Swami Vivekananda
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The message of Swami Vivekananda was the message of
Vedanta – a spiritual teaching that again and again saved India
whenever it faced any period of decline and crisis. Its four cardinal
points are non-duality of the Godhead, divinity of the soul, oneness
of existence and harmony of religions. Religion, in the light of
Vedanta, is the manifestation of the divinity already in man and its
central theme is harmony. Vedanta asks a Christian to be a true
Christian, a Hindu a true Hindu, a Buddhist a true Buddhist and a
Moslem a true Moslem. This philosophy harmonized science with
humanism and mystical experience. Swami Vivekananda’s ides,
thoughts and their presentation were so strong and entrancing that
during the Parliament of World’s Religions in Chicago, Professor
John Henry Wright of Harvard University told him, and I quote “To
ask you, Swami, for your credentials is like asking the Sun about its
right to shine”.
Swami Vivekananda indicated Vedanta is the future religion
of the mankind. With his prophetic vision, he predicted that modern
science and education would break down the barriers between
nations. He foresaw a new world order in which science and religion
would cooperate, mysticism would combine with humanism an
spiritual harmony would replace religious dissension. His final words
at the Chicago Parliament of Religions were “Upon the banner of
every religion will soon be written, in spite of resistance “Help and
not fight, ‘Assimilation and not Destruction’, ‘Harmony and Peace
and not Dissension”.
At a time when the world peace is suffering from
continuous wars, divisiveness is glorified at the expense of unity
and the human soul is being buried beneath the debris of violence
and hatred, the words of Swami Vivekananda give us assurance – an
assurance that we are not living the last days of our destiny and