Vivekananda: A Harbinger of Harmony

Swami Chetanananda

Prayer for harmony from the Rig Veda: May we be united in action,

in speech, in mind. May we perform our duties, as did the wise men of

old. May we be united in our prayer, in our goal, in our resolve, in

our understanding, in our offering, in our feelings, in our hearts,

in our thoughts. May there be perfect unity amongst us.

We are assembled here to celebrate the centenary of the Parliament

of Religions in Chicago in 1893, where Swami Vivekananda represented

Hinduism and Vedanta and created a beautiful harmony among all

religions. This Parliament was part of the Columbian Exposition that

was held in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s

discovery of America. The magnitude of that Parliament is noteworthy:

It continued for seventeen days of three sessions each and each

session averaged more than two and a half hours. There were 115

speakers from all over the world and Vivekananda spoke six times at

the Parliament. The Congress of Religions took place in a hall that

combined Columbus Hall and Washington Hall, which had a combined

capacity of seven thousand people.

In spite of opposition from the leaders of various Christian

denominations, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the advisory

committee adopted ten objectives for the Parliament of Religions.

Some of these were: 1. To bring together in conference, for the first

time in history, the leading representatives of the great Historic

Religions of the world. 2. To show to men, in the most impressive

way, what and how many important truths the various Religions hold

and teach in common. 7. To inquire what light each Religion has

afforded, or may afford, to the other Religions of the world. 9. To

discover, from competent men, what light Religion has to throw on the

great problems of the present age.... 10. To bring the nations of the

earth into a more friendly fellowship, in the hope of securing

permanent international peace.1

I sincerely believe that these objectives are as pertinent today

as they were one hundred years ago. When we open our newspapers in

the morning, we see that there is so much unrest and violence all

over the world -- often in the name of religion. I offer my humble

appreciation to the organizers of this present parliament that has

given us a chance to imbibe the spirit of mutual love and

understanding, peace and harmony, which is badly needed in this

present strife-stricken world.

Nowadays many people have poor ideas about true religion. To most

of us, religion is only an intellectual assent, mere talk, mere show

or social status. Compared to the atheist, we are not sincere. We

often consider a person religious who can give a nice sermon. But

that is not religion. Religion begins when one experiences the Self

or God within.

Swami Vivekananda made this comment on religion: “Religion, the

great milch cow, has given many kicks; but never mind -- it also

gives a great deal of milk. The milkman does not mind the kick of the

cow which gives much milk.”2 Science does so many good things for

mankind, and the same science has been used again and again for the

destruction of human life. Similarly we find that so many good things

have been achieved in this world in the name of religion, and again

so much bloodshed! Is religion at fault? No. Swamiji said: “Now in my

little experience I have collected this knowledge: that in spite of

all the deviltry that religion is blamed with, religion is not at all

at fault; no religion ever persecuted men, no religion ever burnt

witches, no religion ever did any of these things. What then incited

people to do these things? Politics, but never religion.”3 We are to

blame. We talk about religion but do not practise it -- that is why

religion declines and turns into lifeless mockeries.

Hindu scripture says: “Those who talk about God, but do not do

their duties and practise religion, they are enemies of God. Because

God has to incarnate to demonstrate religion to those hypocrites.”

In this present age, Vivekananda redefined religion: “Religion

does not consist in talk, or doctrines, or books, but in

realization.” “Religion is the manifestation of Divinity already in

man.” “The old religion said that he was an atheist who did not

believe in God. The new religion says that he is an atheist who does

not believe in himself.” “Religion is the idea which raises the brute

unto man, and man unto God.” Swamiji cautioned: “Take religion from

human society and what will remain? Nothing but a forest of brutes.”

Origin of Vivekananda’s Concept of Harmony

Vivekananda’s concept of harmony is rooted in four sources: the

scriptures, his guru, his motherland, and his own realization.

1. The Scriptures

He came across the seeds of harmony of religions in Hindu

scriptures such as:

“Truth is one, sages call It by various names” (Rig Veda).

“Whosoever comes to me, through whatsoever form, I reach him. All men

are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me” (Gita). “As

the different streams, having their sources in different places, all

mingle their water in the sea, so, 0 Lord, the different paths which

men take through different tendencies, various though they appear,

crooked or straight, all lead to Thee” (Sivamahimnah). “Each human

body is a tabernacle of God, and each soul is nothing but God”

(Upanishad). It is to be noted that thousands of years ago, when

these messages of harmony were declared, there was no Buddhism,

Christianity, or Islam.

2. The Guru

Sri Ramakrishna, Vivekananda’s guru, was the prophet of harmony in

this age. His every little act and all his teachings demonstrated the

principle of harmony. Ramakrishna harmonized the life of a true

sannyasin with the life of a true householder. He was unique in the

religious history of the world: he realized God in the Hindu way, and

then practised Christianity and Islam and experienced the goal of

those faiths also. In so doing, he demonstrated the harmony of

religions in this present age. Finally he declared the message of

harmony for this present age: yata mat tata path -- as many faiths so

many paths.

Vivekananda mentioned in his lecture “My Master”: “I learnt from

my Master that the religions of the world are not contradictory or

antagonistic. They are but various phases of one eternal religion.

That one eternal religion is applied to different planes of

existence, is applied to the opinions of various minds and various

races. There never was my religion or yours, my national religion or

your national religion; there never existed many religions, there is

only one. One Infinite Religion existed all through eternity and will

ever exist, and this Religion is expressing itself in various

countries, in various ways. Therefore we must respect all religions

and we must try to accept them all as far as we can.... For years I

lived with that man, but never did I hear those lips utter one word

of condemnation for any sect. He had the same sympathy for all sects;

he had found the harmony between them.”4

3. The Motherland

During his itinerant days, Vivekananda travelled all over India

and noticed that although Hindus are diverse -- their languages,

social customs, religious practices, dress, food habits, physical

formations and skin colour are all different -- they are all Hindus.

He discovered the common bases of Hinduism: (a) all Hindus believe in

the authority of the Vedas; (b) the concept of God may differ among

the Hindus, but all believe in God; (c) all believe creation moves in

a wavelike motion through eternity; (d) all believe in the immortal

nature of the Atman, which is pure and perfect, beyond the body and

the mind; and (e) all believe in the doctrine of karma and

reincarnation.

Once, in Madras, Vivekananda said that the three main schools of

Vedanta -- dualism, qualified nondualism, and nondualism -- are not

contradictory but complementary. Finally all merge into One without a

second. When someone remarked that nobody had ever said that before,

Vivekananda replied, “Because I was born for this, and it was left

for me to do.”

4. Vivekananda’s Realization

One day at Dakshineswar Vivekananda mocked the Vedantic experience

of oneness:

“How can this be? This jug is God, this cup is God, and we too are

God! Nothing can be more preposterous!” At that moment Sri

Ramakrishna touched him. Vivekananda later said: “The magic touch of

the Master that day brought a wonderful change over my mind. I was

stupefied to find that there was really nothing in the universe but

God!” Later, in Cossipore, he attained nirvikalpa Samadhi, the

culmination of Vedantic experience. In addition, during his itinerant

days in the Himalayas, he realized that the microcosm (the internal

world) and the macrocosm (the external world) are built on the same

plan. The experiences of both these worlds should be in perfect

harmony with Truth.

The Balance between Matter and Spirit

Nature is the mother of variety, yet she functions harmoniously.

Day and night alternate, the seasons change. Moisture accumulates

from the ocean and becomes clouds, which turns into snow when it

reaches the snowclad mountains; again it melts and becomes a river,

which flows over the hill and dale and ultimately returns to the

ocean. Thus the mountain and the ocean are harmonized by the river.

On television we see how the air current adjusts high-pressure and

low-pressure zones of different regions of the globe.

We are really unbalanced now. Science and technology reached their

culmination in the industrialized nations, and made people very

materialistic. In 1896 Vivekananda told the American people:

“Machines never made mankind happy and never will. He who is trying

to make us believe this will claim that happiness is in the machine;

but it is always in the mind.”5 Now, most nations are fighting for

material advancement, neglecting the environment and other people.

People have slowly begun to think: if we destroy nature, then nature

will destroy us. People have forgotten their divine nature and have

been reduced to money-making machines. What is the result? Physical

and mental sickness.

Dr. Kevin Grold, of the Mental Health Referral Services of

Southern California, wrote to Dear Abby (a syndicated newspaper

columnist) on 4 May 1993:

May is Mental Health Month -- and is, therefore, a time to

recognize the millions of Americans suffering from mental

illness. In any six month period, nearly thirty-six million

adults and twelve million children are afflicted with a mental

illness. More than six thousand older Americans commit suicide

each year, and suicide is the second-leading cause of death among

children age fifteen to nineteen.

At a time when our nation [America] is focused on the economy,

it is disturbing to note that the direct costs of mental illness

account for more than 55 billion dollars; and the indirect costs,

including lost employment, reduced productivity, accidents,

substance-abuse programs and social-welfare programs, increase

the amount to nearly 273 billion dollars each year. But the real

cost is in the vast amount of needless suffering of the afflicted

and their families. It’s OK to have a broken arm, but it is not

OK to be depressed, or to have an anxiety disorder. This attitude

leads to so much fear and denial that we are now at the point

where only one in five Americans who suffers from mental disorder

seeks help. On the brighter side, America is the richest nation

of the world and the most advanced in science and technology.

Americans are slowly learning that peace and happiness are not in

money or material prosperity. As a bird cannot fly with one wing,

so human beings cannot function only with money and material

goods, thus neglecting the Spirit, the essence of all beings.

Harmony or balance is extremely important in human life.

One hundred years ago Vivekananda observed this disharmony in

America and in other Western nations, and he reminded them, “Today,

man requires one more adjustment on the spiritual plane.”6 “The whole

of Western civilization will crumble to pieces in the next fifty

years if there is no spiritual foundation.”7 Again, on 4 July 1902

(the day of his passing away), at 5:30 p.m., Vivekananda said to the

monks of Belur monastery: “India is immortal, if she persists in her

search for God. But if she goes in for politics and social conflict,

she will die.”8

Unity in Diversity

Unity in diversity is an important theme of Hinduism, or Vedanta.

Brahman, or God, has become many through His incomprehensible power

of maya. God transcends space and time; He is also immanent in space

and time. In God contraries meet and stand synthesized into a grand

harmony. Vivekananda taught nondual Vedanta, where one can find true

unity. Brahman, the Absolute, has no parts. The creator is Brahman,

the creature is also Brahman. The Spirit is Brahman, matter is also

Brahman. The sentient, the conscious is Brahman, the insentient, the

unconscious is also Brahman. The static, the unchanging is Brahman,

the dynamic, the ever-changing is also Brahman. Being is Brahman,

becoming is also Brahman. He is greater than the greatest and at the

same time smaller than the smallest. He is the Life of all life and

He is also Death, the great dissolver. “I am immortality and also

death; being and non-being am I, 0 Arjuna,” says Krishna in the Gita.

Thousands of years ago, the sages of Vedanta discovered the unity

in multiplicity by experiencing God in every thing and every being.

They realized that the knowledge of oneness leads to liberation and

the knowledge of plurality that is caused by ignorance leads to

bondage. When a person attains the knowledge of Oneness, he becomes

free from grief and delusion, free from hatred and jealousy, free

from violence and vindictiveness. Freedom is the goal of life; the

attainment of freedom demands a moral and intellectual discipline

that helps the individual to harmonize differences. Sarvepalli

Radhakrishnan quoted the biting words of Swift in his The Hindu View

of Life: “We have enough religion to hate one another but not enough

to love one another.”9

However, Vivekananda, who had the unitive knowledge, said:

“Vedanta formulates, not a universal brotherhood, but universal

oneness. I am the same as any other man, as any other animal -- good,

bad, anything. It is one body, one mind, one soul throughout... One

leaf may fall -- does the tree die? The universe is my body. See how

it continues. All minds are mine. With all feet I walk. Through all

mouths I speak. In every body I reside.”10

According to Vivekananda, only this realization of unity can wipe

out the violence, narrowness, bigotry, and superstition of the world.

There is so much fighting, misgiving, misunderstanding, ill-

feeling, and competition among the organized religions of the world

-- yet all claim “God is one,” and preach “universal brotherhood.” We

find the golden rule in all major religions of the world. In

Buddhism: “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find

hurtful” (Udana-Varga 5.18). In Christianity: “Do for others what you

want them to do for you; this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and

the teaching of the prophets” (Matthew 7:12). In Hinduism: “Whatever

you consider injurious to yourself, never do to others. This is the

essence of dharma” (Mahabharata. Udyoga Parvan 39:71). In Islam: “No

one of you is a believer until he desires for his brothers that which

he desires for himself (Sunnah). In Judaism: “What is hateful to you,

do not do to your fellowmen. That is the entire Law; all the rest is

commentary” (Talmud. Shabbat 3id).

We read, we listen, we appreciate these wonderful sayings of the

scriptures, but we do not practise them. That is why the world is in

turmoil. Pointing to the unity of mankind, the German poet Goethe

wrote: “Let none be like another; yet each be like the Highest. How

can that be? Let each be perfectly himself.”11

Religious sects are not bad, but sectarianism is horrible. A

sectarian is one who thinks that his or her religion is the only true

one, clings to it fanatically, and regards all other religions as

false. Can such a person ever attain the Truth? At present there are

296 Christian denominations in the U.S.A. and Canada. There are many

sects amongst the Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and Hindus. Many people

denounce religious sects, but it is amazing how Vivekananda defended

them:

I am not against any sect. I am glad that sects exist, and I only

wish they may go on multiplying more and more. Why? Simply because

of this: If you and I and all who are present here were to think

exactly the same thoughts, there would be no thoughts for us to

think. We know that two or more forces must come into collision in

order to produce motion. It is the clash of thought, the

differentiation of thought, that awakes thought. Now, if we all

thought alike, we would be like Egyptian mummies in a museum

looking vacantly at one another’s faces-no more than that!12

Variety is the sauce of life. A restaurant that lists various

kinds of food in its menu attracts many people, because people get

bored if they eat the same food every day. Sri Ramakrishna did not

care for one-sidedness. He said, “In order not to become monotonous,

I eat a variety of dishes.”13 We know from our own experience that

monotony is boring and disgusting. Although I am not a connoisseur of

Western music, I sometimes go to the symphony. I watch one hundred

musicians on stage with their instruments: each one of them

contributes music and thus all create the symphony. If the

violinists, or flutists, or drummers, or any individual group thinks

that only it should be on stage, then it would be a solo performance,

which might be appreciated by a few but not the majority. It is the

duty of the conductor to arrange the music in such a way that each

musician will take part in the symphony and give joy to the audience.

To me, God is the great conductor in the symphony of life. He created

all religions; He manifests in all religions; He listens to the

prayers of the people of all religions; and He bestows grace on all

His children. We would not care for a God who was only for the

Hindus, or Muslims, or Christians, or Buddhists, or Jews, or any

other individual faith.

On 1 January 1881, listening to the nahabat music in the

Dakshineswar temple garden, Ramakrishna said to the Brahmo leader

Keshab Chandra Sen:

Do you hear how melodious that music is? One player is producing

only a monotone on his flute, while another is creating waves of

melodies in different ragas and raginis. That is my attitude. Why

should I produce only a monotone when I have an instrument with

seven holes? Why should I say nothing but, “I am He, I am He?” I

want to play various melodies on my instrument with seven holes.

Why should I say only, “Brahma, Brahma?” I want to call on God

through all the moods -- through santa, dasya, sakhya, vatsalya,

and madhur. I want to make merry with God. I want to sport with

God.14

Universal Religion

Vivekananda got this idea of harmony from his Master. In the West,

Swami Vivekananda talked about the ideal of a universal religion:

“What I want to propagate is a religion that will be equally

acceptable to all minds. It must be equally philosophic, equally

emotional, equally mystical, and equally conducive to action.”15 Thus

Swamiji synthesized the four yogas: jnana, bhakti, raja, and karma.

He said: “Everyone who has only one or two of these elements of

character I consider one-sided. This world is almost full of such

onesided men, who possess knowledge of that one road only in which

they move, and to whom anything else is dangerous and horrible. To

become harmoniously balanced in all these four directions is my ideal

of religion.”16

Remain Holland wrote: “In the two words equilibrium and

synthesis Vivekananda’s constructive genius may be summed up. He

embraced all the paths of the spirit... As in a quadriga, he held the

reins of all four ways of truth, and he travelled towards Unity along

them all simultaneously. He was the personification of the harmony of

all human Energy.”17

Vivekananda visualized the religion of the future, where science

and religion will meet and shake hands; poetry and philosophy will

become friends; reason and faith will embrace each other; and heart

and intellect will forget their conflict forever. He remarked: “In

the old Upanishads we find sublime poetry; their authors were poets.

Plato says that inspiration comes to people through poetry, and it

seems as if these ancient rishis, seers of truths, were raised above

humanity to show these truths through poetry. Music came out of their

hearts.... When a scientist makes the assertion that all objects are

the manifestation of one force, does it not remind you of the God of

whom you hear in the Upanishads: ‘As the one fire entering into the

universe expresses itself in various forms, even so that one Soul is

expressing Itself in every soul and yet is infinitely more besides?’

Do you not see whither science is tending? The Hindu nation proceeded

through the study of the mind, through metaphysics and logic. The

European nations start from external nature, and now they too are

coming to the same results.”18

East Meets West

People are people-whether one belongs to the East or the West.

Features, skin colour, language, culture, religion may be different,

but the same red blood flows in the veins of all human beings. When

we talk about the East and the West, we must remember that Truth has

no geographical limits; it is the same at all points of the compass.

The law of gravitation does not function more in America than in

Africa or Asia; the facts of chemistry are as true in an Indian as in

an Italian or Canadian laboratory.

A knower of Truth is a universal person. He or she transcends

all geographical, social, and religious barriers. Vivekananda

experienced the Truth. He wrote to an English disciple from New York

on 9 August 1895: “Every day my sight grows clearer. What is India or

England, or America to us? We are the servants of that God who by the

ignorant is called Man. He who pours water at the root, does he not

water the whole tree? There is but one basis of well-being, social,

political, or spiritual-to know that I and my brother are one. This

is true for all countries and all people.”19

As a lover of humanity, Vivekananda voiced what was good for the

West as well as for the East. No society is perfect. He tried to

shape an ideal society based on the law of give and take. Discussing

Vivekananda’s mission to the West, Christopher Isherwood said:

He was not just arriving from India to say, “Now, all you

sinners out here in America, you are all going to be converted,

and the cure for everything is Ramakrishna.” As a matter of

fact, he hardly preached directly about Ramakrishna at all. To

the West he said, “Yes, you are hopelessly materialistic. It is

disgusting, the way you are enslaved by money, fame and power.”

He taught them that India was an extremely spiritual country,

and that they should not look down on India simply because India

had been invaded and conquered, and because India had not got

the same technological standards that America had.

On the other hand, he returned to India and told them, “My

goodness! If you had some of the energy that they have in the

West, then maybe you would get somewhere.” “You cannot

manufacture a pin, and you dare to criticize the English,” he

said on one occasion. You see, in other words, he balanced the

whole thing, and what he was really crusading for was an

interchange of what the East had to give to the West and what

the West had to give to the East. That was the whole meaning of

his mission.20

After the Parliament of Religions of Chicago in 1893, many

interfaith and interreligious councils evolved in American and

Canadian cities. Today, the different religions are slowly learning

to hold out hands of friendship to each other in every part of the

world. Most of the swamis in America are involved with these

interfaith groups to promote mutual understanding and harmony.

Comparative religion is in the curriculum of many schools and

universities in America, which helps to develop an unprejudiced

attitude towards other religions. Vivekananda’s catholic approach

towards religion directly and indirectly influenced many thinkers of

the Western world. Swamiji revealed the secret of harmony in the

final session of the Parliament: A seed becomes a plant by

assimilating the earth, air, and water, without becoming earth, air,

and water. Similarly each person can assimilate the spirit of others

and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law

of growth.

Variety must continue to exist: it is the law of creation.

Perfect balance or perfect harmony means dissolution. In the symphony

of religions, each religion has its own place, and each plays its own

role. In the Chicago Parliament, each representative was busy

representing his or her own faith, but Swamiji spoke on behalf of all

religions. The universal religion has no location in time and space.

Its area is infinite. Krishna, Buddha, Zarathustra, Confucius,

Christ, Moses, Muhammad, Nanak, Ramakrishna-all have honoured places

in it. The real universal religion is not a creed or a doctrine; it

is an experience. It is God-consciousness, which runs through all

faiths. It is the melting pot of diversity. Vivekananda preached this

universal religion in the West as well as in the East. Pointing to

the universality of Vedanta, Swamiji said:

Our watchword will be acceptance and not exclusion. Not only

toleration, for so-called toleration is often blasphemy and I do

not believe in it. Toleration means that I think that you are

wrong and I am just allowing you to live. Is it not blasphemy to

think that you and I are allowing others to live? I accept all

religions that were in the past, and worship with them all. I

worship God with every one of them, in whatever form they

worship Him. I shall go to the mosque of the Mohammedans; I

shall enter the Christian’s church and kneel before the

crucifix; I shall enter the Buddhist temple, where I shall take

refuge in Buddha and in his Law. I shall go into the forest and

sit down in meditation with the Hindu, who is trying to see the

Light which enlightens the heart of everyone. Not only shall I

do all these, but I shall keep my heart open for all that may

come in the future. Is God’s book finished? The Bible, the

Vedas, the Koran, and all other sacred books are but so many

pages, and an

infinite number of pages remain yet to be unfolded. I shall

leave my heart open for all of them.21

The Religion of the Twenty-First Century

In the nineteenth century, the main focus of religion was on

reason; and in the twentieth century on humanism. If anybody asks me:

What type of religion will play the vital role in the twenty-first

century? My answer will be -- mysticism. Mystics commune with God

through love and contemplation. They are in every religious tradition

and they are a class by themselves. In October 1992 there was a

conference on the Great Contemporary Mystics in Avila, Spain. I was

invited to speak on Sri Ramakrishna. I quoted that famous saying of

Ramakrishna about mystics, “All jackals in the world howl in the same

way.” In other words, the mystics of different religions may speak in

different languages but their experience of Oneness is always the

same. A medieval Indian mystic wrote: “There may be different kinds

of oil in different lamps, the wicks also may be of different kinds,

but when they burn, we have the same flame and illumination.”22

Fanatics and fundamentalists are in all religions and they argue

amongst themselves, but mystics do not quarrel about their faiths,

because they are illumined souls. They know that God is one with

various names. In 1897 at Lahore, Swamiji said to a Hindu

fundamentalist: “I have the power to bring one third of the

population of the world under the banner of Sri Ramakrishna, but I

have no intention to do that. Because that will counteract the great

message of harmony of my guru ‘As many faiths so many paths,’ and a

new sect will originate in India.”23 In 1898, after installing the

relics of Sri Ramakrishna at Belur monastery, Vivekananda said, “All

faiths and sects must be respected and harmonized here; none should

be considered subordinate to any other.”24

In the West nowadays, many people avoid organized religion because

there is too much corruption and politics in it. Monistic Vedanta is

never an organized religion; it depends on experience and is not

confined to any personal God, prophet, or book. When I was in

California in the early 1970s, I remember that a man came to our

Santa Barbara Vedanta temple and asked, “Who is the prophet of this

organization?” One of our nuns answered. “It is a nonprophet

organization.” You see, the Vedantic concept of God is very

democratic: “Each soul is potentially divine.” Vedanta also

proclaims: “Freedom is the song of the soul.” These messages of

Vedanta appeal to many Americans, because they love democracy and

freedom.

Referring to interreligious relations, Swami Nikhilananda wrote:

“Religions as human institutions cannot be absolutely perfect, but

God is perfect. Religion is not God, but shows the way to God. It is

said that Satan was once asked how he would tempt a possessor of pure

truth, and he replied that he would tempt him to organize it. As

clocks should be corrected from time to time by the sun, so also

religions. The correction is made by mystic saints, who directly

commune with God, and not by the theologians, who are only

interpreters of the scriptures.”25

Nowadays some people say: We have read enough, we have heard

many sermons, now we want experience. That is the present popular

sentiment in the West. We live in an age when creeds are shaken,

dogmas are questioned, and traditions are dissolving. Some Western

thinkers have predicted that doctrine, dogma, or ritual will not be

able to sustain religion in the twenty-first century. The external

aspects, such as symbols, doctrines, creeds, and rituals of each

religion differ from one another, but internal aspects, such as

purity, love, compassion, and unselfishness, are the same in all

religions. Swamiji once commented: “‘Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.’ This sentence alone would save mankind if

all the books and prophets were lost. This purity of heart will bring

the vision of God. It is the theme of music of this universe.”26

Sometimes people complain that religion is dry and difficult. It

is difficult for one who does not try. How can it be dry when

religious practices open the fountain of bliss of God? However, I

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want to tell three short stories that will teach us how we can live

harmoniously in this world with love, relinquishing hatred.

Rabia, a Sufi saint, was once asked, “Do you love God?” “Yes,”

she replied. “Do you hate Satan?” “No.” “Why?” “Because God did not

keep any hatred in my heart.”

During his last years, St. John, a direct disciple of Christ,

lived in the city of Ephesus. He had grown old and feeble and was no

longer able to speak from the pulpit of the church where he

worshipped. But the people carried him in every Sunday, and he sat

there through the service with the light on his face which comes from

neither land nor sea. At the end of the service the minister would

ask him to say just a word to the people by way of benediction. He

would rise slowly, look at them with a benign smile and say, “Little

children, love one another.” He always said that. When one of his

friends asked him why he always said the same thing, he replied:

“Because there is nothing more to be said. It is the final word. If

we love one another, that is everything.”27

Finally, three Alwars (South Indian mystics) left their own

ashramas for a distant pilgrimage. The first saint did not get food

for two days and then at night he was caught in a thunderstorm. After

a long and arduous search, he found a cottage. It was closed, but it

had a small veranda, where one person could hardly lie down. The

first saint lay down there. In the meantime, the second saint came

and asked, “I am devastated by the rain. Is there a little room for

me?” The first saint said, “Where one person can lie, there two

persons can sit. Please come in.” Within a short while, the third

saint arrived and asked for shelter. The first two saints said: “You

are welcome. Where two can sit, there three can stand.” Observing

their mutual love, unselfishness, and harmonious living the Lord

blessed them with His vision.28

In this memorable convention, let us listen to the wonderful

music of harmony, and try to practise it in our daily lives. This is

the only way we shall be able to get rid of narrowness, bigotry,

superstition, violence, and disharmony. The nearer we are to God, the

closer we shall feel towards other religions. In God we all meet.

Krishna said in the Gita, “I am the thread that runs through the

pearls, as in a necklace.” Each religion is one of the pearls.

In conclusion, I bow down to all religions and their

representatives on this platform, who have come from different parts

of the world to contribute their precious voices to this symphony.

This symphony will not be sounded in vain. History will record it as

a landmark for posterity.

I. John Henry Barrows, The World’s Parliament of Religions (Chicago, 1893), p. 18

2. Swami Vivekananda, Inspired Talks. Ramakrishna Math (Madras, 1961). p. 102

3. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Advaita Ashrama (Calcutta. 1966). Vol. IV, p.125

4. Ibid. Vol. IV. p. 178, 180

5. Ibid. Vol. IV, p. 155

6. Ibid. Vol. IV. p. 154

7. Ibid. Vol. III. p. 159

8. Swami Nikhilananda, Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works. Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Centre (New York. 1953), p. 178

9. Radhakrishnan, The Hindu view of Life. The MacMillan Company (New York, 1962), p. 44

I0. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (1964), Vol. VIII, p. 129

11. Quoted from Visvabharati Quarterly, Vol. XXV, 3-4. p. 25

12. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (1968). Vol. II, p. 363

13. Swami Nikhilananda, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Centre, (New York, 1969). p. 782

14. Ibid. p. 1009-10

15. Complete Works. Vol. II. p. 387

16. Ibid. Vol. II, p. 388

17. Romain Rolland, The Life of Vivekananda (Advaita Ashrama, 1931). p. 326

18. Complete Works. Vol. II, p. 140

19. Complete Works. Vol. VIII, p. 349-50

20. Swami Chetanananda, Vivekananda: East meets West. Introduction

21. Complete Works. Vol. II. p. 373-74

22. Radhakrishnan, Occasional Speeches and Writings. Publications Division Government of India, 1960, p. 542

23. Bharate Vivekananda. Udbodhan. p. 477-78 and Udbodhan magazine. Vol. 25, p. 731

24. Swami Chetanananda. Swami Adbhutananda: Teachings and Reminiscences. Vedanta Society of St. Louis, 1980, p. 85

25. Swami Nikhilananda, Hinduism. Harper and Brothers (New York, 1958), p. 180

26. Inspired Talks, p. 195

27. C. R. Brown, These Twelve, p. 64

28. Swami Ramakrishnananda, Ramanuj Charit. Udbodhan, p. 20-22