在帕拉马库迪欢迎致辞的回复
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中文
帕拉玛库迪欢迎致辞的答复
帕拉玛库迪（Paramakudi）是离开拉姆纳德（Ramnad）后的第一站，那里举行了大规模的欢迎集会，并呈献了以下欢迎词：
室利·玛特·辨喜·斯瓦米（SREEMAT VIVEKANANDA SWAMI）
我们帕拉玛库迪的市民，恭敬地向您的圣洁致以最诚挚的欢迎，欢迎您在西方世界近四年的成功灵性战役之后，莅临此地。
对于促使您出席在芝加哥举行的宗教议会、并向宗教界代表们展示我们古老国土那神圣而隐秘之宝藏的博爱精神，我们与我们的同胞共同分享着那份喜悦与自豪。您通过对吠陀文献（Vedic literature）所含神圣真理的广博阐述，消除了西方开明人士对我们古老信仰所持有的偏见，并使他们信服了其普世性及其对各种智识类型、各个时代的适用性。
您的西方门徒们亲临我们中间，这是明确的证明——您的宗教教义不仅在理论上得到了理解，也在实践中结出了果实。您尊贵人格那磁石般的影响力，令我们想起那些通过苦行与自我克制实现了对真我（Self）之领悟的古代圣洁仙人们——他们是人类真正的向导与导师。
最后，我们最诚切地祈求全能者，愿您的圣洁长寿，继续护佑并在灵性上提升全人类。
谨致最诚挚的敬意。
我们恭谨自承为
您圣洁最顺从最虔诚的弟子与仆人。
斯瓦米在答复中说道：
对于你们以如此的热情与盛情接待我，我几乎无法表达我的谢意。但若允许我如此说，我还要补充一点：无论你们以最诚挚的热情接待我，还是将我逐出这个国家，我对我的国家——尤其是对我的同胞——的爱，都将是同等的。因为在《薄伽梵歌》（Gitâ，梵）中，室利·克里希纳（Shri Krishna）说——人应仅为工作本身而工作，为爱而爱。我在西方所做的工作极为有限；在座诸位中，没有一个人不能在西方做出比我多百倍的工作。我满怀急切地等待着那一天——强大的心灵将会崛起，灵性的巨人们将准备好从印度出发，走向大地的尽头，去传授灵性与舍离——那些从印度的森林中产生、属于印度土地独有的理念。
在人类历史上有这样的时期：整个民族似乎被一种对世界的厌倦所席卷，他们发现一切计划都从指缝间溜走，古老的制度与体系在尘埃中崩塌，一切希望都已枯萎，一切似乎都陷入混乱。建立社会生活的尝试已有两种：一种建立于宗教之上，另一种建立于社会必要性之上。一种建立于灵性之上，另一种建立于物质主义之上；一种建立于超越主义之上，另一种建立于现实主义之上。一种仰望这短暂物质世界的地平线之外，并大胆地在那里开始生活，甚至与另一种截然分开。另一种，即第二种，满足于在世间事物的基础上站立，并期望在其中找到稳固的立足点。奇怪的是，灵性的一方有时似乎占了上风，然后物质主义的一方又会如此——以波浪般的运动此起彼伏。在同一个国家内，会有不同的潮汐。某一时期，物质主义思想的满潮盛行，这一生中的一切——繁荣、能带来更多快乐与更多食物的教育——起初变得荣耀，然后便开始退化、堕落。随着繁荣，人类一切与生俱来的嫉妒与仇恨会被加热至白热化。竞争与无情的残酷将成为那个时代的口号。引用一句极为通俗而不甚雅致的英语谚语："人人为己，魔鬼拿走最后的人"，便成为那个时代的格言。然后人们认为整个生活方案已告失败。若非灵性前来拯救，伸出援手于沉沦的世界，这个世界将会毁灭。于是世界获得新的希望，为新的建筑找到新的基础，另一轮灵性的浪潮随之而来，而这浪潮随着时间再度衰退。一般而言，灵性带来一类人，他们对世界的特殊权力提出排他性的声索。这一现象的直接效果是引发反向的物质主义浪潮，而物质主义为不计其数的排他性声索敞开大门，直至最终，不仅民族的一切灵性力量，连同其一切物质力量与特权，都集中在极少数人手中；这极少数人踩踏在大众的颈项上，意图统治他们。于是社会不得不自救，物质主义前来拯援。
若你们审视我们的母土印度，便会看到同样的事情正在上演。你们今天聚集在此，欢迎一位前往欧洲传授吠檀多（Vedanta，梵）的人——若非欧洲的物质主义为此开辟了道路，这是不可能发生的。物质主义以某种意义上来说已前来拯救印度——通过向每个人开放生活的大门，通过摧毁种姓那排他性的特权，通过将那隐藏在极少数人手中——而这极少数人甚至已丧失了使用它们的能力——的无价宝藏公开讨论。一半已被盗取并失落；留存的另一半，掌握在像粮仓里的狗那样的人手中——他们自己不吃，也不让别人吃。另一方面，我们在印度正在为之奋斗的那些政治制度，在欧洲已存在了多个世纪，已被试验了数百年，并被发现有所欠缺。一个又一个与政治政府相关的制度、体系及一切，已被谴责为无用；欧洲在不安中徘徊，不知转向何处。物质的暴政是巨大的。一个国家的财富与权力集中在少数不事劳作、只操控着数百万人类劳动的人手中。凭借这种权力，他们可以用血水淹没整个地球。宗教与一切事物都在他们脚下；他们统治，高居于上。西方世界被一小撮夏洛克（Shylocks）所统治。你们听说的一切关于宪政政府、自由、民主与议会的事情，不过是笑话。
西方在夏洛克的暴政下呻吟，东方在祭司的暴政下呻吟；双方必须相互制衡。不要认为只有一方独力救世。在那公正的主的创造中，祂使宇宙中每一粒子都平等。最坏、最凶魔般的人，也有某些最伟大的圣者所不具备的美德；而最低下的蠕虫，也可能具有某些最高等的人所没有的东西。那在你们看来生活中享有极少乐趣的穷苦劳工，没有你们的智识，无法理解吠檀多哲学等等；但将你们的身体与他的比较，你们会发现，他的身体对疼痛并不像你们那样敏感。若他的身体受了严重的割伤，愈合速度也比你们的快得多。他的生命在感官之中，他在那里享受。他的生命也是一种均衡与平衡。无论从物质主义、智识，还是灵性的层面来看，主对每个人所给予的均等补偿，都是完全相同的。因此，我们不应认为我们是世界的救星。我们能教给世界许多东西，我们也能从世界那里学到许多东西。我们只能教给世界那些它正在等待的东西。若没有灵性的根基，整个西方文明将在未来五十年内土崩瓦解。试图以武力统治人类，是绝望而全然无用的。你们会发现，那些以强力统治的观念产生的中心，正是最先退化、堕落与崩溃的中心。欧洲，这物质力量显现的中心，若不注意改变其立场、转换其根基，使灵性成为其生命的基础，将在五十年内化为尘土。能拯救欧洲的，是奥义书（Upanishads，梵）的宗教。
撇开不同的宗派、哲学和经典，有一个共同的根本教义——对人之灵魂、对真我（Âtman）的信仰——这是我们所有宗派共有的；而这能够改变整个世界的走向。在印度教徒、耆那教徒与佛教徒中，实际上在印度到处都有这样的观念：有一个灵性的灵魂，它是一切力量的容器。你们都清楚地知道，印度没有任何一个哲学体系教导你们说力量、纯洁或完美是从外部获得的；相反，所有体系都告诉你们，这些是你们与生俱来的权利，是你们的本性。不纯洁不过是一种强加于上的附属物，在它之下，你们的真实本性被遮蔽了。但真实的你，已然是完美的，已然是强大的。你无须任何外在的辅助来管束自己；你已是自我约束的。差别仅在于知道这一点或是不知道这一点。因此，这唯一的困难被总结在"无明"（Avidyâ）一词中。是什么造成了神与人之间的差别，圣者与罪人之间的差别？唯是无明。最高等的人与在你脚下爬行的最低下的虫子之间，有什么差别？唯是无明。这造成了一切差别。因为在那小小的爬行虫子里，寄居着无限的力量、智慧与纯洁——神本身的无限神性。它尚未显现；它终将显现。
这是印度必须向世界传授的唯一伟大真理，因为它在世界上别处均不存在。这便是灵性，是关于灵魂的科学。是什么使人站立并工作？力量。力量是善，软弱是罪。若有任何一个词像炸弹一样从奥义书中迸发出来，如炮弹般爆炸于大片无明之中，那便是"无畏"（fearlessness）这个词。唯一应当被传授的宗教，是无畏的宗教。无论是在这个世界还是在宗教世界，恐惧确实是退化与罪的必然原因。恐惧带来苦难，恐惧带来死亡，恐惧滋生邪恶。是什么造成恐惧？对我们自己本性的无知。我们每一个人都是万王之王的王储；都是神本身的实质。是的，按照不二（Advaita，梵）的说法，我们本身就是神，只是在将自己视为小人物的思维中忘记了我们自己的本性。我们已从那本性中堕落，从而制造了差别——我比你略好一些，或你比我略好，如此等等。这种合一的观念，是印度必须给予的伟大教义；请注意，当这一点得到理解，它改变了事物的整个面貌，因为你是通过迥异于以往的眼睛来看待世界的。这个世界不再是每一个灵魂生来必须与其他每一个灵魂争斗、最强者获胜而最弱者走向死亡的战场。它成为一片游乐场，主在其中像孩子一样游戏，而我们是祂的玩伴，祂的共同劳作者。这不过是一场游戏，无论看起来多么可怖、多么凶险、多么危险。我们误解了它的面貌。当我们了解了灵魂的本性，希望便降临于最软弱者、最堕落者、最悲惨的罪人身上。唯有你们的经典（Shâstra）宣告：不要绝望。因为你们永远是同样的你们，无论你们做什么，你们都无法改变自己的本性。本性本身无法摧毁本性。你们的本性是纯洁的。它或许被遮蔽了数百万个时代，但最终它将征服并显现出来。因此，不二论为每一个人带来希望而非绝望。它的教导并非通过恐惧；它不传授那些始终伺机在你失足时将你抓住的魔鬼——它与魔鬼毫无关系——而是说，你已将自己的命运握在自己手中。你自己的业力（Karma，梵）为你制造了这个身体，没有任何人为你做这件事。全然遍在的主因无明而被遮蔽，责任在于你自己。你不应认为自己是在没有选择的情况下被带入这个世界并被抛在这最可怖之地的，而是要知道，你自己已一点一点地制造了你的身体，正如你此刻正在做的那样。你自己进食；没有任何人为你进食。你消化你所吃的食物；没有任何人为你做这件事。你从食物中制造血液、肌肉与身体；没有任何人为你做这件事。所以你一直都是这样做的。一条链中的一个环节，说明了无穷无尽的链。若你制造自己身体的某一刻是真实的，那么曾有过的或将要到来的每一刻，对你而言都是真实的。一切善与恶的责任都在你自身。这是巨大的希望所在。我所做的，我可以撤销。同时，我们的宗教并没有夺去人类主之慈悲。那始终存在。另一方面，祂站在善与恶这股奔涌洪流的旁边。那无拘束者、那永恒仁慈者，始终准备好助我们渡向彼岸，因为祂的慈悲是伟大的，它总是降临于心灵纯洁者身上。
你们的灵性，从某种意义上说，将必须构成新社会秩序的基础。若我有更多时间，我能向你们展示西方还有更多东西需要向不二论的某些结论学习，因为在这物质主义科学的时代，人格神的理想意义不大。然而，即便一个人对宗教有非常粗糙的理解，需要神庙与形式，他也可以随心所欲地拥有这些；若他想要一位人格神来爱，他在这里能找到世界上任何其他地方从未企及的最崇高的人格神观念。若一个人想要成为理性主义者，满足他的理性，他同样能在这里找到最理性的无人格者（Impersonal）的观念。
English
REPLY TO THE ADDRESS OF WELCOME AT PARAMAKUDI
Paramakudi was the first stopping-place after leaving Ramnad, and there was a demonstration on a large scale, including the presentation of the following address:
SREEMAT VIVEKANANDA SWAMI
We, the citizens of Paramakudi, respectfully beg to accord your Holiness a most hearty welcome to this place after your successful spiritual campaign of nearly four years in the Western world.
We share with our countrymen the feelings of joy and pride at the philanthropy which prompted you to attend the Parliament of Religions held at Chicago, and lay before the representatives of the religious world the sacred but hidden treasures of our ancient land. You have by your wide exposition of the sacred truths contained in the Vedic literature disabused the enlightened minds of the West of the prejudices entertained by them against our ancient faith, and convinced them of its universality and adaptability for intellects of all shades and in all ages.
The presence amongst us of your Western disciples is proof positive that your religious teachings have not only been understood in theory, but have also borne practical fruits. The magnetic influence of your august person reminds us of our ancient holy Rishis whose realisation of the Self by asceticism and self-control made them the true guides and preceptors of the human race.
In conclusion, we most earnestly pray to the All-Merciful that your Holiness may long be spared to continue to bless and spiritualist the whole of mankind.
With best regards.
We beg to subscribe ourselves,
Your Holiness' most obedient and devoted Disciples and Servants.
In the course of his reply the Swami said:
It is almost impossible to express my thanks for the kindness and cordiality with which you have received me. But if I may be permitted to say so, I will add that my love for my country, and especially for my countrymen, will be the same whether they receive me with the utmost cordiality or spurn me from the country. For in the Gitâ Shri Krishna says — men should work for work's sake only, and love for love's sake. The work that has been done by me in the Western world has been very little; there is no one present here who could not have done a hundred times more work in the West than has been done by me. And I am anxiously waiting for the day when mighty minds will arise, gigantic spiritual minds, who will be ready to go forth from India to the ends of the world to teach spirituality and renunciation — those ideas which have come from the forests of India and belong to Indian soil alone.
There come periods in the history of the human race when, as it were, whole nations are seized with a sort of world-weariness, when they find that all their plans are slipping between their fingers, that old institutions and systems are crumbling into dust, that their hopes are all blighted and everything seems to be out of joint. Two attempts have been made in the world to found social life: the one was upon religion, and the other was upon social necessity. The one was founded upon spirituality, the other upon materialism; the one upon transcendentalism, the other upon realism. The one looks beyond the horizon of this little material world and is bold enough to begin life there, even apart from the other. The other, the second, is content to take its stand on the things of the world and expects to find a firm footing there. Curiously enough, it seems that at times the spiritual side prevails, and then the materialistic side — in wave-like motions following each other. In the same country there will be different tides. At one time the full flood of materialistic ideas prevails, and everything in this life — prosperity, the education which procures more pleasures, more food — will become glorious at first and then that will degrade and degenerate. Along with the prosperity will rise to white heat all the inborn jealousies and hatreds of the human race. Competition and merciless cruelty will be the watchword of the day. To quote a very commonplace and not very elegant English proverb, "Everyone for himself, and the devil take the hindmost", becomes the motto of the day. Then people think that the whole scheme of life is a failure. And the world would be destroyed had not spirituality come to the rescue and lent a helping hand to the sinking world. Then the world gets new hope and finds a new basis for a new building, and another wave of spirituality comes, which in time again declines. As a rule, spirituality brings a class of men who lay exclusive claim to the special powers of the world. The immediate effect of this is a reaction towards materialism, which opens the door to scores of exclusive claims, until the time comes when not only all the spiritual powers of the race, but all its material powers and privileges are centred in the hands of a very few; and these few, standing on the necks of the masses of the people, want to rule them. Then society has to help itself, and materialism comes to the rescue.
If you look at India, our motherland, you will see that the same thing is going on now. That you are here today to welcome one who went to Europe to preach Vedanta would have been impossible had not the materialism of Europe opened the way for it. Materialism has come to the rescue of India in a certain sense by throwing open the doors of life to everyone, by destroying the exclusive privileges of caste, by opening up to discussion the inestimable treasures which were hidden away in the hands of a very few who have even lost the use of them. Half has been stolen and lost; and the other half which remains is in the hands of men who, like dogs in the manger, do not eat themselves and will not allow others to do so. On the other hand, the political systems that we are struggling for in India have been in Europe for ages, have been tried for centuries, and have been found wanting. One after another, the institutions, systems, and everything connected with political government have been condemned as useless; and Europe is restless, does not know where to turn. The material tyranny is tremendous. The wealth and power of a country are in the hands of a few men who do not work but manipulate the work of millions of human beings. By this power they can deluge the whole earth with blood. Religion and all things are under their feet; they rule and stand supreme. The Western world is governed by a handful of Shylocks. All those things that you hear about — constitutional government, freedom, liberty, and parliaments — are but jokes.
The West is groaning under the tyranny of the Shylocks, and the East is groaning under the tyranny of the priests; each must keep the other in check. Do not think that one alone is to help the world. In this creation of the impartial Lord, He has made equal every particle in the universe. The worst, most demoniacal man has some virtues which the greatest saint has not; and the lowest worm may have certain things which the highest man has not. The poor labourer, who you think has so little enjoyment in life, has not your intellect, cannot understand the Vedanta Philosophy and so forth; but compare your body with his, and you will see, his body is not so sensitive to pain as yours. If he gets severe cuts on his body, they heal up more quickly than yours would. His life is in the senses, and he enjoys there. His life also is one of equilibrium and balance. Whether on the ground of materialism, or of intellect, or of spirituality, the compensation that is given by the Lord to every one impartially is exactly the same. Therefore we must not think that we are the saviours of the world. We can teach the world, a good many things, and we can learn a good many things from it too. We can teach the world only what it is waiting for. The whole of Western civilisation will crumble to pieces in the next fifty years if there is no spiritual foundation. It is hopeless and perfectly useless to attempt to govern mankind with the sword. You will find that the very centres from which such ideas as government by force sprang up are the very first centres to degrade and degenerate and crumble to pieces. Europe, the centre of the manifestation of material energy, will crumble into dust within fifty years if she is not mindful to change her position, to shift her ground and make spirituality the basis of her life. And what will save Europe is the religion of the Upanishads.
Apart from the different sects, philosophies, and scriptures, there is one underlying doctrine — the belief in the soul of man, the Âtman — common to all our sects: and that can change the whole tendency of the world. With Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists, in fact everywhere in India, there is the idea of a spiritual soul which is the receptacle of all power. And you know full well that there is not one system of philosophy in India which teaches you that you can get power or purity or perfection from outside; but they all tell you that these are your birthright, your nature. Impurity is a mere superimposition under which your real nature has become hidden. But the real you is already perfect, already strong. You do not require any assistance to govern yourself; you are already self-restrained. The only difference is in knowing it or not knowing it. Therefore the one difficulty has been summed up in the word, Avidyâ. What makes the difference between God and man, between the saint and the sinner? Only ignorance. What is the difference between the highest man and the lowest worm that crawls under your feet? Ignorance. That makes all the difference. For inside that little crawling worm is lodged infinite power, and knowledge, and purity — the infinite divinity of God Himself. It is unmanifested; it will have to be manifested.
This is the one great truth India has to teach to the world, because it is nowhere else. This is spirituality, the science of the soul. What makes a man stand up and work? Strength. Strength is goodness, weakness is sin. If there is one word that you find coming out like a bomb from the Upanishads, bursting like a bomb-shell upon masses of ignorance, it is the word fearlessness. And the only religion that ought to be taught is the religion of fearlessness. Either in this world or in the world of religion, it is true that fear is the sure cause of degradation and sin. It is fear that brings misery, fear that brings death, fear that breeds evil. And what causes fear? Ignorance of our own nature. Each of us is heir-apparent to the Emperor of emperors; are of the substance of God Himself. Nay, according to the Advaita, we are God Himself though we have forgotten our own nature in thinking of ourselves as little men. We have fallen from that nature and thus made differences — I am a little better than you, or you than I, and so on. This idea of oneness is the great lesson India has to give, and mark you, when this is understood, it changes the whole aspect of things, because you look at the world through other eyes than you have been doing before. And this world is no more a battlefield where each soul is born to struggle with every other soul and the strongest gets the victory and the weakest goes to death. It becomes a playground where the Lord is playing like a child, and we are His playmates, His fellow-workers. This is only a play, however terrible, hideous, and dangerous it may appear. We have mistaken its aspect. When we have known the nature of the soul, hope comes to the weakest, to the most degraded, to the most miserable sinner. Only, declares your Shâstra, despair not. For you are the same whatever you do, and you cannot change your nature. Nature itself cannot destroy nature. Your nature is pure. It may be hidden for millions of aeons, but at last it will conquer and come out. Therefore the Advaita brings hope to every one and not despair. Its teaching is not through fear; it teaches, not of devils who are always on the watch to snatch you if you miss your footing — it has nothing to do with devils — but says that you have taken your fate in your own hands. Your own Karma has manufactured for you this body, and nobody did it for you. The Omnipresent Lord has been hidden through ignorance, and the responsibility is on yourself. You have not to think that you were brought into the world without your choice and left in this most horrible place, but to know that you have yourself manufactured your body bit by bit just as you are doing it this very moment. You yourself eat; nobody eats for you. You assimilate what you eat; no one does it for you. You make blood, and muscles, and body out of the food; nobody does it for you. So you have done all the time. One link in a chain explains the infinite chain. If it is true for one moment that you manufacture your body, it is true for every moment that has been or will come. And all the responsibility of good and evil is on you. This is the great hope. What I have done, that I can undo. And at the same time our religion does not take away from mankind the mercy of the Lord. That is always there. On the other hand, He stands beside this tremendous current of good and evil. He the bondless, the ever-merciful, is always ready to help us to the other shore, for His mercy is great, and it always comes to the pure in heart.
Your spirituality, in a certain sense, will have to form the basis of the new order of society. If I had more time, I could show you how the West has yet more to learn from some of the conclusions of the Advaita, for in these days of materialistic science the ideal of the Personal God does not count for much. But yet, even if a man has a very crude form of religion and wants temples and forms, he can have as many as he likes; if he wants a Personal God to love, he can find here the noblest ideas of a Personal God such as were never attained anywhere else in the world. If a man wants to be a rationalist and satisfy his reason, it is also here that he can find the most rational ideas of the Impersonal.
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。