The Vedanta Kesari September 2010

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September2010


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SeptemberSeptemberSeptemberSeptemberSeptember 20102010201020102010

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

Vedic Prayers 325

Editorial

Living Like A Lotus 326

Articles

Tampering with National Pride 340Swami Harshananda

Mary Tappan Wright: Swamijis First Western Chronicler 342Somenath Mukherjee

Laws of Karma and Thermodynamics 348Gopal C Bhar

MaterialismA Truth at Lower Level 358Krishnan Unni

Compilation

Thus Prayed Sri Ramakrishna 330

Reminiscences

Reminiscences of Master Mahashay 336Swami Dharmeshananda

New Find

Unpublished Letters of Swami Saradananda 353

The Order on the March 360

Book Reviews 361

Features

Simhvalokanam (Confessions on the Way towards Peace)329,

Vivekananda Tells Stories356

VOL. 97, No. 9 ISSN 0042-2983

CONTENTS

Cover Story: Page 4


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Bloomed Lotus

Lotus, Indias national flower, has been a powerful spiritualand cultural symbol for centuries. Right from drawing parallels

with a persons face, feet and eyes (lotus-eyed, for instance), toa much-recommended spot for meditation, the lotus-symbol isa rich source of imagination and cultural motifs. Lotus alsosymbolises purity, devotion and detachment. For learning moreabout the spiritual significance of lotus, please turn to page 326of this issue.

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To be continued . . .


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325T h e V e d a n t a Ke s a r i D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 9~ ~

EACH SOUL IS POTENTIALLY DIVINE. THE GOAL IS TO MANIFEST THE DIVINITY WITHIN.VOL.97, No. 9, SEPTEMBER 2010 ISSN0042-2983

Vedic PrayersTr. by Swami Sambuddhananda

Anm{UnmXmo OdZmo JhrVm n``Mjw g eUmo`H$U &g do{m do Z M V`mpVdomm V_mhaJ nwf _hmV_ &&

Shvetashvatara Upanishad, III, 19

gHe Anm{UnmXbereft of hands and feet OdZquick JhrVmonewho grasps AMjwwithout eyes n`{Vsees AH$Uwithout ears eUmo{Vhears gHe dowhich is to be known, knowable do{mknows V`ofHim Znot ApVthere is dommknower V_Him AJ_the foremost, thefirst

_hmV_eminent

nwfPurusha (the infinite being)

Amhthey say.

Without hands He grasps and without feet He moves fast, with-

out eyes He sees and without ears He hears. He knows what is to be

known. But there is none who knows Him. They say He is the fore-

most, the most eminent and infinite being.

He, the One, who vibrates more quickly than mind, who attains to

more speed than mind can ever do, whom even the gods reach not,

nor thought grasps, He moving, everything moves. In Him all exists.

He is moving. He is also immovable. He is near and He is far. He isinside everything. He is outside everything, interpenetrating everything.

Whoever sees in every being that same Atman, and whoever sees

everything in that Atman, he never goes far from that Atman. When all

life and the whole universe are seen in this Atman, then alone man has

attained the secret. There is no more delusion for him. Where is any

more misery for him who sees this Oneness in the universe?

Swami Vivekananda, CW, 2:153


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326T h e V e d a n t a K e s a r i S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 0~ ~

Living Like A Lotus

An Ancient Symbol

Standing by the side of a lotus pond if

one observes a bloomed lotus, what does one

see? A large flower, generally white or pink

in colour, on the top-end of a long, semi-hard

stalk, with good-sized petals. One more thing

about lotus that strikes one is its big, round

leafs, surrounding the flower, untouched by the

water. Water does not wet its petals and leafs.A Sanskrit verse compares human life itself

with a drop of water on a lotus leaffrail and

transient.

Yes, lotus, unlike water lily, does not get

wet. Botanists may attribute it to the fine layer

of fibres which keeps the water from entering

the inner lining of lotus flower and leafs. A

deep, water pond and plenty of sunshine are

the two things that go a long way to make the

lotus bloom. But to a spiritually inclined mind,lotus, and the sun (both of which are deeply

interconnected with each other), are much

more than mere objects of nature. Swami

Vivekananda remarked about this thus,

There is the lotusthat wonderful flower . . .

opening in the morning as the solar rays strike

its closed petals and with the waning sun

shutting up again. . . The sun and the lotus are

the chief symbols in the most ancient religions.

Why these symbols? Because abstract thought,whatever that be, when expressed, is bound to

come clad in visible, tangible, gross garments.1

What, then, does lotus symbolise?

First, and the most widely known, idea

that the lotus represents is detachment. Lotus

does not get wet by water although it grows

in waterand mire. Swamiji says,

As a lotus-leaf, living in the water yet untouched

by it, so should the soul be in the world.2

Of course, soul is ever untouched and

untouchable by anything of this world. No

event, no thought, no good and bad action,

nothing in this world can affect the soul. It is

intact always. The Gita [2.23] speaks of soul,

or atman, as one which weapons cannot cut,

fire cannot burn, water cannot wet and thewind cannot dry. The word soul here, there-

fore, refers to jivatman (individualised cons-

ciousness), or a commonplace word, mind.

Soul, i.e., the mind, should be free from all

desires and attachments.

The chief meaning of detachment is not

cold indifference, as some unripe minds think,

but absence of selfishness. It is our feeling of

identification with our body-mind which binds

us to the world. We are tied to the world by asubtle chord of I and mine. What happens

when one gets tied with the world? One

becomes miserable and anxious. What else

could be there when we put the whole burden

of our existence on this ever-changing,

transient world? Change being its nature, the

world cannot be the source of permanent

happiness. The real happiness lies in fixing

our mind on Something which never changes.

If we fail to do so, inevitably we have to suffer,sooner or later. But if we can live unselfishly,

without the idea of self, we are truly detached.

Swamiji says,

Just as water cannot wet the lotus leaf, so work

cannot bind the unselfish man by giving rise to

attachment to results. The selfless and un-

attached man may live in the very heart of a


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crowded and sinful city; he will not be touched

by sin.3

Should one think detachment means go-

ing to a forest, or retiring into mountains,

Swamiji makes it clear in the above statement,unattached man may live in the very heart of

a crowded and sinful city; he will not be

touched by sin. And by sin is meant impurities

of mind. Swamiji further says,

The man who gives up living in houses, wearing

fine clothes, and eating good food, and goes into

the desert, may be a most attached person. His

only possession, his own body, may become

everything to him; and as he lives he will be

simply struggling for the sake of his body. Non-attachment does not mean anything that we may

do in relation to our external body; it is all in

the mind. The binding link of I and mine is in

the mind. If we have not this link with the body

and with the things of the senses, we are non-

attached, wherever and whatever we may be. A

man may be on a throne and perfectly non-

attached; another man may be in rags and still

very much attached.4

The most important meaning of lotus and

leafs, therefore, is detachment. And true

detachment has nothing to do with what one

does or wears or where one lives. It is a

question of mind. In Swamijis words,

There is one thing which is the world and

another which is God; and this distinction is very

true. What they mean by world is selfishness.

Unselfishness is God. One may live on a throne,

in a golden palace, and be perfectly unselfish;

and then he is in God. Another may live in a

hut and wear rags, and have nothing in the

world; yet, if he is selfish, he is intensely merged

in the world.5

Lotus of the Heart

Lotus is also a symbol of devotion. While

meditating on God, one is asked to meditate

on a bloomed lotus in the centre of chest. Like

a lotus, a pure heart never gets dirty by the

mire called worldly thoughts and negative

emotions. It is ever pure, and fresh, and a

fitting place to think of the Presence of God.Of course, God is present everywhere for

His all-pervasiveness is His nature. Logically

one can, therefore, meditate on Him wherever

one wants to meditate on. But in pure heart,

free from all negative ideas such as lust, greed,

jealousy, anger and so on, God is manifest

more. Sri Ramakrishna used to call heart as

the drawing room. In a house, the master of

the house can move around, and hence can be

found, in any part of the house. But mostlikely, the master can be found in his drawing

room. That is where he is most comfortable

and relaxed. Likewise, while God can be

meditated anywhere, He is most visibly pre-

sent in the pure heart of a devotee.

Lotus is also a symbol of our inner recep-

tivity. What is required of us most in order to

learn anything higher? Merely buying books

or listening to lectures or reading books cannot

make one spiritually awakened. They mayhelp to some extent, or might become even

obstacles! Inner awakening makes one a fit

recipient of all exalted teachings. An awakened

mind can find meaning even in simple,

common, day-to-day events. To a sleeping per-

son, no spiritual activity is of any help. Swamiji

says,

To whom do the brooks preach sermons? To

that human soul only whose lotus of life has

already opened. When the heart has beenopened, it can receive teaching from the brooks

or the stonesit can get some religious teaching

from all these; but the unopened heart will see

nothing but brooks and rolling stones.6

The one call therefore, which Swamiji

repeatedly gave in his message was, Arise,

awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.


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8

Blooming of the Inner Lotus

To a person who has reached the goal of

life, the meaning of lotus acquires one more

aspect:

We all see evil around us. Of course, dif-ferent people perceive evil differently. To an

unwilling child, going to school may be a big

evil. To a teenager, keeping his surroundings

clean and following his parents instruc-

tions may sound evil. To a religious fanatic, the

followers of other religions may appear as evil.

To a youth, old people may appear evil (for

being outmoded, and hence burdensome) and

to the old people, youth may be full of evil!

Well, there is no universal definition of evil.But one thing that everyone universally

admits is that world is not perfect. There is so

much of imperfection here. The poor, the rich,

the healthy and the sick, everyone knows from

experience that world is not perfect. How to

change or help this imperfect world? Food,

clothing, shelter, medicine, money, efficient

government, and so on, are good and needed.

They have a vital role to play. However, the

greatest need of the hour, of all times, is rightthinking. In absence of right thinking, all help

given in various forms will bear only a

temporary result. Swamiji says,

What the world wants is thought-power through

individuals. My Master used to say, Why dont

you help your own lotus flower to bloom? The

bees will then come of themselves. The world

needs people who are mad with love of God.

You must believe in yourself, and then you will

believe in God.7

The blooming of the inner lotus, hence,

means becoming full of Gods presence. We

are at present full of the presence of world.

A person, whose inner lotus is blossomed, is

full of God. Feeling the divinity within is the

beginning of seeing the divinity without.

Conclusion

Living like a lotus is both a means andthe end. As an end, to be like a lotus is to be a

Jivanmukta, living-free, free even while living.

Such a man is the ideal man, untouched by

the evil of imperfection, like the lotus leafs in

water, untouched by water.

On the other hand, as a means, or a prac-

tice, living like a lotus, implies learning to offer

all one does, achieves, possesses, thinks, plans,

in fact, ones whole life, to God. Or one might

look at the whole world as a machine of Godwhere he, the practitioner, is playing his role.

And let him play his role well, but without

getting attached.

In this context, one may recall Holy

Mother Sri Sarada Devi's words,

The Master [Sri Ramakrishna] saw dabchicks

floating, diving and swimming in the water of

Haldars pond, but there would be not a drop of

water sticking to themthey would just shake

it off. He gave their example and said that inthis world one should live like these. . .8

To be detached is to be free from both

attachment and aversion. Detachment is an

attitude of self-effacement. The Gita (5.10) says,

~`mYm` H$_m{U g `dm H$amo{V `&

{bfl`Vo Z g nmnoZ nn{_dm^gm&&

Whosoever lives in the midst of the world, and

works, and gives up all the fruit of his action

unto the Lord, he is never touched with the evils

of the world. Just as the lotus, born under the

water, rises up and blossoms above the water,

even so is the man who is engaged in the

activities of the world, giving up all the fruit of

his activities unto the Lord.9

References: 1. CW, 8: 227 2. CW, 8: 227 3. CW, 1: 60 4. CW, 1: 101 5. CW, 1: 87

6. CW, 4: 27 7. CW, 6: 144 8. Teachings of Holy Mother, p. 25 9. CW, 4: 130


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From the Archives ofTHE VEDANTA KESARI

S imh v a l o k a n am

Confessions on the Way towards Peace

By Le Frile

(August, 1920-21, pp. 115-116)

I feel as if I have just reached the threshold of peace. . . I feel

as if the sun of truth has just dawned in upon me, his twilight of the morning surrounding me,

but he himself not visible to me yet. I have reached that point which settles my earthly destiny,

not to a shore of dreams whence issued my paths of old, but to a real and practical haven from

which sets out a romantic and glorious path for my life. The fitting opportunity has presented

itself uncalled for, and I am pushed forward to activity by a superior and stronger impulse than

that which backed me all these years of my life. Although I have not arrived at peace yet, I

have a strong belief that I am nearing it. I do not believe that any seeker after truth on earth

found it all on a sudden. As the sun dawns slowly and gradually in harmony with the rhythm

of the, music of the cosmos so, the light of truth dawns slowly and gradually in the view of the

enquiring mind, oppressed with the darkness of doubt and despair.

I pray Thee, Oh unknown Lord! make Thyself known to me. Drive off from me for ever

and ever the little tormenting devils of doubt and despair. Back me, guide me, teach me,

command me, love me and lead me and on my part, I will love Thee and obey Thee with all I

am worth.

Oh Lord! I thank Thee for all the bitter cups which Thou gavest me. I fear them no more.

I have realised their sweetness. Make me pure, make me strong, and above all make me

straight. Let me never lose sight of Thee,Thy laws and Thy protection. Let me always walk in

the path which leadeth to Thee, the path of love, the path of purity, the broad and generous

path, the straight and narrow path.

Oh Lord! I fear myself. I fear my own changing moods. Preserve me in, my present faith

and resolution. Let this not become a sincere farce to be laughed at after the moment of

excitement is over, as were my resolutions of old.

Oh Lord! I long for Thee with all my heart and strength. I love and revere Thee in all

sincerity and humbleness. I feel myself profoundly calm and happy and free in having based

my faith on Thee at last. So, let me never more doubt. Above all, I fear doubt. Protect me from

its sly approaches, that I may not again relapse into unbelief. Let me not think. Let me not

think again to see if my faith is based upon truth. In this I implore Thy grace, Oh Lord!


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Thus Prayed Sri RamakrishnaSri Ramakrishna laid much emphasis on praying to God as an effective spiritual exercise . He

asked almost everyone who came to him for spiritual guidance or for solving his difficulties in life to

pray to God. Not only did he himself pray, at times, he would actually demonstrate how to pray.

The following is a selection of some of the prayers of Sri Ramakrishna recorded in The Gospel of

Sri Ramakrishna (published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai). These prayers, intense,

passionate and spiritually elevating as they are, can be of much help to anyone learning to pray and

employ it as a spiritual discipline.

Him, O Lord, I have committed sins, but I

wont repeat them.4

Suppose a man becomes pure by

chanting the holy name of God,

bu t immediately af terwards

commits many sins. He has no

strength of mind. He doesnt

take a vow not to repeat his

sins. Chant the name of

God, and with it pray to Himthat you may have love for

Him. Pray to God that your

attachment to such transitory

things as wealth, name, and crea-

ture comforts may become less and less

every day.5

You can perform them [worldly duties],

but only as much as you need for your

livelihood. . . . You should say to Him: O

God, make my worldly duties fewer andfewer; otherwise, O Lord, I find that I forget

Thee when I am involved in too many acti-

vities. I may think I am doing unselfish work,

but it turns out to be selfish.6

Suppose God appears before you; then

will you ask Him to build hospitals and dis-

pensaries for you? A lover of God never says

How to Pray

One should pray to God with sincere

longing. God cannot but listen to

prayer if it is sincere.1

[The way to spiritual life lies

in] earnestly praying to God.

God is our very own. We

should say to Him: O God,

what is Thy nature? Reveal

Thyself to me. Thou mustshow Thyself to me; for why

else hast Thou created me?2

Pray to Him with a long-

ing heart: O God, give me know-

ledge, give me devotion, and reveal

Thyself to me! The path of karma is extremely

difficult. Therefore one should pray: O God,

make my duties fewer and fewer; and may I,

through Thy grace, do the few duties that Thou

givest me without any attachment to theirresults! May I have no desire to be involved

in many activities!3

By repeating a hundred times, I am a

sinner, one verily becomes a sinner. One should

have such faith as to be able to say, What? I

have taken the name of God; how can I be a

sinner? God is our Father and Mother. Tell


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that. He will rather say: O Lord, give me a

place at Thy Lotus Feet. Keep me always in

Thy company. Give me sincere and pure love

for Thee.7

One should not reason too much; it isenough if one loves the Lotus Feet of the

Mother. Too much reasoning throws the mind

into confusion. You get clear water if you drink

from the surface of a pool. Put your hand

deeper and stir the water, and it becomes

muddy. Therefore pray to God for devotion.8

Renounce all and say, O mind, may you

and I alone behold the Mother, letting no One

else intrude.9

One needs faithfaith in the words ofthe guru, childlike faith. The mother says to

her child, A ghost lives there; and the child

is firmly convinced that the ghost is there.

Again, the mother says to the child, A holy

man is there, and the child is sure of it. Fur-

ther, the mother says, pointing to a man, He

is your elder brother, and the child believes

that the man is one hundred and twenty-five

per cent his brother. One needs faith.10

Whom to Pray?

Satchidananda is like an infinite ocean.

Intense cold freezes the water into ice, which

floats on the ocean in blocks of various forms.

Likewise, through the cooling influence of

bhakti, one sees forms of God in the Ocean of

the Absolute. These forms are meant for the

bhaktas, the lovers of God. But when the Sun

of Knowledge rises, the ice melts; it becomes

the same water it was before. Water aboveand water below, everywhere nothing but

water. Therefore a prayer in the Bhagavata says:

O Lord, Thou hast form, and Thou art also

formless. Thou walkest before us, O Lord, in

the shape of a man; again, Thou hast been

described in the Vedas as beyond words and

thought.11

But you may say that for certain devotees

God assumes eternal forms. There are places

in the ocean where the ice doesnt melt at all.

It assumes the form of quartz.12

God is the Kalpataru, the Wish-fulfillingTree. You will certainly get whatever you ask

of Him. But you must pray standing near the

Kalpataru. Only then will your prayer be

fulfilled. But you must remember another

thing. God knows our inner feeling. A man

gets fulfilment of the desire he cherishes while

practising sadhana. As one thinks, so one

receives.13

A man should have such intense yearn-

ing for God that he can say, O Father of theuniverse, am I outside Your universe? Wont

You be kind to me, You wretch?14

Be ready for Death. Death has entered

the house. You must fight him with the wea-

pon of Gods holy name. God alone is the

Doer.15

While thus practising discipline in soli-

tude, you should think: I have no one else in

the world. God is my all.16

It will be very good if you can practiseunselfish love for God. A man who has such

love says: O Lord, I do not seek salvation,

fame, wealth, or cure of disease. None of these

do I seek. I want only Thee.17

Do you know the attitude of one who

has realised God? He feels: I am the machine,

and Thou, O Lord, art the Operator. I am the

house and Thou art the Indweller. I am the

chariot and Thou art the Driver. I move as

Thou movest me; I speak as Thou makest mespeak.18

Sri Ramakrishnas Prayers to the Divine

Mother

This Primal Power, Mahamaya, has

covered Brahman . . . As long as that covering

remains, one should call on God as Mother.


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12

Addressing God, the devotee should say,

Thou art the Mother and I am Thy child; Thou

art the Master and I am Thy servant. It is

good to have the attitude of the servant toward

the master. From this relationship of masterand servant spring up other attitudes: the

attitude of serene love for God, the attitude of

friend toward friend, and so forth.19

Is it possible to understand Gods action

and His motive? He creates, He preserves, and

He destroys. Can we ever understand why

He destroys? I say to the Divine Mother: O

Mother, I do not need to understand. Please

give me love for Thy Lotus Feet. The aim of

human life is to attain bhakti. As for otherthings, the Mother knows best. I have come to

the garden to eat mangoes. What is the use of

my calculating the number of trees, branches,

and leaves? I only eat the mangoes; I dont

need to know the number of trees and leaves.20

I prayed to Divine Mother: Mother, here

is Thy virtue, here is Thy vice. Take them both

and grant me only pure love for Thee. Here is

Thy knowledge, here is Thy ignorance. Take

them both and grant me only pure love forThee. Here is Thy purity, here is Thy impurity.

Take them both, Mother, and grant me only

pure love for Thee. Here is Thy dharma, here

is Thy adharma. Take them both, Mother and

grant me only pure love for Thee.21

O Mother! O Destroyer of suffering! O

Remover of grief and agony!22

O Mother, please dwell in my heart.23

O Mother, worship has left me, and japa

also. Please see, Mother, that I do not becomean inert thing. Let my attitude toward God be

that of the servant toward the master. O

Mother, let me talk about Thee and chant Thy

holy name. I want to sing Thy glories. Give

me a little strength of body that I may move

about, that I may go to places where Thy

devotees live, and sing Thy name.24

O Mother, I offered flowers at Thy feet

this morning. I thought: That is good. My

mind is again going back to formal worship.

Then why do I feel like this now? Why art

Thou turning me into a sort of inert thing?25

O Mother! O Embodiment of Om!

Mother, how many things people say about

Thee! But I dont understand any of them. I

dont know anything, Mother. I have taken

refuge at Thy feet. I have sought protection in

Thee. O Mother, I pray only that I may have

pure love for Thy Lotus Feet, love that seeks

no return. And Mother, do not delude me with

Thy world-bewitching Maya. I seek Thy pro-

tection. I have taken refuge in Thee.26

Mother, I dont know the Vedanta; and

Mother, I dont even care to know. The Vedas

and the Vedanta remain so far below when

Thou art realized, O Divine Mother!27

O Mother, blight with Thy thunderbolt

my desire to reason! . . . O Mother, reveal to

me what is contained in the Vedas and the

Vedanta. Reveal to me what is in the Purana

and the Tantra.28

O Mother, make me like Sita, completelyforgetful of everythingbody and limbs

totally unconscious of hands, feet, and sense

organsonly the one thought in her mind,

Where is Rama?29

Mother, Thou hast done away with my

worship. Please see, Mother, that I dont give

up all desire. Mother, the paramahamsa is but

a child. Doesnt a child need a mother? There-

fore Thou art the Mother and I am the child.

How can the child live without the Mother?30

O Mother, everybodys future is deter-

mined by the tendencies of his previous births.

What shall I say to these people? Nothing can

be achieved without discrimination and

renunciation.31

[Sri Ramakrishna was speaking to Her like a

small child making importunate demands on his


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13

mother. He said in a piteous voice]: Mother, why

havent You revealed to me that form of Yours,

the form that bewitches the world? I pleaded

with You so much for it. But You wouldnt

listen to me. You act as You please.32

While praying to the Divine Mother, I

said, O Mother, I dont seek anything else:

give me only pure love for Thee.33

[Sri Ramakrishna wept and prayed to the

Mother in a voice choked with emotion. He prayed

to Her with tearful eyes for the welfare of the

devotees] Mother, may those who come to You

have all their desires fulfilled! But please dont

make them give up everything at once,

Mother. Well, You may do whatever You likein the end. If You keep them in the world,

Mother, then please reveal Yourself to them

now and then. Otherwise, how will they live?

How will they be encouraged if they dont see

You once in a while? But You may do what-

ever You like in the end.34

Om! Om! Om! Mother, what is this that

I am saying? Dont make me unconscious,

Mother, with the Knowledge of Brahman.

Dont give me Brahmajnana. I am but Thychild. I am easily worried and frightened. I

want a Mother. A million salutations to the

Knowledge of Brahman! Give it to those who

seek it. O Anandamayi! O Blissful Mother!. . .35

O Mother! O Blissful One! Reveal

Thyself to me. Thou must! . . . O Lord of the

lowly! O Lord of the universe! Surely I am not

outside Thy universe. I am bereft of know-

ledge. I am without discipline. I have no devo-

tion. I know nothing. Thou must be graciousand reveal Thyself to me.36

When I renounced everything with an

offering of flowers at the Lotus Feet of the

Mother, I said: Here, Mother, take Thy

holiness, take Thy unholiness. Here, Mother,

take Thy dharma, take Thy adharma. Here,

Mother, take Thy sin, take Thy virtue. Here,

Mother, take Thy good, take Thy evil. And

give me only pure bhakti. But I could not

say, Here, Mother, take Thy truth, take Thy

falsehood.37

Mother, tell me what this is. They wantsomeone to extract the butter for them and

hold it to their mouths. They wont throw the

spiced bait into the lake. They wont even hold

the fishing-rod. Someone must catch the fish

and put it into their hands! How troublesome!

Mother, I wont listen to any more argument.

The rogues force it on me. What a bother! I

shall shake it off. God is beyond the Vedas

and their injunctions. Can one realise Him by

studying the scriptures, the Vedas, and theVedanta?

O Mother, I am a fool. Please teach me

what is contained in the Vedas, the Puranas,

the Tantras, and the other scriptures. The

Mother said to me, The essence of the Vedanta

is that Brahman alone is real and the world

illusory.38

I used to weep, praying to the Divine

Mother, O Mother, destroy with Thy thunder-

bolt my inclination to reason.39

O Mother! Thou dost ever enjoy Thine

eternal Sports. Tell us, O Mother, what is the

way? We have taken refuge in Thee; we have

taken shelter at Thy feet.40

O Mother, I throw myself on Thy mercy;

I take shelter at Thy Hallowed Feet. I do not

want bodily comforts; I do not crave name

and fame; I do not seek the eight occult

powers. Be gracious and grant that I may have

pure love for Thee, a love unsmitten by desire,untainted by any selfish endsa love craved

by the devotee for the sake of love alone. And

grant me the favour, O Mother, that I may not

be deluded by Thy world-bewitching Maya,

that I may never be attached to the world, to

woman and gold, conjured up by Thy in-

scrutable Maya! O Mother, there is no one but


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14

thee whom I may call my own. Mother, I do

not know how to worship; I am without aus-

terity; I have neither devotion nor knowledge.

Be gracious, Mother, and out of Thy infinite

mercy grant me love for Thy Lotus Feet.41

I felt ashamed to speak to her about my

illness. I said to her, Mother, I saw a skeleton

in the Asiatic Society Museum. It was pieced

together with wires into a human form. O

Mother, please keep my body together a little,

like that, so that I may sing Thy name and

glories.42

I prayed to the Divine Mother, O

Mother, turn my mind at once from the world

to God. . . .O Divine Mother, please dont makeme a worldly man if I am to be born again in

a human body.43

A lover of God prays to the Divine

Mother: O Mother, I am very much afraid of

selfish actions. Such actions have desires

behind them, and if I perform them I shall

have to reap their fruit. But it is very difficult

to work in a detached spirit. I shall certainly

forget Thee, O Mother, if I involve myself in

selfish actions. Therefore I have no use forthem. May my actions, O Divine Mother, be

fewer every day till I attain Thee. May I

perform, without attachment to the results,

only what action is absolutely necessary for

me. May I have great love for Thee as I go on

with my few duties. May I not entangle myself

in new work so long as I do not realise Thee.

But I shall perform it if I receive Thy command.

Otherwise not.44

Sri Ramakrishnas Other Prayers

Sri Ramakrishna said: Krishna! Krishna!

Krishna! Krishna Satchidananda! Nowadays I

do not see Your form. Now I see You both in-

side me and outside. I see that it is You who

have become the universe, all living beings,

the twenty-four cosmic principles, and every-

thing else. You alone have become mind,

intelligence, everything. It is said in the Hymn

of Salutation to the Guru: I bow down to

the Guru by whose grace I have realized Him

who pervades the indivisible universe of theanimate and the inanimate.45

You alone are the Indivisible. . . You are

verily the manifold universe; again, You alone

are its basis. O Krishna! You are my life. O

Krishna! You are my mind. O Krishna! You

are my intelligence. O Krishna! You are my

soul. O Govinda! You are my life-breath. You

are my life itself. . . . Om Satchidananda!

Govinda! Govinda! Govinda! Yogamaya!46

O friend, take me to my beloved Krishnaand make me your bond slave. I shall be your

handmaid for ever. O friend, it was you who

taught me how to love Krishna. O Krishna! O

Beloved of my soul! . . . . Ah me! Ah me!47

After attaining Knowledge a man says:

O God, nothing belongs to meneither this

house ofworship nor this Kali temple nor this

Brahmo Samaj. These are all Thine. Wife, son,

and family do not belong to me. They are all

Thine.48

Hanuman, after realizing God in both

His Personal and His Impersonal aspect, cheri-

shed toward God the attitude of a servant, a

devotee. He said to Rama: O Rama, sometimes

I think that You are the whole and I am a part

of You. Sometimes I think that You are the

Master and I am Your servant. And sometimes,

Rama, when I contemplate the Absolute, I see

that I am You and You are I.49

Once Rama was pleased with the prayerof Narada and told him to ask for a boon.

Narada prayed for pure love and said further,

O Rama, please grant that I may not be

deluded by Thy world-bewitching maya.

Rama said: That is all right. But ask for

something else. Narada replied: I dont want

anything else. I pray only for pure love.50


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O Rama! O Rama! I am without devotion

and austerity, without knowledge and love; I

have not performed any religious rites. O

Rama, I have taken refuge in Thee; I have taken

shelter at Thy feet. I do not want creaturecomforts; I do not seek name and fame. O

Rama, I do not crave the eight occult powers;

I do not care for a hundred occult powers! I

am Thy servant. I have taken refuge in Thee.

Grant, O Rama, that I may have pure love for

Thy Lotus Feet; that I may not be deluded by

Thy world-bewitching Maya! O Rama, I have

taken refuge it Thee.51

Yashoda said to Radha: I dont want

Brahmajnana. Please grant me only this: that Imay see the form of Gopala in my meditation;

that I may always have the company of

Krishnas devotees; that I may always serve

the devotees of God; that I may always chant

Gods name and glories. . . We want to see

Gopala and serve Him. Please grant us that

boon alone. We dont want anything else.52

O Govinda, Thou art my soul! Thou art

my life! Victory to Govinda! Hallowed be the

name of Govinda! Thou art the Embodiment

of Satchidananda! Oh, Krishna! Ah, Krishna!

Krishna is knowledge. Krishna is mind.

Krishna is life. Krishna is soul. Krishna is body.

Krishna is caste. Krishna is family. O Govinda,

my life and soul!53

O Jagannath, Lord of the Universe! O

Friend of the world! O Friend of the poor! Iam not, O Lord, outside Thy universe. Be gra-

cious to me!54

References

1. The Gospel, p.703 2. Ibid., p.96 3. Ibid., p.452 4. Ibid., p.159 5. Ibid., p.190-91

6. Ibid., p.142 7. Ibid., p.143 8. Ibid., p.186 9. Ibid., p.315 10. Ibid., p.381

11. Ibid., p.191 12. Ibid., p. 191 13. Ibid., p.481 14. Ibid., p.688 15. Ibid., p.209


21. Ibid., p.138-39 22. Ibid., p.223 23. Ibid., p.263 24. Ibid., p.295 25. Ibid., p.295

26. Ibid., p.299 27. Ibid., p.373-74 28. Ibid., p.376 29. Ibid., p.342 30. Ibid., p.35731. Ibid., p.502 32. Ibid., p.381 33. Ibid., p.682 34. Ibid., p.381 35. Ibid., p.384

36. Ibid., p.384 37. Ibid., p.782 38. Ibid., p.544 39. Ibid., p.482 40. Ibid., p..704

41. Ibid., p.731 42. Ibid., p.396 43. Ibid., p.463 44. Ibid., p.468-69 45. Ibid., p.440-41


51. Ibid., p.566 52. Ibid., p.480-81 53. Ibid., p.641 54. Ibid., p.809-10

Intense Prayer

Whenever we pray to God in right earnest, He is sure to come

to us. The trouble is, we pray to so many others besides God.

We pray to the doctor to give us health, to the shopkeeper togive us food or dress, and in among the rest we pray to God to

give us spiritual light and knowledge. When we look to Him

alone and pray to Him and to no one else, He never fails to

answer our prayers, if we make them really intense.

Swami Ramakrishnananda,

a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna

15


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Reminiscences of Master MahashaySWAMI DHARMESHANANDA

Master Mahashay, Mahendranath Gupta, or M, was an eminent householder disciple of Sri

Ramakrishna. He recorded the conversations of Sri Ramakrishna in Bengali and published them later

as Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita (translated into English: The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna). The

following is the translation of reminiscences of M from Srima Samipe, [In the Proximity of M], a

book in Bengali, edited by Swami Chetanananda (Udbodhan Office: Calcutta, 1996), pp.88-132. Swami

Chetanananda (the translator of the present article) is the Head of Vedanta Society of St. Louise, USA.

He has to his credit several notable books in Bengali and English, translations as well as original.

First Meeting

In 1920 or 1921 I went to see M. with my

friend Surendra Nath Kundu and brother

Bhupati, who was a householder devotee of

Sri Ramakrishna. At the time I was living in

North Calcutta and was in my second year at

City College. Surendra had given me a copy

of the fourth volume of the Kathamrita, which

I read with great attention. He also told me

that the author of this book was still alive,and that it would be wonderful if we could

hear the Masters words directly from him.

One afternoon Surendra and I went to

the fourth floor of the Morton Institution and

met M., who was surrounded by devotees. He

received us cordially. It was the rainy season,

a few days after the Chariot Festival of Jagan-

nath. M. put Jagannaths prasad (dry rice) into

our hands and said, When one has this prasad

one attains devotion for God. I used to go tothe Brahmo Samaj and was moreover under

the influence of Western education, so I

considered such faith to be superstitious.

I remarked: Yes, if one eats this prasad

with faith, one may attain devotion.

M. replied: No, there is a sure effect of

an object. In whatever way you eat this prasad,

your mind will become pure and you will

attain faith and devotion.

How is that possible? The mind is every-

thing. I replied. If there isnt any faith in ones

mind, how can one attain devotion?

The Master said that whatever way you

take prasad, you will attain devotion.

I cant accept that.

M. became grave and turned his chair

towards the devotees. Pointing at me with hisleft index finger, he said indignantly: The

Master said, One attains devotion, and this

person does not accept the Masters words.

Everyone remained silent. Surendra was

looking at me, and I hung my head and kept

quiet. I was ashamed of my audacity.

M. then told me affectionately: Listen,

one day in Dakshineswar the Master said to

me, The Chariot Festival is over. The pilgrims

are now returning from Puri. You go toHowrah Station and beg for some prasad for

me. One attains devotion if one takes this

prasad. I went to Howrah Station. When I

saw pilgrims getting off the train, I pleaded

like a beggar, Will you give me a little

prasad? Some were amazed by the sight of a

well-dressed gentleman begging for prasad;


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17

some walked away quickly without paying

any attention; and some devotees realised my

sincerity and gave me some grains of dry rice

from their bundle. When I carried that prasad

to the Master, he was very happy. When Godis pleased, the whole world becomes pleased.

I was truly blessed. The Master used to eat

one or two grains of that dry rice every day

and asked me also to do so. Have faith in his

words. There is no other way.

I took one or two grains of that prasad.

Starting in 1924, my faith gradually developed

after I began visiting M. regularly.

EncouragementIn 1924 I went to see M. with Brahma-

chari Tarak of the Vivekananda Society. I was

then a student in my fifth year of college. I

used to stay at the Society and perform wor-

ship there. We went to visit M. at the Morton

Institution.

M. asked Tarak: What do you do?

Tarak replied: I collect subscriptions for

the Vivekananda Society, help the secretary,

and arrange religious classes and kirtans indevotees houses once a month. And every

week there are two classes in the Society on

Ramakrishna-Vivekananda literature.

Very good, M. said. This is real karma

yoga as described by Swamiji. If you can

perform this service without any motive, you

will attain knowledge and devotion.

This encouragement made Tarak happy,

and he rededicated his life to the Vivekananda

Society.M. then asked me: What do you do?

I replied: I perform daily worship in the

shrine of the Society and conduct the vesper

service.

You have gotten a very good job, M.

said. This work will give you devotion. Look,

flowers have a beautiful fragranceand you

are offering them to the feet of the Lord. When

you make sandal paste, it generates a sweet

fragrance and you offer that to the Lord. You

are also meditating upon Him in your heart.

Dont give up this work. One can attain Godsgrace quickly by means of worship. Perform

worship with a pure and concentrated mind,

and then pray and offer yourself at the feet of

the Lord. When one listens to vesper songs,

ones mind becomes one-pointed and medi-

tation comes automatically. You are doing

marvellous work.

Many devotees were present. M. praised

our jobs though they were different.

Devotion for Holy Mother

M.s devotion for Holy Mother was

indescribable. He considered her to be Mother

Lakshmi. In 1931, long after Holy Mother had

passed away, I had an opportunity to go with

M. to Udbodhan, Mothers house. He brought

a big basket of sandesh to offer to the Master.

We arrived at 9:00 a.m. and entered the room

where Mother passed away, which is now the

shrine. Mothers bed is still there, as it wasduring her lifetime. M. sat near the bed and

meditated for a long time. Then a monk gave

M. prasad and we returned to his residence.

Alone with M.

Early one afternoon (at 1:30 or 2:00 pm)

in 1931, I went to the Morton Institution. I

was then staying at Udbodhan, and almost

every evening I would go to M. to listen to

him speak about the Master. In the eveninghe would meditate with devotees in the tulsi

grove on the roof. I would bring my own asana

[meditation carpet], but one night I forgot to

bring it back with me, so I returned at that

odd time to retrieve it. M. saw me.

M. loved solitude so he would stay alone

in the attic room of the school building. But


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18

he also loved to talk about the Master with

devotees. When he saw me, he called out,

Please come here. I went to his room. He

asked me to sit on his bed and inquired about

my welfare. I said: I have to leave now. Thereis a class on the Chandogya Upanishad at

Udbodhan. I need to attend it. I forgot to take

my asana with me, so I came to get it.

Please sit down, M. said, but I got up

and bowed down to him. When I was about

to leave, he said: Dhiren, all Vedas and

Vedanta are at the Masters feet. One can attain

knowledge by meditating on those feet.

Like a fool, I did not understand the deep

meaning of his words, so I returned to Udbo-dhan. Later I lamented that I had lost a chance

to enjoy his rare holy company all by myself.

Perhaps he intended to raise my mind to a

higher realm of consciousness, which he did

for one of my friends.

About Ramakrishnas Centenary

Sri Ramakrishnas centenary celebration

was to be held from 1936 to 1937. For five

years the Centenary Committee had been plan-ning to publish a centenary memorial volume

on Sri Ramakrishna. The committee was collec-

ting articles from great thinkers of India about

their experiences with and concepts about the

Sanatana Dharma [Eternal Religion]. Swami

Avinashananda, the organiser of the Cente-

nary Committee, came to M. one day with ano-

ther monk to consult with him about articles

for that volume. I was present at that time.

M. said: The soul of dharma [religion] istapas [austerities]. Sri Ramakrishna was the

embodiment of tapas. If you can travel all over

India and collect descriptions of spiritual

experiences from all-renouncing monks, that

collection would be the best memorial volume

on Sri Ramakrishna. The Ramakrishna Order

is based on the austerities of Swamiji, Swami

Brahmananda, and other monastic disciples of

the Master.

Morton Institution, Christmas Eve 1930, 7:00

pmM. was seated on his chair and surround-

ed by nearly twenty devotees. A devotee from

Sind had sent a basket of fruit wrapped in red

paper. M. was very pleased, and he showed

the basket to the devotees.

M.: Today is an auspicious day to think

of Christ and the Master. The Master said, I

am Christ. Let us first think of the Master

and then we shall be able to understand Christ.

Christ had 12 disciples from Galilee andmost of them were fishermen. He was the son

of a carpenter and did not have a formal

education. The Master also said, I am an

unlettered fool. They did not teach by virtue

of their education. A learned ignorance is the

end of philosophy and the beginning of

religion. Renunciation is necessary.

The Master said openly that it would be

enough if people came to him; they didnt need

any spiritual disciplines. Then the DivineMother took him away from this world. The

Master produced butter and gave it to every-

one to eat, without any need for making an

effort. Now he will make us work, and this is

the beginning of spiritual life. The goal is love

for Satchidananda. Love is God. The vision of

God means unconditional love and devotion

for God. There may be one or two exceptions,

but everyone will have to work and practise

sadhana. Krishna said in the Gita (18:11): It isindeed impossible for an embodied being to

renounce action entirely. The goal of action

is to attain love and devotion. Western people

are very busy collecting enjoyments; they will

not be able to preach Christ. The people of the

East will preach Christ. Moreover, he belonged

to Asia. He considered himself to be a lamb;


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19

he surrendered himself like a sacrificial animal.

And he incarnated to take away the sins of

all. By the grace of the Master, I understand a

little of Christs message. Is it easy to

understand the words of an avatar? Onecannot understand Christ if ones mind is

attached to lust and gold.

M. then opened his Bible and showed us

pictures of the Madonna and Christ, Jerusalem,

and so on. He touched the Bible to his head

and then read from Matthew, John, and Luke.

He read the following sections: Christs birth

in the manger; his escape from Herod; the wise

men of the East who found Christ and then

fled; Christs preaching; the pure life of hisparents; his baptism by John; and so on. We

left at 9:30 p.m.

Morton Institution, 4 January 1931, 7:30 p.m.

M. was seated with some swamis, devo-

tees, and an English journalist from London

who was curious to learn about God.

M. told the journalist: God incarnates as

an avatar.

Journalist: Is it true that when a personbecomes one with God, he becomes an avatar?

No, there is a belief in this country that

God comes down as an avatar. Our scriptures

tell us of ten, twenty-four, and again numerous

avatars. Christians do not believe Christ was

an avatar, but we do.

Then godmen are chosen as avatars?

Who would choose?

I have used the wrong words. Pardon me.

Christ is the same as Krishna, Chaitanya,and now Ramakrishna. He himself says so.

This is the proof.

How do people know whether this or

that avatar is authentic?

If they pray, they will know. Some false

prophets profess themselves to be avatars, but

the sincere devotee recognises the genuine

avatar. You went to Dakshineswar. It is as

sacred as Jerusalem. Prayer is the essential

thing. Pray. Knock and it will be opened. Be

eager.How should we pray?

O Father, let us know You. Give us Your

love. Make us perfect devotees. Give us eternal

lifetrue life.

In which way? Praying aloud?

There is no need for that. One may or

may not do it aloud. If one is hungry and can-

not give it proper expression, is one not hun-

gry? The Father knows ones inner yearning.

How can we have love for God so thatwe may pray?

The company of holy people who have

renounced the world will make you feel love

for God. This is the first step towards religion

and the alpha and omega of spiritual life. The

intellect cannot understand all this. Your scien-

tists are engaged in seeking sense knowledge.

A human beings intellect is feeble, very weak.

Only faith and prayer are needed these are

all. Depend on His mercy. He will let us knowin time. We are under Him; He is not under

us. We need His grace. If you ask, when one

should renounce, the answer is given in

Christs words. Once he asked someone to

come and follow him. The man answered: A

relative of mine died. I have to bury him first;

then I will join you. Christ replied: Follow

me, and let the dead bury the dead. Worldly-

minded people are truly dead. The sadhus live

real lives. All others are dead. Those peoplewill take care of the dead. Pray without ceasing

and keep company with holy people.

The journalist wanted to take a picture

of M., but M. declined. Instead, he presented

the journalist with a copy of TheGospel of Sri

Ramakrishna as a memento. OO


22/56


Tampering with National PrideSWAMI HARSHANANDA

Introduction

From the most ancient times Bharata-

varsha or India has laid the greatest emphasis

on the acquisition of knowledge (jnana)

through proper education (vidyabhyasa). In fact,

persons without education have been termed

as brutes (pashu). On the other hand, an

educated person is honoured everywhere.India had, what may be called in modern

parlance, truly a knowledge society.

Ancient Indian Education

Education in ancient India was aimed at

preparing the students for the life here as well

as the hereafter. The education was in the

hands of sages, Rishis, who maintained huge

Gurukulas (forest academies) which accom-

modated and imparted education to a largenumber of students. These ancient sages paid

equal attention to secular education (anna-

vidya) as well as spiritual education (brahma-

vidya). This was a holistic and complete

approach to education and helped both in

personality development and nation-building.

It naturally helped the recipients of such

training to care for their personal welfare and

also in discharge of their social obligations.

In modern times, Swami Vivekananda

succinctly put this complete ideal of education

as atmano moksha and jagad-hitafor ones

spiritual emancipation and for the good of

others.

Modern Indian Education

Unfortunately, the educational system

that is in vogue in India today is the very

antithesis of our time-tested ancient values of

life. A product of this system is neither able to

stand on his own feet nor serve the society as

needed. This is because, after political inde-

pendence, our political rulers paid more atten-tion to the improvement of economy without

simultaneously attempting to improve the

quality and the wisdom of the people to use

that economic progress for the good of all,

through a proper system of education. Even

the excellent survey reports of the various

Education Commissions headed by distingui-

shed educationists were ignored and never

implemented.

Studying Science and Humanities

Science education is needed to develop

our economy and raise the level of our civili-

sation or civilised ways of living. However

Humanitiesespecially History and Civics,

more commonly known as Social Studies

are also needed to teach us as to how to utilise

the discoveries and inventions of Science and

Technology for the benefit of the society as a

whole. Without a proper understanding of our

history and civics, our personal and public

lives cannot go on smoothly and effectively.

Here comes the pivotal role of studying

history. Textbooks of history should not only

A senior monk of the Ramakrishna Order, the author is the Adyaksha of Ramakrishna Math, Basavanagudi,

Bangalore. He is a versatile speaker and a prolific writer having several publications in English, Kannada, and

Sanskrit to his credit. His monumental work A Concise Encyclopaedia of Hinduismwas published in 2008.


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21

contain an impartial narration of actual facts

as they occurred, but also the critical analyses

of the same to draw proper conclusions to

guide future generations. A proper study of

history helps in expanding our mental hori-zons.

History Textbooks and Preindependence

Era

It is now a well-established fact that our

history textbooks had been cleverly mani-

pulated by the colonial rulers and their

henchmen to prove their superiority and

exhibit us in a poor light. That is why Swami

Vivekananda had exhorted Indians to writetheir own history, and not believe or depend

upon the ones doctored by alien historians.

Unfortunately, even after attaining political

freedom no serious attempts were made in

this direction, thereby perpetuating a slave

psychology and an inferiority complex in the

minds of the younger generation.

The Need of the Hour

Better late than neveras the tritesaying goes, it is high time that any truly

national Government ruling at the centre forms

a committee comprising experts in the fields

of history, archaeology and Indian Culture to

correct the distortions in the old textbooks and

present facts (based on authentic records and

research) in an undiluted manner.

Looked at from this angle, the honestattempts made some years ago by the then

Government to revise the textbooks of history

and social sciences with the help of unbiased

experts in the field, and that too in the light of

agreed principles and guidelines framed much

earlier was a welcome step. This resulted in

the publication and introduction of authentic

and well documented history books in our

educational system.

Epilogue

It is really unfortunate, however, that

attempts are being made in certain important

quarters to distort history thereby distorting

the minds of the younger generation. The

effects of such politically motivated distortions

are bound to be disastrous.

We earnestly hope that these wiseacres

will realise and retrace their steps. We better

learn from other nations like the Chinese, whodo everything that boosts their morale and

never do anything that hurts their national

pride.

Indias Timeless Wisdom

Y{V j_m X_mo@Vo` emM{_p`{ZJh&

Yr{dm g`_H$moYmo XeH$ Y_bjU_&&

Patience, forgiveness, control of mind, non-stealing, inner and outer purity,

control of senses, cultivating sattvik intellect, following the noble path,

truthfulness, and non-angerthese are the ten characteristics of dharma.

Manusmruti


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Mary Tappan Wright:Swamijis first Western Chronicler

SOMENATH MUKHERJEE

The Lady Extraordinaire

On 18 December 1851, Mary Tappan was

born to Eli Todd Tappan and Lydia (Mc-

Dowell) Tappan of

Steubenville, Ohio.When Marys father

Eli Tappan was

born, his father, Ben-

jamin Tappan, was

serving in Washing-

ton as a federal

judge and, as also, in

the US Senate. Eli

got his (Honorary)

A. M. degree in 1860from Baltimores St.

Marys College. He practised law under his

father, founded and ran a weekly paper in

Columbus for two years, and returned to

Steubenville in 1848 where, eventually, he

became a Mayor in 1852.

On 2 February, 1854, Eli Tappan deli-

vered a lecture on Arithmetic before the

Union Institute of Teachers and Friends of

Education for Jefferson and Harrison counties,and that changed his career forever. He

became, thenceforth, drawn to the path of

education. In 1859 Eli Tappan was elected as

a professor of mathematics at Ohio University.

After serving there for one year, he went to

the Mt. Auburn Young Ladies Institute near

Cincinnati and remained there until 1865. In

fact, in the Mt. Auburn

Young Ladies Insti-tute both the father

and his daughter had

gone for reverse pur-

poses, there the former

was a teacher while

the later was a learner.

During this time Eli

Todd came out with

his book Elements of

Plane and Solid Geo-metry. In 1865 he was

recalled to the Ohio University, where he

wrote his Treatise on Geometry and Trigono-

metry.

In 1868 Eli Tappan was elected president

of the Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. In

1886 he became the honorary member of the

Association for the Improvement of Geo-

metrical Teaching in England and, in the same

year, had been elected as the State Com-missioner of Common Schools.

Never in her life had Mary lived far from

an academic environment. This would, even-

tually, have its effect on her creative life.

The author is engaged in research work on the life of Swami Vivekananda under instruction and guidance of the

Swami Vivekananda Archives, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, Kolkata.

(Continued from the previous issue. . .)

Eli Todd TappanBenjamin Tappan


25/56


23

Besides, her background, presumably, never

allowed her to be instantly impressed by

personality or brilliance of common scho-

lastic charisma.

On 2 April 1878 Mary was married toJohn Henry Wright, an associate pro-

fessor of Greek at Dartmouth College. The

successive moves in John Wrights career

include his becoming the professor of

classical philology and dean of the Colle-

giate Board of Johns Hopkins University;

professor of Greek at Harvard University,

and, finally, the dean of Harvards Graduate

School of Arts and Science.

Among the places the Wrights lived wereHanover, New Hampshire, Baltimore, Mary-

land and, lastly, Cambridge in Massachusetts.

At one point of time this couple also lived in

Greece where John Wright served as a

professor at the American School of Classical

Studies at Athens. Mary Wright breathed her

last in Cambridge on 28 August 1917, survived

by her two sons.

Apart from her role as the wife of a noted

academician, Mary was also a writer of emi-nence during her days. She wrote stories and

novels, and people read whatever she wrote.

A look at her literary achievements deserves

our attention.

Her Prowess

Marys first published story was How

They Cured Him. It appeared in The Youths

Companion Magazine on 24 March, 1887. Writers

like Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain,Emily Dickinson, Booker T. Washington,

and Jack London were also contributors to this

particular magazine. Marys writings evoked

more attention when she began to write for

the Scribners Magazine with As Haggards of

the Rock in their May 1890 issue. This was

followed by six more of her stories in the same

magazine which include A Truce, A Portion

of the Tempest, From Macedonia, Deep as

First Love and A Fragment of Play, with a

Chorus.Later in 1895 these stories were compiled

in her first bookA Truce, and Other Stories and

was published by Charles Scribners Sons, the

noted American publisher. The Scribners

Magazine also belonged to Charles Scribners

Sons. Afterwards Mary came out with four

novels and more than a dozen other short

stories. Before we talk

about Marys novels,

we should look at howher maiden book was

evaluated in the press.

The Critic, on 20 June

1896, choose to make a

prophetic suggestion:

Mrs. Wright possesses

the qualities which

should go to the mak-

ing of novels rather

than of short stories. . . The book is by no

means uninteresting.

The style is good, the

plots show ingenuity, and in some instances Mrs.

Wright has a clever way of not telling the whole

story, of trusting the imagination of the reader

to furnish the dnouement.8

A Truce and OtherStoriesthe cover of

the first edition

John Henry Wright Mary Tappan Wright


26/56


24

With unhesitant praise The Independent

on 29 August 1895 wrote,

A book made up of six excellent short stories by

a writer who never does slovenly work. We

hardly know where can be found strongerdescriptive passages or dramatic scenes more

sharply set than in one or two of Mrs. Wrights

sketches.9

The New York Observer and Chronicle on

June 13 1895 made no exception and wrote,

This volume of six stories contains a variety

rarely offered by a single writer in so small a

collection. Mrs. Wright possesses dramatic

power of a high order united with keen fancy

and sparkling wit. Each story is admirable and

unlike all of its companions, and together they

make a charming book.10

Such accolades to a new entrant from

the big Houses unquestionably prove the

authors literary flair. Her first novel wasAliens

(1902), followed by The Test (1904), The Tower

(1906) and The Charioteers (1912). Like her

maiden story book, the first three novels were

also published by Charles Scribners Sons,while the fourth one had D. Appleton &

Company as its publisher. The New York Times,

while reviewing Aliens, on 3 May 1902 wrote,

Alien is a novel of more than usual excellence. It

is well written, the characters are well sustained,

and the situationit is hardly a plotis one that

calls for much subtlety of discernment on the

part of the author.11

Later, on 30 April 1904 the same paper

was more appreciative in reviewing The Test.It wrote that,

Mary Tappan Wright knows her trade as nove-

list. As novelists go she is one among ten thou-

sand. . . Mary Tappan Wright has a keen sense

of humor, good descriptive powers, a good

working knowledge of human nature, an effec-

tive style. She can tell a story well.12

Mary, as we have said earlier, neither in

her maiden life nor in the succeeding one, had

ever lived far from an academic environment.

This, perhaps, led her to weave many of her

plots within or around the American Univer-sity life. She even had set her stories in a

fictional college town called Dulwich which

purely was her creation. This Dulwich, it is

said, has an apparent elementary combination

of both Kenyon College and Harvard Univer-

sity. Recently some of the Marys writings

were republished in America, viz, Aliens in

June 2007 (Kessinger Publishing, LLC), The

Tower in December 2008 (Kessinger Publishing,

LLC). Besides, collections of her hitherto un-published short stories have also been

published between December 2007 and

November 2008 (Fleabonnet Press).

The Unmistakable Brilliance

Now to go back to the couple of remar-

kable days that changed the course of Viveka-

nandas life, let us see what Mary Wright wrote

to her mother on 29th August 1893:

We have been having a queer time. Kate Sanborn

had a Hindoo monk in tow as I believe I

mentioned in my last letter. John went down to

meet him in Boston and missing him, invited

him up here. He came Friday! In a long saffron

robe that caused universal amazement. He was

a most gorgeous vision. He had a superb carriage

of the head, was very handsome in an oriental

way, about thirty years old in time, ages in

civilization. He stayed until Monday and was

one of the most interesting people I have yetcome across. We talked all day all night and

began again with interest the next morning. The

town was in a fume to see him; the boarders at

Miss Lanes in wild excitement. They were in

and out of the Lodge [the Wrights cottage]

constantly and little Mrs. Merrills eyes were

blazing and her cheeks red with excitement.


27/56


25

Chiefly we talked religion. It was a kind of

revival, I have not felt so wrought up for a long

time myself! Then on Sunday John had him

invited to speak in the church and they took up

a collection for a Heathen college to be carried

on strictly heathen principleswhereupon I

retired to my corner and laughed until I cried.

He is an educated gentleman, knows as much

as anybody. Has been a monk since he was

eighteen. Their vows are very much our vows,

or rather the vows of a Christian monk. Only

Poverty with them means poverty. They have

no monastery, no property, they cannot even

beg; but they sit and wait until alms are given

them. Then they sit and teach people. For days

they talk and dispute. He is wonderfully clever

and clear in putting his arguments and laying

his trains [of thought] to a conclusion. You cant

trip him up, nor get ahead of him.13

Mary Wright, at the outset, hinted that

she might have earlier written about the Swami

to her mother. Though a similar letter is yet to

surface, but it has, no doubt, its historical

relevance. Marys expression of having a

queer time has an apparent superficial atti-tude, but as we read on the letter, the stress

shifts more to the extraordinariness of the

situation. She informs us that Swamiji arrived

in Annisquam on Friday, i. e., on August 25.

His attire is also vividly described with hint

on the overall impact of causing universal

amazement. Most probably this amazement

had its origin on the surface appearance of

the Swami which was so utterly conspicuous

in those days Annisquam. But with her deepunderstanding, appreciation and literary flair

Mary Wright instantly took us to the deeper

meaning of the words. She specifies the

Swamis age as about thirty years old in time,

ages in civilization. We become instantly

aware of the Swamis magnetic charm when

she wrote, we talked all day all night and

began again with interest the next morning.

And what was the immediate impact of such

prolonged company? She described the feeling

as a kind of revival, and hastily added that

she never had felt so wrought up for a long

time herself. Her initial assessment had it that

the Swami was wonderfully clever and clear

in putting his arguments and laying his trainsof thought to a conclusion. She told us that

none could trip him up, nor get ahead of him.

In her diary on Friday, August 25, 1893

Mary wrote,

RainSwami Vivekananda came. Went down

to Wambaughs in the evening, his talk mainly

political. Very warm.14

Swami Vivekananda in America


28/56


With notes and observations kept in her

diary and papers during Swamijis stay at

Annisquam, Mary Wright later prepared a

narrative which later got included in the

Swamis English biography by Eastern andWestern Disciples. Keeping the essence of our

article in mind, we would, selectively, quote

from it,

One day, at an unfashionable place by the sea,

the professor was seen crossing the lawn

between the boarding-house and his cottage

accompanied by a man in a long red coat. The

coat, which had something of a priestly cut,

descended far below the mans knees, and was

girded around his waist with a thick cord of the

same reddish orange tint. He walked with a

strange, shambling gait, and yet there was a

commanding dignity and impressiveness in the

carriage of his neck and bare head that caused

everyone in sight to stop and look [at] him; he

moved slowly, with the swinging tread of one

who had never hastened, and in his great dark

eyes was the beauty of an alien civilization which

mightshould time and circumstances turn it

into oppositionbecome intolerably repulsive.

He was dark, about the colour of a lightquadroon, and his full lips, which in a man of

Caucasian race would have been brilliant scarlet,

had a tint of bluish purple.

His teeth were regular, white and sometimes

cruel, but his beautiful expressive eyes and the

proud wonderful carriage of his head, the swing

and grace of the heavy crimson tassels that hung

from the end of his sash, made one forget that

he was too heavy for so young a man, and that

long sitting on the floor had visited him withthe fate of the tailor.

. . . He seemed very young, even younger than

his twenty-nine years, and as he seated himself

he covered his legs carefully with his flowing

robe, like a woman or a priest; but the hoary

ancient turn of his thought belied his childlike

manner...

. . . And then, having said his say, the Swami

was silent . . . Occasionally he cast his eye up to

the roof and repeated softly Shiva, Shiva, Shiva!

. . . And a current of powerful feeling seemed to

be flowing like molten lava beneath the silent

surface of this strange being. . .

His habit of argument was mainly Socratic,

beginning insidiously and simply by a story, or

clear statement of some incontestable fact, and

then from that deriving strange and unanswera-

ble things. All through, his discourses abounded

in picturesque illustrations and beautiful legends.

To work, to get on in the world, in fact any

measure of temporal success seemed to him

entirely beside the subject . . .

When someone suggested to him that Christi-

anity was a saving power he opened his great

dark eyes upon him and said, If Christianity is

a saving power in itself, why has it not saved

the Ethiopians, the Abyssinians? . . .

All the people of that little place were moved

and excited by this young man, in a manner

beyond what might be accounted for by his

coming from a strange country and a different

people. He had another power, an unusualability to bring his hearers into vivid sympathy

with his own point of view . . .

All the people of all degrees were interested;

womens eyes blazed and their cheeks were red

with excitement; even the children of the village

talked of what he had said to them; all the idle

summer boarders trooped to hear him, and all

the artists longingly observed him and wanted

to paint him

Always his thoughts turned back to his people.He lived to raise them up and make them better

and had come this long way in the hope of

gaining help to teach them, to be practically more

efficient. We hardly knew what he needed;

money, if money would do it; tools, advice, new

ideas. And for this he was willing to die

tomorrow . . .

26


29/56


In quoting from the Upanishads his voice was

most musical. He would quote a verse in Sanskrit

with intonations and then translate it into

beautiful English, of which he had a wonderful

command. And, in his mystical religion, he

seemed perfectly and unquestionably happy.

References

8. Available at http://www.stanford.edu/

~bkunde/mtw/mtw-atruce-

reviews.html>accessed 12 December, 2009.

9. Ibid

10. Ibid

11. Available at http://query.nytimes.com/mem/

archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E03E4D6103-

DEE32A25750C0A9639C946397D6CF> accessed

12 December, 2009.

12. Available at http://query.nytimes.com/mem/

archive-free/

pdf?res=9D03E2DF113DE633A25753C3A9629-

C946597D6CF> accessed 12 December, 2009.

13. Swami Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries

By Mary Louise Burke (Advaita Ashrama,

Kolkata), Volume 1 (July 2000), page 27-28.

14. New Discoveries - Vol. 1, page 29.

15. The Life of Swami Vivekananda By His Eastern

and Western Disciples [hereinafter The Life]

(Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata, July 2006), Vol. 1,

page 406-409.

. . . And yet, when they gave him money, it

seemed as if some injury had been done him

and some disgrace put upon him. Of all the

worries I have ever had, he said, as he left us,

the greatest has been the care of this

money! . . .15

(To be continued. . .)

Holy Mothers Daily Routine in Jayrambati

Holy Mother always got up at three in the morning, as was her habit during the

Dakshineswar days, and did not retire before eleven oclock at night. We have already

given a routine of her daily life at the Udbodhan. At Jayrambati, where she was mistress

of the house, she busied herself with various household activities and at the same time

talked to her intimate attendants. When she was in good health she also took part in the

more strenuous household duties, like scouring utensils, carrying water from the tank, or

husking paddy. The Mother herself made the arrangements for the daily worship, such as

gathering flowers, at which she was sometimes assisted by her nieces or devotees. After

the worship she went into the kitchen and relieved the cook, who would then go out for

her refreshment or to attend to any other personal needs. She herself cooked most of the

food to be offered to the Master in the shrine. In the afternoon many villagers visited her

with their children and grandchildren to show her their respect, and they always got

something to eat. She generally gave initiation in the morning, and had mail read

to her either in the morning or in the evening, according to her leisure, and

dictated replies. I n earlier days Holy Mother with her own hands served all

the devotees their meals, and she herself ate only after they had finished

eating. Sometimes she worked in the kitchen in the evening in order to

relieve the cook from over-work.

Holy Motherby Swami Nikhilananda, p.318-319

27


30/56


Laws of Karma and ThermodynamicsGOPAL C BHAR

A former professor of physics at Burdwan University, the author is now a research professor in the Ramakrishna

Mission Vivekananda University, Belur Math, District Howrah, West Bengal.

Two Types of Laws

Human life is guided mainly by two

types of laws: man-made and God-made or

Natures.

Man-made laws are envisaged and en-

forced by society to create and maintain social

order, as also to preserve the existing power

structure in society. They are meant for leadinga regulated, happy and peaceful life. As the

requirements in life change with time and vary

from society to society, man-made laws too

are scrutinized and change over the time. Even

for a given sect, family and country, the law

changes with time, requiring new adjustments

and amendments.

God-made laws are, however, different.

God created the world along with certain

physical and biological laws to guide, nurtureand sustain it. Only some of these laws can be

seen and experienced; others await their turn

to be un-covered or discovered. These are

the laws that scientists discover by studying

the pattern and regularity at which they occur.

These laws are repeatable, verifiable by any-

body anywhere in the world.

One has the freedom of stepping out of

man-made laws for immediate gain or plea-

sure, but God-made laws cannot be broken.As they deal with certain fundamental truths

of life, one cannot break them. We use them

for our benefit, but if not properly and wisely

used, they invite catastrophe. Growing threat

to life due to disturbance in environ-

mental equilibrium is a fitting example of what

happens when we violate God-made laws.

Cause and Effect

Man discovered these God-made laws

and that was the beginning of scienceon

the basis of common human experience. Tobegin with, man perceived things in nature,

observed events in different times, and drew

certain conclusions to explain them. They

observed how there exists a cause-effect rela-

tionship behind all phenomena. This relation-

ship is what we call as the concept of causation.

The concept simply states that one pheno-

menon (cause) gives rise to a succeeding

phenomenon (effect). Initially man looked at

the world as space-time but later refined,reconstructed, and elaborated the concepts for

better understanding. The basis of common

experiences and scientific method rests on the

concept of causality.

The same cause and effect relationship

was found to operate with regard to human

life itself. The Hindus called it the principle of

Karma. Behind all sufferings and joys of life,

behind achievement and failure, life and death

The Vedanta Kesari September 2010

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Transcript of The Vedanta Kesari September 2010