Editorial

The Task Before Us

Today, there is a growing fear that Sanatana Dharma is under threat; that it is being defamed, distorted, and weakened. Some of our ancient customs and beliefs are being swept away under the hammer blows of different forces — forces of social justice, of malice, and of ignorance. There are people clamouring to change ancient temple customs; some are out to discover the caste of Hindu gods; some are crying hoarse that Hinduism has become intolerant of other faiths; some indulge in all kinds of deceptions to wean Hindus away from their faith; and some regard animals as more sacred than fellow human beings! In short, the religion that enshrines eternal, universal truths seems to be losing its fire.

In his first write-up for Udbodhana, the Bengali monthly of the Ramakrishna Order, Swami Vivekananda makes an interesting observation. Pointing out to the fast paced changes in sentiments, manners, customs and morals that the British Raj enforced upon the Hindu society, Swamiji writes: ‘Slowly and slowly, by the strong dint of law, many of our most cherished customs are falling off day by day — we have no power to withstand that. And why is there no power? Is truth really powerless? “Truth alone conquers and not falsehood.” — Is this Divine Vedic saying false? Or who knows but that, those very customs which are being swept away by the deluge of the power of Western sovereignty or of Western education were not real acharas, but were anacharas after all.’ How are acharas corrupted? A parable explains this. Once a man was performing the shraddha ceremony of his father. He was assisted by his two young sons. When they sat for worship with eyes closed, their pet cat ate the naivedya before it could be offered. The man arranged for new naivedya and also put the cat in a corner and covered it with a wicker basket. The cat was let out after the worship. The next year, before the worship began, the cat was confined to the same corner with the basket over it. This practice continued for many years. One day the man himself passed away. Now his two grown-up sons got ready to perform his shraddha ceremony. Just when the worship was about to begin, the elder brother exclaimed, ‘My God! We have forgotten an important ritual of our sacred tradition!’ ‘What is it?’ asked the younger brother anxiously. ‘Don’t you remember, how at every shraddha ceremony our father would keep a cat in that corner covered with a wicker basket?’ replied the elder brother. As the pet cat too had died by then, the younger brother rushed to the market and purchased a new wicker basket and a new cat in the name of the dear departed father. The worship began with a cat once again kept in the same corner covered in a basket! A ‘sacred’ tradition had been safeguarded!! The sooner such cat-basket customs are weeded out from our faith, the better for us. But what if we in ignorance discard the very fundamentals of our religion, like throwing the baby out with the bathwater?

To avoid this danger, the first thing we have to do is to learn to distinguish between the essentials and the nonessentials of Sanata Dharma. The essentials are eternal and based upon the immortal nature of man, and are

as recorded in the Vedas, the Upanishads. Everything else are non-essentials, are customs which have value only for a certain time; and as Swami Vivekananda points out, if after a time they are not replaced by something essential, they become positively dangerous. Swamiji reassures us, ‘This you have always to remember that because a little social custom is going to be changed you are not going to lose your religion, not at all.’ Again, he says, ‘Whatever is weak and corrupt is liable to die — what are we to do with it? If it goes, let it go, what harm does it do to us? What is strong and invigorating is immortal. Who can destroy that?’

The point is that we should have a firm grip on the immortal fundamentals of Sanatana Dharma. This is not just for our sake, but for the good of the world. Swamiji never tired of telling us that the mission of modern India is ‘to conserve, to preserve, to accumulate, as it were, into a dynamo, all the spiritual energy of the race,’ and then pour forth that concentrated energy in a deluge upon humanity to help it ‘to realise its own true, divine nature.’

The next thing is to be proud of our spiritual heritage. In his reply to the welcome at the World’s Parliament of Religions, in Chicago on 11 September 1893, Swamiji repeatedly professed his pride in being a Hindu. Then, right from his first public address on returning to India in 1897, he reminded Hindus that they were inheritors of ‘the most wonderful, convincing, broadening, and ennobling ideas found only in’ Vedanta. He declared that India still survived as a nation because it held on to God, ‘to the treasure-house of religion and spirituality.’ Therefore, he said, we should keep religion as the backbone of our national life.

Unfortunately, most of the educated Hindus are today drowned in self-preservation with all their energies and time spent in earning a livelihood and then indulging in recreations. In the name of secularism, or just plain laziness we have failed to assimilate our cultural and spiritual knowledge into the mainstream education system. We have forgotten Swami Vivekananda’s advice that, ‘The secret of a true Hindu’s character lies in the subordination of his knowledge of European sciences and learning, of his wealth, position, and name to that one principal theme which is inborn in every Hindu child – the spirituality and purity of the race.’

Even our children are pushed into the whirlpool of competition without giving them a real opportunity to imbibe the fundamentals of our culture and spirituality. Parents and educators should give ear to Sister Nivedita who declares that the development of the child is for the good, not of himself, but of jana-deshadharma. She writes: ‘Why are you going to school?’ says the mother to her little one, at the moment of parting. And the child answers, in some form or other, growing clearer and more eager with growing age and knowledge, ‘That I may learn to be a man, and help!’ There is no fear of weakness and selfishness for one whose whole training has been formed round this nucleus. This, the desire to serve, the longing to better conditions, to advance our fellows, to lift the whole, is the real religion of the present day. Everything else is doctrine, opinion, theory. Here is the fire of faith and action. Each day should begin with some conscious act of reference to it. A moment of silence, a hymn, a prayer, a salutation, any of these is ritual sufficient.’

These then are the sacred tasks that every Hindu has to take up today: understand the fundamental universal teachings of Vedanta; strive utmost to live up to them; and then with a missionary zeal take these life-giving truths to the ‘homes of the poorest and the lowest, as well as of the richest and the highest.’ If this is done, no power on earth or heaven can harm Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Religion.

Reminiscences of Sargachhi

SWAMI SUHITANANDA

Conversations with Swami Premeshananda (1884-1967) a disciple of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi.

35

(Continued from prvious issue. . .)

9.9.60

Maharaj: Can you tell me your identity when you were just a foetus? Were you then a Hindu or a Muslim, a Bengali or a Bihari? You then had only one reality – your ‘I’ consciousness. This is what is known as awareness or consciousness.

Wherever you stay, you have to abide by the rules and customs of that place. Some sadhus have been living in Kashi for twenty years, yet they have not learnt Hindi. But the Christian missionaries learn the Santhali language and teach the Santhals. When a sadhu is posted to Kanpur, he must become a fullfledged Kanpuri. Only then he can be called a real sadhu.

A sadhu has to remain extremely alert. I have seen sadhus for whom only two things are important – pranam and pranami (receiving the devotees’ salutations and receiving their offerings). You can’t imagine how low some sadhus stoop in the name of performing duties! Do you remember those verses composed by Sridhara Swami? Recite them –प्रमािदनो बहिश्र्चित्ताःपिशुनाः कलहोत्सुकः सन्यासिनोऽपि द्दश्यन्ते देवसन् दू षिताशयाः। अव्रता वटवोऽशौचा भिक्षवश्र्च कु टुम्बिनः। तपस्विनो ग्रामवासी न्यासिनोऽत्यर्थलोलुपाः।।

‘One comes across sannyasis whose minds are outwardly oriented, whose thoughts are polluted by fate, and who are careless, malicious, and quarrelsome. There are also fellows who embrace the life of renunciation but don’t follow their vows, who are unclean, beggarly, and live family lives, who perform austerities living in villages and are greedy for money.’

10.9.60

Question: Is it the sannyasi’s job to reform society?

Maharaj: Not at all. However, a sannyasi has to keep watch from a distance and ensure that such tasks are carried out properly. He has to train suitable workers, assign them the responsibility of carrying out such work and then observe whether or not it is done properly.

In our country as yet we do not have capable leaders. Those whom you see belong to the class of ordinary workers. They want to do all the work by themselves. For example, suppose a worker has the responsibility of tilling the land and he is cultivating eggplants. The owner comes and plants two cucumber saplings, just to show that the land is under his management! He doesn’t care whether his act will improve or damage the land. Our leaders today are like that owner. A true leader keeps himself in the background and monitors from there the work done by others. Whenever anyone is in difficulty, the leader steps in, sets it right, and then withdraws. The

person entrusted with the task then continues to manage the work. The leader has to totally forget his ego and be one with the team members.

All activities should be performed as a unit. Suppose you worship the Lord in the shrine and by chance you are delayed. It doesn’t matter; I will go and quickly finish the worship. On another occasion you come forward to help me in my work. Onlookers will see that all are engaged in one single task. However, such a mode of work is possible only when four or five persons are involved. If there are many people, this method may be disruptive. Our sadhus are university-degree holders. Truly, they are good sadhus. They don’t have any dearth of renunciation, austerity, knowledge, or devotion. But they are unable to work together in a group through mutual consultation. Leaders cannot be made – leaders are born.

Can training be imparted through books alone? Participating in games and mixing with others in work is the right kind of education. After visiting Oxford, somebody said, ‘When do they study here? There are only competitions, sports and games, functions, dining together, and such things!’ Proper education happens when both the sensory nerves and the motor nerves function equally well.

11.9.60

Question: What if we receive blows for sticking to the path of truth?

Maharaj: This is the very reason that you have embraced sannyasa. You have joined the Order to live by high ideals. If you remain on the path of truth, nobody can harm you. You are bound to win in the end. The man who drubs you with shoes now, will perhaps later worship you and after five years even take the dust of your feet! I have seen such things with my own eyes.

Young monastics of our Order come here just to visit. Well, why shouldn’t they? This is a brotherhood. All aspire to the same goal. Just see all the places they come from–Saradapeeth, Narendrapur, and even from far-off Madras, Madhya Pradesh, and Bombay. Here is an old man in a remote area – who holds no position, nor wields any power – yet why do they come to him? This is because love is the life of this Order. It has so happened that a young man comes here because there is nobody to sympathise with him; no one has time to look after the newly joined novitiates. I truly love people; there is not a whit of hypocrisy in this. This is the true test: whether you are moving towards God, and whether you can love all living beings सर्वभूतस्थमात् मानं… [he beholds] the Self in all beings’ (Gita 6:29). Besides, we don’t have a wife, sons, property, or land; all we have is a little love. So, whoever comes to us, we can only give them a little love. Swamiji said that Sri Ramakrishna is ‘L-O-V-E personified’.

Indeed, we went to Sri Ramakrishna’s monastic disciples and found the same love in them. How sweet were their words! You can bind others with love. No relationship lasts unless it is based on culture. We can build a relation frivolously, but it lasts only a few days.

Question: What should we do if there is an inimical environment in the ashrama?

Maharaj: Even if the environment in an ashrama is bad, you should not put it in difficulties by leaving it. You should pray to Sri Ramakrishna day and night and watch out for an opportunity to leave it. Run away post-haste as soon as you get such an opportunity. If the new place you go to is also bad, then again seek the opportunity to leave.

Beware! Never get into a conflict. It will disturb your mind. You should not be obstinate in your dealings with those who hold power. I hope you recall Sri Ramakrishna’s instructions in this matter. (To be continued. . .)

Sri Ramakrishna Math (A Branch of Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math) Puranattukara P.O., Thrissur-680 551, Kerala. Phone Office: 0487-2307719; 082817 82193; 095261 72929 E-mail: thrissur@rkmm.org; thrissur.publication@rkmm.org Web.: www.rkmthrissur.org

Appeal for Financial Help for Constructing ‘Publication & Research Centre’

at Sri Ramakrishna Math, Thrissur, Kerala. Namaste. ‘Sri Ramakrishna Math’ situated at Puranattukara near Thrissur city in Kerala is a branch of ‘Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission’. Established as early as 1927 with a Gurukulam (hostel) for educating the poor Harijan children of the locality, this branch of the Ramakrishna Movement has since been tirelessly serving the society in a number of areas including value education, healthcare, propagation of Dharma, publication of Vedantic texts and spiritual ministration. The Publication Dept. of this Math has published 300-odd books. By its unique service of decades, this Publishing House has contributed to the material and spiritual progress of the society. Although it has developed over the years, its infrastructure has not developed in line with the increase in the volume of work and the Dept. now works under spatial constraints. It is under these circumstances that we plan to build a 4-storeyed ‘Publication and Research Centre’, estimated to cost Rs. 6 crores. The new building will house the Publication Godown, Despatch Office, Publications Office (Books Section), Prabuddhakeralam Magazine Office, Public Library, Research Section, Living Rooms for Monks and Guests etc. So, we request our devotees and well-wishers to make generous contributions to realize this unique project. I am fully sure that this project will contribute greatly to the welfare of society for decades to come. We will be greatly thankful to you if you could contribute even partially. Your donations may be sent as DD/Cheque in the name of ‘Sri Ramakrishna Math’ or transferred to our bank account: A/c Name: SRI RAMAKRISHNA MATH; SB A/c Number: 6711843752; Bank Name: Kotak Mahindra Bank; Branch Name: Thrissur; IFS Code: KKBK0000596. All donations are exempt from income tax under section 80-G of the I.T. Act. Thanking you in anticipation, Yours sincerely and affectionately,

Swami Sadbhavananda Adhyaksha

Sri Ramakrishna Ashram, Nettayam (A Branch Centre of Ramakrishna Math, belur Math, W.B.

Sasthamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram - 695 010 Phone: 0471 - 2722125, 2722453, 2727607, 2726603, 2727393 Email: thiruvananthapuram@rkmm.org Dear Devotees, Please accept our greetings and best wishes. The temple at Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Nettayam, Thiruvananthapuram was constructed between 1916 and 1924. Revered Swami Brahmanandaji Maharaj, the spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna, and the first President of Ramakrishna Math, laid the foundation stone of this Ashrama in 1916 and Revered Swami Nirmalanandaji Maharaj consecrated it in 1924. Revered Swami Vijnananandaji Maharaj, another direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna visited this Ashrama and had a vision of Sri Ramakrishna in the shrine. The Ashrama is located on a hilltop at Nettayam in Trivandrum. This hundred-year-old Ashrama is an ideal place for worship, japa and meditation and is an inspiration for sincere spiritual aspirants. Many senior monks of Ramakrishna Math have stayed and did tapasya here. Devotees visiting this serene, calm and holy place experience its spiritual current. Due to ageing, this important shrine is in a dilapidated condition and often leaks at several places during monsoon. As such, a thorough revamping of the roof and other parts of the structure including the rubble construction has to be done immediately to preserve it for posterity. The repair & renovation project will cover civil, electrical and structural work. It is estimated to cost rupees 52 lakhs. The Ashrama has to mobilize this amount immediately for completing this noble work as early as possible so that the next all Kerala Sri Ramakrishna Devotees’ Conference in May, 2019 can be held in the renovated Ashrama. We earnestly request you to donate generously for this holy endeavor and be blessed by Sri Ramakrishna. Praying for the blessings of the Holy Trio, Yours in Sri Ramakrishna, 5 th December, 2018 Swami Mokshavratananda, Adhyaksha. Donations may be sent in favor of “Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Thiruvananthapuram” in the above address or deposited in any of the following bank accounts directly with an sms to (mob)8289916882. Savings a/c Name & No. 1. State Bank: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama Charitable Hospital 30549599482 IFSC:SBIN0004685 Jawaharnagar Branch 2. Syndicate Bank: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama Charitable Hospital 40182200003630

IFSC:SYNB0004018 Sasthamangalam Branch 3. Canara Bank: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama Charitable Hospital 0821101007005 IFSC:CNRB 0000821 Sasthamangalam Branch 4. FCRA a/c: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama Charitable Hospital 0821101008404 SWIFT Code:CNRBINBBTDC

Sri Ramakrishna Advaita Ashrama

Ashramam Road, Kalady Dist: Ernakulam-683574, Kerala Email: kalady@rkmm.org Ph: 0484-2462345/2461071 An appeal to Devotees and Well-wishers Kalady is the Birthplace of ADI SHANKARA, a great spiritual leader, and founder of Advaita School of Vedanta. This Ashrama is situated on banks of river Purna. Centre began in the year 1936 and further affiliated to Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math in 1941. Swami Agamananda, a disciple of Swami Brahamananda is the founder President of this Centre. From the inception, this Ashrama is an important hub of activity for Spirituality, Social reformation and Welfare Service in Kerala. We are rendering tirelessly invaluable service to the people in the field of Welfare and Education from past 77 years. Ashrama is conducting multifarious social activities through Educational institutes, Hostel, Community Centre, Computer and Typewriting training centres. Ashrama has a Universal Temple, Auditoriums and School with play grounds for day scholars from Kindergarten to +2 supported with School Buses & School Libraries. Since 1966 Ashrama is running Gurukulam (Hostel) for Boys for both Schedule Tribes and general section. A Computer and Typewriting training centre for Schedule Castes which helps them for seeking Government and Private Company jobs. It has a sub-centre at Muvattupuzha. Ashrama depends largely on the contributions from devotees and well wishers like you for sustaining the above activities. Often our financial resources dries up quickly owing to meagre regular donations, insufficient corpus funds and spiraling cost of living. Hence we humbly appeal to our devotees to contribute as well as to inspire friends and relatives to participate in the noble cause for the services mentioned below.

Sl No. Activity Annual expenses 1. General - Sri Ramakrishna Puja, Jayanti Celebrations, Ashrama establishments, Nitya Annadanam & Sadhu Seva. 25 Lakhs 2 Education – School establishment expenses, Building maintenance, Upgradation and modernization of School activities. Commute facilities maintenance etc. 10 Lakhs 3 Welfare & Social Services – Sri Ramakrishna Gurukulam (Hostel) building Maintenance. Schedule Tribe Welfare, Schedule Caste Skill TrainingComputer Training, Typewriting etc. Poor and widow pecuniary aid. 15 Lakhs 4. Purchase of new Generator - For the stand-by electricity supply to Temple, Office, Gurukulam Hostel, Monks Quarters and Guest House. 6 Lakhs

You may send your kind contributions by Cheque/DD/ (In the name of “Sri Ramakrishna Advaita Ashrama”). For Electronic transfer (Canara Bank, Kalady, IFSC Code: CNRB0002921, Savings Bank Account Number: 2921101005444). Please send an E-mail after sending donations with full address and PAN number to kalady@rkmm.org. The contributions are eligible for exemption u/s 80G of the Income Tax Act. Contribution above Rs.25,000/- will be taken as endowment fund.

May Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna shower his choicest blessings in all your endeavors is our sincere prayer. Yours in the service of the Lord,

Swami Srividyananda

Adhyaksha

Sister Nivedita and the Hindu Society

DR. PURBA SENGUPTA

The word ‘Hindu’ came to be coined by the Persians. That was their way of pronouncing the river Sindhu (Indus) which marked the western frontier of the ancient Aryan settlement in Punjab. Consequently, they used the word Hindu to refer to the followers of the eternal religion who lived in the Sindhu valley. From time immemorial, Hindu religion was subject to repeated attacks by the belief systems and philosophy of the invading religions. Though wounded, the Hindu religion or Hinduism has survived all these attacks from medieval times to the present age, and held aloft its tenets. It is this very religion that a woman from a faroff land heartily embraced. Her adoration for the religion was not a mere gush of emotion, but founded on the bed-rock of rationales. According to her, Hinduism and India were synonymous. In her profound love for India there was a slice of such love for the Hindu society too. This lady was Sister Nivedita.

dwelt on mysticism and was full of s u p e r s t i t i o n s . They declared that it advocated ‘strange things’ like worshipping idols and cows, and it did not treat its women with due respect. At this juncture, Nivedita made such a revolutionary presentation of Hinduism that it created a huge tumult in the western world. It was a time when the whole world was thirsting for a new meaning of life; an earnest call for discovering the Truth was knocking the doors of their hearts. Swami Vivekananda led this scorched humanity into the soothing, liberal shade of Hinduism. The world heard this Hindu saint proclaim, ‘Heirs of immortal bliss – yea, the Hindu refuses to call you sinners.’ Sister Nivedita, like his mind-borne daughter, marveled, felt encouraged, dedicated herself to fulfill her guru’s mission, and stood enlightened.

Source: Her Guru

Nivedita’s love for Hinduism and the Hindu society originated from her guru Swami Vivekananda, whom she knew as ‘the Cyclonic Hindu Monk.’ Swamiji taught her the fundamental tenets of Hinduism. It was the time when Karl Marx, in his book Asiatic mode of Production had expressed his deep revulsion for Hinduism. The Christian missionaries too repeated his words and said that Hinduism

Swami Vivekananda’s Speech at Chicago

In his Chicago addresses, Swami

Vivekananda had said on 11 September 1893, ‘I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world…..these men from far-off nations may well claim the honour of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. 1 On 19 September,

The author is a sociologist working as a scholar of Indology at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata and writes regularly on Indian mythology and Ramakrishna-Vivekananda literature. This article originally in Bengali is translated by Lisa Sen. senguptapurba@gmail.com

he spoke exclusively on Hinduism. Referring to this address titled ‘Paper on Hinduism’, Nivedita later wrote, ‘Of the Swami’s address before the Parliament of Religions, it may be said that when he began to speak it was of “the religious ideas of the Hindus”, but when he ended, Hinduism had been created.’ 2 Nivedita formed a concrete idea about Hinduism from this speech of Swami Vivekananda and from

other discussions with him; and from this idea sprang forth her conception about customs and rituals of the Hindu society.

Swamiji moulded Hinduism to make it suitable for the present age, and in his speeches he clearly depicted the history of the evolution of Hinduism. This helped Nivedita to understand that there is a religious spirit which desires not opulence but peace; religion is not meant to be an entry pass for heaven nor freedom from the fear of hell; its real purpose is moksha. Though there are various forms of religious practices, they in fact have one central fulcrum – the Vedas, the Vedanta and the Advaita philosophy. Despite belonging to the Semitic faith by birth, Nivedita understood that all the religions of the world are anchored to the theoretical base of Vedanta. As a result, India’s gods and goddesses, its rituals, religious practices, its puranas, its folklore – all had a vibrant place in her mind. Swamiji presented the ancient Vedanta philosophy as practical spirituality, and Nivedita described this as dynamic Hinduism or dynamic Vedanta. She clearly depicted how this journey from Advaita Vedanta to dynamic Vedanta brought about changes in Hinduism.

Progression of Hinduism In her book, ‘The Master as I Saw Him’

Sister Nivedita discusses Swamiji’s views on the features of Hinduism and the various

courses of its progression. At the outset she writes, ‘The Swami was constantly preoccupied with the thought of Hinduism as a whole.’ 3

like Vaishnavism and Shaivism. Jainism and Buddhism too had their source in the founding structure of Hinduism. These divisions

presented different ideas and beliefs. The need of the hour was for Indians to understand that

these sects and faiths were presenting different facets of the same Truth.

Nivedita states that while Swamiji had a profound reverence for Sri Krishna as the universally accepted prophet of Hinduism,

his adoration for the Buddha was no less. Swamiji believed that behind an individual’s spiritual fulfillment there had to be first some contribution from another individual. The

first person initiates it and the second brings

about its culmination. Nivedita recounts that Swamiji used to say, ‘Buddha had received his philosophy of the five categories – form, feeling, sensation, motion, knowledge – from Kapila. But Buddha had brought the love that made the philosophy live.’ 4 In this manner, Nivedita learnt from Swami Vivekananda about the gradual evolution of the fundamentals of Hinduism and the life and background of the great religious seers.

Idol Worship and the Worship of Man

Recording Swami Vivekananda’s opinion about image worship, Nivedita quotes, ‘You may always say that the image is God. The error you have to avoid, is to think God the image.’ When asked to condemn fetichism, Swamiji had replied, ‘Don’t you see that there is no fetichism? Oh, your hearts are steeled, that you cannot see that the child is right! The child sees person everywhere. Knowledge robs us of the child’s vision. But at last, through higher knowledge, we win back to it. He connects a living power with rocks, sticks, trees, and the rest. And is there not a living Power behind them? It is symbolism, not fetichism! Can you not see?’ 5

Sri Ramakrishna who was established in

time, rise to the highest rungs of non-duality. We hear him say, ‘If God can be worshipped in an image, why can’t He be worshipped in the living image of man!’ Nivedita gives us Swami

Vivekananda’s explanation of this worshipping the living image of God. She writes, ‘His mind was extraordinarily clear on the subject of what he meant by individualism. How often has he said to me, “You do not yet understand India! We Indians are MAN- worshippers, after all! Our God is man!” He meant here the great individual man, the man of self-realisation – Buddha, Krishna, the Guru, the Maha-Purusha. But on another occasion, using the same word in an entirely different sense, he said “This idea of man-worship exists in nucleus in India, but it has never been expanded. You must develop it. Make poetry, make art, of it. Establish the worship of the feet of beggars, as you had it in Medieval Europe. Make man-worshippers.”’ 6

Nivedita gives a glimpse of the practical spirituality evolving out of Vedanta. In her masterly introduction to The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, she writes, ‘And yet this statement that his teaching holds nothing new is not absolutely true. It must never be forgotten that it was the Swami Vivekananda who, while proclaiming the sovereignty of the Advaita Philosophy, as including that experience in which all is one, without a second, also added to Hinduism the doctrine that Dvaita, Vishishtadvaita, and Advaita are but three phases or stages in a single development, of which the last-named constitutes the goal. This is part and parcel of the still greater and more simple doctrine that the many and the One are the same Reality, perceived by the mind at different times and in different attitudes;…… It is this which adds its crowning significance to our Master’s life, for here he becomes the meeting-point, not only of East and West, but also of past and future. If the many and the One be indeed the same Reality, then it is not all modes of worship alone, but equally all of creation, which are paths of realisation.

No distinction, henceforth, between sacred and secular. To labour is to pray. To conquer is to renounce. Life is itself religion.’ 7 Sister Nivedita truly made a close observation of even the smallest of Hindu customs and brilliantly analysed them.

Hindu Festivals and Rituals

Just as she was fully versed with the metaphysical aspect of Hinduism, Nivedita was equally interested in Hindu rituals and observances. She stayed in the orthodox precincts of Baghbazar area, and depicted Hindu rituals in minutest detail. This is the fruit of her research-oriented keen power of observation. She has given an introspective account of festivals like Doljatra, Janmashtami, Saraswati Puja, Durga Puja and Rasa-Utsav. She notes that our festivals are based on the orbit of the moon. There is one or the other festival on full moon days, and the new moon too is considered auspicious. The rituals are so planned that even the cloistered and secluded women can participate in them.

Nivedita gives a detailed description of the festival of Rasa. She depicts how three days prior to the festival, the idols of Radha and Krishna are moved from the temple to the sanctum of the festival and how the priests keep vigil. In the sublime moonlit night, the women folk, who are otherwise confined to their homes, come out to offer worship. In the Semitic religion, God is more of an authoritative entity than an object of love. One can bow down in reverence but cannot be soaked in the ambrosia of selfless love for Him. Though born into such a religion, Nivedita makes no mistake in recognizing the mental disposition of the Vaishnavas. She also has a keen understanding of the discriminative aspect of divine love. In the concluding part of her Rasa-Utsav narration she writes, ‘How foolish are those who dream that Ras-Mela comes but once a year, and ends!

To the eyes of the wise man life itself is that forest on the banks of the Jamuna in which ever dwells the Lord, filling sweet days with mirthful labour, and calling the soul from height to height of hidden joy.’ 8

Just as she was interested in the

metaphysical aspect of the Vaishnava cult, Nivedita also had a keen interest in all the festivals that the Bengalis organise for Sri Rama and Sri Krishna. She discusses the lives

of Krishna and Radha. The first is the Doljatra

Utsav. Nivedita gives a beautiful description of the festival: ‘On full-moon of the beautiful month of Phalgun—that month when the

Ashoka tree and the mango are in bloom, when the foliage buds of the leaf-almond are long and slender against the blue, and when the scarlet plumes of the Palash stand out on its naked branches—occurs the Holi festival, or Dol-jatra.’ 9

For the Janamashtami Utsav, ‘the day of the Great Birth’, Nivedita preferred to visit the temples. The sanctum sanctorum, the tranquil ambience, the mystic chanting of the mantras by the priests and the assemblage of devotees – all had great appeal for her. She writes, ‘All the evening through the street had been full of passers up and down. And sudden bursts of singing and sounding of Shankha and gongs had disturbed the ordinary quiet in all directions. For we are early old-fashioned folk in the Hindu quarter of Calcutta. Lights are out and noises hushed, as a rule, before ten o’ clock; and by eleven o’clock, even on the Janmashtami, everything was closed except the temples. Here, by the light of his own altar, an Oriya priest still sat chanting the tale of the Holy Birth from a palm-leaf book. There, a few Brahmins chatted late round the foot of an image at which presently they would be offering worship. But the bamboo mats were all up and padlocked in front of the shops, and only the lamp lights from the open shrines streamed across the curb. It was thus that we waited for the moment of the Birth. The temple had disappeared. The far away. Centuries had rolled back. The walls of a prison closed about us, and we waited once more with the royal victims, Devaki the mother and Vasudeva the father, for the coming of the Holy Child.’

‘A sudden chime of bells, a blaze of lights waved before an altar—while without, the watching stars and purple blackness of the midnight sky look down—such is the solemn moment of the Birth of Krishna.’ 10

In all civilizations and cults, there is a close connection between worship and the movement of the sun and moon. In the

background of the Christian missionaries

criticizing the Hindu worshipping God in the

manifest Nature, Nivedita points out that, ‘The Western monk chants his Hours—Lauds and Prime and Matins, and Terce and Sext

and Vespers and Nones—but those footfalls of the Sun that he commemorates were trodden

long ago in the deserts of the Thebaid, and

he sings within closed doors, holding himself snug against the chill winds without.’ 11 But

the Christian missionaries could not see the

origin of these prayer schedules. In contrast to

this, Nivedita writes, we in India ‘practise the Faith in the very land, and every day we realise afresh the cosmic events that gave it birth. Who

has felt the stillness that falls on lawn and river

at the moment of noon? Who, watching through

long hours, has heard the distant music of the flute arise by the Ganges side with the first ray of dawn? Who has wandered in field and forest at the time of cowdust, and known the sudden touch of twilight on the soul, without understanding why the village bells ring and prayers are enjoined at the stated hours? For that which in one man’s eyes is superstition,

another may know to be but an added firmness of sensation. But surely of all the worships in the Hindu cycle, none has the power and force of those celebrated at midnight.’ 12 In India the two junctions of the night and day are given great importance. The night loses itself in the

followed by the dim twilight hours and again back into the abyss of the dark night. Therefore, all spiritual practices enjoined in our religion have a close bearing with the rotation of the earth along the axis and the aligned movement of Nature. When at the end of the day, peace envelopes the earth, the Hindu considers the moment conducive to spiritual practices. The prayer which the Christian missionaries chant today within the four walls of the Church had its origin based on the movement of the sun across the sky in the vast desert land. Similarly, the prayers and observations of the Hindus have arisen from the womb of the poetic beauty of the river bank. This is the only difference.

We being unaware of the origin of our prayer schedules become an easy victim of criticism or ourselves indulge in criticism. Nivedita’s

analysis of society was profound and vibrant to such a degree!

Among all the Hindu festivals, the Saraswati Puja was very special for Nivedita. She held Mother Saraswati’s worship in her school and felt a Christmas-like joy pervading the whole atmosphere; it culminated in a solemn worshipful mood. The worship enjoined inviting the goddess onto the altar with a prayer to reside in the house for the entire year. Nivedita writes, ‘Man has had many dreams of the Divine Wisdom, but surely few so touching

as this of Saraswati in Bengal. A simple woman, ascetic and poor, standing on the white lotus, surrounded by flowers, not jewels, suggestive of all things white and colourless and simple, and carrying the mystic Vina, from which the touch of her hand is bringing a secret music— this is she who has been our guest.’ 13

The Puranas

Besides keenly observing Hindu festivals, rituals, and rites, Nivedita also studied religious literature and the epics. The literary value of her book, Cradle Tales of Hinduism is outstanding. Time and again her writing attains poetic heights. When she narrates the story of the great god Shiva, she describes the bow of Madana, the god of Love. This bow is decorated with flowers and is marked with a black line—a line of bees that came to suck honey from the flowers and got stuck! Their humming stopped at the very sight of Shiva. A deep silence prevailed. Again while describing the mountain on which Parvati was doing her penance, Nivedita describes the foothills immersed in magnificent greenery and the equally magnificent snow-clad summit. When she speaks about Ramayana, she gives a vivid description of Sita’s captivity in the Ashoka Vana. We are filled with awe when we read her description of Hanuman’s first meeting with Mother Sita. There is then her description of the boy Dhruva renouncing his home; at that sublime moment he prays, ‘O Lord of Lords, I leave the entire responsibility of my mother upon you.’ And the moment he steps out of the house, his prayer is that of complete selfsurrender, ‘O Lord of Lords, I bequeath upon you my entire responsibility.’ Her description reaches a matchless dimension, when she speaks about Savitri, the highest ideal of Indian womanhood.

While selecting stories she takes care to present those that will give the reader a complete picture of Indian culture. During marriage the groom and the bride accept each other in the sacred presence of the fire and the ends of their cloths are tied in a knot symbolizing the permanency of the relationship. Indian women do not wear gold bangles on their feet because Mother Durga’s skin is of golden hue! In this manner, Nivedita through her grand style of storytelling elucidates the smallest of details of the Hindu culture. After going through her writings, one understands how profound is her comprehension of Hindu culture. How Mandodari revealed the highest state of determinism after Ravana’s death, how the

The Story of a Locket

DR. HIRONMOY N. MUKHERJEE

Josephine MacLeod is an important

figure in the history of Ramakrishna Math

and Ramakrishna Mission. She was 35 years old when she met Swami Vivekananda. She considered 29 January 1895 – the day she met Swamiji for the first time, as her

spiritual birthday. Swamiji used to call her ‘Joe’ or ‘Tantine’. She described herself as a friend, not a devotee of Swami Vivekananda. After Swamiji’s death in 1902 she went into depression. She slowly recovered, and then devoted the next four decades to help spread Vedanta as propagated by Swami Vivekananda. She always carried a few mementos with her in memory of her association with Swamiji.

Miss Macleod (henceforth ‘Joe’) had made a number of trips to India starting from 1898 when she visited India for the first time along with Mrs. Sara Bull. She left India for the last time in March, 1939. Swami Virajananda, the then President of the Order, had come to the guest house at Belur Math to bid farewell to her. She gave him some of Swamiji’s hair which she had in her possession. He was delighted and told her, ‘Once, as Swamiji’s hair lay on the floor, cut by the barber, Swamiji said to me, “In a hundred years, one lakh rupees will be given for one hair of my head.”’ 1

In her reminiscences, she has described as to how she came into possession of Swamiji’s

hair. Swami Vivekananda during his European tour was once travelling from Paris along with Joe, Madame Emma Calve (the celebrated French opera singer and an admirer of Swami Vivekananda) and others in October 1900. On the way, the party stayed at Vienna for three

days. On one of those days, Joe came to meet

him at his place and saw him without his usual head turban. She saw his thick flowing black hair and was fascinated by it. Tempted to have it as a keepsake, she crept behind him with a scissors and cut off a lock of hair. Taken aback

at this transgression, Swamiji angrily asked,

‘What are you doing?’ She boldly replied, ‘I took some of your hair; had I asked you, you would not have let me have it.’ 2

In one of her initial trips to India when Swamiji was still living, Joe was in Bombay when two young Indians met her. One of them had a sapphire jewel on his wrist watch chain. Joe was charmed by the beauty of the jewel and expressed her admiration for it. Next day the young man came back and offered her the jewel saying, ‘Because you love my people, will you take it?’ Though initially reluctant, Joe had to bow to the young man’s sentiment and accept it. Seven years later, by when Swamiji had attained mahasamadhi, Joe approached Monsieur Lalique, the famous French jeweller in New York and requested him to make a reliquary (a repository for a saint’s mortal remains or some belonging) for the sapphire. Monsieur Lalique took away the sapphire and after a year sent it back mounting it on a locket. The design of the finished locket was wonderful—two angels were holding the sapphire in their hands and there was a small box behind the sapphire. Joe was delighted to get the locket. She kept some of Swamiji’s hair inside the small box. Monsieur Lalique did not charge for his efforts

French people. All photographs of Joe taken in her later years show this large locket hanging from a chain around her neck. She also had

with her some small crystal statuettes of

Swamiji made by Monsieur Lalique. This article mainly revolves around this locket and to some extent on the small crystal statuettes of Swami Vivekananda. 3

Miss Maud Stumm, was a guest at Ridgely

Manor where Swamiji stayed along with Swami

Turiyananda and others as guests of Mr. and Mrs. Leggett during his second visit to America in the later part of 1899. She was an artist and had made a portrait of Swamiji during their stay. Now, on Joe’s request Miss Stumm made a sketch of the sapphire locket. Joe sent the sketch to Sister Nivedita on 4 July 1904. In her reply Nivedita wrote: ‘Today, Miss Stumm’s picture of your Reliquary has come. How wonderfully beautiful! How mystic! How still! Oh how I envy M. Lalique his power to think in symbols! But only, I do not think, if I were you, that I would wear it. I think, I should make a place for it on a wall, and have a …(pew?) in front and kneel to look at it. But after all, you are such a wandering bird, how could you? The only place with you, is your own heart!’ 4

In 1915, after nearly a 14-year gap,

Joe once again visited India. She stayed at Belur Math. In December Mrs. Charlotte Sevier invited her to visit Advaita ashrama in Mayavati to see the new ashram set up at Shyamla Tal. Joe had last visited Advaita ashrama in 1902, a few months before Swamiji’s passing away. She reached Mayavati in January, 1916 and stayed for ten days. Swami Abhayananda, popularly known as Bharat Maharaj was then posted at Mayavati Ashrama as a junior monk. Her stay at Mayavati was pleasant and she delighted the ashrama inmates recounting incidents from her association with Swamiji. One day, Joe came rushing out of her room quite agitated and told Bharat Maharaj, ‘Bharat! Bharat! I am done. I have lost my

Tantine, painting by Pizella

locket. That contained the locks of Swamiji. What shall I do, Bharat? I must have that locket at all costs. By whatever means it be, please search it out.’ Seeing that the lady was in tears and mental pain, Bharat Maharaj pacified her and asked all members of the ashrama to look out for the locket. A thorough search was made in and around the ashrama but the locket could not be found. In the meanwhile, Joe talked to the local higher authorities who started searching the huts of the poor villagers adjacent to the ashrama. Sensing the turn the matter was taking, Bharat Maharaj approached Joe and told her that the villagers were innocent and should not be harassed. Joe held Bharat Maharaj’s hands and said, ’Bharat, that thing is my all in all. If anyone can get back the thing so very dear to me, that certainly is you. Please search diligently for it.’ Shortly she returned to Belur Math, practically in tears. Bharat Maharaj renewed the search, but the locket could not be found. A few months later a labourer working for the Math met Bharat

in his hand that he had found lying on the road side. Maharaj was delighted as he realized that this was the necklace with locket which they were all searching for. The necklace would have

slipped from Joe’s neck while she was taking a walk around the ashrama. At once he sent a

telegram to Joe informing her of the recovery of her locket. 5

Joe came to India again in the early part of the year 1922. She stayed in ‘Girish Smriti Bhavan’ which was then the Belur Math Guest house. During this stay, the locket was again almost lost. Priya Maharaj (later Swami Punnyananda) along with other brahmacharis were staying on the ground floor of the building. Joe was affectionately called Tantine by the brahmacharis as she was quite free and friendly. Once late at night a thief sneaked into Joe’s room and tried to snatch the locket with chain from her neck. Fortunately, Joe woke up and started shouting. The brahmacharis rushed out and caught the thief at the head of the stairs as he was trying to escape. Priya Maharaj gave him a sound beating and left him there after tying him with ropes. Early in the morning they brought him near Jnan Maharaj’s room and left him on the verandah there. Swami Shivananda, a direct-disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and popularly known as Mahapurush Maharaj, was then the President of the Math and Mission. Every day, he would go around the Math premises after finishing his morning prayer and meditation. On seeing him, the young brahmacharis excitedly narrated the attempted theft of Joe’s locket and pointed out the captive thief. Mahapurush Maharaj turned to the thief and said in jest, ‘Is this a place to steal? If the boys start beating you by turn you may lose your life.’ Saying this he resumed his rounds. After some time, he retired to his room and was having his breakfast when Joe came rushing in and said, ‘Maharaj, do you know that a thief had entered my room? I feel that the thief is a devotee—otherwise why would he decide to expensive things lying around? As you know the locket contains Swamiji’s hair. I feel that the thief had planned to steal only the locket.’ The simple and child-like Mahapurush Maharaj

believed Joe and gave orders to Priya Maharaj to take the thief to the Ganga river for a holy dip and also instructed that he be given new clothes to wear. While the brahmacharis were

naturally dumbfounded to see the surprising turn of the event, the thief was found happily

moving around the Math premises wearing new clothes. Later the thief, on his own, went to Mahapurush Maharaj’s room and touched his feet. Maharaj affectionately asked him, ‘Well, would you like to be a monk?’ We do not know what reply the thief gave or whether Maharaj’s words came to be fulfilled in any way in his later life; but a great soul’s words never go in vain. 6

Once Emma Calve while travelling with her good friend Drinette Verdier predicted that the latter would have to face a difficult phase in her future. She then spoke about Swami Vivekananda and her experiences with him, and advised Drinette to seek Swamiji’s blessings to overcome her problems. She advised her to always take his name. Though she could not show Drinette a picture of Swamiji, she told her about the crystal statuettes of Swami Vivekananda which were in Joe’s possession. Soon enough, Calve’s prophecy came true and Drinette was in great distress. She sincerely prayed to Swami Vivekananda. As she put it: ‘I was thinking of him, loving him and calling him when the blows which I received were too hard.’ She tried her best to acquire either a photograph or a crystal statuette of Swamiji but none could be found. One day, while she was in New York, she chanced to meet a woman who had just returned from India. The latter coming to know about Drinette’s interest in Vivekananda suggested that she should meet Joe who was in New York. The next day, Drinette drove to

Crystal image of Swami Vivekananda by Lalique

the hotel where Joe was put up. On seeing her, Joe opened her arms and said, ‘Come in, my

child.’ Drinette opened her heart to Joe and

told her about meeting Calve and how that led

to her devotion to Swami Vivekananda and her subsequent ordeal in finding a portrait of Swamiji. Suddenly, Joe said, ‘By the way have

you seen the crystal of Vivekananda?’ Drinette was astounded and could hardly mutter a reply. Joe, without listening to her, stood up saying, ‘A very strange thing happened to me. You see I always travel with one crystal of Vivekananda and yesterday I was looking in my suitcase and found two! It is to give to you!!’ Saying so, Joe took out the crystal which, as she said, ‘no money, no efforts, nor influence could buy.’ Drinette then removed from her neck the scarf

she was wearing, and with love and devotion,

received the precious crystal image of Swami

Vivekananda in it. She gently wrapped the crystal in the scarf, herself enwrapped in joy. The two thus became good friends. 7

It was Drinette’s earnest desire that the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda be published in French, a language so dear to him. a friend of Joe and Swami Siddheshwarananda (Founder of Vedanta Centre, Paris which was later shifted to Gretz in 1947). They had already

brought out the teachings of Ramakrishna - Vivekananda in French with the help of Joe. Drinette Verdier now requested M. Jean Herbert to carry out the necessary translations. It was a heavy task requiring several years to complete, and Drinette agreed to meet all the expenses.

The result was wonderful; the French speaking people could access to the writings, letters and lectures of Swami Vivekananda. Drinette Verdier’s love for Swami Vivekananda and

her faith in him (she had never met him) was a matter of wonder for all who knew her.

Furthermore, she recorded and preserved many reminiscences concerning Swamiji from her friends Emma Calve and Joe, which she related to others and to Swami Vidyatmananda of

Vedanta Society of Southern California; all these have now passed into literature concerning Swamiji. It was Emma Calve who told Drinette about the immensely wealthy John D Rockfeller’s meeting with Swami Vivekananda and the former’s transformation into one of the

greatest philanthropists. Drinette also wrote: ‘I took many notes under Miss Macleod’s dictation, having generally a pencil or pen with

me… Tantine used to tell me: “Write this down!

One never knows, you might need it one day. I shall not be always there.”’ 8

Joe was nearly ninety in 1948. In the autumn of that year, she invited Drinette to her room in the Barbizon Plaza Hotel, New York for a short but significant ceremony. Drinette wrote ‘In 1948 (autumn) I was in Tantine’s room 1811, Barbizon Plaza. Tantine gave me the reliquary. I knelt down before her and she put it around my neck. My faithful maid, Anges Lamdry was with me and witnessed it. It was very solemn…. I knew then, as Tantine was giving it to me, she would not live longer after that. Joe spent her last days – six to eight months – in the Vedanta