By Swami Gokulananda
I am grateful to Swami Brahmasthanandaji for giving me this opportunity to be present on this very auspicious occasion of the consecration of the newly constructed beautiful temple in this historic city of Nagpur. I am also thankful to him for asking me to share some of my thoughts on the topic suggested by him namely The Modern World and Sri Ramakrishna Vivekananda. The question we have to ask ourselves is: - How relevant are the life and teachings of the Holy Trinity in the context of the Modern World, in the context and background of the changes which have come about in the society, in our life style, in our attitude to a variety of problems that we face today; so on and so forth. From what I could gather from my talks with devotees and friends, this question does arise in some of their minds. It is, therefore, very pertinent, very topical to spend a few minutes to examine this matter.
To put the subject in its proper perspective, let us briefly recall that nearly 120 years have passed by since Sri Ramakrishna attained Mahasamadhi and more than 103 years since Swamiji attained his. The modern world, as we know it, is mostly a post Second World War phenomenon when tremendous and vast inventions and discoveries in Science and Technology made human life easier, more comfortable, and possibly more affordable to a large section of the society if not to all.
The topic 'Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and The Modern World' assumes more and more importance in modern times because of the dynamics of globalisation and 'free market' economy forced upon or undertaken by one country after the other. Such socio-economic changes produce a transient or temporary phase of social confusion, unrest, and apprehension. It produces stressful life style. When science and technology, inventions and discoveries, and advances in knowledge, including humanities - such as psychology and human resource management, fail to answer questions pertaining to declining moral and ethical values, widening gap between the rich and the poor, failing economies, and feeling of insecurity all around, one turns to something else for finding peace and balance of mind. There comes Ramakrishna, Vivekananda who offers such a hope for most of us.
New developments in Electronics and communication have reduced the world into, as they say, a Gobal Village. Swamiji took more than a month to travel to America. Today it takes 17 or 18 hours. The news about his historic triumph at Chicago reached his brother disciples considerable time after the event. They had to wait for months to receive information about his speeches in various places in USA and that too in the form of gists. Sri Ramakrishna or Sri Ma would take more than a full day and use a variety of modes of transport to reach Kamarpukur or Jairambati . Today you do not take more than a few hours. Or take media for example. How did the message of Sri Ramakrishna spread over Kolkata? Mostly by word of mouth and in a small way by the print media. Not to talk of electronic media, there was not even radio those days. And print media had a limited role. Today, we have physical comforts of all sorts so much so that we have been driven into a consumeristic society. Market forces are pushing new products into the market and driving out older ones. Whether we need or not, new products are being created and needs are generated. People are made to feel that their life is not worth living unless they possess these new goods. Black TV has given way to Colour TV and I am told that this has given way to Plasma TV. So there is a drive, an incessant urge, to earn more, to spend more, to acquire new things. It looks as if people are living more for the pleasure of the senses. They have forgotten, they have lost sight that these pleasures are momentary, intransient. They do not last forever. There comes a time when the body and the mind rebel against it, as it cannot take these any more, finds no more comfort from the pursuit of sensual pleasures. A pall of depression and gloom descends on the mind. These briefly are the consequences of the consumer society of the present day modern world. It has made life comfortable in a number of ways no doubt, but it has also brought in its trail stress and strain, a rat race to succeed at any cost, in life in the material sense. Therefore failure means rejection by society, which cannot but leave a deep scar in the psyche of such people. I can see how eager they are to overcome mental agony and depression and control mental tension. The phenomenal popularity of the book "How to Overcome Mental Tension" published by Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Gol Park, Kolkata, in several languages is a testimony of this development. On the one hand, we talk of material progress, on the other we find that stress and strain with attendant diseases of depression, hypertension, and a host of other maladies are on the increase at an alarming rate. One becomes sad to read in the newspaper sometime that young people have ended their lives as they have not qualified in the IIT entrance examination or have not done well in other examination. Human life is precious and so what a colossal waste to end life like this.
The other danger which threatens our life is the phenomenal increase in intolerance. Whether it is a matter of caste or religion we seem to be more and more bigoted, we are not able to accept other people's beliefs and faith. Communal and caste riots are rampant. People being burnt alive in parts of the country have become almost a daily news. Swamiji's heart bled for the poor when he saw their condition first hand during his Bharat yatra. One is sad to say that even more than 100 years later and nearly sixty years after independence, 30% of our population still lives below the poverty line.
The three issues, the three ailments which are eating the vitals of the society and which appear to me to be the most important ones demanding our attention are the three mentioned by me so far, leaving aside many more. And to recapitulate, these are:- (1) stress and strain in a consumer society, (2) people's insatiable urge for material progress and (3) possession, our inability to tolerate other people's belief and faith and a dogmatic attitude that one's belief and religion is the best.
It is in this background we have to look at Sri Ramakrishna and Swamiji and examine whether they have given us the answers, whether they have shown us the right path, to guide us in this life, by following which we can live a life of peace and harmony. And above all, whether these are valid in the present day context. Sri Ramakrishna was never opposed to people earning money- his advice to house holder devotees was that they must earn enough to take care of their responsibilities, never to run away from them. Both He and Swamiji have repeatedly emphasized that in Kali Yuga, people's mind is preoccupied with the means of getting food. And you may remember Sri Ramakrishna's famous saying that one cannot practice religion in an empty stomach. But earning money can never be the only goal of life. Lust and lucre in Ramakrishna's opinion can never bring peace and happiness but will cause ruination. These souls whose only motivation is money are bounden by Maya, like fish caught in a net and quite happy to lead a imprisoned life. They are not even aware how miserably their life is going to end. According to Sri Ramakrishna, to earn is not a bad thing by itself provided it is spent on charity and Sadhusewa, but he cautioned that charity should not be an occasion for self-glorification, for hankering after name and fame. Service to people should be in the spirit of service to Narayana. Swamiji has taken this message to its logical conclusion and established this as the cardinal principle of social service of the Ramakrishna Order - "Shiva Jnane Jeeva Sewa".
Bigotry-religious or for that matter of any kind was anathema to them. "All religions are but so many paths leading to the same Truth-"Jato Mat Tato Path". Sri Ramakrishna reverified the truth of the ancient Vedic Dictum "Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti" Truth is one, sages call it by various names; by his own personal experiences. First as a scientist he made experiment with Mother Kali at Dakshineswar Kali Temple. He wanted to know whether there is any truth behind the black stone image and it is said that the day he wanted to put an end to his life, Mother Kali revealed herself to him. Then he realized the truth of the various facets of Hinduism. Then he wanted to known whether there is any truth in Islam and he took Allha Mantra from a sufi saint and had vision of prophet Mohammed. He wanted to know whether there is any truth behind Christianity and it is said that he had a vision of Lord Jesus.
One should always maintain an attitude of respect towards other religions - is what he proclaimed. Everyone thinks his faith is the best and tries to convert others to his. So Sri Ramakrishna compared this with people claiming that only his watch was keeping the right time. And consider this. "Let a man be a Christian in the matter of mercy, a Moslem in the matter of strict observance of external forms, and a Hindu in the matter of universal charity towards all living creatures" is what Sri Ramakrishna said. Can there be a better testimony, a better message for religious harmony" Ramakrishna also once said that even loving one's own countrymen is Maya. But loving the whole of humanity, loving the citizens of all countries, is Daya: active sympathy for others, brotherliness towards others, helpfulness to others. How modern Ramakrishna was, would be evident from the fact that he considered every animate and inanimate object as God in various forms. As Swamiji so succinctly put it, his message was "Do not care for doctrines, do not care for dogmas, or sects or churches or temples. They count for little compared with the essence of existence in each man which is spirituality; and the more a man develops it, the more power he has for good".
Sri Ramakrishna says: "Do not care for doctrines, for dogmas, or sects, or churches, or temples; they count for little compared with the essence of existence in each man, which is spirituality; and the more this is developed in a man, the more powerful is he for good..... Show by your lives that religion does not mean words, or names or sects, but that it means spiritual realization."
Conclusion
Swami Vivekananda summed up Sri Ramakrishna's message in these words:
"My master's message to mankind is: Be spiritual and realise truth for yourself...To proclaim and make clear the fundamental unity underlying all religions was the Mission of my master....He left every religion undisturbed because he had realised that, in reality, they are all part and parcel of the one eternal religion. At the same time, he preached the equality of all religions. He said that all religions are the various paths to realize God and so, there is no need for anybody to convert from one religion to the other?.
The message of Sri Ramakrishna is of utmost importance particularly in these days of communal hatred and conflict.
What do we see around today? All are self-centred and only concerned about their selfish interests. Nobody cares for the nation, no body cares for others for the welfare of all people. There is crisis of character. As Swami Vivekananda says, "What the world wants is character. The world is in need of those whose life is one of burning love and selflessness."
Swamiji said, "The watchword of all well-being, of all moral good is not "I" but 'Thou." Who cares whether there is a heaven or a hell, who cares if there is a soul or not?...Here is the world and it is full of misery. Forget yourselves; this is the first lesson to be learnt, whether you are a theist or an atheist, whether you are an agnostic or a Vedantist, a Christian or a Mohammedan. The one lesson obvious to all is the destruction of the little self and the building up of the Real Self."
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