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The Concept of Man in the Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda

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The Concept of Man in the Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda October - 2013 Odisha Review The Concept of Man in the Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda Souribandhu Kar India has produced two eminent personalities that seeks to establish that, as an epic, the whose thought and work has changed the fate of Ramayana is more significant than the Mahabharat mankind. These two personalities are no other or that Beethoven’s is a greater achievement in than Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi. the history of music than Bach’s or Mozarts. The To know them more clearly, it is necessary to simple truth is that the ideas of Swamiji and discuss about their relationship with the man or Gandhiji have shaped our tradition and accordingly the human being. the views held and preached by them can be said to have a constitutive value. I don’t expect readers will agree with me hundred per cent but I would very much like you Again, it is not my intention to draw a line to look at the subject afresh. The fact that man’s of demarcation between the spheres of their very existence in the present day world is in thoughts; rather, I want to emphasize certain danger, there is an urgent need to take a hard points of coincidence relating to the concept of look at it. man which were shared by both Swamiji and Gandhiji. This article contains few introductory remarks and thereafter presents an exposition of We can say that both Swamiji and the views of Swamiji (Swami Vivekananda) and Gandhiji represent a kind of humanism, in so far Gandhiji (Mahatma Gandhi) on man. By way of as they nourish a firm faith in man, in his dignity, that exposition, I propose to suggest that the his ability and his destiny as a “Free” being or notion of man, as developed by our thinkers, is individual. ultimately to be understood and appreciated in terms of the nature of human existence. To attempt a study of the views of Swamiji and Gandhiji on man, two central Introduction : questions have to be addressed. In elaborating on the subject, there is no i) How could one possibly explicate the intention to draw any comparison between nature of man ? Swamiji’s views and those of Gandhiji or to show that one was a greater figure in history than the ii) What meaningful functions could one other. Such comparison would be as futile as one reasonably attribute to man ? 47 Odisha Review October - 2013 Let me briefly present the Indian view of man It is said that Sri Ramakrishna had before elaborating the points related to Swamiji commissioned Swami Vivekananda to convey to and Gandhiji. the mankind the sublime teachings of the Vedanta, the oneness of truth, the divinity of man and Indian view of Man: harmony of religions. So, at the dawn of his The Indian view of man is, man and nature mission, he declared, “I have a message to the l flow into each other. That is, in knowing, man West as Buddha had a message to the East”. flows into nature. But since knowing is in respect And towards the end of his mission, he says, “it of being, nature at the same time flows into man. may be that I shall find it good to get outside of Thus ‘knowledge’ and ‘being’ become one and my body to cast off like a disused garment, but I same. In the long cultural and spiritual history of shall not cease to work. I shall inspire men India, therefore, we find Purusha and Prakriti everywhere until the world shall know that it is 2 as co-present in eternal harmony and integrated with God.” with each other. In the word of Swami Ranganathnanda, It is always with attention, reverence and “He had assimilated in his own personality the sympathy that man approaches nature as though manliness of the west and the saintliness of the the latter is an expression of his own mysterious East. He saw clearly the excellences and self. This gives him an essential aesthetic and moral limitations of each of these two human legacies outlook, which guides his actions naturally. which he embraced as two integral elements of a Accordingly, his actions are not directed merely total human culture and proclaimed the modem 3 to finding an accommodation for him out there in age the era of their synthesis”. the world, rather his actions are the spontaneous Nature Or Man According To Swamiji : expression of his natural desire to unite himself with nature. Hence joy or ananda is the supreme It is a matter of fact that no system of achievement of his life, not material success. thought either social or religious or political is complete as far as a study of human nature is Swamiji’s Journey towards life fulfillment : concerned. It is the understanding of human nature Swami Vivekananda is one of those that brings perfection to the social system and personalities who shook and shaped the world thought. So man is to be studied from all aspects and influenced the patterns of human thought. of life. Swamiji avoided any sectarian outlook on man. According to him, the individual must enjoy The formative career of Swamiji absorbed his earthly life and then renounce it for a higher diverse influences, social and religious, which he ideal. Man should, therefore, be viewed integrally critically analysed and assimilated. In him, religious with a view to ensuring his total fulfillment. Swamiji teachings of his mother, his father’s appreciation expands a philosophy of man, whether eastern of western values, the rationalisms of the or western, can feel at home and find the Brahmosamaj and the spiritualism of Sri inspiration to achieve total life-fulfillment. Ramakrishna and his experience as a wandering monk in India blended with each other and these Thus, the thought, teaching and messages diversities found expression and union. of Swamiji is nothing but Vedanta or Neo- 48 October - 2013 Odisha Review Vedanta. “Man, according to Vedanta Philosophy parable of the fall of Adam from paradise to show is the greatest being that is in the universe ..... that originally man was pure and free and, on Angles or Gods, whatever you may call them, account of ignorance and falsehood, there was a have all to become man if they want to become fall and he came to be alienated from his real perfect.”4 This conception of man cannot be nature. So Swamiji goes on, “Teach everyone his comprehended unless man has to struggle to real nature, call upon the sleeping soul and see remove his ignorance to become Divine, to reach how it awakes. Power will come, goodness will God and see God, because Swamiji believed come, purity will come when the sleeping soul is nothing but realisation of goodness, of perfection, roused to self•conscious activity.”6 of Divinity of man. To overcome the religious, social and “Divinity of man” is the core of his material aspect of alienation and ignorance, philosophy. Swamiji wanted that man being the Swamiji emphasized the need to teach everyone highest being in creation and divine, the power, his real nature. The sleeping soul, could be aroused energy and strength in every man has to be through religion, nay, the Vedanta, is scientific and manifested. He says, “Each soul is potentially practical. Religion for him is not blind faith or divine. The goal is to manifest this divinity within, empty formulae or lifeless rituals, it is being and by controlling nature, external and internal. Do becoming. this either by work or worship or psychic control or philosophy .. by one or more, or all of these Religion is Spiritual realisation, the fullest and be free. This is whole of religion. Doctrines manifestation of the Divine, within in life and or dogmas or rituals or books or temples or forms conduct. Food, clothing, shelter and security, are but secondary details”5 power and knowledge are not ends in themselves. They are but means while the end is the fullest What does Swamiji mean by Divinity ? development of man, the complete manifestation of the perfection already in him. The Vedanta His concept of man is inseparable from views life in its wholeness. Its theme is man. Man his concept of Divinity or God. His idea interlinked is in search of fullness of truth, beauty and with man-god relationship. If the divinity is the goodness. Part of this search is carried out in the utmost core of man, the man has to achieve this external world, but the most significant part of through the withdrawal of senses and the mind this search is conducted in the inner world. The from the world of sensate experience and turning first brings about social welfare through the energies inward in a supreme effort of application of the physical and social sciences; concentration. By such inward penetration of the second generates spiritual freedom through concentrations through self-effort, self-reliance the discipline of morality and religion. There can and self mastery, man achieves realization of his be no conflict between the two-the secular as true nature. But man failed to realize his true nature against the sacred-as they both refer only to due to the body mind dichotomy. Man is essentially different stages in the growth of the same a soul and soul’s identification with this dichotomy individual. So, the real alienation of man, according causes alienation. Apart from this, ignorance of to Swamiji is alienation from his Divine nature. his original divinity makes him feel miserable, This has to be overcome if man is ever to find weak and helpless.
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