January 4, 2013 India Tribune 21

In spite of her innumerable linguistic, eth-nic, historical and regional diversities, India

has had from time immemorial a strong senseof cultural unity. It was, however, SwamiVivekananda, who revealed the true founda-tions of this culture and thus clearly definedand strengthened the sense of unity as anation.Swamiji gave Indians proper understanding

of their country’s great spiritual heritage andthus gave them pride in their past.Furthermore, he pointed out toIndians the drawbacks of Westernculture and the need for India’scontribution to overcome thesedrawbacks. In this way Swamijimade India a nation with a glob-al mission.Sense of unity, pride in the

past, sense of mission –these were the factorswhich gave real strengthand purpose to India’snationalist movement.Several eminent lead-ers of India’s freedommovement have ac-knowledged their in-debtedness toSwamiji. Free India’sfirst Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehruwrote: “Rooted inthe past, full of pridein India’s prestige,Vivekananda was yetmodern in his approachto life’s problems, and wasa kind of bridge betweenthe past of India and herpresent … he came as atonic to the depressed anddemoralized Hindu mindand gave it self-relianceand some roots in the past.”Netaji Subhash ChandraBose wrote: “Swamiji har-monized the East andthe West, religionand science, pastand present. Andthat is why he isgreat. Our country-men have gainedunprecedented self-respect, self-reliance andself-assertion from his teachings.”Swamiji’s most unique contribution to the

creation of new India was to open the minds ofIndians to their duty to the downtroddenmasses. Long before the ideas of Karl Marxwere known in India, Swamiji spoke about therole of the laboring classes in the productionof the country’s wealth. Swamiji was the firstreligious leader in India to speak for the mass-es, formulate a definite philosophy of service,and organize large-scale social service.

Swami Vivekananda’sSwami Vivekananda’scontributions toontributions to

IndiaIndia

Identity: It was Swami Vivekananda, who gave toHinduism as a whole a clear-cut identity, a distinct

profile. Before Swamiji came Hinduism was a loose con-federation of many different sects. Swamiji was the firstreligious leader to speak about the common bases ofHinduism and the common ground of all sects. He wasthe first person, as guided by his Master SriRamakrishna, to accept all Hindu doctrines and theviews of all Hindu philosophers and sects as differentaspects of one total view of Reality and way of life knownas Hinduism. Speaking about Swamiji’s role in givingHinduism its distinct identity, Sister Niveditawrote: “… It may be said that when hebegan to speak it was of ‘the reli-gious ideas of the Hindus,”but when he ended,Hinduism had been cre-

ated.”U n i f i c a t i o n :Before Swamijicame, there was alot of quarrel andcompetition amongthe various sects ofHinduism. Similarly, the

protagonists of different systemsand schools of philosophy were claiming

their views to be the only true and validones. By applying Sri Ramakrishna’s doc-

trine of Harmony (Samanvaya) Swamijibrought about an overall unification ofHinduism on the basis of the principleof unity in diversity. Speaking aboutSwamiji’s role in this field, K. M.Pannikar, the eminent historian anddiplomat, wrote: “This newShankaracharya may well beclaimed to be a unifier of Hinduideology.”Defense: Another importantservice rendered by Swamiji was toraise his voice in defense ofHinduism. In fact, this was one of

the main types of work he did inthe West. Christian missionarypropaganda had given a wrongunderstanding of Hinduism andIndia in Western minds. Swamijihad to face a lot of opposition inhis attempts to defend Hinduism.Meeting the challenges: At the

end of the 19th century, India ingeneral, and Hinduism in par-

ticular, faced grave chal-lenges from Western mate-rialistic life, the ideas ofWestern free society,and the proselytizingactivities of Christians.Vivekananda met thesechallenges by integrating

the best elements of Western culture in Hindu culture.New ideal of monasticism: A major contribution of

Vivekananda to Hinduism is the rejuvenation and mod-ernization of monasticism. In this new monastic ideal,followed in the Ramakrishna Order, the ancient princi-ples of renunciation and God realization are combinedwith service to God in man (Shiva jnane jiva seva).Vivekananda elevated social service to the status ofdivine service.Refurbishing of hindu philosophy and religious doc-

trines: Vivekananda did not merely interpret ancientHindu scriptures and philosophical ideas in terms ofmodern thought. He also added several illuminating

original concepts based on his own transcendental expe-riences and vision of the future. This, however, needs adetailed study of Hindu philosophy.

Selected teachings of Swami Vivekananda 1. Love is the law of life: All love is expansion, all self-

ishness is contraction. Love is, therefore, the only law oflife. He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying.Therefore, love for love’s sake, because it is law of life,just as you breathe to live. 2. It’s your outlook that matters: It is our own mental

attitude, which makes the world what it is for us. Ourthoughts make things beautiful, our thoughts make

things ugly. The whole world is inour own minds. Learn to

see things in theproper light.

3. Life isb e a u t i f u l :F i r s t ,believe inthis world— that

there ism e a n i n g

behind every-thing. Everything in

the world is good, is holyand beautiful. If you see some-

thing evil, think that you do not understand it in theright light. Throw the burden on yourselves! 4. It’s the way you feel: Feel like Christ and you will be

a Christ; feel like Buddha and you will be a Buddha. Itis feeling that is the life, the strength, the vitality, with-out which no amount of intellectual activity can reachGod. 5. Set yourself free: The moment I have realized God

sitting in the temple of every human body, the momentI stand in reverence before every human being and seeGod in him — that moment I am free from bondage,everything that binds vanishes, and I am free. 6. Don’t play the blame game: Condemn none: if you

can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, foldyour hands, bless your brothers, and let them go theirown way. 7. Help others: If money helps a man to do good to

others, it is of some value; but if not, it is simply a massof evil, and the sooner it is got rid of, the better. 8. Uphold your ideals: Our duty is to encourage every

one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea,and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near aspossible to the Truth. 9. Listen to your soul: You have to grow from the

inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spir-itual. There is no other teacher but your own soul. 10. Be yourself: The greatest religion is to be true to

your own nature. Have faith in yourselves! 11. Nothing is impossible: Never think there is any-

thing impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy tothink so. If there is sin, this is the only sin — to say thatyou are weak, or others are weak. 12. You have the power: All the powers in the universe

are already ours. It is we who have put our hands beforeour eyes and cry that it is dark. 13. Learn everyday: The goal of mankind is knowl-

edge... now this knowledge is inherent in man. Noknowledge comes from outside: it is all inside. What wesay a man “knows,” should, in strict psychological lan-guage, be what he “discovers” or “unveils;” what man“learns” is really what he discovers by taking the coveroff his own soul, which is a mine of infinite knowledge. 14. Be truthful: Everything can be sacrificed for truth,

but truth cannot be sacrificed for anything. 15. Think different: All differences in this world are of

degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret ofeverything.

Swamiji’s contributions to

Hinduism