印度灵性思想在英国的影响
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中文
印度精神思想对英国的影响
1898年3月11日，辨喜主持了一场集会，席间尼维蒂塔修女（玛格丽特·伊丽莎白·诺布尔女士）在加尔各答星光剧院发表了题为"印度精神思想对英国的影响"的演讲。辨喜起身介绍诺布尔女士时，发表了以下讲辞：
女士们，先生们：
当我游历亚洲东部各国时，有一件事给我留下了特别深刻的印象——那就是印度精神思想在东亚各国的广泛传播。想象一下，当我在中日两国的寺庙墙壁上看到耳熟能详的梵文真言时，内心是何等惊喜；而当你们得知这些真言皆以古孟加拉文字镌刻，至今仍巍然矗立，作为我孟加拉先辈传教热忱与精神的历史见证，想必会更加欣慰。
除这些亚洲国家外，印度精神思想的影响如此深远而不可忽视，以至于即便在西方各国，我在深入探寻之后，也发现了这种影响力留存至今的踪迹。印度精神理念曾向东西两方传播，这已成为不争的历史事实。如今，世人皆知世界文明对印度精神的亏欠何其深重，印度精神力量在人类历史的过去与现在，是何等强大的推动因素。然而这些皆属往昔。我所发现的另一最令人瞩目的现象，是盎格鲁-撒克逊民族——这个奇异的种族——在推进文明、促进人道与社会进步方面，所展现出的无与伦比的力量。我甚至可以进一步说：若非这盎格鲁-撒克逊力量的存在，我们今日便不能聚于此处，共同探讨我们印度精神思想的影响。回到我们自己的国家，从西方归返东方，我看到了同样的盎格鲁-撒克逊力量在这里运作——尽管有其缺陷，却保留着其特有的优良品质。我相信，最终宏大的成果已然实现。英国式的扩张与进步理念正推动着我们向前，让我们记住：西方文明汲取自希腊这一源泉，而希腊文明的伟大理念乃是表达。在印度，我们善于思考——但不幸的是，我们有时思考得如此深沉，以至于再无力量去表达。因此，渐渐地，我们的表达力量在世界面前消失殆尽，其结果如何？结果便是——我们养成了将一切掩藏起来的习惯。这种掩藏的风气，最初从个人的习惯开始，最终演变为民族的积习——我们如此缺乏表达的力量，以至于如今被视为一个死去的民族。没有表达，我们如何生存？西方文明的脊梁，正是扩张与表达。我希望你们关注盎格鲁-撒克逊民族在印度所做工作的这一面向：它正唤醒我们的民族重新表达自己，并激励我们借助同一伟大民族所提供的传播手段，将隐藏的珍宝公诸于世。盎格鲁-撒克逊人为印度创造了一个未来，我们祖先理念如今驰骋的空间，实为前所未见。啊，当我们的先辈传递真理与救赎的信息时，他们拥有怎样的条件？啊，伟大的佛陀是如何宣扬普世博爱的崇高教义的？彼时，在我们挚爱的印度，确有促成真正幸福的优越条件，我们能够轻易将理念从世界的一端传递到另一端。如今我们甚至已触及盎格鲁-撒克逊民族。这正是当下正在进行的互动，我们发现我们的信息已被倾听，不仅被倾听，更获得了回应。英国已将她的一些杰出智识之士送来协助我们的使命。众人皆知、想必也熟悉的，是我的朋友缪勒女士，她此刻就在台上。这位出身良好、受过良好教育的女士，出于对印度的爱，将她的整个生命奉献给了我们，并以印度为家，以印度为家人。在座诸位皆熟悉那位高贵卓绝的英国女性的名字，她也将自己的一生奉献于为印度的利益与复兴而工作——我指的是贝赞特夫人。今天，我们在这个讲台上迎来两位来自美国的女士，她们怀抱同样的使命；我可以向你们保证，她们同样愿意奉献自己的生命，为我们这贫穷的国家尽一份力。我借此机会提醒你们，我们有一位同胞的名字——一位曾游历英美两国的人，一位我深具信心、尊敬与爱戴的人，他若非他处另有约定，本应出席今晚的集会——一位默默而坚定地为我们国家利益而工作的人，一位具有高度精神性的人——我指的是摩希尼·摩汉·查特吉先生。而今，英国又赐给我们另一份礼物——玛格丽特·诺布尔女士，我们对她寄予厚望。话不多说，我现在向你们介绍诺布尔女士，她将向各位致辞。
尼维蒂塔修女完成她精彩的演讲之后，辨喜起身说道：
我只有几句话要说。我们印度人有一个信念，认为我们能够有所作为；在印度人当中，我们孟加拉人也许会对这个信念付之一笑——但我不会。我的人生使命，就是在你们心中激起一场奋争。无论你是不二论者（Advaita），还是有资格的一元论者或二元论者，这并不十分要紧。但让我提醒你们注意一件事——我们往往忽略的一件事——那就是："啊，人啊，要信任你自己。"这才是我们信任上帝的途径。无论你是不二论者（Advaitist）还是二元论者，无论你是瑜伽体系的信奉者还是商羯罗思想的追随者，无论你是毗耶娑的门徒还是毗首弥多罗的信众，这都无关紧要。然而有一点至关重要：印度的思想在这一点上与世界所有其他地方皆有不同。让我们暂时记住：在所有其他宗教与所有其他国家，灵魂的力量被完全忽视——灵魂被视为几乎无力、软弱而惰性——而我们印度人则认为真我（Atman）是永恒的，并坚信它将在亿万劫中保持完整。我们应当时常铭记奥义书（Upanishads）的教导。
记住你生命中伟大的使命。我们印度人，尤其是孟加拉人，遭受了大量外来思想的侵袭，这些思想正在蚕食我们民族宗教的根基。为何我们今日如此落后？为何我们当中百分之九十九的人完全是外来思想与要素的产物？若我们想在民族阶梯上攀升，就必须将此抛弃。若我们想要崛起，我们还必须记住，我们有许多东西要向西方学习。我们应当学习西方的艺术与科学。从西方，我们要学习自然科学；而另一方面，西方则必须来向我们学习、吸收宗教与精神知识。我们印度教徒必须相信：我们是世界的导师。我们在这里高喊着要争取政治权利及诸多其他事物。很好。权利、特权与其他一切，只能通过友谊才能获得，而友谊只能在两个平等者之间存在。当一方沦为乞丐，又有何种友谊可言？这话说来容易，但我认为，若无相互合作，我们永远无法成为强大的人。因此，我必须呼吁你们走向英美两国，不是以乞丐的身份，而是以宗教导师的身份前往。交换的法则必须在我们的最大能力范围内得到贯彻。若我们要向他们学习如何在此生获得幸福，那么作为回报，我们岂不应当将使他们永恒幸福的方法与途径奉献给他们？首要之务，是为人类的福祉而工作。抛弃你那狭隘正统生活的所谓自豪。死亡在等待着每一个人，请记住这个最令人惊叹的历史事实——世界上所有民族都必须耐心地坐在印度的脚下，学习其文学中所蕴含的永恒真理。印度不死。中国不死。日本不死。因此，我们必须永远记住：我们的脊梁是精神性，为做到这一点，我们必须有一位导师（Guru）来为我们指引道路，那条我此刻正在谈论的道路。如果你们当中有人不相信，如果我们当中有一位印度教少年不愿相信他的宗教是纯粹的精神性，我不称他为印度教徒。我记得有一次在克什米尔的一个村庄，我轻声问一位年迈的穆斯林妇人："您信奉什么宗教？"她用自己的语言回答道："赞美上帝！蒙上帝慈悲，我是穆斯林。"然后我又问一位印度教徒："你的宗教是什么？"他直接回答说："我是印度教徒。"我记得《卡塔奥义书》中那个伟大的词汇——信力（Shraddha），即超凡的信心。信力的一个范例，可见于那奇科达（Nachiketa）的生命历程。宣扬信力或真诚信心的教义，是我生命的使命。让我再次向你们重申：这种信心是人类与一切宗教中最有力的因素之一。首先，要对自己有信心。要知道，即便一个是小小的气泡，另一个是山高的波浪，然而在气泡与波浪之后，是同一片无限的大海。因此，人人皆有希望。人人皆有救赎。每个人迟早都必须从幻象（Maya）的束缚中解脱出来。这是首要之事。无限的希望孕育无限的抱负。倘若这种信心降临于我们，它将带回我们的民族生命，如毗耶娑与阿周那时代——那个宣扬我们所有崇高人道主义教义的时代。今日，我们在精神洞见与精神思想方面远远落后。印度曾拥有丰沛的精神性，如此丰盛，以至于她的精神伟大使印度成为当时世界现存民族中最伟大的国家；倘若传统与希望可信，那些日子将再度来临，这有赖于你们。你们这些孟加拉青年，不要仰望那些拥有财富的富人与大人物。伟大而宏远的世界工程，皆由穷人完成。你们，孟加拉的穷人们，起来吧，你们能够做一切，你们必须做一切。尽管贫穷，许多人将效仿你们的榜样。要坚定，尤其要纯粹，要彻头彻尾地真诚。要对你的命运有信心。你们这些孟加拉青年，要担起印度救赎的工作。请记住，无论你们信与不信，不要以为这将在今日或明日实现。我相信它，正如我相信自己的身体与灵魂。因此，我的心向你们——孟加拉的青年们。这有赖于你们这些没有财富的人；正因为你们贫穷，你们才会工作。正因为你们一无所有，你们才会真诚。正因为你们真诚，你们才会准备好放弃一切。这正是我此刻要告诉你们的。我再一次向你们重申此言。这是你们的生命使命，也是我的生命使命。我不在乎你们接受何种哲学；我只愿在此证明：在整个印度，有一根相互缠绕的永恒信心的弦，贯穿着对人类完美性的信仰，而我自己也相信它。愿这种信心传遍整片大地。
English
THE INFLUENCE OF INDIAN SPIRITUAL THOUGHT IN ENGLAND
The Swami Vivekananda presided over a meeting at which the Sister Nivedita (Miss M. E. Noble) delivered a lecture on "The Influence of Indian Spiritual Thought in England" on 11th March, 1898, at the Star Theatre, Calcutta. Swami Vivekananda on rising to introduce Miss Noble spoke as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen ,
When I was travelling through the Eastern parts of Asia, one thing especially struck me — that is the prevalence of Indian spiritual thought in Eastern Asiatic countries. You may imagine the surprise with which I noticed written on the walls of Chinese and Japanese temples some well-known Sanskrit Mantras, and possibly it will please you all the more to know that they were all in old Bengali characters, standing even in the present day as a monument of missionary energy and zeal displayed by our forefathers of Bengal.
Apart from these Asiatic countries, the work of India's spiritual thought is so widespread and unmistakable that even in Western countries, going deep below the surface, I found traces of the same influence still present. It has now become a historical fact that the spiritual ideas of the Indian people travelled towards both the East and the West in days gone by. Everybody knows now how much the world owes to India's spirituality, and what a potent factor in the present and the past of humanity have been the spiritual powers of India. These are things of the past. I find another most remarkable phenomenon, and that is that the most stupendous powers of civilisation, and progress towards humanity and social progress, have been effected by that wonderful race — I mean the Anglo-Saxon. I may go further and tell you that had it not been for the power of the Anglo-Saxons we should not have met here today to discuss, as we are doing, the influence of our Indian spiritual thought. And coming back to our own country, coming from the West to the East, I see the same Anglo-Saxon powers working here with all their defects, but retaining their peculiarly characteristic good features, and I believe that at last the grand result is achieved. The British idea of expansion and progress is forcing us up, and let us remember that the civilisation of the West has been drawn from the fountain of the Greeks, and that the great idea of Greek civilization is that of expression. In India we think — but unfortunately sometimes we think so deeply that there is no power left for expression. Gradually, therefore, it came to pass that our force of expression did not manifest itself before the world, and what is the result of that? The result is this — we worked to hide everything we had. It began first with individuals as a faculty of hiding, and it ended by becoming a national habit of hiding — there is such a lack of power of expression with us that we are now considered a dead nation. Without expression, how can we live? The backbone of Western civilization is — expansion and expression. This side of the work of the Anglo-Saxon race in India, to which I draw your attention, is calculated to rouse our nation once more to express itself, and it is inciting it to bring out its hidden treasures before the world by using the means of communication provided by the same mighty race. The Anglo-Saxons have created a future for India, and the space through which our ancestral ideas are now ranging is simply phenomenal. Ay, what great facilities had our forefathers when they delivered their message of truth and salvation? Ay, how did the great Buddha preach the noble doctrine of universal brotherhood? There were I even then great facilities here, in our beloved India, for the attainment of real happiness, and we could easily send our ideas from one end of the world to the other. Now we have reached even the Anglo-Saxon race. This is the kind of interaction now going on, and we find that our message is heard, and not only heard but is being responded to. Already England has given us some of her great intellects to help, us in our mission. Every one has heard and is perhaps familiar with my friend Miss Müller, who is now here on this platform. This lady, born of a very good family and well educated, has given her whole life to us out of love for India, and has made India her home and her family. Every one of you is familiar with the name of that noble and distinguished Englishwoman who has also given her whole life to work for the good of India and India's regeneration — I mean Mrs. Besant. Today, we meet on this platform two ladies from America who have the same mission in their hearts; and I can assure you that they also are willing to devote their lives to do the least good to our poor country. I take this opportunity of reminding you of the name of one of our countrymen — one who has seen England and America, one in whom I have great confidence, and whom I respect and love, and who would have been present here but for an engagement elsewhere — a man working steadily and silently for the good of our country, a man of great spirituality — I mean Mr. Mohini Mohan Chatterji. And now England has sent us another gift in Miss Margaret Noble, from whom we expect much. Without any more words of mine I introduce to you Miss Noble, who will now address you.
After Sister Nivedita had finished her interesting lecture, the Swami rose and said:
I have only a few words to say. We have an idea that we Indians can do something, and amongst the Indians we Bengalis may laugh at this idea; but I do not. My mission in life is to rouse a struggle in you. Whether you are an Advaitin, whether you are a qualified monist or dualist, it does not matter much. But let me draw your attention to one thing which unfortunately we always forget: that is — "O man, have faith in yourself." That isle the way by which we can have faith in God. Whether you are an Advaitist or a dualist, whether you are a believer in the system of Yoga or a believer in Shankarâchârya, whether you are a follower of Vyâsa or Vishvâmitra, it does not matter much. But the thing is that on this point Indian thought differs from that of all the rest of the world. Let us remember for a moment that, whereas in every other religion and in every other country, the power of the soul is entirely ignored — the soul is thought of as almost powerless, weak, and inert — we in India consider the soul to be eternal and hold that it will remain perfect through all eternity. We should always bear in mind the teachings of the Upanishads.
Remember your great mission in life. We Indians, and especially those of Bengal, have been invaded by a vast amount of foreign ideas that are eating into the very vitals of our national religion. Why are we so backwards nowadays? Why are ninety-nine per cent of us made up of entirely foreign ideas and elements? This has to be thrown out if we want to rise in the scale of nations. If we want to rise, we must also remember that we have many things to learn from the West. We should learn from the West her arts and her sciences. From the West we have to learn the sciences of physical nature, while on the other hand the West has to come to us to learn and assimilate religion and spiritual knowledge. We Hindu must believe that we are the teachers of the world. We have been clamouring here for getting political rights ant many other such things. Very well. Rights and privileges and other things can only come through friendship, and friendship can only be expected between two equals When one of the parties is a beggar, what friendship can there be? It is all very well to speak so, but I say that without mutual co-operation we can never make ourselves strong men. So, I must call upon you to go out to England and America, not as beggars but as teachers of religion. The law of exchange must be applied to the best of our power. If we have to learn from them the ways and methods of making ourselves happy in this life, why, in return, should we not give them the methods and ways that would make them happy for all eternity? Above all, work for the good of humanity. Give up the so-called boast of your narrow orthodox life. Death is waiting for every one, and mark you this — the most marvellous historical fact — that all the nations of the world have to sit down patiently at the feet of India to learn the eternal truths embodied in her literature. India dies not. China dies not. Japan dies not. Therefore, we must always remember that our backbone is spirituality, and to do that we must have a guide who will show the path to us, that path about which I am talking just now. If any of you do not believe it, if there be a Hindu boy amongst us who is not ready to believe that his religion is pure spirituality, I do not call him a Hindu. I remember in one of the villages of Kashmir, while talking to an old Mohammedan lady I asked her in a mild voice, "What religion is yours?" She replied in her own language, "Praise the Lord! By the mercy of God, I am a Mussulman." And then I asked a Hindu, "What is your religion?" He plainly replied, "I am a Hindu." I remember that grand word of the Katha Upanishad — Shraddhâ or marvellous faith. An instance of Shraddha can be found in the life of Nachiketâ. To preach the doctrine of Shraddha or genuine faith is the mission of my life. Let me repeat to you that this faith is one of the potent factors of humanity and of all religions. First, have faith in yourselves. Know that though one may be a little bubble and another may be a mountain-high wave, yet behind both the bubble and the wave there is the infinite ocean. Therefore there is hope for every one. There is salvation for every one. Every one must sooner or later get rid of the bonds of Mâyâ. This is the first thing to do. Infinite hope begets infinite aspiration. If that faith comes to us, it will bring back our national life as it was in the days of Vyasa and Arjuna — the days when all our sublime doctrines of humanity were preached. Today we are far behindhand in spiritual insight and spiritual thoughts. India had plenty of spirituality, so much so that her spiritual greatness made India the greatest nation of the then existing races of the world; and if traditions and hopes are to be believed, those days will come back once more to us, and that depends upon you. You, young men of Bengal, do not look up to the rich and great men who have money. The poor did all the great and gigantic work of the world. You, poor men of Bengal, come up, you can do everything, and you must do everything. Many will follow your example, poor though you are. Be steady, and, above all, be pure and sincere to the backbone. Have faith in your destiny. You, young men of Bengal, are to work out the salvation of India. Mark that, whether you believe it or not, do not think that it will be done today or tomorrow. I believe in it as I believe in my own body and my own soul. Therefore my heart goes to you — young men of Bengal. It depends upon you who have no money; because you are poor, therefore you will work. Because you have nothing, therefore you will be sincere. Because you are sincere, you will be ready to renounce all. That is what I am just now telling you. Once more I repeat this to you. This is your mission in life, this is my mission in life. I do not care what philosophy you take up; only I am ready to prove here that throughout the whole of India, there runs a mutual and cordial string of eternal faith in the perfection of humanity, and I believe in it myself. And let that faith be spread over the whole land.
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。