Life and Teachings of Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda was born on January 12th, 1863. Growing up as a young man, Narendranath Dutta, acquired many attributes of a strong leader and quickly commanded the respect of many of his peers. Curious about whether God could be known intimately, Narendranath found himself seeking the sage of Dakshineshwar, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Narendranath and many others were deeply inspired by Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings. After the passing away of Sri Ramakrishna, he wandered all over India and touched the hearts of many people. He reached the Himalayas and from there travelled south until he reached the southernmost tip of India. There he meditated for three days on top of Kanyakumari.

During his wandering days he met the poverty-stricken and illiterate as well, and saw the effects of Hinduism’s social caste system. However, he understood that religion was the backbone of mother India and that it must also be the foundation of modern India. For him religion was not the Brahminical customs, but rather it was the perpetual scriptures of the Vedas, which held the Vedantic truths. Seeking to spread this message to the world, Vivekananda travelled to the United States to represent Hinduism at the Parliament of Religions on September 11th, 1893 and brought the spiritual teachings of India to the West. He has greatly influenced the last hundred years of spiritual growth in Europe and America.

Swami Vivekananda was not a retiring or reticent figure. Neither was he an aloof monk with a superior attitude or a spiritual ego. His down-to-earth policies of beneficial action coupled with an unsurpassed knowledge of the scriptures place him in a league all his own. Yet, he was not content to work slavishly in an imperfect world, only to advocate profound philosophy to secular and materialistic societies. His was a plan that incorporated selfless service to suffering millions with the living realization of God both within the world and beyond it as well. The eternal religious principles he espoused were, to him, directly realizable in everyday life, and not content to merely point them out, he fashioned new and refreshing avenues of spiritual expression for them. The Advaitic aspect of Vedanta was very dear to him and he saw in it the solution for all the problems of relative existence.

In addition to the humanistic element in his work, the Swami broke through many other types of antiquated taboos concerning outmoded traditional values. Being the first to leave India in order to teach the timeless message of Vedanta to the rest of the world, Vivekananda broke with the tradition and lost his caste as a result. Criticized for this and for teaching the Vedic wisdom to foreigners, the Swami explained that the lover of God has no caste restrictions that the devotees of the Lord form their own caste. By this fearless action and in many other ways, Vivekananda destroyed old conventions and concepts, opening the way for spiritual teachers from the east to come westward.

The regeneration of India that is taking place at present, as well as the new respect and reverence for its ancient culture and spiritual treasures the world over, is also greatly due to his untiring efforts. His many admirers, both eastern and western acknowledge him as a modern Buddha and an emanation of Lord Shiva. Like Shankara, who lived a very short physical life but who regenerated India and added considerably to the world's spiritual wealth, Swami Vivekananda possessed an illumined intellect, a vast and retentive memory, a heart devoted to God that was full of compassion for his fellow human beings and an ever-present realization of his true nature, whether working, worshiping or meditating.

In him it is clearly seen, elements of non-dual realization harmonized perfectly with the diverse modes and expressions of spiritual life. Vedantic Truth, Tantric practice and Yogic realization were all fused perfectly in him. His ability to reveal the Truth, implement the practice and lead the way unto realization was a special quality he possessed. He encouraged all to seek the unalloyed bliss of freedom and the profound peace of inner realization. Appreciated as both a spiritual luminary of the highest order and a patriot acting for the well being of his country, Swami Vivekananda stands out as a leader of souls.

Acknowledged as the foremost of Sri Ramakrishna's many notable disciples, both lay and monastic, Swami Vivekananda was an illumined being of the highest Order. He received an important teaching from Ramakrishna that "Jiva is Shiva." This became his Mantra, and he coined the concept of Daridra Narayana Seva - the service of God in and through (poor) human beings. With this thought in mind he founded the Ramakrishna Order on the principle of “Atmano Mokshartham Jagathitaya Cha” "For the realization of the Self and for the good of the world." The Ramakrishna Mission came into existence in 1897 and since then continues to function and inspire one and all, all over the world. Swami Vivekananda was a mighty inspiration to youth throughout his lifetime, and continues to inspire the youth of today. He believed that the essence of Hinduism was best expressed in the Vedanta philosophy. He summarized the Vedanta's teachings as, “Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy—by one, or more, or all of these—and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details.”

Vivekananda dedicated his life to teaching and guiding the youth the importance of social service and laying the groundwork of character and leader attributes. He passed into Mahasamadhi (final absorption into Absolute Reality) on the July 4^th 1902.

Geriatrics: Boon or Curse?

A very well known English proverb goes like “Knowledge is Power.” The knowledge of aging empowers us to provide for a better quality of life for the aged. It’s a well-known fact that ageing is universal and an irreversible process. If we try to look to the age old traditions of Indian Culture, old age is considered as one of the stages of human development wherein an individual attains wisdom, maturity, social & economic security, with social recognition and emotional fulfillment, leading to the last phase of life, which is considered to be of spiritual salvation. This process of aging & old age has been considered as an integral part of the process of development of the life course, set against the backdrop of births & rebirths. In ancient times the elderly occupied a position of prestige, power & privilege. The Varna Ashrama dharma scheme of life also associated honour and respect to the aged. With the advent of modern medical science & health care service, life expectancy/longevity got increased considerably. The rapid and faster technological growth in medical science has considerably controlled the fertility & mortality rate and relatively large population of elderly persons.

India is in the throes of a temporary compacted demographic transition. Thus, India, being a country with a tradition of good elder care, is facing many affronts that seem to threaten the status of the elderly. Like many other developing countries in the world, India is presently witnessing rapid ageing of its population. Urbanization, modernization and globalization have led to changes in economic structure, erosion of societal values and the weakening of social institutions such as the joint family. In this changing economic and social milieu, the younger generation is searching for new identities encompassing economic independence and redefined social roles within, as well as outside the family. The changing economic structure has reduced the dependence of families on land, which had provided strength to bonds between generations. The traditional sense of duty and obligation of the younger generation towards their older generation is being eroded. The older generation is caught between the decline in traditional values on the one hand and the absence of an adequate social security system, on the other. This breakdown of traditional kinship and family organizations leaves the elderly helpless, isolated, and economically dependent. The mental health of older persons is influenced not just by ageing changes in the body and brain, but also by socio-economic and psychological factors. Growing old can also be agonizing for the ageing. Then there are things to consider such as the very volatile emotional state of the elderly, their loss of self-esteem and the accompanying feeling of uselessness, and the loneliness they have to deal with when they realize that all their friends have already gone ahead of them!

In the present scenario the traditional family is fast disappearing. With urbanization, families are becoming nuclear, smaller and are not always capable of caring for older relatives. Increasingly, older people may be perceived as burdens due to their disability or dependence. Rapid changes in the family system are reducing the availability of kin support. With modernization, older values are being replaced by ‘individualism’. The family’s capacity to provide quality care to older people is decreasing. In non-agrarian societies older persons who are ‘economically unproductive’ do not have the same authority and prestige that they used to enjoy in extended families where they had greater control over family resources. The unconditional respect, power and authority that older people used to enjoy in extended traditional family are being gradually eroded in recent years. The social and economic pressures are impinging on intergenerational relationships. Efforts are being made to revive cultural values and reinforce the traditional practice of interdependence among generations.

India is geographically vast and culturally heterogeneous country and the Indian subcontinent is physically and culturally diverse. Though Hindus are the majority, secular India is home to different religions. Different parts of the country are experiencing varying degrees of socio-economic change. Literacy, employment, health and morbidity rates vary from region to region. Urban and rural environments present contrasting pictures with respect to quality of life at any age. Population ageing is the most significant result of the process known as demographic transition and India is undergoing such a demographic transition.

In ancient India, life span was divided into four stages: life of a student, householder, forest dweller and ascetic. There was a gradual move from personal, social to spiritual preoccupations with age. In most gerontological literature, people above 60 years of age are considered as ‘old’ and as constituting the ‘elderly’ segment of the population. Manu, the ancient lawgiver, in his Dharmasastra divided this span of life into four ‘Ashramas’ or life stages. The first, ‘Brahmacharya’ (life of a student) was to be spent at the teacher’s (guru) house. This is the life of a celibate, to be spent in education and training. Once education was complete, the boy (grown into adulthood by now) would be ready to enter the ‘Grihasta’ ashram. This was the life of a householder. A man was to marry, have children, and shoulder the responsibilities of an average citizen in the society. He was to discharge the debts he owed to the parents (Pitru Rina) by begetting sons and to the gods (Deva Rina) by performing Yajnas (rituals). This was the stage when a man would fulfill his basic desires, for love, marriage, for parenthood, for status, wealth, prestige and other such physical and social needs. When a man’s head turned grey and wrinkles appeared, he was to give up this life of householder and turn to ‘Vanaprastha’, which literally means ‘moving to the forest’. A mature and ageing man would gradually give up his worldly pursuits, move away from the mundane routine of householder and turn inward in search of spiritual growth. Finally, when he was spiritually ready, he would renounce the world completely and enter the stage of ‘Sannyasa’ or asceticism.

Indian culture, like many other Asian cultures, emphasized filial piety. Parents were to be honoured as gods. It was considered the duty of a son to respect and care for his parents. Indian society is patriarchal and after marriage sons bring their wives to the parental household to live. This tradition assured that old people would have younger in-laws and grandchildren to care for them. Also, caste and kin group exerted pressure on younger members to obey and respect elders. Apart from these the old people played the most significant part in the socialization of young by transmitting their knowledge. As a result of recent induced and spontaneous social change, the traditional social structure based on ascriptive criteria is crumbling down and gradually yielding to a new system based achievement criteria. As the traditional bonds are weakening, the extended family system is being gradually replaced with nuclear family system.

In modern India, for all practical purposes people above 60 are considered to be ‘senior citizens’. How elderly people are regarded in society varies from culture to culture and country to country and affects their care, independence, and participation. A culture's high regard for elderly people can be estimated by the extent to which societal values support positive self-esteem and status of elderly people. In industrialized societies older people are not critical to the functioning of the nuclear family, and extended care of dependent elderly people is often assumed by formal systems of long-term care. As nations become more industrialized, there appears to be a trend toward loss of role and status for elderly people, with an accompanying move toward a more nuclear family structure that minimizes the contributions of elderly people.

It is inevitable for a human being to undergo this phase of life, i.e. old age. In our Hindu scriptures it is clearly mentioned that there are six stages of human life viz. “Jayate, Vardhate, Asti, Parinamayate, Apakshiyate and Mriyate.” This “Parinamayate” i.e. transformation of human body is inevitable whether one is rich or poor, educated or uneducated, weak or strong, whether one is Muslim, Christian or a Hindu, this old age is bound to come to one and all with its varied complications. It is impossible to think that one will remain evergreen forever. In this connection a very significant event happened in the life of Gautama Buddha when he was Prince Siddhartha. He was born as a son of king Suddhodhana and was raised carefully by his father with luxuries so that he would not be tempted to abandon his destiny as the ruler of Sakhyan kingdom, for the prophecies were uncertain concerning whether he would succeed his father as king or leave the palace to become a spiritual master. In spite of his father’s protection, Siddhartha came to know old age, disease and death as unavoidable sufferings of all human beings. His encounter with these existential questions finally led him to forsake his royal environment to seek liberation from sufferings in an ascetic life. He devoted six years to his ascetic exercise before his great enlightenment took place. At the age of 35, Gautama attained a complete awakening and became the Buddha, or the Awakened One. On the morning of the enlightenment, the Buddha apprehended the truth that all things and all beings are interconnected and mutually dependent in time and space. The spiritual journey of a man is a continual exploration of the truth of interdependence, which Siddhartha Gautama realized to become the Buddha, “the Enlightened One.”