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Vivekananda Way
Series 5: Understanding India - through Swami Vivekananda's eyes
ISSUE 10 ISSUE 22
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India – the Punya Bhumi focus in this issue:
After his grand success at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, Swami Vivekananda toured and lectured across the West for three years. Then he returned to Colombo on 15 th January 1897.
Colombo gave him a hero's welcome. It was here that he gave his first public lecture in the East. The topic was: ‘India – The Sacred Land’. In this issue, we study this lecture and try to appreciate (from our limited point of view) the key messages that he presented...
Swami Vivekananda had a deep appreciation of India, which was born out of four distinct factors: (i) His personal encounter with Sri Ramakrishna (of whom he said, ‘This man had in fifty-one years lived the five thousand years of national spiritual life'), (ii) His extensive travels and first hand encounter with people across the length & breadth of the country (during the 6-7 years of his life as a wandering monk), (iii)His personal experience of the Western response to Indian ideas, which further sharpened and improved his understanding of India (during the World Parliament of Religions and later when he was the representative of India to the West), and (iv)His own vast spiritual realizations, of which his meditation on the rock in Kanyakumari is the most famous. In this new series, we take up parts of lectures in which Swami Vivekananda has spoken about India, such as: INDIA - THE SACRED LAND, THE SAGES OF INDIA, THE RELIGION WE ARE BORN IN, THE MISSION OF THE VEDANTA, THE FUTURE OF INDIA, THE WORK BEFORE US, VEDANTA & ITS APPLICATION TO INDIAN LIFE, THE COMMON BASIS OF HINDUISM, etc. We will thus try to understand India through Swami Vivekananda's eyes, and thereby build a deeper appreciation of our own country.
Formerly I thought as every Hindu thinks …that this is the Punya Bhumi,
the land of Karma. Today I stand here and say, with the conviction of truth, that it is so. If there is any land on this earth that can lay claim to be the blessed Punya Bhumi, to be the land to which all souls on this earth must
come to account for Karma, the land to which every soul that is wending its way Godward must come to attain its last home, the land where humanity has attained its highest towards gentleness, towards generosity, towards purity, towards calmness, above all, the land of introspection and of spirituality — it is India. ...Here is the life-giving water with which must be quenched the burning fire of materialism which is burning the core of the hearts of millions in other lands. Believe me, my friends, this is going to be.
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Key messages from the lecture: India – The Sacred Land
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The world owes a great debt to India. All races contribute great ideas to humanity. But all races, except one, have advanced their ideas by conquering other races. It is India alone which has shared her ideas without conquering others.
There have been many great nations which have lived in glory for a short time and vanished thereafter. But India has endured through thousands of years – each misfortune, each experience making her stronger and more constant.
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For all other nations, religion is one of the many occupations of life, such as politics, enjoyment of social life, and accumulating wealth. But in India alone, religion is the central occupation. India’s national life is centered around religion.
THE HISTORY OF INDIA IS A HISTORY OF ITS SPIRITUAL MOVEMENTS
BCE ~2000 years
400 CE onwards –Advaita philosophy, as formulated by Adi Sankara –Upsurge of Saivism, Vaishnavism, and Saktism 800 CE onwards –Development of
Visishtadvaita & Dvaita philosophies –Sri Vaishnavism (~11 th C) –Vira Saivas (~12 th C) –Chaitanya movement (~13 th C) –Varkaris (~13 th C) –and many more... Bhakti Movement ~1800 - 1900CE Spiritual renaissance of Sri Ramakrishna & Swami Vivekananda ~1000 CE
Sufism In India, influenced by the Vedanta ~1400CE
Sikhism Founded by Guru Nanak who says "the chief of gods is the one Lord, the true Name of God” 2000 - 600 BCE
Vedic Period Vedas formed the philosophical and spiritual basis for people ~ 600 BCE Bhagavatism Substituted a personal God 'Hari' in place of the abstract idea of universal soul - devotion was central here. ~ 500 BCE Buddhism A highly developed ethical life was seen as the sole means of attaining salvation ~ 400 BCE Jainism Regarded austerity as the essential means of salvation. 400 BCE - 400 CE –Development of 6 systems of philosophies –Reconciliation of Vedic faith with sectarianism, and the evolution of synthetic Hinduism CE ~2000 years
RELEVANT QUOTES FROM THIS LECTURE:
Source: Based on Chapter 2 (Evolution of Religio-philosophic Culture in India) of The Cultural Heritage of India Vol. IV, Published by The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata
“...ideas after ideas have marched out from her, but every word has been spoken with a blessing behind it and peace before it. We, of all nations of the world, have never been a conquering race, and that blessing is on our head..”
But we live... The same laws are here, laws adjusted and thought out through thousands and thousands of years; customs, the outcome of the acumen of ages and the experience of centuries, that seem to be eternal.."
“To the other nations of the world, religion is one among the many occupations of life. ...But here, in India, religion is the one and the only occupation of life"
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Every race has a unique orientation and a specific mission to accomplish. India’s mission is not political greatness or military power, or some other such thing, India’s mission is to accumulate into itself all the spiritual energy of the race and to share it with the world at the right time.
India has never preached her thoughts with violence and through conquering other races. She charms seekers from other nations silently and imperceptibly.
At first sight, Indian manners & customs, philosophy, and even literature, can be repulsive, but as seekers discover the great spiritual (contd.)
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principles upon which Indian culture is built, they are deeply fascinated.
To clarify, India has two sets of truths – Shruti & Smriti. Shruti represents the eternal principles founded upon the universal laws of nature. But Smriti represents the customs over the ages. It is the Shruti ideas that have spread all over the world. India’s religion in the form of the principles and fundamental ideas have silently impacted the whole world.
“Slow and silent, as the gentle dew that falls in the morning, unseen and unheard yet producing a most tremendous result, has been the work of the calm, patient, all-suffering spiritual race upon the world of thought. [However]... what I mean by our religion working upon the nations outside of India comprises only the principles, the background, the foundation upon which that religion is built."
INDIA IS A DORMANT VOLCANO OF SPIRITUALITY - WHOSE POWER IS YET
TO BURST FORTH AND CASCADE IN THE WORLD
Each race, similarly, has a peculiar bent, each race has a peculiar raison d'être, each race has a peculiar mission to fulfil in the life of the world. ...India's gift to the world is the light spiritual"
“...in our books a clear distinction is made between two sets of truths. The one set is that which abides forever... ...these are the eternal principles founded upon the universal laws in nature. The other set comprises the minor laws which guided the working of our everyday life"
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India is also the land of harmonious co-existence. Here alone, we have been able to accept a wide diversity in religion. We have done it through the guiding dictum – that there exists only one Truth, but different groups of people call it by different names. This dictum has resulted in India becoming a most wonderful land of toleration which welcomes various religions.
How do Indians deal with the diversity and difference in India? We do not hate each other because we are different; we do not practice religious persecution; rather we learn to accept these differences and practice tolerance in every aspect of our national life.
THE INDIAN VIEW OF RELIGION "They call Thee by various names; Thou art one."
Buddhists
Atheists/ agnostics
Taoists
Jews
Christians Jains Sikhs
Shaivites Vaishnavites
One Truth
Shaktas
Shamans
Sufis
Nature worshippers Pagans
Muslims
'That which exists is One; sages call It by various names' ...The whole history [of India] has been a repetition in massive language, with tremendous power, of that one central doctrine"
“...all the various sects, apparently hopelessly contradictory, yet living in such harmony. ...How is that possible? "That which exists is One; sages call It by various names." ...The one great lesson, therefore, that the world wants most, that the world has yet to learn from India, is the idea not only of toleration, but of sympathy" Because not only is it in our books, but it runs through every phase of our national literature and is in the national life. Here and here alone is it practiced everyday, and any man whose eyes are open can see that it is practiced here and here alone. ...The lessons of mildness, gentleness, forbearance, toleration, sympathy, and brotherhood, everyone may learn, whether man, woman, or child, learned or unlearned, without respect of race, caste, or creed. "They call Thee by various names; Thou art One."
FOR THE FULL LECTURE, REFER TO COMPLETE WORKS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, VOL. 3, LECTURES FROM COLOMBO TO ALMORA.
M a g i c , M i r a c l e s a n d t h e M y s t i c a l T w e l v e
LAKSHMI DEVNATH
Roots in the Air and Shoots in the Soil The Story of Thirumazhisai Aazhvaar (Continued from previous issue. . .) P oorva glanced around. The verandah, the dense night, the rain – they had all disappeared! Midway during her conversation with the Swami at Thirukkovalur, Poorva’s attention had wandered. When she reined in her thoughts and once again focused on what was happening around her, she was aghast at what she saw. A man was busy uprooting plants and replanting them, roots in the air and shoots in the soil! Not satisfied with this quixotic act, he was also trying to water them with a pot that was full of holes.
Poorva roared with laughter. “Swami Thaatha, I have never seen such utter silliness in all the eleven years of my life.” On a closer look, she recognized the eccentric man. He was Pey Aazhvaar!
A short spell of quiet followed, then Poorva found her tongue again. Questions tumbled out, tripping over each other. “Swami Thaatha, isn’t that Pey Aazhvaar? Why is he behaving so funnily? First tell me – where are we and how did we get here? And where are Poigai Ahzvar and Bhootham Ahzvar?”
“Shh …” the Swami said, “Questions, questions, questions! Well, I’ll answer them all. Poigai and Bhootham have gone their separate ways to spread the message of the wonderful vision they had of Lord Vishnu, while Pey Aazhvaar has chosen to come here. We’re now at Mylapore in Chennai.” The Swami added in a matter-of-fact tone, “And we got here in much the same way that we went to Thirukkovalur.”
Poorva, by now more in control of herself, looked around. The first thing that struck her was that ancient Mylapore was full of trees and looked beautiful.
She saw someone sitting under a tree. Was he meditating? She peered at him. Noticing his half-closed eyes, she chuckled. Perhaps he was only pretending to meditate, just as she faked sleep when Amma tried to get her out of bed. Thoughts of those ‘morning scenes’
back home made her laugh aloud, and the sound shook her out of her reverie. She noticed that the stranger was keenly observing Pey Aazhvaar. “Not surprising,” shrugged Poorva. “Pey Aazhvaar’s weird actions would have caught anyone’s attention.”
Unexpectedly, the man got up and walked towards the Aazhvaar. They entered into a conversation. Soon it appeared as if the dialogue had turned into an argument, for she saw them gesticulating wildly at each other. Poorva thought that she would burst with curiosity if she didn’t find out why.
“Useful eavesdropping is permitted,” said the Swami. In reply, she simply looked at him, wondering for the hundredth time what other powers he possessed. For sure, he was a mind-reader.
“Who is the greater fool? You or me?” Pey Aazhvaar sounded quite angry. “What? You call me a fool?” the other retorted.
“Most certainly! You’re the one seeing the world upside down. Not me,” Pey Aazhvaar shot back.
Pey Aazhvaar is being very mean and unfair, thought Poorva. Isn’t he the one who put the plant upside down? And now he is accusing the other person. I must tell my mother that adults squabble far more than we kids do!
“Poorva! Pay attention, please.” The Swami’s words brought Poorva back to the conversation.
She heard the stranger speak agitatedly, “How dare you find fault with me? I had made up my mind not to speak to any human being and to meditate on God. Your foolish actions have made me break my vow of silence. Oh …” he sighed, frustrated.
“Of course,” the stranger shot back.
“From your tone, I can guess you’re ready to pounce on me again, but please calm down and hear me out. I know that you’re the great yogi from Thirumazhisai, who has several magical powers. But let me introduce myself before we proceed any further. I’m Pey, an ardent devotee of Lord
Vishnu. I know you have studied various religious texts.
Nevertheless, I have a suspicion that your conclusions about the identity of the Supreme are just not right, and I’m prepared to have a debate with you to prove my point.”
A heated discussion followed. Poorva observed that the Swami was listening to them with rapt attention. She did not understand what they were saying and she began to feel a little bored. Just then, she spotted a pup under a tree. Happy to have found a playmate, she started walking towards the pup, when she heard the yogi’s voice rise in desperation. Poorva stopped and listened to what he was saying. “So it is Vishnu who is the Supreme Lord of the world, and to think that I’ve been groping in the dark, all these years!”
Pey Aazhvaar reassured the yogi that all was not lost. He further described the vision that he, along with Bhootham and Poigai, had had of Lord Vishnu at Thirukkovalur. The yogi listened with great concentration and broke into a song. Then came another … and another … and another …
“Andhaadhis again, and so many of them at that!” marvelled Poorva.
“I’d like to know more about him,” she said.
“I can quite understand your curiosity.” Strangely, the Swami’s voice seemed to be coming from a distance. “Poorva, wouldn’t you prefer watching Thirumazhisai Aazhvaar’s childhood rather than merely listening to his story?” The voice had receded even further. “Let’s step back a few years, into the village of Thirumazhisai.” (To be continued. . .)
This story book is available through www.lakshmidevnath.com
An Important Educational Centre of the Chola Times
DR. CHITHRA MADHAVAN
The kings of the Chola dynasty, like most other kings of ancient and medieval India, gave great importance to education. This is proven by inscriptions and other literary sources. Many of the educational institutions of the Chola era were attached to the temples constructed by the Chola emperors and also with those temples already in existence. One such important centre of learning was in the village of Ennayiram, now in Villupuram District of Tamil Nadu. A Tamil inscription found on the northern wall of the central sanctum of the Narasimha temple in this village, which is now under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India, belongs to the reign of the illustrious Chola Emperor Rajendra I (1012- 1044 C.E.). This long epigraph records the existence of a Vedic college in Ennayiram attached to this Vishnu temple, and gives a detailed list of the number of teaching staff,
This section presents less known and enlightening nuggets of information about our ancient culture as revealed in our temples, images, symbols, and inscriptions.
students and the subjects which were taught here.
The Ennayiram Vedic centre of education had a total of about 15 teachers and 340 students. 11 teachers and 230 students were in the field of Vedic studies. Other than the Vedas, Vya ka ra n a ( g ra m m a r ) a n d Ve d a n t a (Upanishads) were taught at Ennayiram. From the inscriptions, it has been ascertained that the Ashtadhyayi of Panini and also a text called the Rupavatara which was an elementary work on Sanskrit grammar were taught here. The Prabhakaram, a work of Prabhakara Misra which is a commentary on the Mimamsa Sutra Bhashya, was also part of the curriculum.
A list of students for each subject is also provided by this informative inscription. There were 75 students for Rig Veda, 75 students for Yajur Veda (Vajasaneya, a recension of the Krishna Yajur Veda), 20 each for Chandoga Sama, Talavakara Sama and Vajasaneya, 10
The author is a historian focussing on temple architecture, iconography and epigraphy. She is a recipient of two post-doctoral fellowships, and author of nine books and several research papers. She lives in Chennai. drchithra@gmail.com
Ennayiram near Villupuram
students for Atharva Veda, 10 for Baudhayaniya (Grihya Kalpa and Kataka), 40 students for Rupavatara, 25 students for Vyakarana, 35 for Prabhakara and 10 for Vedanta, making it a total of 340. With regard to the teachers of the Vedas, there were three teachers for Rig Veda, five teachers for Yajur Veda, two teachers for Sama Veda and one teacher for Atharva Veda.
Four people were appointed in this temple to recite the Thiruvaymozhi, the sacred Tamil hymn composed by Nammazhvar, one of the twelve Azhvars or important devotees of Vishnu. In addition to the large educational centre, there also seems to have been a hostel attached to it for the benefit of the staff and the students. Approximately five hundred and six people were fed in this hostel. This number should have included the pupils of this Vedic college too.
Other than this famous temple-college at Ennayiram, there were other temples where Vedic studies were taught in the reign of Rajendra Chola I. In subsequent times too, Chola inscriptions mention such large centres of education. One of these was attached to the Varadaraja Perumal temple in Tribhuvanai (now in Tamil Nadu, near Puducherry) and the other was in the village of Thirumukkudal (near Chengalpet in Tamil Nadu).
Photographs by the author
Narasimha temple
Swami Vijnanananda and the Ramakrishna Order
SWAMI BALABHADRANANDA
The article introduces the life and work of one of the architects of the Ramakrishna Movement who was also a blessed direct-disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. The Vedanta Kesari pays homage to this great Brahmajnani on the eve of his 151 st birthday.
Swami Vijnanananda was the fourth President of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission and is ever remembered as the architect of Sri Ramakrishna Temple at Belur Math. His prem o n a s t i c n a m e w a s H a r i p r a s a n n a Chattopadhyay. He was born on 30 October 1868, met Sri Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar in 1883, and passed away in 1938 at the age of seventy.
Speaking about him Sri Ramakrishna once said that he was a partial incarnation of Jambavan, the well-known bear-character of Ramayana. Though a bear, Jambavan held an important position in Sri Rama’s army and had the rare fortune to help Sri Rama in his fight against Ravana to rescue Mother Sita. Sri Ramakrishna further said about Hariprasanna alluding to his previous incarnation: ‘He was an astrologer, had a special knack for constructing buildings and he wrestled with Krishna. He is not an ordinary person.’
J a m b a v a n w a s Brahma’s son and is said to have lived in Treta and Dwapara yugas. The story of his fighting with Sri Krishna goes like this: Satrajit, a king belonging to the Yadava clan performed severe penance and received syamantaka, a precious gem, as a boon from the Sun-god. The gem had a miraculous and auspicious power; but only a virtuous person could retain the gem and use its power. Sri Krishna once Swami Vijnanananda ‘He is not an ordinary person.
He wrestled with Krishna.’
The author is a senior sannyasi of the Ramakrishna Order and is serving as one of its Assistant General Secretaries at Belur Math.
requested Satrajit to give him the gem, but Satrajit did not agree to part with it. To hide it from Sri Krishna, he gave the gem to his brother Prasenjit. But Prasenjit was not as virtuous as Satrajit. One day while hunting in the forest, a lion killed Prasenjit and took away the syamantaka that he was wearing. Jambavan who was staying in a cave in the same forest learnt about the miraculous power of the gem. He then killed the lion and took possession of the gem. In the meantime, Satrajit suspected that Sri Krishna had Prasenjit killed for the sake of the gem. To absolve himself of this false allegation, as well as to find the gem, Sri Krishna went to the forest and traced out that the gem was with Jambavan. When Jambavan refused to hand over the gem, a fight ensued between the two. They fought using weapons, stones, and bare fists. After fighting for twenty-one days, Jambavan accepted defeat. He realised that whom he worshipped as Sri Ramachandra in the Treta yuga had reincarnated in the Dwapara yuga as Sri Krishna. He offered the syamantaka to
Swami Vijnanananda
Sri Krishna and spent the rest of his life worshipping Lord Vishnu.
Hariprasanna too one day wrestled with Sri Ramakrishna! In fact, he had to do it at Sri Ramakrishna’s insistence. Young Hariprasanna had just started to visit the Master at Dakshineswar. One day when all the devotees had left, the Master asked him: ‘Can you wrestle?’ When Hariprasanna replied that he could, the Master said, ‘Come, let me see how well you can wrestle!’ Hariprasanna who exercised every day had a well-built muscular body. So, at first he did not take Sri Ramakrishna’s offer to wrestle seriously. But Sri Ramakrishna came forward and began to shove him holding his arms. Thus forced to accept this unequal challenge, Hariprasanna gently pushed Sri Ramakrishna towards the wall. In spite of his being Rama and Krishna in one body, history did not repeat itself! In no time Sri Ramakrishna was pinned to the wall with his back against it. But he still firmly (Continued on page 43...)
An Appeal SRI RAMAKRISHNA MATH, THANJAVUR A NEW SUB-CENTRE OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA MATH, CHENNAI
Dear Devotees,
Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission centres across the world motivate people to come together & serve humanity as a form of worship in the fields of Health Care, Education & Spirituality.
Ramakrishna Vivekananda Educational Trust run by the devotees of Bhagawan Sri Ramakrishna at Mariyamman Kovil (near Thanjavur) is rendering service in the rural areas of Thanjavur District for the past 26 years. This trust is now taken over by the Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, Belur, Kolkata & is functioning as a sub-centre of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai from July 2019.
To expand the service activities, a new Math of this sub-centre is being started in Thanjavur town. We seek your generous contribution for these activities:
1. Getting land for the Ashrama Rs.80 lakh 2. Establishing the Ashrama with a new Temple Rs. 3 crore 3. Nitya Pooja of Sri Ramakrishna Rs. 50 lakh 4. Renovation of the existing Temple 5. Rural development projects 6. Endowment for Sadhu Seva Rs. 20 lakh Rs. 1 crore Rs. 50 lakh
AN APPEAL TO DEVOTEES AND WELL-WISHERS Dear Friends, Namaste. We pray for you and your family.
Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai has been rendering service for over 120 years to the society in the fields of Health, Education, Publication of Spiritual & Inspirational books and magazines both in English & Tamil, cultural activities, relief work etc. In order to execute the projects on hand, we appeal to you for contribution.
Service activities in brief Maintenance of Vivekananda Centenary Girls Hr. Sec. School for under privileged (900 students) Maintenance of Sri Ramakrishna Math National School for under privileged children (350 students)
Rehabilitation Service to Leprosy afflicted persons – 120 beneficiaries
Medical Service to 600 - 800 poor patients daily
Nursing Assistants Training for poor rural girls – 30 students per batch of 1 year Rural development – Education, Women Welfare & Medical Help, Alcohol de-addiction – 100 beneficiaries Sri Ramakrishna Daily puja, Neivedyam and Arathi Daily Annadhanam for 200 devotees Sadhu Seva per day for 50 members
Expenses Monthly Rs.7,20,000/-
Per student Rs.800/- Monthly Rs.2,80,000/-
Per student Rs.800/-
Monthly Rs.1,20,000/- Per beneficiary Rs.1000/-
Monthly Rs.5,40,000/-
Per patient Rs.900/-
Per batch Rs.7,50,000/-
Monthly Rs.1,00,000/- Per beneficiary Rs.1000/-
Your support needed
Rs.8000/- For 10 Students
Rs.8000/- For 10 students
Rs.10,000/- For 10 beneficiaries
Rs.9,000/- For 10 patients
Rs.25,000/- Per student
Rs.5000/-
For 5 people Rs.10,000/- Per day
Rs.10,000/- Rs.5,000/-
Donations for both Thanjavur & Chennai Math may please be sent by cheque / DD favouring “Sri Ramakrishna Math”. For Online donation please visit https://donations.chennaimath.org Transfer directly & intimate us along with PAN details through email. Donations are exempted from Income Tax under Section 80G.
May the blessings of Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna be on you is my earnest prayer to Him.
Sri Ramakrishna Math 31, Sri Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore, Chennai-4. & : 24621110. email : mail@chennaimath.org website : www.chennaimath.org For more details : 98409 87307 Yours in the Service of the Humanity, Swami Gautamananda Adhyaksha
