Preface

Swami Abhedananda accepted Swami Vivekananda’s invitation and sailed from Calcutta to London in August, 1896. His first lecture was before the Christo-Theosophical Society of London, on the Advaita philosophy of Panchadasi of Madhava-Vidyaranya. In 1897, at the request of Swami Vivekananda, he crossed the Atlantic and landed at New York, to take charge of the Vedanta Society, started by Swamiji. Swami Abhedananda lived in America for more than twenty-five years, delivering lectures and holding classes on various subjects, and preaching the lofty ideas and ideal of his Great Master, Ramakrishna Paramahansa. There he became familiar with all the distinguished and leading artists, educationists, journalists, scientists, Christian Fathers and clergymen as well as professors, William James, Josiah Royce, G. H. Howison, Lanmahn, Jackson, Shaler, Seth Low, Harsel C. Parkar, Dr. Ross, Rev. Heber Newton, and others.

The lecture Vedanta Philosophy, which is now published in book form, was delivered in the Philosophical Union, established by Professor Howison, in the University of California, at Berkeley. Prof. Howison was the Chairman of the Philosophical Union, and he taught philosophy at the said University, from 1884 to 1909. He was a philosopher of note in his day. Announcement columns of the old newspapers indicate that the lecture was scheduled for a special meeting of the Philosophical Union, in a lecture room of the Philosophy Building of the University of California at Berkeley, at 8 P.M., on September 6, 1901, Friday. Swami Abhedananda delivered the lecture on the Vedanta philosophy, at the request of Prof. Howison. From the comment of the Editor of the Vedanta and the West (Jan.-Feb., 1956) of the 1946 Vedanta Place, Hollywood 28, California, it is known that no report of the lecture itself has been found, since it was on this very day that President William McKinley was assassinated, the newspapers thereafter for some time being mostly given over to the news of this event.

From the personal statement of Swami Abhedananda, we come to know that one afternoon he went to the California University, at Berkeley, to hear Prof. Howison’s lecture, accompanied with Dr. Logans. The subject of the. lecture was John Fisk’s Through Nature to God. The lecture being over, he had a talk on Vedanta with Prof. Howison. Prof. Howison was very much impressed with the learned discussion of the Swami, and requested him to deliver a lecture on the Vedanta philosophy, in the Philosophical Union of the University of California, at Berkeley. The Swami was pleased to accept his request. So, after a month, he, together with Dr. Logans and Dr. Ross,'went to the said University, in the evening, on the 6th September, 1901, after finishing their luncheon at the Fraternity Home.

It should be mentioned in this connection that the Philosophical Union at the California University was a unique creation of Prof. Howison. The lectures were arranged in the Union, after every three years, or from time to time. The first lecture, so far as it is known, was delivered on the Conception of God by Prof. Josiah Royce, in the year 1895, and’ it was published in book form in 1897. In 1885, his book Religious Aspect of Philosophy created a sensation. The next lecture, in the Philosophical Union, was delivered on the Principle of Pragmatism by Prof. William James, in the year 1898. This lecture Was given on the central idea of the lecture on Pragmatism, delivered by Prof. Price, twenty years ago whence Prof. James delivered his lecture, in a new and novel way. Prof. James’ lecture on Principle of Pragmatism was also published in a book form. After three years, Swami Abhedananda was invited to deliver his lecture on the Vedanta Philosophy, in the said Union, and it was so arranged that he would deliver his lecture at 8 P.M., on Friday, the 6th September, 1901. Prof. Howison was in the chair. The Swami delivered his lecture for one hour and a half. After the lecture was over, Swami Abhedananda was warmly congratulated by almost all the noted 400 professors of different Universities, assembled there, and especially by Prof. Howison himself.

This lecture so long remained unpublished. But fortunately we found a short pencil note of the lecture, in Swami’s own handwriting, in his Almirah. It was published in the Puja Number of bur Bengali Monthly, ‘Visvavani’, in the year 1955. It has been mentioned in the note that after the deliverence of the lecture, when he came back to his residence at the Vedanta Society, California, he noted down a summary of the lecture, from his memory, at his leisure hour. And we are glad to inform our readers that in 1956, we got a letter from 1946 Vedanta Place, Hollywood, U.S.A., that the complete lecture of the Swami was in their possession, and they inquired whether any copy of the same lecture was lying with us, in India. On the receipt of the letter, we requested them to send the copy of the lecture to us. But they informed us that they would be glad to send it after publishing it in their own journal, the Vedanta and the West. The complete lecture was thereafter published in 1956, in the January-February issue of the above journal, and a copy of the same was forwarded to us.

Now, how the lecture, delivered in the Philosophical Union, California University, in 1901, came to their possession, has been reported by the Editor of the journal, Vedanta and the West, at page 2 of the said journal thus:

“Swami Abhedananda was a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. He taught in the United States from 1897 to 1921. The manuscript of his lecture on ‘Vedanta Philosophy’ (pages 11 to 25 of the present issue) was given to Vedanta and the West by Ida Ansell, before her death on January 31, 1955, who stated that the corrections found in it, were made by the Swami in his own hand. In so far as can be determined, the lecture has never been published”.

After we got the complete lecture, through the courtesy of the Vedanta and the West, we also wrote a letter to Mr. Clark Kerr, the President of the University of California, for sending a copy of the said lecture, if preserved in the Library, for comparing the text of the lecture. We got the reply from Mr. Stanley E. McCaffery, the Vice-President—Executive Assistant, on the 25th March, 1959, with a microfilm of the complete text of the lecture, delivered by Swami Abhedananda, in 1901, in the Philosophical Union of the University of California. The copy of the letter is given below:

“The University of California.

Seal.
Berkeley 4, California.

Clark Kerr
President.

Stanley E. McCaffrey
Vice-President—Executive Assistant

Swami Prajnanananda
Ramakrishna Vedanta Math
19B, Raja Rajkrishna Street
Calcutta-6, India.

Dear Swami Prajnanananda:

I am pleased to respond on behalf of President Clark Kerr to your letter to him of February 17, 1959 concerning the 1901 lecture of Swami Abhedananda.

Enclosed with letter you will find a microfilm of the complete text of the speech.

We have all the other material which you desire but, unfortunately, there is some expense involved in making copies. Since we have no budget for this service, the money involved would have to come from your office.

* * * * * *

If you still wish any of his material despite the expense involved, please advise me and I will be glad to arrange it.
I hope the enclosed microfilm will be of use to you.
Thank you for your interest in the University.

Yours sincerely,
(Sd.) Stanley E. McCaffrey,

Enclosure
cc: Miss May Dornin

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Now, let us offer our thanks to the editor of the Vedanta and the West, 1946 Vedanta Place, Hollywood, U.S.A., for helping us by sending the copy of the lecture, in printed form. We also express our gratitude to the authorities of the University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A., for helping us by sending the microfilm of the text of the lecture, together with the necessary materials.

However, we are also giving in this preface, the summary of the lecture as noted down in pencil by the Swami from memory. The summary runs as follows:

Before entering into the subject of my discourse of this evening, allow me to thank Prof. Howison, through whose kindness I have been honoured with this privilege of addressing the talented audience that have assembled here tonight.

I have been requested to give the general doctrines of the Vedanta philosophy. I suppose very few of us present here are familiar with the doctrines of this most ancient system of philosophy which have helped mankind in solving the most intricate problems of life and death, and which have led the truth-seeking minds of all ages and climes to the threshold of the abode of the absolute Reality of universe.

A student of Vedanta philosophy, after studying the different philosophical systems of ancient Greece and modern Germany, finds that the ultimate conclusions of the modern philosophers are like the faint echoes of the thundering expressions of what the ancient vedic seers of Truth realized, at least 2000 years before the Christian era. The monistic systems of modern evolutionists like Le Conte, Romanes, and Haeckel find their place in the utterances of the vedic philosophers of ancient India. The first conception of the unity of existence that was ever expressed before the world, is to be found in the Rig Veda, the most ancient scripture of the world: ekam sad vipra vahudha vadanti.

The truth-seeking minds of the vedic philosophers did not stop at their researches until they could unify the diverse phenomena of the universe into absolute oneness. After discovering the one ultimate source and goal of the universe they tried to explain through logic and science the process by which the eternal one appears as manifold when looked through the limitations of time, space and causation. In their attempt they discovered the law of evolution which governs the cosmic phenomena. The philosophers who came later, developed from these conclusions different systems of philosophy of which Sankhya system of Kapila and the Vedanta philosophy stand most important. Kapila is called the father of evolution theory in India. He was the first who gave the most logical and scientific explanation of the process of cosmic evolution. Kapila said that the eternal energy is called Prakriti. Prof. Huxley admits this fact when he says that the doctrine of evolution was known to the Hindu sages long before Paul of Tarsus was born. Well has it been said by Sir Monier M. Williams that the Hindus were Spinozites before Spinoza was born.

It will be interesting to mention that the theory of special creation out of nothing was refuted by an ancient sage as early as 1500 years before Christ, and he was Kapila, the most scientific philosopher. Kapila said: ‘katham asatat sad jayate?,—‘how from a non-entity entity comes out? It is not possible. Existence always exists, it never becomes a non-existence’. So, it is true that Vedanta philosophy did not teach the theory of special creation, rather it condemns and refutes this absurd theory.

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The fundamental principle of Vedanta is oneness. There is one Existence, one Life, one Spirit, one Being in the universe. The idea of separateness is unreal, Vedanta does not teach, as some people think, that the phenomenal world is a mere illusion, but it teaches that the underlying reality of the universe is the absolute Being which is one and one without the second—‘ekamevadvitiyam’. What is regarded as illusion or delusion in Vedanta is not the phenomenal, but the attribution of true substantiality or essentiality to the phenomenal without the recognition of the underlying unity. It is generally known as nescience (ajnana) that hides the glory of the absolute Being. The absolute Being is called by various names. It is Brahman in Vedanta. The same absolute Being was called by Plato as the Good. It is the Substantia of Spinoza, Ding-an-Sich of Kant, the Unknown and Unknowable of Herbert Spencer. Some call it Noumenon. Schopenhauer calls it the Will. Emerson calls it Oversoul. But Vedanta differs from these systems by unifying the subject and object in Brahman.

The thing-in-itself is a pure assumption of Kant, a superfluity, not in any way justified by Kant’s own data. Hence it is that the successors of Kant were forced to reject the Kantian thing-in-itself and set up pure rationalism as opposed transcendentalism. The chief defect of the Kantian system is the unnatural separation of the thing-in-itself completely from the plane of experience.

But Vedanta philosophy brings the thing-in-itself within the plane of experience and recognizes it in the conception of entity, sat (Existence) which has all other things as attributes or relations. The same Brahman is sat from the objective point of view, and chit or pure intelligence from the subjective standpoint. It is the infinite source of knowledge; it is the eternal knower of the universe. The same Brahman, when qualified by cosmic self-consciousness, omniscience and omnipotence, appears as the ruler of the universe. When qualified by the individual consciousness and imperfect knowledge, it constitutes the individual soul, and when qualified by total absence of selfconsciousness, it forms the object or what we call ‘matter’.

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Thus Vedanta philosophy recognizes three entities in the universe, God, soul and matter. The God of Vedanta philosophy is not an extra-cosmic something, but it is the inner and underlying reality of the cosmic world, it forms the background of the world, and it exists both inside and outside of the world. Vedanta philosophy gives also a rational foundation to religion which harmonizes with the modern conclusions of science and philosophy. It teaches that the soul is immortal and divine, and the knowledge of the soul brings emancipation to man. Vedanta philosophy teaches that emancipation of the soul (i.e. individual soul) is freedom from the bondages of selfishness and other imperfections. The ethics of Vedanta philosophy is entirely based upon the attainment to Godconsciousness which means the recognition of oneness of the individual soul with the absolute Brahman”.

It had been our long cherished wish to publish this memorable lecture, and we are now presenting it to our readers of the Orient and Occident, in printed form. Though the lecture is short, yet it covers the whole range of the central idea of the Vedanta philosophy of India. In this connection it may be mentioned that, while editing, we have made a few changes possible.

Swami Prajnanananda