The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 3/Lectures from Colombo to Almora/The Religion we are born in
THE RELIGION WE ARE BORN IN
At an open-air meeting convened at Dacca, on the 31st March, 1901, the
Swamiji spoke in English for two hours on the above subject before a vast
audience. The following is a translation of the lecture from a Bengali
report of a disciple:
In the remote past, our country made gigantic advances in spiritual ideas.
Let us, today, bring before our mind's eye that ancient history. But the one
great danger in meditating over long-past greatness is that we cease to
exert ourselves for new things, and content ourselves with vegetating upon
that by-gone ancestral glory and priding ourselves upon it. We should guard
against that. In ancient times there were, no doubt, many Rishis and
Maharshis who came face to face with Truth. But if this recalling of our
ancient greatness is to be of real benefit, we too must become Rishis like
them. Ay, not only that, but it is my firm conviction that we shall be even
greater Rishis than any that our history presents to us. In the past, signal
were our attainments — I glory in them, and I feel proud in thinking of
them. I am not even in despair at seeing the present degradation, and I am
full of hope in picturing to my mind what is to come in the future. Why?
Because I know the seed undergoes a complete transformation, ay, the seed as
seed is seemingly destroyed before it develops into a tree. In the same way,
in the midst of our present degradation lies, only dormant for a time, the
potentiality of the future greatness of our religion, ready to spring up
again, perhaps more mighty and glorious than ever before.
Now let us consider what are the common grounds of agreement in the religion
we are born in. At first sight we undeniably find various differences among
our sects. Some are Advaitists, some are Vishishtâdvaitists, and others are
Dvaitists. Some believe in Incarnations of God, some in image-worship, while
others are upholders of the doctrine of the Formless. Then as to customs
also, various differences are known to exist. The Jâts are not outcasted
even if they marry among the Mohammedans and Christians. They can enter into
any Hindu temple without hindrance. In many villages in the Punjab, one who
does not eat swine will hardly be considered a Hindu. In Nepal, a Brâhmin
can marry in the four Varnas; while in Bengal, a Brahmin cannot marry even
among the subdivisions of his own caste. So on and so forth. But in the
midst of all these differences we note one point of unity among all Hindus,
and it is this, that no Hindu eats beef. In the same way, there is a great
common ground of unity underlying the various forms and sects of our
religion.
First, in discussing the scriptures, one fact stands out prominently — that
only those religions which had one or many scriptures of their own as their
basis advanced by leaps and bounds and survive to the present day
notwithstanding all the persecution and repression hurled against them. The
Greek religion, with all its beauty, died out in the absence of any
scripture to support it; but the religion of the Jews stands undiminished in
its power, being based upon the authority of the Old Testament. The same is
the case with the Hindu religion, with its scripture, the Vedas, the oldest
in the world. The Vedas are divided into the Karma Kânda and the Jnâna
Kânda. Whether for good or for evil, the Karma Kanda has fallen into disuse
in India, though there are some Brahmins in the Deccan who still perform
Yajnas now and then with the sacrifice of goats; and also we find here and
there, traces of the Vedic Kriyâ Kânda in the Mantras used in connection
with our marriage and Shrâddha ceremonies etc. But there is no chance of its
being rehabilitated on its original footing. Kumârila Bhatta once tried to
do so, but he was not successful in his attempt.
The Jnana Kanda of the Vedas comprises the Upanishads and is known by the
name of Vedanta, the pinnacle of the Shrutis, as it is called. Wherever you
find the Âchâryas quoting a passage from the Shrutis, it is invariably from
the Upanishads. The Vedanta is now the religion of the Hindus. If any sect
in India wants to have its ideas established with a firm hold on the people
it must base them on the authority of the Vedanta. They all have to do it,
whether they are Dvaitists or Advaitists. Even the Vaishnavas have to go to
Gopâlatâpini Upanishad to prove the truth of their own theories. If a new
sect does not find anything in the Shrutis in confirmation of its ideas, it
will go even to the length of manufacturing a new Upanishad, and making it
pass current as one of the old original productions. There have been many
such in the past.
Now as to the Vedas, the Hindus believe that they are not mere books
composed by men in some remote age. They hold them to be an accumulated mass
of endless divine wisdom, which is sometimes manifested and at other times
remains unmanifested. Commentator Sâyanâchârya says somewhere in his works
यो वेदेभ्योऽखिलं जगत् निर्ममे
— "Who created the whole universe out of the knowledge of the Vedas". No one
has ever seen the composer of the Vedas, and it is impossible to imagine
one. The Rishis were only the discoverers of the Mantras or Eternal Laws;
they merely came face to face with the Vedas, the infinite mine of
knowledge, which has been there from time without beginning.
Who are these Rishis? Vâtsyâyana says, "He who has attained through proper
means the direct realisation of Dharma, he alone can be a Rishi even if he
is a Mlechchha by birth." Thus it is that in ancient times, Vasishtha, born
of an illegitimate union, Vyâsa, the son of a fisherwoman, Narada, the son
of a maidservant with uncertain parentage, and many others of like nature
attained to Rishihood. Truly speaking, it comes to this then, that no
distinction should be made with one who has realised the Truth. If the
persons just named all became Rishis, then, O ye Kulin Brahmins of the
present day, how much greater Rishis you can become! Strive after that
Rishihood, stop not till you have attained the goal, and the whole world
will of itself bow at your feet! Be a Rishi — that is the secret of power.
This Veda is our only authority, and everyone has the right to it.
यथेमां वाचं कल्याणीमावदानि जनेभ्यः।
ब्रह्मराजन्याभ्यां शूद्राय चार्याय च स्वाय चारणाय॥
— Thus says the Shukla Yajur Veda (XXVI. 2). Can you show any authority from this Veda of ours that everyone has not the right to it? The Purânas, no doubt, say that a certain caste has the right to such and such a recension of the Vedas, or a certain caste has no right to study them, or that this portion of the Vedas is for the Satya Yuga and that portion is for the Kali Yuga. But, mark you, the Veda does not say so; it is only your Puranas that do so. But can the servant dictate to the master? The Smritis, Puranas, Tantras — all these are acceptable only so far as they agree with the Vedas; and wherever they are contradictory, they are to be rejected as unreliable. But nowadays we have put the Puranas on even a higher pedestal than the Vedas! The study of the Vedas has almost disappeared from Bengal. How I wish that day will soon come when in every home the Veda will be worshipped together with Shâlagrâma, the household Deity, when the young, the old, and the women will inaugurate the worship of the Veda!
I have no faith in the theories advanced by Western savants with regard to
the Vedas. They are today fixing the antiquity of the Vedas at a certain
period, and again tomorrow upsetting it and bringing it one thousand years
forward, and so on. However, about the Puranas, I have told you that they
are authoritative only in so far as they agree with the Vedas, otherwise
not. In the Puranas we find many things which do not agree with the Vedas.
As for instance, it is written in the Puranas that some one lived ten
thousand years, another twenty thousand years, but in the Vedas we find:
शतायुर्वै पुरुषः — "Man lives indeed a hundred years."
Which are we to accept in this case? Certainly the Vedas. Notwithstanding
statements like these, I do not depreciate the Puranas. They contain many
beautiful and illuminating teachings and words of wisdom on Yoga, Bhakti,
Jnâna, and Karma; those, of course, we should accept. Then there are the
Tantras. The real meaning of the word Tantra is Shâstra, as for example,
Kâpila Tantra. But the word Tantra is generally used in a limited sense.
Under the sway of kings who took up Buddhism and preached broadcast the
doctrine of Ahimsâ, the performances of the Vedic Yâga-Yajnas became a thing
of the past, and no one could kill any animal in sacrifice for fear of the
king. But subsequently amongst the Buddhists themselves — who were converts
from Hinduism — the best parts of these Yaga-Yajnas were taken up, and
practiced in secret. From these sprang up the Tantras. Barring some of the
abominable things in the Tantras, such as the Vâmâchâra etc., the Tantras
are not so bad as people are inclined to think. There are many high and
sublime Vedantic thoughts in them. In fact, the Brâhmana portions of the
Vedas were modified a little and incorporated into the body of the Tantras.
All the forms of our worship and the ceremonials of the present day,
comprising the Karma Kanda, are observed in accordance with the Tantras.
Now let us discuss the principles of our religion a little. Notwithstanding
the differences and controversies existing among our various sects, there
are in them, too, several grounds of unity. First, almost all of them admit
the existence of three things — three entities — Ishvara, Atman, and the
Jagat. Ishvara is He who is eternally creating, preserving and destroying
the whole universe. Excepting the Sânkhyas, all the others believe in this.
Then the doctrine of the Atman and the reincarnation of the soul; it
maintains that innumerable individual souls, having taken body after body
again and again, go round and round in the wheel of birth and death
according to their respective Karmas; this is Samsâravâda, or as it is
commonly called the doctrine of rebirth. Then there is the Jagat or universe
without beginning and without end. Though some hold these three as different
phases of one only, and some others as three distinctly different entities,
and others again in various other ways, yet they are all unanimous in
believing in these three.
Here I should ask you to remember that Hindus, from time immemorial, knew
the Atman as separate from Manas, mind. But the Occidentals could never soar
beyond the mind. The West knows the universe to be full of happiness, and as
such, it is to them a place where they can enjoy the most; but the East is
born with the conviction that this Samsara, this ever-changing existence, is
full of misery, and as such, it is nothing, nothing but unreal, not worth
bartering the soul for its ephemeral joys and possessions. For this very
reason, the West is ever especially adroit in organised action, and so also
the East is ever bold in search of the mysteries of the internal world.
Let us, however, turn now to one or two other aspects of Hinduism. There is
the doctrine of the Incarnations of God. In the Vedas we find mention of
Matsya Avatâra, the Fish Incarnation only. Whether all believe in this
doctrine or not is not the point; the real meaning, however, of this
Avatâravâda is the worship of Man — to see God in man is the real
God-vision. The Hindu does not go through nature to nature's God — he goes
to the God of man through Man.
Then there is image-worship. Except the five Devatâs who are to be
worshipped in every auspicious Karma as enjoined in our Shastras, all the
other Devatas are merely the names of certain states held by them. But
again, these five Devatas are nothing but the different names of the one God
Only. This external worship of images has, however, been described in all
our Shastras as the lowest of all the low forms of worship. But that does
not mean that it is a wrong thing to do. Despite the many iniquities that
have found entrance into the practices of image-worship as it is in vogue
now, I do not condemn it. Ay, where would I have been if I had not been
blessed with the dust of the holy feet of that orthodox, image-worshipping
Brahmin!
Those reformers who preach against image-worship, or what they denounce as
idolatry — to them I say "Brothers, if you are fit to worship
God-without-form discarding all external help, do so, but why do you condemn
others who cannot do the same? A beautiful, large edifice, the glorious
relic of a hoary antiquity has, out of neglect or disuse, fallen into a
dilapidated condition; accumulations of dirt and dust may be lying
everywhere within it, maybe, some portions are tumbling down to the ground.
What will you do to it? Will you take in hand the necessary cleansing and
repairs and thus restore the old, or will you pull the whole edifice down to
the ground and seek to build another in its place, after a sordid modern
plan whose permanence has yet to be established? We have to reform it, which
truly means to make ready or perfect by necessary cleansing and repairs, not
by demolishing the whole thing. There the function of reform ends. When the
work of renovating the old is finished, what further necessity does it
serve? Do that if you can, if not, hands off!" The band of reformers in our
country want, on the contrary, to build up a separate sect of their own.
They have, however, done good work; may the blessings of God be showered on
their heads! But why should you, Hindus, want to separate yourselves from
the great common fold? Why should you feel ashamed to take the name of
Hindu, which is your greatest and most glorious possession? This national
ship of ours, ye children of the Immortals, my countrymen, has been plying
for ages, carrying civilisation and enriching the whole world with its
inestimable treasures. For scores of shining centuries this national ship of
ours has been ferrying across the ocean of life, and has taken millions of
souls to the other shore, beyond all misery. But today it may have sprung a
leak and got damaged, through your own fault or whatever cause it matters
not. What would you, who have placed yourselves in it, do now? Would you go
about cursing it and quarrelling among yourselves! Would you not all unite
together and put your best efforts to stop the holes? Let us all gladly give
our hearts' blood to do this; and if we fail in the attempt, let us all sink
and die together, with blessings and not curses on our lips.
And to the Brahmins I say, "Vain is your pride of birth and ancestry. Shake
it off. Brahminhood, according to your Shastras, you have no more now,
because you have for so long lived under Mlechchha kings. If you at all
believe in the words of your own ancestors, then go this very moment and
make expiation by entering into the slow fire kindled by Tusha (husks), like
that old Kumarila Bhatta, who with the purpose of ousting the Buddhists
first became a disciple of the Buddhists and then defeating them in argument
became the cause of death to many, and subsequently entered the Tushânala to
expiate his sins. If you are not bold enough to do that, then admit your
weakness and stretch forth a helping hand, and open the gates of knowledge
to one and all, and give the downtrodden masses once more their just and
legitimate rights and privileges."