Today is Swami Vivekananda’s 150 birth anniversary. A towering leader who has walked this land exhorting Hindus to shed dogma and apply practical Vedanta in their daily lives. He condemned narrow mindedness and counseled people to have broad view of life. His views on eliminating poverty, respecting women, nation building and a deep belief that all human beings are essentially divine is even more relevant today.
Swamiji would have been dejected to see the degeneration of values he stood for. He had particularly strong views on poverty and wanted poverty to be eliminated immediately. Here we are still debating if 50%,60% or 80% of India is poor, malnutrition etc, all this while we have surplus in the granaries. The topic of women’s empowerment was close to his heart and one can imagine the pain he would have gone through knowing the stagnation of their status in our country.
He would have scoffed at the spineless leaders who have no view of citizenship, nation building and governance. He would have rejected this whole lot as a bunch of goons feeding on the hard work of the country’s people.
Here are some gems from Swamiji. Remember he said these 150 years ago –
On the /dignity of labor he said - “The peasant, the shoemaker, the sweeper and such other lower classes of India have much greater capacity for work and self reliance than you. They have been silently working through long ages and producing the entire wealth of the land, without a complaint” - As we speak Government of India is still unable to end manual scavenging, such a shame.
On poverty he said – “ I call him a traitor who, having been educated , nursed in luxury by the heart’s bold of the down trodden millions of toiling poor, never even takes a thought of them. “
On Women he said – “ Why is it that our country is the weakest and the most backward of all countries?- because shakti is held in dishonor there. Writing down Smritis etc, and binding them by hard rules, the men have turned the women into mere manufacturing machines” – So relevant in todays context
On nation building he said – “ Our nation is totally lacking in the faculty oforganization. It is this one drawback which produces all sorts of evil. We are altogether averse to making common cause for anything, The first requisite for organization is obedience. – So true of our governance
On religion he said – “ First of all, you must remove this evil of hunger and starvation, this constant anxiety for bare existence, from those to whom you want to preach religion; otherwise, lectures and such things will be of no benefit. First bread and then religion.”
On Politics he said – “ No amount of politics would be of any avail until the masses are once more well educated , well fed and well cared for”
On Education he said- “ Education, education, education alone! Travelling through many cities of Europe and observing in them the comforts and education of even the poor people, there was brought to my mind the state of our own poor people, and I used to shed tears. What made the difference? Education was the answer I got. “
More on lower classes – “ The only service to be done for our lower classes is to give them education, to develop their lost individuality … “
On Liberty he said – “ Liberty of thought and action is the only condition of life, of growth and well-being”
On service he said- “ The poor, the illiterate, the ignorant, the afflicted – let these be your god”
There are many more gems of truth from Swamiji. If you want to know Vivekananda please read him thoroughly. It will be a transformational experience.
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