Swami Vivekandana And Hindu Modernity

(Article submitted to National Level Essay Competition conducted by BYJM as India celebrates Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav )

Hinduism (one of the oldest religions of the world ) is the only surviving religion of the past. Despite the invasions by foreign nations and their forcible conversions, it could withstand. Swami Vivekananda is the forerunner in advocating the greatness of Hinduism to the West and thereby native people realizing its worth. Spirituality is India’ priceless jewel, which is embibed in every inch of her character. Today, Hinduism is facing real threat owing to multiple reasons. It is time for renaisance of Hinduism, many such are witnessed in the past.

Swami Vivekananda describes religion as “Religion is the manifestation of the Divinity already in man. Religion is not in books , nor in theories, nor in dogmas, nor in talking and reasoning”. In the world parliament of religions, Swami Vivekanada describes Hinduism as the mother of world religions, which taught the world tolerance and universal acceptance. A Hindu accepts all religions to be true. He accepts every other path to reach salvation and can co-exist with people of all faiths . A hindu never forces the one who follows a different path to assume his path either by violence or by opportunity.

Swami also iterates the secular nature of India. India is the nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth( Zoroastrianism , Judaism ).The agnosticism of the Buddhists, and the atheism of the Jains, each and all have a place in the Hindu's religion. This country by its very nature is secular over a millennia not because after the word secularism is added in the constitution. Live and let live is our policy. But it doesn’t mean quit our mother religion for any reason. We should not keep our doors open for conversion business. Any factors which disturbs the integrity of the country should be addressed in the required manner. We lost much of our territory over a period of time. Unless we safeguard the land what is left with us, Hinduism will remain history.  A nation shouldn’t be suffering from Arjuna’s syndrome, whether to fight or not. If necessary wage a war against the evil.

 Swami Vivekananda stressed for educating the masses and woman of India for country’s progress. Surely the country achieved progress in terms of education, but real challenge lies in the empowerment of youth. Spirituality doesn’t appeal to the youth without a decent living is guaranteed to them. Any life skill that is either traditional or modern which is essential for mankind could be taken as profession with dignity of labour. Swamiji wondered by the material progress of the west believed that technical advancement can provide livelihood for the poor. Education and employment are important to improve living conditions of the masses. Swamiji’s views on education

            “Swami Vivekananda says we want education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one stand on one’s feet.”

Spiritual education which is India’s strength is the key to mission of man making. Tomorrow’s better nation is a result of today’s mission – man making. Our puranas are to be taught to the younger generation from childhood itself. In the first place lets stop calling them ‘mythology’, term coined by western historians. Vedas and Upanishads are to be preserved , their essence brought to the common man. Sanskrit is the language of most of our scriptures. Sanskrit should be taught as language to all children irrespective of their background. A generation later, our children can read the original version of scriptures without being misinformed what is written in them. Our scriptures Bhagavadgita , Mahabharat Ramayan and are taught as management lessions in the West. Only in secular India , they are seen as religious texts.

Spirituality has been India’s strength  and it can be master of spirituality to the west. The problem lies not with the religion but religion has not been applied to the society the way it should have been. Whenever required Hinduism is open for reform, many reformers viz. Sankaracharya , Ramanuja etc  in the past tried their bit to bring change they wanted to see. Revival of traditional matts is the need of the hour to take spirituality to the common man.

Reach out to the less privileged, the downtrodden and make them inclusive in the spirituality world. This alone can stop them from falling prey to proselytizers. Modern religious organizations formed in the nineteenth century seem to attract the elite , the upper middle class and the Indian foreign nationals. Seriously we need hindu organization that work in the rural areas for the poor and marginalized sections. We believe in Manava seve Madhava seva!

Another way is to follow hindu way of life, renunciation and service. Metropolitan and cosmopolitan cities are becoming overcrowded with population. Those who near retirement age can go back to their home city or town, can take up some cause education or health through organizations. There are lot of destitute, any small favour would be appreciated. They can even help setup micro mini industries away the bigger cities. Technical support is required for things that are still being manually in rural India. I request the Indian diaspora across the world to look back to your home land. Those who are part of big innovative technological companies, be part in the country’s journey. With your participation, India can become world leader in technology and economy.

India is a country where woman is worshipped as shakti. Discrimination is not the objective, yet she is subject to some amount of discrimination by her dear ones. Not trying to imitate the west, women has to be empowered the Indian way without losing her original character of motherhood. She can be strong and can lead the families in times of crisis. If this quality is complimented by modern education she can play a key role in nation building. Children needs upbringing that doesn’t differentiate between male and female.

 Swami Vivekananda feels education is incomplete without fine arts . Fine arts is another entity which compliments religion. For an artist of any art form classical dance, music etc, art is another way of obtaining liberation (mukthi). It is our duty to preserve the art forms which are on the verge of extinction. Art is a means to reach the masses. Our scriptures are alive in the lives of people since ages in different forms.

The challenge country faces is to strike a balance between age-old values and modernity through science and technology. It can accept change without violence, without giving up basic character of spirituality and morality. It has the capacity to assimilate new thoughts without losing its strengths.