Vivekananda on the Vedas (part 61)

[Guest guest]

Leon had found one of the recent postings on

Vivekananda on the Vedas (part 61) objectionable.

 

Hence I asked Sister Gayatriprana to respond.

Her response is as under:-

 

jay

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Dear Leon,

Jay Lakhani has sent on to me your thoughtful letter on part 61 of Swami

Vivekananda on the Vedas and Upanishads. Thank you for expressing your

feelings to us. I think it is important that we look at what we are doing

from all standpoints;you have brought your point of view to our attention.

 

It seems you find Swami Vivekananda " making claims to exclusivity " . Perhaps

you are referring to the statements, The Vedas are the only scriptures that

reach the real, absolute God, of which all other ideas of God are but

minimised and limited versions (#11) Perhaps, too, his insistence on the

word Brahman, and the idea that all that has name and form is subject to all

that has none (13) Possibly, too, the statement, Absolute oneness is the

only system for people who want to be rational and religious at the same

time, and advaita is the only religion (15).

 

Swami Vivekananda was, of course, a very forceful and even flamboyant

personality and often spoke quite strongly. This tendency sometimes creates

an impression of dogmatism. However, if we look into his statements more

deeply I think we can see that he shares with Sri Ramakrisyna a pluralism

and inclusivism that is the hallmark of their Vedanta.

 

Taking up the passages I mentioned above, we might recall that by the Vedas

Swami Vivekananda meant (See part 18):

The knowledge of God (#2)

The sum total of eternal truths (#3)

Truths cognizable by the subtle, supersensuous power of yoga (#4)

The philosophy of the Beyond (#5)

 

He did think that the Indian texts known as the Vedas stressed more than any

other the " supersensuous vision of truth " and are, therefore, the rationale

of the respective scriptures of the world. (#6) However, he did not mean

that that invalidated other scriptures; on the contrary, he was suggesting

that this " rationale " would help to expand the others and help them to

understand one another. In the West, at Thousand Island Park he expected

his disciples to " go into your room and bring out the Upanishads from

within " , indicating that he felt that anyone could get the gist of the

Vedas, which are, simply, the inner " template " within everyone.

Furthermore, he also thought that each religion was one way of looking at

truth and the fact is that it is only by putting them all together that we

get the whole picture. This idea is developed very much in his commentary

on Truth is One: sages call it variously, a mantra that will be presented in

this compilation. Finally, he said, in the same commentary, that no

religion has the whole truth and that, even within each religion, there is a

continuous process of revelation.

 

What emerges from this is that, to Swami Vivekananda, the Vedas mean the

universal body of truth perceived in the superconscious state, by no means

restricted to the Hindus, but available to all, provided the proper

practices are followed to attain it. This is the key idea: questions of

different religions are so beset by limitations and change that it is not

worthwhile to spend much time on them. It is true, however, that the

different forms of religion are important in that they provide alternative

paths for people to develop in. We need variety and, at the same time, the

understanding of variety existing in a universal Truth or oneness.

 

To my mind, this is quite the contrary of exclusive; what it is emphasising

is the importance of experience (as you yourself remark) as opposed to

ogma - in any tradition whatsoever.

 

With regard to the idea, The Vedas are the only scriptures that teach the

real, absolute God, I believe what Swami Vivekananda is referring to is the

Reality that lies behind and beyond and in and through God or gods as we

know them. This is, again, not an exclusive Reality, but an inclusive

ne - a fact that needs to be stressed in a world quarrelling over and over

again about their different gods. This Absolute God is not, like some forms

of God, " out there " , but " in here " and can be experienced by anyone in the

superconscious state. Again, it is something accessible to anyone who

wishes to experience it and is willing to take appropriate steps to do so.

Swami Vivekananda saw the Vedas as upholding such a universal God, to be

experienced in a state which, as we already have seen, is available to all.

Is this exclusive?

 

All that has name and form is subject to all that has none. This, I think,

does not deny things with name and form but asserts the Ground or Reality

from they emanate, in which they exist, and to which they return (Taitt. Up)

It is what supports everything and holds it together. In that sense named

and formed things are " subject " to it. It is, I think, good to be remind of

that fact, for it helps us keep our own gods and dogmas in perspective and

prevents the exclusiveness, etc. that we find everywhere.

 

Absolute Oneness is the only system for people who want to be rational and

religious at the same time. I think this is just an extension of all of the

above. If we accept a divine Ground or Reality in and through which we can

experience directly within ourselves, then we have a constant, reliable

reference point that makes it possible to be really rational. All other

presuppositions are liable to change and error and therefore we get confused

and irrational. Because this view is based on direct experience, it is

" religious and, again, it is universally open to all irrespective of creed

or dogma , because it supports all of them and at the same time transcends

them all, but without destroying or mutilating them. Finally, such

advaitism gives us tremendous strength which enables us to to stand on our

own inner Self and see the whole world as our own Self, not as strangers in

any way.

 

I am not sure if what I have picked out is what is bothering you; but I have

tried to show you how I understand these passages and why I am making them

public. Rather than exclusive, I think they stress universals that the

Upanishads or Vedas specially bring out and point out way we can use them

for our own growth.

 

I hope all of this has thrown some light, at least on my thoughts on this

compilation, and has been of some value to you. If you have other questions

and problems that I might be able to help you with, please let me know.

 

Sincerely,

Sister Gayatriprana