Up to this time, the modern civilised nations of Europe and America were entirely ignorant of the genuine nature of our religion, but you have with your spiritual teaching opened their eyes, by which they have come to know that the ancient religion, which owing to their ignorance they used to brand ” as a religion of subtleties of conceited people, or a mass of discourses meant for fools,” is a mine of gems, Certainly, “ It is belter to have a virtuous and accomplished son than to have hundreds of foolish ones.” “ It is the moon that singly with its light dispels all darkness and not all the stars put together.” It is only the life of a good and virtuous son like yourself that is really useful to the world, IMother India is consoled In her decayed state by the presence of pious sons like you. Many have crossed the seas and run to and fro, but it was only through the reward of yonr past good Karma that you have proved fhe greatness gf our religion, beyond the seas. You have ADDRESS OF WELCOME AT ALMORA SWAMIJFS REPI.Y 141 iDiide it the sole aim of your life by word, thought and deed, to impart spiritual instruction to humanity. You are always ready to give religious instruction.
We have heard with great pleasure that you intend establishing a Math (IMonas- tery) here, and we sincerely pray that your efforts in this direction may be crowned with success. The great Sankaracharya also after his spiritual conquest, established a Math at lladarikdsrama in the Himalayas for the protection of the ancient religion. Similarly, if your desire is also fulfilled, India will be gieatly benefited. By the establishment of the Malh^ we Kumaonees will deiivc.special spiiilual advantages, and we shall not see the ancient religion gradually disappearing from our midst.
From time immemorial, this part of the country has been the land of asceticism. The greatest of the Indian sages passed their time in piety and asceticism in this land, but that has become a thing of the past. We earnestly hope that by the establishment of the Math you will kindly make us realise it again. It was this sacred land which enjoyed the celebiity all over India, of having true leligion, Kaima, discipline, and fair dealing, all of which seem to have been decaying by the efflux of time. And we hope that by your noble exertions this land will icveit to its ancient religious slate, We cannot adequately express the joy we have felt at your arrival here. May you live long, enjoying perfect health and leading a philanthropic life! I\Iay your spiritual powers be ever on the increase, so that through your endeavours the unhappy stale of India may soon disappear!
Two other addresses were presented, to which the Swami made the following brief reply This is the land of dreams of our forefathers, in which was born P;\rvati, the Mother of India. This is the holy land, where eveiy ardent soul in India wants to come at the end of its life, and to close the last chapter of its mortal caieer here. On the tops of the mountains of this blessed land, in the depths of its caves, on the banks of its rushing torrents, have been thought out the most wonderful tboughts, a little bit of which has drawn so much admiration even fiom foielgnci.s, and which have been pronounced by the most competent of judges to be fneom- paiable. This is the land which, since my very chihlhood, I have been dreaming of passing my life in, and as all of you arc awaie, I have attempted again and again to live here, and although the lime was not lipe, and I had woik to do and was whiiled outside of this holy place, yet it i.s the hope of my life to end my days somewhere in this Father of mountains, where Rishis lived, where philosophy was boin. Perhaps, my fi lends, I shall not be able to do it, in the way that I had planned before — how I wish that silence, that unknownness would be given to me, — yet I sincerely pray and hope, and almost believe that my last days will be spent here, of all places on earth.
Inhabitants of this holy land, accept my gratitude for the kind praise that has fallen from you for my little work in the West. But, at the same time, my mind does not want to speak of that, either in the East or in the West. As peak after peak of this Father of mountains began to appear before my sight, all the propensities to work, that ferment that had been going on in my brain for years, seemed to quiet down, and instead of talking about what had been done, and what was going to be done, the mind reverted to that one eternal theme which the Himalayas always teach us, that one theme which is reverberating in the very atmos- LECTCrRES—FROM COLOMBO TO ALMORA phcic of the pl.iLO, the one theme the murmur of whose dreams I hear, the one lliinii: that I heal iii tlie lushin^; wliiilpools of its ii\eis — renunciation! VTJff- “ J*lver)lhino m this life is fiaui^ht with fear. It is lenun- cialion alone that inalvcs one leailess.” Yes, this is the land of i enunciation.
'I'he time will not j)ei mil me, and the ciicumstances ate not fitting; to spe.ik to you lully 1 shall have to conclude, theiefoio, hy poinli'ii^ out to )ou that the Ilima- l,i)as stand foi that lenunciation, and the j^iand lc.sson we shill ever teach to hunianity will he, renunciation. As oui foicfatheis used to be altiacletl towaids it in the latter da\s of then lives, so, stioni^ souls liom all (piaiteis of this eaith, in tune to come, will be attracted to this Father ol mountains, when all this flight between sects, ami all those dilleiences in dogmas, will not be remembeied an) moie, and (|uaiiels between youi relyeion and my lelioion will ha\e vanisheil altogether, when mankind will undeibt.ind that thoie is but one eternal leligion, and th.at is, the perception of the Dnine within, and the lest is meie fiolh such aident s«)uls will come hcie knowing that the woild is but vanity of \aniiios, knowing that cvei) thing is useless except the woiship of the I oid and the Loid alone.
I'liends, you have been veiy kind to allude to an idea of mine, which is to staiL a centre in the nimala)as, and peihajis 1 have sulliciently explained why it should be so, why above all otheis, this is the spot winch I want to select as one of the gieat centies to teach this universal leligion. 'I'hesc mountains aie assoii.ited with the best memoiies ot oui lace; if these Himalayas aie taken away liom the histoiy ol leligious India, theie w'ill be veiy little left behind, lleie, tlieiefoie, must be one of those centies, not merely of activity, but moie of calmness, ot meditation, and of peice, and I hope some day to leahse it. 1 ho[)e also to meet )ou at othei limes, and ha\e belter oppoilunilics of lalking to)Ou. k'oi the piesonl, let mo thank ) ou again foi all tlie kindness ih vl has been shown to me, and let me lake it as not only kimlness.shown to me in poison, but as to one who lepresents our leligion; may it novel leave oui lieaiK. May we alway.s lemain as pine as we aie at the piesent moment, and as enthusiastic foi spuiiuahly as we aie just now.
VEDIC TEACHING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE.
When the Swami’s \ibit w.ib drawing to a close, liis fiiemh m Almoia invilccl liim to give a Icctuic in lliiuli. lie consenletl to make the attempt lor the first time. He began slowly, and soon wanned to his theme, and loiind himself building his phiases and almost his woids as he went along Those best.uiiiiamted with the dilTiciiUies and limitations of ihe I liinli language as a medinrn hn oiatory, exiaessed then opinion that a tiinmjih had been achieved, piol)abl) imn|ne of its kind; as well as being piofoundly inleicsiing; and the lecluiei had pioved bv his masterly use of it, that the language iiad m it undreamt ol possibilities of development m the diitclion of oiatoiy.
The subject was “ Vedic Teaching in Theory and Piactice ” vV shoil his- torical sketch of the lise of the woislnp of the tubal (Jod, and its spieatl thiough corKjutst of other tubes, w.is loHowed by an account of the \T'das, 'I'heir naluie, chaiacter and teaching weie biielly touched ujion. d’lien the Swami spoke about the soul, com|)aiing the \\ estein method, winch siaks foi the solution of vital and religious mysteiies m the outside woild, with the Jvaslein mclhod, wlinh, finding no answer in natuie outside, tinns it.s eminiiy within. He jnsilv (. 1. limed tor his nation the gloiy of being the disroveieis of the inti ospective method jiecnliar to themselves, and of having given to Immamty the piiciless tieasiiies ot spiiitualil), vvhnh aic the lesnll ol ih.U method alone, rassing. fioiii this theme, naluially so dcai to the heait ot a Hindii, the Swami leachcd the climaK ot his jiowei its a sjmilual leachei when he desciibcd the lel.ition of the soul to (lOil, Us asjiiialion and leal unity with (Jod lun sometime it seemed as though the Teachei, his wouis, his audience, and the spiiiL peivadmg them all, weie one. No longei was iheic any consciousness ol " I " and “ I'hon, »*! “ I’liis ‘ oi “ I hat 1 he dilleient units colleded ihcic, weie foi the lime bring lost and meiged into the sjiiiiliiil ladiaiu c wine h eman.ilcd so powcifiilly lioin the gieal Teachei, and lield them all, moie ih.ui spell-bound, Tliosc that have fieiinriitlv hcaid him will iccall and lecognise a similar expel leiK 0, — a monieiU when lie ccMses to be Swann \ ivekauanda Inluiiiig to ciitual and attentive hcaici ail delaiK and pei ^onaliiie'. <iie lost, names and tonus disa])))eai, Old) the Sjuiil icinaiiis, uinling Sjieakei, Hcaici, and spoken Woicl -c»ccocceoo= -c»ccocceoo= BHAKTl.
( Delivered at Sialkofe^ Punjabi ) In rcspon«;c to iiuitalions from the Punjab and Kashmir, the Swami Vivekananda travelled ihiough those parts. lie stayed in Kashmir for over a month and his work there was very much appreciated by the Maharajah and his brothers. lie then spent a lew days in visiting Muiree, Rawalpindi and Jammu, and at each of these places he delivered leCluies. Subse<piently, he visited Sialkotcand lectured twice, once in English and once in Hindi. 'I’he subject of the Swamiji’s Hindi lectuie was Bhakti, a summary of which, tianslated into Engli.sh is given below: — The various religions that exist in the world, although they differ in the form of the worship they take, are really one. In.some places, the people build temples and worship in them; in some, they w'oiship fiie, in others they prostrate them- selves before idols, while there are many who do not believe at all in God. All aie ti lie, for, if you look to the real woids, the leal religion, and the truths in each of them, they aie all alike. In some religions (Jod is not worshipped, nay, His existence is not believed in, but good and w'orlhy men are woi shipped as if they were Gods. The example worthy of illuslialion in this case is Buddhism. Bhakti is cvei) where, whether directed to God, or to noble persons. UpiUand in the foim of Bhakti is everywheie supreme and Bhakti is more easily attained than Jndna. The latter requires favouial)le circumstances and strenuous practice. Yoga can- not be pi opcily piactised unless a man is ph}Sically veiy healthy, and free from all w'orldly attachments. But Bhakti can be more easily practised by pet sons in every condition of life..Sandilya Rislii who wTote about Jihakti, says, that Parama Anuniga in hhvara is Bhakti. I’rahHda speaks to the same effect. If a man does not get food one day, he is lioubled, if his son dies how agonising it is to him. The tine Bhakta feels the same pangs in his heait when he yearns after God. The great quality of Bhakti is that it cleanses tlie mind, and the firmly established Bhakti in the Parameshvara is alone suflicient to puiify the chitia, “ 0 (lod, Ihy names are innumerable, but in every name Thy power is manifest, and every name is pregnant with deep and mighty significance." We should think of God always and not con- sider time and place for doing so.
I'lie dilTerenl names under which God is worshipped are apparently different. One thinks that his method of worshipping God is the most eflkaciou.s, and another thinks that his is the moie potent process of attaining salvation. But look at the tiue basis of all, and it is one. The Shaivas call Shiva the most pow'erful; the Vaish- navas hold to their all-pow-eiful Vishnu; the worshippers of Devi will not yield to any in their idea that their Devi is the most omnipotent Power in the universe. I.,eave inimical thoughts aside if you want to have permanent Bhakti. Hatred is a thing which greatly impedes the course of Bhakti, and the man who hates none reaches God. Even then the Bhakti of one’s own Ishta is necessary. Hanuman says, “ Shiva, Vishnu, Rdma, I know, are all one and the same, but after all, the lotus-eyed Rdma is my best lieasuie." The Bhdva, or the peculiarities which are born with a person, must remain with him. That is the sole reason why the world cannot be of one religion; U5 dnd God forbid that there should be one religion only; the world would be a chaos and not a cosmos; a man must follow the tendencies peculiar to himself; and if he gets a teacher to toll him more and to advance the knowledge of his own he will pi ogress* That Bhavd is to be cultivated. We should let a pet son go the way he intends to go, but if we liy to force him into another path, he will lose what he has already aliaincd and will become woiihless. As the face of one person does not resemble that of another, so the PtahUi of one diffets from that of another, and why should he not lie allowed to act accoidingly* A liver flows in a certain diieclion, and if you diiect the couisc into a legular channel the curieiil becomes moie rapid and the force is inci cased, but tiy to divert it from its pioper course and you will see the result; the volume as well as the force will be lessened, d'his life is very impoilant and it theiefoic ought to be guided in the way one's Tihdva piompts him. In India theie was no eniiiily and every religion was left unmolested, so religion has accoidingly lived. It ought to be remembered that quarrels about leligion aiisc from thinking that one has the tiuth, and whoever does not believe as one does is a fool; while another thinks that the other is a hypociite, for if he were not so, he would follow him.
If God wished that people should follow one religion, why have so many religions spuing up INlcthods have been vainly tiicd, to foice one leligion upon cvciyonc. Kven when a swoid was lifted to make all people follow one leligion, hisloiy tells us that ten religions sjuang up in its place. One religion cannot suit all. Jdli IS the pioduct of two foices, action and icaclion, which make a man think. If such foices did not c.xeicise a man's mind he would be incapable of thinking. Man is a creature who thinks; l\liinmhya is a being with Alanas, and as soon as this leaves him, his thinking power goes, and he becomes nothing better than an animal. Who would like such a man? God foihid that any such slate should come upon the people of India. Variety in unity is neccs.sary to keep man as man. Vaiiely ought to be pieseivcd in everything; for as long as there is variety the world will exist. (Jf course vaiiety does not merely me.m that one is.small and the other is gicat, but if all play their pails equally well in their iesj)ecllve position in life, the variety is still preserved. In cvciy lehgion there have been men good and able, thus making the religion to which they belonged woithy of respect, and as there are such people in evciy religion, theie ought to be no haired for any sect whatsoever Then, the question can be asked, should we lespect that religion which advocates vice? The answei M ill he ccitainly in the negative, and such a religion ought to be expelled at once, because it is pro- diRlivc of harm. All religion is to be based upon iii/i (law), and ikMm (personal puiity) is to be counted supeiior to Dharma, In this connection it ought to be known that fh/zd/vr means puiity inside and outside. External purity can be attained by cleansing the body M'lth water and oilier things, which aic recommended in the Shtistias. The internal man is to be puiilied by not speaking falscliood, by not drink- ing, by not doing immoral acts, and by doing good to others. If you do not com- mit any sin, it you do not tell lies, if you do not diink, gamble oi commit theft, it is good. Hut that is only your duty and you cannot be applauded for it. Some paropakdra is also to be done. As yon do good to yourself, so you must do good to others. Here I shall.say something.iboul Bhojon (the laws lelaling to eating). All the old customs have faded away and nolliing but a vague notion of not eating with this man and not eating with that man has been left among our countrymen. Shuchi (pmity by touch) is the only basig relic left of the good rules laid down hundreds of LECTURES-FROM COLOMBO TO ALMORA jears ago. Tliicc kincK of food arc forbidden in the Sh^stras. Fiist, ydli-(hsh(ty—^ wliuh means the defect that is in the food itself, as in gai lie or onions. If a man eats loo niiu'h of them it cieales passion, and he may be led to commit immorali- ties, hateful both to ( tod and man. Second, eating in unclean places. We ought to select some place (luite neat and clean in which to lake our food. Thirdly, we should avoid eating food touched by a wicked man, because contact with such produces bad ideas in us. Kven if one be a son of a Ibihman, but is pioHigatc and immoial in his habits, we should not eat food from his hands.
Ikit the spirit of these observances is gone. What is left is this, that we cannot eat fiom the hands of any man mIio is not of the highest ca.stc, even though he be the most wise and holy jierson. The disregard of tho.se old rules is ever to be found In the confectioner’s shop. If you look there you will find flies hovering all over the confeclioneiy. and the dust fiom the load blowing upon the sweetmeats, and the con- fectioner himself in a dress that is not veiy clean and neat. Puichaseis should declare with one voice that they will not bu\ sweets unless they are kept in glass-cases in the halwars shop. That w'O’ild have the salutary effect of pievcnling flies fiom convc}ing choleia and other plague germs to the sweets. We ought to impiove, but instead of improving vve have gone back. Maim says that we should not spit in water, but we throw' all soil. s of filth into the river.s. Considering all these things wo find that the putificalion of one’s outer self is very necessary. 'I’he Shastiakaras knew that very well. But now' the real spirit of this observance of Shut hi and Ashuchi is lost and the letter only remains, 'rinevcs, diunkards, and ciiminals can be our caste-fellows, but if a good and noble man eats food with a person of a lower caste, who is (inilc as respectable as himself, he will be out-cas‘ed and lost for ever. This custom has been the bane of our coiintiy. It ought theieforc to be distinctly undei stood that sin is got by coming in contact with sinness, and nobility in the company of good persons; and keeping aloof fiom the wicked is the external purification. The internal purification is a U^k much more severe. It consists in speaking the truth, serving the poor, helping the needy, kc. Do vve always speak the tiiilh? What happens is often this. People go to the house of a lich person for some business of their own and flatter him by calling him benefactor of the poor, and so forth; even though that man may cut the throat of a poor man coming to his house. What is this? Nothing but falsehood. And it is this that pollutes the mind. It is therefore truly said, that whatever a man says who has puiificd his inner.self for twelve years without entertaining a single vicious idea dining that period, is suie to come tine. ’Phis is the power of truth, and one who has cleansed both the inner and the outer self, is alone capable of Bhakti. Rut the beauty is that Bhakli itself cleanses the mind to a great extent. Although the Jews, Mahommedans and Chii tians do not set so much importance upon the excessive external puiilication of the body as the Hindus do, still they have it m some form or other; they find that to aceitam extent it is always required. Among the Jews, idol worship is condemned, but they had a temple, in which was kept a che.st which they called an aik, in which the Table.s of the T.aw were pieserved, and above the chest were two figures of angels with wings outstretched, between which the Divine Presence was supposed to manifest Itself as a cloud That temple has long since been destroyed, but the new temples are made exactly after the old fashion, and in the chest religious books are kept. The Roman Catholics and the Creek Chiistians have idol worship in ceilain forms. The image of Jesus, and those of his father and mother, are worshipped. Among Piotestants there is no BHaKTI 147 idol worship, yet they worship God in a personal form, which takes the place of an idol. Among Pat sees and Iianians fire-woiship is caiiied on to a great extent. Among Mahommedans the Prophets and great and noble persons aie worshipped, and they turn their faces towards the Kaaba when they pray. These things show that men at the lirst stage of religious development, have to make use of something externaf^ and when the inner self becomes puiified they turn to more abstract conceptions. When Brahman is united with Jiva, and Jnanais piaclised, k is Madhyanui. Japa is the adhama (lowest foim), and external worship is the adhama of adhama, that is, tlie lowest of the low. But it should be distinctly understood that even in practising thJ last theie is no.sin. Everybody ought to do what he is able to do, and if he be dissuaded fiom that he will do it in some other way in order to attain hrs end..So we.shonfd not speak ill of a man who worslnps idols. He is in that stage of giowth, and therefoie must have them; wise men should try to help forward such men, and to get them to do better. But there is no use iii quai idling about these various fioits of woiship.
Some persoirs woiship God for the sake of obtaining wealth, otliers l:)ecau8e they want to have a son; and tliey think themselves lihd^ravats. This is no Bhakii, and they aie not tiue IUhlir avals. When a Sadhu comes who professes that he can make gold, they lun to liim, and they still consider themselves Bhairavah. It is not Bhakti if we worship God with the desire for a son; it is not Bhakti if we worship w-itli the desiie to he iich; it is not Bhakti even if w^e have a dcsiie for Sivarga; it is ik>1 B-luikti if a man w 01 ships with the desire of heiirg saved fiom the toi tines of hell. Bhakti is not the outcome of feai or gieediiiess. He i.s the tiue Bhdgavat who says — “ O God, I do not want a beautiful wife, I do not w-ant knowdedge, nor salvation, let me Ixf lx>riv and die hundieds of times, what I want is that I should be ever engaged in Thy service.” It is at this stage, and when a man sees God in everything, and everything in God, th.it he attains pel feet Bhakti. It is then tlrat he sees Vishnu incarnated in evciy- tlimg, fiom the miciobe to Brahm.d, and it is then that he sees (iod manifesting Him- self in everything, it is then that he feels that Ibeie is nothing withom God, and u then and then alone that thinking himself to be the most insignificant of all beirrgv he worships God with the true spiiit of a Bliakta. He then leaves Tirthas and e.\:teinal foims of w'Oiship far behind him, he sees every man to be the most perfect De7j<)faya. Bliakti IS clcsciihcd in several ways in the AZ/Jj/zt/r. We say that God is our Father, In the.same way we call Him.Mother, and so on. These relationships are conceived in order to stiengthen Bhakti in us, and make us feel neaier and dearer to God. Hence these names are justifiable in one way, and that is, that the woids are simply woiJs of endearment, the outcome of the fond love which a liue feeF for (iod.
Take the story of Railha and Kiishna in BdsHla. The stoiy simply e.xemjdifies the tiue spirit of a Bliakta, because no love in the w'oild exceeds that existing Ixkweeii a man and a woman. Where there is such intense love, there is no fear, i>o other attachment save that one which binds that pair in an inseparable and all-absoibtng bond. But with legard to patents, love is accompanied witli fear di>e to tl>e reverence we have for them. Why should we caie whethei God created anything or not, wl>at have we to do with the fact that He is oui preset ver. He is our only Beloved, and wc should adore Him devoid of all thoughts of fear. A man loves God only when be has no olhei desire, when he thinks of nothing else and when be is mad after Him. That love which a man has for his beloved can illustrate the love we ought to have foi God. Krishna is the God and Rddha loves Him; lead those books which describe that story, and then you can imagine the way you should love God. But bow many understand LECTURES— FROM COLOMBO TO ALMORA this? How can people, who are vicious lo their very core, and have no idea of what morality is, understand all this? When people drive all sorts of worldly thoughts from their minds and live in a clear moral and spiiitual atmosphere, it is then they under- stand the abstruscst of thoughts even if they be uneducated. But how few are there of that nature? There is not a single religion which cannot be perverted by qian. For example, he may think that the Atman is quite separate fiom the body, and so, when committing sins with the body his Atman is unaffected. If religions were truly followed there would not have been a single man, whether Hindu, Rlahommedan, or Christian, who would not have been all putity. But men aie guided by their own Praknti, whethei good 01 bad; there is no gainsaying that. But in the world, there arc always some who get intoxicated when they hear of God, and weep tears of joy when they read of God; such men are true Bhaktas.
At the initial stage of leligious development a man thinks of God as his I\Taster and himself as His servant. He feels indebted to Him for pioviding for his daily wants, and so forth. Put such thoughts aside. There is but one attractive power, and that is God; and it is in obedience to that attractive power that the sun and the moon, and everything else moves. Kverythiug in this woild, whether good or bad, belongs to God. Whatever occuis in our life, whether good or bad, is biinging us to Hun. One man kills another because of some selfish purpose. But the motive behind is love, whether for himself or for any one else. Whether \\e do good or evil, the piopeller is love. When a tiger kills a buffalo, it is because he or his cubs are hungry.
God is Love personified. He is apparent in everything. F.verybody is diawn to Him whether he knows it or not. When a woman loves her husband, she does not undei stand that it is the Divine in her husband that is the great atti active power. The God of Love is the one thing to be woishippcd. So long as we think of Him only as the Creator, and Pieserver, we can offer Him external woiship, but when we get beyond all that, and think Him to be Love Incainate, seeing Hun in all things and all things m Him, it is then that Supieme Bhakti is attained.
■o THE COMMON BASES OF HINDUISM.
On his ariival al Lahoie on 51)1 Novemboi 1S97. the Swamiji \\as accovdofl a grand reception by Ibo leadcis, both of the A') a Saniaj aiiil ot the Sniatan IlHiaima Sablia. Dining his brief stay in Lalioie Swaniiji (idueieil lliiee lectures. 'I'lic fust of these was on “ 7’be Common Ibises of fJimluism ”; the seiond on “ Hbakti "; am! the third one was the famous lecluie on “ The Vedanta.’' On the first occasion he spoke as follows: —