R.K. + V.V. on philanthropy

[Guest guest]

NAMASTE

 

I wrote this artcile for Vivekananda Vidyapith's magazine called " Sapling " , a

journal for youngsters. I loved the topic and think it is very necessary to

share.

 

Hope you enjoy:

 

Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda on Philanthropy

By Om Lala

 

There is a common misconception, among several people, that there lies a

key difference between the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and his great

disciple Swami Vivekananda. After becoming haphazardly familiar with the

teachings of both of these spiritual giants, they point out an apparent

difference. They claim that Sri Ramakrishna advocated bhakti or devotion to

God and maintained that doing philanthropic activities further entangles one

in the net of Maya (Cosmic Illusion) while Swami Vivekananda advocated action

and tremendous philanthropic activities. We shall now carefully examine why

this apparent difference between the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami

Vivekananda is not valid.

 

When Swami Vivekananda returned to India from his tour in the west, he

advocated vast social work, preaching, medical and financial relief for the

poor and many other humanitarian activities for upliftment of the Indian

masses. The disciples had great respect for Swamiji as their leader but

questioned him doubtfully concerning this point. They claimed that the

Master had given emphasis to bhakti alone for spiritual aspirants and that

humanitarian activities, organizations, homes of service for the good of the

public, and patriotic work were Swamiji's own peculiar ideas, which were the

result of his western education and travel in Europe and America.

At first Swamiji replied with a humorous remark in his usual jovial

manner. However, he soon turned very serious and said, " . . . Study, public

preaching, and doing humanitarian works are, according to you maya, because

he [sri Ramakrishna] said to someone, 'Seek and find God first; doing good to

the world is a presumption!' as if God is such an easy thing to be achieved!

As if He is such a fool as to make Himself a plaything in the hands of an

imbecile! "

 

" You think you have understood Sri Ramakrishna better than myself! You

want to preach Sri Ramakrishna as you have understood him, which is mighty

little! Hands off! Who cares for your Ramakrishna [the way you have

interpreted him]? Who cares for your bhakti and mukti [liberation]? . . . I

will go into a thousand hells cheerfully if I can rouse my countrymen,

immersed in tamas [inertia], to stand on their own feet and be men, inspired

with the spirit of karma yoga. "

 

" Sri Ramakrishna, " the Swami continued, " is far greater than the

disciples understand him to be. He is the embodiment of infinite spiritual

ideas capable of development in infinite ways . . . One glance of his

gracious eyes can create a hundred thousand Vivekanandas at this instant. If

he chooses now, to work through me, making me his instrument, I can only bow

to his will. " Swamiji's voice was choked with emotion, his body trembled,

his eyes flashed fire. Swamiji knew that India was immersed in tamas, and

first needed tremendous action to regain her past glory. He knew that

spirutality was not the great need of India; for India had mnore spirituality

than any other nation and yet could not even feed herself. Going by the

saying of Sri Ramakrishna, " Religion is not for empty stomachs, " he knew that

much work had to be done to uplift the indian masses. The brother disciples

were dumbfounded and regretted to have doubted their hero and leader.

 

One can verify whether Sri Ramakrishna advocated philanthropic works or

not, simply by looking at his life. Sri Ramakrishna's whole existence was

for the sake of others. For the sake of rejuvenating religion in this age

and for saving the afflicted, the fallen, the down-trodden, he manifested

himself out of his own infinite compassion. Once, Sri Ramakrishna was on a

pilgrimage with Mathur Babu. They were passing through a village filled with

poor and homeless people. At the sight of so many suffering people, Sri

Ramakrishna refused to go any further and demanded that Mathur Babu give all

of those people food, clothing, and money. He sat beside all the poor people

and said with tender love, " They have no one to call their own. " After Sri

Ramakrishna's repeated insistence, Mathur had to give in and supply all the

poor people of the village with all that they needed.

 

When the Master was at Cossipore being treated for throat Cancer, he was

told by the doctor not to talk at all and avoid spiritual ecstasy as they

both caused aggravation to his cancer. At Cossipore, thousands of people

used to come to the Master for spiritual guidance and, even though it caused

him great pain in the throat, he spoke unceasingly to all, giving them

motherly guidance, and filled their hearts with bliss. He himself said that

he had acquired the disease because he had taken the sins of many people upon

himself. These are just a few of many examples showing the Master's

fathomless grace and compassion for others.

 

It is interesting to note that this so-called alien idea of Swami

Vivekananda for humanitarian work and service actually originated from Sri

Ramakrishna. One day Sri Ramakrishna was talking to his younger disciples

about the virtue of compassion. While repeating the word compassion, he went

into samadhi [total absorbtion in God-consciousness]. After some time he

came back to normal consciousness and said to the devotees: " How foolish to

speak of compassion! Man is an insignificant worm crawling on the earth -

and he is to show compassion on others! This is absurd. It must not be

compassion, but service to all. Recognize them as God's manifestations and

serve them. " Narendra, the future Swami Vivekananda, was struck dumb at

these words. He left the room with his brother disciples and said to the

others with great enthusiasm, " What a wonderful light I have discovered in

those words of the Master! How beautifully he has reconciled the ideal of

bhakti with the knowledge of Vedanta, generally interpreted as dry, austere,

and incompatible with human sentiments! What a grand, natural and sweet

synthesis! . . . Those following the paths of karma [action] and yoga

[contemplation] are similarly benefited by these words of the Master. The

embodied being cannot remain even for a minute without activity. All his

activities should be directed toward the service of man, the manifestation of

God upon earth, and this will accelerate his progress towards the goal. If

it be the will of God, I shall one day proclaim this noble truth before the

world at large. I shall make it the common property of all-the wise and the

foolish, the rich and the poor, the brahmin and the pariah. " This is exactly

what Swamiji did in the later stages of his life. The other disciples of Sri

Ramakrishna who were present that day could not fathom the true import of the

great meaning in these words of the Master and Swamiji at that point. It can

be said that the message of Sri Ramakrishna was most vividly understood and

interpreted by Swami Vivekananda.

 

If one searches sincerely in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, one finds

countless examples of Sri Ramakrishna advocating good works as spiritual

discipline. For example, when Sri Ramakrishna visited Ishwar Chandra

Vidyasagar, a great humanitarian worker of that time, he said to him, " The

activities you are engaged in are good. It is very good if you can perform

them in a selfless spirit, renouncing egotism, giving up the idea that you

are the doer. Through such action, one develops love and devotion to God,

and ultimately realizes Him. . . . By these philanthropic activities, you

are really doing good to yourself. If you can do them disinterestedly, your

mind will become pure and you will develop love for God. As soon as you have

that love, you will realize Him. . . . " Swamiji's lectures in the latter

part of his life seemed to echo this message of the Master. Swamiji said to

an audience once, " If I have told you one word of truth, it was his [sri

Ramakrishna's] and his alone; and if I have told you many things which were

not true, which were not correct, which were not beneficial to the human

race, they were all mine and on me is the responsibility. "

 

It is most necessary to note that Sri Ramakrishna's and Swamiji's advocation

of philanthropy was for the sole purpose of going further on the path of

spirituality. One does not derive any benefit from doing humanitarian works

if one does not do them in a spirit of service and worship to God.

Humanitarian works without the spiritual aim in mind is not karma yoga, it is

only karma and only further binds one in maya. The goal, as Swamiji said, is

to " manifest the divinity within. " Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji advocated

humanitarian works, and in fact all works, to be performed for this goal

alone. One should make a synthesis of all the four yogas (karma, bhakti,

jnana, and raja) for the attainment of this goal.

 

Indeed, it is impossible to separate Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda or

their messages. They are in reality one and the same person, with one and

the same message. This is why Swami Saradananda said, " Bold is he who can

separate Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. " One finds that the

teachings of Swami Vivekananda fully coincide and complement the teachings of

Sri Ramakrishna; in fact that is all they do. How could their teachings be

contradicting or different? Sri Ramakrishna brought Swami Vivekananda with

him for the very purpose of having his own message propagated to all beings.

At the time of Sri Ramakrishna's Mahasamadhi, he transmitted all of his

spiritual power to him for solely this purpose. As Mahapurush Swami

Shivananda Maharaj, a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and the second president of

the Ramakrishna Mission and Order, said, " The Master is the Veda, and Swamiji

is the commentary. " When Swamiji returned to India from the West, he said

openly, " Do you think I gave those lectures? It was the Master who spoke

through me. " Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, as one entity, will

inspire men and women all over the world with their message: " For one's own

salvation, and for the good of the world. "

 

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[Guest guest]

Om gr8 article. Once again many thanks