呼吁宽容
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中文
宽容之呼吁
（《孟菲斯商业报》，1894年1月17日）
昨晚，礼堂迎来了数量可观的听众，前来聆听著名印度教僧侣斯瓦米·辨喜就印度教所做的演讲。
演讲由R. J. 摩根法官以简短而富有内涵的致辞加以介绍。他概述了雅利安大族的发展历程——欧洲人与印度人皆由这一族群演化而来——从而在美国民众与即将向他们致词的演讲者之间勾勒出一种种族上的亲缘关系。
这位杰出的东方人受到热烈掌声的欢迎，听众始终聚精会神。他体格健壮，相貌端正，面部线条匀称，肤色如古铜，身材比例优美。他身着粉红色丝袍，腰系黑色腰带，黑色裤装，头上雅致地缠绕着一条黄色印度丝绸头巾。他的演讲风度极佳，在用词选择与语法结构方面，其英语堪称完美。唯一的发音不准，在于有时将词语的重音置于错误的音节之上。然而，专心的听众大概所失甚少，而他们的专注也得到了充分的回报——那是一篇充满原创思想、丰富信息与宏阔智慧的演讲。此篇演讲可被恰当地称为"普遍宽容的呼吁"，辅以关于印度宗教的评述加以阐明。他主张，这种精神——宽容与爱的精神——是一切有价值的宗教之核心灵感，也是任何形式的信仰所应实现的最终目标。
他关于印度教的讲述并非严格意义上的就事论事。他更多地是试图分析其精神，而非叙述其传说或描绘其仪式。他仅阐述了自己信仰的几个独特的信条或礼仪特征，但对这几点的解释极为清晰透彻。他生动地描述了印度教的神秘面向，正是从这一面向中生长出了那个经常被误解的轮回理论。他解释了他的宗教是如何超越时间的差异——正如所有人都相信灵魂的当下与未来，梵天的信仰同样相信灵魂的过去。他还清晰地阐明，他的信仰不相信"原罪"，而是将一切努力与抱负建立于对人类可臻于完善这一信念之上。改善与净化，他主张，必须以希望为基础。人的发展是回归一种原始完满的过程。这种完满必须通过实践圣洁与爱来实现。在此，他展示了他的民族如何践行这些品质，印度如何成为受压迫者的避难之所，并举出了提图斯洗劫耶路撒冷、摧毁圣殿时印度教徒接纳犹太人的例子。
他生动地讲述了印度教徒并不过于强调形式。有时，一个家庭中的每位成员会遵奉不同的教派，但所有人都通过崇拜爱之精神——上帝的核心属性——来礼拜上帝。他说，印度教徒认为一切宗教中皆有善，所有宗教都是人对圣洁之渴望的体现，因此都应受到尊重。他以《吠陀》中的一段话加以阐释：不同的宗教被比喻为形态各异的器皿，不同的人用它们到同一泉源打水。器皿的形状千种万样，然而所有人都在追求汲满真理之水。他认为，上帝知晓一切形式的信仰，无论以何种名称称呼他，无论以何种方式向他致敬，他都会认出自己的名字。
他继续说道，印度教徒与基督徒礼拜同一位上帝。印度教的三位一体——梵天（Brahma）、毗湿奴（Vishnu）、湿婆（Shiva）——不过是上帝作为创造者、维护者与毁灭者的化身。将三者视为三个独立存在而非一体，不过是因为普通大众的伦理必须以有形的方式呈现，从而产生的讹变。同样，印度教神祇的物质形象，也不过是神圣品质的象征。
他以讲述克里希纳的故事来阐释印度教的化身论——克里希纳由圣母所生，其故事与耶稣的故事颇为相似。他主张，克里希纳的教导是为爱而爱的学说，并以这句话加以表达："若说敬畏上帝是宗教的开端，那么爱上帝便是其终极。"
他的整篇演讲无法在此一一呈现，但那是一篇呼唤博爱、为一种美丽信仰所做的精彩辩护。结语部分尤为精彩——他表示，他愿意接受基督，但同样也必须向克里希纳和佛陀致敬；以及他以一幅文明之残酷的图景，拒绝将进步的罪行归咎于基督。
English
PLEA FOR TOLERANCE
(Memphis Commercial, January 17, 1894)
An audience of fair proportions gathered last night at the Auditorium to greet the celebrated Hindu monk. Swami Vive Kananda, in his lecture on Hinduism.
He was introduced in a brief but informing address by Judge R. J. Morgan, who gave a sketch of the development of the great Aryan race, from which development have come the Europeans and the Hindus alike, so tracing a racial kinship between the people of America and the speaker who was to address them.
The eminent Oriental was received with liberal applause, and heard with attentive interest throughout. He is a man of fine physical presence, with regular bronze features and form of fine proportions. He wore a robe of pink silk, fastened at the waist with a black sash, black trousers and about his head was gracefully draped a turban of yellow India silk. His delivery is very good, his use of English being perfect as regards choice of words and correctness of grammar and construction. The only inaccuracy of pronunciation is in the accenting of words at times upon a wrong syllable. Attentive listeners, however, probably lost few words, and their attention was well rewarded by an address full of original thought, information and broad wisdom. The address might fitly be called a plea for universal tolerance, illustrated by remarks concerning the religion of India. This spirit, he contended, the spirit of tolerance and love, is the central inspiration of all religions which are worthy, and this, he thinks, is the end to be secured by any form of faith.
His talk concerning Hinduism was not strictly circumstantial. His attempt was rather to give an analysis of its spirit than a story of its legends or a picture of its forms. He dwelt upon only a few of the distinctive credal or ritual features of his faith, but these he explained most clearly and perspicuously. He gave a vivid account of the mystical features of Hinduism, out of which the so often misinterpreted theory of reincarnation has grown. He explained how his religion ignored the differentiations of time, how, just as all men believe in the present and the future of the soul, so the faith of Brahma believes in its past. He made it clear, too, how his faith does not believe in "original sin," but bases all effort and aspiration on the belief of the perfectibility of humanity. Improvement and purification, he contends, must be based upon hope. The development of man is a return to an original perfection. This perfection must come through the practice of holiness and love. Here he showed how his own people have practiced these qualities, how India has been a land of refuge for the oppressed, citing the instance of the welcome given by the Hindus to the Jews when Titus sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple
In a graphic way he told that the Hindus do not lay much stress upon forms. Sometimes every member of the family will differ in their adherence to sects, but all will worship God by worshipping the spirit of love which is His central attribute. The Hindus, he says, hold that there is good in all religions, that all religions are embodiments of man's inspiration for holiness, and being such, all should be respected. He illustrated this by a citation from the Vedas [?], in which varied religions are symbolized as the differently formed vessels with which different men came to bring water from a spring. The forms of the vessels are many, but the water of truth is what all seek to fill their vessels with. God knows all forms of faith, he thinks, and will recognize his own name no matter what it is called, or what may be the fashion of the homage paid him.
The Hindus, he continued, worship the same God as the Christians. The Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, Siva is merely an embodiment of God the creator, the preserver and the destroyer. That the three are considered three instead of one is simply a corruption due to the fact that general humanity must have its ethics made tangible. So likewise the material images of Hindu gods are simply symbols of divine qualities.
He told, in explanation of the Hindu doctrine of incarnation, the story of Krishna, who was born by immaculate conception and the story of whom greatly resembles the story of Jesus. The teaching of Krishna, he claims, is the doctrine of love for its own sake, and he expressed [it] by the words "If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of religion, the love of God is its end."
His entire lecture cannot be sketched here, but it was a masterly appeal for brotherly love, and an eloquent defense of a beautiful faith. The conclusion was especially fine, when he acknowledged his readiness to accept Christ but must also bow to Krishna and to Buddha; and when, with a fine picture of the cruelty of civilization, he refused to hold Christ responsible for the crimes of progress.
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。