[Sri Ramakrishna] help

[Guest guest]

> " vivekananda a great hindu teacher said at the

> begining of the 20th century that the west or east must learn from india its

> sipirituality and that india must learn form the west or east how to

> improve its people.what does this mean and do you agree? "

 

The statement seems pretty straightforward. There is obviously widespread

material suffering in India (poverty, disease, effects of political corruption),

and the nation could benefit from the technological advances of the Western

world, which could help the people to enjoy a higher standard of living, better

health, better education, upliftment of women and the lower classes, and so on.

But the West is obviously overly obsessed with material abundance and

technological progress, yet despite the high standard of living people are

terribly unhappy and spiritually and morally impoverished (as observed in rates

of divorce, depression, substance abuse, schoolyard violence, etc.).

So what do you think? If you believe that India's ancient civilization

possesses some wisdom that holds the key to happiness in life, then you will

agree with the Swami that the East has much spiritual help to offer the West,

just as the West has material help to offer the East. India has produced all

manner of spiritual leaders--divine incarnations, prophets, masters, seers,

sages, and philosophers--whose contribution to the spiritual evolution of

humanity has been outstanding; India has also been the home of great scientists,

poets, emperors, and statesmen. Among the spiritual values that are among

India's contributions are the ideals of nonviolence, the oneness of all life,

the teachings of meditation, vegetarianism, and the respect and tolerance for

other religions that is characteristic of Hinduism. If America has led in the

conquest of outer space, India has been a pioneer in the exploration of inner

space, in understanding the mind, the self, and the inner mysteries and truths

of human existence.

In my opinion, the East and West have to join together in realizing they are

one humanity, and neither side has 'the answer " to the problems of our world.

There is plenty of evidence in India of failure to put spiritual principles into

action (e.g., religious violence between Hindus and Muslims--in the land that

produced Gandhi, who taught the world the meaning of nonviolence); and there is

likewise plenty of evidence that America has failed to put its technology and

wealth to wise and safe uses. Both sides have a lot of work to do. Personally I

think this world is in such bad shape that it will be only through divine

intervention (operating through the saints and masters of the higher planes of

consciousness) that the world will awaken in time to avert catastrophe. Divine

help is never far from us, so there should be ample justification for hope.

Of the two things--spirituality and materiality--the more important is

spirituality, because it is spiritual values alone that can inspire human beings

to find creative solutions to individual and collective problems. All the

material wealth and power in the world won't help unless the values of

spirituality are awakened in the masses of people. The West has its own fund of

spiritual wisdom--for example, just the teaching " Love your neighbor as

yourself " (Leviticus 19:18), if put into practice, would go a long way to making

the world a better place. But sometimes you need someone else to help you find

your own treasure, and so it is up to India to take the lead and show the world

what real spirituality is, and *where* it is--within ourselves.

 

 

 

 

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