Chapter 5.0 - Practical Vedanta (Introduction)

Swami Vivekananda’s teachings are mainly based on the ancient Vedanta philosophy of India. It was Vivekananda who first tried to make Vedanta a practical philosophy. In 1896 he delivered four lectures on ‘Practical Vedanta’ in London. Before we go to these four lectures first of all let us have a look on his concept of Vedanta. When we examine Swami Vivekananda’s observations on Vedanta the first thing we notice is his reliance on the Upanishads in preference to the Brahma-Sutra and its commentaries. Secondly, Vivekananda does not favour a fragmentation of Vedanta into different systems, Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, Dvaita and Dvaitadvaita. He knew these systems and he valued them, but he himself took a holistic view of Vedanta. He said in his Lahore address of 12 November 1897, “it would be wrong, to confine the word Vedanta only to one system which has arisen out of the Upanishads. All these are covered by the word Vedanta. The Vishishtadvaitist has as much right to be called a Vedantist as the Advaitist.”^[1] But such a statement raises a question and the question is:

If Advaitavada and Dvaitavada are both Vedantic systems, which system is Vivekananda’s own? R.K.Dasgupta, a noted writer on Vivekananda, in his article ‘Swami Vivekananda’s Idea on Vedanta’ writes “Vivekananda’s answer would be that all the systems are valid and he would call them all his own. In the broad spectrum of man’s spiritual life there are many shades and hues and not one of them can be rejected. But if you would press him to tell you if he is a dvaitavadi or advaitavadi he would say that advaitavad is the highest altitude of spiritual life and Vishishtadvaitavad, Dvaitavad and Dvaitadvaitavad are only steps towards it. However he would add that each step is a Vedantic step and one might not reach the highest altitude and yet have no regrets.”^[2] From this it is obvious that according to Vivekananda Adviatavada is the highest form of the spiritual life of man. But he does not reject the other schools also. According to him the other schools are mere steps towards Advaitavada. Thus, in his view the Advaitavada of Sankara has got the highest value and others are only steps towards it.

In his Harvard address on Vedanta philosophy, Vivekananda said about the Vedantic systems that “there have been various interpretations and to my mind they have been progressive, beginning with the dualistic or the Dvaita and ending with the non-dualistic or Advaita.”^[3] As a matter of fact Vivekananda had an idea of evolution in the history of our philosophy and religion and he never made any distinction between the two. While he looked upon Vedanta as a flowering of Indian thought he also believed in a reflowering of that thought in later ages. When he gave a new dimension and a new depth to Vedanta philosophy, he only affirmed his faith in evolution and progress. He developed his Neo-Vedanta without in any way distorting its basic principles. In his address ‘The Spirit and Influence of Vedanta’ he says, “It (Vedanta) is the flower of all the speculations and experiences and analyses in the vast mass of literature (the Vedas)-collected and culled through centuries.”^[4] This shows that Vivekananda viewed religion as a living and growing institution and it could have a variety of forms. The human spirit ascends towards its fulfillment through various forms and stages. Even non-Vedantic rituals and ceremonies are steps towards a Vedantic goal. According to him prayers, ceremonials and all the other forms of worship are simply kindergartens of meditation. What gave Swami Vivekananda his confident sense of freedom in interpreting Vedanta was his idea of a continuing revelation by which he meant the endless creativity of the human spirit.