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Attitude of Vedanta Towards Religion OSMANIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY q Author,' A b h e d n r: a n fl a . \v PPI 1 Title Attitude of veflnnta tovarfln This hook should be returned on or before the dale l;w marked below, SWAM1 ABHEDANANBA, aa apostle of Sri Ramakrishna Born October 2, 1866 Spent his early life among his brotherhood in Baranagar monastery near Calcutta, in severe austerity Travelled bare-footed all over India from 1888-1895 Acquainted with many distinguished savants including Prof. Max Mueller and Prof. Paul Deussen Landed inj&ew * 'tbtft the* charge of the Vedanta Society in 1897 Became with Prof. Rev. acquainted William ]ames / Dr. R. H. Newton, Prof. W. Jackson, Prof. Josiah Royce of Harvard/ Prof. Hyslop of Columbia, Prof. Lanmann, Prof. G. H. Howison, Prof. Fay, Mr. Edison, the inventor, Dr. Elmer Gates, Ralph Waldo Trine, W. D. Howells, Prof. Herschel C. Parker, Dr. H..S. Logan, Rev. Bishop Potter, Prof. Shaler Dr. James, the chairman of the Cambridge Philosophical Conference and the professors of Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Berkeley and Clarke Universities Travelled extensively all through the United States, Canada, Alaska and Mexico Made frequent trips to Europe delivering lectures in different parts of the Continent Crossed the Atlantic for seventeen times Was appreciated very much for his profundity of intellectual scholarship, brilliance / oratorial talents, charming personality and nobility of character A short visit to India in 1906 Returned again to America Came back to India at last in 1921 On his way home joined the Educational Conference, Honolulu Visited Japan, China/ the Philipines, Singapore, Kualalumpur and Rangoon -Started on a long tour and went as far as Tibet -Established centres at Calcutta and Darjeeling Left his mortal frame on September 8, 1939. ATTITUDE OF VEDANTA TOWARDS PEUC10N Swami Abhedananda has proved the uniqueness of Vedanta and religion/ and has shown the way of harmoniz- ing the Vedanta with religion with their practical application to our daily life, WORKS BY SWAMI ABHEDANANDA LIFE BEYOND DEATH OUB RELATION TO THE ABSOLUTE SCIENCE OF PSYCHIC PHENOMENA V MYSTERY OF DEATH HOW TO BE A YOGI MEMOIRS OF RAMAKRTSHNA INDIA AND HER PEOPLE SAYINGS OF RAMAKRISHNA IDEAL OF EDUCATION DOCTRINE OF KARMA LECTURES IN INDIA THE GLIMPSES OF PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION REINCARNATION SPIRITUAL UNFOLDMENT SELF-KNOWLEDGE DIVINE HERITAGE OF MAN GREAT SAVIOURS OF THE WORLD HUMAN AFFECTION AND DIVINE LOVE SONGS DIVINE BHAGAVAD GITA THE SYNTHESIS SWAMI VIVEKANANDA AND HIS WORK WHY A HINDU ACCEPTS CHRIST AND REJECTS CHURCHIANITY By Sister Shivani AN APOSTLE OF MONISM (An authentic Account of Swarai Abhedananda'a Activities j America). Abhedananda Memorial Series No. 4. ATTITUDE OF VEDANTA TOWARDS RELIGION SWAM1 ABHEDANANDA CALCUTTA RMIAKRISHM VEDANTA MATH FIRST PUBLISHED JULY $41 Alt PUBLISHED BY SWAM1 PRAJNANANANDA, RAMA- KRISHNA VEDANTA MATH, 19fi, RAJA RAJKRISH^A SfRJSET* CALCUTTA AND PRINTED BY . MUKtfRJI AT TEMPLE PRESS, 2, NAYARATNA LAtJE, CALCUTTA. Attitude gf Veddnta towards Religion is an offer o! ours to the reading public as the fourth contribution of the Abheddnanda Memorial Series. This volume is a collection of nineteen lectures hitherto unpublished on different aspects of Vedanta philosophy and religion delivered from time to time on various occasions before the audiences in America. Swami Abhedananda's keen intellect, profound knowledge in philosophies and reli- gions, both of the East and the West, and his analytic and comparative method of treatment of his subjects in a lucid style with deep penetrating thought make his writings explicit and clear. In this volume the Swami deals with different arrays of thoughts and problems of philosophy and religion, their ups and downs in connec- tion with the ever-evolving phases of the human societies, their harmonies and disharmonies, their various distinc- tive features and characteristics, their additions and altera- tions, adjustments and readjustments, and also their diver- gent ways of approaching the ultimate goal. Besides these his is a clear and unifying vision of a universal ideal that binds the different schools of thoughts, both of philo- sophy and religion of the world into a synthetic unity of love and brotherhood. Swami Abhedananda marches throughout all of his discourses neither as a critic, nor as an academic preacher, but he views and reveals his subjects as a true and practi- cal philosopher and real worshipper of Truth. Not only he studied and practised the different ideals of philosophy and religion of the world, but realized them also in his own life, had seen thdr central truth in his ecstatic and trans- cendental vision. He won the admiration of philosophical and religious Western world. By his own illustrious example he succeeded in curing the Westerners of their credulity, blind faith, sectarianism and Harrow bigotry. Inspired as he was with the oiessed touch of the holy Saint of Dakshineswar, his whole thought and body were surcharged with the power divine, and the universal ideal revealed in his great Master, plunged himself into the ocean of Vedantic truth and universal thought. That is why it was possible for him to harmonize all the diverr gent systems of thoughts and faiths into a synthetic whole. He preached before the world the gospel of Truth and universal love. His life, as it were, was an unceas- ing song of human unity and fraternity. By the beatific light pf wisdom he never failed to show the West as well as the East the merits and demerits of their respective philosophies and religions, and led all through the royal road to the radiant land of freedom and eternal bliss. Attitude of Vedanta towards Religion is a thesis of of It to the universaljoutlook thought. attempts prove identity of the essence and ideal of Vedanta with religion. Its venture is to establish that philosophy is the theore- tical and speculative side of religion, and religion is the practical side of philosophy; philosophy is the flesh and bone and religion is the blood and life. So, the attitude of Vedanta towards religion is ever sympathetic, triendly and helpful. Truly speaking, religion animates Vedanta philosophy with inspiration and spirit. And not only this, Vedanta itself is a religion. Vedanta means 'end of wisdom'. That is, Vedanta is a synthetic and per- fect irifethod that reveals our supreme knowledge and divine love already lying hidden within the depth of our hearts. The attainment of this supreme knowledge is surely the Be-all and End-all of our life. The teachings of Vedanta are non-sectarian and universal. Vedanta never remains confined to the narrow walls of caste, creed and colour. Like the flood ,of morning light it embraces all; it brings unending peace and eternal bliss to all irrespective of their sects, faiths or practices. It admits the belief in God, both personal and impersonal, doc- trines, dogmas, and all kinds of spiritual sddhantis, rituals and ceremonies, faiths and creeds. But at the same time it again warns that they are only the scattered gems and jewels before the portal of the Chintamani, the supreme Lord. Doctrines, dogmas, creeds, beliefs, rituals, prayers and all other vows and practices are but so many paths to reach the ultimate goal, the Brahman- knowledge. The aim of Vedanta as well as of true reli- gion, is to strike off the fetters of false knowledge (mithyd pratyaya), to go beyond the phantom of fleeting phenomena, and to attain to the peace and tranquility that impart joy and bliss unbound, eternal and unearthly. Swami Abhedananda says that Vedanta philosophy admits the process of evolution, both external and inter- nal, and also material and spiritual. He views that the whole universe has evolved gradually out from that which was latent in the matrix ol the divine Energy. In this respect there prevails no conflict between the modern science and Vedanta. Because science also admits the gra- dual evolution of the universe that came out from the nebulous state to the present material form. But with regard to the attainment of ultimate goal, science is still imperfect, it has not yet completed its journey. As there is a gradual evolution of the human phy- sique, so the mind of a man also rises from the material to the moral, from the moral to the religious, from the religious to the spiritual plane and thus completes its course through a gradual process. The ultimate goal of evolution is to reach the termination i.e., perfection says Swami Abhedananda and this terminus is also admitted by a host of evolutionist philosophers and social reformists like Herbert Spencer, Whitehead, Alexander, Haldipe, Bernard Shaw, Hobhouse, Dewey, Spengler, Sorokin and others. Vedanta also admits the end of the gradual marching or evolution, and this end or terminus is the Godconsciousness or supramundane Brahman. The great- est obstacle to the path of Godconsciousness is selfishness or the ego-centric idea which is called by Sri Rama- kfishna as the "little self or 'kdnchd-dmi". The very idea of the petty or narrow self is the delusion that keeps men viii j( ) hypnotized and entangled in the chains of the world of changes. All men, nay, all living and non-living beings and things are in essence the Atman or Brahman. But for ignorance they cannot realize, or rather recognize their own pristine glory; nor they can correct their false knowledge regarding the true nature of their being. So, the Swami says that it is absolutely necessary to respond to the clarion call of Vedanta. For, Vedanta is the most perfect system of philosophy and at the same time a true religion. Vedanta teaches that Atman is the substrate of all the things in the world; the substrate or the Atman is only real and all beings and things that borrow their existence and value from it, are unreal.
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