Vivekananda: A Harbinger of Harmony: Swami Chetanananda
Vivekananda: A Harbinger of Harmony: Swami Chetanananda
Vivekananda: A Harbinger of Harmony: Swami Chetanananda
Harmony
[Presidential Address at Belur Math on 28 January 2014.
Vivekananda's 150th Birth Anniversary
International Seminar]
Swami Chetanananda
May the Lord of the universe, the remover of evil, whom the devotees of
Shiva worship as Shiva, the Vedantists as Brahman, the Buddhists as Buddha
[and we may add, the Christians as the Father in heaven, the Jews as Jehovah,
the Muslims as Allah], the followers of Nyaya (logic) as the Divine Agent, the
Jains as Arhat, the followers of Mimamsa (ritualists) as Karma -‐‑-‐‑ grant us
peace, bliss and harmony.
The main focus of this international seminar is the Harmony of Religions.
Swami Vivekananda was truly a harbinger of this harmony. His life was short
-‐‑-‐‑ 39 years, 5 months, and 24 days -‐‑-‐‑ but his message is long lasting. He
himself prophesied that his message would continue for 1,500 years.
1. The Scriptures
Vivekananda found the seeds of the harmony of religions in various
Hindu scriptures, such as:
‘Truth is one, sages call It by various names.’ (Rig Veda)
‘Whosoever comes to me, through whatsoever form, I reach him. All men
are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.’ (Gita)
‘As the different streams, having their sources in different places, all
mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which people
take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or
straight, all lead to Thee.’ (Sivamahimnah Stotram)
‘Each human body is a temple of God, and each soul is nothing but
God.’ (Upanishad)
It is to be noted that thousands of years ago, when these messages of
harmony were given, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam did not exist.
2. His Guru
Sri Ramakrishna, Vivekananda’s guru, was the prophet of harmony in
this age. Every one of his actions and all his teachings demonstrated the
principle of harmony. For example, Ramakrishna harmonized the life of a
true sannyasin with the life of a true householder. He was unique in the
religious history of the world as he realized God through Hindu practices,
then practised Christianity and Islam and experienced the goal of those faiths
also. In so doing, he demonstrated the harmony of religions. Finally, he
declared the message of harmony for this present age when he said: yata mat
tata path -‐‑-‐‑ as many faiths, so many paths.
Vivekananda stated in his lecture ‘My Master’: ‘I learnt from my Master
that the religions of the world are not contradictory or antagonistic. They are
but various phases of one eternal religion. That one eternal religion is applied
to different planes of existence, is applied to the opinions of various minds
and various races. There never was my religion or yours, my national religion
or your national religion; there never existed many religions; there is only
one. One Infinite Religion existed all through eternity and will ever exist, and
this Religion is expressing itself in various countries, in various ways.
Therefore we must respect all religions and we must try to accept them all as
far as we can.... For years I lived with that man, but never did I hear those lips
ufer one word of condemnation for any sect. He had the same sympathy for
all sects; he had found the harmony between them.’
3. His Motherland
During his itinerant days, Vivekananda travelled all over India, and he
made some observations about people of the Hindu faith. He saw that
although Hindus are diverse -‐‑-‐‑ their languages, social customs, religious
practices, dress, food habits, and skin colour are all different -‐‑-‐‑ they are all
Hindus. He also discovered the common bases of Hinduism: (a) all Hindus
believe in the authority of the Vedas; (b) the concept of God may differ among
the Hindus, but all believe in God; (c) all believe creation moves in a wavelike
motion through eternity; (d) all believe in the immortal nature of the Atman,
which is pure and perfect, beyond the body and the mind; and (e) all believe
in the doctrine of karma and reincarnation.
120 years ago. When we open our newspapers in the morning, we see that
there is so much unrest and violence all over the world -‐‑-‐‑ often in the name of
religion. I offer my humble appreciation to the organizers of this present
parliament that has given us a chance to imbibe the spirit of mutual love and
understanding, peace and harmony, which are badly needed in this present
strife-‐‑stricken world.
Nowadays, in the main cities all over the United States and Canada and
other parts of the world, you will find inter-‐‑religious councils or interfaith
partnerships. This concept began after the advent of Ramakrishna and after
the Parliament of Religions in 1893. Swamiji said that within seven years of Sri
Ramakrishna'ʹs passing in 1886, his universal message encircled the globe.
One of our friends who has done much to build a bridge between the
religious and philosophical thoughts of the East and the West is Huston
Smith, who was a former president of our St. Louis Vedanta Society. We are
sorry he cannot be with us today. Huston Smith once told me: ‘Swami, while I
was writing the chapter on Hinduism in what was to become my book, The
World'ʹs Religions, I read and meditated on ten pages of The Gospel of Sri
Ramakrishna each day, and I credit those meditations for the acclaim that has
greeted that chapter.’
Another friend who has also done wonderful work in this regard is
Father Francis Clooney of Harvard University. He is here today and is our
keynote speaker in this parliament. These two people -‐‑-‐‑ Huston Smith and
Father Clooney -‐‑-‐‑ have done tremendous work in the United States, trying to
bring Eastern thought to the West, and Western thought to the East.
On 30 December 1894 Swamiji said: ‘I have a message to the West, as
Buddha had a message to the East.’ What was that message? That message
was Vedanta. Many years later, a Jewish intellectual who had heard
Vivekananda speak at the Parliament told Swami Nikhilananda, ‘After
hearing Swami Vivekananda, I realized that my religion was also true.’ In the
1960s, Eastern religions came in waves to America, but Swamiji was the first
Hindu monk to carry the message of the East to the West. Professor C.T.
Jackson wrote: ‘Looking back a century later, Vivekananda clearly deserves
credit as the founder of American Hinduism and the pioneer teacher who
paved the way for all Eastern teachers who have followed since the 1960s.’
Swamiji was a universal person and his message was universal, but he
also presented his message for the East, which we find in his lectures from
Colombo to Almora. In those talks he tried to awaken the self-‐‑esteem, self-‐‑
confidence, and the national consciousness of India. In the West, he gave his
beautiful message through his four yogas -‐‑-‐‑ karma, bhakti, jnana, and raja. He
reminded Westerners that they are not sinners. On 19 September 1893,
Swamiji read a paper on Hinduism, in which he said: ‘Ye divinities on earth -‐‑-‐‑
sinners? It is a sin to call a man so; it is a standing libel on human nature.’
Vivekananda in the West
Shortly after Ramakrishna passed away, when his monastic disciples
were living almost in poverty at the Baranagore monastery, Swamiji one day
told his brother disciples, ‘You will see that our names will be recorded in
history.’ Now it is a fact and his words came true.
In 1964 Carl Thomas Jackson received his Ph.D. from the University of
California at Los Angeles; his thesis was titled The Swami in America: A History
of the Ramakrishna Movement in the United States, 1893-‐‑1960. In 1988 Eleanor
Stark got her Master’s degree in American History and wrote a book on
Swamiji, The Gift Unopened: A New American Revolution.
In 1976, during the United States Bicentennial Celebration, the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., had an exhibit called ‘Abroad in
America’. There were pavilions dedicated to 26 foreigners who came to the
United States and made a substantial contribution to American heritage.
Swami Vivekananda was the only one from India. I saw that exhibition. It was
undoubtedly a great recognition of Swamiji'ʹs contribution to the West.
Swami Vivekananda redefined religion for the Western people. He said
that religion is realization. Religion is being and becoming. Religion is the
manifestation of divinity already in human beings. The old religions said that
one was an atheist who did not believe in God. The new religion says one is
an atheist who does not believe in oneself. In this way, Swamiji brought about
a revolution in the field of religion.
The United States is a new nation. The American people are lovers of new
ideas; they want to know something new. They found something new in
Swamiji. The United States is a grand field for Vedanta. Why? Because two
things are in the blood of the American people: love of freedom and love of
democracy. The presiding deity of the United States is the Statue of Liberty,
which you will find in the New York harbour. Vedanta says freedom is the
song of the soul. Throughout almost all of the Vedantic literature, you will
find at the end, jivanmukti -‐‑-‐‑ freedom while living. Regarding democracy, the
Vedantic concept of God is a democratic concept of God. One of our
Upanishads says: Deho devalaya proktah sa jiva kevala shiva -‐‑-‐‑ Each human body
is the temple of God and each being is truly God. Each soul is potentially
divine.
Interreligious Relations
How can we remove fighting, misunderstanding, mistrust, and ill feeling
from organized religions? Religion is not at fault. Politicians and fanatics use
religion for ulterior motives. We find the same wonderful golden rule in all
religions, but very few observe that rule. Buddhism says: ‘Hurt not others in
ways that you yourself would find hurtful.’ Christianity says: ‘Do for others
what you want them to do for you.’ Islam says: ‘No one of you is a believer
until he desires for his brothers that which he desires for himself.’ Hinduism
says: ‘Whatever you consider injurious to yourself, never do to others. This is
the essence of dharma.’
The problem is that we talk about religion and talk about God, but we do
not practise religion. The Vishnu Purana says: ‘Those who talk about God, but
do not do their duties and practise religion, they are enemies of God. This is
because God has to incarnate to demonstrate religion to these hypocrites.’
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan quoted the biting words of Swift in his book
The Hindu View of Life: ‘We have enough religion to hate one another; but we
have not enough religion to love one another.’ Our common enemies are not
religions: our enemies are atheism, agnosticism, materialism, scepticism,
secularism, hedonism, and finally, apathy. Apathy and indifference towards
religion are rampant today. People care more for money, enjoyment, and their
bodies than they do for religion or God. This is a peculiarity of this modern
age that those of us working in the field of organized religions see.
A good relationship among the various religions is vital, because if we do
not learn to live together, we shall die together fighting among ourselves.
Swami Nikhilananda said: ‘Religions as human institutions cannot be
absolutely perfect, but God is perfect. Religion is not God, but shows the way
to God. As clocks should be corrected from time to time by the sun, so also
religions. The corrections are made by the mystic saints who directly
commune with God, and not by the theologians, who are only the interpreters
of the scriptures.’
Vivekananda visualized the religion of the future, where science and
religion will meet and shake hands, poetry and philosophy will become
friends, reason and faith will embrace each other, and the heart and the
intellect will forget their conflicts forever.