Swami Vivekananda: Illuminating Paths for a Transformative World

Every year we celebrate the life of Swami Vivekananda by remembering his works, ideals, eruditeness, and with fondness, purpose, and ideas to uplift human spirit and endeavour. At this 161st Birth Anniversary, it is a time to pause, ponder and reflect once again.

There has been a constant struggle amongst humans resulting in crisis after crisis: with newer challenges becoming common, multifarious, and complex. We live in a global reality of shared challenges but are impoverished by both ideas and actions to solve them. Whether social, economic, political, or scientific; battles seem to rage with ferocity unseen. Till when can the world truly fight it out amongst itself? There is a need to gain a higher consciousness, a reality, and a way of life to truly uplift the world out of the slumber it is embroiled in. Surely, there can be battles but those battles must be fought to ensure that ideas reach ideals and society reaches a higher standard of thinking to turn around the morass it is currently inflicted with.

Swami Vivekananda’s universal message is that God resides in everyone. Quoting the Bhagavad Gita, in the World Parliament of Religions in 1893 in Chicago, he said “As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.” Further adding, he said “Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.” Hoping for a world without sectarianism and bigotry, and their horrible descendant, fanaticism, he lamented, “They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilisation and sent whole nations to despair.” The progress and advancement of human society have been curtailed to the detriment of the many, for the benefit of the few. The message of tolerance, selfless service to humanity and oneness of man towards God, can lead to solidarity in the Universe.

There is universality to his message; belief in the devotion of man to God only comes about through service of others; sacrifice is for selfless action; freedom to awaken the masses and sympathy for the poor and weak. He advocated the importance and usefulness of religion in the world. Without religion, there will only be a forest of brutes. Wisdom (Jnana) is the goal of life, and spiritual wisdom is the highest of them all. In an illusory world, the goal is to reach the higher, the spiritual one. He contended that unity in variety is the plan in the universe. While we are different from one another, as living beings, man, woman, animal, and plant are all one; and as existence, you are one with the whole universe. Recognising the natural necessity of variation, he recognised the commonality of purpose cutting through meaningless divisions created by people.

Swami Vivekananda spoke about the glorious epochs of ancient India. He said, “Of that ancient Indian race, upon which the rays of civilisation first dawned, where deep thoughtfulness first revealed itself in full glory, there are still found hundreds of thousands of its children, born of its mind — the inheritors of its thoughts and sentiments — ready to claim them.” Recognising the occupation India was in, he remarked, “From very ancient times, the fame of India’s vast wealth and her rich granaries has enkindled in many powerful foreign nations the desire for conquering her. She has been, in fact, again and again conquered by foreign nations”. He could foresee the rise of India from the clutches of colonial control of the British and beyond. The grand pursuits that India and her people have undertaken to bring positive changes in the world are for everyone to see. At the same time, Swamiji was aware that Indians were being westernised to the extent that western approval meant a sense of purposeless imitation. On one side, new India is saying, “If we only adopt Western ideas, Western language, Western food, Western dress, and Western manners, we shall be as strong and powerful as the Western nations”; on the other, old India is saying, “Fools! By imitation, other’s ideas never become one’s own; nothing, unless earned, is your own. Does the ass in the lion’s skin become the lion?” Recounting an incident: A certain young man of little understanding used always to blame the Hindu Shastras before Shri Ramakrishna. One day he praised the Bhagavad-Gita, on which Shri Ramakrishna said, “Methinks, some European Pandit has praised the Gita, and so he has also followed suit.”

Swamiji’s understanding of Indian society was truly ahead of its time. He understood that Indians have debased their own thinking, ideas, and ideals to a total Western import. Understanding the unique Indian first element in his thinking, he advised people of India to proudly proclaim: “I am an Indian, every Indian is my brother.” Say, “The ignorant Indian, the poor and destitute Indian, the Brahmin Indian, the Pariah Indian, is my brother.” Thou, too, clad with but a rag round thy loins proudly proclaim at the top of thy voice: “The Indian is my brother, the Indian is my life, India’s gods and goddesses are my God. India’s society is the cradle of my infancy, the pleasure-garden of my youth, the sacred heaven, the Varanasi of my old age.” Say, brother: “The soil of India is my highest heaven, the good of India is my good,” and repeat and pray day and night, “O Thou Lord of Gauri, O Thou Mother of the Universe, vouchsafe manliness unto me! O Thou Mother of Strength, take away my weakness, take away my unmanliness, and make me a Man!

Swamiji's philosophy was so remarkably diverse, encompassing issues such as Nationalism, Education, Spiritualism, Social Upliftment, Religious Harmony, and Self-Actualization. So versatile are his ideas that they have become a prevalent tradition among young individuals in India to recite his quotes at school or college events, drawing inspiration from them even during challenging times. It is no wonder, therefore, that Swamiji's birth anniversary is celebrated as National Youth Day. After all, as the young citizens of an aspirational nation asserting itself on the global stage after a prolonged period of dormancy, Vivekananda's philosophy aptly addresses both national and international challenges. Naturally, youngsters in India invoke Swamiji, who is amongst the foremost thinkers of Maa Bharati and a Jagadguru whose concepts hold the potential to transform the world itself. In 1897, he exclaimed that India would attain Independence. It took fifty years to see what he had seen then. In 2047, India would complete 100 years and his proclamation would be in its 150th year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two slogans realised through actions: ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayaas, Sabka Vishwas’, and ‘One Earth One World One Family and One Future’ truly reverberates Swami Vivekananda’s thoughts into action. Armed with these principles, India must develop independent ideas, enquiries, and research, along with burnishing its existing art, culture, human relations, philosophies, and religions to truly elevate human consciousness to fulfil the true manifestation of Swamiji’s philosophy the world over.

The true measure of a philosopher's enduring impact is whether the current generation of a society considers his ideas worthy of contemplation. On this front, Swamiji consistently illuminates the minds of many. On his 161stbirth anniversary, let us pay reverence to him and hope that he may continue to shape our way of life.

"Arise, Awake and stop not till the goal is reached."

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