The Vedantic Heritage of Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekanancta is one of those personalities who shake the world. He has influenced the human race of the present century in various profound ways. Our generation owes a lot to him. The, first appearance of Swamiji on the global platform was in the Chicago Parliament of Religions held in September, 1893. It is befitting that our country as well as several others have planned to celebrate the Centenary of the event.

The heritage of Swami Viveka­nanda, the inspired son of our mother­land, nay, of the mother earth, would include the entire history of mankind. And that would require more space and time for a person of any standard. Hence it would be more pragmatic to limit oneself to a particular aspect of the heritage of Narendra Nath Datta (later on famous as Vivekananda). And presently the Vedantic ground of Swamiji, and that too very briefly, would be focused on here.

As the very term ‘vedanta’ is connected with the Vedas, the Vedic literature necessarily forms an impor­tant aspect of the Vedantic heritage of Vivekananda. As we know, the four Vedas are the foundations of the In­dian culture. The Rig Veda is known as the earliest existing text of the human race. The Vedic seers specu­lated about the creation, the Creator, and the creatures. They tried to visu­alize the purpose of all these and thought of a way out of the cycles of birth, death and rebirth. The lawmak­ers established a society in this land of sacred mountains and rivers, based on varnasramas, ¹ to be operated as per the ideals of the four ends (prusartha­s). ² The people were inclined to find out ultimate happiness in the realiza­tion of truth of this life, the absolute­ness of the consciousness and the relativity of the physical appearances, The search for the Truth or Reality was the final step in the course of our march – parama-purusartha. The close affinity between the sacred and the secular is exhibited in the Purusa­sukta (Rg. Veda X. 90. 12) where the four organs of the Cosmic Person have been identified with the four categories of our society. Swami Vivekananda approves of the classification, subject to rectification of later defilements.

The Upanishadic seers had rea­lized that the Absolute and the indivi­dual are one (ayamaima Brahma – Brhadaranyaka Upanishad II. 5. 19) since there is no Reality other than the Brahman (Sarvam kahlu idam Brahma – Chhandogya Upanisad. III. 14. 1). Swamiji clearly realized this and ex­tended the idea to the identification of the poor with God (daridra-narayana).

Consciousness, developed as self-awareness at the advanced human level, is regarded as the sure path to distinguish between the real and the unreal, lasting and transient (nitya­anitya vastu viveka, as Acharya Sank­ara would specify it). In the final analysis it is the consciousness, ever lasting and all-pervasive, and not the matter, that assumes the supreme position. Hence the phenomenal layers of the Real are not so important: they are the outer covers of the inner core – the conscient Being, as explained by the principle of five sheaths (pancha­kosas – Taittiriya Upanishad. III 2-6. & Sarvopanisatsara, 2.)

This conscient Being, through Its creative power, fashions the world and the individual. In this context It is known as God. God looks after His creation and also withdraws it as the spider withdraws its web. It is a beginningless process or sport (lila of the Supreme. It provides the individual an opportunity to understand the mystery surrounding him. The moment one becomes aware of the game (Maya), the veil is lifted and the person realizes freedom from bondage, even in his own lifetime (Jivanmnkta).

The philosophy developed by Swami Vivekananda is known as prac­tical Vedanta or Neo-vedantism. It is Monism, qualified in the sense that it retains the world as well as God. This is also the message of the Upanishads, and most clearly stated by the Isa Upanishad as follows:

            Isavasyamidam sarvam yat kim ca jagatyam jagat.
            tena tyakiena bhunjitha ma grdhah kasyasvid dhanam.
(Know that all this, whatever moves in the moving world, is envel­oped by God. Therefore, find your enjoyment in renunciation: do not covet what belongs to others).

God, in essential form is known as Sat-cit-ananda, where all the three constituents are equally and fully the Brahman. Here ananda (love, bliss) obliges God to extend his grace to all living beings. Swami Vivekananda, in such a context, develops the ideals of samagra-mukti (liberation for/of all) in tune with his practical Vedanta and universal religion.

The monistic philosophy of Vivekananda is not sheer continuation of the tradition. In fact he was a scep­tic in his college days. Reportedly, he confided his scepticism to his friend. B.N. Seal (one of the most solid and erudite philosophers of our country) and sought guidance from him in search for truth. Seal, on his part, was a rationalist. His rationalism was amalgam of the monism of Sankara, the Hegelian dialectic, and the Gospel of the French Revolution. The revolu­tionary nationalism of Seal had great appeal to Narendra, although he did not confine himself to national limits. Within him the soul was in quest for the citizen of the world. Appreciating the condition of Narendra, this friend suggested to him to read Shelley. Shelley’s pantheism and the spiritual principle of the unity made lasting impression on the young Naren­dranath.

If one is asked to identify one singular personality that shaped the mind of Vivekananda, the answer would be – Thakur. Thakur or Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was the most outstanding spiritual leader of the 19th century India. He was a simple soul with intense passion for God. At times he claimed himself to be the incarnation of God. He was initi­ated into Sannyasa by an advaitic monk, known as Totapuri who taught Gadadhar (Thakur) the techniques of nirvikalpa Samadhi.

Sri Ramakrishna alone was able to answer affirmatively to Narendra when asked whether God could be shown. And before he expired (in 1986) he made Narendra realize God. The six years of discipleship under Thakur at Dakshineswar and Cos­sipore were very formative for the mind of Vivekananda.

The keynote of Vivekananda’s Chicago Addresses was the unity of religious faiths on basic questions. And the first formula of the unitary principle, according to Thakur, was the service of man and God. He served Kali, the deity in the Dakshineswar temple and also served people to the extent of identifying himself with the chandalas (pariahs). He also practised beggary to get rid of egoism. Viveka­nanda imbibed humility at the in­stance of his Master.

Logical consistency was of ut­most importance for Swami Viveka­nanda. He was happy with the Vedatic position wherein it is admitted that a statement made by a child if logically consistent must be accepted, rather than an inconsistent one made even by great men or even by Sukadeva himself. But he was also aware, al­though at a later stage, that one should know the limits of reason. He approves of the Taittiriya Upanishad (II. 4.1) position which talks of the Reality wherefrom our speech, along with the mind, returns being unable to grasp the Real. The Katha Upanisad (I. 11. 9) also confirms the same position when it says that ‘This’ cannot be obtained by reason: naisa tarkena matirapaneya. And Sankara also, while commenting on the Brahma-su­tras (II, 1.11), has established that reason cannot be treated to be infal­lible. Vivekananda himself could de­velop complete faith in the Master only after the magical touch of Thakur at Dakshineswar.

The other spiritual figure who influenced Swami Vivekananda was Pavahari Baba, a learned saint, widely travelled and well-versed in several languages. Narendranath visited this holy man of Ghazipur several times after the death of Sri Ramakrishna. And the Baba enlightened him on the divinity of nature. Narendranath found in the Baba a synthesis of the Vedanta and the social realization of the day.

Vivekananda travelled through­out the length and breadth of the country between 1891 and 1892 as a nameless ascetic in saffron robe. It was during this journey that he consoli­dated his Sanskrit, Vedic studies and philosophy. His stay at Porbandar for about nine months was most fruitful. He was more inclined to the Vedantic tradition although he had sufficient awareness of other religio-philosophi­cal schools of the country, namely, Jainism, Buddhism, Charvaka, etc. He treated Buddhism as the fulfilment of Hinduism. He maintained that the dharma professed by Sakyamuni was subsequently degraded till Acharya Sankara showed that the essence of Buddhism and Vedanta are not differ­ent. He also held that the Samkhya theory of evolution, coupled with on­tology of the Advaita Vedanta, makes for a satisfactory understanding of the cosmos. He, further, had profound knowledge of the Western schools of philosophy. He had read the history of Western thought with serious mind. He was greatly influenced by David Hume’s scepticism when he was in college. The logical accuracy and the rational analysis of Western thought had lasting impact on him. But he was more influenced by the philosophy of Advaita, beginning with the Upan­ishads and culminating in Sankara’s interpretation. He was at home with the Sanskirt texts. He was greatly in­spired by the Katha Upanishad when it enjoins to ‘Arise, awake, having at­tained the boons, understand them ­– Uttisthata jagrata pripya varan nibodhata (I. 3. 19).

The aphorisms of Badarayana present to Vivekananda the basic texts of the Vedanta philosophy interpreted variously by the Acharyas. He had very clearly understood the philosophies of Sankara and Ramanuja, based on the Brahma-sutras. The combination of the two major currents, namely, Ad­vaitism and Qualified Monism, finds expression in the Neo-vedantism, as said earlier, in the Neo-vedantism of Vivekananda, the reality of the world has been retained along with the metaphysical Absolute of Sankara. For him these two realms are not different: they are the two dimensions of one and the same Reality, namely, Brah­man. The concept of essential unity of every thing owes its origin to the Advaita philosophy. The distinction between the empirical standpoint and the transcendental point of view is deeply influenced by the vyavaharika and the paramarthika categories of the Advaita system. The creation, of the world, although due to Maya, is not illusory. The world is an important step leading to the ultimate goal. Ramanuja’s concept of bhakti or devotion has also influenced Vivekananda. He finds para-bhakti as the means to salvation. In his own life he used to sing devotional songs on various occa­sions.

Vivekananda was the greatest exponent of the Advaitic monism to the West. He was convinced that only Advaita Vedanta could be the future faith of the enlightened humanity. Ve­danta, for him, was not only spiritual, but also rational and in harmony with the scientific outlook. The latest dis­coveries of science to him seemed like echoes of the spiritual nights of the Vedanta philosophy.

The Advaita Philosophy can be universally practised because it treats human beings to be spiritual. The finite and the infinite are not only not different paths which men take through various tendencies, all lead to the same goal, as different streams having the sources in different places, lead to the ocean. Lord Krishna says the same in the Gita: “Whosoever comes to me, through whatsoever form, I reach him: all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to Me.”

The exposition of Vedanta by Vivekananda is called practical, or neo-Vedanta, as said earlier. It could be briefly stated as advocating i) iden­tity ofBrahman with His power – Maya. (ii) oneness of the formlessand personal God, and (iii) all-pervasive­ness ofGod. He maintained that ultimate unity is reached through duality and multiplicity. They are not negated. But physical individuality is not the final position. Science has already shown that physical individuality is one little continuously changing body in an unbroken ocean ofmatter, and Advaita (unity) is the necessary con­clusion with our other counterpart – ­Soul.

Vivekananda had the capacity to discriminate between the real and the unreal, lasting and the changing, the truth and the falsity (viveka). He could also remain in blissful mood in ad­verse circumstances which were in abundance around him.

The brief account ofthe Vedantic heritage of Swamiji would enable us to understand his entire thought in a more meaningful manner. The great mind of Vivekananda has enlightened humanity in many dimensions. It should be our endeavour to under­stand him properly and interpret him to the coming generation in unmis­taken and practical terms.

¹ Occupation (brahmana, ksatirya, vaisya, sudra) determined by one’s propensi­ties, and stage of life - (brahmacharya, garhasthya, vanaprastha, sannayasa – celibate student, married house-holder, retired contemplative, or monk, respectively­.

² Dharma (following the path of righteous liv­ing), Artha (moderate and reasonable pursuit of wealth); Kama (pursuit of legitimate pleas­ures and happiness); and Moksha (Spiritual liberation and attainment of life’s greatest goal).