Tapas is a
Sanskrit word which cannot be literally translated into any
non‐Indian language. Language embodies culture. It uses words
as vehicles for its communication. This is true of all great
classical languages. Sanskrit, the world's oldest classical
language, is rich in words like Dharma, Tapas etc. They are
pregnant with concepts and values which are unique in
themselves and hence untranslatable in their full sense. In
India, it is a household word with which every Indian is
conversant and experiences no difficulty in grasping its full
significance.
There are various definitions
of the word Tapas in our ancient literature. For example, the
great sage Yajnavalkya has defined Tapas in the Yanjavalkya
Smriti. Swami Ranganathananda explains: "मनस च इन्द्रियाणां च
हैकाग्य्रम् परमं तपः" The concentration of the energies of the
sense and the mind is called supreme Tapas. Anyone can quote
it in any university in the world. Everybody will look up to
it. It is a wonderful definition. All achievements come to us
through that concentration. The sensory energies are scattered
about. When we concentrate them, we achieve success. Mind's
energies are scattered. We concentrate them, and then we
achieve success in making money, in getting knowledge, in
obtaining a degree, in doing great work for society, in
achieving political elevation. All this comes from Tapas, by
intelligent hard work. तज्जयः सर्व धर्मेभ्यः That is the
supreme Dharma among all the Dharmas by which we concentrate
the energies given to us in the body, the mind and the senses,
and direct that energy to the problems in front of us. स धर्मः
परा उच्यते That dharma is known to be Supreme. That is called
tapas. (Page 360, Universal Message of the Bhagavad Gita,
Vol‐1).
In the Bhagavad Gita, there are
copious references to the importance of Tapas in our day to
day life. Srimad Bhagvad Gita describes Tapas as one of the
three duties which must not be given up under any
circumstances, Yajna and Dana being the other two. यज्ञदानतपः
कर्म न त्याज्यं कार्यमेव तत् | यज्ञो दानं तपश्चैव पावनानि
मनीषिणाम् (B.G.18‐5) The work of Yajna, Dana and Tapas should
not be relinquished, but it should indeed be performed; (For)
these are purifying agents according to wise.
Swami Vivekananda has to say
this about the kind of Tapas which is relevant and necessary
during the present situation through which we are passing.
Swami Vivekananda was a revolutionary Sanyasin. He interpreted
the traditional concepts in a very modern way, as a more
suitable response for the contemporary challenges. He said the
traditional form of Tapas of the Hatha Yogis like standing on
one leg will not yield fruits in this Yuga. "The Tapas and the
other hard Yogas that were practiced in other Yugas do not
work now" (Vedantism Volume 3). In conversations with his
young disciple Sarat Chandra Chakravarty he discusses this in
detail. Dispelling all doubts, he states categorically that
working for the good of the society is the best form of Tapas
in today's context. “True, power comes of austerities; but
again, working for the sake of others itself constitutes
Tapasya (practice of austerity). The karma‐yogins regard work
itself as part of Tapasya. As on the one hand the practice of
Tapasya intensifies altruistic feelings
in the devotee and actuates him
to unselfish work, so also the pursuit of work for the sake of
others carries the worker to the last fruition of Tapasya,
namely the purification of the heart, and leads him thus to
the realisation of the supreme Âtman (Self)."
Tapas literally means heat.
Sister Nivedita has equated heat with energy. Tapas, though of
different kinds, all generate energy which is the source of
activities whether creative or destructive. In the long
history of our country we find Tapas has been practiced by
people both for creative and destructive objectives. It is
also shown that those who do Tapas for the sake of destructive
power will ultimately end up by destroying themselves where as
those who perform Tapas for the sake of one's own
self‐development as well as that of the world brings about
good to the world.
According to our ancient
tradition the entire creation is the outcome of Tapas. It is
stated in the Puranas, Brahma of the divine trinity is endowed
with the mission of creation while Vishnu sustains it and Siva
destroys. How Brahma created the entire universe by the power
of Tapas is described in our ancient Vedas. Swami
Ranganathananda beautifully explains this in his commentary on
Bhagavad Gita. “When the time for creation comes, a lotus
comes out of His (Vishnu's) navel. On the lotus appears
Brahma. That is the story in the Srimad Bhagavatam. And Brahma
wonders, what am I to do? He looks around, and finds nothing
there. He goes through the lotus stalk into Vishnu Himself.
Then he understands. Yes, I must have some work to do, the
Lord is omniscient. Then he comes out and hears a sound, “tapa
tapa”. Do tapas, do tapas. Not physical tapas but 'jnanamayam
tapah', knowledge tapas. Through that tapas he understood the
entire world of knowledge‐every law, every theory, everything
connected with the universe to come. He knew it all. So he is
called 'Vedamaya' or 'Vedamurti', the embodiment of Veda. Veda
means knowledge inclusive of the science of physical nature
and the science of human possibilities which is the science of
spirituality. Thorough knowledge is called Veda.
When Brahma heard this word
“tapa, tapa”, he got this profound message and he engaged
himself in tapas. What kind of tapas? Intense concentration to
understand what is this work in front of me. After those
tapas, the universe comes out”.
There is another beautiful
story which shows the importance and the power of Tapas in
achieving things which are normally unachievable. The story of
Bhageeratha who successfully brought down the mighty river
Ganga from the heaven to this earth for the sake of liberating
the souls of his ancestors as they were under a curse. First,
he performs Tapas for years together to propitiate Ganga and
make her agree to pour down to earth. But there was none other
than Siva who could bear the impact of the tremendous
downpour. So Bhageeratha had again to perform Tapas to
propitiate Siva and make him agree to bear the impact.
Bhageeratha's Tapas is unique in the history of world. Had he
not undertaken these hardest Tapas, the land of Bharat would
have remained a dreary desert like Sahara. The entire
prosperity of India is due to the Bhageeratha's Tapas.
Tapas can achieve anything and
without Tapas, nothing can be achieved. "Great things can be
achieved by great sacrifices only" These are words of Swami
Vivekananda. They are the product of his life‐long Tapas, the
constant struggle this warrior Monk had to wage with internal
and external world. The amount of physical agony he suffered
due to different ailments and the mental agony of humiliation
and hurt at the hands of not only the alien but many times
from his own countrymen for whom his heart bled is
unimaginable. Enduring all these, he continued his work of
awakening the dormant spirit of Mother Bharat by constant
travel throughout the length and breadth of Bharat, arousing
her young sons with his clarion call. Tapas is the basis of
all his achievements. The great historians like Jadunath
Sarkar and R C Majumdar concur that Swami Vivekananda was the
prime mover of the cultural and spiritual renaissance of
Bharat in th the last decade of 19th
century which evolved into a total national renaissance in the
first half of the 20th century. Jadunath Sarkar
says, "Ninety‐one years ago a boy was born who has turned the
lives of millions of us in India into a new channel, and
thousands in the West to find their own
souls amidst the doubts and
distractions of this mechanical civilization. When we calmly
reflect on our social scene, we feel bound to admit that the
moral revolution not merely preached but actually accomplished
by his life and example, is the dominating force of Hindu
Society in the 20th
century."
Another Great Historian R C
Majumdar writes, "He (Vivekananda) was a product of the
nineteenth century Renaissance in Bengal, in its initial
stage, but it was his genius and personality that molded it
into the shape it finally assumed. ......The Ideal he placed
before the country was an all‐round development by imbibing
both the spirituality of ancient India and the material
culture of the West. Such a synthesis was not only necessary
for India but its scope, according to Swamiji, extended to the
West also. As a matter of fact Swamiji regarded this synthesis
as essential for the whole humanity. It would appear that
Swami Vivekananda has lain before us the final phase of the
Renaissance Movement that is still leading us forward and
India will derive the fullest benefit from it if she follows
the path laid down by him."
“It is unfortunate, if not
tragic, that after our political independence we have
forgotten the word tapas in every department of life, except
in making one's own money by every crooked means possible.
That is all what we have understood now. That tapas of the
past must come back. Our education will become wonderful when
tapas enters into it. Our politics will become wonderful when
tapas enters into it. Today, one becomes a political leader if
he or she shouts about and goes round throwing stones. There
is no difficulty at all. And so, the Gita provides a
comprehensive and profound philosophy of life and work. It can
be appreciated only by those who have entered that phase of
tapas where some training of the sensory and mental energies
has been undertaken. Then if he or she looks up to the Gita,
he or she will get some blessing, some message from this great
book. So the verse says, ना आतपस्काद वाच्यम।, don't
communicate this truth to one who has not done any tapas."
(Page no.360, Universal Message of the Bhagvad Gita, Vol‐1)
The workers of Vivekananda
Kendra know very well how the rock memorial, and, following
it, Vivekananda Kendra itself, came into existence only
because of the great Tapas performed by modern Bhageeratha
like Mananeeya Eknathji Ranade. The rock itself was sanctified
by the Tapas of Swami Vivekananda where, sitting in
meditation, he gained knowledge about his life mission. It can
be compared to the Tapas of Brahma before creation of the
world and later on the Tapas of Buddha under the Bodhi tree
where he attained enlightenment. Tapas is in the very blood of
Hindus. In other countries, there may be stray examples of men
of Tapas who have achieved great things, but the history of
India is replete with the names of men of Tapas who have
sustained the great legacy of our culture right from
prehistoric times. The name of Sankaracharya comes before our
mind's eye. Like Swami Vivekananda, within a very short span
of time Sri Sankara made such a historic contribution to
Bharat and the world for which we cannot be too grateful. It
is on account of such great personalities that Bharat has been
known as Punya Bhoomi as well as Tapo Bhoomi. It was the great
dream of Swami Vivekananda to restore
the uniqueness of Bharat once
again so that she will be able to show the way to the rest of
the world. He has entrusted to us a great responsibility to
achieve what he envisaged. The 150 birth anniversary of Swami
Vivekananda is the most auspicious occasion for all of us to
accomplish this great mission. We in Vivekananda Kendra are
the descendants of this tradition of Tapas, concentrating all
the energies for the work of selfless service.
Swamiji extolled, "Let New
India arise in your place. Let her arise — out of the
peasants' cottage, grasping the plough; out of the huts of the
fisherman, the cobbler, and the sweeper. Let her spring from
the grocer's shop, from beside the oven of the fritter‐seller.
Let her emanate from the factory, from marts, and from
markets. Let her emerge from groves and forests, from hills
and mountains." This is a call for a new creation out or the
old. Every creation demands tapas. What Bharat needs today is
intense Tapas by its sons and daughters. We have a great
occasion before us – Swami Vivekananda's 150th
birth anniversary. Let us come together and do national Tapas
to make his dream a reality. Let us all become Bhagirathas and
put ourselves to work.
Gita has prescribed Tapas at
three levels, Physical, Oral, and mental. They are as follows.
In the earlier chapter Tapas at three levels physical
(Sharir), oral (Vangmay) and mental (Manas) are explained.
देवद्विजगुरुप्राज्ञपूजनं शौचमार्जवम्। ब्रह्मचर्यमहिंसा च
शारीरं तप उच्यते।। (Gita 17‐14) Worship of Gods, the twice
born, the Gurus, and the wise; purity, straight‐forwardness,
observance of Brahmacharya and nonviolence are called Tapas of
the Body. अनुद्वेगकरं वाक्यं सत्यं प्रियहितं च यत्।
स्वाध्यायाभ्यसनं चैव वाङ्
मयं
तप उच्यते।। (Gita 17‐15) Speech which causes
no vexation, and which is true, also agreeable and beneficial
and regular study of scriptures are called the Tapas of
speech. मनःप्रसाद सौम्यत्वं
मौनमात्मविनिग्रहः। भावसंशुद्धिरित्येतत्तपो मानसमुच्यते।।
(Gita 17‐ 16) Serenity of mind, kindliness, silence,
self‐control, honest of motive – this is called the Mental
Tapas.
There is another very important
aspect to the Tapas the Kendra workers are expected to
perform. Individual Tapas is comparatively easy because it
concerns only one particular person. Each one of our workers
in his or her own way is already doing it. But collective
Tapas is much more difficult and beset with innumerable
obstacles. We all experience how difficult it is for a team to
function harmoniously. But, with persistent effort, we have
managed to function as a th team within the organization. But
the 150 birth anniversary celebrations demand that the Kendra
workers, along with a number of Institutions and Organisations
who have the same common objectives, but whose training and
habits might differ in various degrees to learn to work with
will require immense capacity of adjustment and accommodation.
That will be a collective Tapas to bring about the glorious
future which we all have set before our eyes and which is what
Swami Vivekananda expects each one of us.
P.
Parameswaran
President
For more than a Century his thoughts are holding Sway over Nationlists and Spiritually Oriented persons. Now on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary, Vivekananda Kendra along with other likeminded organisations have planned for a grand and wide spread celebrations throughout the year. These celebrations are going to be different from the celebrations that we are used to.
