India owes in a great measure to the wisdom given by Swami Vivekananda and the path shown by him. Likewise in equal measure the western society also is indebted to Swami Vivekananda. Prior to the emergence of Swamiji the impression that west had about India was that it is land of snake charmers and poor mendicants. An eminent Englishman described the Hindu religion as ‘idolatry with all rabble of impure deities, its monsters of wood and stone, its false principles and corrupt practices and its lying legends and fraudulent impositions.’ You can imagine the state of mind of west from which Swamiji has transformed it. When Swamiji spoke at the world parliament of religions at Chicago, it was reemergence of Vedic Indian wisdom which swept the western world. They got a better and proper understanding of the Oriental Philosophy and Culture. Swami Ranganathananda, a great saint himself and Former president of the Ramakrishna Mission says that, ‘Swami Vivekananda is the one person who stands as a golden link between India and the western world, and who promises to be such a link between India and the rest of the world as well.’ He further says, ‘the west will one day learn to feel proud of this Emissary of modern India and learn from him the philosophy of comprehensive spirituality and total life fulfillment and the way to its own redemption from a soul killing materialism.’
As the present society veers away from the social and spiritual message of Swami Vivekananda, the message becomes more and more relevant. Arnold Toynbee the distinguished Historian said, ‘It is already becoming clear that a chapter which had a Western beginning will have to have an Indian ending if it is not to end in self-destruction of the human race. At this supremely dangerous moment in human history, the only way of salvation is the ancient Hindu way. Here we have the attitude and spirit that can make it possible for the human race to grow together in to a single family.’ The Vedantic wisdom clearly stands as the antidote for the evils that plague the modern society. Swami Vivekananda who took this wisdom to the doorsteps of the western world stands as the modern day messiah.
V.V.Balasubramanian
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.