Tuesday, November 5, 2024
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Swami’s chariot

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Rajib Roy on the Vivek Rath that arrived in Shillong a few weeks ago as part of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda

 COVERING A distance of 377km from western Assam’s Dhubri district where Swami Vivekanda first set his foot in this region in April 1901, the Vivek Rath, a chariot consisting of a 3ft fiber-glass statue of the Swami, reached Shillong more than a month ago.

     On April 27, a large procession of the young and the old cutting across societies, religion and faith marched with the chariot from the Laban house where Swamiji stayed in 1901 to the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Cultural Centre (RKMVCC). It was on this very day that the Quinton Hall (now RKMVCC) was inaugurated by Vivekananda on April 27, 1901.

     The entire RKMVCC campus came alive with nostalgic feelings to the thousands of devotees, monks and other dignitaries who attended the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, Platinum Jubilee of Ramakrishna Mission, Shillong and 112th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s visit to Shillong.

     Swami Prabhananda Maharaj, vice president, Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Belur, West Bengal said that Swami Gautamananda of RK Math, Chennai had come up with the chariot idea. He took out the chariot to Kanyakumari and back over three months on the occasion of Sarada Devi’s 150th birth anniversary, attracting huge public response.

     The yearlong celebration of 150th birth anniversary of Vivekananda will run through 2013. Prabhananda proposed the celebration in 2009. He met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the proposal. “I told the PM about this celebration. We celebrate the birthday of many great persons through meetings, seminars, etc., but in this case we want to do some practical activities because Vivekananda himself gave more emphasis to practice and we want to do it for a few years,” he said.

     Under the PM’s directive, the Union ministry of culture constituted a national committee for the celebration with Singh as chairman. The committee appointed an implementation committee under the chairmanship of former finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee. The national committee also has ministers, chief ministers, chairpersons of boards, opposition leaders, women leaders, parliamentary secretaries, educationists, media editors besides religious heads of different faiths among others were included in this committee to approve plan/ policies, programmes and supervise and guide the commemoration. The committee approved Rs 100crore for RK Mission from 2010 to 2014 for the gigantic celebration with practical activities.

     The celebration thus started covering all sections particularly serving the poor, neglected and marginalized people in 2010. The celebration is focusing on special service oriented projects with four thrust areas. Gadadhar Abhyudaya Prakalpa (integrated child development project, which aims at the all-round development of children of the age group 6-12 in poor and backward areas), Vivekananda Swasthya Pariseva Prakalpa (a project which aims at the improvement of children’s health, especially elimination of malnutrition, immunization of babies in the far flung areas), Sarada Pallivikas Prakalpa (rural development project, which aims at the education and self-empowerment of women to be implemented in adopted villages) and Akhandananda Poverty Alleviation Project (this project aims at the alleviation of poverty). About 150 centres against each of these projects are formed to implement them at the identified marginalized locations in the country with 700 such units are already in service for the destitute.

     Canvas spoke to Swami Prabhananda, an accomplished scholar who has researched and written extensively on the Holy Trio (Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramhans and Sarada Devi). Following are the excerpts.

As you’ve researched into the lives of the Holy Trio, what are the basic characteristics that you have pictured in them?

They believed in the fundamental religion – which is in their core. The practice of ritual, philosophy for them was more about putting them into practice as they realized. Now people give too much importance to rituals but they (Holy Trio) gave more to practice because for them spirituality is the quality of life, ‘To be good and help others to be good’. Swami Ramakrishnananda, founder of Ramakrishna Math, Chennai had once observed that in the modern era we see that people are making more temples, mosques, churches and such other structures but in their lives they have become more ritualistic than spiritualistic.

How do you see the teachings of the Holy Trio being accepted in the west?

Acceptance is slowly and steadily building in the west. I remember a gentleman wrote that one should be careful about the Vedantist people because their impact may be slow but certain. Another such visiting gentleman from the west who has studied the Ramakrishna movement once interviewed me in Belur Math when he asked me the same question, which you put. I told him that in Ramakrishna Math and Mission there is hardly any regimentation.

So, then does it mean that “Vedanta is the ultimate religion” which Swami Vivekananda himself said once?

Vedanta is a philosophy – root of all kind of pure religion is definitely the future. The future cannot prosper without it and we are definitely going ourselves liberally.

Sri Ramakrishna once said, “Taka mati, mati taka.” This may sound queer to many today when leading a simple life has become increasingly difficult. What about ‘women and gold’?

For the fundamental manifestation of the divinity within an individual, you must have discipline so that must be controlled for wealth, also for women in case of great attraction. There is no harm in being friendly.

What transpired in the mind of Swami Vivekananda when he founded the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897?

Vivekananda during his famous sojourn around the world was impressed by the organizations of the people that he came across. He had in fact fallen in love with one such organization and when he was asked who that lucky lady is. Swamiji replied that it is an organization. To have our organization and expect Hindu monks to work were opposed then but he made that into reality.

Recently we have seen criticisms about Swami Vivekananda and whether India has failed him in imbibing his teachings. How do you react to them?

I have gone through each and every one of them but then India is a land of critics and is famous for its criticisms. They have not even spared Sri Ramakrishna. But if you see the general response, the strength and figure of Vivekananda is enlightened.

But our youths are leaning more towards westernization than his teachings. Where do you think lies the fault and why?

More than half of India’s populations are youths below 30 years of age and if they are not properly guided then there will be a huge chaos. Our thrust is on the youth.

Finally, with so much of mayhem and destruction everywhere, atrocities towards women and children, what is the future of this country?

Certain things are happening because people’s moral values have hit to the lowest level. The Holy Trio has respectfully emphasized on women power, they should be taken care of in the society. Women must be given that power through women empowerment and education.

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