CHICAGO CALLING A Spiritual & Cultural Quarterly eZine of the Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago No. 24, 2019 Table of Contents Page EDITORIAL 3 SWAMI VIVEKANANDA’S IDEAS ON VEDANTA AS SCIENCE 4 DR. DURGAPRASAD RAJARAM TRAVELOGUE, 2018: SOUTH EAST ASIA (PART 3) 8 SWAMI ISHATMANANDA INTRODUCTION TO THE COVER PAGE 13 ADVERTISEMENTS 24 Editor: Swami Ishatmananda Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago 14630 Lemont Road, Homer Glen. 60491 email: [email protected] chicagovedanta.org ©Copyright: Swami-in-Charge Vivekananda Vedanta Society of Chicago NO 24, 2019 Chicago Calling 2 I was giving a discourse on Ma Saradamani Editorial Devi, and when I mentioned that Mother’s love was equal for all, a hand was raised from among Impartial Love of Ma Sarada the audience. I stopped and looked at that elderly lady who said, “Swami isn’t it true that her love for and Mother were not based on any physical Sri Ramakrishna was much more than for anyone relationship. It was a union of the spirit with the else?” Before I opened my mouth to answer, spirit. another woman remarked, “That is natural—Sri Let us go back to the first question, “Was Ma Ramakrishna was her husband.” There was a Sarada’s love equal for everyone?”; To get the murmur in the audience supporting the answer. I answer to this question we have to understand asked myself, is it true that our Ma Sarada loved who Ma Sarada was. Swami Abhedananda, a Sri Ramakrishna just because he was her husband! direct disciple of Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna A deeper study of the biographies of Sri composed a hymn on Ma Sarada and read the Ramakrishna and Ma Sarada and the incidents in composition to her. their lives suggests that their relation as husband Mother who was, by nature, very humble and and wife was only apparent, but in reality they shy, listened to Swami Abhedananda’s hymn on were one and eternally inseparable. her and silently accepted the views expressed The married life of Sri Ramakrishna and Ma there. The hymn begins with the description of the Sarada was a tangible demonstration of the truth divinity of Ma Sarada. expressed in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, “Verily prakṛtiṁ paramām abhayāṁ varadāṁ not for the sake of the husband is the husband nararūpadharāṁ janatāpaharām, loved, but he is loved for the sake of the Self.” śaraṇāgatasevakatoṣakarīṁ Students of Sri Ramakrishna and Ma Sarada know praṇamāmi parāṁ jananīṁ jagatām. that their birth, marriage; spiritual ministrations To the Divine Shakti embodied in human form, were absolutely supernatural phenomena. For the giver of boons and dispeller of fear, who example, we can remember their marriage, which quenches the fire of misery and fills with joy the showed their inseparable connection. It is related hearts of those who take refuge in Her; to Thee my that Sri Ramakrishna had once gone to a salutations, O Supreme Being, O Mother of the neighboring village where Sri Sarada Devi, still a worlds”; child, had been carried by her uncle to join a About Ma Sarada, Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna festival. Her uncle asked the infant Sarada whom said, “She is my Shakti.” -- God and His “Shakti” amongst the gathered persons she would marry, or divine power are the same. and Sarada stretching both her hands pointed out In the Hymn also the Swami wrote Gadadhar, who later became. rāmakṛṣṇagataprāṇāṁ tannāmaśravaṇapriyām, Sri Ramakrishna. Was it merely a childish tadbhāvarañjitākārāṁ praṇamāmi muhurmuhuḥ, prank or was it a pre-vision, which came to Sarada To the gracious Mother Sarada, the from the depth of her divine nature? It is also a embodiment of mercy and the granter of devotion strange coincidence that when people were and knowledge, to Her who is worshipped by the searching for a girl to be married to Gadadhar, he chief of yogis, to Her who (with Sri Ramakrishna) had told them that the bride could be found in the has given a new revelation for the present age, and house of Ramachandra Mukherjee of Jayrambati. who assuages the miseries of devotees taking These two events are perhaps inexplicable by refuge at Her feet; to her do I ever bow down in ordinary human reason, but do they not give us an worship. Was mother partial in her love for Sri indication of the divine Lila (sport), which works Ramakrishna? The answer is, “No”, because She behind the scenes? The lives of Sri Ramakrishna was Sri Ramakrishna herself. NO 24. 2019 Chicago Calling 3 Swami Vivekananda’s Ideas On Vedanta As Science Dr. Durgaprasad Rajaram (This article is based on the presentation that was delivered at Vedanta Society of Chicago’s 2019 Fall Banquet) Dear friends, I am very happy to share with Yoga, Chap. VII]”, “..the science of Raja Yoga…[CW, you some thoughts on Swami Vivekananda’s ideas Vol. 1, Introduction to Raja Yoga]”, “..spirituality, the on Vedanta as Science. Both Vedanta and Science science of the soul…[CW, Vol. 3, Reply To The Address are vast topics and each of them fills volumes of of Welcome at Paramkudi]”, “..Bhakti Yoga is the scholarly writing and books. What I would like to science of higher love…[CW, Vol. 3, Bhakti Yoga, Chap. do is share some central ideas behind science and II]”, “..the science of Vedanta…[CW, Vol. 4, the scientific process, and then more specifically Meditation]”, “…science of the mind…[CW, Vol. 6, The Swami Vivekananda’s views on whether, and how, Importance of Psychology]”, “…the science of those ideas apply to religion and Vedanta. Brahman…[CW, Vol. 9, The Mundaka Upanishad].” I Let us start with Vedanta. As admirers of counted close to two hundred occurrences where Swami Vivekananda and friends of the Swamiji uses the word science in the context of Vivekananda Vedanta Society, most of you are spiritual subjects – subjects we normally may think already familiar with not only the conclusions, but of as disparate from or even opposed to science. also the various philosophies and practices of What did Swamiji mean when he talked about Vedanta. I do not presume to know more than you the “the science of religion”? Why did he say do. I want to start with Swami Vivekananda’s “science of religion” rather than, for instance, “the words on the essence of religion. “The essence of art of religion” or “the doctrines of religion”? We Vedanta is that there is but One being, and every soul is will attempt to understand this by looking deeper that One Being in full, not a part of that…Behind all and asking ourselves – What is meant by science? appearance is that One reality. [The Complete Works of What did Swamiji view as characteristics of a Swami Vivekananda (hereafter abbreviated as CW.) Vol. science? What were Swamiji’s views on the 8, Jnana Yoga II].” I find this a wonderfully succinct, applicability of the characteristics of science to and at the same time profound summary of religion. Vedanta. This idea of the underlying unity of all What exactly do we mean when we refer to existence, is something we find again and again in something as a science? In common usage, we Vedantic scriptures. The second idea in Swamiji’s often hear expressions like “it is a science”. To go statement is that “behind all appearance” – in beyond vague notions, let us clearly understand other words, as one peels away and looks deeper what is meant by science. According to the Oxford and deeper behind gross appearances – there is English Dictionary, science is defined as: “the just One reality. As we go on we will find this intellectual and practical activity encompassing quest for a generalized, and perhaps a unified, the systematic study of the structure and behavior explanation of the physical world, appears of the physical and natural world through through the pages of science as well, albeit in observation and experiment: the world of science different ways. and technology.” This, then, is the definition of When we go through Swamiji’s works, we find science according to dictionaries. It is interesting to in several places he uses the word science in note that one of the Sanskrit words for science is connection with spiritual practices and philosophy. vidyA. A Sanskrit dictionary defines vidyA as To give just a few examples, “the science of “vidyA: Knowledge, learning, lore, science. [Practical religion…[CW, Vol. 1, Paper On Hinduism]”, “Karma Sanskrit-English Dictionary, V.S. Apte].” In Swami yoga makes a science of work…[CW, Vol. 1, Karma Nikhilananda’s translation of The Bhagavad Gita, NO 24, 2019 Chicago Calling 4 we find Atma - vidyA translated as “science of the the definition is that it is a “systematic study”. It is Self.” Similar to how various “schools” and sects not merely observation and speculation. Those and sub-sects of Vedanta all come under the broad would just be opinions. But rather, it is a pursuit category of Vedanta, we find various types of for knowledge and understanding following a sciences coming under the umbrella of science. methodology which anyone can follow and verify They include everything from the physical and life the results. In his beautiful introduction to Raja sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, and Yoga, Swamiji remarks that religious practice, too, geoscience, to social sciences such as psychology has methodologies which anyone can follow and and sociology, to applied sciences such as practice, “In the first place, every science must have its medicine and engineering, and these days in the own method of investigation. If you want to become an world of technology, there is even a growing field astronomer and sit down and cry ‘Astronomy! of data-science.