January 2004 Retreat

The Central Message of Swami Vivekananda

On Sunday, January 18, 2004the monthly Zushi Retreat celebrated Swami Vivekanda's 142nd birth anniversary. The pre-lunch talk by Swami Medhasananda was entitled "The Central Message of Swami Vivekananda"; this central message or gospel being the divinity of the soul. The Swami's talk began, "that very God who appears as external we should come to see as internal. God resides within." He went on to say that the soul is infinite, absolute and eternal; it is existence-knowledge-bliss. "Each soul is a star set in the eternal sky and this eternal sky is the Lord." This truth of the divinity of the soul had been confined to a limited circle of spiritual aspirants in forests, caves and ashrams. Swami Vivekananda made it his life's mission to bring this message to all of society; not only in India, but to the world as a whole.

The Swami said that sometimes people want to know the definition of religion and in this regard Swami Vivekananda was not only a great scholar, but a realized soul of the highest order whose response to this question was, "Religion is the manifestation of the divinity already within man." And to the question of what form this manifestation of divinity takes, the answer was "in consciousness".

The Swami then pointed out some basic teachings to be found in Buddhist and Christian concepts of the soul. In Buddhism the soul is not eternal; it continues, but not as the same soul, although it may appear the same. The example was given of a lit candle used to light another candle. The one flame used to light the other appears as the same flame, but the new flame is not the same one. The Christian tradition teaches that the soul is born out of sin and that we are, therefore, sinners. and only by taking refuge in Jesus Christ can we ascend to heaven.

He emphasized that these concepts differ from teachings that proclaim the soul is eternally pure. In the Upanishads we find many examples of this like, "O sons of immortality" and "Tat Twam Asi" (Thou Art That). The spiritual equation would be Brahman (God) at the macro level and the individual jiva (soul) at the micro level - the essence of which is of the same nature. Swami Vivekananda challenged us in asking, "Why seek God outside?" and "Why think that we are weak?" When we feel sad we must remember we are the very fountain of joy. When we feel bound we must remember we are ever free. Our ideas of being finite and limited are the result of our identification with the body and the senses. In our ignorance, Maya will convince us we are beggars when we are, in fact, princes; pure, eternal, blissful. It is like the lion that was raised with sheep and bleated and ran from an attacking lion until it was shown its own reflection in a pond; the moment we become aware of our real nature, we will be transformed.

The Swami pointed out that there are three steps necessary for this awareness. These are to hear the message, to intellectually understand it and then to concentrate on it until you become established in its truth. He said the difference between intellectually understanding something and being firmly established in it is like the difference between a child who is told the fire will burn and the child who puts his finger in the flame. The Swami concluded by saying that Swami Vivekananda's message was "the gospel of strength on the basis of the divinity of the soul" and bid us all to "be ourselves". 

At about 3 p.m. the remaining guests reassembled in the meeting room for a lively Q&A session. A question regarding the three steps mentioned in the morning session led to a discussion of the indications of bhakti-raja and bhakti-jnana in spiritual practice. The Swami cautioned that there is no set formula or recipe in the quest for God and all depends on one's faith and, finally, on the Lord's grace. Another question was raised regarding a Buddhist school of thought that it is nobler to forego one's personal liberation until one has helped all to attain liberation. The Swami pointed out that this is indeed a noble ideal and in seeking and attaining the Lord's grace one may receive such a command, but rare are those souls suited to such a calling. The first step necessary is to seek God. ･