Touched by God
By Swami Chetanananda, Belur Math.
From 'God Lived With Them'
From 'God Lived With Them'
The
Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893
Vivekananda
left Mumbai (Bombay) on 31 May 1893 and reached Chicago on 30 July via Colombo,
Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canton, Nagasaki, Kobe, Osaka, kyoto, Tokyo,
Yokohama, Vancouver, and Winnipeg. Soon after his arrival in Chicago, he went
to the information bureau of the Exposition and heard some heartrending news:
The forthcoming Parliament of Religions would not open before the second week
of September; no one without credentials from a bona fide organization would be
accepted as a delegate; and the date to be registered as a delegate had passed.
Moreover, he knew no one in Chicago and did not have sufficient money to pay
the exorbitant hotel charges.
He managed
to stay in Chicago for nearly two weeks and observed the World’s Fair, which
had been arranged in connection with the four-hundredth anniversary of
Columbus’s discovery of America. Marie Louise Burke states: "The primary
purpose of the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 was to bring together the
fruits of man’s material progress. Everything imaginable was on exhibit – not
only the achievements of Western civilization, but the better to show these
off, life-size models of the more backward cultures of the world."
God plays in
mysterious ways. Someone suggested that Vivekananda go to Boston, where living
expenses would be much lower. Earlier, on the train from Vancouver to Chicago,
he had met Katherine Sanborn of Boston. She had invited him to be her guest, so
he now left for Boston to stay with her. She introduced the Swami to John
Wright, the professor of Greek at Harvard University. He wrote some
introductory letters for Vivekananda to some of his friends who were connected
with the Parliament: "Here is a man more learned than all our learned
professors put together." In addition, Professor Wright bought the Swami’s
railroad ticket back to Chicago.
It was late
evening when Vivekananda arrived in Chicago. Unfortunately, he had lost the
address of the committee in charge of Parliament delegates. He did not know
where to turn for help, and no one came forward to assist this strange looking
foreigner. Swamiji spent his first night without food, in an empty wagon that
he found in the railroad station. The next morning, by divine providence, he
met Mrs. George W. Hale. She took him into her home and later introduced him to
her personal friend, Dr. J.H. Barrows, the president of the Parliament. Through
him, the Swami was accepted as a representative of Hinduism and was lodged with
the other delegates.
The World’s
Parliament of Religions was one of the most significant events in the history
of the world, because this was the first time all great religions of the world
assembled on the same platform. On 11 September 1893, in the opening session of
the Parliament, Vivekananda reiterated the eternal message of Vedanta: "As
the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their
waters in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take, through
different tendencies, various though they may appear, crooked or straight, all
lead to Thee."
Mrs. S.K.
Blodgett, an American lady who first saw Vivekananda at the Parliament, said
later: "I was at the Parliament of Religions at Chicago in 1893, and when
that young man (Vivekananda) got up and said: 'Sisters and Brothers of
America,' seven thousand people rose to their feet as a tribute to something
they knew not what. When it was over, I saw scores of women walking over the
benches to get near him, and I said to my self, 'Well, my lad, if you can
resist that onslaught, you are indeed a god.'"
On 27
September 1893, in the final session of the Parliament, Vivekananda concluded
his speech: "If the Parliament of Religions has shown anything to the
world, it is this: it has proved to the world that holiness, purity, and
charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world, and that
every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character. In the
face of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own
religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my
heart and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be
written, in spite of resistance: ‘Help and not Fight,’ ‘Assimilation and not
Destruction,’ ‘Harmony and Peace and not Dissension.’"
I have a
Message For the West
The American
news media gave Vivekananda a great deal of publicity, and he became widely
known. The homes of some of the wealthiest people of American society were
opened to him, and he was received as an honoured guest. But Swamiji never swayed
from his monastic ideals or from the service he had set out to perform. He
began lecturing all over the Mid West as well as on the East Coast and in some
southern states of the USA. Vivekananda founded the Vedanta Society of New York
in November 1894. On 30 December 1894, at the Brooklyn Ethical Society, Swamiji
declared: "I have a message for the West, as Buddha has a message for the
East."
Vivekananda
taught Vedanta to the West, the universal philosophy and religion of the
Upanishads, which originated thousands of years ago in India. Western audiences
heard something new in his powerful words: Sectarianism, bigotry, superstition,
intolerance were swept aside to make room for the harmony of all religions. It
was an overwhelming message of goodwill and brotherly love. "The Swami had
little patience with the constant harping on original sin in the West,"
wrote Swami Atulananda, a Western monk. "Why do you dwell on sin so
much?" he exclaimed. "You are heirs of immortal bliss. We Hindus
refuse to call you sinners! Ye are the children of God, holy and perfect
beings. It is a sin to call man a sinner, it is a libel on human nature."
Atulananda continued: "Thus the Swami declared the trumpet call of glad
tidings, of hope, of cheer, of salvation for all. And a new thought wave swept
over America. The Swami brought the gospel of the divinity of human
beings."
"Swami
Vivekananda had come to speak the Truth, not to flatter the American nation to
win their applause and sympathy. He had great reverence for Christ and his
teachings, but he saw flaws in current Christianity… In Detroit, before a large
audience he exclaimed: "I have come to make you better Christians.
Remember Christ’s saying: "Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be
called the children of God." Everything that has selfishness for its basis
must perish. If you want to live, go back to Christ. Go back to him who had
nowhere to lay his head. Go back to him…. Better be ready to live in rags with
Christ than to live in palaces without him."
Vivekananda
redefined religion for his Western audience, saying: "You must bear in
mind that religion does not consist in talk, or doctrines, or books, but in
realization. It is not learning but BEING."
"The
old religion said that he was an atheist who did not believe in God. The new
religion says that he is an atheist who does not believe in himself."
"Religion
is the idea which is raising the brute unto man, and man unto God…. Take
religion from human society and what will remain? Nothing but a forest of
brutes. Sense-happiness is not the goal of humanity. Wisdom is the goal of all
life."
The supreme
goal of human life, according to Vivekananda, is to manifest the divinity that
is within all beings. How is this done? Vivekananda described the methods in
detail in his talks on the four yogas: karma yoga, the path of unselfish
action; bhakti yoga, the path of devotion; raja yoga, the path of meditation;
and jnana yoga, the path of knowledge. These yogas, or spiritual paths, help
people to unite themselves with God, or Brahman, so they can overcome all the
weaknesses and problems in their lives and attain supreme bliss and freedom.
Truth is
always simple, as the teachings of all great teachers of the world demonstrate.
Since Vivekananda had himself experienced the Ultimate Reality, he could make
the truths of Vedanta understandable to all. He wrote to one of his disciples:
"To put the Hindu ideas into English and then make out of dry philosophy
and intricate mythology and queer, startling psychology, a religion which shall
be easy, simple, popular, and at the same time meet the requirements of the
highest minds – is a task only those can understand who have attempted it. The
dry, abstract Advaita must become living – poetic – in everyday life; out of
hopelessly intricate mythology must come concrete moral forms; and out of
bewildering yogi-ism must come the most scientific and practical psychology –
and all this must be put in a form so that a child may grasp it. That is my
life’s work."
Establishing
the Vedanta Movement in the West
During his
lecture tour, Vivekananda came in contact with many well-known Western
personalities. Robert Ingersoll, the famous orator and agnostic, cautioned
Swamiji not to be too bold because people were intolerant of alien religious
ideas. "Fifty years ago," he said, "you would have been hanged
if you had come to preach in this country, or you would have been burnt alive.
You would have been stoned out of the village if you had come even much
later."
The great
electrical inventor Nikola Tesla was impressed hearing Swamiji talk about the
Vedantic Prana (energy), Akasha (space), and the Kalpas (cycles) – which
according to Tesla were the only theories modern science could entertain.
Vivekananda also met John D. Rockefeller; and the Swami tried to help him
understand that God had given him wealth so that he might have an opportunity
to do good to others. Rockefeller was annoyed that any one would dare talk to
him that way; he left the room without even saying goodbye. A week later he
visited Swamiji and brought a paper that set forth his plans to donate an
enormous sum of money to a public institution. "Well, there you are,"
he said, "you must be satisfied now, and you can thank me for it."
Swamiji quietly read it and said: "It is for you to thank me."
Harriet
Monroe and Ella Wheeler Wilcox, two famous American poets, heard Vivekananda’s
lectures and became his great admirers. Swamiji also left a lasting impression
on Professor William James of Harvard university; Dr. Lewis G. Janes, president
of the Brooklyn Ethical Association; Mrs. J.J.Bagley, the wife of the governor
of Michigan; Sarah Farmer, the founder of Green Acre Conference; Mrs. Sara C.
Bull, the wife of Ole Bull, the celebrated Norwegian violinist; Sarah
Bernhardt, the famous French actress; and Madam Emma Calve, the well-known
French opera singer.
Calve wrote
in her autobiography: "It has been my good fortune and my joy to know a
man who truly ‘walked with God,’ a noble being, a saint, a philosopher, and a
true friend. His influence upon my spiritual life was profound. He opened up
new horizons before me, enlarging and vivifying my religious ideas and ideals,
teaching me a broader understanding of truth. My soul will bear him eternal
gratitude. The extraordinary man was a Hindu monk of the Order of the Vedanta.
He was called the Swami Vivekananda, and was widely known in America for his
religious teachings."
After
lecturing extensively, Swamiji realized that mere talk was not enough; he
needed to train some sincere souls who would continue spreading the message of
Vedanta in his absence. In the summer of 1894 Swamiji was invited to speak at a
"Humane Conference" held at Green Acre, Maine. Christian Scientists,
spiritualists, faith healers, and groups representing similar views participated
in the conference. On 31 July 1894 Vivekananda wrote to his devotees, the Hale
sisters, who lived in Chicago:
"The
other night the camp people all went to sleep under a pine tree under which I
sit every morning a la India and talk to them. Of course I went with them and
we had a nice night under the stars, sleeping on the lap of Mother Earth, and
enjoyed every bit of it. I cannot describe to you that night’s glories – after
the year of brutal life that I have led, on sleeping on the ground, to meditate
under the tree in the forest! The inn people are more or less well-to do, and
the camp people are healthy, young, sincere, and holy men and women. I teach
them all Shivoham, Shivoham – ‘I am Shiva, I am Shiva’ – and they all repeat
it, innocent and pure as they are, and brave beyond all bounds, and I am so
happy and glorified."
In the same
letter, Swamiji inspired his American sisters, who sincerely helped his Western
work: "Wealth goes, beauty vanishes, life flies, powers fly – but the Lord
abideth forever, love abideth forever…. Stick to God. Who cares what comes, in
the body or anywhere? Through the terrors of evil, say, ‘My God, my love!’
Through the pangs of death, say, ‘My God, my love!’… Do not go for glass beads,
leaving the mine of diamonds. This life is a great chance. What! Seekest thou
the pleasures of this world? He is the fountain of all bliss. Seek the highest,
aim for the highest, and you shall reach the highest."
While in New
York in the early part of 1895, Swamiji met Miss Josephine MacLeod and her sister
Betty (who later married Francis Leggett). They not only worked for Vedanta,
but also took care of Swamiji’s personal needs. In the middle of 1895, when
Swamiji was exhausted from lecturing in New York, Mr. Leggett invited him to
his retreat cottage at Camp Percy, New Hampshire. On 7 June 1895, Vivekananda
wrote to a friend about his visit to the camp: "It gives me a new lease on
life to be here. I go into the forest alone and read my Gita and am quite
happy."
After a
short visit to Camp Percy, Swamiji went to thousand Island Park on the Saint
Lawrence River in New York State. Miss Elizabeth Dutcher, a Vedanta student,
gave her cottage to Swamiji so that he could rest there as well as give classes
for sincere students. Swamiji stayed there nearly seven weeks and taught his
American students the uplifting philosophy of Vedanta along with the lives and
teachings of other great teachers of the world. These teachings were later
published as ‘Inspired Talks’. In Thousand Island Park Swamiji initiated some of
his male and female students into sannyasa and brahmacharya (renunciation and
celibacy), reminding them again and again: ‘Find God. Nothing else matters.’ He
emphasized morality as the basis of spiritual life. Without truth,
non-violence, continence, non-covetousness, cleanliness, and austerity, he
repeated, there could be no spirituality.
On the
morning of 7 August 1895, he went for a walk with Sister Christine and Mrs.
Mary Funke. They strolled about half a mile up a hill covered with trees, and
sat under a low-branched tree. Vivekananda suddenly said to them: "Now we
will meditate. We shall be like Buddha under the Bo-tree." Vivekananda
became so still that he seemed to turn to bronze. Then a thunderstorm came, and
it poured rain. The Swami was absorbed in meditation, oblivious to everything
around him. Mrs. Funke raised her umbrella and protected him as much as
possible. After a while Vivekananda regained his outer consciousness, and
looking around, said, "Once more am I in Calcutta in the rains." That
evening he left for New York.
In mid
August, Swamiji left for Paris, where Mr. Francis Leggett had invited him to be
his guest. Before he left, however, both Miss Henrietta Muller and E.T. Sturdy
invited him to London to teach Vedanta. Swamiji was also eager to do some
constructive Vedanta work in England, and decided to establish a society there.
For that purpose, he brought from India Swami Saradananda, and later Swami
Abhedananda. During his first visit to the West, Vivekananda travelled to
England three times; from September to November 1895, from April to July 1896,
and from October to December 1896. Miss Margaret Noble (later Sister Nivedita)
wrote in her book The Master as I Saw Him:
"It is
strange to remember, and yet it was surely my good fortune, that though I heard
the teachings of my Master, the Swami Vivekananda, on both the occasions of his
visits to England in 1895 and 1896, I yet knew little or nothing of him in
private life, until I came to India in the early days of 1898.
What the
world wants today, is twenty men and women who can dare to stand in the street
yonder and say that they possess nothing but God. Who will go?" He (Swami
Vivekananda) had risen to his feet by this time, and stood looking round his
audience as if begging some of them to join him. ‘Why should one fear?’ And
then, in tones of which, even now, I can hear again the thunderous conviction,
‘If this is true, what else could matter? If it is not true, what do our lives
matter?’"
During his
second visit, the Swami electrified English audiences with his jnana yoga
lectures. In addition he gave a series of lectures at the Royal Society of
Painters in Water Colours in Piccadilly, in clubs, educational societies, and
in private circles. The British press expressed great admiration for him.
Vivekananda wrote to a disciple in Madras, "In England my work is really
splendid." Vivekananda attracted some sincere British followers who
dedicated their lives for his mission. Two of them were J.J.Goodwin, who became
his stenographer and recorded many of his lectures, and Margaret Noble, who
later went to India and established a school for women.
Professor
Max Muller, the well-known orientalist, wrote an article entitled ‘A Real
Mahatma,’ about Sri Ramakrishna (‘Nineteenth Century’ August 1896). He invited
Vivekananda to his Oxford residence, and they became close friends. Later, in
Germany, the Swami met Professor Paul Deussen, another famous Indologist, who
believed the system of Vedanta to be one of the "most majestic structures
and valuable products of the genius of man in his search for Truth."
Vivekananda
left England on 16 December 1896 and travelled overland to Naples, the port of
departure for India. Mr. and Mrs. Sevier, who later helped to establish the
Advaita Ashrama in Mayavati, accompanied him. On their way to India, the group
visited Milan, Florence, and finally Rome, where they spent Christmas week.
Swamiji was impressed with the magnificent art collection of Italy, as well as
the grandeur of the cathedrals. At Naples, Goodwin joined the party and they
left for India on 30 December 1896.
The Return
to India
Vivekananda and his devotees arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in the afternoon of 15 January 1897. On that same day, the people of Colombo gave Vivekananda a royal reception. The Swami gave the first public lecture in the East, entitled ‘India, the Holy Land,’ on the following day. Pointing to Indian spiritual tradition, the Swami said: "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."
Vivekananda’s journey from Colombo to Madras was eventful. As soon as the Swami touched Indian soil, Bhaskar Setupati, the Raja of Ramnad, received his beloved guru cordially and arranged everything for him and his Western followers. Swamiji received overwhelming receptions at Kandy, Anuradhapuram, Jaffna, Pamban, Rameshwaram, Ramnad, Paramakudi, Madura, Trichonopoly, and Kumbhakonam.
It is amazing that an unknown monk became a national hero. The enthusiasm of the people reached its peak in Madras, where extensive preparations had been made for Vivekananda’s reception. It was the people of Chennai (Madras) who had first recognized the Swami’s greatness, and had equipped him for his journey to America. The city streets were profusely decorated and seventeen triumphal arches had been erected. As soon as he got off the train, thousands of people received him with thundering shouts and applause. An elaborate procession was formed and he was taken to Castle Kernan, where arrangements had been made for his stay in the city. Vivekananda gave four lectures in Madras. All of his lectures from Colombo to Almora were recorded by his English disciple, J.J. Goodwin, and later published.
Swami Vivekananda began to awaken the sleeping, subjugated nation with the clarion call of Vedanta: " ‘Arise! Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached!’ Strength, strength is what the Upanishads speak to me from every page. Be not weak. Will sin cure sin, weakness cure weakness? Stand up and be strong."
"The first step in getting strength is to uphold the Upanishads, and believe: ‘I am the Soul. I am the Omnipotent, I am the Omniscient.’ Repeat these blessed saving words…. These conceptions of Vedanta must come out, must not remain in the forest, not only in the cave, but they must come out at the bar and the bench, in the pulpit, and in the cottage of the poor man."
Vivekananda’s bold message reverberated all over India and awakened the national consciousness:
"My India, arise! Where is your vital force? In your immortal Soul. Each nation, like each individual, has one theme in this life, which is its centre, the principal note round which every other note comes to form the harmony. If any one nation attempts to throw off its national vitality, the direction which has become its own through the transmission of centuries, that nation dies…. In one nation political power is its vitality as in England. Artistic life, in another, and so on. In India religious life forms the centre, the keynote of the whole music of the national life."
Vivekananda reminded his countrymen to be unselfish and to cultivate love for the masses: "Feel, therefore, my would-be reformers, my would-be patriots! Do you feel? Do you feel that millions and millions of the descendants of gods and of sages have become next-door neighbours to brutes? Do you feel that millions are starving today and millions have been starving for ages? Do you feel that ignorance has come over the land as a dark cloud? Does it make you restless? Does it make you sleepless? Has it made you almost mad? Are you seized with that one idea of the misery of ruin, and have you forgotten all about your name, your fame, your wives, your children, your property, even your own bodies? If so, that is the first step to becoming patriot."
Swamiji wrote:
"For the next fifty years let all other vain gods disappear from our minds. This is the only god that is awake: our own race – everywhere His hands, everywhere His feet, everywhere His ears, He covers everything. All other gods are sleeping. Why should we vainly go after them, when we can worship the god that we see all around us, the Virat (the Cosmic god)? The first of all worships is the worship of the Virat, of those all around us. These are all our gods – men and animals; the first gods we have to worship are our own countrymen."
Swamiji wanted to uplift the masses through his ‘Man-making religion’ and ‘Man-making education.’ He said:
"Men, men – these are wanted: everything else will be ready; but strong, vigorous, believing young men, sincere to the backbone, are wanted. A hundred such and the world will be revolutionized." At the same time he cautioned his followers: "Let no political significance ever be attached falsely to my writings or sayings…. I will have nothing to do with political nonsense. I do not believe in politics. God and Truth are the only policy in the world. Everything else is trash."
Vivekananda had a tremendous impact all over South India. After visiting the South, he and his party took a boat from Chennai (Madras) to Calcutta. The steamer reached Budge Budge on 19 February, and he boarded a special train for Sealdah, Calcuttta. Some of his brother disciples and thousands of people gave the Swami a wonderful reception: triumphal arches decorated the streets, and his unharnessed carriage was drawn by students in a huge procession with music and religious songs. Gopallal Seal Villa, a garden house on the bank of the Ganges, was arranged for the Swami and his party.
On 28 February 1897 the people of Calcutta honoured him with a public reception. Raja Benoy Krishna Deb presided and thousands of people attended. In response to the welcome address, Vivekananda spoke briefly about his work in the West, and how Vedantic teachings could improve the lives of the masses. He also paid a touching tribute to Sri Ramakrishna, "My teacher, my master, my hero, my ideal, my God in life." "If there has been anything achieved by me," he said with deep feeling, "by thoughts or words or deeds, if from my lips has ever fallen one word that has ever helped anyone in the world, I lay no claim to it; it was his. But if there have been curses falling from my lips, if there has been hatred coming out of me, it is all mine, and not his. All that has been weak has been mine; all that has been life giving, strengthening, pure and holy has been his inspiration, his words, and he himself. Yes, my friends, the world has yet to know that man."
In 1897 the birth anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna was celebrated at the Dakshineshwar temple garden. Vivekananda joined the festival along with his brother disciples and devotees. He walked barefoot on the holy ground, and was emotionally overwhelmed remembering his days with the Master. Vivekananda tried to speak a few words, but could not be heard over the noise of the large crowd around him. While Vivekananda was in Calcutta people flocked to him incessantly to pay their respects, or to hear his exposition of Vedanta. As a result, his health broke down and he left for Darjeeling, a Himalayan resort, for a much-needed rest. Swamiji regained his health to some extent, and then returned to Calcutta at the end of April 1897.
Vedanta was never an organized religion; it has been practised by mendicants all through the ages. However, Vivekananda felt the need of a monastic order that would carry the message of Vedanta all over the world, although he knew the pros and cons of organized religion. While he was in America this thought came to his mind: "To organize or not to organize? If I organize, the spirit will diminish. If I do not organize, the message will not spread." On 1st May 1897 Vivekananda called a meeting of the monastic and lay devotees of Ramakrishna at the Calcutta residence of Balaram Basu and discussed the establishment of his Vedanta work on an organized basis.
Swamiji proposed to the members present that the association should "bear the name of him in whose name we have become sannyasins (monks), taking whom as your idea you are leading the life of householders, and whose holy name, influence, and teachings have within twelve years of his passing away, spread in such unthought-of ways both in the East and in the West." All the members enthusiastically accepted the swami’s proposal, and the Ramakrishna Mission Association came into existence. Swamiji then delineated the aims and ideals of the Ramakrishna Order, which are purely spiritual and humanitarian in nature and completely dissociated from politics.
Swamiji was overjoyed to see the auspicious beginning of his work in India. Inspired by Vivekananda, Mr. and Mrs. Sevier became involved in building the Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati in the Himalayas, where Westerners could practise non-dualistic Vedanta. Swamijee sent Swami Ramakrishnananda to start a centre in Madras, and Swamis Akhandananda and Trigunatitananda started extensive famine relief work in Murshidabad and Dinajpur. Swamiji encouraged his brother disciples to spread out all over India. On 9 July 1897 Swamiji wrote to Mary Hale in Chicago:
"Only one idea was burning in my brain – to start the machine for elevating the Indian masses, and that I have succeeded in doing so to a certain extent. It would have made your heart glad to see how my boys are working in the midst of famine and disease and misery – nursing by the mat-bed of the cholera stricken pariah and feeding the starving chandala, and the Lord sends help to me, to them, to all."
From May 1897 to the end of that year, Swamiji travelled and lectured extensively in northern India. He was over extending himself, sacrificing his health and comfort for the regeneration of India. Finally his doctors advised him to go to a cool place in the Himalayas. He therefore went to Almora, a Himalayan resort. On 29 May he wrote to his doctor: "I began to take a lot of exercise on horseback, both morning and evening. Since then I have been very much better indeed…. You ought to see me, Doctor, when I sit meditating in front of the beautiful snow peaks and repeat from the Upanishads, ‘He has neither disease, nor decay, nor death; for verily, He has obtained a body full of the fire of yoga."
On 3 June 1897 he wrote to Christine Greenstidel: "As for myself, I am quite content. I have roused a good many of our people, and that was all I wanted. Let things have their course and karma its sway. I have no bonds here now."
From Almora Vivekananda went to Punjab and Kashmir. Wherever he travelled, he inspired people to organize in order to carry on the work of practical Vedanta. In Jammu he had a pleasant meeting with the maharaja of Kashmir, and he discussed with him the possibility of founding a monastery in Kashmir for training young people. In Lahore the swami gave a number of lectures, and brought harmony between the Arya Samajists and the orthodox Hindus, two antagonistic sects. Swamiji was very much against religious dogmatism, and personality cults; he knew that personality cult grows speedily and dies quickly. Vivekananda preached the eternal, universal principles of Vedanta. One day at Lahore when Lala Hansraj, the leader of the Arya Samaj, was defending his orthodox view about the Vedas, Swamiji said to him:
"Sir, you emphasize that there can be only one interpretation of the Vedas, which I consider a kind of fanaticism. I know it helps to spread a sect rapidly. Again a personality cult spreads faster than scriptural dogma. I have the power to bring one-third of the population of the world under the banner of Sri Ramakrishna, but I have no intention of doing that, because that will counteract my guru’s great message of harmony, ‘As many faiths so many paths,’ and a new sect will originate in India."
Before returning to Calcutta, he visited Dehra Dun, Delhi, Alwar, Khetri, Ajmere, Jodhpur, Indore, and other places in northern and western India.
Training the
Disciples
Vivekananda
spent most of 1898 training his Indian and Western disciples and working to
consolidate what had already been started. During this period he also travelled
to Darjeeling, Almora, and Kashmir.
In 1892 the
Ramakrishna Monastery had been moved from Baranagore to Alambazar, and then in
February 1898 it was moved to Nilambar Mukherjee’s garden house in Belur
village. A plot of land was purchased there on the bank of the Ganges. Under
Swamiji’s direction, the brother monks supervised the levelling of the grounds,
and the construction of the living quarters and the shrine. Several young men
joined the monastery, inspired by Vivekananda’s message. Besides conducting
classes on Vedanta scriptures, the Swami spent hours with them in meditation
and devotional singing. Vivekananda also engaged Swami Swarupananda and the Seviers
to start an English monthly magazine, ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ in Mayavati,
Himalayas, and asked Swami Trigunatitananda to start the Bengali magazine
‘Udbodhan’ in Calcutta. During that time, he also initiated Miss Margaret Noble
into brahmacharya (celibacy) and gave her the name "Nivedita" – the
Dedicated One.
In March
1898 there was an outbreak of plague in Calcutta. Vivekananda immediately made
plans for relief work, but there was no money. He told his brother disciples:
"We shall sell, if necessary, the land that has just been purchased for
the monastery. We are sannyasins (monks); we must be ready to sleep under the
trees and live on alms as we did before. Must we care for the monastery and
possessions, when by disposing of them we could relieve thousands of helpless
people suffering before our own eyes?" Fortunately, monetary help came
from the public, and the Ramakrishna monks and Sister Nivedita did extensive
relief work in the city.
When the
plague was under control, Swami left Calcutta with his Western disciples and
went to Almora to rest as well as to train them for work in India. They learned
from Vivekananda the Indian way of life, its history, religion, philosophy, and
tradition. Sister Nivedita recorded these talks in her book ‘Notes of Some Wanderings
with the Swami Vivekananda.’ Mrs. Ole Bull and Miss Josephine MacLeod were with
Swamiji during this Himalayan journey. "How can I best help you?"
asked Miss MacLeod. The Swami replied, "Love India." This remarkable
American woman followed Vivekananda till her death. What a great service she
gave to India! Mrs. Ole Bull was also a great devotee. She contributed
financially to build the Belur monastery. In Almora the Swami heard that
Pavhari Baba and J. J.Goodwin had died. He exclaimed in grief when on 21 June
1898 he received the cable announcing Goodwin’s death, "My right hand is
gone!" He wrote a beautiful condolence letter to Goodwin’s mother in
England and he also wrote a poem in his honour entitled "Requiescat in
Pace".
On 11 June
1898 Swamiji and his party left Almora for Kashmir. While in Kashmir, the
maharaja received Vivekananda with the utmost respect and offered him a plot of
land to build a monastery and a Sanskrit college. Unfortunately this plan was
later cancelled, because the British government did not approve it. While in
Kashmir Swamiji decided to make a pilgrimage to Amarnath, the ice lingam of
Lord Shiva in the glacial valley of the western Himalayas. Even today, it is a
very difficult journey. He asked Nivedita to accompany him, so that she might
have first hand experience of the Hindu pilgrim’s life. On 2 August 1898 the
Swami and Nivedita entered the cave and worshipped the Lord. There Vivekananda
had an overwhelming spiritual experience. He never disclosed it fully, except
to say that he had been granted a boon by Amarnath, the Lord of Immortality,
not to die until he himself willed it.
On 8 August
the party arrived at Srinagar, where they remained until 30 September. During
this period the Swami’s mood was directed to Kali, the Divine Mother. He
composed a poem about her, and later went to visit Kshir Bhavani, a temple
dedicated to the Mother that had long ago been destroyed by Muslim invaders.
Here he had a vision of the Goddess. Observing the ruins of the temple,
Vivekananda felt sad and said to himself: "How could the people have
permitted such sacrilege without offering strenuous resistance? If I had been
here then, I would never have allowed such a thing. I would have laid down my
life to protect the Mother." Thereupon he heard the voice of the Goddess
saying: "What if unbelievers should enter my temple and defile my image?
What is that to you? Do you protect me, or do I protect you? My child, if I
wish I can have innumerable temples and magnificent monastic centres. I can
even this moment raise a seven storied golden temple on this very spot."
After his return, referring to this experience, he said to his disciples:
"All my patriotism is gone. Everything is gone. Now it is only ‘Mother!
Mother!’ I have been very wrong…. I am only a little child."
The party
left Kashmir on 11 October and went to Lahore. The Western disciples left for
Agra and Delhi to sightsee, and the Swami returned to Belur Math on 18 October.
After this pilgrimage his health again deteriorated. He suffered terribly from
asthma.
On 12
November 1898, the day of the Kali worship, Holy Mother inaugurated the
Nivedita Girls’ School in Calcutta. At the end she prayed that the blessings of
the great Mother of the universe might be upon the school and that the girls it
should train might be ideal girls. Thus the Swami encouraged Nivedita to
educate Indian women, and gave her complete freedom to run the school.
On 9
December 1898 Belur Math was formally consecrated when Vivekananda installed
the Master’s relics in its shrine. Swamiji carried the urn of relics on his own
shoulder, and on his way he said to a disciple: "The Master once told me,
‘I will go and live wherever you take me, carrying me on your shoulder, be it
under a tree or in the humblest cottage.’ With faith in that gracious promise I
myself am now carrying him to the site of our future Math. Know for certain, my
boy, that so long as his name inspires his followers with the ideal of purity,
holiness, and charity for all men, even so long shall he, the Master, sanctify
this place with his presence."
Vivekananda
was in an ecstatic mood after the consecration: He was relieved to find a
permanent place for the Master. Belur Math became the headquarters of the
Ramakrishna Order. He told the monks and devotees: "It will be a centre in
which will be recognized and practised a grand harmony of all creeds and faiths
as exemplified in the life of Sri Ramakrishna, and religion in its universal
aspect, alone, will be preached. And from this centre of universal toleration will
go forth the shining message of goodwill, peace, and harmony to deluge the
whole world."
Vivekananda
was an embodiment of renunciation and purity, and he reminded the monks that
all power comes from those virtues. In the Belur Math rule book, he stated the
monks’ primary goal: "This monastery is established to work out one’s own
liberation, and to train oneself to do good to the world in every way, along
the lines laid down by Sri Ramakrishna." One day one of his disciples
expressed a desire to go into seclusion in order to practise austerities. The
Swami reprimanded him: "You will go to hell if you seek your own
salvation! Seek the salvation of others if you want to reach the highest. Kill
out the desire for personal liberation. This is the greatest spiritual
discipline." This statement shows what an unselfish, gigantic heart
Vivekananda had!
Second Visit
to the West
On 16
December 1898 Vivekananda announced that he would return to the West to meet
his old friends and to see the progress of the Vedanta work that he had
started. The monks and devotees welcomed the idea, thinking the sea voyage
would restore his failing health. Vivekananda left from Calcutta on 20 June
1899, accompanied by Swami Turiyananda and Sister Nivedita. This journey turned
into a wonderful education for both of them: Swamiji taught Turiyananda how to
work in the West and Nivedita how to work in the East. Nivedita wrote: "It
was while we sat chatting in the river (Ganga) on the first afternoon, he
suddenly exclaimed: ‘Yes, the older I grow, the more everything seems to me to
lie in manliness." Another day, the Swami said to Nivedita: "Social
life in the West is like a peal of laughter, but underneath, it is a wail. It
ends in a sob. The fun and frivolity are all on the surface: really, it is full
of tragic intensity. Now here (India), it is sad and gloomy pri on the outside,
but underneath are carelessness and merriment."
Vivekananda’s
belief in the effectiveness of Vedanta grew through his travels and
observations, experiences and insights. He saw it not as a mere religion or
philosophy, but rather as a means by which science and religion could become
reconciled, and material prosperity and spirituality blended. He noticed that
the East was strong in noble religious and spiritual traditions even though it
suffered from grinding poverty; the West, however, for all its technological
advancements and affluence, suffered from spiritual poverty. There was no
reason, he thought, why East and West could not profit from each other’s
strengths by removing each other’s weaknesses.
Vivekananda
arrived in London on 31 July 1899 and stayed there a few weeks. He met with
some old friends, but his fragile health did not allow him to give lectures. He
then left for New York with Turiyananda and two American devotees, and arrived
there on 28 August. It was arranged that the Swamis would live temporarily at
Ridgely Manor, Francis Leggett’s beautiful country home. The entire fall
Vivekananda rested and recuperated. He was happy to see the activities of the Vedanta
Society of New York (which he had founded in November 1894) under the
leadership of Swami Abhedananda, and he engaged Swami Turiyananda to give
classes in Montclair, New Jersey.
Vivekananda
was in a relaxed mood at Ridgely. "There are many memories," writes
Maud Stumm, an American devotee, "connected with those days at Ridgely.
Nearly every day Swami was wonderful in a new way – and now it would be music
that he dwelt upon, now art, and once he burst into the morning room, declaring
for ‘Liberty.’ "What do I care if Mohammed was a good man, or Buddha! Does
that alter my goodness or evil? Let us be good for our own sake on our own
responsibility!'’
Miss MacLeod
wrote in her reminiscences: "In the evening, sitting around the great fire
in the hall of Ridgely Manor, he would talk, and once, after he came out with
some of his thoughts, a lady said, ‘Swami, I don’t agree with you there.’ ‘No?
Then it is not for you,’ he answered. Someone else said, ‘O, but that is where
I find you true.’ ‘Ah, then it was for you,’ he said, showing that utter
respect for the other man’s views. One evening he was so eloquent, about a
dozen people listening, his voice becoming so soft and seemingly far away; when
the evening was over, we all separated without even saying goodnight to each
other. Such a holy quality pervaded . My sister, Mrs. Leggett, had occasion to
go to one of the rooms afterward. There she found one of the guests, an
agnostic, weeping. ‘What do you mean?’ my sister asked, and the lady said,
‘That man has given me eternal life. I never wish to hear him again.’"
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(Continued...)
(My humble salutations to H H Swamy Chetananda and Hinduism dot com for the collection)
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