Svetasvathara Upanishad – 7

Chapter 2 (Mantras 13 to 17 (end)) 

Mantra 2-13

laghutvam arogyam alolupatvam varnaprasadah svarasaushthavam cha I

gandhah subho mutrapurisham alpam yogapravrttim prathamam vadanti II 2.13 II

It is said that the first signs of successful yoga are lightness of body, absence of any ailment and craving for enjoyment, bright complexion, a sweet voice, an agreeable body odour and slight excretions.
            This Mantra gives the details about the subtle changes in one’s personality that happens with the successful practice of Pranayama, such as lightness, clear complexion etc. But it should always be noted that these are only initial stages and Pranayama should not be considered as the final objective. It is only a purification process for the final goal of concentration and self-absorption in Brahman.

Mantra 2-14

yathaiva bimbam mrdayopaliptam tejomayaṃ bhrajate tat sudhantam I

tadva’’tmatattvam prasamikshya dehi ekah krtartho bhavate vitasokah II 2.14 II

As gold covered by dirt shines bright after it has been purified, so also the yogi, realizing his Self (Athma), as the one Self of all feels he has reached his goal and becomes free from sorrow.

            A gold plate covered with dust regains its original state of brightness and shining when the dust gathered on it is rubbed out. So too, from the state of ignorance when the impurity of subject-object relationship is removed the real nature of one’s Self or Athma shines forth and the seeker attains the non-dual perception of universal unity.  Sri Ramakrishna used the example of pillows to explain Self is one only and not many. The pillows may be of different sizes, shapes and colours.  But all of them contain the same stuffing.  The same way though form and name may vary, in essence all are one and the same, Brahman, only. The seeker then becomes free from all sorrows of the world of duality.

Mantra 2-15

yad atmatattvena tu brahmatattvam dipopameneha yuktah prapasyet I

ajam dhruvam sarvatattvairvisuddham jnatva devam muchyate sarvapasaih II 2.15 II

When the yogi realises the real nature of Brahman, through the knowledge of the Self, radiant as a lamp, then, having known the unborn and immutable Lord, who is untouched by ignorance and its effects, he is freed from all fetters.

            What happens when the seeker is absolutely purified by knowledge is answered in this Mantra.  The answer is that he simultaneously realizes his identity with Brahman just like a lamp becomes luminous when it is lit. As the luminosity is the very nature of the lamp which it regains when it is lighted so also the seeker identifies himself with Brahman and its power the moment he acquires Self-Realization.  He knows he is essentially the Brahman who is unborn, eternal and changeless, untouched by ignorance and its effects, and feels liberated from all bonds. 

Mantra 2-16

esha ha devah pradiso'nu sarvah purvo ha jatah sa u garbhe antaḥ I

sa eva jatah sa janishyamanah pratyan janamstishthati sarvatomukhah II 2.16 II

This Cosmic Self, Brahman, pervades all directions, everywhere. He is the first-born (Hiranyagarbha). He is the one in every womb. He alone is born as a child and is to be born in future. He is inside all persons as the Indwelling Self and his face is everywhere.

            On attaining Self-knowledge, the seeker starts looking at the world through a different looking-glass. Earlier he was feeling ‘I am’, ‘My body’ ‘Your house’ etc., and now he feels all things of the world whether gross or subtle, visible or invisible, as that Brahman itself. He sees the gross world of multiplicities as the manifestation of Brahman and also all that is born and in the womb and to be born as Brahman only. In fact, he now feels one with the scriptural saying, “sarvam khalu idam brahma (Verily all this is Brahman)”.

Mantra 2-17

yo devo agnau yo’psu yo visvaṃ bhuvanamavivesa I

ya oshadhishu yo vanaspatishu tasmai devaya namo namah II 2.17 II

Salutations to that Self-luminous Cosmic Self who is in the fire, who is in the water, who is in the plants, who is in the trees, who has pervaded the whole universe.

            In this concluding Mantra of the second chapter, the seeker as a realised person offers his salutations to that Cosmic Self, Brahman, who is in the fire, water and who pervades the whole world and is in the plants as well as in big trees. In short the seeker has attained the knowledge that there is nothing other than that Divine Self anywhere including himself.  This Mantra is a blend of Bhakti and Advaita Jnanam.

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Svetasvathara Upanishad – 6

 Chapter 2 (Mantras 8 to 12) 

Mantra 2-8

trirunnatam sthapya samam sariram hrdindriyani manasa samnivesya I

brahmodupena pratareta vidvan srotamsi sarvani bhayavahani II 2.8 II

The wise man should hold his body in a straight posture, with the chest, throat and head erect, turn his senses, with the help of the mind, toward the heart and by means of the raft of Brahman cross the fearful currents of the river of life (samsara).

            Upanishad speaks about the practice of yoga from this Mantra. The first thing is to keep the upper three parts of the body, the head, neck and chest erect and straight.  Though meditation is a mental process the mind can be controlled better in an erect posture.  Bhagavad Gita (6-13) also gives this instruction to hold the trunk, head and neck straight and steady.  This step is called ‘Asana’ in Patanjali’s Ashtanga yoga.  Then, by using the mind to control senses, thoughts should be directed toward the heart which is believed to be the abode of Brahman and held there through the chanting of OM and meditation on Brahman as OM, described here as the raft of Brahman.  The process of checking the out-going tendencies and turning them inward is called ‘Pratyahara’ in Ashtanga yoga. Fixing the mind on OM and meditating on it as Brahman, helps one to realise Brahman, thereby crossing the frightening currents of samsara.

Mantra 2-9

pranan prapidyeha sa yuktaceshtah kshine prane nasikayochchvasita I

dushtasvayuktamiva vahamenam vidvan mano dharayetapramattah II 2.9 II

The wise person, controlling the senses with an effort and regulating the activities in the body should also control his breath with great care, releasing the breath when he feels exhausted. Then he should restrain the mind without any distraction, like the charioteer restraining the restive horses.

            Pranayama or the control of the breath by regulating inhaling (puraka), exhaling (rechaka) and withholding of breath (kumbaka) in-between, which helps to steady the mind in the contemplation of Brahman, is elaborated in this Mantra. Pranayama is not the goal but a means of controlling the mind, which is difficult to control like the controlling of wind as per Arjuna’s confession in Gita (6-34).  In this Mantra it is compared to the restless horses attached to a chariot to show one cannot reach the goal, if mind is not firmly controlled and properly directed.  This has to be done along with control of senses and regulating the activities.  In Bhagavad Gita (6-17), Lord Krishna tells Arjuna: “Yoga becomes a destroyer of sorrow for one who is regulated in diet and recreation, regulated in performing actions and regulated in sleep and wakefulness”.  Pranayama is also explained in Bhagavad Gita (5-28) as: ‘With the senses, mind and intellect always controlled, shutting out all external contacts, fixing the gaze between eyebrows, equalising the incoming and outgoing breaths that move through the nostrils---“.  

Mantra 2-10

same suchau sarkaravahnivaluka- vivarjite sabdajalasrayadibhih I

mano'nukule na tu cakshupidane guhanivatasrayane prayojayet II 2.10 II

Yoga should be practiced in a place which is level, pure and free from pebbles, gravel and fire, undisturbed by the noise of crowds or of river or lake and free from strong winds; or it can be a place like a cave.  It should be a place which is pleasing to the mind and not repulsive to the sight.

            The importance of physical surroundings is highlighted in this Mantra. A congenial place and ambience is always recommended for Yogic practices in various scriptures. A convenient location without external disturbances caused by noise, fire, human traffic etc., and also pleasing to the eye is recommended to help concentration of mind and still the senses. With regard to the seat and surroundings Bhagavad Gita (6-11) states: “Having firmly established his seat in a clean place free from dirt and other impurities, neither too high nor too low, and made of cloth, skin and kusa-grass, placed successively one below the other;”

Mantra 2-11

niharadhumarkanalanilanam khadyotavidyutsphatikasasinam I

etani rupani purahsarani brahmany abhivyaktikarani yoge II 2.11 II

Forms that appear like snow, smoke, sun, wind, fire, fire-fly, lightning, crystal and moon, precede the experience of Brahman in practice of yoga..
            Certain visions which the seeker experiences as the forerunners to the revelation of Brahman in the path of yoga are described in this Mantra.  Some may even get siddhis as described in the third chapter of Patanjali Yoga sutras. Sri Ramakrishna’s first mystic experience in meditation was a flow of overwhelming light from Mother Goddess reaching him. The siddhis and visions by themselves are not the final goal which is the transcendental Bliss of union with Brahman, but are only indicators that one is making progress in the yogic path.

Mantra 2-12

prthvyaptejo'nilakhe samutthite panchatmake yogagune pravrtte I

na tasya rogo na jara na mrtyuh praptasya yogagnimayam sariram II 2.12 II

When the fivefold perception of yoga, arising from (concentrating the mind on) earth, water, light, air and ether, have appeared to the yogi, then he has become possessed of a body purified by the fire of yoga, and he will not be touched by disease, old age or death (death is at will).

            The five-fold perception refers to the yoga practice mentioned in Patanjali Yoga sutras (1-35) of steadying the mind through fixing attention on one of the senses of perception.  By means of these meditations the whole personality becomes subtle and the mind becomes steady, for it is no longer attracted by outward objects. He throws off his physical body into the fire of yoga and takes up a new individuality, as it were, purer than the previous. As the yogi understands that his physical body is a combination of the five elements and is matter that is subject to degeneration and change and that his real Self is separate from them and indestructible and changeless; he does not feel affected by disease, old age and has no fear of death.

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Chandogya upanishad (ch. 6,7 & 8) – 7

 Chapter 6, Section 8 (Mantras 1to5)

Mantra 6-8-1

uddalako harunih svetaketum putramuvacha svapnantam me somya vijanihiti yatraitatpurushah svapiti nama sata somya tada sampanno bhavati svamapito bhavati tasmadenam svapitityachakshate svamhyapito bhavati || 6.8.1 ||

Uddalaka Aruni said to his son Svetaketu: ‘O my son, let me explain to you the nature of deep sleep. When a person is said to be sleeping, dear son, he has become united with Sat [Existence], and he has attained his own nature.  Hence people speak of him as sleeping, for then he has attained his own nature.

            Uddalaka feels that his teaching is incomplete as his real aim was to make Svetaketu understand “Brahman is one’s Real nature”.  So he continues his teaching with the analysis of deep sleep state. The individual (Jiva) identifying with the gross and subtle bodies is ignorant of his true nature.  In the deep sleep state, the gross body is not experienced and subtle body is withdrawn and the person is in his true nature, Sat, the Existence.  Then he is called Svapiti – one who has attained (apiti) his own Self (svam). The nature of Sat is bliss and one experiences this bliss untouched by samsara in deep sleep.  Unfortunately, one does it unknowingly and it is only temporary for as he wakes up, samsara catches up with him, with its worries and anxieties, desires and disappointments.  To enjoy the true bliss of his own nature all the time, one should realise the Self in the waking state.

Mantra 6-8-2

sa yatha sakunih sutrena prabaddho disam disam patitvanyatrayatanamalabdhva bandhanamevopasrayata evameva khalu somya tanmano disam disam patitvanyatrayatanamalabdhva pranamevopasrayate pranabandhanaṃ hi somya mana iti || 6.8.2 ||

Just as a bird tied to a rope flutters here and there, and when it cannot get any shelter anywhere, it surrenders itself to its bondage; in the same way, dear son, the mind runs in every direction, and when it fails to get a resting place anywhere, it surrenders itself to Prana, the vital force. The mind, dear son, is tied to Prana.

            Uddalaka here gives the example of a bird tied to a pole by a string that flies in different directions seeking food and entertainment and finally tired and exhausted, returns to rest on the pole, its refuge.  Sri Ramakrishna used to give a similar illustration of a bird is sitting on the mast of a ship and falling asleep. When the ship has gone far out to sea, it wakes up and starts flying around looking for land. It eventually gets tired, and, not finding any land, comes back to the ship. In the Mantra, the mind stands for mind with chidabasa, reflected consciousness, and Prana represents Pranasya Prana i.e., Athma, one’s Self.   Like the bird in the example the mind wanders in various directions, having different experiences in the waking and dream state and finally exhausted and tired, it rests in Self, in deep sleep, forgetting all the travails of other two states.  But it is only a temporary relief from its search and struggles for permanent happiness and relief from samsara as on waking up, the search and struggle for peace, security and joy starts again.  To attain it one should be able to claim “I am Brahman (Aham Brahmasmi)’ in the waking state. 

Mantras 6-8-3 & 4

asanapipase me somya vijanihiti yatraitatpurusho'sisishati namapa eva tadasitam nayante tadyatha gonayo'svanayah purusanaya ityevaṃ tadapa acaksate'sanayeti tatritacchungamutpatitam somya vijanihi nedamamulam bhavishyatiti || 6.8.3 ||

tasya kva mulam syadanyatrannadevameva khalu somyannena sungenapo mulamanvicchadbhih somya sungena tejo mulamanviccha tejasa somya sungena sanmulamanviccha sanmulah somyemah sarvah prajah sadayatanah satpratishtah || 6.8.4 ||

Dear son, now learn from me about hunger and thirst. When a person is said to be hungry, it is to be understood that the food he ate has been carried away by water. Just as people refer to a leader of cows, or a leader of horses, or a leader of people, similarly, people say that water is the leader of food. So also, dear boy, know that this sprout [i.e., the body] is the product of something [i.e., of food and drink]. For It cannot be without a root (3).  Where else, except in food, can the body have its root? In the same way, dear son, when food is the sprout, look for water as the root; when water is the sprout, dear son, look for fire as the root; when fire is the sprout, dear son, search for Sat [Existence] as the root. Dear son, Sat is the root, Sat is the abode, and Sat is the support of all these beings (4).

            After showing the nature of one in deep sleep is Sat, the Brahman, now Uddalaka is tracing every other thing, starting with food, to the same source, namely Brahman, the ‘Sat.  The desire to eat arises from hunger and makes one eat.  This food is acted upon by the juices secreted in the mouth, saliva, and digestive juices secreted in the stomach.  Thus the juices (water) lead away the food eaten, leaving one hungry once more. Here there is a play upon the word asanaya, meaning hunger. ‘Naya’ means to lead and like gonaya, asvanaya and purusanaya which mean leader of cows, leader of horses and leader of men respectively, he interprets asanaya as the one who leads away the food eaten, as ‘as’ means ‘to eat’. The digested food in turn forms the body and sustains it.    The food grows from the earth which is sustained by water element (6-2-4) and water in turn comes from the fire element (6-2-3). Fire comes from Sat (Existence), the Brahman.  It alone existed before creation.  It is the Ultimate cause (sanmula) from which all things and beings emerged and even now they exist in ‘Sat’ alone (Sadayatana) and will merge back finally in ‘Sat’ alone (Satpratishtah).

Mantra 6-8-5

atha yatraitatpurushah pipasati nama teja eva tatpitam nayate tadyatha gonayo'svannyah purushanaya ityevaṃ tatteja achasṭa udanyeti tatraitadeva sungamutpatitam somya vijanihi nedamamulam bhavishyatiti || 6.8.5 ||

Then when a person is said to be thirsty, it is to be understood that the water he drank has been carried away by fire. Just as people refer to a leader of cows, or a leader of horses, or a leader of people, similarly, people say that fire is the leader of water. So also, dear son, know that this sprout (i.e., the body) is the product of something (i.e., of food and drink), for It cannot be without a root.

            Thirst prompts one to drink water. The water, one drinks, is removed from one’s system by the digestive fire within, which separates the gross ingredient as urine for elimination and transforms the subtle and middle ingredient for absorption as Prana and blood. Also when one exerts, heat is generated and one perspires.  This makes one thirsty again.  So fire is called Udanya, one who leads away the water. Food supports and water is the source of food.  Further, water itself supports the body. Fire is the cause of water and Sat, the Brahman is the cause of fire. It alone existed before creation and is the cause of the world and all beings in it. What happens at death is discussed in the next Mantra, which we shall see in the next blog.

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Iswara’s Grace

Sri Krishna says in Gita (9-29) “समोऽहं सर्वभूतेषु न मे द्वेष्योस्ति न प्रियः”। (Samoham sarva bhutheshu na may dweshyosthi na priyaha)  I am same to all beings; there is none hateful or dear to me.  This declaration He makes not as the son of Devaki but as Paramathma, whom we shall refer to as Iswara.  But we feel in practice some seem to be recipients more of Iswara’s Grace or Iswara Kripa or Anugraha than others.  What is the yardstick to qualify for the special Grace, one may wonder. I want to analyse it in this blog in the light of other statements Sri Krishna makes in the same chapter.

As Sri Krishna says ‘I am same to all’, He does not choose anybody to shower special Grace; rather He showers His Grace equally on all.  It is only we through our actions need qualify ourselves to take advantage of His Grace.  Acharya Sankara  illustrates this through an example.  In winter people light a fire and sit around it.  The fire gives the same warmth to all, but the one who sits near it seems to receive more warmth than the ones sitting a bit far off.  Swami Paramarthananda gives an example from current scenario. Solar energy flows same to all, but the one who has erected a solar panel gets the benefit of electricity from it to escape power-cut.  The one who has attained a higher degree of mental purity, through selfless prayer, worship and actions done in karmayoga spirit makes oneself eligible to take advantage of the Grace like the farmer who has tilled the land and sowed the seeds beforehand, gets greater benefit from the rains and reaps a good harvest as compared to the one who has neglected the field and let the water go waste.  This Sri Krishna himself states in the second line of the above quoted verse: ये भजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या मयि ते तेषु चाप्यहं॥ (Ye bhajanthi tum am bhakthya mayi te teshu chapyaham) But those who worship me devoutly, abide in Me and I too am in them. This means that more you get closer to Him the more you feel His nearness to you.

Now the question is “How to get closer to Him?  Does it need special sadhanas like Vrata, Upasana, Yagna or a special Puja somewhere?”  Sri Krishna Himself has given the solution earlier in the same chapter in verse 29.

यत्करोषि यदश्नासि यज्जुहोषि ददासि यत् । (Yatkaroshi  yadasnasi yajjuhoshi dadasi yat) 

यत्तपस्यसि कौन्तेय तत्कुरुष्व मदर्पणम् ॥ (Yattapasyasi Kaunteya tatkurushva madarpanam)

Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer in sacrifice, whatever you give in charity, whatever you do by way of penance,O son of Kunti, do that as an offering unto Me.  

This attitude converts the very life itself of bhaktha as a worship of Iswara.  There is no division as secular and religious work, as all work is treated as worship, being an offering to Iswara. With such an attitude one will not stray from the path of dharma; rather he will give up any bad or immoral habits, acquired earlier.  Sri Girish Chandra ghosh, a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was a good dramatist but also a great drunkard.  When he confessed his inability to give up drinks, Sri Ramakrishna asked him only to offer every glass of drink to him before taking it. Gosh did accordingly but could do so only for one day and from the second day onwards, he could not bring himself to offer the drinks to his master and so gave up the habit of drinks itself.  When one invokes God in all of one’s actions sincerely, one acquires selflessness in actions. As God comes more in one’s life, the less the play of ego in one’s life, as what is ego but edging god out and replacing it with ‘I’. 

Sri Krishna goes on to list a few actions, the first among them being food.  The food we take has a great impact on our thoughts.   The more satvic the food the more satvic tends to be our mind.  In Chandogya Upanishad Sanatkumara tells Narada “आहारशद्धौ सत्वशुद्धिः” (Aahara suddhau satva suddhihi) When nourishment is pure, thought processes of the mind also become pure.  When one performs religious acts or sadhanas offering them to Iswara, he eschews selfish motive in performance.  As one gives everything with the mindset that he is giving to none other than Iswara, he cultivates humility and eschews arrogance that comes from a feeling of superiority as giver.

Such a virtuous, selfless, egoless action done with humility and with dedication to Iswara earns one Punya, good karma-phala.  Swami Paramarthananda in his lecture on God’s Grace observes that God's Grace is only another name for the ripe Punya-phala that becomes ready for tapping, because God as karma-phala dhata has no preferences and only acts as per the law of karma laid down by Himself to regulate our lives.  When the accrued Punya becomes ripe for tapping is not within one’s knowledge.  So when one enjoys the benefit of ripe punya-phala it looks as though one is enjoying special Grace.  So if one wants the favour of special Grace let him through righteous, selfless, egoless actions performed with humility and devotion, earn the Punya-phala and make oneself  eligible to receive the Punya-phala as His Grace, which may be then or later, depending upon when it becomes ripe and ready for tapping.

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Swami Vivekananda and Modern Physics

Swami Vivekananda was not only a monk of great sastraic erudition, a magnificent orator with an imposing appearance endowed with a keen, incisive mind and an incredible memory,  but also a great scholar in science.  It is his ability to interpret Vedic Science with the idioms of Modern Science that endeared him to the west and made them appreciate the great scientific truths enshrined in the Vedas.   We shall briefly see his vision in Modern Physics.  (I will be hereafter referring to Swami Vivekananda as Swamiji only.)

Science of Swamiji’s day swore by positivism, which refused to accept anything that was not verifiable by senses or experiments.  Swamiji stressed there is also place for intuitionism in quest of science for ultimate truth quoting the Vedas, where the rishis in their search for Truth turned inwards their thoughts and arrived at profound scientific conclusions.  He pointed out “The senses cheat you day and night.  Vedanta found that ages ago; Modern science is just discovering the same fact” (7,74)  He said that intuition is the natural culmination of reason. On instinct, reason and intuition, he said, “Reason is the vehicle one rides to reach a certain point beyond which one cannot move. Intuition goes beyond reason but reason with unbiased mind is the only guide to reach there. Instinct is like ice, reason is like water and intuition is the subtlest form like vapor and each one follows the other”.  Today, with the developments in particle physics which deals with sub-atomic particles like quarks and leptons that are only inferred and still not isolated to be studied separately and the vindication of uncertainty theory of Heisenberg, the limitations of experimental physics and positivism are exposed.  Einstein who started as a strong votary of positivism later declared, “In a certain sense, therefore, I hold it true that pure thought can grasp reality as the ancients dreamed”. 

Physics of Swamiji’s time is now called classical physics as compared to the present day’s Modern Physics.  In classical physics mass, energy, space and time were all considered independent entities.  Swamiji with his Vedantic knowledge declared that these four are not only inter-related but also that energy and matter are interchangeable in the space and time domains.  In the Raja Yoga lecture Swamiji  delivered in New York, he explained the oneness of matter and energy by defining them as Akasa and Prana, that are produced from the Universal mind, Mahat, using Sankhyan terminology.  All forces are expressions of one single force, Prana; and all matters are derived from one basic matter, Akasa and both come from Mahat, which itself  is a projection of Absolute, he declared.  Nicholas Tesla, the famous U.S. electrical engineer and inventor, was greatly impressed with the idea and later had discussions with Swamiji.   Swamiji later wrote to an English friend, “Mr. Tesla thinks he can demonstrate mathematically that force and matter are reducible to potential energy. I am to go and see him next week, to get this new mathematical demonstration”(5,77).  In this letter Swamiji has used the terms force and matter for energy and mass.  Tesla did not succeed and only ten years later Einstein came with the equation E=mc², to demonstrate the oneness of mass and energy.  It is to be noted here that after meeting Swamiji, Tesla who was struck by the resemblance between the Sankhya theory of matter and energy and that of modern physics, took great interest in Eastern Science and even started using the words Akasa and Prana for matter and energy.  Swamiji  later remarked during a lecture in India, "I myself have been told by some of the best scientific minds of the day, how wonderfully rational the conclusions of the Vedanta are. I know of one of them personally, who scarcely has time to eat his meal, or go out of his laboratory, but who would stand by the hour to attend my lectures on the Vedanta; for, as he expresses it, they are so scientific, they so exactly harmonize with the aspirations of the age and with the conclusions”

Regarding time,space and causation, let me quote Swamiji's words as expressed in the lecture in London in 1896. "The one peculiar attribute we find in time, space, and causation is that they cannot exist separate from other things. Try to think of space without colour, or limits, or any connection with the things around-just abstract space. You cannot; you have to think of it as the space between two limits or between three objects.  It has to be connected with some object to have any existence.  So with time; you cannot have any idea of abstract time, but you have to take two events, one preceding and the other succeeding, and join the two events by the idea of succession.  Time depends on two events, just as space has to be related to outside objects.  And the idea of causation is inseparable from time and space.  This is the peculiar thing about them having no independent existence.------ They have no real existence; yet they are not non-existent, seeing that through them all things are manifesting as this universe.  Thus we see that the combination of time, space, and causation has neither existence nor non-existence.-----This is Maya".  These words regarding time, space, and causation were revolutionary then but now with the theory of relativity and studies in particle physics, it is a common knowledge in science circles that there is no absolute time, space or causation.  Michael Talbot in his book ‘Mysticism and New Physics”  says ”Vivekananda further expresses a view that has become the backbone of the quantum theory.  There is no such thing as causality”

"Science is nothing but the finding of unity.  As soon as science would reach perfect unity, it would stop from further progress, because it would reach the goal" declared Swamiji in the paper on Hinduism he submitted in the Parliament of Religions in 1893.  This “unity” is expressed in Vedanta through the Mahavakya “Tat Tvam Asi” (Thou art That) which can be expressed as an equation Athma=Brahman, that can be interpreted as the identification of macrocosm and microcosm.  Swamiji referred to this unity with these words, “Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the Universe.  This is exactly what the Vedantists say of Athma”(7,50);  “Man is the most representative being in the universe, the microcosm, a small universe in himself”(4,49).  The unity that Swamiji envisioned is now the goal of scientists can be seen from the Nobel laureate Dr. David Bohm’s words in his book “Wholeness and the Implicate order”; “science itself is demanding a new, non-fragmentary world view, in the sense that the present approach of analysis of the world into independently existent parts does not work very well in modern physics. It is shown that both in relativity theory and quantum theory, notions implying the undivided wholeness of the universe would provide a much more orderly way of considering the general nature of reality.”

Swamiji called Newton and Galileo 'Prophets of physical science’ and Upanishadic Rishis ‘Prophets of spirituality’ and declared that “the whole universe, mental and material, will be fused into one”(6,4). He prophesied the convergence of modern science with the Advaita Vedanta and the consequent spiritualization of religion and civilisation when he declared in Harvard in 1895, "Civilization is the manifestation of divinity in man".  No wonder A.D.Reincourt observed in his book 'The eye of Shiva',"From its modern awakening with Sri Ramakrishna  and Swami Vivekananda, Eastern mysticism has begun to adapt its revelations to the entirely different cultural framework provided by science and technology, without in any way sacrificing what is valid in its traditional understanding of the phenomenon itself ----Indian mysticism has evolved as the science of physics itself".

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Swami Vivekananda, the dynamic Jeevanmuktha

Ramana Maharishi had no mortal guru and did not leave the mountain and its surroundings in Tiruvannamalai after he renounced everything except for the loin cloth. Initially he spent most of the time in meditation and silence and even when he started communicating with others it was mostly for answering their questions, clearing their doubts and for guiding those who sought his guidance.  He gave no discourses or held classes in so much so there are some who have doubts whether he can be called a guru.  But in Swami Vivekananda’s case there can be no such doubt as he had a mortal guru, if not a sampradaya guru, in Sri Ramkrishna, to whom he attributed all the success in his efforts and all the fame and glory that attended his efforts.  He travelled widely, lectured profusely, wrote books, took classes on Yoga and Vedanta, and founded the Ramakrishna mission along with the brother disciples of Sri Ramakrishna.  The uniqueness and greatness of this work was that it was the forerunner for similar Hindu religious organisations to engage in social and relief work and in propagation of scriptures.  We shall see briefly the life of  Swami Vivekananda, a Jeevanmuktha of inspiring and infectious dynamism.

Narendranath, who later became Swami Vivekananda and whom we shall call  Naren hereafter,  was born as the first son of Viswanath Datta, a successful lawyer, and Bhuvaneswari Devi, a pious woman on 12^th January 1863 in Calcutta. He used to hear stories from Mahabharata and Ramayana from his mother and he loved in particular the story of Sri Rama.  He also bought a small clay image of Sri Rama and Sita and worshipped it with flowers. He was very naughty as a child.  But he would become quiet when cold water was poured over his head uttering ‘Siva’ in his ear. He also liked to play at meditation. He with one or two of his friends would go to a secluded place and would play the game of meditation in front of an image of Sita-Rama or Shiva. On one such occasion a cobra appeared there. While the other boys ran away shouting, Naren remained lost in meditation and did not move. The snake soon went away.  He later told his parents when enquired that he was feeling very happy at that time and did not hear his friends shouting about the snake.

As a student, he was brilliant with an enquiring mind and a good memory.  Besides studies he excelled in music, games and gymnastics.  He was restless and active, not only in physical activities but also in his desire to understand God.  This led him to intense meditation and study of various systems of philosophy and of different religions. His education equipped him with deep understanding of different religions and systems of philosophy.  But they did not satisfy his quest for God.  None of the spiritual luminaries including Debendranath Tagore, the Brahma Samaj doyen, could answer straight to his question, ‘Have you seen God?’  The only person who could answer this straight was the saint of Dakshineswar, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. First time Naren heard about him, was from his English professor, Hastie, who referred to Sri Ramakrishna as one who has realised God. Soon Naren had an opportunity to meet Sri Ramakrishna, when one of Naren’s friends invited him to sing a few devotional songs before Sri Ramakrisna, who was visiting that house. Sri Ramakrishna was impressed by Naren’s singing and he invited Naren to Dakshineswar. A few days later when Naren visited Dakshineswar, he popped the question to Sri Ramakrishna, “Sir, Have you seen God?”  And pat came the reply: “Yes, I have seen God.  I see him as I see you here, only more clearly”   The conviction in Sri Ramakrishna’s voice impressed Naren immensely and Sri Ramakrishna was also equally impressed by the sincerity of Naren’s quest. Thus was laid the seeds of a unique Guru-sishya relationship where the Guru made the sishya famous by passing on his spiritual powers to sishya and the sishya made Guru famous by laying all his achievements at Guru’s feet and singing Guru’s glory in all national and international forums. 

Though Naren was impressed, he was confused also because Sri Ramakrishna’s behaviour was a bit strange.  When Sri Ramakrishna saw Naren, he was very happy as if he was meeting a close friend after a long time; he even wept in joy, made Naren sit by his side and fed Naren sweets with his own hand and as Naren sang he went into ecstasy and as Naren took leave, he insisted that Naren should visit him often and Naren also knew that some people referred to Sri Ramakrishna as madman of Dakshineswar.  But yet he visited Sri Ramakrishna, after a month.  This time Sri Ramakrishna asked Naren to sit by his side and touched Naren. At this touch Naren had a strange experience. The walls and the room seemed to whirl round and round and then vanish. He thought that he was about to die and he became frightened. He cried out, “What is this that you are doing to me? I have my parents at home.”  Sri Ramakrishna laughed and stroked Nar­en’s chest.  At his touch the strange experience was gone and Naren found everything the same as it had been before.  Now Naren knew Sri Ramakrishna was no ordinary saint.  He developed deep respect for Sri Ramakrishna though there were still many unanswered ques­tions in his mind.

He did not hesitate to voice his doubts and to argue with Sri Ramakrishna, when he was not convinced. This was especially in the field of idol worship.  Sri Ramakrishna was an ardent devotee of Goddess Kali, whom he referred to as Divine Mother and he also asserted that the Divine Mother talked to him and made him realize Naren’s sterling qualities which made Naren so dear to him. Naren as member of Brahma samaj believed in formless God and could not see divinity in idol.  Sri Ramakrishna  even remarked once, “If you do not accept my views why do you come to me?”  Naren replied “I come because I love you. But that does not mean that I will accept your words with­out thinking for myself.”    Sri Ramakrishna was not annoyed, but only appreciated his honesty and independent, logical mind.  He continued to shower affection on him, persevere patiently with him clearing his doubts and guiding him in sadhanas and his pure selfless love and faith in Naren won Naren over and Naren realized after a time that Para Bhakthi, supreme devotion to God in an idol and Brahma Jnanam, the supreme knowledge, are no different and lead to the same goal and he became an ardent disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and an ardent devotee of Divine Mother.  Around this time two things happened that distressed him deeply. One was his father’s death, which left the family penniless and second Sri Ramakrishna’s illness with cancer.  In spite of his inability to find a regular job and poverty at home, he did not discontinue his visits to Sri Ramakrishna. He joined other disciples in nursing him. Sri Ramakrishna gave specific instructions to Naren regarding a new monastic order, made him leader of the band of disciples and endowed him with all his spiritual powers before shedding his mortal body on 16^th August 1886.

After the passing away of Sri Ramakrishna, his disciples started living together in a dilapidated building in Baranagar and formed a monastic brotherhood under the leadership of Naren. They took the formal vows of sanyasa and assumed new names. Naren did not take a permanent name, using the name Vividhishananda most of the time.  The name Vivekananda, he took much later at the suggestion of Maharaja of Khetri i.e. before leaving for America to attend the Parliament of Religions. But we shall hereafter refer to him as Swami Vivekananda only.  Sometime after establishing the new monastic order, Swami Vivekananda was feeling restless as he felt an inner call of a greater mission in life to serve the masses of India. So in the middle of 1890, after taking the blessings of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, whom he respected equally as Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda left Baranagar Math and embarked on a long journey of exploration and discovery of India.

He travelled the length and breadth of the country as a parivrajaka sanyasi. During the travels, he did not carry money, eat only the food that came to him and travelled by foot to the next destination, unless somebody offered him a train ticket to that place. In his travels he stayed in huts, houses and palaces as well as on the roadside and open fields at times, and sometimes remained hungry when nobody  offered any food.  During his travels all over India, Swami Vivekananda was deeply moved to see the appalling poverty and backwardness of the masses.  He realized that they also suffered from low self-esteem and had lost their desire and capacity to better their lot owing to centuries of oppression and social taboos.  He also saw that, in spite of poverty, the masses clung to religion, but they had never been exposed to the uplifting message of Vedanta that talked about the divinity of human Self.  He resolved to make it his life’s work to strive for restoring their self-respect, infusing confidence in themselves and get them out of the mire of blind superstitions in the name of religion.  It is this work and his inspiring messages to this end that made Subhash Bose remark, “ Modern India is Vivekananda’s creation.” and Jawahalal Nehru observe “....he came as a tonic to the depressed and demoralized Hindu mind and gave it self-reliance and some roots in the past.” 

During his travels he met Maharaja of Khetri, who became his ardent admirer and life-long disciple.  After staying for some time with him he continued his travels to Gujarat, Maharashtra and South India. By now he has become widely known and various people invited him to their places. Wherever he went the people he met were struck by his wide learning, commanding eloquence and magnetic personality, and it was the expressed desire of one and all of them that he should represent Hinduism  in the Parliament of religions to be held at Chicago, U.S.A.  But Swami Vivekananda, who had his own doubts regarding going to a foreign land did not agree immediately. He continued his travel to Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India.  Here he swam three miles in the sea to reach an isolated off-shore rock and sat there for three days in meditation.  There in meditation he felt that it is also the will of Sri Ramakrishna that he should go to America to attend the Parliament of Religions.  When he swam back it was with a resolve to attend the Parliment of Religions to carry the message of Vedanta to West and also get funds for the missionary work of uplift of poor, down-trodden masses of India.  

Then with the funds collected by his well-wishers and ticket provided by Maharaja of Khetri, Swami Vivekananda set sail for America from Bombay in a ship bound for Canada. His opening address in the Parliament of religions was a stirring success.  The thunderous applause that greeted his opening words ‘’My dear Sisters and Brothers of America” took some time to die down.  Later in the course of his address, as he quoted from Gita “Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.”  to emphasise the doctrine of acceptance enshrined in Hinduism he won the hearts of the assembled and his addresses then and later in the Parliament made headlines in local and national press. Of his inaugural address Romain Rolland remarks: “when this unknown young man of about thirty appeared in Chicago at the inaugural meeting of the Parliament of Religions, all his fellow-members were forgotten in his commanding presence.  His strength and beauty, the grace and dignity of his bearing, the light of his eyes, and his imposing presence, from the moment he began to speak, the splendid music of his deep rich voice enthralled the vast American Anglo-Saxons … and left a deep mark upon the United States”.  The hardships faced until the moment became a thing of the past as Swami Vivekananda was warmly welcomed thereafter, wherever he went in West.  He toured United States, England and France for more than three years meeting many scholars, delivering lectures, holding classes, and establishing Vedanta societies to continue the work started by him.  His watchword “The goal is to manifest the divinity within ----- Books and temples and churches are secondary details’ caught the imagination of the people everywhere.

After the tour of U.S.A and Europe, he returned to India after a period of three and a half years, to a hero’s welcome in all the places he visited thereafter.  As he landed in Pamban, he was warmly greeted by huge crowds, including Raja of Ramnad, who had gathered there. Then he was taken in a procession in a carriage drawn by Raja himself along with other admirers of Swamiji.  It was a triumphal march from Rameswaram to Chennai as at every station the train stopped, crowds had gathered to have his darsan and he had to get down, receive the welcome address and speak to the crowd.  The same happened in Chennai, only it was in a bigger and grander scale with welcome arches and fireworks. So tired he became by the continuous lecturing without rest that he dropped the idea of going by train to Calcutta and travelled by ship to receive yet another grand welcome there with bands and banners. Swamiji was glad to rejoin his brother monks and they were thrilled to see their Naren return as the world famous Swami Vivekananda.  After another round of receptions and lectures in major cities of North India, Swami Vivekananda settled in Calcutta for some time.  He founded in 1897 a unique type of organization known as Ramakrishna Mission, in which monks and lay people could jointly undertake propagation of Practical Vedanta, and various forms of social service, such as running hospitals, schools, colleges, hostels, rural development centres etc, and conducting massive relief and rehabilitation work for victims of earthquakes, cyclones and other calamities, in different parts of India and other countries.

In 1898, a plot of land was purchased at Belur, wherein the present Math came up. In 1899, he again went to West. This time he spent most of the time in California conducting classes on Gita and Vedanta.  He returned to India and Belur Math in 1900.  Incessant work has taken toll of his health.  His health which was not good even before his second visit to West, now grew worse.  But he continued his travels and lectures, though not that frequently and widely as before.  Even while in Belur math he conducted classes, guided people both monastic and lay. Even on his last day on earth, 4^th July 1902, he was taking classes on Sanskrit grammar. He was only thirty nine when he shed his mortal coils.  But within that time he wrote and spoke so much that his collected works run into eight volumes and he travelled so widely and so successfully to preach the practical Vedanta that K. M.Panikkar, the eminent historian calls him “New Sankaracharya”.  He lives today not only through his pioneering work but also through his inspiring message to youth of India ”Arise, Awake and Stop not till the goal is reached”.

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