在东方的首次公开演讲（科伦坡）
本译文由人工智能辅助工具生成，可能存在不准确之处。如需查阅权威文本，请参考英文原文。
AI-translated. May contain errors. For accurate text, refer to the original English.
中文
东方首次公开演讲
（在科伦坡发表）
斯瓦米·辨喜（Swami Vivekananda）在西方完成其历史性使命后，于1897年1月15日下午抵达科伦坡，受到当地印度教社区的盛大热烈欢迎。随后，向他呈递了以下欢迎致辞：
斯里玛特·辨喜斯瓦米
尊敬的先生，
依据科伦坡市印度教徒公众大会所通过之决议，我们谨向您致以由衷的欢迎，欢迎您来到这座岛屿。能够率先在您完成西方伟大使命归来之际向您致迎，我们深感荣幸。
我们满怀喜悦与感恩，目睹了这一使命在上帝赐福之下所取得的辉煌成就。您已向欧美各国宣扬了印度教的普世宗教理想——调和一切信仰，依每个灵魂之所需为其提供精神滋养，并以慈爱引领其归向上帝。您所传扬的真理与正道，乃是由历代宗师自远古以来代代相授的——这些蒙福的宗师曾以双足踏遍并圣化印度的土地，其慈悲的临在与感召，使印度历经沧桑而始终成为世界之光。
西方各国得以与印度精神天才进行生动接触，这一无价之宝，有赖于一位伟大导师（Guru）——室利·罗摩克里希纳·帕拉玛汉萨大师（Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Deva）的感召，以及您无私奉献的热忱；而对于我们许多已从西方文明的迷幻中得以解脱的同胞来说，我们光辉遗产的价值也已深入人心。
您崇高的工作与榜样，使全人类承受了难以偿还的恩德，并为我们的祖国增添了新的荣光。我们祈愿上帝的恩典持续眷顾您与您的工作，
谨此，尊敬的先生，
您忠实的，
谨代表科伦坡印度教徒，
P. 库马拉·斯瓦米（P. Coomara Swamy），
锡兰立法议会议员，
大会主席。
A. 库拉维拉辛哈姆（A. Kulaveerasingham），秘书。
科伦坡，1897年1月。
斯瓦米作了简短答复，对所受到的亲切欢迎表示感谢。他借此机会指出，这次盛大迎接并非是为了一位伟大的政治家、军事将领或百万富翁，而是为了一位托钵游方僧（Sannyâsin），这正体现了印度教思想对宗教的倾向。他强调，若民族要存续，就必须将宗教作为民族生命的支柱；他否认此次欢迎具有任何个人性质，而坚持认为这是对一项原则的认可。
16日傍晚，斯瓦米在花卉厅发表了以下公开演讲：
我所做的一点微薄工作，并非源于我自身所具有的任何固有力量，而是来自于从我们这至亲至圣、挚爱的祖国一路伴随我在西方之路上的喝彩声、善意与祝福。在西方确实做了一些好事，但受益最大的是我自己；因为此前或许只是情感性的结论，如今已获得了真理的确信，并获得了论证的力量与强度。从前，我的想法与每一位印度教徒相同，正如大会可敬的主席刚才向诸位所指出的，我认为这里是福业之地（Punya Bhumi），是业力（Karma）之地。今日，我站在这里，以真理的确信宣告，确实如此。倘若世界上有任何一片土地可以称为受祝福的福业之地，可以称为地球上所有灵魂都必须来此了结其业力的土地，可以称为每一个向神而行的灵魂必须来此寻得其最终归宿的土地，可以称为人类在温柔、慷慨、纯洁、宁静方面达到最高境界的土地，尤其是内省与灵性之地——那就是印度。自远古以来，各大宗教的创始人便从这里出发，一次次以纯粹而永不枯竭的灵性真理之水灌溉大地。哲学的潮流也从这里涌出，覆盖了东西南北的大地；未来，那将要使世界物质文明精神化的浪潮，必将再次从这里兴起。生命赋予的活水就在这里，必将用以熄灭那燃烧着其他土地上千万人心灵的物质主义之火。相信我，朋友们，这是必将发生的。
这是我所目睹的；那些研究种族历史的诸位，对此也早已有所了解。世界欠我们祖国的债是巨大的。放眼各国，世界上没有任何一个民族像这温顺的印度教民族一样，令世界欠有如此之多的恩情。"温顺的印度教徒"有时被用作贬义；但如果说有什么贬词中蕴含着奇妙的真理，那便是"温顺的印度教徒"——他始终是上帝蒙福的孩子。文明在世界其他地方兴起。在古代与近代，伟大的思想从强大而伟大的民族中涌现。在古代与近代，奇妙的思想在各民族之间传播。在古代与近代，伟大真理与力量的种子随着民族生命的潮流广泛播撒；然而，请注意，朋友们，这一切始终伴随着战争号角的轰鸣与整装军队的进军。每一种思想都要在血流成河中浸泡。每一种思想都要蹚过无数同胞的鲜血。每一句有力的话语背后，都跟随着无数人的哀号、孤儿的哭泣与寡妇的眼泪。这，从总体上说，是其他民族所教导的；而印度则已和平存续数千年。这里的文明在希腊尚未存在之时便已兴旺，在罗马尚未被构想之时便已繁荣，在现代欧洲人的祖先尚在林中穿行、以蓝色涂身之时便已辉煌。甚至更早，在历史无从记录、传说不敢窥探那遥远深邃的幽暗之时，从那时至今，一个又一个思想从她这里出发，然而每一句话背后都有祝福，每一步前行都伴随着和平。我们，万国之中，从未是一个征服的民族，这祝福就在我们头上，因此我们延续至今。
曾经有一个时代，希腊大军的进军之声令大地颤抖。如今，那古老的希腊之地已从地球上消失得无影无踪，甚至连一个传说都未曾留下。曾经有一个时代，罗马雄鹰翱翔于这世界上一切值得拥有之物之上；罗马的权力无处不在，压在人类的头顶；大地因罗马之名而颤抖。然而如今，卡比托利欧山已是一片废墟，蜘蛛在凯撒昔日统治之地编织蛛网。还有其他一些同样荣耀的民族，曾经兴起又消逝，过着短暂而充满骄横放纵、邪恶喧嚣的国家生命，随后便如水面涟漪般消散无踪。这些民族就这样在人类历史的面貌上留下了印记。然而我们延续至今，若摩奴（Manu）今日归来，他不会感到茫然，也不会觉得自己身处异乡。同样的法则仍在运行，是经过数千年调整与思索的法则；风俗习惯是数代智慧与数百年经验的结晶，似乎永恒不变；而随着岁月流逝，一次次厄运的打击降临其上，这些打击似乎只起到了一个作用——使它们更加坚强、更加恒久。而要找到这一切的核心，血液从中流淌的心脏，民族生命的原动力，请相信我——在我历经世界的经验之后——它就在这里。
对于世界上其他民族而言，宗教不过是生活诸多职业之一。还有政治，有社交生活的享受，有财富所能购买或权力所能带来的一切，有感官所能享受的一切；在生活的种种职业与对能为疲倦感官再添一丝刺激之物的种种追寻之中——在这一切之间，或许还有一点点宗教。但在印度，宗教是生活唯一的、至高的职业。你们中有多少人知道曾发生过中日战争？极少，若有的话。西方社会中正在兴起的巨大政治运动与社会主义运动，你们中有多少人了解？实在极少，若有的话。然而，美国曾举办宗教议会，并有一位印度游方僧（Sannyâsin）被派遣至那里，令我惊讶的是，就连苦力都知道此事。这说明了风向所指之处，说明了民族生命之所在。我曾读过旅行者所写的书，尤其是那些为东方民众之无知而叹惋的外国人所写的，但我发现，这部分是真实的，部分又不尽然。若你问英国、美国、法国或德国的一位农夫他属于哪个党派，他能告诉你他是激进派还是保守派，以及他将投谁的票。在美国，他会告诉你他是共和党人还是民主党人，甚至对银本位问题略有所知。但若你问他的宗教，他会告诉你他去教堂，属于某个教派。这就是他所知道的全部，他也认为这已足够。
而当我们来到印度，若你问我们的一位农夫："你了解政治吗？"他会回答："那是什么？"他不了解社会主义运动，不了解资本与劳动的关系，诸如此类——他一生从未听说过这些，他辛勤劳作，挣得口粮。但你若问："你的宗教是什么？"他回答："听着，朋友，我已将它标记在额头上。"他能就宗教问题给你一两条中肯的提示。这是我的亲身经历。这就是我们民族的生命。
个体各有其特点，每个人都有自己的成长方式，有其无限过去生命——用我们印度教徒的话说，有其所有过去业力（Karma）——为他所标记的独特人生之路。他带着整个过去来到这个世界，无限的过去引领着现在，而我们使用现在的方式将会塑造未来。因此，每一个降生到这个世界的人都有其倾向，有其必须沿之而行、通过之而生活的方向；个体如此，种族亦然。每个种族同样具有其独特的倾向，每个种族都有其独特的存在理由（raison d'être），每个种族都有其在世界生命中必须完成的独特使命。每个种族都必须创造自己的成果，完成自己的使命。政治的伟大或军事的强权从来都不是我们种族的使命；从来都不是，而且请记住我的话，永远都不会是。然而，另一个使命已赐予我们——那就是保存、保全、积蓄，如同一个发电机，聚集种族所有的精神能量，而当时机成熟、条件具备之时，这浓缩的能量将如洪水般倾注于世界。让波斯人或希腊人、罗马人、阿拉伯人或英国人率领他们的军队，征服世界，将不同民族联结起来，而印度的哲学与灵性始终准备好沿着这些新开辟的渠道流入世界各民族的脉管。印度教徒宁静的头脑必将倾注其自身的份额，贡献于人类进步的总量。印度奉献给世界的，是灵性之光。
因此，回顾历史，我们会发现，每当一个伟大的征服性民族兴起，将世界各民族联合在一起，将印度与其他民族连接，将她从她一再退入的与世隔绝与孤立之中带出来，每当这样的情形出现，结果便是印度灵性思想泛滥于世界。本世纪初，伟大的德国哲学家叔本华（Schopenhauer），通过一位年轻法国人将一部古老的波斯文译本转译为拉丁文、并非很清晰的吠陀（Vedas）译本加以研究，说道："在整个世界，没有任何研究比奥义书（Upanishads）的研究更有益、更崇高。它是我生命的慰藉，也将是我死亡的慰藉。"这位伟大的德国哲人预言道："世界即将见证一场思想革命，其广度与力度将超过希腊文学复兴所带来的变革。"而今日，他的预言正在实现。那些睁开眼睛观察的人，那些理解西方各民族内心运作的人，那些思考者与研究各民族的人，将会发现，印度思想的缓慢而永不停息的渗透，已经在世界各地的格调、方法、程序与文学中产生了巨大的变化。
但还有另一个特点，正如我已向诸位暗示的。我们从未以火与剑传播我们的思想。若有一个英文词语能代表印度奉献给世界的礼物，若有一个英文词语能表达印度文学对人类所产生的效果，那便是这一个词——"魅力"（fascination）。它与任何猝然将你攫住的东西恰好相反；它仿佛在不知不觉中向你施以一种咒力。对许多人来说，印度的思想、印度的礼仪、印度的风俗、印度的哲学、印度的文学，初看之下令人不快；但让他们坚持下去，让他们阅读，让他们熟悉这些思想所蕴含的伟大原则，那么这种魅力几乎必然会笼罩他们，迷恋便是必然的结果。如同清晨悄然落下的细露，无声无息，却产生了最为深远的影响——这宁静、耐忍、无所不受的灵性民族，对于思想世界的工作，正是如此。
历史将再次重演。今日，在现代科学的强烈光芒之下，古老而表面上牢不可破的信仰已被动摇至根基，各教派向人类提出的特殊权威主张都已烟消云散，现代考古学研究的铁锤正将各种陈旧的正统观念砸得粉碎，西方的宗教已落入无知者之手，而智识者对任何与宗教有关的事物都投以鄙夷的目光——正是在此时，印度哲学登上前台，展现出印度心灵最崇高的宗教抱负，在那里，最宏伟的哲学事实就是人民实际的灵性生活。这自然而然地成为拯救之道——万物合一的思想、无限者的思想、无人格者的奇妙思想、人类永恒灵魂的奇妙思想、众生行进中不断延续的奇妙思想，以及宇宙无限性的思想。旧的教派将世界视为一小片泥潭，认为时间不过是在昨日方才开始。唯有在我们的古典中，才有时间、空间与因果的无限广度这一宏阔观念，以及尤为重要的——人类灵魂之无限荣光，支配着一切宗教探索。当现代关于进化论、能量守恒等等的宏大理论正在给各种粗陋神学以致命打击之时，除了在那最奇妙的人类灵魂之产物——那奇妙的上帝之声、吠檀多（Vedanta）中所能找到的最奇妙、最有说服力、最宽广、最崇高的思想之外，还有什么能继续赢得有教养的人类的信仰呢？
与此同时，我必须指出，我所说的我们的宗教对印度以外各民族发挥作用，仅指其原则、背景、宗教所建立于其上的基础而言。数百年社会必要性所推演出的详细运作方式、关于礼仪习俗与社会福祉的细微考量，并不真正归属于宗教的范畴。我们知道，在我们的典籍中，两类真理之间有着明确的区分。一类真理永恒存在，建立于人性、灵魂本性、灵魂与上帝的关系、上帝的本性、圆满等等之上；还有宇宙论的原则，关于创造的无限性，或更确切地说——投射，奇妙的循环演进规律等等——这些是建立于自然普遍法则之上的永恒原则。另一类则是指导我们日常生活运作的次要法则。它们更恰当地属于往世书（Purânas）与法典（Smritis），而非天启经典（Shrutis）。它们与其他原则毫无关系。即便在我们自己的民族中，这些次要法则也始终在变化。一个时代、一个世代（Yuga）的风俗习惯，并非另一个时代的风俗习惯；而随着世代更替，它们仍将继续改变。伟大的仙人（Rishis）将会出现，引领我们走向适合新环境的风俗习惯。
这一关于人与上帝、世界的奇妙、无限、崇高、宏阔观念所蕴含的伟大原则，是在印度产生的。唯有在印度，人从未站出来为某个小部落的神而战，说："我的神是真实的，你的神不是真实的；让我们为此一争高下。"只有在这里，才不曾出现为小神明争斗的念头。这些伟大的根本原则，建立于人类永恒的本性之上，在今日对人类的益处，与数千年前同样有效；只要这大地尚存，只要业力之法则尚在，只要我们作为个体诞生并必须以个体的力量开创自己的命运，它们将始终如此。
而印度奉献给世界的最高礼物，莫过于以下这一点。若我们观察不同民族中宗教的成长与发展，我们将始终发现，每个部落起初都有自己的神。若各部落彼此联盟，这些神便会有一个共同的名称，例如所有巴比伦的神都有一个共同名称。当巴比伦人分裂为许多种族时，他们有了"巴力"（Baal）这一共名，正如犹太各族有着名为"摩洛"（Moloch）的不同神明一样；同时，你会发现其中一个部落胜过其他部落，并主张其自身的王为所有人的王。由此自然地得出：它也希望将自己的神保存为所有种族的神。巴比伦人说，巴力-马尔杜克（Baal-Merodach）是最伟大的神，其他神皆低于他。摩洛-耶和华（Moloch-Yahveh）凌驾于一切其他摩洛之上。这些问题最终都要由战争的胜负来裁决。同样的争斗也曾在这里上演。在印度，同样相互竞争的神明曾彼此争夺主权；然而这个国家与世界的巨大幸运在于，在纷争与混乱之中，涌现出了一个声音，宣告：「एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति」——"存在者唯一，圣人以不同名称称之。"并非湿婆（Shiva）胜于毗湿奴（Vishnu），亦非毗湿奴是一切而湿婆是虚无，而是同一个，无论你称其为湿婆、毗湿奴，还是以百余种其他名称称之。名称各异，但本质唯一。整部印度历史都可从这几个字中读出。这整部历史不过是用宏大的语言、以巨大的力量，对那一中心教义的一再重申。它在这片土地上被一次次重申，直至进入了这个民族的血液，直至它开始随着脉管中每一滴流动的血液而颤动，直至它与生命合而为一，成为构成民族之材质的一部分；如此，这片土地便被转化为世界上最奇妙的宽容之地，赋予了欢迎各种宗教与各派别进入这古老母国的权利。
这里正是对只有在这里才能见到的最显著现象的解释——各种表面上矛盾重重的教派，却生活在如此的和谐之中。你或许是一位二元论者，而我或许是一位不二论（Advaita）者。你或许相信自己是上帝永恒的仆人，而我或许宣称我与上帝本身合一；然而我们都是真正的印度教徒。这怎么可能？那就请读：「एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति」——"存在者唯一，圣人以不同名称称之。"尤其如此，我的同胞们，这是我们必须向世界传授的一个宏大真理。其他国家即使最有学识的人，也会以四十五度角仰起鼻子，称我们的宗教为偶像崇拜。我曾目睹此景；而他们从未停下来思量，在自己的头脑中有多少迷信。至今仍是如此——无处不在的巨大宗派主义，心灵的低劣与狭隘。一个人所拥有的，才是唯一值得拥有的；唯一值得过的生活，是他自己崇拜美元、崇拜财神的那一点小生活；唯一值得拥有的微小财产，是他自己的资产，此外皆无。若他能用泥土制造出一点废物，或发明一台机器，那便该凌驾于最伟大的财富之上而被钦佩。这是当今整个世界的状况，尽管有教育与学识。但教育尚待在世界上普及，而文明——文明迄今在任何地方都尚未真正开始。当今人类中99.9%或多或少仍是野蛮人。我们或许在书籍中读到这些事物，我们听说宗教上的宽容等等，但世界上真正实践宽容的还极少；请以我的经验为证。百分之九十九的人甚至从未想到这一点。在我到过的每一个国家，都存在着严重的宗教迫害，而对于学习新事物，同样的旧有反对声音依然存在。世界上仅有的那一点宽容，仅有的那一点对宗教思想的同情，实际上是在这雅利安人（Aryan）之地，在别处则寥寥无几。唯有在这里，印度人才为穆斯林与基督徒修建庙宇；别处则不然。若你去其他国家，请求穆斯林或其他宗教的人为你修建庙宇，看他们如何相助。他们反而会试图毁掉你的庙宇，乃至毁掉你本人，若力所能及的话。因此，世界最需要学习的那一伟大教训，世界仍需从印度学习的那一伟大教训，不仅是宽容的理念，更是同情的理念。《摩诃姆那颂》（Mahimnah-stotra）中所言甚是："正如起自不同山脉的众多河流，或直或曲地奔流，最终汇入大海；如此，O湿婆，人们因不同倾向而选择的不同道路，虽形态各异，或曲或直，终将归于您。"尽管他们所走的道路各异，所有人都在途中。有些人也许走了一段弯路，另一些人也许走的是直路，但最终他们都将来到主、唯一者的面前。唯有到那时，你对湿婆的虔信（Bhakti）方才圆满——不仅在灵甘（Linga）中见到他，更在一切中见到他。他是圣人，他是哈里（Hari）的信徒，他在一切事物与一切人中见到哈里。若你是湿婆真正的信徒，你必须在一切事物与一切人中见到他。你必须看到，无论以何种名称或形式，每一种崇拜都是献给他的——所有朝向克尔白（Caaba）跪拜者，或在基督教堂、或在佛教寺庙中跪拜者，都是在向他跪拜，无论他们知道与否，无论他们是否意识到；无论以何种名称或形式奉献，所有这些花朵都是献于他足前的；因为他是万物的唯一主宰，是一切灵魂的唯一灵魂（Self）。他比你或我更无限地清楚这个世界所需要的是什么。一切差异都不可能消失；它必然存在；没有变化，生命便会停止。正是这种碰撞，思想的分化，造就了光明、运动，造就了一切。无限矛盾的分化必将持续，但这并不意味着我们因此必须相互仇恨；这也不意味着我们因此必须相互争斗。
因此，我们必须再次学习那一中心真理——那一只在我们祖国传扬、而今必须再次从印度传扬的真理。为何？因为它不仅存在于我们的典籍中，而且贯穿于我们民族文学的每一个层面，存在于民族的生命之中。只在这里，它每天都被付诸实践；任何睁开双眼的人都能看到，它在这里，唯有在这里被实践。如此，我们必须传授宗教。印度还能传授其他更高的课题，但那些仅适于有学识者。温柔、和善、宽忍、宽容、同情与博爱的课题，无论男女老少，无论有学识者或无学识者，不分种族、种姓或信仰，人人皆可学习。"他们以各种名称呼你；你是唯一者。"
English
FIRST PUBLIC LECTURE IN THE EAST
(Delivered in Colombo)
After his memorable work in the West, Swami Vivekananda landed at Colombo on the afternoon of January 15, 1897, and was given a right royal reception by the Hindu community there. The following address of welcome was then presented to him:
SRIMAT VIVEKANANDA SWAMI
Revered Sir,
In pursuance of a resolution passed at a public meeting of the Hindus of the city of Colombo, we beg to offer you a hearty welcome to this Island. We deem it a privilege to be the first to welcome you on your return home from your great mission in the West.
We have watched with joy and thankfulness the success with which the mission has, under God's blessing, been crowned. You have proclaimed to the nations of Europe and America the Hindu ideal of a universal religion, harmonising all creeds, providing spiritual food for each soul according to its needs, and lovingly drawing it unto God. You have preached the Truth and the Way, taught from remote ages by a succession of Masters whose blessed feet have walked and sanctified the soil of India, and whose gracious presence and inspiration have made her, through all her vicissitudes, the Light of the World.
To the inspiration of such a Master, Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Deva, and to your self-sacrificing zeal, Western nations owe the priceless boon of being placed in living contact with the spiritual genius of India, while to many of our own countrymen, delivered from the glamour of Western civilisation, the value of Our glorious heritage has been brought home.
By your noble work and example you have laid humanity under an obligation difficult to repay, and you have shed fresh lustre upon our Motherland. We pray that the grace of God may continue to prosper you and your work, and
We remain, Revered Sir,
Yours faithfully,
for and on behalf of the Hindus of Colombo,
P. Coomara Swamy ,
Member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon,
Chairman of the Meeting.
A. Kulaveerasingham , Secretary.
Colombo, January, 1897.
The Swami gave a brief reply, expressing his appreciation of the kind welcome he had received. He took advantage of the opportunity to point out that the demonstration had not been made in honour of a great politician, or a great soldier, or a millionaire, but of a begging Sannyâsin, showing the tendency of the Hindu mind towards religion. He urged the necessity of keeping religion as the backbone of the national life if the nation were to live, and disclaimed any personal character for the welcome he had received, but insisted upon its being the recognition of a principle.
On the evening of the 16th the Swami gave the following public lecture in the Floral Hall:
What little work has been done by me has not been from any inherent power that resides in me, but from the cheers, the goodwill, the blessings that have followed my path in the West from this our very beloved, most sacred, dear Motherland. Some good has been done, no doubt, in the West, but specially to myself; for what before was the result of an emotional nature, perhaps, has gained the certainty of conviction and attained the power and strength of demonstration. Formerly I thought as every Hindu thinks, and as the Hon. President has just pointed out to you, that this is the Punya Bhumi, the land of Karma. Today I stand here and say, with the conviction of truth, that it is so. If there is any land on this earth that can lay claim to be the blessed Punya Bhumi, to be the land to which all souls on this earth must come to account for Karma, the land to which every soul that is wending its way Godward must come to attain its last home, the land where humanity has attained its highest towards gentleness, towards generosity, towards purity, towards calmness, above all, the land of introspection and of spirituality — it is India. Hence have started the founders of religions from the most ancient times, deluging the earth again and again with the pure and perennial waters of spiritual truth. Hence have proceeded the tidal waves of philosophy that have covered the earth, East or West, North or South, and hence again must start the wave which is going to spiritualise the material civilisation of the world. Here is the life-giving water with which must be quenched the burning fire of materialism which is burning the core of the hearts of millions in other lands. Believe me, my friends, this is going to be.
So much I have seen, and so far those of you who are students of the history of races are already aware of this fact. The debt which the world owes to our Motherland is immense. Taking country with country, there is not one race on this earth to which the world owes so much as to the patient Hindu, the mild Hindu. "The mild Hindu" sometimes is used as an expression of reproach; but if ever a reproach concealed a wonderful truth, it is in the term, "the mild Hindu", who has always been the blessed child of God. Civilisations have arisen in other parts of the world. In ancient times and in modern times, great ideas have emanated from strong and great races. In ancient and in modern times, wonderful ideas have been carried forward from one race to another. In ancient and in modern times, seeds of great truth and power have been cast abroad by the advancing tides of national life; but mark you, my friends, it has been always with the blast of war trumpets and with the march of embattled cohorts. Each idea had to be soaked in a deluge of blood. Each idea had to wade through the blood of millions of our fellow-beings. Each word of power had to be followed by the groans of millions, by the wails of orphans, by the tears of widows. This, in the main, other nations have taught; but India has for thousands of years peacefully existed. Here activity prevailed when even Greece did not exist, when Rome was not thought of, when the very fathers of the modern Europeans lived in the forests and painted themselves blue. Even earlier, when history has no record, and tradition dares not peer into the gloom of that intense past, even from then until now, ideas after ideas have marched out from her, but every word has been spoken with a blessing behind it and peace before it. We, of all nations of the world, have never been a conquering race, and that blessing is on our head, and therefore we live.
There was a time when at the sound of the march of big Greek battalions the earth trembled. Vanished from off the face of the earth, with not every a tale left behind to tell, gone is that ancient land of the Greeks. There was a time when the Roman Eagle floated over everything worth having in this world; everywhere Rome's power was felt and pressed on the head of humanity; the earth trembled at the name of Rome. But the Capitoline Hill is a mass of ruins, the spider weaves its web where the Caesars ruled. There have been other nations equally glorious that have come and gone, living a few hours of exultant and exuberant dominance and of a wicked national life, and then vanishing like ripples on the face of the waters. Thus have these nations made their mark on the face of humanity. But we live, and if Manu came back today he would not be bewildered, and would not find himself in a foreign land. The same laws are here, laws adjusted and thought out through thousands and thousands of years; customs, the outcome of the acumen of ages and the experience of centuries, that seem to be eternal; and as the days go by, as blow after blow of misfortune has been delivered upon them, such blows seem to have served one purpose only, that of making them stronger and more constant. And to find the centre of all this, the heart from which the blood flows, the mainspring of the national life, believe me when I say after my experience of the world, that it is here.
To the other nations of the world, religion is one among the many occupations of life. There is politics, there are the enjoyments of social life, there is all that wealth can buy or power can bring, there is all that the senses can enjoy; and among all these various occupations of life and all this searching after something which can give yet a little more whetting to the cloyed senses — among all these, there is perhaps a little bit of religion. But here, in India, religion is the one and the only occupation of life. How many of you know that there has been a Sino-Japanese War? Very few of you, if any. That there are tremendous political movements and socialistic movements trying to transform Western society, how many of you know? Very few indeed, if any. But that there was a Parliament of Religions in America, and that there was a Hindu Sannyâsin sent over there, I am astonished to find that even the cooly knows of it. That shows the way the wind blows, where the national life is. I used to read books written by globe-trotting travellers, especially foreigners, who deplored the ignorance of the Eastern masses, but I found out that it was partly true and at the same time partly untrue. If you ask a ploughman in England, or America, or France, or Germany to what party he belongs, he can tell you whether he belongs to the Radicals or the Conservatives, and for whom he is going to vote. In America he will say whether he is Republican or Democrat, and he even knows something about the silver question. But if you ask him about his religion, he will tell you that he goes to church and belongs to a certain denomination. That is all he knows, and he thinks it is sufficient.
Now, when we come to India, if you ask one of our ploughmen, "Do you know anything about politics?" He will reply, "What is that?" He does not understand the socialistic movements, the relation between capital and labour, and all that; he has never heard of such things in his life, he works hard and earns his bread. But you ask, "What is your religion?" he replies, "Look here, my friend, I have marked it on my forehead." He can give you a good hint or two on questions of religion. That has been my experience. That is our nation's life.
Individuals have each their own peculiarities, and each man has his own method of growth, his own life marked out for him by the infinite past life, by all his past Karma as we Hindus say. Into this world he comes with all the past on him, the infinite past ushers the present, and the way in which we use the present is going to make the future. Thus everyone born into this world has a bent, a direction towards which he must go, through which he must live, and what is true of the individual is equally true of the race. Each race, similarly, has a peculiar bent, each race has a peculiar raison d'être, each race has a peculiar mission to fulfil in the life of the world. Each race has to make its own result, to fulfil its own mission. Political greatness or military power is never the mission of our race; it never was, and, mark my words, it never will be. But there has been the other mission given to us, which is to conserve, to preserve, to accumulate, as it were, into a dynamo, all the spiritual energy of the race, and that concentrated energy is to pour forth in a deluge on the world whenever circumstances are propitious. Let the Persian or the Greek, the Roman, the Arab, or the Englishman march his battalions, conquer the world, and link the different nations together, and the philosophy and spirituality of India is ever ready to flow along the new-made channels into the veins of the nations of the world. The Hindu's calm brain must pour out its own quota to give to the sum total of human progress. India's gift to the world is the light spiritual.
Thus, in the past, we read in history that whenever there arose a greet conquering nation uniting the different races of the world, binding India with the other races, taking her out, as it were, from her loneliness and from her aloofness from the rest of the world into which she again and again cast herself, that whenever such a state has been brought about, the result has been the flooding of the world with Indian spiritual ideas. At the beginning of this century, Schopenhauer, the great German philosopher, studying from a not very clear translation of the Vedas made from an old translation into Persian and thence by a young Frenchman into Latin, says, "In the whole world there is no study so beneficial and so elevating as that of the Upanishads. It has been the solace of my life, it will be the solace of my death." This great German sage foretold that "The world is about to see a revolution in thought more extensive and more powerful than that which was witnessed by the Renaissance of Greek Literature", and today his predictions are coming to pass. Those who keep their eyes open, those who understand the workings in the minds of different nations of the West, those who are thinkers and study the different nations, will find the immense change that has been produced in the tone, the procedure, in the methods, and in the literature of the world by this slow, never-ceasing permeation of Indian thought.
But there is another peculiarity, as I have already hinted to you. We never preached our thoughts with fire and sword. If there is one word in the English language to represent the gift of India to the world, if there is one word in the English language to express the effect which the literature of India produces upon mankind, it is this one word, "fascination". It is the opposite of anything that takes you suddenly; it throws on you, as it were, a charm imperceptibly. To many, Indian thought, Indian manners; Indian customs, Indian philosophy, Indian literature are repulsive at the first sight; but let them persevere, let them read, let them become familiar with the great principles underlying these ideas, and it is ninety-nine to one that the charm will come over them, and fascination will be the result. Slow and silent, as the gentle dew that falls in the morning, unseen and unheard yet producing a most tremendous result, has been the work of the calm, patient, all-suffering spiritual race upon the world of thought.
Once more history is going to repeat itself. For today, under the blasting light of modern science, when old and apparently strong and invulnerable beliefs have been shattered to their very foundations, when special claims laid to the allegiance of mankind by different sects have been all blown into atoms and have vanished into air, when the sledge-hammer blows of modern antiquarian researches are pulverising like masses of porcelain all sorts of antiquated orthodoxies, when religion in the West is only in the hands of the ignorant and the knowing ones look down with scorn upon anything belonging to religion, here comes to the fore the philosophy of India, which displays the highest religious aspirations of the Indian mind, where the grandest philosophical facts have been the practical spirituality of the people. This naturally is coming to the rescue, the idea of the oneness of all, the Infinite, the idea of the Impersonal, the wonderful idea of the eternal soul of man, of the unbroken continuity in the march of beings, and the infinity of the universe. The old sects looked upon the world as a little mud-puddle and thought that time began but the other day. It was there in our old books, and only there that the grand idea of the infinite range of time, space, and causation, and above all, the infinite glory of the spirit of man governed all the search for religion. When the modern tremendous theories of evolution and conservation of energy and so forth are dealing death blows to all sorts of crude theologies, what can hold any more the allegiance of cultured humanity but the most wonderful, convincing, broadening, and ennobling ideas that can be found only in that most marvellous product of the soul of man, the wonderful voice of God, the Vedanta?
At the same time, I must remark that what I mean by our religion working upon the nations outside of India comprises only the principles, the background, the foundation upon which that religion is built. The detailed workings, the minute points which have been worked out through centuries of social necessity, little ratiocinations about manners and customs and social well-being, do not rightly find a place in the category of religion. We know that in our books a clear distinction is made between two sets of truths. The one set is that which abides for ever, being built upon the nature of man, the nature of the soul, the soul's relation to God, the nature of God, perfection, and so on; there are also the principles of cosmology, of the infinitude of creation, or more correctly speaking — projection, the wonderful law of cyclical procession, and so on — these are the eternal principles founded upon the universal laws in nature. The other set comprises the minor laws which guided the working of our everyday life They belong more properly to the Purânas, to the Smritis, and not to the Shrutis. These have nothing to do with the other principles. Even in our own nation these minor laws have been changing all the time. Customs of one age, of one Yuga, have not been the customs of another, and as Yuga comes after Yuga, they will still have to change. Great Rishis will appear and lead us to customs and manners that are suited to new environments.
The great principles underlying all this wonderful, infinite, ennobling, expansive view of man and God and the world have been produced in India. In India alone man has not stood up to fight for a little tribal God, saying "My God is true and yours is not true; let us have a good fight over it." It was only here that such ideas did not occur as fighting for little gods. These great underlying principles, being based upon the eternal nature of man, are as potent today for working for the good of the human race as they were thousands of years ago, and they will remain so, so tong as this earth remains, so long as the law of Karma remains, so long as we are born as individuals and have to work out our own destiny by our individual power.
And above all, what India has to give to the world is this. If we watch the growth and development of religions in different races, we shall always find this that each tribe at the beginning has a god of its own. If the tribes are allied to each other, these gods will have a generic name, as for example, all the Babylonian gods had. When the Babylonians were divided into many races, they had the generic name of Baal, just as the Jewish races had different gods with the common name of Moloch; and at the same time you will find that one of these tribes becomes superior to the rest, and lays claim to its own king as the king over all. Therefrom it naturally follows that it also wants to preserve its own god as the god of all the races. Baal-Merodach, said the Babylonians, was the greatest god; all the others were inferior. Moloch-Yahveh was the superior over all other Molochs. And these questions had to be decided by the fortunes of battle. The same struggle was here also. In India the same competing gods had been struggling with each other for supremacy, but the great good fortune of this country and of the world was that there came out in the midst of the din and confusion a voice which declared एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति — "That which exists is One; sages call It by various names." It is not that Shiva is superior to Vishnu, not that Vishnu is everything and Shiva is nothing, but it is the same one whom you call either Shiva, or Vishnu, or by a hundred other names. The names are different, but it is the same one. The whole history of India you may read in these few words. The whole history has been a repetition in massive language, with tremendous power, of that one central doctrine. It was repeated in the land till it had entered into the blood of the nation, till it began to tingle with every drop of blood that flowed in its veins, till it became one with the life, part and parcel of the material of which it was composed; and thus the land was transmuted into the most wonderful land of toleration, giving the right to welcome the various religions as well as all sects into the old mother-country.
And herein is the explanation of the most remarkable phenomenon that is only witnessed here — all the various sects, apparently hopelessly contradictory, yet living in such harmony. You may be a dualist, and I may be a monist. You may believe that you are the eternal servant of God, and I may declare that I am one with God Himself; yet both of us are good Hindus. How is that possible? Read then एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति — "That which exists is One; sages call It by various names." Above all others, my countrymen, this is the one grand truth that we have to teach to the world. Even the most educated people of other countries turn up their noses at an angle of forty-five degrees and call our religion idolatry. I have seen that; and they never stopped to think what a mass of superstition there was in their own heads. It is still so everywhere, this tremendous sectarianism, the low narrowness of the mind. The thing which a man has is the only thing worth having; the only life worth living is his own little life of dollar-worship and mammon-worship; the only little possession worth having is his own property, and nothing else. If he can manufacture a little clay nonsense or invent a machine, that is to be admired beyond the greatest possessions. That is the case over the whole world in spite of education and learning. But education has yet to be in the world, and civilisation — civilisation has begun nowhere yet. Ninety-nine decimal nine per cent of the human race are more or less savages even now. We may read of these things in books, and we hear of toleration in religion and all that, but very little of it is there yet in the world; take my experience for that. Ninety-nine per cent do not even think of it. There is tremendous religious persecution yet in every country in which I have been, and the same old objections are raised against learning anything new. The little toleration that is in the world, the little sympathy that is yet in the world for religious thought, is practically here in the land of the Aryan, and nowhere else. It is here that Indians build temples for Mohammedans and Christians; nowhere else. If you go to other countries and ask Mohammedans or people of other religions to build a temple for you, see how they will help. They will instead try to break down your temple and you too if they can. The one great lesson, therefore, that the world wants most, that the world has yet to learn from India, is the idea not only of toleration, but of sympathy. Well has it been said in the Mahimnah-stotra: "As the different rivers, taking their start from different mountains, running straight or crooked, at last come unto the ocean, so, O Shiva, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead unto These." Though they may take various roads, all are on the ways. Some may run a little crooked, others may run straight, but at last they will all come unto the Lord, the One. Then and then alone, is your Bhakti of Shiva complete when you not only see Him in the Linga, but you see Him everywhere. He is the sage, he is the lover of Hari who sees Hari in everything and in everyone. If you are a real lover of Shiva, you must see Him in everything and in everyone. You must see that every worship is given unto Him whatever may be the name or the form; that all knees bending towards the Caaba, or kneeling in a Christian church, or in a Buddhist temple are kneeling to Him whether they know it or not, whether they are conscious of it or not; that in whatever name or form they are offered, all these flowers are laid at His feet; for He is the one Lord of all, the one Soul of all souls. He knows infinitely better what this world wants than you or I. It is impossible that all difference can cease; it must exist; without variation life must cease. It is this clash, the differentiation of thought that makes for light, for motion, for everything. Differentiation, infinitely contradictory, must remain, but it is not necessary that we should hate each other therefore; it is not necessary therefore that we should fight each other.
Therefore we have again to learn the one central truth that was preached only here in our Motherland, and that has to be preached once more from India. Why? Because not only is it in our books, but it runs through every phase of our national literature and is in the national life. Here and here alone is it practiced every day, and any man whose eyes are open can see that it is practiced here and here alone. Thus we have to teach religion. There are other and higher lessons that India can teach, but they are only for the learned. The lessons of mildness, gentleness, forbearance, toleration, sympathy, and brotherhood, everyone may learn, whether man, woman, or child, learned or unlearned, without respect of race, caste, or creed. "They call Thee by various names; Thou art One."
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。