RK Mission Swami Speaks in Chennai on 9/11 (fwd)

September 16, 2002

CHENNAI, INDIA, September 11, 2002: On the occasion of the commemoration of

the 9/11 attacks on America, Swami Gautamananda, president of the

Ramakrishna Mission in Chennai was requested to address the gathering. His

remarks read in part, "Though we are yet to find out what all ideas worked

behind that tragedy of September 11, 2001, we can be sure that an extreme

fanatic ideology that considered all other ideologies as worth nothing and

itself as the only worth living ideology was behind the dastardly act. The

further events have revealed that this fanatic ideology was inculcated into

receptive minds of the youth who become the instruments of terror that

revealed itself at New York. Fanaticism drives away all reason and thus

persons with fanatic ideas act like robots, rather, like animals. Fanaticism

is the fuel by which the machine of terrorism works. Fanaticism has been

there in human life whenever people have been deprived of their spiritual

food. What is this spiritual food? The disciplines or values of life that

lead persons to realize their oneness with the Universe and with God and

thus come to love humanity and God. The Sages of the Vedas, the oldest

available scriptures to humanity, say that all this creation is God alone -

'Sarvam Kalvidham Brahma.' It implies that this Divinity is in every

creature as its fundamental, inalienable nature. ... When this idea of the

Divinity of man is widely taught, not only in our schools and colleges but

also in all churches, mosques, pagodas, tabernacles and temples where most

innocent minds throng in millions, then only people will get their highest

respect and regard, irrespective of their gender, wealth, intelligence,

power etc. Then only the very idea of harming anyone, be it for any cause,

would appear abhorring. Then alone can violence be radically uprooted from

society." For the complete text, click "source" above.

Recommended Posts