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TheVedanta KesariTHE LION OF VEDANTAA Cultural and Spiritual Monthly of the Ramakrishna Order since 1914

103rd

YEAROFPUBLICATION

June2016

Price:` 10

Ramakrishna MaTamluk, West Ben

1

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2T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i J U N E 2 0 1 6~ ~

Editor: SWAMIATMASHRADDHANANDAManaging Editor: SWAMIGAUTAMANANDAPrinted and published by Swami Vimurtananda on behalf of Sri Ramakrishna Math Trust

from No.31, Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore, Chennai - 4 and Printed atSri Ramakrishna Printing Press, No.31 Ramakrishna Math Road, Mylapore,

Chennai - 4. Ph: 044 - 24621110

The outer layers of cakes are made of

rice flour, but inside they are stuffed with

different ingredients. The cake is good or bad

according to the quality of its stuffing. So are

all human bodies made of one and the same

material, yet men are different in quality

according to the purity of their hearts.

Sri Ramakrishna

Shrine of

Ramakrishna Math,

Tamluk, West Bengal

2

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JUNE2016

A CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL MONTHLY OF THE RAMAKRISHNA ORDER

Started at the instance of Swami Vivekananda in 1895 as Brahmavdin,

it assumed the name The Vedanta Kesariin 1914.

For free edition on the Web, please visit: www.chennaimath.org

VOL.103, No.6ISSN 0042-2983

Cover Story: Page 6

CONTENTS

The Vedanta Kesari 103rd

YEAROFPUBLICATION

3

Gita Verse for Reflection 205

Editorial

Bhagavad Gita: A Source of Eternal Wisdom and Values 206

Articles

In Search of TruthSome Reflections on Brahmasutras 216

Swami Golokananda

Musings on Indias Unity 219

Michel DaninoYouth and their Problems: Lessons in Coping with Life from Swami Vivekananda 226

Swami Satyapriyananda

Holistic Development through Religious Harmony

The Vision and Mission of Swami Vivekananda 234

T V Muralivallabhan

Reminiscences

Reminiscences of Sargachhi 211

Swami Suhitananda

New Find

Unpublished Letters of Swami Saradananda 232

The Order on the March 237

Book Reviews 240

Feature

Simhvalokanam (The Ethical aspect of the Vedanta) 210

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4T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i J U N E 2 0 1 6

The Vedanta Kesari

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ful life. Your contributions (minimum of Rs.1000/- or US$ 25) by Cheque/DD/MO should be sent to Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai, along with acovering note stating that it is meant for Vedanta Kesari Permanent Fund. Everycontribution will be gratefully acknowledged and the donors name will be pub-lished in the Vedanta Kesari. All donations to Sri Ramakrishna Math are exemptfrom Income Tax under section 80G of the [Indian] I.T. Act, 1961.

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Do you feel that Indias timeless heritageof spirituality, values and culture need to

reach a wider section of youth?

Do you wish to join in spreading themessage of Vedanta and of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda to larger number of people?

Doing is very good, but that comes from thinking. . . .

Fill the brain, therefore, with high thoughts, highest ideals,

place them day and night before you, and out of that will

come great work. Swami Vivekananda

You are welcome to

join us in these efforts

by contributing to our

Library Fund Scheme.

The Vedanta Kesari Library Fund Scheme aims at a wider reach among the

youth, especially in high schools, colleges / universities and other institutions

of learning in India.

Sponsorship for one library is Rs.1000/-. Under this scheme, donors can

sponsor libraries, including public libraries, which would receive The Vedanta

Kesari for ten years.

The sponsors can mention the libraries which they wish to enroll, or The

Vedanta Kesari would select the libraries on their behalf. The name of the

sponsors, along with the libraries enrolled, will be published in The Vedanta

Kesari. This scheme is valid for libraries in India.

We invite you to join hands with us in this valuable scheme. You can send your

sponsorship by cash or through a DD drawn in

favour of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai and

send it with a covering note to

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Vedanta Kesari

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Your initiative in promoting this scheme will help a noble cause.

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SL.NO. NAMES OF SPONSORS AWARDEE INSTITUTIONS

6021. Mr. Bhogilal Patil, U.K. Branch Library, Mallipudur, Virudhunagar Dist., T.N. - 626 111

6022. -do- Branch Library, Mangalam, Virudhunagar Dist., T.N. - 626 124

6023. -do- Branch Library, Sattur Taluk, Virudhunagar Dist., T.N. - 626 140

6024. -do- Branch Library, Chozhapuram, Virudhunagar Dist., T.N. - 626 713

6025. -do- Branch Library, Sippiparai, Virudhunagar Dist., T.N. - 626 713

6026. -do- Branch Library, Sivalingapuram, Virudhunagar Dist., T.N. - 626 136

The Vedanta Kesari Library Scheme

(continued on page 47)

We invite our readers to join as patrons of the magazine. They can do

so by sending Rs.2000/- or more. Names of the patrons will be

announced in the journal under thePatrons' Scheme

and they will

receive the magazine for 20 years. Please send your contribution to

The Manager, The Vedanta Kesari by DD/MO drawn in favour of Sri

Ramakrishna Math, Chennai with a note that the enclosed amount is

for the Patrons' Scheme. (This scheme is valid in India only).

THE VEDANTA KESARI PATRONS SCHEME

Ms. Nageswara Rao K V,

Hyderabad Rs. 1,18,116

DONOR PATRONS

Cover StoryN N

Ramakrishna Temple, Tamluk Ashrama, West Bengal

The town of Tamluk is the district headquarters of Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal.

An ancient place, present day Tamluk is believed to be the site of the ancient city variouslyknown as Tamralipta or Tamralipti and is located on the banks of theRupnarayan River close to the Bay of Bengal. A centre of RamakrishnaMath was started at Tamluk in 1914 and taken over by Belur Mathin 1924 and the Mission centre was also started in 1914 and wastaken over in 1929. Activities of the Math centre include religiousdiscourses in and outside the Ashrama premises, daily worshipand bhajans, celebration of the birthdays of Sri Ramakrishna, HolyMother Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda and other prophets,and also Kali Puja. The activities of the Mission centre include anindustrial school which conducts a three-year course in carpentry, a

primary school with 300 boys and 150 girls, a free students home,a library and a reading room and two charitable homoeopathicdispensaries, and welfare work by way of distribution of milk, clothing, pecuniary help, etc.,to the needy. The shrine of the temple, featured on the cover, is adorned with a marble imageof Sri Ramakrishna. The spacious prayer hall of the temple has the seating capacity of morethan 150.

724. Dr. M.B. Aswath Narayan, Chennai

725. Mr. H. Chetan, Bangalore

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EACH SOUL IS POTENTIALLY DIVINE. THE GOAL IS TO MANIFEST THE DIVINITY WITHIN.

The Vedanta KesariVOL. 103, No. 6,JUNE 2016 ISSN 0042-2983

Gita Verse for ReflectionTr. by Swami Tapasyananda

7

Whence comes all this bondage of

action? Because we chain the soul with

action. According to our Indian system,

there are two existences: nature on

the one side and the Self, the Atman,

on the other. By the word nature is

meant not only all this external world,

but also our bodies, the mind, the will,

even down to what says I. Beyond all

that is the innite life and light of the

soulthe Self, the Atman. . .

Swami Vivekananda,

CW, 1:470

Bhagavad Gita, 15. 2

Nourished by the Gunas and covered with the buddingfoliage of sense objects, its branches spread into regions highand low. Stretching forth on the ground below in the world ofmen, are its secondary roots, entangling man in the bondageof action.


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Editorial

The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure-house

of wisdom and divine qualities. It contains

valuable insights into how to live life and is

one of the most widely read spiritual classics

of the world. The teachings of Gita have

become part of lives of countless men and

women everywhere. Scholars and thinkersof India and other countries alike, as also

saints, leaders, scientists, spiritual seekers or

simple commonersGita has been a source

of inspiration and strength to one and all. It is

indeed the Scripture of India.

While this is true and needs hardly any

emphasis, not everyone in India, especially the

young, know much of Gita. To many, Gita is

a kind of riddle. They have heard of its name.And some also know that it is part of the epic

Mahabharata. But many commoners, which

includes the educated class, do not know

whether Gita contains anything practically

relevant for them. Often it is also felt that Gita

deals with issues which are rather too high

for modern people. Of course they revere

Gita but think that it is just too difficult to

understand (and give up reading it altogether)

or postpone it to more suitable time, later in

lifesomewhere in future which, of course,

never comes!Living in todays demanding world of

diverse challenges and pressures, they ask,

What can Gita teach us?

Modern day education does not pay

much attention to cultivating interest in this

matter. In these times of cell phones, SMSs,

Internet browsing, emails, digital cameras,

iPods, television and reckless use of other

electronic gadgets, the modern people live

under great inner and outer challenges.

The outer challenges, in case of students

for instance, come to them in the form of

learning to keep their focus on their studiesand examinations in the midst of constant

distractions and pulls of various kinds. The

inner challenge comes to them through

lack of a lasting goal, concentration of mind,

resisting peer pressure and temptations to live

a consumerist and selfish way of life. In the

process, higher values such as truthfulness,

honesty, unselfishness, gratitude, self-control,

self-sacrifice and self-discipline, which formthe basis of a healthy and strong personality,

are pushed aside. No wonder parents, teachers

and the wise ones among the students

themselves, feel unhappy and disappointed

with the students conduct and general

direction in life.

Bhagavad Gita has much to offer to all

types of minds in all conditions. Contrary to

popular perception, Gita contains much to

guide and help all, specially the youth, now,

right when they are students and preparing for

their adult years. Gita is not merely a book ofdeep philosophical thoughts; it is also a book

of practical wisdom. However, in order to give

an overview of Gita, here is an attempt to list

out what the Gita contains and teaches:

1. The Bhagavad Gitais popularly known

as the Gita. The Sanskrit wordgita means a

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song. Since this song is sung by Sri Krishna,

the God Incarnate (Bhagavan), it is called

Bhagavad Gita or the Song of God. Though

there are many other Gita-s (such as Hamsa

Gita, Avadhuta Gita,Ashtavakra Gitaand manyothers), in the popular usage, by the word

Gita, Bhagavad Gitaalone is meant.

2. The Gita has 700 verses which are

divided into 18 chapters. It forms a part of the

epic Mahabharata (in Bhishma Parva, Chapters

25 to 42).

3. Every chapter of the Gita is regarded

as a Yoga [i.e. a way to Self-perfection] and hasa separate name such as Jnana Yoga, Karma

Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and so on. These names are

mentioned at the end of each chapter.

4. The book is in the form of a dialogue

between Arjuna [who is variously addressed

as Partha, Pandava, Bharata, Mahabaho,

Kaunteya and so on] and Sri Krishna. Arjuna

was one of the five Pandava brothers who

had been deprived of their right to rule the

kingdom and were much persecuted by the

rival Kaurava cousins. After all negotiations

and alternatives failed, the Pandavas were

forced to wage a war against Kauravas.5. As Sri Krishna, the God Incarnate,

counsels Arjuna, he uses the personal pronoun

Me throughout the dialogue. I or Me in the

Gita refers to God or Ultimate Reality.

6. The Gita begins with Dhritarashtra,

the blind king and the father of Kauravas,

asking Sanjaya, his companion who had been

gifted with divine sight to see and describe

the War, to tell him what happened on

the battlefield. Sanjaya starts the narrativeby telling how Duryodhana, the eldest of

Kauravas, approaches the royal teacher,

Dronacharya, and describes the various

warriors on both the sides. Then both the sides

sound the conchs announcing the beginning of

the war.

7. At Arjunas request, Sri Krishna, acting

as Arjunas charioteer, brings his chariot and

stations it in-between the two armies. Arjuna

sees Bhishma and Drona, his grandsire and

the teacher, and sinks in horror and sorrowat the thought of having to fight them. He

becomes nervous and tells Sri Krishna that it

is meaningless to fight such a war because it

would lead to various evil consequences such

as the collapse of the society and kingdom. He

sits down on the chariot, depressed and highly

tense and asks Krishnas advice as to what

will lead to the highest good. In the ensuingdialogue, Sri Krishna teaches Arjuna, which

Sanjaya narrates, and is presented to us as

Gita, in the epic Mahabharata by Veda-Vyasa,

the great rishi.

8. Sri Krishna reminds Arjuna about

his duty as a warrior and the righteous-

ness of the war. He advises him to give up all

his nervousness and confusion and be ready

to fight. This whole episode of Arjuna first

wanting to fight and then becoming nervous is

often compared to human mind which wants

to fight the battle of life but loses all courage

and enthusiasm when faced with the problemsof life. Sri Krishna corrects Arjuna by gently

scolding him and slowly clarifying his doubts

and confusions.

9. Sri Krishna draws Arjunas attention

to his inherent strength and wisdom that

originates from his Divine Core within called

Atman.

10. The War is supposed have been

fought in Kurukshetra, a small town in the

State of Haryana, some 120 km from themodern day cosmopolitan city of New Delhi.

There are a number of places connected with

the incidents in Mahabharata War in the

Kurukshetra area.

11. Kurukshetra, however, can also

be symbolically understood as the battle-

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field of life, with Pandavas representing forces

of good and the Kauravas as the evil forces of

wickedness born of an impure, un-disciplined

and indiscriminate mind.

12. The Gita deals with various issuessuch as the results of selfish and unselfish

works, the process of meditation, devotion to

God, methods to control ones passions and

temper, and how to be spiritually and morally

free and strong.

An earnest study of the Gita can make

one a more effective and better human being.

The Gita contains many suggestions and

guidelines for self-improvement in all its

varied aspectssuch as real nature of man,developing concentration of mind, overcoming

negative thoughts, overcoming anger, evolvinga healthy outlook towards life and oneself,

building a strong and pure personality and so

on. Let us look what some of the great people

have said of the Gita:

Swami Vivekananda: The teachings of

Krishna as taught by the Gita are the grandest

the world has ever known. He who wrote

that wonderful poem was one of those rare

souls whose lives sent a wave of regenerationthrough the world. The human race will never

again see such a brain as his who wrote the

Gita.

Mahatma Gandhi: The Gita is the uni-

versal mother. She turns away nobody. Her

door is wide open to anyone who knocks. A

true votary of the Gita does not know what

disappointment is. He ever dwells in perennial

joy and peace that passeth understanding. But

that peace and joy come not to the sceptic or tohim who is proud of his intellect or learning.

It is reserved only for the humble in spirit who

brings to her worship a fullness of faith and

an undivided singleness of mind. There neverwas a man who worshipped her in that spirit

and went back disappointed. . .

Sri Aurobindo: The Gita is the greatest

gospel of spiritual works ever yet given to the

race. . . . our chief national heritage, our hope

for the future.

Madan Mohan Malaviya: To my know-ledge, there is no book in the whole range

of the worlds literature so high above all as

the Bhagavad Gita, which is a treasure-house

of Dharma not only for Hindus but for all

mankind.

Albert Einstein: When I read the

Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God

created this universe everything else seems so

superfluous. . . .

Henry David Thoreau:One sentence of theGita is worth the State of Massachusetts [in

USA] many times over.Lord Warren Hastings: I hesitate not

to pronounce the Gita a performance of

great originality, of sublimity of conception,

reasoning and diction almost unequalled; and

a single exception, amongst all the known

religions of mankind.

Robert Oppenheimer: [Gita is] the most

beautiful philosophical song existing in any

known tongue.

Some Sterling Verses

The wisdom contained in the Gita is ever

relevant and applicable to our lives. However

modern and novel may be the circumstances,

the Gita provides us enough to solve the

complex situations we may find ourselves into.

While the whole book is filled with precious

wisdom, let us sample a few for our immediate

benefit.Anger is one issue that plagues us all.

How is anger born and how does it work? Says

Sri Krishna (Gita 2.62-63):Thinking of objects, attachment to them is

formed in a man. From attachment longing,

and from longing anger grows. From anger

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comes delusion, and from delusion loss of

memory. From loss of memory comes the ruin of

discernment, and from the ruin of discernment,

he perishes (or meets a moral death).

These two verses give a graphic des-cription of the complete picture of the origin,

functions and result of anger. Anger starts

with thinking of the objects of enjoyment,

resulting in longing to possess them which

when obstructed gets changed into anger. Angerclouds thinking and makes us to do things which

lead to personal and collective harm. What a

simple and clear way of understanding this

mighty enemy of lifeanger!

Or let us take another sample (Gita 5:23-24):

He who can withstand in this world, before the

liberation from the body, the impulse arising

from lust and anger, he is steadfast in Yoga, he

is a happy man.

Whose happiness is within, whose realization is

within, whose light is within, that Yogi, alone,

becoming Brahman, gains absolute freedom.

The first verse quoted above speaks

of attaining the highest bliss by self-controlright in this life. Sri Ramakrishna used to say

that here is knowledge, there is ignorance.

In other words, knowledge of the Self is

attainable right in this life and it should be the

aim of life.

The second verse underlines the

importance of seeking inner joy. Generally

man seeks joy from outside, from the objects ofsenses and getting associated with its various

aspects. The Gita tells us to seek the real source

of joythe Atman within, which is possible

only through purifying the mind and proper

discernment.

The Gita teaches us how to live our

lifework, be busy, but be not attached to theresults. Do not be idle and lazy nor be restless

but be healthily busy and do not get bogged

down by results, good and bad. Retain your

freedom!

At the end, Sri Krishna, the Godhead,

gives the final message to Arjuna: give up all

dharma and take refuge in Me. I will take care

of all your worries and burdens. A timeless,

eternal reassurance!

The Gita distils some of the highest

and best ideas mankind has thought of, how

it can enrich and strengthen ones personal

and collective lives. While a quick reading of

this sacred work will reveal the beauty of thewisdom the Gita contains, a calm, repeated

thinking over them will reveal a deeper and

new meaning.

11

He who has given up all attachment, all fear,

and all anger, he whose whole soul has gone

unto the Lord, he who has taken refuge in the

Lord, whose heart has become puried, withwhatsoever desire he comes to the Lord, He

will grant that to him. Therefore worship Him

through knowledge, love, or renunciation.

Swami Vivekananda

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From the Archives of THEVEDANTAKESARI

S i m h v a l o k a n a m

(June, 1916-17, p. 39)

The Ethical aspect of the Vedanta

PROFESSOR K. SUNDARARAMA IYER, M.A.

The question naturally here arises,if our Karmic activities

leave Vasanas, impressions and tendencies, behind, and these

Vasanas in turn determine the nature of our activities, then we shall ever be caught in this

recurring circle, and no room is left for the will of man as an agency of improvement. This

question has already been answered, but we propose to consider the question here from a

standpoint suitable to the present topic.

The Vasanas are merely potentialities determinative of activity,Saktis, as they are

called; and potentialities may either be results of activities impressed on the mind in the

form of tendencies and impressions or may be so impressed as a result of the recurrent

initiation; by the force of the will, of various kinds of Bhavanas (mental activities)

confirmatory of, or contrary to the tendencies now acting on the mind and determining its

direction. The latter are as much Saktis (potentialities) as the former, and both are due to the

postulating or the assumption (kalpana) of a relation between the Atman and the material

universe or object which in reality does not, and cannot, exist. All the minds potentialities

or Saktis are thusKalpita, i.e., superimposed falsely on the Atman,whether they are of

the kind which are impressed on the mind from without, or those which originate in the

mind itself and are impressed on it by its own initiative. Hence the mind is not only subject

to the law of necessity, but also capable of freedom in determining its own forward and

progressive march to the goalit is not only compulsorily enchained to the cyclic law of

Karma producing Vasanas and Vasanas producing Karma in their turn, but also capable of

voluntarily initiating reform and determining its own purity and progress towards perfection.

For the relation of the Atman to the matter superimposed on it is assumed (kalpita) and not

real, and the potentialities of the mind resulting from such assumption and superposition

may partake of either of the kinds above pointed out. And so, the Vedantin is not forced

to chooseone onlyof the alternatives of freedom and necessity (postulated for the will) so

long hotly contested among philosophical partisans, but isboth a necessarian and a free-

willist,necessarian in regard to one set of Vasanas and free-willist in regard to another.

12

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||6||

13.3.1959

Attendant: This same world is seenby the Yogi as consistin g of Br ahman

(Brahmamaya), to the discriminating as full

of misery, and to one who wants to enjoy it

as an object of enjoyment. Why is there such

difference?

Maharaj: Look. Whatever we see, we

do not see the thing; we see the process. We

think that the process itself is the thing. For this

reason, what is true in the eyes of someone,

is false to another. At Rishikesh, I saw that a

workman was breaking stone. He was hitting

it with a big iron hammer. Nothing happened

after the first five blows. Sixth time a crack

appeared. That is, although nothing couldbe perceived from outside earlier, action was

going onsixth time the outcome appeared.

Seventh time the stone broke. Like that, in

Reminiscences of SargachhiSWAMI SUHITANANDA(Continued from the previous issue. . .)

Sargachhi is located in Murshidabad district of West Bengal and is well-known to the devotees

of Ramakrishna Order for being associated with Swami Akhandananda, a direct disciple of Sri

Ramakrishna. The following writing is about another revered monk who lived in Sargachhi, Swami

Premeshananda (1894-1967), a disciple of Holy Mother and well known for encouraging many young

men and women, as also many married people to live a life of spirituality and service. The following

reminiscences in Bengali, Sargachhir Smriti, is by Swami Suhitananda, General Secretary of

Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math. He was a personal attendant of SwamiPremeshananda for several years and while serving him noted his conversations and teachings in his

diary. The same is being serially published in the Udbodhan(our Bengali monthly published from

Kolkata) from its Jyaishtha, B.S. 1419 issue. These reminiscences have been translated by Sri Shoutir

Kishore Chatterjee, a long-standing devotee from Kolkata. English words and expressions which

appear in the original have been put within single inverted commas . The numbers ||1||, ||2||,

etc., denote the serial numbers of the Udbodhaninstalments.

course of receiving blows in the world, when

we are no longer able to endure blows and

break down by the impact of blows, our mindwould turn towards God. Hence we should

not despise any living being in the world. One

who cannot grasp God today, is not despicable

for that reason. Perhaps action is going on that

being slowly; sometime it would break down.

A village doctor used to visit the

Ashrama now and then. He used to send

occasionally date-palm juice, gur, potol (gourd),

etc., to the Ashrama. Somebody was speaking

ill of him. Maharaj said: See. This is his stage

of good intentions. Gradually, through this

very stage would come love of God. We see the

drawbacks of people, but this is not right. We

would have to take the Statement of fact. Tosee the drawbacks of a person does not mean

demeaning him. It means that I would have to

take lessons and be careful myself.

Reminiscences

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An old man once asked Maharaj: If

everything could be got through chanting

the name of Hari, then what is the need of

controlling the senses? Maharaj used to make

jest about this remark for many days. Todaythat old man had come. Immediately after

seeing him, Maharaj called him and asking

him to sit nearby, enquired about his various

tidings.

Attendant: God is no person; surely He

doesnt have any wish. Then how is it that He

is distressed to see the misery of living beings

and descends to earth?

Maharaj: God really doesnt descend;it seems as if He descends. As long as ones

unripe self persists, one has to recognize such

things as the descent of the greater self. This

is a statement of fact. As soon as I enter this

body, I forget my true nature and then it

seemsGod descends. As long as the sense of

ones body remains, descent of God too is true.

Attendant: How is it that Sri Rama-krishna is God?

Maharaj: Well, every living being is

God. But yet Sri Ramakrishna is worshipped

because he had understood himself more.

Whoever is able to understand oneself to as

great an extent, would attain to Godhood

to that great an extent. Sri Ramakrishna

understood himself in entirety.

Attendant: Did Gopaler Ma (Aghormani

Devi, a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna) haveJnana

Yoga[knowledge of absolute truth]?

Maharaj: Certainly. Gopals mother had

this knowledge that everything in this worldis rejectable, only Gopal is acceptable. This

experienceexperiencing as Consciousness

by ones inmost Consciousness (bodhe bodh

in Bengali)is what is called knowledge.

The meaning of knowledge is not only

understanding what Gopal is. But admittedly

we are not spiritually as highly endowed as

Gopals mother. Therefore we would have to

know what God is. Then only we would be

able to love Him, feel a wish to work for Hispleasure, and be connected with Him always.

Where else is Ramakrishnaloka? Where there

is a running discourse on Ramakrishna always

is verily Ramakrishnaloka.

Attendant: Vyasa-deva had real know-

ledge that he was witness of body, mind and

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intellect. If the intellect was felt to be separate

from his I, then how could he eat without

taking the help of the intellect?

Maharaj: At that time I am the observer.

This happens through the prarabdha. i.e.,past momentum of I. We cannot explain

what it is through words. It is possible to do

work even though I is present only as

an observer. As the body perishes, the most

tenuous of connections (what seems to be a

connection) goes away.

During that period everybody in Sarga-

chhi Ashrama used to get up at 3 a.m. andafter finishing ablutions used to be present at

the shrine by 3.30 a.m. From 5 a.m. onwards

all used to join their hands together and finish

all the work of the shrinecleaning, picking

flowers, making sandal-paste, arranging the

offering, etc.and come downstairs within 6

a.m. The milk of the Ashrama cows used to be

offered to Thakur in a pot. A part of that milk

was used for making tea and a cup of milk was

given to Premesh Maharaj.

At breakfast time Maharaj normally

would take muri (puffed rice) made from aush

rice (at that time muri made from aman ricewas not available in the Ashrama). That muri

used to be fried in the Ashrama itself. Bhaskar

Maharaj would store that in a can once in

two in three days. He was an old monk and

a disciple of Mahapurush Maharaj. He used

to do bits of service for Premesh Maharaj

and sleep on a cot in the latters room itself.

At breakfast Maharaj usually took the muri,

mixed with a spoonful of ghee, putting a few

black peppers in it. When cucumbers grewin the Ashrama fields, he would take a few

pieces of cucumber too. Later on little bits of

ripe papaya or mango were also served to

him.

Banku-da was our cook. In the morning,

after serving the food, as soon as he found

some time, he would bring a cup of milk to

Premesh Maharaj. By that time his breakfast

would have been over and he would be seated

at work writing something or replying to

letters. An attendant saw that Banku-da wasbeing late every day and started bringing

Maharajs milk himself. After he had brought

the milk for about three days, Maharaj said:

See, Banku comes to see me once every day on

the pretext of bringing the milkthat is not

happening any longer. Let him bring the milk

himself. A little delay does not cause me any

trouble.

14.3.1959

Maharaj: The other day a Brahmacharin

came. He said that he had got Complete Works

by heart, because later on that would come in

handy for giving lectures. I kept silent. That is

better than nothing. Instead of doing nothing,

he is at least thinking about Swamiji. But he

who earns his livelihood by hewing wood,

remains satisfied if he gets daily the work of

hewing wood; he never thinks whether it is

possible to pursue any other easier and nicer

means of livelihood. Like that those monkswho remain engrossed in lectures, etc., think

that things are going on all right! They never

ponder for once whether there are any other

means.

20.3.1959

Attendant: What relation should a monk

maintain with his pre-monastic life?

Maharaj: Even after one becomes a

monk, the I of his previous home life doesnot go. Hence one has to discriminate day and

nightI am not the body, nor the mind, nor

the intellect; my real identity isI am Thakurs

child. Leave alone other things, a monk cannot

get beyond his Bengali identityhe hates

others. There are some who go home after

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becoming a monk to show off how one has

dressed oneself. Be normal. As I have become

a monk, I would not look at the faces of my

parentssuch an attitude is not good. If there

is need, keep yourself posted about their news.But you have to remain careful, otherwise you

would gradually become embroiled. Many

householders are very complex-minded.

One day a fellow threw away a pin.

Maharaj: You threw that awayif

someone hurts himself in his sole?

That person replied, Nothing would

happen.Maharaj: Would nothing happen? We

are old peoplewe are scared of everything.

Nothing happens in hundred years, then one

day it will happen. I saw that in the treasury

they used to guard with gun on their shoulders

year after year, nothing happened. It seems

that they are guarding for nothing. But all on a

sudden there was an attack in 1942. So many

days preparation was for this 1942.

22.3.1959

Swami Sukhadananda Maharaj was

Holy Mothers disciple. He was the abbot ofthe Ashrama. He used to cherish great respect

for Maharaj and tried his utmost for Maharajs

service and care. Today he would have to

undergo a surgical operation. Dr Chaudhuri

would perform the operation. Sukhadananda

Maharaj had become very nervous. He came

to make obeisance to Premesh Maharaj before

the operation. Maharaj said: I also get afraid.

I become too nervous. It seemed that hearing

this Sukhadananda Maharaj felt reassured.A youth named Toto used to come.

He showed little interest towards Japa and

meditation. Maharaj talked to him in such a

way as if he was doing the right thing. Then

he told him: However, now onwards you may

rather practise.

25.3.1959

Narayan Babu and Dr. Chaudhuri had

come from Berhampur. Dr. Chaudhuri paid

obeisance to Maharaj by touching his feet.

Maharaj: I have lost my brain altogether.I cannot remember what was talked about half

an hour ago.

Narayan Babu: You dont want to keep

it in mindthat is why you dont remember.

Maharaj: Its true that now I dont

have any liking for these things. It would be

enough if only what is of crucial concern to me

remains intact till the end.

Maharaj (to Dr. Chaudhuri): You were

there; so such a major operation of Sukhada-

nanda went off without any hitch.

Dr. Chaudhuri: Who am I? Thakur did it.

Maharaj: Yes, He writes. But the pen also

must be good. Now goodbye, we will meet

again if I remain.

Dr. Chaudhuri: What does if I remain

mean?

Maharaj: When we die, we wont become

naughtwe would become vast.

Dr. Chaudhuri: You will diethrowing

us to the winds?Maharaj: You seewe are monks, we

have to think of death all the time. A girl usedto come. At that time she was young. As I used

to talk of death every day, she used to lose her

temperWhy do you always talk of death

to me? Nowadays she smiles. Hearing again

and again, she has grasped the matter. She is a

college professor now.

At night Maharaj told the attendant:

Whenever you get time, sit down to do japa.This has to be practised. At night before lying

down, think for at least 10 minutesthink that

the feet of Thakur, Mother and Swamiji are on

the pillow and you are lying with your head

on it.

Attendant: How much true is this world?

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j


Maharaj: As much as is being revealed

to me. If I have no eyes, I have nothing to see

in the world. When I see something in dream,

does it seem false? In the waking state this

perceived world is as true as that is at that timenot more than that.

When Mothers feet touched Rasbihari

Maharaj accidentally, she saluted him and

said, My child, you are a precious treasure

that gods covet. Really, you are a treasure

coveted by gods. You have come renouncing

your parents and relatives all at such a tender

age, without being inclined towards the worldeven a bit. As for myself, I came at old age. I

see you as gods. Nowadays many boys who

are like gods are coming.

I should have remained inactive after

receiving what I got from the direct disciples of

Thakur. But driven by my precocity, I thought

egoistically that I would propagate, I would

attain God through meditation. That is why I

have so much bodily suffering. I have become

a victim of melancholia. The nerves are verysensitive; I become restive if I hear a cats call

or a birds call or if I see the misery of people.

Our condition is lamentable. We could not go

beyond the body-mind complex, nor could we

die entrapped in it! We know everythingwe

know that life is full of sorrow; as we see the

future of people we shudder. One day I saw a

father, he had come with his beautiful son. Iwas startledif the boy would fall suddenly

and die. I knew many such boys. One was

Abuhad no lust from a young age, not a

trace of greedwas a god altogether.(To be Continued. . .)

17

Man is merely an instrument, and the Lord is the operator.

Blessed is he through whom the Lord gets his work done.

Everyone has to work in this world, no one can escape from

it. But he who works for his own selsh endshis work,

instead of liberating him from the trap of maya, binds him.On the other hand, the wise man, working for the Lord, cuts

the fetters of work. Not I, but the Lord is the doerthis

knowledge severs the bonds. This is a gospel truth. The

notion that I am the doer is merely a delusion, because it

is difcult to trace who this I is. If one carefully analyzes

this I, the real I dissolves in God. Our identication with

the body, mind, intellect, and so on, is simply a delusion

created by ignorance. Do they last long? Discrimination

puts an end to them all. They all vanish, and there only

remains the One Realityfrom whom everything evolves,

in whom all rest, and wherein they merge at the end.

That Reality is the Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, or

Brahman, the witness of the ego-consciousness; and again

It is the Omnipresent Lord, who is creating, preserving, and

dissolving the universe, and is yet untouched by it all.

Swami Turiyananda, Spiritual Treasures, P.62

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In Search of Truth

Some Reflections on BrahmasutrasSWAMI GOLOKANANDA

The author is a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Order.

The Shad Darshanas

Brahma-sutras or aphorisms on Ulti-

mate Reality (Brahman) is one of the most

authentic texts of Vedanta. The Shad Dar-

shanas or six systems of Indian philosophy

which uphold the authorities of Vedasare Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankya, Yoga,

Purva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa.

The other set of systems of Indian

Philosophy which do not hold the

supremacy of Vedas include Jain

and Buddhist schools of thought.

Of these Shad Darshanas

are Brahma Sutras, also known

as Badarayana Sutras, Uttara

Mimamsa or Bhikshu Sutras.

Each of these systems of Philo-

sophy has its own world-view,trying to find out answers to

the fundamental questions of

philosophy viz:where this world has

come from, how has it come, how it is

functioning, etc. Each system gives its own

answers to these basic questions.

Brahmasutras is the last one among the

Shad darshanas which essentially expounds

the Upanishadic philosophy. It examines

other philosophical stands in many aspects,but basically stands on the Upanishadicphilosophy, rejecting the conclusions of all

others.

According to Sri Adi Shankara, the

revered commentator of Vedanta, the Brahma-

sutras is like a garland made out of the

flowers of Upanishadic passages (Vedanta

Vakya Kusuma Granthanarthathwad Sutranam).

According to the commentary of Shankara

the first four sutras give the whole of its

philosophy in a gist.

We must recall here that Sri Shan-

kara strengthened the Sanatana Dharma,

the Religion Eternal, by propounding

the glory of Vedanta through his

commentaries on Prasthana-

thrayathree pillars of Sanatana

Dharma, the Gita, the Upa-

nishads and the Brahmasutras.By thus writing these

authentic expositions, he brought

about a spiritual revolution in

India. After his commentarieson prasthanathraya , other great

Acharyas in the succeeding centuries

also wrote separate commentaries on

these Vedantic traditionsmostly with their

own interpretations as well. Thus came about a

revival of Vedantic ideals in the country which

proclaim the glory of human being and that

work is still going on.

Presently, more importance is given to

Vedanta than to rituals enjoined by PurvaMimamsa which was very powerful during

the days of the Buddha and Sri Shankara.

From the 19th century onwards, the Vedanta

traditions have attained great impetus in

the world through the realizations of Sri

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Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. Owing

to Swamijis efforts in proclaiming the glory of

the Upanishads in America, England and in

India itself, the light of the Upanishads, with

its increasing lustre, eclipsed to a great extentthe erstwhile influence of Purva-mimamsa in

India. It is interesting to note that Kerala was

the home of the Purva-mimamsa where it was

a very powerful way of thinking. But today it

is practised only by a few.

Studying The First Sutra

Now, let us turn to the first Sutra of theBrahmasutras. From the first one itself we

get detailed deliberation of the subject. The

famous sutra, the very first one, runs as

Athato Brahma JijnasaNow, then, the enquiry

into the real nature of the Brahman.

Here in the Sutra Atha means, some-

thing has to precede the commencement of

the studies. So, what is that precedence? In

the case of study of Purva Mimamsa, it is a

prerequisite to study the Vedas. So, can the

same be the precedence here also? No. The

study of the Vedas is certainly appreciable,

but one can go straight to the study of theBrahmasutras even without the study of

the Vedas. So then, what is its precedence?

Yes, there is something prescribed as the

prerequisite for the study of this Vedanta. And

what is it? It is, by all means, the attainment

of character excellencei.e., cultivating the

four fold spiritual disciplines described in our

scriptures which are:

1) Discrimination between eternal and

ephemeral,2) Renunciation of the idea of enjoy-

ment of the fruits of actionshere, in this lifeand hereafter, in heaven.

3) Attainment of the six treasures ofvirtuesSama, Dama, Uparathi, Titiksha,Shraddha and Samadhanam.

4) Intense longing for liberation(mumukshatva).

Without these four fold disciplines no

one can attain the realization of highest Truth

and Splendour. They are also the prerequisitesfor the study of Brahmasutras. In the modern

times, we can see all these qualities in all its

glory in the life of Swami Vivekananda who,

as a youngster, as a student, was pining for

this realization. His vast studies including the

philosophical systems of both the East and the

West made him an exceptional student. He

was intellectually convinced of the existence

of God and also the necessity to realize Him.

Hence he was going about restlessly in searchof someone who would help him realise God.

If God existed, I must realize Him, otherwise

life has no meaning, that was his reasoning.

Swamiji stands before us as an ideal role

model; he stands out as a blazing example

of a person possessing this fourfold spiritual

discipline.

On reflection we find that the attainment

of prosperity that man gets in this life is

short-lived. It does not give him the joy of

spiritual fulfillment. Scriptures speak aboutthe meritorious deeds (punyakarmas) that

would enable him to gain greater joy in the

other worldin heavenafter death. But the

scriptures proclaim the great truthBrahma-

vidapnotiparam, one who realizes Brahman

gains the highest which is the highest gain

of human life. Thats how the word Athah is

explained in the Shankara Bhashyarealise

Reality here and now, in this very life. In

modern time Sri Ramakrishna kept up thisideal of realisation of the Highest Truth in this

very life and insisted on all his disciples to

struggle for it.

The second and third words in the sutra

Brahma Jijnasa means the enquiry into the

real nature of Brahman, the Ultimate Reality.

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We have to be clear in our mind as to what the

meaning of the word Brahman is which is

very important. Brahman is a unique entity.

Everything that is great, everything that is

good, everything that is beautiful is Brahman.Brahman is all-pervading, all-knowing and

all-powerful. Brahman is the very essence

of purity and excellence the characteristics

of which are Nitya, Shuddha, Buddha and

MuktaHe is eternity itself, eternally pure,

the ever-awakened reality, eternally free and

the self of all beings. This is how the term

Brahman, according to the Vyakarnam(Sanskrit grammar), is to be understood

Brhi, Vriddhou, to expand and go on

expanding. The Vast One, the Ever-present is

what is meant by Brahman.

Brahma Jijnasa means the desire to

know Brahman. Desiring to know Brahman

is not an intellectual assent of the idea but

a wholehearted acceptance of the truth, the

realization of Truth.

But the point is that the highest reality is

understood differently by the different systems

of philosophy.

There are different notions about the selfand the ultimate reality such as the following:

The materialists of the Lokayata school

recognize the body alone to be the self. Others

hold that the mind is the self. One school of

Buddhism says that it is merely momentary

consciousness. Another school of Buddhism

itself says that it is a void. The Naiyayika as

well as the Vaisheshika schools hold that the

soul transmigrates and is the agent (of work)

and the experiencer (of results). Sankhya says

that the soul is a mere experiencer and not

any agent. Yoga philosophy says that there is

a God who is different from this soul and is

all-knowing and all-powerful. Thus there are

different views about the soul. Hence we haveto exercise our discrimination and arrive at

the truth about the soul so that we gain the joy

and bliss of the Lord and become free from the

miseries of life.

The Brahmasutras analyse the whole

issue and give us the convincing under-

standing of Who we are and of What Nature

is. It tells us that essentially we are Brahmanitself. In other words self is Brahman itself. We

are divine in essence, which is all-knowing,

pure and perfect. This knowledge of ourselves

is to be discovered and not created. The ideal

that the Brahmasutras place before us is that

we should discover this grand truth in our

lives, here and now.

Swami Vivekanandas words throw a

clear light on the subject under our discussion.

He says,

The idea that the goal is far off, far beyond

nature, attracting us all towards ithas to bebrought nearer and nearer without degrading or

degenerating it. The God of heaven becomes the

God in Nature, and the God in Nature becomes

the God who is Nature and the God who is

nature becomes the God within this temple of the

body and the God dwelling in the temple of the

body at last becomes the temple itself, becomes

the soul and man and there it reaches the last

words it can teach. He whom the sages have

been seeking in all these places is in our own

hearts. (CW, 2.128).

vvv

20

These conceptions of the Vedanta must come out, must remain not only in the forest,

not only in the cave, but they must come out to work at the bar and the bench, in the

pulpit, and in the cottage of the poor man, with the shermen that are catching sh, and

with the students that are studying. . . Swami Vivekananda

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Musings on Indias UnityMICHEL DANINO

Michel Danino has researched many aspects of Indian civilization and history, authoring books in English

and French, as well as many papers published in journals of archaeology, history and culture; he lives near

Coimbatore. He delivered the Vedanta Vachaspati Radhanath Phukan Memorial Lecture at Vivekananda

Kendra Institute of Culture, Guwahati, on 7 September 2008, on the theme of this paper which was published

later in Quest magazine. Our thanks to the author for his consent to republish this.

Till a few decades ago, the concept ofIndias cultural unity was so self-evident that

few scholars or statesmen would have thought

of questioning it. Let us consider the following

observation:

The most essentially fundamental Indian unity

rests upon the fact that the diverse peoples

of India have developed a peculiar type of

culture or civilization utterly different from any

other type in the world. That civilization may

be summed up by the term Hinduism. India

primarily is a Hindu country. . . .1

This straightforward statement, which

few of our intellectuals would dare to make

today, is found in the introduction to Vincent

Smiths classic Oxford History of India.2Rarely

do we find such an agreement between the

colonial view of India and that of leading

Indian figures of the day. Let us hear one ofthem:

In America and Australia, Europe has simplified

her problem by almost exterminating the original

population. Even in the present age this spirit

of extermination is making itself manifest. . .

India has all along been trying experiments

in evolving a social unity within which all the

different peoples could be held together, while

fully enjoying the freedom of maintaining their

own differences. . . This has produced somethinglike a United States of a social federation, whose

common name is Hinduism.3

The author of these thoughts is none

but Rabindranath Tagore. Or let us read Sri

Aurobindos view of the matter:

In India at a very early time the spiritual and

cultural unity was made complete and became

the very stuff of the life of all this great surge of

humanity between the Himalayas and the two

seas. . . Invasion and foreign rule, the Greek, the

Parthian and the Hun, the robust vigour of Islam,

the levelling steam-roller heaviness of the British

occupation and the British system, the enormous

pressure of the Occident have not been able to

drive or crush the ancient soul out of the body

her Vedic Rishis made for her.4

Today, such a language is disparaged. A

steady stream of Marxist and postmodernist

literature has sought to establish the now

politically correct view that there exists no

such underlying unity of body for India; andsince we are told that the Hindu identity is an

imagined one, there can be no United States

of a social federation, whose common name is

Hinduism. Tagores plain statement would

make our postmodernist scholars cringe. Their

scholarly deconstruction goes farther: not

only does it deny a Hindu identity, it bringsnew myths into play: the myth of Thomas

the Apostles evangelizing mission to India,

so as to retroactively create an antiquity fora Christian identity in this country, and

therefore an equal claim to its cultural sphere;

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the myth of a liberalizing Islam, which freed

Indias oppressed castes; the myth of a colonial

rule bringing modern education to India and

preparing the country for modernity.

But we are not concerned here with suchnarratives (and any narrative seems acceptable

as long as it portrays Hindu society and

culture as divisive, oppressive and retrograde).

Rather, we must face the central question: Was

there or not in ancient India a sense of cultural

unity throughout this geographical expanse?

And was there a political unityand if so,

when and to what extent?

Cultural Unity: a Sacred Geography

Indias geographical unity, at least, is not

questionable. The Vishnu Puranas definition is

unambiguous:

The country that lies north of the ocean, and

south of the snowy mountains, is called Bharata.

(II.3.1)

But this Bharata is not an abstract

expanse; it is a sacred geography given shape

to by dense networks of holy places, tirthas

that skilfully crisscross the Indian landmass.Among the many lists of such pilgrimage sites,

let us mention: 51 (or 52) Shakti peethas covering the whole of

India, with some of them in Nepal, Bangladesh,

Pakistan and Sri Lanka: in this tradition, the very

land becomes the body of the Mother;

twelve Jyotirlingas, from Gujarat and Maha-

rashtra in the west to Kedarnath in the north,

Vaidyanath (Deogarh) in the east, and Rames-

waram in the south;

four Char Dhampilgrimage sites of the Himalayas(Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath & Kedarnath);

four locations for the Kumbhamela (Allahabad,

Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik);

five sacred confluences (among many more):

Vishnuprayag, Nandaprayag, Karnaprayag,

Rudraprayag, Devprayag;

108 Divyadesamsor Vaishnavite shrines, most of

them in the South;

five important temples of Shiva in the South,

each associated with one of the panchabhutas;

pilgrimage routes established by Indiasspiritual figures, from Shankaracharya to

Swami Vivekananda, also tended to frame as

much of the land as possible, from Kashmir to

Kanyakumari.

Such a web created on the map theconcept of punyabhumi: one holy land present

and living in everyones mind. It was

constantly recalled to ones memory through

a variety of devices, for instance the many

mantras and prayers listing Indias sacred

rivers in various orders (generally starting

with Ganga). And of course the impact of

the two Epics, which not only mention most

regions of India (the Mahabharataespecially),

but were warmly adopted by every region, to

such a point that it is hard to find a place in

India through which the Pandavas or Rama

did not pass at some time or the other! The

unparalleled cultural integration effected by

the Epics was so powerful that it extended

to much of South East Asia, a fact readilyacknowledged by nations such as Thailand,

Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia or Vietnam.

As far as India is concerned, the result

was the creation of one integrated cultural

entity: early Greek, Chinese and Arab

travellers recognized it as such and referred

to India as one country, not several. Islamicinvaders too (or their chroniclers, such as Al-

Beruni) had no doubt in their mind thatAlhind

was one country, not many separate ones.Tribal communities were not left out

in the process; not only was their worldview

always close to, or at least compatible with,

that of Hinduism, but also the organic

interaction between the two was constant,

peaceful and far-reaching. A startling

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illustration can be found in a recent study

that found among a few tribal communities of

Western India the survival of a most ancient

cult to the Vedic god Indra (called Babo Ind),

while mainstream, Brahminical Hinduismrarely if ever worships Indra anymore.5

Similarly, rural and tribal communities

throughout the country, including the North-

East, have preserved and continue to enact

their own versions of the two Epics through

tales, songs, new myths and customs.6

In effect, we could empirically define

Hinduism as the result of a centuries-oldpeaceful, organic and decentralized interplay

between Vedic and local cultures at all levels

of Indian society, including the tribal one.

Indeed, a recent study by Sandhya Jain on

tribal contributions to Hinduism establishes

that Tribal society constitutes the keynote and

the bedrock of Hindu civilization.7

Political Unity

The dominant colonial view of India

was that whether or not this cultural unity

was conceded, the subcontinent was home

to a loose congeries of disparate and oftenunrelated ethnic groups, regional powers,

languages and local cultures, none of which

constituted a nation in the European sense

of the term; it was the British Raj that created

the Indian nation, not the Indians. Without

going here into the considerable difference

between the Indian and European concept

of nationhood,8we must point out that if the

colonial rule did end up in creating a nation in

the accepted sense, India had often achievedpolitical unity in the distant past.

Attempts at political integration may

be said to begin as early as in the third

millennium BCE, with the Indus-Sarasvati

civilization (2600-1900 BCE) spreading its

remarkable administration and high standards

over nearly one million square kilometres,

almost a third of modern India. Whatevertheir protohistoric dates may be, the Vedic

samhitas have a rich vocabulary of terms for

rulers (raja, adhiraja, samraj, rajadhirajaor king

of kings), sovereignty (rajya, samrajya, bhaujya,

svarajya, vairajya, paramashthya, maharajya,

adhipatya ...), and assemblies (sabha, samiti).9

We see this translated on the ground in the

early republics of the Ganges Valley at the

start of its urbanization, and on a grander

scale with the repeated attempts to unify the

whole subcontinent: the Mauryan Empire

encompassed most of it (except the far South)

and much of Afghanistan. Later empires(especially the Gupta) did not quite match the

Mauryan reach, but ended up strengthening

Indias cultural unity.

However, the term empire evokes

an absolute monarch heading an oligarchy

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and thus distracts us from a more important

phenomenon: absolute monarchy was

unknown in India, as everywhere elaborate

systems of assemblies gave a considerable

measure of control to communities at variouslevels. Exploring the growth of a democratic

mind in India, historian Steve Muhlberger

concluded:

The experience of Ancient India with

republicanism, if better known, would by

itself make democracy seem less of a freakish

development, and help dispel the common

idea that the very concept of democracy is

specifically Western. . . . It is especially

remarkable that, during the near-millennium

between 500 B.C. and 400 A.D., we find republics

almost anywhere in India that our sources

allow us to examine society in any detail. . . .

The republics of India were very likely more

extensive and populous than the poleis of the

Greeks. The existence of Indian republicanism

is a discovery of the twentieth century. The

implications of this phenomenon have yet to

be fully digested. . . Historians may find, in the

Indian past as elsewhere, plenty of raw material

for a new history of the development of humangovernment.10

The phrase almost anywhere in India

points, again, to a political unity, if not in terms

of a precise entity, at least of Indias political

mind.

The Case of the North-East

The above sketchy musings find an

illustration in the case of the North-East, so

long the object of separatist propagandas.

One of their favourite lines of attack is that the

North-East was never a part of India, either

culturally or politically. Thankfully we have

much impeccable evidence to demonstrate thefallacy of the argument. The briefest highlights

will do for our present purpose:

At Bhishmaknagar (Arunachal) excavations

revealed a fort of classic type (according to the

Arthashastras specifications) covering some ten

square kilometres; Hindu deities of the 8th-10th

centuries were found at the spot.

At the important site of Vadagokugiri (or

Bhaitbari, in the West Garo hills of Meghalaya),

partly excavated in 1992 by A. K. Sharma,11 a

fortified ancient capital town came to light, with

many temples, huge tanks, well-laid metal roads

and junctions. The brick temples (some of them

in Orissa style, facing east) displayed Ganesha

figures,Sivalingaswithyonis, terracotta plaques

of Brahma (or Shiva), Sarasvati, Kali, ascetics,

gandharvas, dancing girls, etc. A Buddhist stupa

was also unearthed, the first in Meghalaya, aswell as a remarkable octagonal Siva temple, the

first of its kind found in North-East India. The

pottery of the lowest layers showed an early

occupation of the site, on a smaller scale, right

from 2ndcentury BCE.

In 1980, a gold mask was recovered from a

hillock in Imphal (Manipur), along with bronze

and stone statues of Buddha from Kakching,

Chandel and Leuthabal.

Turning to the literature, the Ramayanarefers to

Pragjyotisha as a city built with gold on a seasidemountain (known as Varaha with golden peaks),

ruled by Naraka. This king is in fact mentioned

in pre-Ahom inscriptions as the founder of the

Bhauma-Naraka or Varman dynasty.12 He is

referred to as the father of the first historical ruler,

Pushyavarman (4thcentury CE).13

The Mahabharata mentions Pragjyotisha as

a great citadel ruled by the valorous Naraka,

who stole Aditis earrings (they were recovered

by Krishna). Narakas son, Bhagadatta (also

mentioned in inscriptions, such as the Nalanda

seal of Bhaskaravarman), was a friend of Pandu

and fought against Arjuna with an army of

Chinas, Kiratas and elephants in the course of

Arjunas northern expedition.14

Panini shows his awareness of the region in

Ashtadhyayi: Suramasa is one of the prachya-

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janapadas(others include Kosala, Kasi, Magadha,

Kalinga) and was probably the Surma valley of

Assam, according to Ajay Mitra Shastri.

Buddhist literature calls the region Lohichcha

(= Lauhitya, another name of the Brahmaputra)and connects it to Vedic culture.

The Arthashastra mentions Kamarupa as the

source of various products (including gems and

incense)and the Lauhitya.

Kalidasas Raghuvamsa also mentions the

Lauhitya.

In Ajay Mitra Shastris opinion, Graeco-Roman

writers (e.g. Ptolemy) refer to Assam as part of

their accounts of India, calling it Seres.

Kamarupa is mentioned in the Allahabad pillar

inscription of Samudragupta (4thcentury CE) asa frontier kingdom whose king paid obedience to

Samudragupta. In Nayanjot Lahiris words, That

Assam was within the mainstream of events in

the Gangetic valley is amply clear from the epic

references.15

We have about 32 pre-Ahom inscriptions of

Assam (5th to 13th century), all in Sanskrit

and in a Brahmi script initially identical to

the Kausambi style of the 4th century CE. The

inscriptions are in an ornate language, with some

expressions almost identical to Kalidasas and

Dandins compositions. They comprise three

major dynasties tracing their descent to Naraka,

described as the son of the holder of the wheel

[i.e. Vishnu] who, in order to lift the earth from

under the ocean, assumed the distinguished

form of a boar.16 Vishnu eventually becomes

dominant, but in the 8th century he was often

worshipped together with Shiva: the Sankara-

Narayana and the Hari-Hara inscriptions

celebrate both. Indeed, there are also many

references to Shiva (also named Rudra, Sambhu

and Sankara), for instance as the great dancer.

The inscriptions show a very deep understanding

of the myths which have revolved around the

person of Lord Shiva,17observes Nayanjot Lahiri.

But they also reveal contacts beyond North India,

with Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka.

By the 9th century, the spread of the Bhakti

cult promoted the integration of tribals within

Hinduism over several centuries: villages

adopted Sanskritic names, while Sanskrit terms

were prakritized, with the addition of Khasi,

Bodo and other tribal words.

None of these factsthere are manymoreare compatible with a North-East

culturally or politically cut off from the

rest of India; immigrations from the Thai-

Burmese belt did occur, but did not alter the

regions integration with the rest of India.

Ajay Mitra Shastri concludes his study of

the archaeological, epigraphic and literary

evidence with these words:

Ancient Pragjyotisha or the North-East

had very intimate relations with the rest of

India, of which it was an integral component,

geographically and culturally, despite its

own distinctive culture and physical elements...18

Indias Talent

Distinctiveness is not separateness. If

we turn to South India in ancient times, we

can certainly point to distinctive features and

contributions, yet, despite claims of a separateDravidian culture, the most ancient Tamil

culture as revealed by archaeology, epigraphy,

numismatics and literature reveals a long-standing integration with the rest of India

and a happy acceptance of gods, concepts,

myths and rituals borrowed from the Vedic

stream.19

In a stimulating historical study of the

concept of Indias unity, Dileep Karanth

recently defined Indias cultural oneness inthese terms:

We thus see that the concept of Bharata-

varsha, even if considered cosmological to

begin with, became firmly geographical, and

that in classical times. The words Jambudvipe

Bharatavarshe chanted by the Brahmin in

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countless ceremonies could only have

strengthened this geographical concept over the

centuries.

The idea of a culturally united Indiacall it a

nation, or a civilizationclearly did not dependupon the Arabs/Muslims. Nor was the idea born

out of the labours of the Western Orientalist or

the British colonial administrator.

Indiathe name which launched a thousand

ships, and which has fired the imagination of

explorers for ages, predates the emergence of

Islam and Western Indology, by centuries, if not

millennia.20

Yet with the spread of divisive ideologies

and agendas, it is easier in India today to

nurture what divides and fragments rather

than what unitedand still has the potential

to unite. In a seminal essay entitled The History

of Bharatavarsha, Tagore, again, gave a beautiful

description of Indias talent in the field:

Providence has pulled in diverse people onto

the lap of Bharatavarsha. Since antiquity

Bharatavarsha has been provided with the

opportunity to put into practice the special

talent her people were endowed with. Bharata-

varsha has forever been engaged in cons-tructing with varied material the foundation of a

unifying civilization. And a unified civilization

is the highest goal of all human civilizations.

She has not driven away anybody as alien, she

has not expelled anybody as inferior, she has

not scorned anything as odd. Bharatavarsha has

adopted all, accepted everybody. And when

so much is accepted, it becomes necessary to

establish ones own code and fix regulation

over the assorted collections. It is not possible

to leave them unrestrained like animals fighting

each other. They have to be appropriately

distributed into separate autonomous divisions

while keeping them bound on a fundamental

principle of unity. The component might have

come from outside but the arrangement and the

fundamental idea behind it were Bharatavarshas

own. . .It needs talent to make outsiders ones

own. The ability to enter others beings and

the magic power of making the stranger

completely ones own, these are the qualities

native to genius. That genius we find in

Bharatavarsha.21

Making the Other ones ownprovided

he lends himself to the processis not

composite culture, which, at best, would

result in a formless hodgepodge. It is Indiasway, and one day it will have to be the worlds

way.

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1. The Oxford History of Indiaby Vincent A.

Smith, edited by Percival Spear (Delhi: Oxford

University Press, 4th ed., p. 7. The last sentence

goes on: ... the land of the Brahmans, whosucceeded by means of peaceful penetration, not

by the sword, in carrying their ideas into every

corner of India. But that is a simplistic view of

the complex process of cultural integration India

underwent; other layers of the society (other

castes) promoted it quite actively, sometimes as

much as the Brahmins.

2. I have not consulted the first editions of the book

and do not know whether this observation is

made by Smith himself or one of the subsequent

contributors.

3. Rabindranath Tagore, Nationalism in India

(republished New Delhi: Macmillan, 1999), p. 69.

4. Sri Aurobindo, The Foundations of IndianCulture

(Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1972),

pp.365-367.

5. Jyotindra Jain, Propitiation of Babo Ind: Survival

of the Ancient Cult of India, in Living Traditions:

Studies in the Ethnoarchaeology of South Asia, ed.

Bridget Allchin (New Delhi: Oxford & IBH, 1994),

pp.13 ff.

6. A number of illustrations of this can be found

in Mahabharata in the Tribal and Folk Traditionsof India,ed. K. S. Singh (Shimla: Indian Institute

of Advanced Study, 1993) and Rama-Katha in

Tribal and Folk Traditions of India, eds. K. S. Singh

& Birendranath Datta (Calcutta: Seagull Books,

1993). See also Painted Words: an Anthology of

Tribal Literature,ed. G. N. Devy (New Delhi:

Penguin Books, 2002), under chapter Myth.

7. Sandhya Jain,Adi Deo Arya Devata: a Panoramic

View of Tribal-Hindu Cultural Interface(Delhi:

Rupa, 2004). See also B.B. Kumar, Caste-Tribe

Continuum in Indian Society, Quest vol. 1,January 2008, pp. 211-240.

8. Sankrant Sanu conducts a fine discussion of the

Western and Indian concepts of nationhood in his

article Why India Is a Nation, online at www.

ifih.org/whyindiaisanation.htm.

9. See Radha Kumud Mukherji, Fundamental Unityof

India(1914, republished Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya

Bhavan, 1954-1991), pp. 63-65.10. Steve Muhlberger, Democracy in Ancient India:

www.unipissing.ca./department/history/

histdem/.

11. A. K. Sharmas important archaeological

discoveries are summarized in Emergence of Early

Culture in North-East India (New Delhi: Aryan

Books International, 1993),Manipur: The Glorious

Past (New Delhi: Aryan Books International,

1994), Early Man inEastern Himalayas(New Delhi:

Aryan Books International, 1996).

12. Nayanjot Lahiri, Pre-Ahom Assam(New Delhi:

Munshiram Manoharlal, 1991), p. 10-11.

13. Ajay Mitra Shastri,Ancient North-EastIndia:

Pragjyotisha(New Delhi: Aryan Books

International, 2002), pp. 20-21 & 44-45. Some

of the literary and historical references to the

North-East quoted here are borrowed from this

important study.

14. Nayanjot Lahiri, Pre-Ahom Assam,p. 10-11.

15. Ibid., p. 14.

16. Ibid., p. 126.

17. Ibid., p. 125.

18. Ajay Mitra Shastri,Ancient North-East India:Pragjyotisha,p. 102.

19. Michel Danino, Vedic Roots of Early Tamil

Culture, available online at www.bharatvani.

org/michel_danino/tamil_cult01.html.

20. Dileep Karanth, India: One Nation or Many

Nationalities? Ancient Sources and Modern

Analysis, History Today,No. 7, 2006-07, pp. 1-11

(a slightly revised version is available online at

www.ifih.org/TheUnityOfIndia.htm).

21. Rabindranath Tagore, The History of Bharatavarsha,

Bhadra 1309 Bengal Era (August 1903), translatedfrom the Bengali by Sumita Bhattacharya &

Sibesh Bhattacharya; available online at www.

ifih.org/TheHistoryofBharatavarsha.htm.

References

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Youth and their ProblemsLessons in Coping with Life from Swami VivekanandaSWAMI SATYAPRIYANANDA

A former editor of Prabuddha Bharata, the author is a resident of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math.

There is a growing

concern about the

many challenges of

youth because right

now and possibly in

a few years hereafter,

India wil l be thecountry with the

largest percentage

of youth. It is

w e l l k n o w n

that around

the age ofadolescence,

y o u n g

m e n a n d

women facepsychological

problems. In

addition, there is the growing responsibility

placed on their young shoulders by the

passing away of the elders in the family. There

is the career development urge to acquire

financial stability, a partner in life, and a

respectable status in society. They look for

guidance and a role model.

Problems are like the hurdles in anobstacle race. The obstacle race would not

be the least interesting but for these hurdles.

If you remove the hurdles, what justifies the

name obstacle race? And yet the hurdles are

present not for the competitor to stumble and

get injured. These obstacles are there for one

to overcome.

Just imagine the super-cyclone of Orissa

which ransacked the area in a matter of a

few hours. Trees were uprooted, but not all

of the trees. Those trees, whose roots were

deeply spread in the ground below, stood theforce of the cyclone. So too, if we are deeply

rooted in the divine consciousness we may be

tossed about but never uprooted. We use the

term divine consciousness because human

perception in this matter is varied.

We shall recall the life of a young man,Narendranath Datta, whose entire life was one

of unending problems and solving them with

wisdom, patience and strength. While reading

this narration, we invite the reader to pause, reflectand answer whether he/she had ever to face such

mountainous problems!

Meeting Sri Ramakrishna

Born on 12 th January 1863, Swami

Vivekananda was like any lad of his age,

running about in the streets of Calcutta, mixing

with friends, and smearing his body and

clothes with the dust on the streets. He was a

member of the Brahmo Samaj when he cameto Dakshineswar to see the Paramahamsa

who had experienced ecstasy. Endowed with

a resonant voice and a deep knowledge in

music, Narendranath charmed Ramakrishna

by singing a few songs as a proxy singer at

Article

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the house of Sri Surendranath Mitra. As usual

Ramakrishna wanted Narendranath also

to visit him at Dakshineswar. The first few

meetings between this future leader of the

band of monastic disciples and Ramakrishnaat Dakshineswar show that Narendranath

had been chosen for a specific missionthe

removal of the miseries of humanity, not

merely of India but of the whole world.

Resolving An Ideological Conflict

Being a member of the Brahmo Samaj,

Narendranath [or Naren, for short] haddeclared that he would not worship gods and

goddesses in images or salute their images.

Therefore, he could not accept the image of

Bhavatarini at the temple of Dakshineswar.

Ramakrishna, who had visualised the image

of Bhavatarini as an image of consciousness

and not as a mere image of stone, was now

up against bringing home this realisation

to his favourite disciple. Several family

problems faced by Naren forced him to ask

Ramakrishna to speak to his Divine Mother

on his behalf so that his family could have

at least coarse clothing and simple food.Ramakrishna suggested Naren to pray to

the Divine Mother directly and not through

any intermediary. Thrice did Naren stand

before the image in the temple, and thrice

being in front of the living presence of

the Divine Mother, he could only ask for

jnana, bhakti, viveka and vairagya. That

direct experience, again, is the story of

Narens acceptance of the Divine Mother as

a living presence in the image. Naren sangall night, ma tvam hi tara. Writing on this

transformation, Swami Vivekananda said,

And then I, too, had to accept Her! No, the thing

that made me do it is a secret that will die with

me. I had great misfortunes at the time. . . . It

was an opportunity. She made a slave of me.

Those were the very words: a slave of you. And

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa made me over to

Her.1

Narens Family CircumstancesSri Durgacharan Datta, the grand-father

of Naren, had left the household to take to

a life of renunciation. His son Vishwanath

Datta was raised by his mother, enduring the

constant enmity, hostility, and selfishness

of her husbands family. She too died when

Vishwanath Datta was about 12 years old

and Vishwanath had to stand on his own

feet. Now an orphan, he grew up in the

family of his uncle Kaliprasad, who usurpedmuch of Vishwanaths rightful property.

Vishwanath earned money being a famous

attorney. To earn money, live amply, and

make others happy by practising charity as far

as possible these were the characteristics of

Vishwanath.

Relatives turned into enemies. They evendeprived the family of their ancestral house.

On some far-fetched basis a case was made

out against them, and the matter taken to

court. The case was finally decided in favourof Narendranaths family, and they secured

their legal share in the property. However,

for several years it was a struggle for them to

obtain the coarsest food and clothing. Disputes

had started while Vishwanath was living, and

his family had been staying in a rented house

since then. Vishwanath suddenly died when

Naren was just 21 years old. The stark truth

of debts galore, due to the spending spree of

his father, dawned on Naren when debtors allaround started urging Naren to clear up the

dues.

Narendra, the eldest of the sons of

Vishwanath Datta, had to bear the burden

of maintaining a family; he was fairly well

educated but could not get a job. His friends,

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who once would be happy to spend their time

with him, now deserted him. There were some

who made the ugly proposal of a marriage

alliance so that Naren could be financially

better off. The very suggestion was highlydisgusting to Naren.

Naren was pained at heart till the last

days of his mortal existence: I have sadly

neglected my mother. Now my last desire

is to serve my mother, for some years at least. I

want to live with my mother. Sometime later,

Swamiji took a loan of five thousand rupees

and purchased a house from his aunt, whocheated him outright by refusing to hand over

the legal title deed!

Swamiji left America on 26 July 1900,

and eventually returned to India in shattered

health due to diabetes, dropsy and asthma,

the sight in his right eye almost gone. In spite

of that, he never abandoned any duty which

he considered sacred. He continued to visit

his mother and tried to alleviate her economic

troubles and solve her family affairs as best he

could.

Swamiji continued to strain his utmost

to settle the court case over a property disputethat had begun when he was just fourteen

years old! He went to his mothers residence

on 19 June l902, gave an additional thousand

rupees to the opposing party, and settled it.

On 2 July, two days before his demise, Swamiji

gave an additional four hundred rupees to

settle the case. His mother was sixty-one years

old when Swamiji left his body.

It was his mothers dearest wish to go on

a long pilgrimage with Swamiji, and, in

20160601 Vedanta Kesari

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