. But Bhavanath was so pure that he would often hold Sri Ramakrishna during Samadhi to prevent him from losing balance. We read: “…the Master is still absorbed in ecstasy …. He says to Bhavanath, ‘Please feed me.’ He is still in an ecstatic mood and is unable to feed himself. Bhavanath feeds him.”8
But then, gradually worldly life caught hold of him and his visits to Sri Ramakrishna became irregular. We read Sri Ramakrishna saying, “Did you notice Bhavanath? He came to Shyampukur dressed as a bridegroom and asked me how I was doing. He never came again. I treat him kindly because of Narendra, but my mind is no longer attracted to him.”9 Nevertheless, Sri Ramakrishna was still concerned about Bhavanath, and advised him: “Be a brave man! Don’t be deceived by her crying behind the veil, weeping as she blows her nose! Keep your mind fixed on God. He is a brave man indeed who, while living with his wife, does not have physical relations with her. Talk only about spiritual matters with your wife.” He told Narendra, “Give him courage.”10
Bhavanath took two great initiatives, for which the Ramakrishna Order is indebted to him. Firstly, in October 1883, he brought Abinash Daan, a professional photographer from Baranagar to the Dakshineswar temple to take a photograph of Sri Ramakrishna. But refusing to be photographed Sri Ramakrishna just walked away. Finding Sri Ramakrishna seated on the veranda of the Radhakanta temple, Narendranath approached him and started discussing some spiritual matter. Sri Ramakrishna soon went into samadhi and taking that opportunity a photograph was taken. When after a few days, Bhavanath brought the print and showed it to Sri Ramakrishna, he commented, “This represents a high yogic state. This form will be worshipped in many homes in future.” This particular photo is now worshipped in the shrine of every Ramakrishna temple and in millions of homes across the world.11
Secondly, after Sri Ramakrishna’s mahasamadhi, it was Bhavanath who found a spacious house in Baranagar for the young would-be monastic disciples to stay together and continue their sadhana. It was a dilapidated, haunted house infested with serpents. So, the rent was affordable. Bhavanath and another boy cleaned the house and made it habitable. The young disciples under the leadership of Narendranath lived in this house for six years from Oct 1886. This house thus became the first Math, one of the holiest sites in the Ramakrishna Order.
In Sri Ramakrishna’s divine play, Bhavanath exemplifies a sad case of a sincere and spiritually evolved aspirant getting enmeshed in the play of Mahamaya; this despite being the recipient of the unlimited love and grace of the Incarnation. His life serves as a caution for all spiritual aspirants.
References: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna: 1) 22 October 1882 2) 11 March 1883 3) 25 February 1883 4) 7 April 1883 5) 22 December 1883 6) 7 March, 1885 7) 29 September, 1884 8) 22 February 1885 9) 23 December 1885 10) 22 April, 1886 11) Sri Ramakrishna As We Saw Him, p.468
