Swami Vivekananda
(Continued from my earlier Blog of Feb. 3 ,2013)
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Swami ji believed that contradictions among religions were only apparent and came from the same truth adapting itself to the different circumstances of different natures of the followers of the particular religion .
Vivekananda's ultimate goal was undoubtedly represented in his proposal of a “UNIVERSAL RELIGION which would:
1. hold no location in place or time
2. which would be INFINITE like GOD whose SUN shines equally upon the followers of RAM. KRISHNA ,CHRIST and Mohammed Saheb as also on all Saints and Sinners, without any discrimination what so ever and which would not be just for the Hindus , Buddhists, Christians or Muslims .
3, This UNIVERSAL RELIGION would preach the entire HUMANITY - all recipients of GOD's FAVOURS [ sunshine , rain , fresh air etc.] the RELIGION of TRUTH, LOVE and PITY and would still have infinite space for development .
4. This UNIVERSAL RELIGION would endeavor to formulate a place for every human being, from the lowest groveling man to the highest mind towering almost above humanity.
THE EFFECT - THE RESPONSE
THE EFFECT - THE RESPONSE
These statements captivated the attention of the American audience who had been influenced by Swami Vivekanand's proposal of a new evolutionary way of thinking to create a different model of “human progress” that every religious people could dream of,. This however was more intriguing than that of the inclusivist model proposed by Barrows.
What Vivekananda meant by the “UNIVERSAL RELIGION” was not that all religious traditions would be disappeared and replaced by a new and single religion.
Rather, it would be an authentic togetherness of all religions, in which “each must assimilate the others and yet preserve its individuality and grow according to its law of growth” . The necessity to “assimilate the others” was expressed by Vivekananda as the avoidance of the triumph of any one of the religions over others. He stated:
Do I wish that the Christian would become Hindu?
God forbid.
Do I wish that the Hindu or Buddhist would become Christian?
God forbid
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(Quoted from various publications -Courtesy 'Google')
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Dear Readers ,
I am 83 + today. During these years ,I have spent good lengths of time in such countries which lovingly reared communities devoted to different Religious Faiths .
In some countries I noticed that several communities with differing , rather diametrically apart , religious faiths , lived jointly in perfect peace, harmony and happiness with each other .
In one of these countries we saw a family in which the grand old man being a Muslim by birth followed the ISLAMIC rituals and his wife remained - a staunch Christian through out her life of over 60 years. His eldest daughter-in- law came from a HINDU family and they all lived in perfect peace always , Later we met with several other families also in which members having different religious faiths ,lived very lovingly together .
In all such families , existed the authentic togetherness of the various religions and their mutual assimilation without compromising the individuality of each as envisaged by Swami Vivekanand JI in 1893 and propagated by Sri Sri Aurobindo , Swami Shivanand (Rishikesh) Swami Chinmayanand ji etc. later in the 20th century .
Capsuling some of the above feelings I quote,here under per-courtesy Shri Anil Shrivastava of Singapore -
A meaningful poem written by the first Indian Nobel Laureate
(for literature) in the year 1913 - Dr. Rabindranath Tagore
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Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God,
First fill your own house with the Fragrance of love......
Go not to the temple to light candles before the altar of God,
First remove the darkness of sin from your heart.......
Go not to the temple to bow down your head in prayer,
First learn to bow to humility before your fellowmen.....
Go not to the temple to pray on bended knees,
First bend down to lift someone who is down-trodden..
Go not to the temple to ask for forgiveness for your sins,
First forgive from your heart for those who have sinned against you.
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Why can't we -Indians,who ,in the past practicing the aforesaid tenets of our Vedantic Religion , happily assimilated in our society followers of several widely differing Religious Faiths ,continue to practice the same UNIVERSAL RELIGION of TRUTH, LOVE and PITY for the good of the entire universe ,in the name of one UNIVERSAL LORD.
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A wishful thought of a genuine HINDU from INDIA-
"V. N. SHRIVASTAV"-"BHOLA"
Cooperation - Smt.Krishna Bhola,
Contribution : Smt.Shree Devi , Sri Anil Shrivastava
Cooperation - Smt.Krishna Bhola,
Contribution : Smt.Shree Devi , Sri Anil Shrivastava
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I presume the Foot Note at the bottom has been
anonymously tagged by one of my children
without my knowledge. In response I have just to say -.
" I don't deserve the compliment Beta. I could n't have done it
without the family's cooperation"+
anonymously tagged by one of my children
without my knowledge. In response I have just to say -.
" I don't deserve the compliment Beta. I could n't have done it
without the family's cooperation"+
LOVE U DEAR .GOD BLESS U ALL
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We are fortunate you have 'lead us by example' in following this universal religion!
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कोई टिप्पणी नहीं:
एक टिप्पणी भेजें