Vivekananda on the Vedas (part 62)

July 9, 2001

Parts 1 to 61 were posted earlier. This is part 62. Your comments are welcome... Vivekananda Centre London

Earlier postings can be seen at http://www.vivekananda.btinternet.co.uk/veda.htm

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA ON THE VEDAS AND UPANISHADS

By Sister Gayatriprana

part 62

2. The Basis of Ethics Is Unity, Love

The Hindus say we must not do this or that because the Vedas say so, but the Christian is not going to obey the authority of the Vedas. The Christian says you must do this and not do that because the Bible says so. That will not be binding on those who do not believe in the Bible. But we must have a theory which is large enough to take in all these various grounds. (17)

The idea of oneness has had its advocates throughout all times. From the days of the Upanishads, the Buddhas, Christs and all the great preachers of religion down to our present day, in the new political aspirations and in the claims of the oppressed and downtrodden, and of all those who find themselves bereft of privileges - comes out the one assertion of this unity and sameness….

Applied to metaphysics, this question also assumes another form. The Buddhist declares that we need not look for anything which brings unity in the midst of these phenomena; we ought to be satisfied with this phenomenal world. This variety is the essence of life, however miserable and weak it may seem to be; we can have nothing more. The Vedantist declares that unity is the only thing that exists; variety is but phenomenal, ephemeral and apparent. "Look not to variety", says the Vedantist, "go back to unity.Avoid unity; it is a delusion", says the Buddhist, "go to variety." The same differences of opinion in religion and metaphysics have come down to our own day for, in fact, the sum-total of the principles of knowledge is very small. Metaphysics and metaphysical knowledge, religion and religious knowledge, reached their culmination five thousand years ago, and we are merely reiterating the same truths in different languages, only enriching them sometimes by the accession of fresh illuminations. So this is the fight, even today. One side wants us to keep to the phenomenal, to all this variation, and point out, with great show of argument, that variation has to remain, for when that stops everything is gone. What we mean by life has been caused by variation. The other side, at the same time, valiantly points to unity.

Coming to ethics, we find a tremendous departure. It is, perhaps, the only science which makes a bold departure from this fight. For ethics is unity; its basis is love. It will not look at this variation. The one aim of ethics is this unity, this sameness. The highest ethical codes that humankind has discovered up to the present time know no variation; they have no time to stop to look into it; their one end is to make for that sameness. The Indian mind being more analytical - I mean, the Vedantic mind - found this unity as a result of its analyses and wanted to base everything upon this one idea of unity. (18)

Cross reference to:

Isha Up., 5-6

Taitt. Up., 2.7.1

Ka. Up., 2.3.14-15

Cha. Up., 6.2.1

7.25

Mand. Up., 2

Npt. Up., 1.6