Man Making Education

Of all the subjects education is the one with which youth, specially the students are concerned most. This again is the one subject most neglected by the national leaders and planners, and therefore it is but natural that the students should feel neglected. Finally, it is this very subject of education which has been given the greatest importance by Swami Vivekananda in his message Whether speaking about national regeneration or social reform, whether speaking of the uplift of the masses or the women, or about individual growth, Swamiji lays down this one method, this one practical scheme- that of education. What is the meaning of education according to Swami Vivekananda and how students can educate themselves even without external help, is the subject matter of this brief essay.

What is Education?

          “Education is the manifestation of the potentialities already in man.”[1] This definition of education given by Swamiji is based upon his most important philosophical postulate that each soul in its essential nature is divine and that all power, knowledge and bliss is inherent in every soul. “What a man ‘leans’ is really what he ‘discovers’ by taking the cover off his soul which is a mine of infinite knowledge.”[2] The difference between man and man, nay between an amoeba and a Buddha is the difference of the degree of manifestation of the divinity. The powers of the soul in amoeba are least manifest while in the Buddha they are fully manifest, the soul in either case being the same.

          This philosophical principle has important practical implications. It takes away all weakness and dependence upon others and infuses tremendous self-confidence. So the first lesson the youth must learn from Swamiji is that they must have great faith in themselves and never allow any weakening thought to enter their minds. “Have faith that you are all, my brave lads, born to do great things”[3] – “Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders and know that you are the creator of your own destiny. All strength and succour you want is within yourselves. Therefore make your own future.”[4]

          The potentialities of each soul are always trying to manifest themselves but they are being hindered by the forces of nature. “Man is man”, Swamiji says, “so long as he is struggling to rise above nature, and this nature is both internal and external. It is good and very grand to conquer external nature but grander still to conquer internal nature. It is grand and good to know the laws that govern the stars and planets, it is infinitely grander and better to know the laws that govern the passions, the feelings, the will of mankind.’[5] The present day education of physical sciences like physics, chemistry, biology, electronics etc. teaches the laws of external nature knowing which one can govern and make use of its various forces. Knowing the laws of electricity, for example, one can make use of it in lighting ones house, warming a room or running a radio. But the education of the laws of mind, ego and will constitute the internal nature is totally neglected in the present system. It is this far more important aspect of education, which teaches one to control ones turbulent mind and egocentric strivings, his violent passions and unquenching greed, that has been emphasized and taught by Swamiji. In the absence of this education the physical forces of nature are liable to be misused for ulterior motives not conducive to the welfare of humanity.

Man Making Education:

          What type of education did Swami Vivekanda want?  “The ideal of all education, all training should be man making”.[6] “It is man making education all round that we want.”[7] “ We must have life building, man making, character making, assimilation of ideas.”[8] “We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded and by which one can stand on ones own feet.”[9] It is obvious from the above and many other sayings of Swamiji that he laid the greatest stress on man making.

          Who is a man? According to Sri Ramakrishna, “Man should possess dignity and alertness. Only he whose spiritual consciousness is awakened possesses this dignity and alertness, and can be called a man.”[10] By spiritual consciousness is meant the consciousness that one is not a body-mind-complex but in reality is a birthless, deathless, spiritual entity free from blemishes and imperfections. According to Swami Vivekananda, “The true man is he who is strong as strength itself and yet possesses a woman’s heart. You must fee for the millions of beings around you and yet you must be strong and inflexible. Though it may seem a little paradoxical you must possess these apparently conflicting virtues.”[11] “You must try to combine in your life immense idealism with immense practicality. You must be prepared to go into deep meditation now and the next moment you must be ready to go and cultivate the fields. You must be prepared to explain the intricacies of the shastras now and the next moment to go and sell the produce of the fields in the market,”[12] “What our country now wants are muscles of iron and nerves of steel, gigantic wills which nothing can resist….. ”[13] In short an ideal man is he who is conscious of his divine spiritual nature and has faith in his tremendous potentialities, whose intellect, emotions and practical skill are fully and harmoniously developed and who has a perfect control over his mind which he can concentrate at will on any subject and also withdraw it at will.

          To be a real man, therefore, the youth must first of all make their bodies strong by regular physical exercise, nutritious diet and continence or Brahmacharya. Next, for the harmonious development of their  personalities, they must practice what are called ‘the four Yogas’.

          When intellectual inquiry is used for realization of ones divinity, the process is called Jnana Yoga. Intellect is developed by rational thinking and discrimination based upon scriptural teachings. First the teachings of the scriptures and great teachers of the world must be heard with reverence (sravana). Next they must be thought over from various view-points (manana). Finally by deep concentration, the conclusions thus arrived at by thinking must be fully assimilated (nididhyasaka). In schools and colleges students get only limited theoretical knowledge and much remains to be done by them by way of deep thinking and assimilation of that knowledge. Also they will have to gain knowledge of other subjects not covered by their curriculum. Swami Vivekananda was a voracious reader. Apart from what was being taught in the classes, he used to study such extra-curricular subjects like history, logic, philosophy, medical science etc. He would discuss them with his colleagues and by deep contemplation would arrive at his own unique conclusions which he preached in later life.

          Next is the cultivation of the ‘heart’. Every one has the capacity to love, a feel for others. We feel for our near and dear ones when they suffer. This quality of the heart must be cultivated and rightly directed towards God and towards the humanity. “Love never fails”, Swamiji says, “today, or tomorrow or ages after truth will conquer. Love shall win the victory. Do you love your fellowmen?’[14] “All expansion is life, all contraction is death. All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is, therefore, the only law of life. He who loves, lives; he who is selfish is dying.”[15] Let the youth go to the poor, mix with them, share their joys and sorrows and thus try to make them their near and dear ones. Thus will their heart expand. When this love is directed towards it is called Bhakti Yoga, which is cultivated by prayer, worship and singing the name and glories of the Lord. Youth must try to see God in the poor, the sick, the miserable and serve them in the spirit of dedication. This is that best way in which the emotions can be sublimated.

          The third thing to be done by the Youth is to learn the control of mind. Describing the present condition of our mind Swamiji says, “As soon as I try to calm my thoughts and concentrate my mind upon any one object of knowledge, thousands of undesired impulses rush into the brain, thousands of thoughts rush into the mind and disturb it. How to check it and bring the mind under control is the whole subject of study in Raja Yoga.”[16] According to Swamiji, the very essence of education is concentration. “If I had to do my education over again”, he says, “I would develop the power of concentration and detachment and then with a perfect instrument I could collect facts at will.”[17] But the mind cannot be controlled in a day. It requires long continued practice. Let the students begin the practice of systematic meditation, do it regularly every day, and gradually they will see results.

          It will be noticed that mind gets easily concentrated on the subjects in which one has interest, but finds it difficult to do so on other subjects. Therefore, with the power of concentration, it is equally important to learn the art of detachment, which is done by the practice of self-surrender. Do all actions but surrender their fruits to God. This is called Karma Yoga.

Character Building:

          The second important characteristic of education, according to Swami Vivekananda is that it must be a character building education. “The character of any man is but the aggregate of tendencies, the sum total of the bent of his mind.”[18] “Every work that we do, every movement of the body, every thought that we think leaves an impression on the mind stuff. Each man’s character is determined by the sum total of these impressions.”[19] “When a large number of these impressions is left on the mind they coalesce and become a habit.”[20] “Character is repeated habits and repeated habits alone can reform character.”[21] “All outgoing energy following a selfish motive is frittered away. It will not cause power to return to you. But if restrained, it will result in development of power. This self control will tend to produce a mighty will, a character which makes a Christ or a Buddha.”[22]

          From the above sayings of Swami Ji, it is evident that the factors responsible for the formation of character are, cultivation of good habits by performing noble acts and thinking good thoughts, strengthening the will and performing all actions without selfish motive. Every young man can utilize these principles in building his character. He may, for example, form the habit of getting up early in the morning, of mediating daily at the fixed hour and place, of doing regular physical exercise and or reading healthy literature. Let him go on doing good and thinking holy thoughts and avail every opportunity to help others. Every time we control our extrovert restless mind, our evil tendency or an urge to enjoy sense pleasures, our will is strengthened,  which goes to build our character. “When a man has done so much good work and thought so many good thoughts, there is an irresistible tendency in him to do good. Even if he wishes to do evil his mind will not allow him to do so.”[23] When such is the case of a man’s good character is said to be established.’[24]

Assimilation of ideals:

          The third feature of a good education is that it must teach the student to assimilate ideas. “If you have assimilated five ideas, and made them your life and character, you have more education than any man who has got by heart a whole library.”[25] Let us try to understand this saying of Swami Ji with the help of few examples. History of the nations teaches us that internal conflicts, indulgence in sense-enjoyment and neglect of the masses lead to down fall of great empires. A student of history may be able to describe in detail the rise and fall of nations, but if continues to quarrel with his brothers, becomes a slave to sense-pleasures and does not pay heed to the suffering masses around him, he merely stuffed his brain with undigested information but has not assimilated in his life the lessons of history. Another student may secure highest marks in Civics and Social Sciences and yet may be most anti-social in his behaviour and dealings with others. Knowing full well that uncleanliness predisposes to diseases, he may continue to throw refuse on the streets instead dumping at the allotted place, and thus in actual practice encourage spread of diseases. A third student may stand first in Science and yet may have the most unscientific approach towards life problems. Now take the contrary example of Sri Ramakrishna. He was almost illiterate and uneducated in the usual sense. But he had assimilated in his life the noble ideals like truth, self control and renunciation to such an extent that even his limbs would recoil if he tried to do anything contrary to them. That is why school teachers and university professors, great scholars and famous orators used to sit at his feet like ignorant babies.

          It is evident that the present day University education does not encourage assimilation of ideas. It only aims at producing graduates and may be rightly called a ‘decree oriented education’. At the most it may be a job oriented education aiming at teaching certain skills by which students may earn their livelihood. Although in recent years the Government is trying to make education socially oriented by introducing National Service Scheme (N.S.S) for students at the College level, the educational system of the country still falls too short of the ideal, and there remains much to be done by students by way of self-education. Swami Vivekananda’s scheme of comprehensive man-making education provides the guidelines according to which students can educate themselves and build a noble character. Finally let it be remembered that education is life long process not confirmed to the four walls of a school or college and coming to an end at a particular age. “As long as I live, so long do I learn”, says Sri Ramakrishna. For an alert student, life, from the first day to last, is a book; the world, a school; every object from a tiny blade of grass to a lofty mountain, from a lowly ant to a holy saint, a teacher; and education, a never ending process of unfoldment of knowledge, potentially present within every soul.

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[1] The complete works of Swami Vivekananda: Mayavati Memorial edition, published by Advaita Ashrama, Vol. IV, P. 358 (1955).

[2] Complete works Vol. I, P. 28. (1957)

[3] Thus spoke Vivekananda Ramakrishna Math, Madras, 1963, P. 1

[4] Thus Spoke Vivekananda, p. 7.

[5] Thus Spoke Vivekananda p. 9-10

[6] Complete Works, II, 15. (1963)

[7] Complete Works, III, 224. (1955)

[8] Complete Works, III, III, 302. (1955)

[9] Complete Works, V, 342. (1959)

[10] The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by “M”, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, 1981, p. 844

[11] Complete Works III, 447. (1955)

[12] Complete Works III, 447. (1955)

[13] Thus Spoke Vivekananda. P, 10.

[14] Thoughts of Power, Ramakrishna Math, Madras, 1961, p. 13

[15] Thoughts of Power p. 15,

[16] Complete Works, II, 391. (1963)

[17] Complete Works VI, 38-39. (1956)

[18] Complete Works, I, 27. (1957)

[19] Complete Works I, 54. (1957)

[20] Complete Works I, 207. (1957)

[21] Complete Works, I, 208. (1957)

[22] Complete Works, I, 33. (1957)

[23] Complete Works, I, 54. (1957)

[24] Complete Works, I, 55. (1957)

[25] Complete Works, III, 302. (1955)

Man needs God

Religion is one of the most ancient and most universal institutions of man. From the very dawn of human history man had been trying to unravel the mystery of nature and the ultimate cause of the universe – an attempt which culminated in the recognition of a superhuman controlling power called God. Accordingly, in the dictionary, religion is defined as, “Human recognition of superhuman controlling power and especially of a personal God or gods entitled to obedience and worship; effect of such recognition on conduct and mental attitude”. This faith in a personal God not only satisfies man’s enquiry about the ultimate cause of the universe, but also sustains him during periods of stress. This faith evolves and gets modified in the course of time ultimately to take the form of faith in three things; viz. (i) faith in God (ii) faith in scriptures, (iii) faith in prophet or God – man. All the recognized major religions of the world are based on one or more or all of these three.

But this religion of faith has certain difficulties. While it does support and sustain an individual and integrate a group with common faith, it acts as a factor of social disintegration as well. It excludes and separates people with different faiths and consequently causes conflicts and quarrels. Faith is generally blind and encourages bigotry and fanaticism. Says Swami Vivekananda: - “The intensest love that humanity has known has also come from religion and the most diabolical hatred that humanity has known has also come from religion. The noblest words of peace that the world has ever heard has come from the men on the religious plane and the bitterest denunciation that the world has ever known has been uttered by religious men….No other human motive has deluged the world with blood so much as religion, at the same time nothing has brought into existence so many hospitals and asylums for the poor; no other human influence has taken such care not only of humanity but also of the lowliest of animals as religion has done. Nothing makes us so tender as religion”. (Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Vol. II p.375-6-1983).

      Another problem with religion based on faith is that it cannot withstand the onslaughts of present day science and technology, nor can it face the searchlight of reason and research. Science demands proof of the existence of God. It wants to see God as it sees an atom in the laboratory.  It does not want to believe, but wants to see. On the practical side science gives man an effective tool in the form of technology to fight against disease, old age and death, and also modern weapons to conquer enemies.

   

        For a period of time science did succeed in alluring man to give up faith in God and worship the all powerful Matter. But today modern man stands disillusioned. He has learnt that science can provide him with physical comforts and sensory enjoyments but cannot integrate his personality, nor give him mental peace, As a famous scientist has put it, “Science simply prolongs life, religion deepens it”. Science can make the tree of life tall, but it cannot deepen its roots, and with shallow roots, how long can it stand?

          Inspite of the limitations of science to provide satisfactory answers to the basic problems of life, for most people specially of the West, faith in God, prophet or scriptures has lost its meaning. On the other hand the orthodox in a desperate bid to hold on to these have become all the more intolerant.  Thus there are two groups of people one the non-religious, materialists, men without faith, and the other the narrow minded fanatics fighting for their own creeds and dogmas.  The first group of people may have comforts but are not happy.  They live in constant fear and tension of a modern, fast, technological life. The second group of people too have no peace. They are on the defensive against growing onslaughts of secular and liberal forces.

           But there is also a third group which is searching for a new religion. This is evident from the fact that newer religious and spiritual societies are being formed all over the world. According to a recent survey there are as many as1187 religious denominations in U.S.A alone, outside the main stream of major religions. These are termed variously as spiritualists, religious physics, occultists and assorted New Age Sects. And it is noteworthy that not all of these have faith as their basis.

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    Thus we find that in modern age of disenchantment, of attacks on established religions and of secularization of institutions, religion has continued, not only to survive, but to flourish.  If the present age is one of the disenchantment, it is also one of longing. It is not a period of religious decline but of religious change.

      There is an axiom: what has no function ceases to exist. And the very existence of religion proves that it is a social necessity. We must therefore, ask certain basic questions regarding the function of religion. What are the functions, manifest or latent, of religious beliefs and institutions in maintaining the equilibrium of a social system or an individual ? What is the significance of religion in terms of the adaptive and expressive needs of human beings? Why should man need something that transcends experience, a transcendental reference, a something “ beyond” the empirical?

       The answer to the above questions can be found in the three fundamental characteristics of human existence as a result of which human society needs religion.

(1)   Contingency or uncertainty context: Man lives in conditions of uncertainty. His safety and welfare are beyond his prevision. All human ventures however carefully planned or expertly executed are liable to fail and cause disappointment. Even in technically advanced societies uncertainties persist and emotional involvement in events and endeavors leads to deep psychological trauma.

(2)   Powerlessness or impossibility context: Man’s capacity to control and effect conditions of life are limited. Not every desire can be fulfilled. Man is absolutely powerless in the face of death. Suffering, coercion and many other evils persist inspite of all advances of science and knowledge.

(3)   Scarcity: Scarcity causes unequal distribution of goods and services. Hence there is always a sense of relative deprivation and consequent frustration. Social order implies authority and subordination, control and supervision. ‘Haves’ and ’have nots’, ‘does’ and ‘donts’ are integral part of social existence.

   Religion has a role in these brute situations of human life. It is the most basic mechanism of adjustment to these frustrating elements. Contingency and powerlessness lead man to breaking points in socially structured rounds of daily existence, and raise questions which can find answer in only some kind of “beyond”. As pointed out by the celebrated Sociologist Max Weber, problem of meaning’ arises at these breaking points. Why is there death, illness and failure? Why should one obey social laws, rules or norms? Why meet the social expectations? Religion answers these questions by providing a larger view which can explain and justify hardships here and now so that life can have meaning. Religion supplies a super empirical view of a larger total reality in which contingency, powerlessness and scarcity can be seen meaningful in some ultimate sense. Thus religion solves the problem of meaning, sanctifies social norms and rules, sustains at breaking points and helps in emotional adjustment to frustration. In this sense, religion should be better called ‘dharma’ which is defined in the Mahabharata as the factor which sustains and integrates an individual or society.

    To-day we stand at a critical period of human evolution when human race is facing entirely new challenges. Although phenomenal advances of modern sciences and technology have tried to minimize contingency, human powerlessness and real or apparent scarcity of resources, they have created newer problems. Competition at every level of life,and a fast technologically oriented life with associated stress and strain are the novel challenges which have to be met, and for which a newer brand of religion is required.

               

          Apart from the reasons discussed above, Swami Vivekananda, in his famous lecture “ The necessity of religion” presents two theories regarding the origin of religion, one the spirit theory and the other the evolution of the idea of the infinite. According to the spirit theory religion had its beginning in ancestor worship. According to the other, religion arose out of an attempt to peep behind the gigantic forces of nature. The sun, the moon, the thunder storm, the rain,etc. were personified and thus religion originated in nature worship. These two views can be reconciled on a third basis which according to Swamiji is the real germ of religion viz. the struggle to transcend the limitation of the senses. And all religions claim that human mind at certain moments transcends not only the limitations of senses but also the power of reasoning. It then comes face to face with facts which it could never have sensed or reasoned out. These facts are the basis of all the religions of the world.

          Every human being whosoever and wheresoever he may be, has an ideal of infinite power, of infinite pleasure. Most of our activities and struggles are for the attainment of that infinite pleasure, and this attempt to transcend the finite is according to Swamiji the real, and higher than sociological, basis of religion. When man discovers that infinite pleasure cannot be obtained through the senses; when he renounces the attempt to express or seek infinite at the finite level, and attempts to go beyond, he takes the first step towards religion.

       Aspiration for eternal life and infinite knowledge are another basic urges of man. Upanishads provide answers to these important questions. Kathopanishad begins with the question: What happens when a man dies? Maitrayi poses a similar question to Yajnavalkya, the sage of the Brihadaranyaka: Whether she could attain immorality through wealth. If not, what was it which could make her immortal? And the question asked at the beginning of the Mundaka Upanishad, is: What is it knowing which everything is known? These are some of the eternal questions which reflect the innermost aspirations of man. Religion provides the ultimate answer to these questions, an answer, not merely speculative but definite and direct. It also shows a way through which man can attain immorality, omniscience and go beyond sorrow.

        Thus there could be a number of urges and aspirations motives and reasons for man’s search for a supernatural, state or Being, named variously as God, Nirvana, Samadhi, etc. These motives can be best summarized in the worlds of the Bhagwad Gita : “O Arjuna, foremost of the Bharat dynasty, four classes of people of virtuous deeps adore Me ( the Lord) : the afflicted, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth and the man of knowledge” ( 7.11). The afflicted, being attacked by thieves, beasts, disease etc. and thus overwhelmed by sorrow, is in distress and seeking to be saved from it takes refuge in God. The seeker of knowledge who wants to know the reality of the Lord-the ultimate cause of the universe, too worships the Lord. The third is the seeker for wealth and objects of enjoyment. Finally one who is already having intellectual knowledge aspires for liberation. Such a Jnani also becomes endowed with one pointed devotion because he finds no one else whom he can adore. Human love can find fulfillment in loving God alone and none of the human dolls.

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        From the foregoing we may safely conclude that religion is a constitutional necessity of man. Human nature abhors a vaccum in systems of faith. If the old Gods are removed it will create new gods, or even make reason and science objects of emotional attachment and centres of faith. We must therefore try to find out what type of religion and which concept of God would be suited for the present times.

            No definite or categorical answer can be given to this question because individuals differ widely in their temperament and mental makeup. Although the basic needs of humanity are common, there are various shades of likes and dislikes, aptitudes and interests, needs and challenges. The concept of God would therefore vary according to person,race and culture. The concept of God which would satisfy an aborigine of Africa would be entirely different from that of a businessman living in a sky-scraper in New York. This problem of diversity of religious belief and practice was deeply studied by Sri Ramakrishna and later codified by Swami Vivekananda. Sri Ramakrishna’s statement “ As many faiths, so many paths”, points to the same truth. Elaborating this cryptic remark of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda said that the future religion would be a religion of sects. No single religion would rule the world. Instead there would be innumerable sects and sub sects, so much so that a time may come when there may be as many sects as there are individuals.

       In spite of the stupendous advances in scientific knowledge a large section of the world population requires an anthropomorphic God to fix its devotion on. In highly organized religions however, God takes the form of unit abstraction either of abstracted presence, an omnipresent being, an abstract personality, or a Universal Moral law or an abstract essence underlying all existence. In those religions where no personal God is acceptable, an Ideal Human Being a Buddha, a Jina who is omniscient, is worshipped. In some form or the other, either as an Ideal state or an ideal unit abstraction or an Ideal Being, the highest absolute Ideal must always be before man. The rational religion of Vedanta with its concept of an omnipresent unchanging conscious reality as the substratum of the whole phenomenon is most acceptable for the modern times and times to come. An almighty God sitting on a throne somewhere above the clouds is an obsolete concept suited only for the most primitive minds. The living God present every where around us in the form of innumerable living beings as preached by Swami Vivekananda is the one which modern man is seeking. Swamiji says:

       “Look upon every man, woman and everyone as God. You cannot help anyone. You can only serve; serve the children of the Lord, serve the Lord himself if you have the privilege…. Do it only as a worship. The poor and the miserable are for our salvation, so that we may serve the Lord coming in the shape of the diseased, coming in the shape of the lunatic, the leper and the sinner”. And in his famous poem he exhorts the friend:

           “From the highest Brahmin to the yonder worm,

          And to the very minutest atom,

                  

                      Everywhere is the same God, the All Love;

                      Friend, offer mind, soul, body at their feet.

                     

                      These are His manifold forms before thee,

                

                      Rejecting them, where sleekest thou for God?

                     

                      Who loves all beings without distinction,

                    

                      He indeed is worshipping best his God."

Secret of Happiness (According to Holy Mother)

        

       The one search of humanity, common to all human beings, has been, from time immemorial, the search for everlasting, unending, unalloyed happiness or bliss. For this various means have been tried from stark hedonism to severe asceticism. Again, to show the secret of happiness, prophets and incarnations are born from time to time on this planet of ours, shrouded as it is, with suffering, pains, death and anxiety. Holy mother, Sri Sarada Devi was one such incarnation of divine power, who, while living the life similar to that of an average individual, amply demonstrated how one can live happily even under the worst circumstances.

          One of the first lessons which we learn from her life is that poverty has no relation, what so ever, with bliss or happiness. If any, it shows that poverty conduces more to bliss than riches. Even the modern scientifically conducted sociological surveys show that there is more happiness in the poorer developing nations of the world, than in the rich and affluent nations. One thing common with all billionaires is that none of them is happy!

          Sri Ma Sarada Devi was born in a poor Brahmin family which could not afford the luxury of having a maid servant to do the domestic chores. Even at a tender age of 10, the little Sarada had to help her mother in rearing of her younger brothers, cooking and carrying food to the labourers working in the fields. She had to cut grass standing in neck deep water. But she never felt sorry for all this hardship. It was a joy to her to help her mother and to feed the hungry during famines.

          She was married to Sri Ramakrishna and came to live with him at the age of 19 years. She had to live in a small octagonal room with maximum width of 10 feet. This was her bed room , kitchen, store room, nay even guest room for ladies who would prefer to stay overnight with her. Some rich ladies of Kolkata, used to live in spacious multi room apartments or houses, seeing mother’s room would comment that she was living as if in banishment like Sita!

          There were other difficulties also. She had to get up very early in the morning and finish her toilet duties, take bath and enter into her secluded room before sunrise, since she was extremely bashful and was very reluctant to come out in public. She would remain the whole day, confined into that small room, often alone! It was like a voluntary imprisonment.

          And yet the Holy mother thought that that was the best period of her life. She was in extremely blissful state. How could she remain in bliss, deprived of almost all amenities of a happy life? The secret of her happiness lies in the fact that she was in the Holy company of , and engaged in the service of Sri Ramakrishna.

          The greatest joy of a chaste Hindu wife is to serve her husband. And Sri Ramakrishna was not an ordinary husband. . He was a saint, a rishi, nay, he was the prophet of the modern age. What can be greater privilege, than to be get the opportunity of serving him?

          One is reminded of Sita, the chaste wife of Rama. When Rama was banished to forest, he told Sita to remain at home, and serve her inlaws, pointing to the hardships of the forest. But Sita categorically said that for her forest will be heaven with him, while living in the forest with all amenities will be like living in hell. But while Sita was constantly with Rama, except for the period when she was stolen away by Ravana and confined as a prisoner, she had the privilege of being constantly close to Rama. But Sri Sarada Devi did not have this good fortune. There were times, when even while living in a room only few feet away from Sri Ramakrishna, she could not meet him or see him for months at a stretch. And yet she did not complain! She would console herself, saying to herself that she was not really qualified by good karmas, to have the vision, darshan of Sri Ramakrishna every day!

          What does this period of the Holy Mother teach us, so far as the secret of happiness is concerned? That dedicated, unselfish service of the person especially whom we love and adore is a great source of joy. Secondly, living in proximity of someone whom we love and adore also gives great satisfaction. Thirdly, we shall have to face hardships and privations all through our life. All these must be patiently borne. Patience and tolerance are great virtues and conduce to great happiness. And finally contentment. Holy Mother herself used to say, “There is no treasure like patience and there is no virtue higher than forbearance.” In Patanjali yoga sutras it is said that the practice of contentment under all circumstances leads to superlative happiness.

          There was one more reason why the Holy Mother considered her life at Dakshineshwar one of great bliss. And that was the spiritual practices she did then. God is the repository of all bliss, goodness, virtue, in fact, all excellences. When we mediate upon such a God we imbibe some of these excellences. We derive great joy when our mind becomes pure and tranquil- sattvika. The Holy Mother used to do deep prolonged meditations daily, and it is no wonder that she must have derived great joy as she herself has testified. Once, she went deep into meditation and her mind became absolutely tranquil. Someone dropped a plate then. That sudden sound shocked her! On another occasion, she heard the music of a flute played by some one at night. She was thrilled by it. Here is another lesson for us – Joy and happiness donot lie in mere enjoyment and restlessness of mind. They are the qualities of a tranquil mind.  

          Situation changed drastically when Sri Ramakrishna passed away. The Holy mother was thrown into an abyss of sorrow. It is a lesson for us to learn how she got out of it. Even during the period immediately after the passing away, she had visions of Sri Ramakrishna to assure her that by death he had not become non existent. He had passed, as it were from one room to another i.e. from one state, the grosser state, to the finer state. When the Holy mother went to Vrindaban, she again plunged into intense spiritual practices, to achieve a permanent union with Sri Ramakrishna at the spiritual level. And she indeed succeed in doing so. On occasions, she was so closely united with Sri Ramakrishna, that she talked and behaved, and answered questions exactly as Sri Ramakrishna used to do.

          What is the lesson? It is this: Union with our beloved can never be complete at the physical level. Separation is bound to occur here. It is only at a spiritual, subtler level, that we can remain united with our God the Divine. Secondly, real bliss is within and cannot be obtained from external objects, as has been testified by the Bhagawad Gita also.

          After this, began the third phase of Holy Mother’s life. She got involved in the family of her mother and brothers. Her widow sister-in-law and her nieces formed her household. Many of these were eccentric and mentally abnormal, but all their eccentricities were not able to disturb the peace and bliss of the Holy Mother. Even in worst conditions, she was calm and composed. Apparently intensely attached to Radhu, one of her nieces, the Holy Mother was always inwardly detached. She had already touched the philosopher’s stone, which transforms one’s character into gold, and which cannot then get rusted even if buried in soil for eons. Swami Vivekananda had said that we must have the super human power of intense attachment as well as the super divine power of detachment. One cannot enjoy life without attachment. Attachment, concentration, love and happiness go together. Attachment gives us concentration. Our mind gets easily concentrated upon the object, person or individual to which we are attached or which we love. Again, we start loving,  whatever we concentrate upon. This again gives joy or happiness. But we suffer too, due to this attachment. We are not able to detach our mind at will and thus suffer. The Holy mother has demonstrated wonderfully well, how one should get attached. She was attached to Radhu with an intensity rare even among mothers towards their children. And yet when time came, she completely withdrew her mind from Radhu. What a great lesson to learn!

          Finally the Holy Mother’s all compassing love for every one in the world, was the greatest source of joy. To love one person, a friend or relative, gives us joy. As we expand our family, our circle of friends, our joy increases. And if we can expand our family to include everyone in the world, our joy would be infinite. This the Holy mother amply demonstrated in her life. She taught, “None is a stranger my child, all are your own.” And herself exemplified this teaching through her life. For her a sinner and a saint were alike. A cat, a calf, a parrot all were her own. The happiness of such a person is unending, unfathomably deep. The Holy Mother used to get greatest joy in feeding and serving all her ‘children’. Who so ever came to her, got a taste of her love, and was filled with joy. No one can transmit joy unless she doesnot have it in plenty within herself. Again, sharing our joy with other, is one of the best ways of being happy.

          Our nature is Satchidananda. We are in essence blissful. The Holy Mother has demonstrated, as none else, how we can tap this vast source of bliss and share it with others.

Peace: The Vedantic Way

         We are living in war-times. Although there has been no overt major war in the last four decades, few would claim that they enjoy real peace. The U.N.O. has been able to defer the dreaded ‘Third World War’ for more than half a century, but smaller wars have been and are still being fought all over the world. Indeed, so common are instances of violence and aggression that it is impossible to pick up a newspaper, leaf through a magazine or tune in the radio for news without learning of some frightening new atrocity. It seems that only the fear of total extermination of the human race from the face of earth has somehow prevented the ‘Third War’. But it has been replaced by international terrorism, the latest form of War. War, which used to be fought in the bygone days on the battlefield away from towns and villages, has now come to the citizen’s door-steps. In desperation the U.N.O. had called for the observance of an International Year of Peace in 1986. This is symbolic of the distress of the world.

   At the individual level the situation is no better. Although science and technology have made life easy, they have also multiplied human wants. While shaking man’s faith in God and traditional values, science has not offered a better substitute. Consequently life of man has become shallow and unsteady. The unprecedented expansion and proliferation of the media and means of communication have increased the input of information, but man has not learnt to utilize it effectively.  Competition at every level of life has increased hurry and worry and has contributed further to unrest. All these and many other factors have made man restless, nervous, tense and insecure.  

What is peace ?

But what after all is peace ?  According to the Upanishads, santam, the peaceful, is one of the names of the formless absolute Reality. It is also described in many Sanskrit hymns as one of the attributes of the Saguna Brahman, the God with attributes. This Tranquil Ultimate in the absolute sense is the substratum and the matrix from which the manifest universe arises and on which it rests. This again is the substratum of all the mental disturbances a person may experience. To know, to experience and to become one with it is the ultimate solution of all the problems. Says Swami Vivekananda, “Waves may roll over the surface and tempest rage, but deep down there is the stratum of infinite calmness, infinite peace and infinite bliss.”

This much about the Vedantic concept of ultimate peace. Vedanta, however does not close its eyes to the other facets of peace—individual, social, international.  Take for example the famous peace chant from the Vedas :

   “Om ! May there be peace in heaven.  May there be peace in the sky.  May there be peace on earth.  May there be peace in the water.  May there be peace in the plants.  May there be peace in the trees.  May there be peace in the Gods.  May there be peace in Brahman.  May there be peace in all.  May that peace, real peace be mine.”

   Vedanta believes that real peace is cosmic and everyone is an heir to it. 

   All Vedantic texts begin and end with a peace chant.  And each peace chant, again, concludes with pronouncing the word “Shanti” or peace thrice.  The threefold pronunciation is meant for the pacification of three types of disturbances: (i) those caused by the elements of nature; (ii) those caused by living creatures, tiny or large; and those affecting one’s own body and mind.

   But Vedanta certainly does not deal with the social or political causes of unrest and discord directly.  Its emphasis is on attainment of peace at the personal level.  The whole system of Vedanta is developed and organized for individual peace.  A society can be peaceful only to the extent the units constituting it are tranquil.  It is this theme, which has been elaborately discussed in Upanishads—the Vedanta. 

Peace and the three gunas

By tranquility is not meant the peace of a stone or a wall.  Nor is it the peace experienced in deep sleep, however refreshing, soothing or blissful.  Worldly objects or achievements, however satisfying, are never permanent and are always fraught with fear or loss.  “To the discriminating, everything is painful either as consequence, or as anticipation of loss of happiness, or as fresh craving arising from impressions of happiness and as contradiction of qualities or Gunas.”  In deep sleep Tamas predominates.  Craving for sense-enjoyments makes the mind restless and dominated by Rajas.  In the tranquil Sattvika mind alone does the bliss of Atman shine forth.  The mind becomes restless either by external stimuli or by desires and passions and by promptings of ego arising from within.  Therefore, “He alone attains peace in whom all sense-objects enter even as rivers enter the ocean, which remains unaffected though being filled, and not one who is desirous of enjoyments.  Giving up sense-objects, the person who goes about unattached, free from the idea of ownership and egoism, attains peace.”

Holy Mother’s Message

Coming down from the concept of peace, and the means of attaining it, as described in the Vedantic texts, to the day to day living we can best learn this from the life and teachings of the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi.  People often consulted her for their social and psychological problems, and she has prescribed various recipes for peace and happiness.  Once, when she received a letter from a devotee complaining of Ashanti or lack of peace, and sorrow, she first of all diagnosed the cause of suffering by saying that people don’t do any spiritual practice and go on complaining about their suffering.  Let them take the name of the Lord twenty thousand times a day and there won’t be any suffering.  She could prescribe this treatment only because she herself had done one lac japa daily, even while engaged in her daily cares.  When did she get time to do this ?  She would get up very early, much before dawn and sit for long spells of japa and meditation.  Even then she could not have completed such a large number of japa had she not done it during the day whenever she got time in between her household duties.  Can we not do a fragment of what she did instead of wasting our time in gossip, reading newspapers or seeing T.V. ? Is it so very difficult to get up early in the morning and remember the Lord before the others of the household awake ?

   The way the Holy Mother faced the various situations in life is another object lesson for us.  She never chose nor denied; never aspired for any specific situation, nor rejected any when it presented itself.  She accepted every situation—pleasant or painful—with perfect ease, without getting perturbed by it.  When rumours were heard that Sri Ramakrishna, her husband, had become mad, she did not curse her stars for being married to an eccentric person.  Instead, she coolly decided her course of action: firstly to check the news personally, and secondly, if it proved to be true, to go to her mad husband and serve him.  There was no depression, no condemnation, no confusion—the common reactions of people under such circumstances.

   Finally let us remember her famous message,”My child, if you want peace of mind, do not find fault with others.  Rather see your own faults.  No one is a stranger, my child. All are your own.  Learn to make the whole world your own.”