Rabuddha Harata

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The best guide in life is strength. In religion, or AWAKENED INDIA
A monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order
as in all other matters, discard everything started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896
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Prabuddha Bharata • January 2020 • Visions of Advaita

—Swami Vivekananda
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ISSN 0032-6178
1
Published on 1 February 2020
RABUDDHA
9 770032 617002
HARATA
as in all other matters, discard everything A monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order
started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896
with it.
W ith

Ingredients and Intermediates
Regd. Off. & Fact. : Plot No. 88 & 89, Phase-11. February 2020
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2
THE ROAD TO WISDOM

Swami Vivekananda on
The Mechanics of Prana
A ccording to the Yogis, there are three

principal nerve currents: one they call
the Ida, the other the Pingala, and the middle
one the Sushumna, and all these are inside
the spinal column. The Ida and the Pingala,
the left and the right, are clusters of nerves,
while the middle one, the Sushumna, is
hollow and is not a cluster of nerves. This
Sushumna is closed, and for the ordinary nerves, Ida and Pingala, work through the
man is of no use, for he works through Prana. It is the Prana that is moving every
the Ida and the Pingala only. Currents part of the body, becoming the different
are continually going down and coming forces. Give up that old idea that God is
up through these nerves, carrying orders something that produces the effect and sits
all over the body through other nerves on a throne dispensing justice. In working
running to the different organs of the body. we become exhausted because we use up
It is the regulation and the bringing into so much Prana. The breathing exercises,
rhythm of the Ida and Pingala that is the called Pranayama, bring about regulation of
great object of breathing. But that itself is the breathing, rhythmic action of the Prana.
nothing—it is only so much air taken into When the Prana is working rhythmically,
the lungs; except for purifying the blood, it everything works properly. When the Yogis
is of no more use. There is nothing occult get control over their own bodies, if there
in the air that we take in with our breath is any disease in any part, they know that
and assimilate to purify the blood; the the Prana is not rhythmic there and they
action is merely a motion. This motion can direct the Prana to the affected part until
be reduced to the unit movement we call the rhythm is re-established. Just as you can
Prana: and everywhere, all movements are control the Prana in your own body, so, if
the various manifestations of this Prana. you are powerful enough, you can control,
This Prana is electricity; it is magnetism; even from here another man’s Prana in
it is thrown out by the brain as thought. India. It is all one. There is no break. Unity
Everything is Prana; it is moving the sun, is the law. Physically, psychically, mentally,
the moon, and the stars. We say, whatever morally, metaphysically, it is all one. Life is
is in this universe has been projected by only a vibration. That which vibrates this
the vibration of the Prana. The highest ocean of ether, vibrates you.
result of vibration is thought. If there be
any higher, we cannot conceive of it. The F rom The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda,
(Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2016), II.31.
3
Vol. 125, No. 2
February 2020 PBRABUDDHA
HARATA
or AWAKENED INDIA
Managing Editor A monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order
Swami Shuddhidananda started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896
Editor
Swami Narasimhananda
Associate Editor and Design Contents
Swami Shantachittananda
Production Editor
Swami Chidekananda
Traditional Wisdom 295
Cover Design This Month 296

Subhabrata Chandra
Print Production Coordination Editorial: Can Religion Be Avoided? 297
Swami Vedavratananda
What Pattern of Educated Persons 299
Internet Edition Coordination
Does Free India Need?
Swami Jnanishananda
D W Devaraja
Circulation
Indrajit Sinha Swami Vivekananda and Advaita Vedanta: 313
Tapas Jana
The Inseparable
Editorial Office
Prabuddha Bharata Kanchan Gogate
Advaita Ashrama
Ethical Dilemma, Legality, Profit, and 318
PO Mayavati, Via Lohaghat
Dt Champawat · 262 524 Leadership in the Twenty-first Century
Uttarakhand, India Jayanta Roy
Tel: 91 · 96909 98179
prabuddhabharata@gmail.com Advaita Vedanta: Swami Vivekananda 325
pb@advaitaashrama.org
and the Global Context
Printed and Published by Swami Satyapriyananda
Swami Vibhatmananda
Publication Office Young Eyes: Orphan Children 330
Advaita Ashrama
5 Dehi Entally Road Balabodha: Maya 332
Kolkata · 700 014
West Bengal, India Traditional Tales: Holy Company 333
Tel: 91 · 33 · 2289 0898
Reviews 335
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mail@advaitaashrama.org
Manana 338
Internet Edition
www.advaitaashrama.org Reports 340
4
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Swami Swahananda
A Profile in Greatness
by Dr. Malay Das
The spiritual head of the Vedanta Society of Southern California for
thirty-six years, Swami Swahananda, a direct disciple of Swami Vijnanananda,
worked ceaselessly to spread Sri Ramakrishna’s message. He established
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Pages: 234 | Price: ` 80 ability to love with detachment, and his dignity and grace during his final
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Written in a simple, lucid and entertaining style, this spiritual biography
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11
Traditional
Wisdom
Wrút²; std{; ŒtËg JhtrªtctuÆt; >
Arise! Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached!
February 2020
Maitrayaniya Upanishad Vol. 125, No. 2
मैत्रायणीयोपनिषत‍ ्
ु
अत्रोदाहरन्ति । यदा पञ्चावतिष्ठन्ते ज्ञानानि मनसा सह । बद्धिश्च न विचे ष्टते तामाहुः परमां गतिम ॥्
एतदुक्त्वान्तर्हृदयः शाकायन्यस्तस् मै नमस्कृ त्वा यथावदुपचारी कृ तकृ त्यो मरुदुत्तरायणं गतो न ह्यत्रोद्वर्त्मना
ध्वे
गतिरेषोऽत्र ब्रह्मपथः सौरं द्वारं भित्त्वोर्द्न वि निर्गता इति । ॥६.३०॥
Atrodaharanti. Yada panchavatishthante jnanani manasa saha. Buddhishcha na vicheshtate

tamahuh paramam gatim. Etad-uktvantar-hridayah shakayanyas-tasmai namaskritva yathavad-
upachari kritakrityo maruduttarayanam gato na hy-atrodvartmana gatiresho’tra brahmapathah
sauram dvaram bhittvorddhvena vinirgata iti. (6.30)
On this point they quote: ‘When the five forms of sense of knowledge along with the mind
stand still and the intellect stirs not, that, they say, is the highest state.’ Having spoken thus,
Shakayanya had his heart fixed on the inner self. Then Marut having bowed before him and
properly honoured him, having obtained his end, departed by the northern course of the
sun for there is no way thither by a side-path. This is the path to Brahman here in this world.
Bursting open the door of the sun, he rose on high and departed. (6.30)
PB February 2020 295

12
THIS MONTH
R
eligion is increasingly seen as the Academic learning and great intellectual
cause of strife and conflict among human achievements are not an essential part of spir-
beings. As a result, many try to avoid itual insight. Swami Satyapriyananda, Rama-
religion altogether. Is it possible? Is the human krishna Math, Belur Math, discusses this in
condition capable of completely avoiding the the second instalment of Advaita Vedanta:
question of God? Are atheists and agnostics suc- Swami Vivekananda and the Global Con-
cessful in avoiding God? These questions are dis- text. He situates the philosophy of Advaita
cussed in Can Religion Be Avoided? Vedanta among the galaxy of the schools of In-
The most precious wealth of a country is not dian philosophy.
the gold and silver to be found in the vaults of its The young have wonderful insights on various
treasury, nor even its corn and cattle. More pre- issues. In Young Eyes, such insights are brought
cious than either are the women and men who to the readers every month. This month Aadrika
make up the country’s population. D W Devaraja, Chattopadhyay, who is ten years old and is stud-
former senior news commentator, Azad Hind ying in class five, Apeejay School, Salt Lake, Kol-
Government Radio, Singapore discusses What kata, talks about Orphan Children.
Pattern of Educated Persons Does Free India Many wonderful nuggets of wisdom con-
Need? This is an edited version of the booklet by tained in ancient scriptures are difficult to
the same name published by the author in 1947. understand. In Balabodha, such ancient wis-
Kanchan Gogate, principal correspondent, dom is made easy. This month’s topic is Maya.
The Times of India, Pune and a doctoral research Understanding this popular word is necessary
scholar at the Savitribai Phule Pune University to understand its meaning.
writes on Swami Vivekananda and Advaita The company of holy persons or persons of
Vedanta: The Inseparable. Advaita Vedanta God has a great effect on us. Such company puri-
has been an integral and recurring theme of fies us and removes many bad impressions from
Swami Vivekananda’s speeches in the West and our mind. This is shown in the first instalment
thereafter. As oneness forms the core of his phil- of the story Holy Company. This story is this
osophy, Advaita Vedanta and Swamiji remain in- month’s Traditional Tales and has been trans-
separable. Therefore, this paper explores various lated from the Tamil book Anmika Kathaigal.
angles of Swamiji’s reading of Vedanta and inves- Jean-Paul Sartre, Nobel laureate for literature
tigates why he is called a ‘living Vedanta’. in 1964, philosopher, novelist, public intellec-
Jayanta Roy, founder and principal consult- tual, biographer, playwright, and the founder of
ant, jrmc Global, Mumbai writes about Ethical the journal Les Temps Modernes has written the
Dilemma, Legality, Profit, and Leadership in book What is Subjectivity? From this book, we
the Twenty-first Century. bring you this month’s Manana.
296 PB February 2020

13
EDITORIAL
Can Religion Be Avoided?
O
ne of the unique teachings of Sri Vishnu, as Narasimha, a man-lion. In the second
Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, and birth, Jaya and Vijaya were born as Ravana and
Swami Vivekananda is their emphasis on Kumbhakarna and were killed by the incarnation
the practice of religion. They, like many mystical of Lord Vishnu as Sri Ramachandra. In their third
saints across religions, stressed on experiencing re- and last birth, they were born as Shishupala and
ligion. Religion was not to be seen as a mere web of Dantavakra and were killed by the incarnation of
theories, doctrines, and philosophies, but religion Lord Vishnu as Sri Krishna. Finally, they returned
had to be made palpable, living, and dynamic in
every aspect of human life. This, according to these The farthest stretches of intelligence cannot
spiritual luminaries, is true religion. Religion has grasp even the closest human experience.
to become meaningful by giving meaning to every
human activity and also every human inactivity. to the abode of Lord Vishnu as the gatekeepers.
Religion was not to be compartmentalised into It is notable that as the haters of Lord Vishnu
certain times of one’s life but it had to be inter- in three births, Jaya-Vijaya remembered and took
spersed with, rather made the basis of, one’s entire the name of the Lord, probably more than most
life. Seen from this angle, one could ask an im- devotees of their time. They hated the Lord in
portant question: ‘Is it possible to live without reli- their cursed lifetimes and were thus obsessed with
gion?’ Let us try to find an answer to this question. the Lord. By saying emphatically and repeatedly
The Hindu Puranas talk about the story of that they would not take the name of the Lord,
Jaya and Vijaya, who were the gatekeepers of they were doing exactly what they said they would
Lord Vishnu and who were cursed by the four Ku- not, albeit in a negative and a more intense man-
maras—Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanat- ner. The moral of this story is that an atheist has
kumara, all mind-born sons of the four-faced God to and ends up thinking of God more than a de-
Brahma—to take birth in the mortal world. They votee could ever imagine! How does this happen?
were given the choice of being born as devotees of Belief in God is taken for granted in human
the Lord for seven lifetimes or being born as hat- societies across the world. If a person says that
ers or enemies of the Lord for three lifetimes. They she or he believes in God, that is not news really.
opted for being born as haters of the Lord as they One could believe in God in a manner that is not
could not even think of spending seven lifetimes traditional or conventional. One could have a
separate from their beloved Lord. As a result, they path-breaking path leading to God. That would
were born first as Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyak- be breaking news. However, the novelty would
sha. Hiranyaksha was killed by the incarnation wear away soon. Hence, a believer of God, no mat-
of Lord Vishnu as Varaha, a boar. Hiranyaka- ter how different the path of belief be, is not or
shipu was killed by another incarnation of Lord does not have to constantly think of God because

14 Prabuddha Bharata
society naturally and automatically accepts a be- practice of religion, they stressed the experience
liever of God. An agnostic or atheist, on the other of religion, because religion can be easily under-
hand, has to constantly defend or justify one’s pos- stood by experience. As the fact of death can be
ition as a non-believer and has to constantly think best understood only by witnessing death, like-
of why God does not exist. In the end, the atheists wise, religion can be understood only by experi-
and agnostics end up doing exactly what Jaya-Vi- encing it. Religion is visceral. We could extend
jaya did: constantly thinking of God. This means this idea and say that religion is based on experi-
that the human condition or human existence ence because we are all, in one way or the other,
cannot do without thinking about the Divine and already experiencing religion. We only need to
one’s connection with the Divine. give our attention to this experience and identify
In matters concerning God, we could make it as a religious experience or as an experience of
three broad classes among the human beings: Divinity. Denying God would be illogical be-
those who are always thinking of God as believers, cause it would deny the innumerable instances
those who passively believe in God, and those of religious experience, many of which are inex-
who are always thinking of God as non-believers. plicable by the intellect or by the sciences created
As Swami Vivekananda pointed out, those who by the human intellect. When one experiences a
passively believe in God are hypocrites. And this state of being free from the body and the mind,
section comprises most of the human population. it is impossible for that person to deny religion,
The active believers and active non-believers are spirituality, or God. With such an experience one
essentially those who engage with God, and that is questions the very nature of the human condi-
what really matters, engagement with God. Now, tion. One questions whether the human condi-
let us see how the Divine is intricately connected tion is centred around the body and the mind.
with the human condition or human existence. This means that all paths of believing God
In spite of the great leaps of intellectual excel- and also all paths of not believing God actu-
lence that humans have achieved, we have not been ally engage with God, and are essentially differ-
able to explain even some ordinary dimensions ent paths to God. When a person says that she
of human experience. The gap between artificial or he is a spiritual-but-not-religious person, an
intelligence and human intelligence has not yet SBNR, that person is just stating her or his affili-
been filled. The proper question that we need to ation to a different religious path called SBNR.
ask is whether this gap can ever be filled and also Similarly, when a person says that she or he is
whether this gap is only of intelligence. The human an agnostic or atheist, that person is only say-
being is intricately connected to the Divine. The ing that she or he likes to engage with God as an
farthest stretches of human intelligence cannot agnostic or atheist. In fact, many agnostics and
grasp even the closest observations of human ex- atheists spend their entire lives almost making a
perience. We, humans, do experience many things living by denying God, by getting paid for giving
that defy explanation and go beyond the limits talks and writing books on the non-existence of
of intellect, and many times, even intuition. Not God. They effectively take the Jaya-Vijaya route
every human experience can be plausibly explained to moksha. Both the here and the hereafter of
as a chemical reaction in the human brain. these agnostics and atheists are taken care of by
Returning to the emphasis of Sri Ramakrishna, their engagement with God. One could see God
Sri Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda on the having the last laugh here. P

15
What Pattern of Educated Persons

Does Free India Need?
D W Devaraja
Introduction must state with deep regret that the bulk of them
T
he most precious wealth of a coun- have ill-digested knowledge that has no relation
try is not the gold and silver to be found to the needs of themselves or their community.
in the vaults of its treasury, nor even its While this is a fair description of what they
corn and cattle.1 More precious than either are have learnt as the result of a protracted schooling
the women and men who make up the country’s at the expense of their parents, they have seldom,
population. A country like Scotland may be a in the process, developed any of the qualities that
barren and craggy land, but if its people are, like distinguish a genuinely educated person from
the Scots, so educated as to be intelligent and one’s spurious counterpart.
resourceful, it may command the respect of the It is not the ‘educated’ of this kind that are
world. Contrariwise, a Siam, which can boast far going to regenerate our lagging nation. Educa-
better natural and human resources, may yet be a tion is the foundation of national well-being, and
cipher or almost a cipher in the comity of nations. every far-sighted nation-builder like the Japanese
The India of today is more or less in the same Emperor whose fruitful reign is known as the
boat as Siam. Fine potentialities but miserable Meiji Era, enlightened era, and Vladimir Lenin,
actualities. For instance, the Tamilians were has given it top priority in their programmes for
once a highly civilised people in abundant en- national reconstruction. The cultural historian
joyment of the good things of life. Tamil classics René Fülöp-Miller describes Lenin’s thoughts:
like Thirukkural, Silappadikaram, Manimekalai,
Lenin was convinced that it was impossible to
and the like, bear ample testimony to the high establish the Communist social order in a coun-
degree of culture and refinement that the fore- try without national education, and that the
fathers of the Tamilians attained long ago, when chief task of Russian Communism was to ‘li-
most of the modern nations were wallowing in quidate’ illiteracy, so that the rising generation
stark savagery. But this historical fact should be should no longer know even the connotation
an inspiration to Tamils, and not a dope to make of the word. He regarded the fight against il-
them forget that they are today among the less literacy as the duty of every Bolshevist, a duty
developed peoples of the world. This is because as urgent as armed opposition to the counter-
revolution, for, as he remarked in one of his
a very substantial percentage of Tamil people are speeches, he thought it absurd to pursue pol-
ready to sell their labour for a livelihood even itical enlightenment, so long as the country
far afield. was swarming with illiterates. ‘A man who can
You may say that nowadays we have among neither read nor write, is outside politics, he
Indians many B.A.s and M.A.s. That is so, but I must first learn the A B C, without which there

The great teacher Thiruvalluvar does not con-

tent himself with advising us merely to learn to
perfection. He insists that we shape our conduct
according to that learning. Indians, who babble
so much about the super-excellence of Thiruval-
luvar’s precepts, try neither to learn to perfection
nor to put into practice what little useful know-
ledge they may have managed to pick up.
One of the most urgent needs of India is
therefore not merely more schools but better
schools. That is to say, India from end to end
must be covered with such a network of schools
that in a few years illiteracy among Indians will
have become a fading memory. Also, Indian
schools should not be just factories of soulless
individuals who, having learnt ‘the shapes of let-
ters and the tricks of numbers … turn their arith-
metic to roguery, and their literature to lust’,4 but
nurseries of healthy, capable, and conscientious
citizens of their country.
The designing of a syllabus with a view to the
concurrent development of a healthy physique,
alert intelligence, and sound character will, of
Thiruvalluvar Statue in Kanyakumari
course, have to be worked out by a carefully chosen
can be no such thing as politics, but merely ru- body of educationists in the light of the successes
mours, gossip, fairy tales, and prejudices.’2
IMAGE: HTTPS://LBB.IN/CHENNAI/THIRUVALLUVAR-STATUE-C80AF4/
and failures of the various kinds of educational
But education, to yield worthwhile results systems in the progressive countries of the West.
among us, will have to be something else from As a layperson, I only venture to point out in
what it has been all these years in India. the following pages what I consider the distin-
An American psychologist and a stimulating guishing characteristics of a truly educated person.
writer, Dr Albert Edward Wiggam says:
Notwithstanding the motto … ‘Knowledge is Lifelong Studentship
power’, [but] knowledge is not power until it One of such distinguishing characteristics is a
touches and moves the will and conscience. lifelong pursuit of vital knowledge. One’s educa-
Knowledge is not power until it gives a man a tion does not stop with high school. Rather, one
new world to live in. Knowledge is not power
considers that the few textbooks that one had
until it has furnished a man an attitude, a drive,
an enthusiasm for life’s real meaning, and a faith to study to get one’s diploma or degree, far from
in true values … Knowledge is not power until constituting the alpha and omega of things to be
it has set a man’s feet on the highway that car- known for an efficient and beneficent life, are at
ries him along for ever on the ‘disinterested en- best an introduction to the limitless fields of lit-
deavor after perfection’.3 erature, philosophy, and science. The student is

What Pattern of Educated Persons Does Free India Need? 17
keen on developing the God-given faculties and inspiration of great ideals, the example of great
with that praiseworthy object in view, one de- achievements, the consolation of great failures.
votes a good part of one’s leisure from day to day, So equipped, one can face without perturbation
from year to year, as long as life lasts, to pursuit the buffets of circumstance, the caprice of for-
of knowledge that will shape one into a vital and tune, all the inscrutable vicissitudes of life.’6
well-rounded personality.
In India, a very large percentage of those who Open-mindedness
emerge from schools and colleges come out with Another sure mark of a well-educated person is
a sort of nausea for reading further. Not for them an open mind free from bias and preconceived
the ineffable joy of adding knowledge to know- ideas; a restless, insatiable quest for truth; a will-
ledge and enriching the mind with the accumu- ingness to respect the old and to experiment
lated wisdom of ages. The most that they would with the new; a recognition of the eternal law
seem to be capable of is browsing about a quarter of change; an abiding faith in the methods of
of an hour daily on their favourite newspaper. Of free discussion and in the supreme values of lib-
course, newspapers have their uses, but exclusive erty and toleration.
reading of mere partisan sheets most of which in We are living, not in a static but a dynamic
India, as elsewhere, habitually report and com- world. Many a concept which held the field only
ment on current happenings of importance, not a few decades ago in science, politics, economics,
detachedly but tendentiously, does not make for and other departments of knowledge has been
culture, which according to Mathew Arnold, thrown on the dust heap of exploded fallacies.
consists in the possession within of a perennial Customs and manners, which have been held
source of ‘sweetness and light’, and manifests it- for hundreds of years as sacrosanct, are now
self in a balance of interests, a catholic sympathy, found to be harmful to society and are therefore
a due sense of relative values, and a wide outlook being jettisoned without compunction. Twenty
on life.5 or thirty years ago, it would have been regarded
The purpose of academic training is twofold, by nearly all the Hindus in South India as the
to give a student the inner resources with which height of sacrilege to permit Harijans to enter
to appreciate and enjoy life and the practical their great temples like those at Madurai and
abilities with which to provide for its economic Shrirangam. But now those who oppose this
continuance and development. From this dual measure are a dwindling and losing minority.
point of view, the bulk of the products of edu- There is no such thing as finality of truth in
cational institutions are abortions. this ever-changing world, and an educated per-
All that many of Indian youth come by as son never bolts or bars one’s mind to new ideas.
the result of many years’ attendance in Indian Such a person reads with respect the world’s
schools at considerable expense to their parents scriptures like the Bhagavadgita, the Bible, and
is the chance of a petty white-collar job. The the Quran, but does not allow oneself to be
gain is tragically disproportionate to the pain. blinkered by any of these. True, these great books
Indian schools and colleges would be costly fail- are claimed by some as revelations from on high
ures, if they failed to inspire their trainees with and as such infallible guides to mankind.
a love of books. With such a precious love, one The educated person does not accept the old
has always ‘the company of great thoughts, the merely because it is old, but stretches it on the

To say that ‘“what my fathers did is good

enough for me” is the maxim of the decadent’,
in the words of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.9 A
profoundly learned Hindu, he admits that Hin-
duism, after many centuries ‘like the curate’s egg,
is good only in parts. It is admirable and abhor-
rent, saintly and savage, beautifully wise and
dangerously silly, generous beyond measure and
mean beyond all example’.10 He says elsewhere:
‘The superiority of the West is due to its intel-
lectual integrity, the sincerity of its pursuit of
truth. From the time of Socrates, the seeker after
truth, down till today, the Western mind, with
rare exceptions, has been remarkably free from
self-complacency, intellectual laziness and blind
faith in ancient wisdom.’11
According to this outstanding thinker, an
imperative need of India is the scientific spirit
among our educated. ‘The scientific spirit’, he
Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975)
continues, ‘must be applied not only to the or-
dissecting table of reason. Such a person agrees dinary arrangement of life and leisure, to the
with the poet who says: distribution of the material goods, to the im-
New occasions teach new duties, provement of industry and agriculture, but also
to the things which touch the mind and the
Time makes ancient good uncouth. morals of the community. Our scientific con-
They must upward still, and onward, science must be shocked not only by the con-
Who would keep abreast of Truth.7 trasts of fabulous wealth and grovelling poverty,
but also by those of intense holiness and diseased
Every Indian worth the name must of course superstition’ (ibid.). Jawaharlal Nehru has said
love India. The person who does not feel this the same thing in his own inimitable language.
love in the heart is a wretch who deserves, in the While on the subject of the need for spread-
words of Sir Walter Scott, to go to ‘the vile dust ing the scientific and rationalist spirit among
… unwept, unhonour’d, and unsung’.8 But patri- our educated, I cannot withhold a tribute of
otism does not mean an indiscriminate idealisa- praise to Periyar E V Ramasamy Naicker and his
tion of every custom, usage, or institution, simply co-workers for the vigorous crusade they have
because it has had its origin in India. On the conducted for years against widespread popular
contrary, patriotism based on a good education errors in Tamil Nadu. True, in his righteous
should fire one with the passionate resolve to rid hatred of brahmanism as an institution that has
India of the many grotesque beliefs and practices been for centuries teaching a very great majority
that block India’s moral and material progress of those living in Tamil Nadu to believe that they
as effectively as alien domination has ever done. are contemptible Shudras or Pariahs born into

their low estate by reason of their sins in their

previous birth and that the best they can do in
their present lives to be reborn into a higher sta-
tus is to lick the feet of the brahmanas, Periyar
has gone beyond reasonable limits and pitched
into the Indian National Congress and its great
leaders just because that institution in South
India happens to be dominated by the hated
brahmanas. I regard this as an unfortunate ab-
erration. The fact, however, remains that he and
his able band have, like Voltaire and the Encyclo-
paedists in the pre-revolutionary France, under-
mined many beliefs and practices that have been
emasculating our people materially and morally
for centuries.
Let us by all means cherish and enjoy such
time-honoured books as the Mahabharata, the
Ramayana, Periya Puranam, and the like, as lit-
erary treasures, which give us fascinating pictures
of an India that was. But to treat any of them as
the only decisive authorities on religion, ethics,
or any other branch of knowledge for all time
Periyar E V Ramasamy Naicker (1879–1973)
or to seek guidance from them alone for the life
we have to live today is a patent imbecility and society suffers today’,12 we want fellowship and
one who does, is not an educated person, in the team spirit more than ever before. Without fel-
true sense of the word, whatever else he may be. lowship and team spirit, socialism would be a
ghastly miscarriage.
Good Fellowship A government, a municipality, an industrial
It has been well said that the greatest of all arts concern, or even a small recreation club, which
is the art of being able to get along with other is run by people who do not know the art of
people. If one is deficient in this art, one is an pulling together, will flounder any moment. In
ill-educated person even though one may know a given time, a hundred persons working jointly
all the philosophers, all the arts, and sciences. can do more than five-hundred individuals, each
An unsocial person does a distinct disser- working for oneself alone, provided only that the
vice to oneself and one’s community, for one joint workers are permeated by a spirit of camara-
needlessly bars oneself from many worthwhile derie. It is therefore an integral part of education
positions which would be otherwise open, and for citizenship to develop one’s social qualities.
reduces one’s value as a unit to society. In these An important rule for getting along with
days, when the establishment of socialism is other people is: You must be considerate to those
considered by the great leaders of our country who come in contact with you. One who has
like Nehru as ‘a solution of the ills from which regard for the feelings of others, who enjoys the

for one another’s illnesses, problems, and tem-

porary defeats, helps to hold together a commu-
nity or society.
Yet another quality highly desirable for get-
ting on with one’s fellows is cheerfulness. The
person who is always whining and whimpering
over one’s troubles, real or imaginary, is a burden
and a nuisance to one’s friends. That is why per-
haps the Tamil saint Avvaiyar has said: ‘Thola-
nodum elamai pesel; do not tell about your dire
circumstances even to your friend.’16 We do not
like to feel sad and we rather resent the person
who goes about depressed and unhappy because
that person induces in us also such a mood. The
cheerful person, on the other hand, pulls us out
of our own depression, and spreads cheer by ex-
pressing it. We are glad to see her or him. We go
out of our way to say ‘hello’, we have a dynamic
André Maurois (1885–1967) reaction to her or his greeting.
others’ problems as well as one’s own, has indeed A good many of us are not so discourteous as
every chance of being a popular person. insincere in our daily intercourse with our fel-
A great lubricant for smooth social inter- lows. We are gratuitously more effusive to our
course is courtesy. Voltaire said that ‘we can- friends and acquaintances than we really care for
not always oblige, but we can always speak them. We readily make them promises which we
obligingly’.13 Thiruvalluvar has this beautiful don’t mean to keep, and quite unnecessarily hold
couplet in reference to courtesy: ‘Iniya ulavaga out to them invitations to dinner which, when
innadha kural, kani-iruppak-kai-kavarnthattru; accepted, annoy us and disillusion them.
to speak unpleasant words when pleasant words The typical English would perhaps seem a
can be spoken is like eating an unripe fruit when trifle phlegmatic to oriental people, but in one’s
a ripe fruit is available.’14 Says the French writer private relations she or he generally means what
and philosopher, André Maurois: ‘Well born she or he says. Such a person is not a spendthrift
people are courteous by nature. All things may of promises, as most of us are. If, however, she
be said graciously, and to imagine brutality to be or he is rather slow to give one’s word, you can
the only satisfactory expression of frankness is a count on it when it is given. I make bold to sug-
strange confusion.’15 The home in which cour- gest that it will not be inconsistent with the dig-
tesy is the rule rather than the exception, is the nity of Indian race to emulate the dependability
home in which there is a spirit of friendliness, of the average English. This dependability or sin-
helpfulness, and kindness. cerity is a prerequisite of enduring popularity
Another means to good fellowship is sym- among your fellows.
pathy. The ability to feel for and feel with others Add to this, considerateness, courtesy, sym-
is an extremely important social trait. Sympathy pathy, cheerfulness, and sincerity, good-humoured

tolerance of others’ opinions and ways different

from yours, and an obliging disposition, and you
will be a welcome person in any decent social cir-
cle. And what is more, you and those like you will
be the women and men who will help to trans-
form our land into a happy and co-operative com-
monwealth based on the principle, ‘All for each
and each for all’17. The principle that I see today
dominant all over India, behind a facade of loud
profession of lofty ideals is: ‘Each man for himself
and the devil take the hindmost’.
Idealism
A person may be a walking encyclopaedia, but
if one lives entirely for oneself and one’s family,
caring not a jot for anything conducive to pub-
lic weal, a vital element is wanting in one’s
education. An educated person is, of course, a
Avvaiyar Statue on Marina Beach, Chennai
loving husband, an affectionate father, a loyal
friend, and an efficient hand in working for There’s something for all of us here,
one’s livelihood, but one is more than all this: There’s big work to do, and there’s lesser to do.
one is a good citizen. One interests oneself in …
one or more disinterested activities that make If you can’t be a highway, then just be a trail.
for the improvement of one’s community ei-
ther politically, economically, culturally, or in If you can’t be the sun, be a star.
any other way. It isn’t by size that you win or you fail—
There is no lack in India of good causes which
Be the best of whatever you are!18
call for your helping hand. The political prob-
lem, the fight for national independence, has If therefore you feel that your abilities are
been the main preoccupation of our leaders all too limited to sway the rod of power and bring
these years. That could not be helped, as freedom about spectacular changes for the better, in the
from alien domination is the sine qua non of destiny of your country-people, that is no ex-
any durable reconstruction. But independence is cuse for you to withdraw into a shell and lead a
only the starting point for shouldering gigantic self-centred life. There are any number of worth-
tasks ahead of us. while activities in which you can take a hand.
Not every educated person can, like Mahatma For instance, you can participate in a very badly
Gandhi, ride the storm and direct the whirlwind. needed campaign against all kinds of popular
A poet says: superstitions. You can link yourself up with an
association for the education of the masses, or
We can’t be all captains, you can interest yourself in the sanitation of the
we’ve got to be crew, country, the housing of the poor, the promotion

honour all those who strive in various ways to

realise this possibility.
By attaching yourself to a worthy cause, you
may not be able to do it very much good, but
the cause will do you a lot of good. It will ex-
pand your personality and make a better person
of you.
Beauty
Creating beauty and recognising it is one of the
unique characteristics of the human being that
sets the humans apart from and above the ani-
mals. An education that does not develop this
precious peculiarity of human beings is not com-
plete. ‘A thing of beauty is a joy for ever’, said
John Keats,19 and a fully educated person finds
the world one lives in, ‘a fairy land of exquisite
beauty’, as a great philosopher has said.20
In the course of my travels in South India, I
John Keats (1795–1821)
found the Nilgiris a region of magnificent scen-
of co-operative living, the employment of labour ery, more than any other place I have visited.
on rational lines, the provision of healthy recre- But without going to the Nilgiris or Kashmir or
ation and amusements for the masses. Switzerland, one can find beauty, joy, and inspir-
The one cause, however, that is dearer to me ation in many of the common things about one-
personally more than any other is the cause of self, in the flower by the wayside, in the faces of
education—education about open-mindedness our fellows, in the voices of the little children; in
and tolerance, beauty and nature, fine manners, colours, in the river and hills of our own district,
and gentle relationships. The only millennium I in the light of stars and the glow of setting sun,
can think of would be a world filled with edu- and many more. Said Elizabeth Barret Brown-
cated people, people who not only believed in ing: ‘Earth is crammed with heaven, and every
but who lived lives of tolerance and beauty. common bush aflame with God.’ She added,
I cannot forget, however, that the neces- however: ‘But only those who see take off their
sary basis for my millennium is the conversion shoes.’21 Such things as trees, brooks, and stones
of widespread poverty into widespread plenty. are just trees, brooks, and stones to an unculti-
A large percentage of our people are so poor vated man, but an Avvaiyar or Shakespeare ‘finds
that it would be simply adding insult to injury tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
to preach to them the sovereign importance of sermons in stones, and good in everything’.22
culture. Thanks, however to science, it is now After a long spell of work, how delightful it is
possible to provide every woman and man with to sit by a lake or river, or on the seashore and
the primary amenities of life such as health, edu- enjoy oneself !
cation, technical capacity, and leisure. I therefore There is no doubt that in the India of the days

of yore, beauty was assiduously preached and evil-smelling places to breed diseased bodies and
cultivated. The great ancestors of the Indians debased souls.
would seem to have been fully aware that beauty It is time that a concerted effort was made
raises the spirits and inspires and elevates our to turn unsightly Indian towns and villages into
whole being. Indian classics like the Silappadi- garden cities and lovely countrysides. Every town
karam proclaim this awareness in no uncertain must be generously dotted with beautiful parks
terms. The architecture, the sculpture, and the for people to resort to if they feel like freshening
paintings that the forefathers of the Indians have up their body and mind. Something in this dir-
left behind them are the immortal expressions of ection has been and is being done in Bangalore,
their love of beauty. Mysore, Trivandrum, and some other cities, but
But the present Indians, their descendants, nearly all of the towns in rural and suburban
have become too dull to appreciate things of India need much improvement.
beauty. So obsessed are they with the stomach A life that aims at harmony and complete per-
and pocket view of life that they fail to realise fection cannot dispense with the cultivation of
that beauty makes for bright thoughts and happy beauty. An American psychologist of note, Dr
thoughts, contentment, and peace of mind. Even A E Wiggam has said: ‘If you put poetry and
those Indians who are well off in life will spend music into life, you will get poetry and music
their money rather on gaudy jewellery and flam- back a hundred fold … and if you put beauty
boyant decorations than on surrounding them- into life—a trained perception of its everlast-
selves with such things as beautiful flower-plants, ing consolations, refinements and releases of the
and ennobling pictures and statuettes. Indian spirit—the education it gives you will fill all your
houses are needlessly drab and dreary. They are days and years with the priceless intellectual and
generally destitute of elegant furniture. If they emotional rewards of beauty.’23
have such things as bedsteads, the bed sheets or
the mats and the pillows are more often than not Health
dirty and bug-ridden; and the bedsteads them- An educated person pursues truth, cultivates
selves occasionally do duty in the daytime as beauty, and practises virtue. But one can do all
receptacles for soiled clothes. Of course, you can- this with zest, only on a foundation of a modi-
not help your clothes getting soiled, but surely cum of health, unless indeed one is an extraor-
you can help exhibiting them all over the house, dinary person. The maintenance of one’s health
by disposing of them into a closed basket spe- is therefore a paramount duty. This is borne in
cially kept for that purpose. upon us by a wise and picturesque Tamil say-
One can have a beautiful home without being ing: ‘Suvattrai vaiththu kondallava chiththiram
rich, provided one cares for beauty. Go and see eludha vendum; should one not paint a picture
the homes of the Malays in Malaya and you will only after having a wall?’
agree with me that a Malay peon or constable But this saying, like many other beautiful say-
lives in a far cleaner and more elegant home ings in the mouths of Indians, is popularly used
than many of Indian tahsildars and police in- only as a frill to smart talk, and not as a signpost
spectors. And because Indians, as a community to the good life.
are so beauty-blind, they have let Indian towns As a community, Indians are not conspicuous
and villages degenerate into ugly and squalid and for vigorous health. Too many of Indian women

and cheerfulness and good humour during meals

and after, should keep most of us in good health.
It is obvious that life, without health is a bur-
den, with health is a joy and gladness.
In spite of the manifest paramountcy of
health, Indians are indifferent to it primarily be-
cause they believe that it is entirely a matter of
heredity and fate. Heredity and what is variously
called fate, karma, or divine providence do in-
deed exert some unseen influence on our lives.
But to say that these render human efforts ab-
solutely useless is a fallacy, and a fallacy that has
cost the Indians dear in the past. They forget that
the Tamil Veda, the Thirukkural says: ‘Muyarch-
chi thiruvinai akkum muyattrinmai inmai pu-
gutthi vidum; exertion leads to prosperity, lack
of exertion brings adversity.’24
The truth that human effort can shape our
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964)
lives a great deal will become manifest to you, if
between the ages of 30 and 35 years and too many you just look at the progress that pre-war Eng-
of Indian men between 40 and 45 do not only land had made in regard to health in the course
have ill-health, but also look like perfect grand- of a few centuries. In the eighteenth century and
mothers and grandfathers at the fag-end of their earlier, England was subject as much as India is
withered lives. In America and Europe, however, today [in 1947] to periodical visitations of pes-
life for a woman in the thirties and a man in the tilences like plague, cholera, and smallpox. The
forties continues to hold glamorous possibilities. average expectation of life was no higher than
One of the reasons for this premature senil- what it is in the India of these times, and women
ity in India is, undoubtedly, poverty with all its and men came into senility as prematurely as In-
concomitants such as malnutrition and worry. dians do now, but all this has changed vastly for
But look at even the Indian richer classes. A very the better in two centuries. But for the recent
large percentage of them become hideously pot- war [the World War II], this process of improve-
bellied, dyspeptic, or rheumatic by the time they ment would continue. Now, how did England
get into their forties. Reason: they do things manage it? Her people brought their energy
which they ought not to do and they do not do and intelligence to bear upon the problem of
things which they ought to do, and there is no health, while the mass of Indians have been and
health in them. still are dealing with it mainly by recourse to
The rules for the preservation of one’s health ancient rituals.
are just a few, nor are they hard to follow. Regular Gandhi and Nehru and hundreds of other
habits, daily exercise, moderation in all things— sensible people who in various parts of the world
in eating food, not bolting, as well as in the en- are shouldering herculean tasks in their late fif-
joyment of the other good things of the flesh, ties, sixties, and seventies do not abandon their

health to the decrees of fate and the caprices Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavadgita: ‘No
of the gods. Rather, they take it into their own one engaged in good actions is ever overcome
hands and nurse it with scrupulous diligence, by evil.’28
and great is their reward in terms of health. They He also says: ‘He who hates no living crea-
are thus able to work like Trojans at an age, when ture, who is loving and compassionate without
their less-wise fellows of the same vintage are rot- selfishness and self-seeking, who holds pain and
ting in premature graves. pleasure for equal, who is patient, contented,
Nehru once said that he used to feel like a always loyal, full of self-control and steady de-
criminal when he was ill. That is the right atti- termination, who fixes his mind and his reason
tude. We owe it to ourselves, to our family, and on me and loves me, he is dear to me’ (12.13–4).
to our community to keep our body as well as Prophet Muhammad said: ‘What actions are
our mind in good fettle. A sick person sickens most excellent? To gladden the heart of a human
the atmosphere in which one is moving. One’s being, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted,
disease may not be infectious but one’s depressed to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to
condition depresses those about a person. On remove the wrongs of the injured.’29
the other hand, a person in radiant health is Guru Nanak said: ‘Make Love thy mosque,
happy and radiates happiness all around. Sincerity thy prayer-carpet, Justice thy Koran;
Modesty thy circumcision, Courtesy thy Kaaba,
Character Truth thy guru, Charity thy creed and prayer;
If health is the foundation of the good life, men- The Will of God thy rosary, and God will pre-
tal efficiency and moral excellence are its edi- serve thy honour, O Nanak.’30
fice. But of these two, moral excellence is far the Swami Vivekananda said: ‘If you want to
more important, because it is the ‘moral nature find God, serve man.’31 ‘If you have faith in all
of man [that] supplies him both with the mo- the three hundred and thirty millions of your
tive and the regulative power, being in fact the mythological gods, and in all the gods which
governor, and lord, and legitimate master of the foreigners have now and again introduced into
whole machine. … A man may be as brilliant, as your midst, and still have not faith in yourselves,
clever, as strong, and as broad as you please; and there is no salvation for you.’32 ‘After so much
with all this, if he is not good, he may be a pal- tapasya, I have understood this as the highest
try fellow; and even the sublime which he seems truth: God is present in every being. There is no
to reach, in his most splendid achievements, is other God besides that. He who serves all beings,
only a brilliant sort of badness.’25 Such a person serves God indeed!’33
is of little use to one’s community. Moral excel- Hillel, the Elder said: ‘Do unto others as you
lence is therefore an indispensable mark of an would have others do unto you. This is the whole
all-round education. law; the rest merely commentaries upon it.’34
Jesus Christ said: ‘Not every one that saith What emerges clearly as the highest spiritu-
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the king- ality from the foregoing miscellany of authorita-
dom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my tive sayings is, not obsession with metaphysical
Father which is in heaven.’26 ‘He that loveth not complexities or observance of hocus-pocus rituals
his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God but living one’s day-to-day life in such a way as to
whom he hath not seen.’27 be a benediction to yourself and your neighbours.

But recognition of this fact is one thing, and Order of St Benedict, the Order of the Society
its translation into daily conduct is another, just of Jesus, Renaissance in Islam, early Sikhism,
as to know the laws of health is not necessarily to modern democracy, socialism, and rationalism,
be in good health. There is therefore such a thing and (3) some great precepts and maxims culled
as moral culture as there is physical culture. It from the scriptures of all religions and the poets
does not come within the scope of these pages to of all countries.
go into detail in respect of moral culture. I shall As ‘since Freud’, we have learnt that ‘emo-
therefore content myself with suggesting the fol- tion is a major part of human life, the mother
lowing few aids—by no means exhaustive—to of reason, the source of art, science, literature,
the formation of good character: (1) Reading, re- and religion’,35 songs and stories, festivals and
reading, and inwardly digesting the lives of those other community celebrations that tend to lift
women and men who have in various ages and one’s heart and emphasise one’s solidarity with
various climes unselfishly striven for the good of fellow-people play an integral role in the pro-
their fellow-beings—Socrates, Buddha, Jesus, St cess of moral culture. The talkies is a medium
Francis of Assisi, Mazzini, Florence Nightingale, of enormous possibilities for popular enlighten-
Lloyd Garrison, Guru Nanak, Condorcet, Di- ment and elevation, though at present it is, more
derot and his fellow-encyclopaedists, Karl Marx, often than not, just a cheap means of escapism
Lenin, Dr Albert Schweitzer, Gandhi, Pandit from the realities of life.
Jawaharlal Nehru, Netaji Bose, and scores of Right views on morality and right efforts
others too numerous to mention here; (2) con- to attain it are, however, beyond the reach of
tacting noble works of art, including works of people who suffer from degrading political, so-
literature, architecture, and painting; (3) par- cial, and economic disabilities as most of our
ticipating, with no thought of personal gain, in people do. ‘An empty stomach is no good for re-
one activity or other calculated to advance the ligion’, said Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.36 Of
interests of one’s parish or town or country ac- course, he meant by religion attuning one’s soul
cording to one’s circumstances and ability; and to lofty ideals. ‘Poverty’, said Benjamin Franklin,
(4) cultivating intimacy with virtuous people. ‘often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue, it is
The Indian rishis of old have claimed for yoga hard for an empty bag to stand upright.’37 But if
practices wonderful potency for good. As, how- poverty beyond a certain point has a most de-
ever, I have never had the good fortune to get in moralising effect, so too, does riches in excess.
touch with a competent teacher to initiate me In the resulting demoralisation of society as a
into these practices, I have never tried them, and whole, true religion in most parts of the world
can therefore say nothing for or against them. takes leave of all but a negligible minority giv-
But I do believe in a few minutes’ meditation ing place to some mumbo-jumbo, which salves
every morning and evening at bedtime. The the conscience of the exploiters and stifles rebel-
themes for meditation may be one or more of lious discontent among the exploited. A crusade
the following: (1) The happiness free from evil therefore for improvement in national character
desires, anger, and unkindness, and overflow- must have as a necessary counterpart a campaign
ing with charity; (2) great movements that have for a just and equitable social order. That is the
contributed to the well-being and happiness of indispensable climate for all but a few excep-
mankind such as those of early Christianity, the tional souls to grow into moral persons.

If Indians do not wish to deceive themselves,

they must frankly admit that both at home and
at school, Indian youths are inadequately discip-
lined and that they are brought up amidst envir-
onments in which greed, falsehood, suspicion,
and hatred prevail. But the women and men who
can recondition this appalling state of the Indian
individual and national morality are those who
honestly and intelligently labour for education,
social justice, and democracy.
Thank God, Indians have for their leaders
such choice spirits as Gandhi and Nehru and a
galaxy of others whose names are Indian house-
hold words today by reason of their selfless and
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
distinguished services for their country-fellows.
But India wants more of them—indeed many you to vacuous mysticism and pettifogging ritu-
more of them, to make a clean sweep of the alism, and aspire to be a true karma-yogi. Say
Augean stables that India has inherited from and feel with George Bernard Shaw: ‘Life is
centuries of misgovernment, priestcraft, and no “brief candle” for me. It is a sort of splendid
social oppression. torch, which I have got hold of for the moment;
Science has given us the technical methods and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible
for putting the will and ways of God into ef- before handing it on to future generations.’39
fect in our social, political, educational, and eco- Repeat daily with concentration and fervour,
nomic organisations, thus generating richer and ‘I would, O God, dedicate myself anew to the
more fruitful life to all of us, irrespective of class clean life; to the loving and unselfish spirit; to
or creed or sex. But India urgently wants ‘Strong the cheer and goodwill that are needed by other
minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands hearts; to the love of good books; to the choos-
/ Men whom the lust of office does not kill; / ing and holding of genuine friends; to the doing
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; / of the hard tasks … and to the establishment of
men who possess opinions and a will; / Men who Thy kingdom in this Thy world.’40
have honor—men who will not lie; / Tall men, To quote again from that great sage of our
sun-crowned, who live above the fog / In public times, Bernard Shaw: ‘This is the true joy in life:
duty, and in private thinking’.38 the being used for a purpose recognized by your-
Youth of India! You have now before you a self as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn
vista of great opportunities for serving your God out before you are thrown on the scrap-heap;
and your country. You have no more an alien the being a force of nature, instead of a fever-
despotism hindering your advancement in life. ish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances,
Dig, therefore, your teeth into the hard granite complaining that the world will not devote itself
of an all-round education, and you will be the to making you happy.’41
true architects of a new and great India. Discard Unless some such practical religion as I have
all that false philosophy, which seeks to confine indicated above on the strength of the highest

authorities, does lay hold upon the daily lives of 14. Thiruvalluvar, Thirukkural, 10.10.
15. Andre Maurois, The Art of Living (London: The
Indians, unless this religious life shall humanise English Universities, 1941), 29.
industry, economics, and politics, and shall be- 16. Avvaiyar, Kondrai-vendhan, 47.
come the gospel of India’s rising generation, I see 17. Orestes A Brownson, The American Republic: Its
before me nothing but strife between classes and Constitution, Tendencies, And Destiny (Washing-
ton, DC: Regnery, 2003), 73.
creeds and castes, with resultant chaos and disas-
18. Douglas Malloch, ‘Be the Best of Whatever You
ter for this great and ancient land. The moral re- Are’.
armament of her people is as paramount a need 19. John Keats, Endymion: A Poetic Romance (Lon-
of India as is her material reconstruction. In fact, don: Taylor and Hessey, 1818), 3.
both these must go hand in hand, for the one is 20. Sir John Lubbock, ‘Beauty in Nature’, The Strand
Magazine, 3/14 (February 1892) 158–67; 158.
the necessary complement to the other. Jai Hind. 21. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh (Lon-
don: Smith and Elder, 1898), 286.
Notes and References 22. William Shakespeare, As You Like It (London:
1. This is an edited version of the booklet What Cambridge University, 1968), 22.
Pattern of Educated Persons Does Free India 23. The Marks of an Educated Man, 315.
Need?—A Call to the Youth of Tamil Nad to Right 24. Thirukkural, 62.6.
Thinking and Right Living, which was published 25. John Stuart Blackie, On Self-Culture (New York:
by the author in 1947. Scribner and Armstrong, 1874), 75.
2. René Fülöp Miller, Lenin and Gandhi, trans. F S 26. Matthew 7:21.
Flint and D F Tait (London: G P Putnam, 1930), 27. John 4:20.
35–6. 28. Gita, 6.40.
3. Albert Edward Wiggam, The Marks of An Edu- 29. Faisal Zia Siddiqui, Sayings of the Prophet (saas)
cated Man (New York City: Blue Ribbon Books, and Four Caliphs (R.A) (New Delhi: Adam,
1930), 46–7. 2004), 26.
4. John Ruskin, The Crown of Wild Olive: Also 30. H G Rawlinson, Indian Historical Studies (Lon-
Minera Pulveris; Pre-Raphaelitism—Aratra Pen- don: Longmans and Green, 1913), 174.
telici; The Ethics of the Dust; Fiction, Fair and 31. His Eastern and Western Disciples, The Life of
Foul; The Elements of Drawing (Boston: Aldine, Swami Vivekananda, 2 vols (Kolkata: Advaita
1900), 422. Ashrama, 2004), 1.338.
5. Mathew Arnold, ‘Sweetness and Light’, Culture 32. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 9
and Anarchy (London: Smith Elder, 1905), 4. vols (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1–8, 1989; 9,
6. Right Hon. H H Asquith, Occasional Addresses: 1997), 3.190.
1893–1916 (London: Macmillan, 1919), 78. 33. The Life of Swami Vivekananda, 2.618.
7. James Russell Lowell, ‘The Present Crisis’. 34. J Purver Richardson, Life and Literature
8. Sir Walter Scott, ‘My Native Land’, The Lay of (Lynchburg: Brown-Morrison, 1910), 233.
the Last Minstrel, Canto 6. 35. Joshua Loth Liebman, Peace of Mind (London:
9. Dr S Radhakrishnan, The Foundation Of Civili- William Heinemann, 1916), 197.
sation: Ideas And Ideals (Delhi: Orient Paper- 36. Complete Works, 6. 254.
backs, 2005), 31. 37. The Works of Dr. Benjamin Franklin (New York:
10. S Radhakrishnan, Eastern Religions and Western Frederick Campe, 1835), 118.
Thought (London: Oxford University, 1940), 38. Josiah Gilbert Holland, ‘Wanted’.
338. 39. Archibald Henderson, George Bernard Shaw:
11. The Foundation Of Civilisation, 78. His Life and Works (Cincinnati: Steward and
12. Jawaharlal Nehru, Eighteen Months in India: Kidd, 1911), 512.
1936–1937 (Allahabad: Kitabistan, 1938), 13. 40. ‘For the New Year’, Woman’s Missionary Friend,
13. Edge Tools of Speech, comp. and ed. Maturin M 73/7 (July-August 1940), 17.
Ballou (Boston: Ticknor, 1886), 296. 41. George Bernard Shaw, 489.

29
Swami Vivekananda
and Advaita Vedanta: The Inseparable
Kanchan Gogate
H is iconic address in the world’s

maiden Parliament of Religions not
only won Swami Vivekananda much-
deserved recognition, but it also made him the
first modern human to put Indian wisdom on
been refused by many Eastern philosophers,
mainly in the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda trad-
ition. There is no doubt that in popularising and
reviving Vedanta, not only in the West but also
in the East, Swamiji was a pioneer. About attach-
foreign shores. Advaita Vedanta has been an in- ing the ‘neo-Vedanta’ label to Swamiji, Swami
tegral and recurring theme of his speeches in the Bhajanananda observes: ‘The modern phase in
West thereafter. As oneness forms the core of his the development of Advaita Vedanta was inaug-
philosophy, Advaita Vedanta and Swamiji remain urated by Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Viveka-
inseparable. Therefore, this paper explores various nanda. … The philosophical presuppositions and
angles of Swamiji’s reading of Vedanta and inves- metaphysical underpinnings and implications of
tigates why he is called a ‘living Vedanta’.1 this “Neo-Vedanta”, which is better called “Inte-
The first part will present Swamiji’s formu- gral Vedanta”, are yet to be worked out, or even
lation of modern Vedanta. Swamiji’s ability studied, properly.’3
to relate to many as one makes his reading of It is pertinent to understand the connotations
Advaita unique. Swamiji expounded Vedanta and denotations of the word ‘Vedanta’ when
as a means of travelling from the lower truth to Swamiji utters it, because he implies myriad
the higher truth. The second part of the paper shades of the word. Swamiji was articulate when
will talk about Swamiji’s contribution to the it came to putting Vedanta philosophy into per-
new-age Vedanta, mainly the message of ser- spective. He said Vedas are ‘without beginning
vice embedded in his Vedantic core and prac- and without end’.4 He preferred to teach what
tical Vedanta. What makes Swamiji inseparable Vedanta is not: ‘No book, no person, no Per-
from Vedanta is his spiritual depth and electri- sonal God’ (8.127). Emphasis on oneness, unity
fying power to touch life. He is indeed ‘a voice was the gist of the Vedanta that Swamiji propa-
without a form’.2 gated. In answer to what Vedanta teaches us, he
says: ‘This present is all that is. There is only the
Swamiji’s Formulation of One. All is here right now. One moment in in-
Modern Vedanta finite time is quite as complete and all-inclusive
The new-age interpretation of Advaita Ved- as every other moment’ (8.128).
anta, mainly by modern thinkers like Swamiji, About Swamiji’s articulation and presenta-
Sri Aurobindo, and Dr S Radhakrishnan is also tion of the term ‘Vedanta’, Swami Tyagananda,
called ‘neo-Vedanta’. However, this label has in his article ‘Swamiji’s Vision of Vedanta’, says:

‘When Vivekananda uses the word Vedanta in a Sanskrit, Brahman. The Absolute has become
global context, he means by it neither the Vedic changed into the whole of nature’ (1.417).
religion nor its philosophy nor even the Upani- Swamiji’s rereading of Vedanta comes with a
shads. In a master stroke, he lifts the word above special focus on eliminating this fictitious dif-
its cultural, historical and religious contexts, and ferentiation between one and many. ‘The God
uses it to mean the basis of spiritual quest.’5 in you is the God in all. If you have not known
this, you have known nothing. How can there
Ability to See the Many As the One be difference? It is all one’ (1.429). His diction
In his Advaitic exposition, Swamiji empha- is simple, straight, and direct. He also supports
sised the oneness of existence: ‘Advaita means his claim with a quote from the Katha Upani-
non-duality; there are not two, but one.’6 Once shad: ‘“He goes from death to death who sees
Swamiji was asked a question: ‘Did Buddha the many here.” See that One and be free’ (2.182).
teach that the many was real and the ego un- In his exposition of jnana yoga, Swamiji deline-
real, while orthodox Hinduism regards the ates how other apparent realities are the manifest-
One as the real, and the many as unreal?’ ‘Yes’, ations of the absolute Reality. Swamiji’s reading of
answered Swamiji, ‘And what Ramakrishna the many as the One inspires one to rise above the
Paramahamsa and I have added to this is, that language of contradiction in life. Swamiji’s under-
the Many and the One are the same Reality, standing of maya is of it being neither mystery nor
perceived by the same mind at different times illusion but ‘simple statement of facts’ (2.89), a veil
and in different attitudes’.7 that clouds our understanding. For Swamiji, the
Swami Sarvapriyananda calls Swamiji’s ability ability to see the many as the One is more about
to see the many as the One as the core of his phil- looking at things as they really are. ‘Let me repeat,
osophy: ‘The doctrine of the One and the many once more, that the Vedantic position is neither
being the same reality is then, the philosophical pessimism nor optimism. It does not say that this
core of the vast and varied treasury of Vivekanan- world is all evil or all good’ (2.102).
da’s teachings and, indeed, of his life.’8 He says Swamiji reiterates that Vedanta has found
further: ‘We are still in the process of working out something ‘which is not bound by maya’ (2.104).
the implications of this profound insight’ (206). He says in Jnana Yoga that one who is either im-
Swamiji maintained that the Reality is always mersed in the foolish luxuries of the world or
absolute and all other perceptions are the mani- goes to the forest cursing the world has missed
festations of that one Reality. He said that the the way (2.150). According to Swamiji, the re-
infinite unit is ‘unchangeable, unmovable, abso- alisation of the supreme Truth is best possible
lute, and this is the Real Man. Our reality, there- by the harmony of all the four paths of yoga—
fore, consists in the Universal and not in the jnana yoga, karma yoga, raja yoga, and bhakti
limited.’9 In his lecture, ‘Vedanta and Privilege’, yoga. ‘What we want is the harmony of Exist-
delivered in London, he refers to the under- ence, Knowledge, and Bliss Infinite. For that is
standing of absolute reality as the ‘metaphysical our goal. We want harmony, not one-sided de-
portion of the Advaita’, and further adds: ‘Ac- velopment. And it is possible to have the intel-
cording to the Advaita theory, all we see around lect of a Shankara with the heart of a Buddha. I
us, and the whole universe in fact, is the evo- hope we shall all struggle to attain to that blessed
lution of that one Absolute. This is called, in combination’ (2.143).

Swami Vivekananda and Advaita Vedanta: The Inseparable 31
The Lower Truth to the

Higher Truth and Potential Divinity
The implications of Swamiji’s preposition of Ved-
anta are much deeper and expansive than what
they appear to be. The fundamental objective of
this paper is to highlight the spirit with which
Swamiji reformulated and revived Vedanta for
the West and its far-reaching impact. Swamiji did
not see any contradiction between the various
schools of Vedanta. He and Sri Ramakrishna
were the champions of harmony of all diverse
religious views and the reconcilers of the oppo-
sites. In the ‘Paper on Hinduism’ in his Chicago
addresses, Swamiji said: ‘To the Hindu, man is
not travelling from error to truth, but from truth
to truth, from lower to higher truth’ (1.17).
In her ‘Introduction’ to the Complete Works
of Swami Vivekananda, Sister Nivedita observes:
This, and the teaching of Mukti—the doctrine
that ‘man is to become divine by realising the Sister Nivedita (1867–1911)
divine’, that religion is perfected in us only
when it has led us to ‘Him who is the one life manifests, but as what he stands for. Each human
in a universe of death, Him who is the constant being stands for the divine, and, therefore, every
basis of an ever-changing world, that One who teacher should be helpful, not by condemning
is the only soul, of which all souls are but delu- man, but by helping him to call forth the divinity
sive manifestations’—may be taken as the two that is within him’ (1.388).
great outstanding truths which, authenticated
by the longest and most complex experience in Practical Vedanta:
human history, India proclaimed through him Message of Service and Strength
to the modern world of the West (1.xii–xiii).
Swamiji’s ‘Practical Vedanta’ could be one of the
Swamiji’s rereading of Vedanta lays stress on greatest ever contributions to the modern-age
the potential divinity of each person. He refused Vedanta. He was the first person to introduce
to call a person a sinner and saw it as a great sin the practicability of Vedanta philosophy in day-
to say so. To him, everything in the world is the to-day life. The gist of Swamiji’s mission is mak-
manifestation of that absolute and he said that ing Vedanta applicable to every walk of life. In
only Advaita viewpoint can help us realise that a letter to Alasinga Perumal, Swamiji himself
unity. Swamiji saw Vedanta laying responsibility mentioned it: ‘The dry, abstract Advaita must
on each person to realise one’s own divinity. In become living—poetic—in everyday life; out of
the lecture ‘Spirit and Influence of Vedanta’, hopelessly intricate mythology must come con-
Swamiji says: ‘Therefore the Vedanta lays down crete moral forms; and out of bewildering Yogi-
that each man should be treated not as what he ism must come the most scientific and practical

psycholog y— rightly notes: ‘He [Swamiji] explored Indian

all this must be philosophy and drew ethical systems on the basis
put in a form so of Advaita Vedanta, offering solution for the sal-
that a child may vation of humankind.’11
grasp it. That is Apart from the message of service and
my life’s work’ strength, which is the gist of Swamiji’s practical
(5.104–5). By Vedanta, his vision to make the theory applicable
the practical ap- to everyone’s life makes his rereading of Vedanta
plication of Ved- unique: ‘The novelty of Swami Vivekananda’s
anta apparent “Practical Vedānta” was to have attempted a rec-
contradictions onciliation of the lofty metaphysics of Advaita
in life cease to with the demands of individual and social prac-
exist. ‘The ficti- tical life. … Vivekananda, however, does not try
tious differenti- to legitimize the traditional dharma. He takes
ation between a core of that, what is called the sādhāraṇa
religion and the dharmas, and argues that they follow from the
life of the world Advaita thesis of oneness.’12
must vanish, for the Vedanta teaches oneness—
one life throughout’ (2.291). Swamiji and Advaita Vedanta:
It is this practical Vedanta that makes The Inseparable
Swamiji’s religion ‘man-making’ (3.224). Swamiji The understanding of any religion or philosophy
considered himself to be the messenger of his cannot be based merely on hermeneutics, intel-
master Sri Ramakrishna. When Swamiji told lectual comprehension, and scriptural study. As
his master than he wanted to be immersed in Swamiji himself puts it in his incomplete paper
samadhi, his master told him: ‘Shame on you! ‘Fundamentals of Religion’: ‘My mind can best
You are seeking such an insignificant thing. There grasp the religions of the world, ancient or mod-
is a state higher than that even. Is it not you who ern, dead or living, through this fourfold div-
sing, “Thou art all that exists?” I thought you ision: 1. Symbology … 2. History … 3. Philosophy
would be like a banyan, sheltering thousands … 4. Mysticism.’13 Therefore, understanding
from the scorching misery of the world. But now Swamiji should equally be based on some tran-
I see you seek your own liberation.’10 scendental and mystic dimension.
The message of selfless service is embedded What makes Swamiji inseparable from
in the core of Swamiji’s philosophy. That is what Advaita Vedanta is not merely its rereading,
could be called his practical Vedanta. Many revival, or reinterpretation. The scriptural basis
researchers have observed how Swamiji made of his Vedantic interpretation could be a mat-
service the basis of nationalism and reform, ter of scholarly analysis but the far-reaching
showing its Vedantic foundation. Swamiji was impact of Swamiji’s preaching and its magni-
able to humanise Vedanta enforcing its message tude and scale are yet to be studied. Implica-
of divinity of the human being, strength of char- tions of Swamiji’s Vedantic prophecy cannot
acter, and selfless service to humankind as the be reduced to intellectual or impartial under-
highest form of worship of God. A researcher standing or hagiographical portrayals alone.

Swami Vivekananda and Advaita Vedanta: The Inseparable 33
This wide impact needs to be examined on the a voice without a form. I do not require anybody
basis of Swamiji’s Vedantic hermeneutics, abil- to defend me.’17
ity to give practical applications of philosophy, References
exceptional oratory awakening millions, fear- 1. Chaturvedi Bhadrinath, Swami Vivekananda:
less attitude giving strength to all, burning The Living Vedanta (New Delhi: Penguin, 2006).
passion for his character-building mission, 2. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 9
vols (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1–8, 1989; 9,
and complete self-sacrifice for the good of the 1997), 6.283.
world. The divine magnetism in his personality 3. Swami Bhajanananda, ‘Four Basic Principles
and words still continues to appeal and inspire of Advaita Vedanta’, Prabuddha Bharata, 115/1
people worldwide. (January 2010), 10.
4. Complete Works, 1.6.
Christopher Isherwood, in his ‘Foreword’ to
5. Swami Tyagananda, ‘Vivekananda’s Vision of
Vedanta: Voice of Freedom, confirms that ‘we ex- Vedanta’, Bharatitya Vidya Bhavan Conference,
perience the freshness of the Swami’s unedited New York, 21 September 2002 <https://vedanta.
live speech. Vivekananda’s living presence often org/2008/monthly-readings/vivekanandas-vi-
becomes powerfully evident behind his words’.14 sion-of-vedanta/> accessed 18 December 2019.
6. Complete Works, 2.135.
As Chaturvedi Badrinath calls him ‘in a literal 7. Sister Nivedita, The Master as I Saw Him (Kol-
sense, the embodiment of the true Vedanta’,15 kata: Udbodhan Office, 2004), 20.
Swamiji remains inseparable from Vedanta as 8. Swami Sarvapriyananda, ‘Vivekananda’s Inter-
oneness is deeply ingrained in him. Swamiji pretation of Vedanta Philosophy And Values
had a phenomenal power to transform others For Sustained Human Development’, Inter-
national Journal of Development Issues, 13/3 (Au-
for good, while his spiritual depths and under- gust 2014), 204–11; 210.
standing of life had its base in Advaita phil- 9. Complete Works, 2.79.
osophy. ‘Swamiji’s power to transform came 10. The Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, ed. Swami
through his inner strength and the depth of spir- Gambhirananda (Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama,
2010), 34.
itual experience.’16 11. Chinnabai Ramulu, ‘Swami Vivekananda’s
Swami Chetanananda observes: ‘Swami Practical Vedanta: Ideas And Thoughts’, Inter-
Vivekananda lived in this world for 39 years, 5 national Journal of Academic Research and De-
months, and 24 days. He started his public work velopment, 3/3 (May 2018), 66–7; 67.
at the age of 30. He worked for about 7 years 12. J N Mohanty, ‘Practical Vedanta’, Swami
Vivekananda: A Hundred Years Since Chicago,
and then he said: “I have given enough to think- A Commemorative Volume (Belur: Ramakrishna
ing humanity for 1500 years.” … Generations to Math and Ramakrishna Mission, 1994), 843.
come will stand in wonder as they observe the 13. Complete Works, 4.374.
depth and magnitude of Vivekananda’s life and 14. Christopher Isherwood, ‘Foreword’, Swami
Vivekananda, Vedanta: Voice of Freedom, ed.
message’ (478).
Swami Chetanananda (Kolkata: Advaita
Is Vedanta inseparable from Swamiji? Ashrama, 2017), 7.
Advaita Vedanta is the basis of his works, words, 15. Swami Vivekananda: The Living Vedanta, xvi.
and also perhaps, of silence, if any. Rationalising 16. Swami Tathagatananda, ‘Swami Vivekananda’s
Swamiji’s rejuvenation of Advaita goes beyond Teachings on the Development of a Strong Per-
sonality’, Vivekananda as the Turning Point: The
the realm of intellect. This ‘living Vedanta’ him- Rise of a New Spiritual Wave, ed. Swami Shuddhi-
self wrote in letter to Swami Ramakrishnananda dananda (Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 2014), 524.
from New York: ‘I want no name—I want to be 17. Complete Works, 6.283.

34
Ethical Dilemma, Legality, Profit, and

Leadership in the Twenty-first Century
Jayanta Roy
A management expert says: ‘There are

numerous laws and regulations that gov-
ern the conduct of business, yet there
are many fraudulent practices and huge losses
to public due to unethical business practices.’1
private morality is a respect for truth’.2 But many
experts and corporate honchos of today have also
started believing that expression of half-truth or
mild deception or passively ignoring wrongdo-
ings should be regarded as part of the game in
Globalisation, disruptions, and current polit- business strategy. They wrongly think that this
ical economy in the world of volatility, uncer- does not reflect on the morality of a person.
tainty, complexity, and ambiguity or VUCA, and Henry Taylor, the British statesman, once
so on, have made business and governance more said that ‘falsehood ceases to be falsehood when
complex. World economies have become more it is understood on all hands that the truth is not
interdependent but the geopolitical processes are expected to be spoken’.3 Many people started be-
tending towards protectionism and populism. lieving him as a ‘new normal’ format in modern
This is causing dilemma and conflict of interest business, politics, and diplomacy in the twenty-
in the business ecosystem. The never-ending first century.
onslaught of scams and scandals has not only ‘Laws and regulations are established by gov-
eroded the faith of the investment community ernments to set minimum standards for respon-
and shareholders, but also put the leadership and sible behavior’4—code of conduct in society for
their every action under spotlight. what is right and wrong. Laws can help business
Ethical behaviour is not always best defined people determine what society believes at a cer-
within the confines of the law. Ethics ‘are a self- tain time, but what is legally wrong today may be
regulating mechanism based on one’s moral perceived as acceptable in near future and vice
values’ (82), principles, and a sense of account- versa. Opinions of society can change over time
ability towards the whole ecosystem. Ethics, es- and different courts and state legislatures may
sentially, is to oversee the spirit of the law with take diverging views.
the expressed intent to do what is right. ‘The law is enforced in business by holding
The great Greek philosopher Socrates did not those individuals accountable who the company
escape from the prison, ‘awaiting execution on has deemed responsible and accountable for its
false charge’. ‘He was convinced that intentionally business.’5 But some people who are outsiders of
doing something wrong would harm him more the company, in an influential position, may cause
than suffering an unjust death’ (2). Such moral the decision in violation of local law or regulations.
values are the foundation of ethical behaviour. Many business leaders have recently started
Many business people agree that ‘the basis of believing that if the law, as written, gives anyone

Ethical Dilemma, Legality, Profit, and Leadership in the Twenty-first Century 35
any open chance to make a killing, she or he political decisions that took place in the past,
should exploit the chance. If she or he does not, which people had witnessed and now they mis-
somebody else will. As long as the law of the land use the references of those events to justify their
justifies the actions, there is nothing unethical wrongdoings. The reality is that in the major-
about that. Many professionals or individuals are ity of the cases, law has failed to prove its case
not indifferent to ethics in their personal lives. against these people.
But the same person becomes a game player Individuals are always torn between a rational
when in business, politics, or diplomacy. business decision and an individual ethical deci-
‘Should the employee be loyal to the em- sion. This dilemma always leads to emotional
ployer’ and keep complying with management’s stress. This stress has a cascading effect on their
directions and supervisions ‘without any con- spouses and children and other family members
siderations to legality or morality of an issue?’ and the society.
(ibid.). Employees ‘should be given the right to Many CEOs speak hyperbolically in recent
self-determine the morality of their tasks’ (86). times and suggest for quick fixes, shortcuts, or
An employee is legally right when she or he goes the mantra of ‘fake it till you make it’. But, what
against the management directions ‘for a task we all have learned over the years is that it is even
that is immoral and forced upon’ her or him (87). more important to be honest, and in turn, vul-
Swami Vivekananda put it nicely: ‘Life is nerable. There is no difference between being
short… and one thing being certain, death, let vulnerable and being honest.
us therefore take up a great ideal and give up our The people who think they know everything
whole life to it.’6 ‘For what otherwise is the value may never get the help they need. This is nothing
of life, this vegetating, little, low life of man? but pretension that means deceiving yourself and
Subordinating it to one high ideal is the only making losses for all stakeholders. They deny any
value that life has’ (3.168). Surely these quotes of change or the process of learning-unlearning-
Swamiji will clarify and address the dilemma of relearning and commit mistakes in the name of
modern corporate and public governance. change. They tend to live uselessly in the past.
Something may be legal but we may consider When you try to pretend you do know every-
it unacceptable. And we may consider something thing, you alienate your employees, your stake-
right but it may not be legal. In other instances, holders. People should have ‘curiosity’ to learn
what has long been an acceptable thing to do new things and ‘humility’ to unlearn the past.
may have been made illegal in an effort to change ‘Our ethical behaviour or ethical response
social and cultural practices or trade practices to a situation need not always follow a set pat-
that disadvantage governments or certain groups tern like a rule of law, as long as our actions do
in society. not cause harm to others in the society’ or hurt
Some experts and leaders tend to justify the the interest of others. ‘What matters most in
unethical conduct. They believe that they do not our ethical behavior is our feeling of satisfaction
make laws nor they break any law. They simply or dissatisfaction about the decisions we take
obey the laws of the land. They are not in the during the course of dealing with situations and
business of promoting ethics. There are many un- events in our lives.’7
ethical businesses and social practices, which still An individual should guide oneself through
exist and are thriving. There were many unethical self-regulation in actions and decisions by some

moral principles and values so as to be satisfied At times, what the law may permit us to do,
about one’s own action and its outcome. ‘The ethics may not. Besides, the problem for busi-
ultimate aim of ethical behaviour and practice ness and for business ethics is the equation with
is to feel satisfied (and not necessarily justified) money, bottom line and the pressure to increase
about one’s conduct and behaviour or action and the same quarterly or annually. Everything and
its outcome’ (4). Ethical decision making pro- everybody within a company is directed by the
cess involves making efforts to know the alter- same profit-maximising principle and are ex-
natives and the possible consequences of one’s pected to conform to its demand. When people
action and then be sure that the actions make you or things are valued for their contribution to
feel satisfied. increased profit margins, they are identified nu-
Trust is the glue that holds businesses and merically and treated as such.
their stakeholders together. ‘Trust is the highest What about human values that suggest rela-
form of human motivation.’8 The easiest action tionships, which talk about similarity and con-
item to take to become more vulnerable is to exer- tinuity within our perceptions, assumptions, and
cise pure honesty. Stop embellishing. Be humble. comprehensions of the world around us and the
Trust strengthens interdependence in a busi- persons we are becoming? News of companies
ness ecosystem. ‘Ethics helps create the founda- cutting legal and ethical corners have become
tional trust’9 between two business entities. Today all too common. Sadly, common people like us
investors, consumers, suppliers, and other stake- have come to distrust most large organisations.
holders of business are increasingly concerned In most companies, the focus of the attitudes,
about the ethics, social responsibility, and repu- language, and the behaviour of the individuals
tation of companies in which they participate. is on task excellence and achieving results. This
Truthfulness is the primary ingredient for is necessary but insufficient. This will lead to
trust. In the business world, professionals tend a natural dehumanisation of the organisation.
to express themselves in a storytelling format Unless an organisation’s culture also focuses on
but the audience find no ‘truth telling’ in their people and developing relationship excellence,
pitch. Much half-truth or complete departure the organisation will experience managerial fail-
from the whole truth dominates corporate com- ure and decline.
munication. Children from those parents learn ‘The corporate accountability means hold-
this behaviour very fast and misunderstand that ing all the corporate organisations accountable
success means only money and power. to the public, employees, customers, and stock
‘The law of the land may prevail as a deterrent holders, as empowered by rules and laws.’11 Sup-
for wrongdoing’,10 but does not tell us what to pose a food corporation is considering beginning
do in relation to many of the dilemmas and deci- a new factory in South India. A mountain of
sions we have to make in life. Ethics and ethical paperwork will be forwarded to the CEO, other
behaviour help us to cope with conflicts between top executives, and probably the board of di-
our personal values and those of the organisation rectors. When a decision is made, according to
in which we work. Laws and ethics should comple- the decision-making procedure established by
ment each other’s role and contribution in main- the corporation, it can properly be called a ‘cor-
taining just and fair business practices and build a porate decision’. It was made for ‘corporate rea-
responsible society and good corporate citizens. sons’, presumably in accordance with a ‘corporate

policy’, to satisfy ‘corporate interests’, hopefully way managers make an economic case to justify
guided by ‘corporate ethics’. Because it is a cor- a certain decision they made based on ethics.
porate decision, the corporation can be held re- ‘They argued that managers intentionally strip
sponsible for it, both morally and legally. moral language from their speech when talking
Both organisations and the individuals within to employees and fellow managers. Even when
them are morally accountable for what they do. they had an ethical reason for taking a certain
‘Individuals often attempt to evade personal recourse of action, they made the economic case
sponsibility for wrongdoing. Perhaps the most for it instead.’13
common way this is done, especially by individ- ‘With the influence of globalisation, trade
uals in large organisations, is by pointing out has increased and so has the responsibilities to
that many individuals had a hand in causing the have fair practices when dealing with suppliers,
harm. The argument goes as follows: “So many customers and the employees of the firms.’14 One
people are responsible for the tragedy that it is aspect of globalisation leads to growth, more
irrational and unfair to pin the responsibility on markets, more customers, and more profits. It
any individual person, including me”.’12 opens new job opportunities. ‘Business ethics
Let us now see how a competitive culture and are guidelines’ for global business managers ‘to
hypercritical management could encourage un- take ethical decisions which impact positively on
ethical behavior. Many experts now believe that society and environment’ (ibid.).
the chief reasons for the collapse of large cor- ‘Millennials are asking for more meaning
porations such as Enron Company, Worldcom, from their work than earlier generations did,
Lehman Brothers, and the like was because its and they’re increasingly interested in companies
managers were paid to aim at wrong financial that do good.’15 Leadership and governance,
measures. In a desperate attempt to keep abreast both public and corporate, should take ‘hol-
of aggressive earnings targets, corporate manag- istic’ view of growth and sustainability of the
ers became indiscriminate in committing the organisation or institution, where the well-being
firm’s capital by deceptive practices and its in- of all stakeholders is integrated. Institutions are
ternal system of financial controls collapsed. under pressure to make governance model more
Money in a for-profit business can change the robust, purposeful, and ethically tenable. Gov-
ethical temperature of a culture pretty quickly. ernance broadly refers to the systems, processes,
The focus is more on doing well than on doing and laws by which businesses are operated, regu-
good. More than a dozen studies found that just lated, and controlled.
thinking about money can lead to dishonest Professionals ‘should have the right to voice
behaviour. The abuse of power and authority is responsible objections to projects they find objec-
one of the key factors that cause organisational tionable, without fear of reprisal, and to support
culture to degrade. When decisions around pro- progressive causes of their own choosing outside
motions and rewards seem unfair and political, the workplace’.16 Responsible professionalism
employees will disregard organisational state- needs cardinal virtues such as wisdom, courage,
ments about values and begin to pursue their fortitude, temperance, and justice. They ‘are firm
own, mostly ‘hidden’ agendas. attitudes, stable dispositions, habitual perfections
The term ‘moral muteness’ has been coined of intellect and will that govern our actions, order
by Frederick Bird and James Waters to define the our passions, and guide our conduct according

makes the case that we do need new leaders, not

just new laws, to bring us out of the corporate
crisis.’21 He has mentioned
that the three keys to becoming a True North
Leader are Truth, Transparency and Trust. All
three are essential qualities for building authen-
tic relationships with your colleagues and team-
mates. … Authentic leaders need to surround
themselves with “truth tellers”—subordinates
who have the courage to tell them the truth, es-
pecially when it hurts. …[Leaders today] operate
in a collaborative mode wherein horizontal rela-
tionships are more important than vertical ones
to get things done. In order for everyone to do
their jobs most effectively, authentic leaders share
the complete picture with their colleagues.22
Bill George (b. 1942)
‘Nurturing the trust and psychological safety
to reason and faith.’17 ‘Wisdom is perception of that employees need at a time of change is the
truth and ability to distinguish between the right way to create a “fearless” enterprise workforce.’23
and wrong. Courage means a firm and elevated ‘Knowing what the right thing to do is and doing
mind. Temperance represents order in words and it are not the same. The fear of retaliation can
actions. Justice is preserving humanity and ob- negatively influence ethical decision-making.’24
serving the faith of contracts.’18 Self-direction or Most of the employees feel burnt out as it is
self-governance virtues are fundamental and ne- likely caused by fear and anxiety about their
cessary in exercising moral responsibility. work—they may not feel comfortable speaking
‘The words and actions of employees’ imme- up about it. Particularly if their workplace is in
diate supervisors have an especially important a state of flux. Burn-out has a cost for both the
impact on employees’ own behavior; boards and employee and the employer—in the latter case
it can be measured in an increase in absentee-
executives need to monitor the “tone in the mid-
ism, the loss of productivity and difficulties in
dle” so that managers all along the chain of com- attracting and retaining top talent. … People
mand know to “walk the talk” of ethics.’19 at high-trust companies experience 74% less
‘Ethical leaders create a culture in the work- stress. … A recent Harvard Business Review
place that promotes moral values and establishes study found that three key factors drive trust
an ethical tone at the top. … Ethical leaders are in leadership: consistency, good judgment and
role models for others in the organization to fol- positive relationships.25
low. They “walk the talk” of ethics in everything ‘There’s nothing simple or straightforward
they say and do. Ethical leaders empower others about telling people how to improve. So it’s no
to achieve success through right actions. They surprise that we’re still figuring it out and find-
make decisions that contribute to the common ing new ways to refine it. If the feedback you’re
good.’20 It is very important to realise that busi- giving to your students, co-workers, and even
ness is a part of society. the people at home isn’t having quite the ef-
‘In Authentic Leadership, [Bill] George fect you intend, try shifting to a feedforward

approach.’26 Feedforward has been adopted by situations, in fact,

many corporations recently as part of strategy are part of an inter-
to build trust-based performance culture. ‘When dependent reality.’34
we give feed-forward, instead of rating and judg- Cooperation is really
ing a person’s performance in the past, we focus the viable option for
on their development in the future’ (ibid.). This professionals, polit-
helps people see themselves in a new light and icians, entrepreneurs,
gets them thinking about ways they could grow. students, one and all.
‘Top managements should establish clear By committing to a
policies that encourage ethical behavior.’27 ‘All bigger purpose than
employees who observe or become aware of temporary personal
criminal practices or unethical behavior should success, leaders of the
be encouraged to report the incident to their day must transform
superiors.’28 ‘Management training seminars and their organisations Akio Morita (1921–1999)
orientation meetings that include discussion of and the ‘ecosystem’ into greatness.
actual situations can alert employees to potential Leaders must emphasise on collaboration and
ethical conflicts and serve to communicate the ethical use of power so that all the stakeholders
organization’s code of ethics.’29 Ethics is ‘a per- make a conscious choice to follow their leaders.
formance enabler, rather than just a “tick in the Let me end with a line from the Bhagavadgita:
box”.’30 Ethics drives performance of the institu- ‘Nourishing one another, you shall attain the su-
tion and sustainable growth. preme good.’35 By cooperation, prosperity will
Cooperation is not a tool but a total philosophy reign for all.
of human interaction. This ‘is a frame of mind and
References
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There are a total of 32,500 species of fish in the McGraw Hill Education, 2010), 81.
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True winners always strive and get what they 3. Henry Taylor, The Statesman (Cambridge: Hef-
want. They never want others to lose. fer, 1957), 59.
Akio Morita spoke about the two sides of 4. O C Ferrell, John Fraedrich, and Linda Ferrell,
competition in Japan in his book Made in Ja- Business Ethics: Ethical Business Making and
Cases (Mason: South-Western Cengage Learn-
pan.32 Japan has witnessed both great prosperity ing, 2009), 93.
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cessive ‘competition will destroy the true spirit vols (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1–8, 1989; 9,
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7. Ethics in Business and Corporate Governance, 3.
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10. Ethics in Business and Corporate Governance, 90. Eye-Opening Statistics’, Accenture, 6 Sep-
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13. ‘Is “Business Ethics”An Oxymoron?’ <https:// Opening Statistics’.
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2019. com/feedforward/> accessed 16 December
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17. ‘Catechism of the Holy Church’, 3.1.1.7.1804 cember 2019.
<http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/ar- 27. K Shravan Kumar, Ginna Prudvi Reddy, and G
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41
Advaita Vedanta: Swami Vivekananda

and the Global Context
Swami Satyapriyananda
(Continued from the previous issue)
A cademic learning and great intellec-

tual achievements are not an essential
part of spiritual insight. Sri Rama-
krishna would say, the almanac predicts that
there will be so many inches of rainfall on a day.
they not? In the same way through the grace of
God this limited self can reflect the Infinite.’3
(2) Once two Western ladies belonging to
an atheist society met the swami. They believed
in doing humanitarian works but not in God.
But if one squeezes the book not a single drop ‘Why should you do good to others?’ asked Latu
of water comes out!1 A popular Sanskrit proverb Maharaj. ‘Wherein lies your interest in that? If
says: ‘Yatha kharash-chandana-bharavahi, bhara- you don’t believe in the existence of God, there
sya vetta na tu chandanasya, tathaiva loka bahu- will always remain a flaw in your argument. Hu-
shastra-yuktah, dharmena hinah pashubhih manitarian work is a matter that concerns the
samanah; just like the donkey carrying a load good of the society. You cannot prove that it will
of sandalwood knows its weight but not the do good to yourself. So after some time you will
fragrance of the wood, similarly a person well- get tired of doing the work that does not serve
versed in the scriptures but without practice your self-interest. On the contrary, if you believe
is on the same footing as an animal’. Another in God there will be a perennial source of interest,
thought-provoking statement is: ‘Different ways for the same God resides in others as in you.’ ‘But
of throwing out words, different ways of explain- can you prove that the one God resides in many?’,
ing texts of the scriptures, these are for the enjoy- asked one of the ladies. ‘Why not?’ came the
ment of the learned, not for freedom.’2 prompt reply, ‘but it is a subjective experience.
Swami Adbhutananda, Rakhturam, affec- Love cannot be explained to another. Only one
tionately called Latu by Sri Ramakrishna and who loves understands it and also the one who is
significantly called Plato by Swami Vivekananda, loved. The same is the case with God. He knows
achieved everything by the mere repetition of and the one whom He blesses knows. For others,
the name of God and had obtained much insight He will ever remain an enigma’ (273–4).
into spiritual life! A few examples will suffice. In this connection, we mention the name of
(1) Someone asked: ‘How can it be possible Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820–91) famed for
that I am the Soul, I being finite and the Soul his generous charity. Sri Ramakrishna observed
being infinite?’ Latu Maharaj replied: ‘Have you that there was gold hidden within him but he
not seen the jasmine flowers? The petals of those had not recognised it.
flowers are very small. But even those petals, dew- It will be unforgivable if one does not men-
drops falling on them, reflect the infinite sky. Do tion the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, the divine

consort of Sri Ramakrishna, who was a great Goddess Tripurasundari in the person of Sri
spiritual dynamo. Once she had asked Sri Rama- Sarada Devi, prostrated fully before her and
krishna how he looked upon her and he had re- offered the fruits of his sadhana and rosary to
plied that he looked upon the Divine Mother in her, making her the heir to all his spiritual at-
the temple of Bhavatarini Kali, his own mother tainment and commissioning her to work for
living in the nahabat, and Sarada herself as the the amelioration of the masses who were matter-
same goddess.4 And when, on another occa- bound in their outlook.
sion, Sri Ramakrishna asked her whether she Sri Ramakrishna was an expert jeweller and
had come to drag his mind down from the spir- he collected splendid spiritual jewels who car-
itual plane to the material plane, she gave a sig- ried forth his message all over the world. Natur-
nificant reply: ‘No. Why should I drag you to ally, being born out of personal experience, and
worldly ways? I have come to help you in your being verifiable and communicable, the appeal
chosen path’ (ibid.). She, the Holy Mother, had and application of these teachings is universal.
come to the mortal plane to assist the incarna- In today’s parlance, the Ramakrishna way is very
tion of the age in his sadhana, which included user-friendly.
her whole-souled participation in his mission In a letter to a devotee named Sisir dated 12
after Sri Ramakrishna entered maha-samadhi. March 1932, Swami Abhedananda writes:
What a great personality lay hidden behind The Philosophy of Ramakrishna will be a fath-
that frame of Sri Sarada Devi! Swamis Brahma- omless ocean of infinite spiritual light. Viveka-
nanda, Saradananda, and Premananda once re- nanda said that Sri Ramakrishna was so great
marked that such sinful people to whom they that to attempt to describe Him is to bring Him
within limitations, etc. I am enclosing here-
dared not give initiation out of fear, Holy Mother
with Sri Aurobindo’s observations, regarding
digested their sins easily and gave them spiritual Sri Ramakrishna which I have marked out. ... I
initiation! Hriday was an interesting character. am also sending herewith a copy of my Hymn
Once in a while, he would say to Sarada Devi to Ramakrishna, you should keep it. It was
something hurtful. Sri Ramakrishna warned him published in the March number of Prabuddha
sternly that if he does something that hurts him Bharata and Hymn to the Mother was pub-
who resides in Sri Ramakrishna’s body, he may lished in the January number, have you seen? ...
escape the resulting wrath; but if he did anything To understand Sri Sri Thakur [Ramakrishna]
to hurt the person residing in Sarada Devi then it is necessary to know all scriptures, Vedas,
Upanishads, Puranas and Tantras, Eastern and
even Brahma, Vishnu, or Maheshvara will not
Western Philosophy. Although I possess that
come to his rescue. And that warning came true, knowledge, yet I dare not write His Philosophy,
for Hriday committed an offence and he was I have, therefore, said in my hymn—
prohibited from entering Dakshineswar (66). ‘Oh Lord Ramakrishna, I do not know what
Sri Ramakrishna’s worship of the Bhavatarini Thou art in essence,
Kali was unique; sometimes he worshipped the I am prostrating to whatever may be Thy es-
Divine Mother in his own person. This occurred sence, again and again.’5
many times. In Shyampukur Bati, he as the Di-
vine Mother accepted the worship of the de- The Six Systems of Hindu Philosophy
votees. In Dakshineshwar he had on the day A spiritual aspirant first hears the truth, second,
of Phalaharini Kali Puja offered worship to reasons upon it, and, third, meditates upon it,

Advaita Vedanta: Swami Vivekananda and the Global Context 43
universe. Moreover, there is nothing unortho-

until the realisation of the Truth dawns. The
dox in expanding, within limits, on the original
six systems of Hindu philosophy are concerned revelations. For … though reason is given its
with the second of these three steps. They have due part in all the philosophies of India, there
always in view the goal of the aspirant, which is is everywhere the assumption that it will be
final liberation, but as a means to that goal, they aided by those intuitive perceptions to which
give a complete intellectual grasp of: (1) the Self, the Vedas give the first recorded expression.
(2) God, and (3) the universe in which one lives. Actually the Six Systems of philosophy, re-
The six systems of Hindu thought are the duced to three distinct groups, are not mutually
Vaisheshika of Kanada, the Nyaya of Gotama, contradictory, though in certain of their the-
the Sankhya of Kapila, the Yoga of Patanjali, ories they would seem to be so. They really rep-
the Mimamsa—also called Purva Mimamsa— resent, not conflicting schools of thought, but
of Jaimini, and Vedanta—also called Uttara a progressive development from [lower] truth
to higher truth to the highest truth. Nyāya and
Mimamsa—of Vyasa. Because of certain meta-
Vaiśeṣika prepare the mind for philosophic
physical similarities, these six systems are, for thought and are therefore called the ground-
the sake of convenience, grouped into three: (1) work of philosophy; but passing beyond them
Vaisheshika and Nyaya; (2) Sankhya and Yoga, through evolving ideas as expressed successively
and (3) Mimamsa and Vedanta. For a detailed in Sāṁkhya, Yoga, and Mīmāṁsā, we at last ar-
treatment of the subject, please refer to The Spir- rive at the [unsurpassed beautiful and fragrant]
itual Heritage of India by Swami Prabhavananda. flower of Indian philosophy in Vedānta. …
The following is an extract therefrom with some The individual systems [of philosophy]
additions where necessary. are variously looked upon. In the estimation
From a time when the art of writing was still of modern students, Vaiśeṣika is not of great
unknown, these [systems of thought in the importance. Nyāya for its system of logic, and
form of aphorisms or] sūtras were preserved in Sāṁkhya for its system of cosmology and cer-
memory and handed down by word of mouth tain other metaphysical theories, are popular
from teacher to pupil. [One can well imagine with scholars, but only as aids to the study of
the memory capacity of the people of those the philosophy of Vedānta. Mīmāṁsā is closely
times.] They [sutras] are so extremely laconic in related to Hindu law, and is considered use-
form as to be well-nigh unintelligible without ful in the elucidation of the ritual portion of
commentaries and explanatory notes, and oral the Vedas. Yoga and Vedānta are accepted as
supplements of this nature were early associated the chief of the six schools. Yoga is concerned
with the original aphorisms and transmitted with the practical side of philosophical and re-
with them. More and more commentaries and ligious life and is devotedly studied by aspir-
notes were gradually added, and in time [when ants. Vedānta, in one or the other of its various
writing and writing material came to be known] aspects, was the ancient faith of India, and all
written down, and the custom of composing Hindus now accept it as their living faith.6
them [commentaries and notes] persisted even
Nyaya-Vaisheshika Philosophies
until the sixteenth or seventeenth century of
the Christian era. Sage Gotama systematised the philosophy of
The Six Systems are regarded as āstika, or Nyaya in the form of sutras or aphorisms. Uluka,
orthodox, because, unlike Buddhism and Jain- commonly known as Kanada, compiled the
ism, they accept the authority of the Vedas on sutras of Vaisheshika. ‘The two systems which
all questions pertaining to the nature of the were embodied in the sūtras composed by these

yet taken the first step towards this goal. So,

two men are regarded by all authorities as con-
we must strive for supersensuous perception,
stituting one school of philosophy, though they and there exist methods or processes … [for this
differ in some details and though in their aph- purpose]. These require as a prerequisite, if they
oristic form they were evolved independently are to be effective, a life of lofty ethical attain-
of each other. Chronologically, Vaiśeṣika is the ment, but they are in themselves definite spir-
older of the two’ (202). itual disciplines. They are known to the Hindus
as yogas. The primary meaning of the word yoga
The Sankhya Philosophy … is union, and what is referred to is the union
The sage Kapila, who is generally regarded as [of the individual soul, which embodies] with
the founder of Sāṁkhya philosophy, is a his- the true Self, or God; in its secondary meaning,
torical figure. … Two books, Tattwa Samāsa it is a method for achieving that union. Patañ-
and Sāṁkhya Pravacana Sūtra, have been attri- jali employs it to signify a striving towards the
buted to Kapila, though a difference of opin- realization of Puruṣa, or the Divine Self—‘an
ion exists among the scholars of India as to effort to separate Puruṣa from prakṛti’. From
whether Kapila actually wrote them. Another the earliest times, aspirants have followed the
book on Sāṁkhya, very popular amongst stu- practices of yoga.
dents of philosophy, is the Sāṁkhya Kārikā of All the earliest Hindu scriptures and all the
Īśwarakṛṣṇa, a work of the third century AD. subsequent systems of philosophy not only ex-
Besides these, there exist innumerable commen- press their conception of spiritual truth but also
taries by the followers of this school of thought. offer practical methods for realizing the divine
Śaṁkara, the great Vedāntist, in the course of consciousness. These methods, however, receive
his refutation of some of the Sāṁkhya tenets, but casual mention in the Vedas, the Upaniṣads,
quotes the Kārikā and ignores the Sūtra. For and other early works, and whatever references
this reason, many hold that the Sūtra was of there are to them deal with the specific and
later origin. However, Vijñānabhikṣu, a well- detailed processes of Self-realization handed
known commentator on the Sūtra, attributes down orally, generation after generation, from
its authorship to Kapila (208). teacher to disciple. The same processes have-
been followed even to the present day. All aspir-
The Yoga System of Patanjali
ants after spiritual things must practise them if
Truth is of two kinds: (1) that which is per- they would acquire personal experience of the
ceived by the five ordinary senses or inferred truth they are seeking. Patañjali, the author of
from the data they provide, and (2) that which the Yoga system of philosophy, can therefore
is perceived by the subtle, supersensuous power scarcely be called the founder or originator of
of yoga. The first kind of truth is called scien- yoga, but he was the first to gather together the
tific, or empirical, knowledge [limited to sense spiritual practices known to the yogis and build
perception]; the second kind is called tran- them into a system (226–7).
scendental, or yogic, knowledge [which is su-
per-sensuous, intuitive and experiential]. The Purva Mimamsa
person in whom supersensuous power is mani- Jaimini, the compiler of the Mīmāṁsā Sūtras
fested is called a ṛṣi [rishi], a seer, a yogi who has … was long accepted by Indian commentators
achieved union with God. as a disciple of Vyasa, the famous author of the
To develop this super-sensuous power is to Mahabharata. … [The sutras are believed to be]
practise genuine religion. So long as a spiritual one of the earliest collections known to Indian
aspirant does not develop this power, so long is philosophy. One famous commentary upon the
religion a mere empty word to him. He has not aphorisms of Jaimini, by Śavara Swāmi (AD 400),

Advaita Vedanta: Swami Vivekananda and the Global Context 45
has made them intelligible to a modern reader, Sūtras because they expound the philosophy of
although it in turn has been interpreted in two Brahman, and as Śarīraka Sūtras because they
different ways, one by Prabhākara (AD 650) and deal with the nature of the unconditioned Self
the other by Kumārilla Bhaṭṭa (AD 700). embodied in human form [sharira means body].
The two main objectives of Mīmāṁsā phil- Though the Sūtras undertake to interpret and
osophy are [1] to establish the authority of the organize the Upaniṣads, they are themselves
Vedas as the incontrovertible source of all know- quite unintelligible without commentaries.
ledge, and [2] to explain their true meaning. It The commentaries, moreover, are so diverse
does not claim to be a commentary upon them. and often so conflicting that it is well-nigh im-
… The word mīmāṁsa denotes the reasoning possible to arrive at the precise views held by
process to be followed if one would understand Bādarāyaṇa. The Vedānta Sūtras are unques-
the meaning of a word or a sentence from the tionably of great authority, however, for every
Vedas. The epithet pūrva indicates that the pri- important philosopher has written commen-
mary aim of the Mīmāṁsā philosophy is to ex- taries upon them. They are indeed one of the
plain the true meaning of the pūrva, or earlier three great works upon which all the theologies
portion of the Vedas. This philosophy is also of India rest. The others are the Upaniṣads, of
known as Karma Mīmāṁsā, since it seeks to course, and the [Bhagavad] Gītā. …
explain the karma, the rites and ceremonies The place of these three works in modern
taught in the Vedas, and the effects of their per- Indian philosophy [is as follows:] … [1] the
formance. It explains the Vedas as essentially Upaniṣads speak to us of the truth of the Self.
injunctions concerning the performance of the [2] The Vedānta Sūtras aid us to reason and
sacred rites, and it subordinates the Upaniṣads, understand. (3) Finally, the Gītā affords us prac-
the last, philosophical part of the Vedas, to the tical ways and means of living and prescribes de-
part giving such injunctions (265–6). tails of conduct and methods of meditation. Of
the many philosophers who have commented
Uttara Mimamsa or the Vedanta Sutras upon these fundamental scriptures, the chief are
The word Vedānta means, literally, [Veda-anta] Śaṁkara, Bhāskara, Yādava Prakāś, Rāmānuja,
the end [portion or conclusions] of the Vedas, Nimbārka, Keśava, Nīlakaṇṭha, Madhwa, Bal-
with specific reference to the Upaniṣads, the adeva, Vallabha, and Vijñānabhikṣu (268–9). P
last portion or the essential part of each of the
four Vedas [Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva]. The References
Upaniṣads … make no attempt to order their
1. See M., The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, trans.
contents but merely record the extraordinary
Swami Nikhilananda (Chennai: Ramakrishna
experiences of the seers. [We should therefore Math, 2004), 476.
remember that the Upaniṣads are experience- 2. Acharya Shankara, Vivekachudamani, 58.
based and give priority to experience over every 3. The Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, ed. Swami
other form of gaining knowledge.] There ac- Gambhirananda (Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama,
cordingly arose the necessity of interpreting 2010), 274.
them in terms of human reason and organizing 4. See Swami Gambhirananda, Holy Mother Sri
them into a systematic philosophy. Bādarāyaṇa Sarada Devi (Madras: Ramakrishna Math,
is the author of the Vedānta Sutras in which the 2001), 46.
systematizing attempt is made. From him we 5. Complete Works of Swami Abhedananda, 10 vols
learn of other sages who preceded him in the (Calcutta: Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1970),
10.226–7.
same attempt but [unfortunately] whose writ-
6. Swami Prabhavananda, The Spiritual Heritage
ings have not been preserved. … of India (Madras: Ramakrishna Math, 2003),
The Vedānta Sūtras are also known as Brahma 199–200.

46
YOUNG EYES
Orphan Children
Aadrika Chattopadhyay
Ten Years Old, Grade Five, Apeejay School, Salt Lake, Kolkata
M ost of us usually live happy lives

among our friends and families. So,
most of us may not be able to under-
stand how it feels to not have parents or how it
feels to be far away from family. These days this can
If a person wants a child to stop bullying and
scolds the child, then the child might stop bul-
lying one particular child but she or he might
start bullying many other children. So if a person
wants a child to stop bullying completely, then
affect children more than adults. In this day and the person should show kindness and sympathy
age children without parents, children who are far towards the child and then the person should
away from family, or are adopted might later lead find out why the child is bullying and also what
very messed-up lives. This can happen because chil- can help the child to stop bullying. By providing
dren with one parent or no parents at all are easier kindness and sympathy to the child, eventually
to be treated unfairly as they might have no one to the child may stop bullying completely.
stand up for them. People sometimes even torture The loss of parents before a certain age might
or blackmail orphans as they may not be able to affect a child in many unfortunate ways. In most
stand up for themselves. And an orphan may not cases, it messes up a child’s life, it can make a
have anyone to tell them to stand up for themselves child live in poverty, and it can also cause a se-
or anyone to actually stand up for her or him. vere psychological trauma. But in some cases
In orphanages children should be taught to it can also change the child’s life for the good.
stand up for themselves as that might be able to When a child suffers the loss of parents, she or
help them stand up against blackmail, torture, he might have to live in a relative’s house, or-
and being bullied. Also single parents should phanage, or might get adopted. Many times liv-
also teach their children to stand up for herself ing in a relative’s house or being adopted might
or himself no matter what happens. Sometimes be good but it might be bad in some cases, as
one of the reasons for many orphan children the other person may not be able to accept an-
bullying other children is because they might be other’s child as her or his own. And sometimes
getting bullied themselves or they might be get- staying in an orphanage might lead to being un-
ting mentally or physically tortured in some way. comfortable and even being tortured. People
Another reason why orphan children might be should not do this to children or even adults
bullying other children is because they might be for that matter.
suffering from loneliness because of not having Orphans might also feel that they don’t be-
their parents and family around or their close long to the adopting family and that their com-
friends being far away from them. munities and relatives don’t want them. This is

Orphan Children 47
‘Love is Trickling From the Faces’
a very horrible feeling indeed, as to know that children should also be careful of the bad people
other people don’t want you is fine, but to know who are out there to ruin these children.
that you are not wanted by your own people is Orphan children from all over the world
horrible, and because of this other communities should be protected from kidnappers and child
and other people can easily abuse the child and torturers as not only do they live at the risk of
also make fun of her or him. This can also mis- being taken away to other countries and then
lead the child in a very drastic manner as people being sold as child slaves, but these children are
can use and throw the child and even pressur- also made to beg all over the world. And in some
ise and blackmail the child to give up whatever extreme cases, they are even kept in cages so that
is left of her or his property. This is also one of they can’t grow. They do this so that these chil-
the reasons why so many children get into se- dren can be made to beg as long as possible. Also
vere addictions. children who used to only live with parents and
Because of all this, orphan children might have no relatives or people to help them, have
suffer unimaginable loneliness and they might nowhere to go. They may not even be educated
go to the Internet to search for real friends but, as they might not have anyone to pay for their
those friends might turn against them and take education. Ideally, the government should have
them for granted as it is easier for them to do a system where they protect these children and
IMAGE: JAIDEEP TULI
so as there is no one to stand up for them. But also give them sufficient and nutritious food and
of course, there are amazing people out there, a proper place to stay, and these children should
who will help these children come out of their be educated properly so that they can lead good
addictions, make them feel more secure, and lives and maybe someday they might also help
also guide them to the right things. But, these other children who suffer like they once did.P

48
BALABODHA
Ancient Wisdom Made Easy
Maya
T
he word ‘maya’ is a commonly used the jiva, a name of the city Gaya, a name of God-
Sanskrit word. It is used by people, who do dess Lakshmi, a name of Goddess Durga, skill,
not even know Sanskrit, as it is present in art, supernatural power, sorcery, duplicity, one of
almost every Indian language. The widely used the nine shaktis of Lord Vishnu, illusion person-
meaning of the word ‘maya’ is illusion. However, ified, a daughter of Anrita and Nirnriti or Nikriti,
it is necessary to see the other meanings and the mother of Mrityu, a daughter of Adharma, Con-
origins of this Sanskrit word. Sanskrit is a clas- volvulus Turpethum or the plant called nishoth or
sical language like Greek, Latin, and Persian. pithori, name of a city, measure of two metres, the
And in Sanskrit, as in most classical languages, energy created by God with a view to creating the
most words are derived from a stem or root. world, source of bondage, a mind-born mother
The word ‘maya’ is formed by adding yah and from the heart of Lord Narasimha, a daughter of
the suffix tap to the root word ma. The root word Maya, helpmate of Varaha-Vishnu, the essence
ma means to mete, to measure, to be contained, milked by the asuras from the cow-earth, one of
a prohibitive and negative particle, a particle the kingly Upaya, or the lips of the Vedas.
implying doubt, Goddess Lakshmi, a mother, According to Advaita Vedanta, maya is with-
a measure, an elephant, authority, light, know- out beginning but ends for an individual soul,
ledge, binding, fettering, death, a woman’s waist, the jiva, upon the realisation of one’s true nature,
not, that not, lest, or would that not. The root Brahman. Maya is not non-existent and yet is
word ma is to be taken in the meaning of mea- not ever-existent. One cannot negate maya or as-
suring while forming the word ‘maya’. The word sert its existence. Therefore, it is said to be inex-
‘maya’, which is in the feminine gender, means plicable. That is why Swami Vivekananda called
deceit, fraud, trick, trickery, a device, an artifice, it to be a ‘statement of facts’. Maya is only existing
jugglery, witchcraft, enchantment, an illusion of as facts and since facts change, maya changes. It is
magic, an unreal or illusory image, a phantom, the apparent that is mistakenly perceived, on the
illusion, unreal apparition, a political trick or ar- basis of the Real, because of ignorance.
tifice, diplomatic feat, unreality, the illusion by Acharya Shankara has been wrongly called
virtue of which one considers the unreal universe as a maya-vadi, one who asserts the existence of
as really existent and as distinct from the supreme maya. Acharya Shankara is not a maya-vadi but
Reality, the Pradhana or Prakriti, wickedness, a brahma-vadi, one who asserts the existence of
pity, compassion, the mother of Lord Buddha, Brahman. Maya is only a means of explaining
extraordinary power, extraordinary wisdom, the universe that is perceived due to ignorance
one of the four snares or pashas that entangle or avidya. P

49
TRADITIONAL TALES
Holy Company
I n the Bhagavadgita, Sri Krishna says

that he is Sage Narada among the god-rishis.1
Once Sage Narada requested Sri Krishna: ‘O
Lord! Please explain the benefits of holy com-
pany.’ Sri Krishna did not reply immediately.
Sage Narada, anxious to know the answer
to his question, followed Sri Krishna’s instruc-
tions and reached the garbage dump. There he
found the worm mentioned by Sri Krishna. Sage
Narada put his question to the worm. The mo-
Probably, he thought that it was best that Sage ment Sage Narada completed his question, the
Narada should find the answer to this question worm wriggled left and right, as though it was
himself through experience. Hence, Sri Krishna waiting to hear the question, and the next mo-
told Sage Narada: ‘Please go towards the east. You ment, died.
will find a garbage dump there. There would be Seeing this, Sage Narada’s heart was greatly
a worm there. Ask your question to that worm.’ wounded. He went to Sri Krishna and recounted
Krishna Holding Mount Govardhan, c. 1790 all that had happened with great sorrow. Hear-
ing out Sage Narada, Sri Krishna said: ‘Now,
you have to do something. Go straight towards
the north. There you would find a dilapidated
IMAGE: COLOUR ON PAPER, MOL A RAM / 1760–1833 / SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
temple. You would find a pigeon living in the

gopuram of that temple. Ask your question to
that pigeon.’
Sage Narada went towards the north as Sri
Krishna had told him. It is said that the darshan
of a temple gopuram leads to freedom from all
sins. Sage Narada approached such a glorious go-
puram. There he saw the pigeon mentioned by
Sri Krishna and he said to it: ‘O pigeon! I want
to know the benefits of holy company.’ The god-
rishi was anxiously waiting for the reply. But, the
pigeon did not give any reply. Instead, it fluttered
its wings, fell at Sage Narada’s feet, and died the
next moment.
The compassionate Sage Narada was shocked.
His heart melted with this distressing thought:
‘Alas! The moment I asked my question, the
worm died. Now, the pigeon too has died. I
have become the cause of the death of two

living beings. I have

taken the lives of two
creatures.’ He again and
again remembered what
had happened and was
greatly disturbed. Un-
able to control his sor-
row, he went to Sri
Krishna. As if waiting
for Sage Narada’s ar-
rival, Sri Krishna asked
him: ‘What Maharishi!
Did you get the reply to
your question?’
Sage Narada was
speechless. He was on
Narada Visits Valmiki—Kangra Painting Between 1775 and 1800
the verge of tears. Some-
how, he composed himself and recounted his Could you please tell me what is the benefit of
heart-rending experiences. Sri Krishna said: ‘Is holy company?’ Then, something happened that
that so Sage Narada? Please do something. There was completely unexpected for Sage Narada. The
lives a king in the south. Today, a son has been baby boy got down from the cradle. In a few sec-
born to him. You can go and directly ask your onds, he transformed into a god and saluted Sage
question to that baby. Your question will van- Narada with humility and devotion.
ish.’ Sage Narada did not proceed immediately Sage Narada’s amazement knew no bounds.
in search of the answer to his question now as he He was dumbfounded. The god told Sage
had done a couple of times earlier. Because, he Narada with folded hands: ‘O lord! I am none
was afraid what he would do if the baby prince other than the worm you found in the garbage
also dies in front of him just as the worm and the dump. I got the fortune of becoming a pigeon
pigeon had died. Also, the king might punish because of your holy company. Even in my life-
Sage Narada if the baby dies. Thinking all this, time as a pigeon, it is because of your arrival and
Sage Narada humbly expressed his concerns to holy company that I was born as a prince in this
Sri Krishna. palace. Even in this lifetime, since I got the com-
Sri Krishna understood Sage Narada’s con- pany of you, a god-rishi, I have now got the priv-
cerns. He consoled Sage Narada with his gentle ilege of becoming a deva, a god. My life-stories
talk and saw him off with these words: ‘Noth- and my growth are the wonders produced by
ing untoward would happen. This time you will holy company.’ Saying these words, the god flew
definitely get your answer. Please proceed.’ Sage away to the world of gods, deva-loka. One does
Narada reached the palace of the king men- not need to explain the obvious. Sage Narada
tioned by Sri Krishna. There, lying on a cradle, then understood the glory of holy company.P
was the baby referred to by Sri Krishna. Hesi- References
tatingly, Sage Narada asked the baby: ‘O child! 1. See Gita, 10.13.

51
REVIEWS
For review in P RABUDDHA B HARATA,
publishers need to send two copies of their latest publications
Brain Changer: How

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to Adapt Can and also manipulate them. Now, it is no longer a
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David DiSalvo This extraordinary gift of the human being is
BenBella Books Inc., 10300 N Cen- also called metacognition and the author David
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75231, usa. Website: https://www. ing’ (23). Swami Vivekananda alludes to this as the
benbellabooks.com/. 2013. xxvi + 246
pp. $16.95. pb. isbn 9781939529008. capacity of reflection: ‘We know that there is the
power of the mind called reflection. I am talking
I n the Nyaya system of philosophy, we come

across two important concepts called vyava-
saya and anuvyavasaya. The former corresponds
to you. At the same time, I am standing aside, as it
were, a second person, and knowing and hearing
what I am talking. You work and think at the same
to objective consciousness of a thing, say, ‘This time, while a portion of your mind stands by and
is a book’, and the latter to the subjective con- sees what you are thinking’ (The Complete Works
sciousness, ‘I am seeing this book’. These two of Swami Vivekananda, 9 vols (Calcutta: Advaita
phenomena are being explained differently in dif- Ashrama, 1–8, 1989; 9, 1997), 1.131).
ferent schools of philosophy of India. For example, The most intriguing question however, is who
Sri Vidyaranya in Panchadashi refers to these phe- thinks about thinking or in other words, who is the
nomena as follows: ‘Ghato’ayamityasavuktirabha meta-cogniser? This question was raised and an-
sasya prasadatah, vijnato ghata ityuktir-brahma- swered by Upanishadic rishis about three thousand
nugrahato bhavet; the cognition “this is a pot” is years ago: ‘Willed by whom does the directed mind
due to Chidabhasa, but the knowledge “I know go towards its object? Being directed by whom does
the pot” is derived from Brahman-consciousness.’ the vital force that precedes all, proceed (towards
(Vidyaranya, Panchadashi, 8.15). its duty)? By whom is this speech willed that people
So, there are two stages of perception, one utter? Who is the effulgent being who directs the
objective recognition of a thing, and the other eyes and the ears? Since it is the Ear of the ear, the
is a subjective awareness of the same. Normally, Mind of the mind, the Speech of speech, the Life of
our perceptions of various objects, persons, and life, and the Eye of the eye, therefore the intelligent
events are mechanical, not accompanied by the persons after giving up [self-identification with the
subjective- or self-awareness. Same thing is true senses] and renouncing this world, become immor-
about the internal thoughts, emotions, and the tal’ (Kena Upanishad, 1.1.1–2.).
like. However, a person has the capacity of self- Of course, this metaphysical or religious ques-
awareness, which distinguishes one from sub-hu- tion need not be taken into consideration in the
man beings, though, it is found, some animals present context. Here, the author is particularly
possess rudimentary self-awareness. Even in a interested in the enhancement and application of
human being, the degree and frequency of self- this capacity of meta-cognition in our work life
awareness can be increased. The human being and effect a positive change in our personality.
alone has the capacity of detaching oneself from DiSalvo rightly says: ‘Metacognition is our most

powerful internal tool to adjust our thinking and and—I can confidently say without hyperbole—
improve thinking outcomes’ (13). As he points out, change your life’ (143).
we can apply metacognition to influence feedback The author asserts that this book does not be-
loops, address cognitive distortions or thinking long to the genre of self-help literature flooding
errors, and catalyse neurochemical changes in the book market. This belongs to the category of
the brain. As stated in the foreword of this book: science-help books that deal with how to apply the
‘Feedback is like karma: what goes around, comes latest discoveries of science to bring about positive
around’ (xix). This feedback loop is beautifully internal change in human life. The author, being a
explained in this book with examples and figures. science writer, ‘uses the raw ingredients of science
Another important discovery of neuroscience and research to cook practical advice’ (blurb).
that the author takes hold of to arrive at his prac- Swami Nityasthananda
tical conclusions, is neuroplasticity, which is ex- Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission, Davanagere
plained as follows: ‘The collection of ways in
which the brain changes in response to what we
do and experience. The concept of neuroplasticity The Oxford Handbook of
is tied to the idea that we can change the way we Philosophy of Death
think, and our corresponding abilities, through- Edited by Ben Bradley, Fred
out our lifetimes’ (185).
Feldman, and Jens Johansson
After explaining the theoretical aspects of this
change in the first part titled ‘Know’, the author Oxford University Press, Great Clar-
endon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP. UK.
proceeds further to explain practical applica-
Website: https://global.oup.com. 2013.
tions of the theory in the second part titled ‘Do’. 528 pp. £145. hb. isbn 9780195388923.
The theory must be translated into action. Ac-
cording to the author, one must strive to become
‘ego-symmetric’ to really bring about an appre-
ciable change in our personality. DiSalvo says:
W hen God deserts a person, then they get
to do the ‘Jesus Seminar’ (1985-) where the
likes of the academically sound but spiritually
‘The ego-symmetric personality is able to detach dead, ex-Servite, John Dominic Crossan (b. 1934)
from negative and erroneous information that, if lead the de-sacralisation of Jesus Christ who came
indulged, would undermine the self ’s ability to back from the dead. Within Hinduism, they say
achieve its goals. Being ego-symmetric is not the that many sages are immortal. It is within the
same as being “cold” and unemotional—instead, patrimonies of the Christian and Hindu faiths
it’s about being in better control of how negativity that the Virgin Mother of Jesus never died and
affects our ability to adapt and thrive’ (54). many Hindu seers like Sri Trailanga Swami among
In the second part, DiSalvo mentions and ex- others are still alive and roam this cooling and
plains in detail ‘30 Tools to Enhance Thinking and vast promontory called our world, where we are
Catalyze Action’ (75). However, the human per- but only sojourners.
sonality is not like a machine that can be repaired If one is a Roman Catholic and agrees with
by certain tools. Still, if sincerely followed, these Crossan and his ilk that Christ was merely a his-
practical suggestions, which are thoughtfully en- torical human being who never came back from
listed, are sure to transform one’s personality, and the dead, then that Christian is automatically
this transformation varies from person to person excommunicated due to heresy. It is akin to say-
depending upon various social, individual, and ing that because one has to sit at various learned
other factors. And as DiSalvo admits, this list is societies, one needs to prove that the Tibetan
by no means exhaustive. ‘Bardo’ is all nonsense. Ben Bradley, Fred Feld-
In the third part titled ‘Expand’, the author man, and Jens Johansson in their zeal for get-
gives a detailed bibliography on this topic to ex- ting a book on death out in the book-market
pand the horizons of one’s knowledge, which, have written about a phenomenon which nei-
the author claims, ‘will change the way you think, ther they nor their authors understand. None

Reviews 53
in this book acknowledges that there is life after (Should we say that my achievement is a good I
death and since they have no experiential moor- can accrue before it (fully) exists? Do I take hold
ings, they have reduced theology and eschatol- of the entire thing by accruing the first part of it,
ogy to philosophy. If one wants to be charitable much as I might seize a snake by its tail?) (324).
to the editors’ and publisher’s credentials, one
can only sigh and say, ‘they do not know of what Leave alone seizing a snake by its tail; Steven
they write’. Luper could not even understand Ben Bradley’s
Now for a few illustrations about why this arguments he attacks in this puerile essay. This,
book should be avoided and erased from serious with the caveat that Bradley, helped Luper write
academic discourse. Philosophy is not about airy- this chapter (334). Talk of the blind leading the
fairy; it is about the verity of things or as far as blind in quid pro quos in high academics. What
we can comprehend these verities. Steven Luper’s can be more gratifying to Bradley than Luper
‘Retroactive Harms and Wrongs’ (317–54) is a tour thinking him serious enough to intellectually dis-
de force in learned nothings. Here he speaks of agree with?
‘Harm’ (318–21), ‘Proactive Harm’ (321–2), where ‘Immortality’ (336–54) by John Martin Fischer,
he meaninglessly lambasts against Ben Bradley is a howler of a chapter. Fischer has no clue about
and writes: ‘Of course, [Ben] Bradley’s position mortality, leave alone immortality. Of course, he
presupposes that people have a welfare level while has to hedge his academic reputation by first men-
dead (namely 0). This I [Luper] question … It is tioning that ‘Immortality’ is an ‘overview’ (337)
not plausible to attribute a welfare level to a sub- chapter. Therefore, his nonsense about life and
ject at a time when that subject does not exist, death, if challenged, can be passed off as opinions
or is for some other reason wholly incapable of of others. Fischer is just mouthing what others
attaining anything intrinsically good or evil. It have said; nothing more, nothing less. He cannot
is the capacity to attain intrinsic goods or evils thus be blamed for what he writes! His quotation
that distinguishes subjects who have some welfare from Martha Nussbaum’s (b. 1947) The Therapy of
level from things that do not, such as shoes and Desire (1994) has nothing to do with immortality
shingles’ (320). except that Nussbaum speaks of the constraint of
Luper’s pot-shots at Ben Bradley are just ir- the human person in ‘the here and the now’ (345).
relevant rant. Everyone in this book questions If the editors had the sense to interview, quote,
everyone else. And why not? None of them both- and interrogate the teachings of the major re-
ered to study the Bible or the Hindu scriptures or ligious traditions of the world, then this book
even Vajrayana. They just had to get their non-ex- would have been worth reading. An alumnus of a
periential armchair meditations on death in this very well-known university in India derisively told
tome, since Oxford Handbooks are all the rage now. this reviewer in 2017 that he finds a serious Indian
Writing for big publishers do not make philoso- journal too bland for his tastes. It is the like of
phers; this is the takeaway from this book. Luper’s him and his teachers who would read and glorify
most hilarious efforts at philosophising is in the this meaningless book and pray to it as a bible on
section ‘Retroactive Harm’ (322–32): death. The real Holy Bible would be too lowly for
However, even if we draw on an improved ver- this kind. Had the editors of the book under re-
sion of achievementism, we may be unable to view even consulted the open access issues of ser-
show how retroactive harm is possible, since it ious journals around the world, including India,
is hard to see how something I achieve posthu- before venturing on their meaningless project;
mously can be an intrinsic good I accrue. I ac- then it would have been worth at least some of
crue goods only while I exist; if I set out to do this reviewer’s time.
something, and I succeed with the help of post- Subhasis Chattopadhyay
mortem events, I succeed after I am dead. We are Biblical Theologian
left wondering how I can accrue a good whose Assistant Professor of English
existence does not begin until my own is over. Narasinha Dutt College, Howrah

54
MANANA
Exploring thought-currents from around the world.
Extracts from a thought-provoking book every month.
What Is Subjectivity?
Jean-Paul Sartre
Verso, 6 Meard Street, London W1F 0EG, UK. Web-
site: https://www.versobooks.com. 2016. 157 pp. $22.95.
pb. isbn 9781784781378.
S artre gave the talk that you are about

to read at Rome’s Gramsci Institute in De-
cember 1961, not long after he had pub-
lished his Critique of Dialectical Reason in April
1960. This great theoretical work organised a
Party policy, especially their elaborations in the
context of the Gramsci Institutes. This intellec-
tual presence in the Party leadership—princi-
pally meaning the involvement of philosophers
and historians—encouraged the flowering of
confrontation with Marxism, founded on the theoretical and cultural discussions therein. The
paradoxical appreciation that Marxism has come Rome Gramsci Institute in particular served as ‘a
to a standstill and also constitutes the unsurpass- genuine laboratory of ideas for the Party leader-
able horizon of our time. ship’, so we can understand why such an institute
Why did this lecture take place in Rome and would have been keen to hear the author of the
not in Paris? There was next to no chance of Sar- Critique of Dialectical Reason.
tre being invited to speak by the French Com- Right from the start of his intervention, Sar-
munist Party (PCF) after his 1956 condemnation tre declared his ambition of putting subjectivity
of the Soviet invasion of Hungary, whereby he at the heart of Marxist analysis, giving it back its
renounced the ‘fellow traveller’ status that he lost energy. At the same time, he mounted a vir-
had taken on in 1952. Conversely, with its con- ulent critique of Lukács, whose most important
cern for cultural and intellectual openness the work, History and Class Consciousness (1923),
Italian Communist Party (PCI) did not fail to many people, then as now, interpreted as having
pay attention to Sartre’s work. The political sci- responded to this same ambition.
entist Marc Lazar has highlighted the fact that Lukács’s presence in Sartre’s reflections is un-
while the PCF at best afforded its intellectuals deniable. Hence in his ‘Search for a Method’ Sar-
an ‘expert’ role, the PCI encouraged them to in- tre made reference to Lukács’s Existentialism or
tervene in defining policy itself: ‘Despite the Marxism (1948), mistakenly citing this work as
conflicts that broke out between the leadership ‘Existentialism and Marxism’ (a lapsus that is not
and the intellectuals in certain periods, for in- without a certain charm, and is doubtless also
stance during the Cold War, these scholars’ re- of some significance for our remarks here). In
flections did contribute to the development of this mediocre text, the Hungarian philosopher

Manana 55
denounced existentialism—essentially, Sartre’s the reification that transforms everything that

existentialism—as a new avatar of idealism, is into commodities and assigns everything to
which he presented as nothing other than the a ‘rationalist pseudo-objectivity’ or to an ‘ideal-
ideological weapon that the bourgeoisie wields ist pseudo-subjectivity’. The world—the total-
in order to defend its legitimacy. Lukács uncon- ity engendered by human production—is now
vincingly tried to distance himself from scientism foreign to consciousness. The capitalist mode of
and boasted of having developed a materialism production drives reification to its paroxysm; the
that was free of mechanicism, in that it grasped proletariat’s task is to put an end to it, through
the essence of realities as they evolved and not its party.
statically. Yet this in fact offered no escape from In the section entitled ‘Class Consciousness’
scientism, since for Lukács each stage of this evo- Lukács introduces the notion of objective possi-
lution is reflected in consciousness passively. bility: ‘By relating consciousness to the whole of
We ought to note, however, that across the society it becomes possible to infer the thoughts
1960s and 1970s French readers did increasingly and feelings which men would have in a par-
turn to Lukács’s History and Class Conscious- ticular situation if they were able to assess both
ness, a work of a wholly different philosophical it and the interests arising from it in their impact
quality, whose French preface presented it as a on immediate action and on the whole structure
‘book that Marxism scorned’, in the same cat- of society. That is to say, it would be possible to
egory as Karl Korsch’s Marxism and Philosophy. infer the thoughts and feelings appropriate to
Both orthodox Marxism—which accused their objective situation.’ The author specifies
Lukács and Korsch of revisionism, idealism that such situations present themselves only in
and reformism—and social democracy con- limited number, but the appropriate and ratio-
demned these works with similar vigour. As nal reaction that has to be imputed [zugerech-
Kostas Axelos reminds us, the inspiration for net] to this type of situation, fashioned by the
these critiques of Lukács and Korsch was the cult process of production, is none other than class
of scientism—the objectivity of the natural sci- consciousness, which determines the historic-
ences—underpinned by a crude realist definition ally significant actions of the class as a whole. It
of truth as the adequation of representations to is also important not to confuse class conscious-
the objects outside of them. ness with the psychological consciousness of in-
Lukács’s project was to capture the totality of dividual proletarians or proletarians as a mass,
the social and historical experience that plays out since it is ‘the sense, become conscious, of the
by means of social praxis and the class struggle. historical role of the class’. Class consciousness
The category that could be used to understand belongs to the logic of imputation: it is ‘imputed’
this process was mediation, which establishes the by class interests. Lukács heads his text with a
connection between the immediacy caught up in quotation from Marx and Engels that Sartre also
facticity and the totality-in-becoming, allowing cites: ‘It is not a question of what this or that
for a permanent process of transcendence. The proletarian, or even the whole proletariat, at the
Party, equipped with a ‘total conscious will’, is moment regards as its aim. It is a question of
able to unite theory and praxis, determining the what the proletariat is, and what, in accordance
form [Gestalt] of proletarian class consciousness. with this being, it will historically be compelled
For Lukács, this is connected to an analysis of to do.’ P

56
REPORTS
Synopsis of the Governing Body’s Report

for 2018-19
The 110th Annual General Meeting of the
Ramakrishna Mission was held at Belur Math
on Sunday, 15 December 2019, at 3.30 p.m. A
synopsis of the report presented in the meeting
is given below.
110th Annual General Meeting of Ramakrishna Mission at Belur Math
The Ramakrishna Mission won the follow-
ing recognitions: (i) The Ministry of Exter- Headquarters, was started at Shyamsayer in
nal Affairs, Government of India, presented Bardhaman, West Bengal, in September 2018.
the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award to the Subsequently, the ashrama was made a full-
Ramakrishna Mission, in recognition of its ser- fledged branch in October 2019. A new sub-cen-
vice activities in South Africa. (ii) RKMVERI tre of Rajkot Math was started in Ahmedabad.
(deemed to be university), Belur, was awarded The Phoenix Ashrama in South Africa was made
the highest grade of A++ by the National As- a full-fledged branch centre of the Ramakrishna
sessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). Mission, and the Johannesburg Ashrama was
(iii) Purulia Vidyapith received the Best made a sub-centre of Phoenix Ashrama. A new
School Award from the School Education branch centre of the Ramakrishna Math was
Department, Government of West Bengal. started in Dublin, Ireland.
The headquarters and a number of branch In the educational field, the following new
centres of the Mission and the Math com- developments deserve special mention: (i) In
memorated the 125th Anniversary of Swami collaboration with Peerless Skills Academy,
Vivekananda’s Addresses at the World’s a Skill Development Project was started to
Parliament of Religions in Chicago, USA, strengthen the vocational training courses con-
by holding various programmes. In the essay ducted by our centres. (ii) Baranagar Mission
writing, recitation, and other cultural compe- centre added a higher secondary section in the
titions, about 1.14 lakh students participated. school. (iii) Garbeta centre started an Eng-
Our centres also conducted 88 conventions for lish-medium primary school. (iv) Lumdung
youths and devotees in which about 34,000 centre started a primary school. (v) Malda
people took part. Some of our centres in the USA centre introduced an English-medium section
and other countries also held public meetings, in its school.
lectures, and cultural events. In the medical field, mention may be made
New branch centres of the Ramakrishna Mis- of the following new developments: (i) Deh-
sion were started in: (i) Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, radun centre started a super-speciality eye
(ii) Cuttack, Odisha, and (iii) Yadadri Bhuvana- care centre. (ii) Itanagar centre extended two
giri, Telangana. A sub-centre of the Ramakrishna of its operation theatres. (iii) Kankhal centre
Mission, directly under the supervision of the started an eight-bed high dependency unit. (iv)

Reports 57
Lucknow centre set up a fully-equipped IUI (In- San Francisco centre, USA, in appreciation for
trauterine Insemination) laboratory. (v) Seva the work of restoration and preservation of the
Pratishthan centre built a Cardiology ward and Old Temple. (ii) The newly built Vivekananda
started an Endocrinology department. (vi) Vi- Bhavan and Brahmananda Bhavan at Chandpur
sakhapatnam centre set up a speech therapy centre, Bangladesh, were inaugurated.
unit at its cerebral palsy clinic and a learning The Mission and Math undertook several re-
centre for children. lief and rehabilitation operations in the wake of
In the rural development field, the following natural calamities including devastating floods
new projects deserve special mention: (i) Khe- in Kerala, Karnataka, the North East, and other
tri centre started a handicrafts training centre parts, and cyclonic storms such as Titli and Gaja,
for local women. (ii) Ranchi Morabadi centre which had affected Andhra Pradesh, Odisha,
developed watersheds covering 6,969 hectares Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. The operations
of land and started a Seed Village Programme to involved an expenditure of ` 42.41 crore and
produce quality seeds. The centre also adopted benefitted 9.73 lakh people.
Nawagarh Gram Panchayat of Angara Block to During the year, the Mission and the Math
develop it into a Model Tribal Gram Panchayat. undertook welfare work by way of providing
(iii) Sargachhi centre started a Krishi Vigyan scholarships to poor students and pecuniary
Kendra to help farmers reap the benefits of mod- help to old, sick, and destitute people. Expend-
ern agricultural technologies. iture incurred was ` 21.45 crore.
A number of our centres took forward Swach- Medical service was rendered to more than
chha Bharat Abhiyan by holding cleanliness 78.32 lakh people through 10 hospitals, 88 dis-
drives and awareness campaigns. The follow- pensaries, 41 mobile medical units, and 916
ing centres require special mention: (i) Man- medical camps run by the Mission. Expenditure
galuru centre held (a) 36 cleanliness drives in incurred was ` 259.42 crore.
and around Mangaluru. (b) 558 cleanliness drives Nearly 2.68 lakh students studied in Mission’s
in many villages of Dakshina Kannada district. educational institutions ranging from kinder-
(c) 35 seminars in colleges attended by 12,300 garten to university level and also in non-for-
youths. (ii) Ramharipur centre built 57 toilets mal education centres, night schools, coaching
in Birrah village, Bankura. classes, and so on. A sum of ` 357.97 crore was
Under the Ramakrishna Math, the follow- spent on the educational work.
ing developments deserve special mention: (i) A number of rural and tribal development
A new gangway and pontoon-type jetty were projects were undertaken by the Mission with
set up near Sadhu Nivas at Belur Math. (ii) a total expenditure of ` 73.21 crore, benefitting
Kankurgachhi centre constructed a dispensary about 70.56 lakh people.
building. (iii) Rajkot centre started a dental unit We take this opportunity to express our
in its dispensary. (iv) Shyampukur Bati centre heartfelt thanks to our members and friends
purchased a four-storey building for extending for their kind cooperation and help in carrying
its activities. forward the service programmes of the Rama-
Outside India, the following developments krishna Mission and Ramakrishna Math.
deserve special mention: (i) The California Swami Suvirananda
Heritage Council presented a certificate to the 15 December 2019 General Secretary

and solemn function attended by about 20 mo-

nastics and 350 devotees. Swami Bodhasarananda,
Assistant General Secretary, Ramakrishna Math
and Ramakrishna Mission proposed the vote of
thanks. Immediately after the function, a Narayan
Seva was arranged in which 650 daridra-naraya-
nas were sumptuously fed.
An inter-school quiz competition was organ-
ised by Ramakrishna Mission, Jammu, from 6
Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony at Gurugram
to 14 November. 650 students from 9 govern-
News of Branch Centres ment and non-government schools participated
Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sarga- in the competition.
chi, organised a blood donation camp with Ramakrishna Mission, Jaipur, conducted
the help of Murshidabad Medical College spiritual retreat on 23 and 24 November. 350 de-
and Hospital on 10 November 2019. A team votees attended the programme on 23 November
of doctors, nurses, and other medical staff of and 80 on 24 November.
Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Ash
had come for collection of blood. 134 volun- rama, Raipur, organised a spiritual retreat on 24
teers had come forward to donate blood during November, about 220 devotees attended.
the camp, which included sadhus and brahma- Ramakrishna Mission, Davanagere, con-
charins, ashrama staff, students, and non-stu- ducted a half-day retreat for auto drivers on 27
dent donors. Dr Debasish Bhattacharyya, November 2019. The retreat comprised of bha-
Director of Medical Education, West Bengal; jans, a short discourse, and a film show. In the end,
Dr Manju Banerjee, Principal, Murshidabad they were given a shirt and were sumptuously
Medical College; Dr Debdas Saha, MSVP, Mur- fed. 28 auto-drivers attended the programme.
shidabad Medical College and Hospital; and Srimat Swami Smarananandaji Maha
Sri Mukesh, SP Murshidabad were among the raj, President, Ramakrishna Math and Rama-
guests present on the occasion. krishna Mission, visited Ramakrishna Mission
Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi, has re- Ashrama, Jhargram, from 6 to 8 December.
cently been able to acquire a piece of land from Revered Maharaj inaugurated the newly con-
the State Government of Haryana. A spacious structed assembly cum prayer hall in the new
building is to be constructed on this land, which campus of the ashrama on 7 December. Sri Shu-
will serve as the Ramakrishna Mission, Guru- vendu Adhikari, Minister-In-Charge, Transport,
gram. In addition to regular spiritual activities, Irrigation and Waterways, Government of West
the centre will serve as the national hub of the Bengal; Dr Sukumar Hansda, Deputy Speaker,
ashrama’s activities in providing values education. West Bengal Legislative Assembly; Sri S K Pat-
Srimat Swami Gautamanandaji Maharaj, Vice- wari, the Group Chairman, Rashmi Group; the
President, Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna District Magistrate, and the Superintendent of
Mission and Adhyaksha, Ramakrishna Math, Police, Jhargram, along with many other distin-
Chennai, laid the foundation stone for the pro- guished guests and dignitaries, graced the occa-
posed building on 11 November. It was a beautiful sion with their presence. P

59
AN APPEAL
Even in the face of appalling obstacles for years, by dint of our stern determination
and unflinching endeavour we have been able to restore Swami Vivekananda’s Ancestral
House. On 10th March 2001 Most Revered Swami Gahananandaji Maharaj, the then Vice
President of Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, laid the foundation stone for
the total renovation of this historical building. On 26th September 2004 Most Revered
Srimat Swami Ranganathanandaji Maharaj, the then President of Ramakrishna Math &
Ramakrishna Mission, inaugurated Swamiji’s Ancestral House with its new and renovated
looks as a very prestigious centre
of Ramakrishna Mission, and its
Cultural Centre of international
standard was inaugurated by the
then Honourable President of India
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam on 1st October
2004. Swamiji’s Ancestral House
with all its extra ordinary inner
grandeur was recognised by the
Government of West Bengal as a
Heritage Building (Grade A) in 2009.
Keeping pace with the
solemnity and gravity of this House
we have adopted a good number
of programs to be actualized step
by step. They include Swami Vivekananda Museum, preservation of Heritage Building
, Centre for Language Teaching, Computer Training, Library, Charitable Dispensary, Rural
Development Works, Relief Works, Free Coaching, conducting classes on Indian Cultural,
Moral, Spiritual and Values Education, regular worship, arranging illuminating lectures and
seminars on various topics etc.
To accommodate the increasing number of visitors and devotees and for proper
implementation of all our plans and programs construction of an auditorium with 900 seats
has become urgent and it requires approximately an amount of Rs. 14 crore in total. Rs.4.75
crore collected from the honourable Government of India and the benevolent people has
already been spent for the purpose and we require an amount of Rs. 9.25 crore more to give
a concrete shape to our planned project. Now we earnestly appeal to the generous people
to come forward with their financial assistance so that the construction of the auditorium
of this prestigious centre may be completed as early as possible.
Your kind donation may reach (United Bank of India, Bidhan Sarani Branch,
A/C No. 0314010183261: IFS Code UTBI0B1S158) in the name ‘Ramakrishna Mission Swami
Vivekananda’s Ancestral House and Cultural centre’ through Cheque/ Draft /NEFT /RTGS,
and your name, full address, mobile number, email address and PAN number must be sent
along with your donation which is exempt from income tax under section 80G of the
Income tax Act, Government of India.
(Swami Jnanalokananda)
Ramakrishna Mission Secretary
Swami Vivekananda’s Ancestral House And Cultural Centre
105 Vivekananda Road, Kolkata - 700 006, West Bengal, India
Contact No: 033-2257 0213 / 033-2257 0214 / 9475970453
Email: vivekananda.ancestralhouse@rkmm.org
60
61
• Electrical & Fire monitoring system engineers.

• Consultant and Government licenced Engineers
• Engaged in the electrification of National Capital Region
(Delhi Under BSES Rajdhani and Yamuna Power Ltd &
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62
Advaita Ashrama Publications

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63
Upanishadic Stories And

New Releases
Their Significance
By Swami Tattwananda
In the Upanishads we find— in some parts—the highest abstract
truths presented through stories and dialogues. The author, Swami
Tattwananda, a disciple of Swami Shivananda, has taken some
of the finest stories scattered in the pages of the Upanishads and
presented them here, with slight adaptation. This adapted or
slightly fictionalized version of the stories, with the core message
Pages: 136| Price: ` 60 intact, makes it easy for the readers to grasp the significance as well
Packing & Postage: ` 50 as the central message of the stories.
Naishkarmyasiddhih By Sri Sureshvaracharya

Translated by S. S. Raghavachar
Naiṣkarmya-siddhi is a treatise on Advaita Vedanta written by
Sureśvara, one of the direct disciples of Ādi Śaṅkara, in approximately
the 8th Century CE. It comprises 423 verses divided into four
chapters and deals with the method of Advaitic realization through
(1) removal of ignorance, (2) distinction of the self and non-self,
and (3) an in-depth analysis of the mahāvākyam ‘tat tvam asi’
(“Thou art That”). The book was first published by the University
Pages: 288| Price: ` 210 of Mysore in 1965, but has been long out of print. We are grateful
Packing & Postage: ` 50 to the University of Mysore for granting us permission to publish
the book in its present form.
Spirituality in Modern Literature

(Vedanta and the Ramakrishna Movement in the Modern Literature of India and the Americas)
Compiled by Swami Satyaswarupananda

and Swami Madhurananda
Since the advent of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda
in the modern era, their teachings have percolated into almost every
field of knowledge, including the arts, literature, and music. This
book presents to the readers, through a series of articles, a systematic
record of some of those writers who added the spiritual dimension
to their fictional works in India and the Americas. During 2009,
Pages: 400| Price: ` 200 2010, and 2013, these unique articles were published in Prabuddha
Packing & Postage: ` 50 Bharata, an English monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order.
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64
Some of Our Publications...

Swami Vivekananda, Modern Science
and Human Excellence
Dr. Sanjay Sharad Palsule
This book, authored by Dr. Sanjay Sharad Palsule, a scientist who worked in
ISRO and ESA, and a doctorate from Heriot-Watt University, by profusely
quoting Swami Vivekananda, has indicated the need for understanding the
benefits and limitations of every culture and civilization and assimilating
and integrating all values to create a new world civilization—a civilization
Pages 78 that would achieve and nurture, not just Eastern Excellence or Western
Price ` 25 Excellence, but ‘Human Excellence’.
Swami Vivekananda:
The Charm of His Personality and Message
A Vedanta Kesari Presentation
Swami Vivekananda had a multifarious and multidimensional personality. He
was a great saint, thinker, scholar, educationist, organiser, nationalist, traveler,
writer, poet, musician, ambassador of Indian Culture to the West, and what
not! To study the personality and message of such a diverse person is surely a
rewarding and enriching experience, both individually and collectively.
This book, focusing on various aspects of his manifold personality and
Pages 456 ever-inspiring message, is a tribute to the greatness and majesty that is
Price ` 110 Vivekananda—on his 150th Birth Anniversary.
Goa—Blessed by His Sacred Touch

Swami Atmashraddhananda
Swami Vivekananda, the great patriotic-saint of modern India, travelled
the length and breadth of India during his Parivrajaka days. Motivated by
an inner urge to explore and imbibe the varying colours of India and her
timeless culture, and inspired by a deep monastic passion to visit various
Tirthas that dot India’s sacred geography, Swamiji went around the country.
His thirst for knowledge and devotion to the Divine in man brought him in
touch with various people and places. During these travels, he visited Goa
in 1892 and spent some days in this ancient part of India—seeing most of
Pages 72 its sacred places, interacting with many people in Goa, both eminent and
Price ` 25 commoners. This booklet provides an overview of this visit, bringing
together the scattered facts and information, along with pictures.
For copies mail to Publication Department, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai <publication@chennaimath.org>
Buy books online at istore.chennaimath.org and eBooks at www.vedantaebooks.org
65
An Appeal
The composer of the Kathamrita (Gospel of Ramakrishna), Sri Mahendra Nath Gupta’s residential
house We want to
(Kathamrita lead has
Bhavan) mankind
become atoBranchthe place
Centre of the Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math. Sri Sri
Thakur, Sri Sri Ma, Sri Sri Swamiji and other disciples of Thakur, have all blessed this holy place with
the dustwhere there
of their feet.isAsneither
the spacetheofVedas, nor building is very small, an adjacent Building was
this heritage
recentlythepurchased
Bible, nor by thetheMath Centre.yet
Koran; In addition
this hasto serving as an abode for spiritual Sadhakas, this
centre provides free services to the poor, including a Charitable Dispensary, a Free Coaching centre
for poorto students,
be doneand by also
harmonising the Vedas,
a Computer Training Centre for the underprivileged at nominal rates. The
the Biblebuilding
and the which provides these services is more than two hundred years old, and in
Koran.
urgent need of renovation. The cost for renovation will be approximately INR 1 Cr.
(One Crore). We humbly request that the sincere devotees of the Holy Trio kindly and
Mankind ought tosupport
generously be taughtthis noble cause. May the blessings of the Holy Trio and Sri M
be bestowed upon all of you is our ardent prayer. Donations, either Cash / Cheque/
that religions are but the
RTGS/NEFT/Draft shouldvaried
be sent to Ramakrishna Math, Kathamrita Bhavan and in-
expressions cludeofthe THEDevotees full Address. Cheques should be made payable to: Ramakrishna
RELIGION,
Math, Kathamrita Bhavan.
which is Oneness, Bank detailsso that
are aseach mayState Bank of India, Branch Srimani Market, A/c
follows:
No.37162044100.
choose the IFSC Code-SBIN0031539.
path that suits him best.
All donations are exempt from Income Tax under section80 G. With reverence and salutations to
all.
Swami Vivekananda
RAMAKRISHNA MATH (KATHAMRITA BHAVAN)
Well Wisher
14, Guruprasad Choudhury Lane, Kolkata - 700 006 Swami Siddheshananda
Mobile : 89025-53411 / 7980391808 , E-mail : kathamrita.bhavan@rkmm.org Adhyaksha
“You cannot believe in God

until you believe in yourself”
Our Publications
 Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa  Swami Ishwarananda Giri
 Swami Vivekananda  Swami Sivananda
 Sri Ramana Maharshi  HH Swami Abhinava Vidyatheertha
 Guruji Viswanath  Sri Jiddu Krishnamurthi
 Swami Ramdas  Sri Shirdi Sai Baba
66
W ithin the USA, in order to impart the message of the Holy Trio
along with Indian cultural/spiritual values to children of Indian
Origin, born and raised in the USA, we provide the following activities:
1) Saturday Class and prayers: Center conducts a Bengali language
and music classes for the first generation of Bengali American kids.
The Center also conducts evening prayer on Saturdays.
2) Monthly Spiritual Program: Center conducts 15-20 spiritual
programs yearly with Ramakrishna Mission Swamis. This Center
has been blessed with the holy visit of many Senior Revered
Swamis of Ramakrishna Order including:
Revered Swami(s) Suhitanandaji, Girishanandaji, Purnatmanandaji,
Atmapriyanandaji, Atmajnanandaji, Shubhakaranandaji,
Devapriyanandaji, Sumanasanandaji, Shantatmanandaji,
Baneshanandaji, Sarvasthanandaji, Kripamayanandaji,
Sarvadevanandaji, Mahayoganandaji, Atmavidyanandaji,
Harinamanandaji, Paritushtanandaji, Sarvapriyanandaji,
Chetananandaji, Ishatmanandaji, Atmajnananandaji,
Chidekanandaji and Yogatmanandaji Maharaj.
3) Major Event Celebrations: Kalpataru Day, Birthday Celebrations of
Thakur, Ma, Swamiji, Saraswati Puja, Vijaya Dashami and Shanti
Jaal, Kali Puja, Thanksgiving Day celebrations, Christmas and Kids
Annual Music program.
4) International Seminar: Center arranges International Seminars
with Revered Ramakrishna Order Swamis, Distinguished
University Professors, Elected Political Leaders, Human Right
Activists, Religious leaders from all major religions and hosts
International Artists such as Singers Haimanti Sukla, Sri Subir
Nandi and Sri Rathindra Nath Roy, Vocalist Esha Banerjee, Tabla
Player Rishi Chatterjee and Sitar Player Partha Bose etc.
5) Vivekananda Award: The Center presents the Vivekananda Award
to those exceptional individuals who render services to advance
society according to the idea and ideals of Swami Vivekananda.
6) Community Services: Center helps new immigrant families from
Bangladesh to find jobs, apartments, good schools for their kids,
good attorneys, tax accountants, health insurance and citizenship
help.
Contact us:
172-05 Highland Ave, Jamaica Estate, NY 11432
Email: vivekanandausa@hotmail.com
67
Thakur and Ma visit pictures, the Master was very happy and sang
some songs in ecstasy, creating a wonderful
Kalipada Ghosh's House spiritual atmosphere in the house. Thakur
visited his house on many other occasions.
S ri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother separately
visited Kalipada Ghosh’s house on many
occasions. Sri Ramakrishna’s first meeting
In addition, Kalipada found a house in
at Kalipada Ghosh’s house in Shyampukur

followed the well known incident where
Kalipada was bringing Thakur, by boat, to
Kolkata. He suddenly stopped the boat in the
middle of the river and told Thakur, ‘I am
a wicked man and a drunkard. Kindly save
me.’ Holding Thakur’s feet firmly, he would
not let go. Thakur had initiated him with a
mantra, but he was still unsatisfied. Thakur
then asked him what he wanted. He replied, Kalipada Ghosh's house at Shyampukur
‘When I leave this world, I shall see darkness
all around, and that terrible darkness will fill Shyampukur, near his own for the Master
me with horror. My wife, children, and other to stay in, which later came to be known as
relatives won’t be able to help me then. At ‘Shyampukur Bati’. From this house, Kalipada’s
that terrible time you will be my only savior. wife prepared farina pudding for Kali Puja
You will have to take me, holding a light with which was being celebrated at Shyampukur
your left hand and me with your right hand. Bati. Thakur partook of this prasad. Many
Fulfil this prayer of mind.’ The Master agreed. years after Thakur’s mahasamadhi, the female
Afterwards, the boat reached Kolkata, and the devotees of Danakli's family had invited Holy
Master expressed a wish to visit Kalipada’s Mother, Swami Saradananda, and others to
home. Kalipada immediately hired a carriage their house. Kirtan was organised for the
and took the Master there. It is said that were occasion. Young girls recited the Bhagavad Gita
some oil paintings of gods and goddesses in and other stotras. Laxmi Didi sang ‘Pala Kirtan’
the room where Thakur sat. Seeing those holy and enacted the role of Vrinda Rani. Referring
to Holy Mother as Sri Radha, she sang ‘Ami Sri
Ramakrishna ke anite jai’ (I am going to bring
Sri Ramakrishna). At present, the descendants
of Kalipada Ghosh reside in this house. Due to
partition of the house between the heirs, the
house bears two separate addresses. The house
is presently located at 30, Shyampukur Street,
Kolkata, 700004, just besides Town School in
Bidhan Sarani. The house is located very close
to Ramakrishna Math Shyampukur Bati.
Kalipada Ghosh Vishnu Priyangini Devi
(Kalipada's Wife)
In loving memory of Dr. Rina Bhar —Dr. Gopal Chandra Bhar
Editor: Swami Narasimhananda. Printed by: Swami Vibhatmananda at Gipidi Box Co., 3B Chatu Babu Lane,
Kolkata 700 014 and published by him for Advaita Ashrama (Mayavati) from Advaita Ashrama, 5 Dehi
Entally Road, Kolkata 700 014, on 1 February 2020.
1
332
PB
ISSN 0032-6178
RABUDDHA
Published on 1 January 2020
9 770032 617002
HARATA
A monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order
as in all other matters, discard everything started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896
with it.
Prabuddha Bharata • January 2020 • Visions of Advaita

W ith
Visions of Advaita
January 2020
Ingredients and Intermediates Vol. 125, No. 1
Regd. Off. & Fact. : Plot No. 88 & 89, Phase-11.
Sipcot Industrial Complex. Ranipet-632 403, Tami Nadu. ` 100.00
Phone : 04172-244820, 651507, Tele Fax : 04172-244820
68
PB
ISSN 0032-6178
1
Published on 1 February 2020
RABUDDHA
9 770032 617002
HARATA
as in all other matters, discard everything A monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order
started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896
with it.
W ith

Ingredients and Intermediates
Regd. Off. & Fact. : Plot No. 88 & 89, Phase-11. February 2020
Sipcot Industrial Complex. Ranipet-632 403, Tami Nadu.
Phone : 04172-244820, 651507, Tele Fax : 04172-244820 Vol. 125, No. 2
` 15.00

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Prabuddha Bharata • January 2020 • Visions of Advaita

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THE ROAD TO WISDOM

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Cover Design This Month 296

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Atrodaharanti. Yada panchavatishthante jnanani manasa saha. Buddhishcha na vicheshtate

PB February 2020 295

296 PB February 2020

Can Religion Be Avoided?

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298 PB February 2020

What Pattern of Educated Persons

PB February 2020 299

The great teacher Thiruvalluvar does not con-

300 PB February 2020

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To say that ‘“what my fathers did is good

302 PB February 2020

their low estate by reason of their sins in their

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for one another’s illnesses, problems, and tem-

304 PB February 2020

tolerance of others’ opinions and ways different

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honour all those who strive in various ways to

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and cheerfulness and good humour during meals

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310 PB February 2020

If Indians do not wish to deceive themselves,

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H is iconic address in the world’s

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314 PB February 2020

The Lower Truth to the

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psycholog y— rightly notes: ‘He [Swamiji] explored Indian

316 PB February 2020

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Ethical Dilemma, Legality, Profit, and

A management expert says: ‘There are

318 PB February 2020

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320 PB February 2020

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makes the case that we do need new leaders, not

Let many more benefit from the thought-