Complete Works: Vol - VI

Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
Volume – I	Volume – IV	Volume - VII
Volume – II	Volume – V	Volume - VIII
Volume – III	Volume – VI	Volume - IX

Like all other volumes, the sixth volume also has many a lesson for the reader.

1. Reason and belief

Under chapter “அறிவுடைமை” (Possession of Wisdom), Tamil sage Tiruvalluvar says…..
 
எப்பொருள் யார்யார்வாய்க் கேட்பினும் அப்பொருள்மெய்ப்பொருள் காண்ப தறிவு.   (423)

“The mark of wisdom is to discern the truth from whatever source it is heard”

Same Valluvar under chapter “மெய்யுணர்தல்” (Realization of Truth) reiterated the same idea in a different manner….

எப்பொருள் எத்தன்மைத் தாயினும் அப்பொருள்
மெய்ப்பொருள் காண்பது அறிவு.  (355)

“Wisdom is to ascertain reality in whatever way things are presented”

Valluvar’s advise here is not to believe in anything without a proper investigation. “காளை மாட்டின் கண்ணில் எம்.ஜி.ஆர் உறுவம் தெரிகிறது” என்ற கூற்றும் சரி, “பிள்ளையார் சிலைகள் பால் குடித்தன” என்ற கூற்றும் சரி. அவையெல்லாம் ஆராய்ந்து உண்மைப் பொருளைக் காண்பவன்தான் அறிவாளி என்கிறார் வள்ளுவர்.  And that is why we see couplet 423 under the chapter on "Possession of Wisdom". சமைய அல்லது ஆத்மீக நம்பிக்கையும் இதல்பால் உள வேண்டும் என்பதால்தான் வள்ளுவர் 355-ஆவது குறளை “மெய்யுணர்தல்” (Realization of Truth) என்ற அதிகாரத்தில் வைத்துள்ளார்.

இதையே விவேகானந்தரும் வலியுறுத்துகிறார் ……..

I am sure God will pardon a man who will use his reason and cannot believe,
rather than a man who believes blindly instead of using the faculties He has given him. (p. 13)

No use swallowing doctrines others pass on –
    standing up together like soldiers in jail,
    sitting down together, all eating the same food,
    all nodding their heads at the same time.
Variation is the sign of life. Sameness is the sign of death. (p. 65)

As Vivekananda said, the Path one follows could be different, but the Destination is always the same. He also says in a different place that life will be boring and monotonous if everyone wears the same dress, has the same mode of worship etc.

2. Vedanta brain and Islam body

Why do all religions teach the same ethical precepts such as, "Do not kill, do not injure; love your neighbour as yourself," etc.? And why no one has tried to give us the reason and basis for this ethical dictum? 

Vivekananda says in Volume 1 “Why should I not injure my neighbour? To this question there was no satisfactory or conclusive answer forthcoming, until it was evolved by the metaphysical speculations of the Hindus who could not rest satisfied with mere dogmas. Also each individual soul is a part and parcel of that Universal Soul, which is infinite”. Therefore injuring another naturally means injuring your own self. This is perhaps the reason why great souls like Jesus Christ is known to have said: “Love your neighbor as thyself”. And for that matter our won Valluvar said …..

“தன்னைத்தான் காதலனாயின், எனைத்தொன்றும்
துன்னற்க தீவினைப் பால்" (209)

அதாவது “If you love yourself, refrain from causing ill of any degree”. With the exception of the mentally unstable, there cannot be anyone who does not love himself.  In spite of this great philosophy or theory of non-hurting, says Vivekananda, the Indian have faltered when it comes to implementation. Looking at the way Hindus discriminate their own fellow souls, Vivekananda says we practice nothing but “non-touchism” (தீண்டாமை). He says Islam is one religion that has managed to recognize the brotherhood and equality of men, at least among the people of their own faith.

He says in volume VI (pages 415-416):

• My experience is that if ever any religion approached to this equality in an appreciable manner, it is Islam and Islam alone. Therefore I am firmly persuaded that without the help of practical Islam, theories of Vedantism, however fine and wonderful they may be, entirely valueless to the vast mass of mankind.
• We want to lead mankind to the place where there is neither the Vedas, nor the Bible, nor the Koran; yet this has to be done by harmonizing the Vedas, the Bible and the Koran.
• Mankind ought to be taught that religions are but the varied expressions of THE RELIGION,  which is Oneness, so that each may choose that path that suits him best.
• For our own motherland, a junction of the two great systems, Hinduism and Islam – Vedanta brain and Islam body – is the only hope.

3. Fear and Love of God

“Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” என்று முழக்கமிடுகிறது விவிலியம் (Proverbs, 9:10). ஆனால் விவாகானந்தரோ, ஒரு படி அதிகமாக……

 “The fear of God is the beginning of religion, but the love of God is the end of religion”. (p. 71)

….. என்கிறார். அதாவது கடவுளைக்கு பயந்து கும்பிடத்துவங்கி, மனிதன் அதே கடவுளை பிறகு நேசிக்கத்  துவங்குகிறான்.  All religions begin and end that way. At least they should. No God in the Indian Trinity was feared as much as Lord Shiva himself, until தேவாரம் poets and Thirumoolar came and proclaimed “அன்பே சிவம்”. The Jews projected a wrathful and fearsome God, but Jesus came and said “God is Love”. That is the culmination of evolution of Jewish religious tradition which the Jews did not accept. In Islam too, we see Allah being depicted as Deity to be feared and therefore submitted to. Soon the Sufis came to propagate the doctrine of union with a lovable Allah, but this was rejected by the fundamentalist Muslims (and by and large by all Muslims to this present day). No wonder Vivekananda says…..

God, according to the Jewish and Mohammadan idea, is a big sessions Judge. (p. 111).

அதாவது மக்களைத் தண்டிக்கவும் சன்மானம் வழங்கவும் உள்ள ஒரு மன்னனைப் போலவும் அல்லது ஒரு நீதிபதியைப் போலவும்தான் இஸ்லாமிய மற்றும் யூதர்களின் மதங்கள் இறைவனை விவரிக்கின்றன என்கிறார் விவேகானந்தர். 

4. Quotes

I end this week’s presentation, with the following interesting quotes picked up from Volume VI.

There cannot be any falsehood without some truth behind it.
There cannot be any imitation without something real. (p. 62)

When the world is the end and God the means to attain that end, that is material.
When God is the end and the world is only the means to attain the end, spirituality has begun.  (p. 66)

The three essentials of Hinduism are belief in God, in the Vedas as revelation, in the doctrine of Karma and transmigration. (p. 103)

Morality is a relative term. Is there anything like absolute morality in this world? The idea is a superstition.
We have no right to judge every man in every age by the same standard. (p. 109)

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