吠檀多在印度生活中的应用
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吠檀多在印度生活中的应用
有一个词已成为我们民族与宗教的惯用称谓。"印度教徒"（Hindu）这个词，需要结合我所理解的吠檀多主义略加解释。"Hindu"一词，本是古代波斯人用以指称信德河（Sindhu）的名称。凡梵语中有"s"之处，在古波斯语中均变为"h"，因此"Sindhu"便成了"Hindu"；而众所周知，希腊人难以发"h"音，索性将其省去，于是我们便以"印度人"（Indians）之名为世人所知。如今，"Hindu"一词用以指称印度河彼岸的居民，无论其在古代具有何种含义，在现代已丧失其本来的意义——因为居住在印度河这一侧的人们，早已不再属于同一宗教。其中有正统印度教徒、穆斯林、帕西人、基督徒、佛教徒和耆那教徒。"Hindu"一词，从字面意义上讲，理应涵盖所有这些人；但作为宗教的称谓，将所有这些人都称为印度教徒，则未免不妥。因此，要为我们的宗教找到一个共同的名称，实属不易——因为这一宗教可以说是各种宗教、各种思想、各种仪式与形式的集合，几乎没有统一的名称，没有教会，也没有组织。或许我们各宗派唯一达成共识之处，便是都信奉经典——吠陀。可以确定的是，凡不承认吠陀最高权威者，均无权自称印度教徒。所有的吠陀，如诸位所知，分为两部分——业分（Karma Kânda）与智分（Jnâna Kânda）。业分包含各种祭祀与仪式，其大部分在当世已趋于废弃。智分，作为吠陀灵性教义的体现，即我们所熟知的奥义书（Upanishads）与吠檀多（Vedanta），历来被我们所有的导师、哲学家和著述者奉为最高权威，无论其为二元论者、限定不二论者，还是不二论者。无论持何种哲学或宗派，印度每一位思想者都必须在奥义书中寻找其立论依据。若做不到这一点，其宗派便会被视为异端。因此，在现代，也许能够称谓全印度所有印度教徒的名称，便是"吠檀多信奉者"（Vedantist）或"吠陀信奉者"（Vaidika）——就此而言，我始终以"吠檀多主义"与"吠檀多"这两个词来表达这一含义。我想将此阐述得更为清晰，因为近来大多数人已习惯将"吠檀多"一词等同于吠檀多哲学中的不二（Advaita）体系。众所周知，不二论不过是建立在奥义书基础之上的诸多哲学体系之一。限定不二论（Vishishtâdvaitic）的信奉者对奥义书的崇敬，丝毫不亚于不二论的信奉者；限定不二论者所主张的吠檀多权威，与不二论者所主张的同样充分。二元论者亦然；印度所有其他宗派亦无不如此。然而，在大众的心目中，"吠檀多信奉者"这一称谓已与"不二论者"在某种程度上混为一谈，或许也有其缘由——因为尽管我们以吠陀为经典，我们也有史论书（Smritis）与往世书（Purânas）这些后世著述来阐发吠陀的教义；这些著述当然不具备与吠陀同等的权威。规则是：凡往世书与史论书与天启书（Shruti）任何部分相抵触之处，须以天启书为准，将史论书弃置。如今，在伟大的不二论哲学家商羯罗（Shankara）及其所创学派的阐释中，我们发现所引权威大多出自奥义书，援引史论书的情形极为罕见，偶有援引，也不过是为了阐明在天启书中难以觅得的某一论点。另一方面，其他学派则愈来愈多地援引史论书，而对天启书的援引则愈来愈少；越是趋向二元论的宗派，我们便发现其援引史论书的比例愈高，与人们对一位吠檀多信奉者的期望相比，这种比例已大为失调。或许正是因为这些学派如此推崇往世书的权威，不二论者才被视为最纯粹意义上的吠檀多信奉者，借用西语来说，便是"par excellence"。
无论如何，"吠檀多"一词必须涵盖印度宗教生活的全部领域。作为吠陀的组成部分，它被普遍公认为我们现存最古老的文献——因为无论现代学者持何种看法，印度教徒并不准备承认吠陀的某些部分写于某一时代，另一些部分写于另一时代。他们自然仍坚守这一信念：吠陀整体产生于同一时代，或者更确切地说，它们从未被创作，而是永远存在于主的心中。这便是我对"吠檀多"一词的理解——它涵盖了印度的二元论、限定不二论与不二论。或许我们甚至可以将佛教的某些部分以及耆那教也纳入其中——只要他们愿意——因为我们的胸怀足够宽广。然而，是他们不愿归入，而非我们不予接纳；因为经过严格分析，你会始终发现，佛教的精髓全部借自同一部奥义书；甚至佛教那所谓伟大而奇妙的伦理学，也逐字逐句地存在于某部或某些奥义书之中；耆那教所有的善良教义，也都在其中，只是去除了其中的一些谬论。在奥义书中，我们还能找到印度此后一切宗教思想发展的萌芽。有时有人毫无依据地主张，奥义书中没有虔信（Bhakti）的理想。凡研究过奥义书者，都知道此言绝非事实。只要用心寻觅，每部奥义书中都有充分的虔信；但其中许多理念，后来在往世书及其他史论书中得到充分发展，在奥义书中不过尚处于萌芽状态。框架、骨架已然存在。某些往世书对其加以充实。然而，印度没有一种成熟的理想不能追溯到同一源头——奥义书。某些梵文学识不深的人，曾荒谬地试图将虔信追溯至某种外来源头；但正如诸位所知，这些尝试均已被证明是徒劳无功的。关于虔信，你所需要的一切，甚至在《本集》（Samhitas）中就已存在，更不用说奥义书了——崇拜、爱，以及其他一切，皆在其中；只不过虔信的理想愈来愈高远。在《本集》部分，时或可见恐惧与磨难之宗教的痕迹；在《本集》中，有时可以发现崇拜者在伐楼拿（Varuna）或某位神灵面前战栗不已。有时他们为罪恶的观念所深深折磨，而奥义书则没有为这些事物留下描绘的空间。奥义书中没有恐惧的宗教，有的是爱与智慧的宗教。
这些奥义书便是我们的经典。它们受到了不同的诠释，正如我已告诉诸位的那样，凡后世往世书文献与吠陀相抵触之处，往世书均须让步。然而在实际结果上，我们不得不承认，我们百分之九十是往世书的信奉者，百分之十是吠陀的信奉者——即便有这么多的话。我们发现，在我们之间流行着种种最相互矛盾的习俗，我们的社会中也盛行着种种宗教观念，在印度教经典中几乎找不到任何依据；而且在许多情况下，我们从书中读到，并以惊讶的眼光目睹这个国家的某些风俗，既无吠陀的依据，也无史论书或往世书的依据，不过是地方性的习惯而已。然而每一位无知的村民都认为，只要这一点点地方性习俗消亡，他便不再是一个印度教徒了。在他的心目中，吠檀多主义与这些细小的地方性习俗已不可分割地融为一体。在阅读经典时，他很难理解自己所做之事并无经典的认可，而放弃这些习俗非但不会伤害他，反而会使他成为一个更好的人。其次，还有另一重困难。我们的经典原本极为浩瀚。我们从帕坦伽利（Patanjali）那部伟大的语言学著作《大注》（Mahâbhâshya）中读到，《娑摩吠陀》（Sâma-Veda）曾有一千个支派。如今这些支派在哪里？无人知晓。每部吠陀皆是如此；这些典籍的绝大部分已经散佚，留存于我们手中的不过是小部分。它们曾由特定的家族守护，而这些家族或已灭绝，或在异族迫害下被杀戮，或以某种方式消亡；随之而去的，便是他们所守护的那一支派的吠陀学问。我们应当牢记这一事实，因为它始终是那些欲传播新说、乃至为有违吠陀之事辩护者手中的一块定海神针。凡印度各地出现地方习俗与天启书之间的争论，凡指出某一地方习俗有违经典之时，所提出的论据便是：并非如此，该习俗存在于已消亡的那一支派的天启书之中，因而自古便受到承认。在诠释和注解我们经典的种种方法纷呈之中，要找到贯穿其间的那一条线索，实属不易；因为我们立即便会确信，在所有这些纷繁的分支与派别之下，必定存在某种共同的基础——必定存在和谐，存在一套共同的方案，我们所有这些细小的建筑都是在此方案之上建造起来的；这一表面上如此混乱无序、我们称之为我们宗教的庞大整体之下，必定有某种共同的基础。否则，它不可能屹立至今，不可能延续如此之久。
再回到我们的注疏家，我们又发现了另一重困难。不二论的注疏家，每当遇到不二论的经文，便照实保留；但同一位注疏家，一旦遇到二元论的经文，若有可能便对其施以曲解，从中引申出最为奇特的含义。有时，"未生者"（Ajâ，即无生之物）竟被解读为"母羊"（Aja）——真是奇妙之至的变化。"Ajâ"（未生者）被解释为"Aja"（母羊）以迎合注疏家之意。同样，若非以更为拙劣的方式，二元论注疏家也会如此处置经文。每一段二元论经文都得到保留，而每一段谈及非二元论哲学的经文，则随其喜好加以曲解。梵语是如此繁复，吠陀梵语是如此古奥，梵语语言学又是如此精密，以至于关于一个词的含义，可以展开数代延绵不绝的讨论。若某位班智达（Pandit）执意如此，他可以凭借论据的力量与文本规则的引证，将任何人的胡言乱语诠释为正确的梵语。这便是我们理解奥义书所面临的种种困难。我有幸与一位既热诚于二元论、又热诚于不二论、既热诚于虔信、又热诚于智慧的人共同生活。正是与此人的共同生活，最初促使我产生了这样的念头：要独立地、以更好的方式去理解奥义书和经典的文本，而非盲目追随注疏家；而在我的思考与研究中，我得出的结论是，这些文本绝非相互矛盾。因此，我们完全无需担忧文本遭到曲解！这些文本是美丽的，是的，它们极为奇妙；它们并不相互矛盾，而是奇妙地和谐一致，一个理念引向另一个理念。但我所发现的一个事实是：所有奥义书都以二元论的理念为起点，以崇拜等形式开篇，而以不二论理念的宏大阐发作为终结。
因此，在此人生命的光照之下，我如今发现，二元论者与不二论者无须相互争斗。各有其位，在国家宗教生活中各有其重要的地位。二元论者必须存在，因为他与不二论者一样，都是国家宗教生活不可分割的组成部分。两者缺一不可；一者是另一者的完成；一者是建筑，另一者是顶端；一者是根，另一者是果，如此等等。因此，任何曲解奥义书文本的尝试在我看来都极为荒谬。我开始发现，这种语言是奇妙的。且不论其作为最伟大哲学的功绩，且不论其作为神学、作为向人类指示解脱之道的奇妙功绩——奥义书文献是世界上对崇高之境最为奇妙的描绘。在这里，人类心灵的那种个性得到了充分的彰显——那种内省的、直觉的印度心灵。在世界各地的各民族之中，我们也能见到对崇高的描绘，但几乎无一例外，你会发现他们的理想是通过肌肉去把握崇高。以弥尔顿、但丁、荷马或任何西方诗人为例，其中不乏极为壮丽崇高的段落；然而在那里，始终是凭借感官、肌肉去把握无限，是对无限扩张之理念、对空间无限的把握。我们在《本集》部分也能发现同样的尝试。诸位知道那些描绘创造的奇妙《梨俱》（Riks）——在那些诗句中，对扩张中的崇高与空间无限的表达，已达到极致。然而他们很快便发现，无限无法以那种方式触及，即便是无限的空间、扩张，以及无限的外在自然，也无法表达那些在他们心中挣扎着寻求表达的理念，于是他们转而寻求其他的诠释方式。奥义书中的语言焕然一新，几近否定，有时近于混沌，有时将你带至感官之外，指向某种你无法把握、无法感知的东西，而与此同时，你又深信它就在那里。世上有哪段文字可与此相比？——
न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चंन्द्रतारकं नेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः ।
——"在那里，太阳不能照耀，月亮与繁星亦然，闪电之光不能照亮那方所，遑论此世间之火焰。"再者，世上还有哪里能找到比这更完美地表达整个世界哲学的文字，表达印度人所思所想之精华，表达人类解脱之全部梦想，以更为奇妙的语言、更为瑰丽的意象描绘出来的呢？
व्दा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया समानं वृक्षं परिषस्वजाते ।
तयोरन्यः पिप्पलं स्वाव्दत्त्यनश्नन्नन्यो अभिचाकशीति ॥
समाने वृक्षे पुरुषो निमग्नोऽनीशया शोचति मुह्यमानः ।
जुष्टं यदा पश्यत्यन्यमोशमस्य महिमानमिति वीतशोकः ॥
व्दा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया समानं वृक्षं परिषस्वजाते ।
तयोरन्यः पिप्पलं स्वाव्दत्त्यनश्नन्नन्यो अभिचाकशीति ॥
समाने वृक्षे पुरुषो निमग्नोऽनीशया शोचति मुह्यमानः ।
जुष्टं यदा पश्यत्यन्यमोशमस्य महिमानमिति वीतशोकः ॥
在同一棵树上，栖息着两只羽毛华美、相互亲密的鸟儿：一只在啄食果实，另一只则静静地立于高处，宁静而沉默，不食任何果实——低枝上的那只鸟时而食甜果，时而食苦果，因此时而欢喜，时而悲苦；而高处的那只鸟，安详而威严，既不食甜果，也不食苦果，无关乎喜悦，无关乎痛苦，沉浸于自身的荣光之中。这便是人类灵魂的写照。人类贪逐黄金，沉溺于感官之乐，追逐人生的虚华——无望地、疯狂地奔驰而去。在其他地方，奥义书将人类灵魂比作车夫，将感官比作脱缰的狂马。人们追逐人生的虚华，如同这般——孩子们做着黄金般的美梦，最终发现不过是虚妄；老人们反刍着过往行为的残余，却依然不知如何挣脱这张罗网。这便是这个世界。然而，在每个人的生命之中，都有黄金时刻到来；在最深沉的悲苦之中，乃至在最深沉的欢喜之中，都有这样的时刻到来——遮蔽阳光的云层移开一角，我们不由自主地瞥见超越于彼处的某种东西——远远地超越感官的生活，远远地超越感官生活的虚华、欢喜与悲苦，远远地超越自然，超越我们对此世或彼世幸福的想象，远远地超越对黄金、名声、名誉或后代的一切渴求。人在这一瞥的瞬间停住了脚步，望见那另一只鸟——安详而威严，既不食甜果，也不食苦果，沉浸于自身的荣光，自足自满。正如《薄伽梵歌》（Bhagavad Gita）所云：
यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः आत्मन्येव च संतुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते ॥
——"那以真我（Atman）为乐、无求于真我之外、已在真我中获得满足之人，有何事可为？"他何须劳役？人瞥见一眼，随即又忘记，重又去啄食人生甜苦的果实；也许过一段时间，他又瞥见一眼，低处的鸟在一次次打击之后，愈来愈靠近高处的鸟。倘若他有幸遭受严酷的磨砺，他便愈来愈靠近他的伴侣——那另一只鸟，他的生命，他的友朋；当他向那只鸟靠近时，他发现那只高处之鸟的光辉在自己的羽翼周围流转；愈来愈近，愈来愈近——瞧！转化正在发生。他愈来愈近，发现自己仿佛在消融，直至彻底消失。他原本并非真实存在；那不过是另一只鸟的倒影——那只在飘动的叶影中安详而威严栖居的鸟。那一切荣光，都是那只高处之鸟的。他于是变得无所畏惧，完全满足，宁静祥和。奥义书通过这一比喻，将你从二元论带向最彻底的不二论境界。
可以援引无数例证，然而在此次演讲中，我们既无时间一一列举，也无时间展示奥义书那令人惊叹的诗意、对崇高的描绘以及宏阔的构想。但还有另一个理念是我必须指出的：语言、思想，以及一切，都是直接而来，落在你身上犹如一把利剑，如锤击般强劲有力。其含义无可误解。那音乐的每一个音符都是笃实的，都能产生其完整的效果；没有曲折迂回，没有疯狂的词藻，没有使头脑迷失其中的繁复。其中没有颓废的迹象——没有过度的寓言化，没有一个接一个堆砌的形容词，将含义愈埋愈深，直至所有意义尽失，头脑发晕，人在文字的迷宫中找不到出路。那时尚无此种风气。若说它是人类的文献，那它必定出自一个尚未丧失任何民族活力的种族之手。
力量，力量——这是奥义书在每一页中向我传递的声音。这是我在人生中所学到的一条伟大的教训；力量，它说，力量，人啊，不要软弱。人说：难道没有人类的软弱吗？奥义书答道：有，但是，更多的软弱能治愈软弱吗？你会用污垢洗去污垢吗？罪恶能消除罪恶，软弱能治愈软弱吗？力量，人啊，力量，奥义书说，站起来，要坚强。是的，这是世界上唯一一部文献，其中"Abhih"（无畏）这个词被反复使用；在世界上其他任何一部经典中，这个形容词既未被用于描述上帝，也未被用于描述人类。无畏！在我的脑海中，从历史的深处升起了西方那位伟大帝王——亚历山大大帝的形象。我仿佛从一幅画中看见，那位伟大的君主站在印度河岸边，与我们一位隐居林中的游方僧（Sannyâsin）交谈；那位老人，或许赤身裸体，坐在一块石头上，这位皇帝对其智慧惊叹不已，以黄金和荣华利禄诱他前往希腊。而这位老人轻蔑地一笑，拒绝了；于是皇帝以帝王之权威站起来说："若你不随我前往，我将杀死你。"而那位老人放声大笑，说："你从未像现在这样说出如此虚假之言。谁能杀死我？你杀我，物质世界的帝王！永远不能！因为我是灵，不生不灭：我从未出生，也从未死去；我是无限，是遍在，是全知；而你要杀我，孩子！"那便是力量，那便是力量！我愈是阅读奥义书，我的朋友们，我的同胞们，我愈是为你们哀恸——因为其中蕴含着伟大的实际意义。力量，这是我们所需要的力量。是谁来赋予我们力量？弱化我们的人有成千上万，故事我们已听得够多了。我们每一部往世书，若加以压榨，都能挤出足以填满世界四分之三图书馆的故事。一切可以削弱我们民族的东西，在过去一千年中我们已尽皆承受。仿佛在那段时期，国家生活只有一个目标：如何使我们愈来愈软弱，直至我们变成真正的泥虫，匍匐在每一个敢于踩踏我们的人脚下。因此，我的朋友们，作为你们的血脉，作为与你们同生共死之人，让我告诉你们：我们需要力量，力量，永远是力量。而奥义书便是这力量的伟大矿藏。其中蕴含着足以振奋整个世界的力量；整个世界都可以凭借它得到生机、变得强大、获得激励。它们将以号角之声呼唤所有种族、所有信仰、所有宗派中软弱的、悲苦的、被践踏的人们，叫他们站立起来，自由地生活。自由——身体的自由、心灵的自由、灵魂的自由——这是奥义书的旗帜。
是的，这是世界上唯一的一部经典，它所讲述的不是救赎，而是自由。要从自然的束缚中自由，要从软弱中自由！它向你展示，这自由早已在你自身之内。这是其教义的另一独特之处。你是二元论者，不要紧，你仍然必须承认，就其本性而言，灵魂是完美的；只是由于灵魂的某些作为，它才变得收缩了。确实，罗摩奴阇（Râmânuja）关于收缩与扩张的理论，正是现代进化论者所称的进化与返祖。灵魂退缩，仿佛收缩，其能力变为潜在；通过善业与善念，它再度扩张，显露其自然的完美。就不二论者而言，唯一的区别在于，他承认自然的进化，而非灵魂的进化。假设有一道屏风，屏风上有一个小孔。我是一个站在屏风后面的人，从这里望向这宏大的集会。我只能看见这里极少数的面孔。假设这个孔扩大了；随着它的扩大，这集会的愈来愈多的部分向我显现，当这个孔与屏风完全合一时，你和我之间便什么都没有了。在这种情况下，你没有改变，我也没有改变；一切改变都在屏风之中。你从头至尾始终如一；变化的只是屏风。这便是不二论者对于进化的立场——自然的进化，以及内在自我的显现。并非说自我可以以任何方式被迫收缩。它是不变的，无限的一。它仿佛被一层面纱所覆盖，那便是幻力（Maya）的面纱；随着这幻力面纱愈来愈薄，灵魂与生俱来的、自然的荣光便愈来愈充分地显露出来。这是世界等待从印度学习的一个伟大教义。无论他们说什么，无论他们如何自矜，他们终将日复一日地发现，没有任何社会能够在不承认这一点的情况下维系。难道你看不到一切都在发生革命性的变化吗？难道你没有注意到，过去习惯于认定一切都是邪恶的，直至被证明是善良的吗？在教育中，在惩治罪犯中，在对待精神病人中，乃至在治疗普通疾病中，这曾是旧法则。现代的法则是什么？现代的法则说，身体本身是健康的，它凭借自身的本性来治愈疾病。医药充其量只能帮助储蓄身体中最好的东西。它对于罪犯是怎么说的？它认定，无论一个罪犯多么堕落，其中仍有神性存在，不会改变，我们必须据此对待罪犯。所有这些事物如今都在改变，感化院和监狱也在相应地设立。万事皆是如此。有意识或无意识地，关于每个人内在神性的那个印度理念，正在其他国家也逐渐表达和彰显。而在你们的书中，有着其他民族不得不接受的解释。一个人对另一个人的对待，将会彻底发生革命性的转变；那些古老的、关于人类软弱性的陈旧理念，将不得不离去。它们将在本世纪内宣告终结。现在，人们或许会站出来批判我们。我曾被来自世界各地的人批评，说我宣扬"没有罪恶"这一魔鬼般的理念！很好。这些人的后代将会称颂我是美德的宣扬者，而非罪恶的宣扬者。我是美德的导师，不是罪恶的导师。我以身为光明的宣讲者为荣，而非黑暗的宣讲者。
世界正等待从我们奥义书中汲取的第二个伟大理念，是这个宇宙的同一性。古老的分隔与区分的界线正在迅速消弭。电力与蒸汽动力将世界各个部分纳入相互沟通之中；其结果是，我们印度教徒不再说本国之外的每片土地都充斥着恶魔与妖怪，基督教国家的人们也不再说印度不过是食人族与蛮人的地方。当我们走出国门，我们发现同样的兄弟，用同样有力的手来援助，用同样的嘴唇道一声"一路平安"；有时他们比我们出生的国度中的人更好。当他们来到这里，他们发现同样的兄弟情谊，同样的热情，同样的"一路平安"。我们的奥义书说，一切苦难的根源是无明（Avidya）；这话用在生活的每一种状态——无论是社会的还是灵性的——都是完全正确的。正是无明使我们彼此憎恨，正是通过无明，我们不了解彼此，不爱彼此。一旦我们彼此相知，爱便来了，必然到来——因为我们难道不是一体的吗？这样，我们便看到，同一性在无意间也正在到来。即便是在政治与社会学中，二十年前仅属一国之内的问题，如今也不再能够仅凭国家层面的方案加以解决。它们正在呈现出庞大的比例、巨人般的形态。只有在更宽广的国际视角下加以审视，才能找到解决之道。国际组织、国际联合、国际法律，乃是当今时代的呼声。这显示了同一性。在科学领域，人们每天都在走向对物质的类似的宽广认识。你们谈及物质，整个宇宙不过是一团物质，一片物质的汪洋大海，你、我、太阳与月亮，以及其他一切，不过是其中不同的小漩涡的名称，此外什么也不是。就心灵而言，它是一片普遍的思想之洋，你和我不过是其中类似的小漩涡；而就灵而言，它不动，它不变。它是那唯一的不变的、完整的、同质的真我（Atman）。对道德的呼唤也在到来，这也能在我们的书籍中找到。道德的解释，伦理的源泉，世界也需要这些；这些，它都将从这里获得。
我们印度需要什么？若外国人需要这些东西，我们需要二十倍之多。因为，尽管奥义书的伟大，尽管我们以圣哲的祖先自豪，与许多其他种族相比，我必须告诉你们，我们是软弱的，非常软弱。首先是我们的身体虚弱。身体虚弱至少是我们苦难的三分之一的原因。我们懒惰，不能劳作；我们不能团结，我们不爱彼此；我们极度自私，三个人凑在一起，便开始彼此憎恨，彼此嫉妒。这便是我们的状态——无可救药地分崩离析的乌合之众，极度自私，数百年来为争论额头上的印记究竟该画成这样还是那样而彼此争斗，就一个陌生人的眼神是否会污染我的食物这类重大问题写下洋洋大观的著述！在过去几个世纪中，我们一直在做这样的事情。我们不能期望一个民族能够有什么崇高的成就，如果它的全部脑力都花费在如此奇妙美丽的问题与研究上！难道我们不为自己感到羞愧吗？有时是的；但尽管我们认为这些事情微不足道，我们却无法放弃它们。我们讲了很多话，却从不付诸实践；说而不做已成为我们的习惯。原因何在？身体的虚弱。这种孱弱的头脑什么都做不了；我们必须使它强健起来。首先，我们的青年必须强健。宗教来日再说。要坚强，我的年轻朋友们——这是我给你们的忠告。你们通过踢足球比通过研读《薄伽梵歌》（Bhagavad Gita）更能接近天堂。这些话是大胆的，但我必须说出来，因为我爱你们。我知道鞋子夹在哪里。我已积累了一点点经验。你们肱二头肌更有力量，肌肉稍强一些，就能更好地理解《薄伽梵歌》。你们有了更多的热血流淌，就能更好地理解克里希纳（Krishna）那伟大的天才与伟大的力量。当你们的身体稳稳地立于自己的双脚之上，当你们感受到自己作为人的尊严时，你们就能更好地理解奥义书，以及真我（Atman）的荣光。这样，我们才能将这些应用于我们的需要。
许多人对我宣讲不二论（Advaitism）感到厌倦。我并非有意宣扬不二论、二元论，或世间任何一种"主义"。我们如今所需要的唯一"主义"，是关于灵魂的这一奇妙理念——灵魂永恒的威力、永恒的力量、永恒的纯净与永恒的完美。若我有一个孩子，我会从其呱呱坠地之日起便告诉他："你是纯净的。"你们读过某部往世书中那个关于摩陀罗萨（Madâlasâ）王后的美丽故事——她如何亲手将婴儿放入摇篮，随着摇篮来回摇晃，开始唱歌："你是纯净的，是无垢的，是无罪的，是大能的，是伟大的。"是的，其中有深意。感受到你的伟大，你便会变得伟大。我在世界各地的亲身经历究竟是什么，这是问题所在。人们也许会谈论罪人——若所有英格兰人真的相信自己是罪人，英格兰人便不会比中非的黑人好多少。感谢上天，他们并不相信这一点！另一方面，英格兰人相信自己生来便是世界的主宰。他相信自己是伟大的，能在世间成就一切；若他想前往太阳或月亮，他相信自己能做到；正是这一信念使他变得伟大。若他相信其神职人员所说的，认为自己是一个可怜悲苦的罪人，注定要在来世烈火中煎熬，他便不会成为今日这样的英格兰人。因此，我发现在每一个民族之中，尽管有神职人员和迷信的存在，内在的神性依然活着并彰显自身。我们失去了信念。你们会相信我吗——我们的信念比英格兰男女的信念少了一千倍！这些话是直白的，但我不得不说。难道你们没有看到，当英格兰男女接触到我们的理想时，他们仿佛发狂了；尽管他们是统治阶级，他们仍不顾同胞的嘲笑与讥讽，来到印度宣扬我们自己的宗教？你们有多少人能做到这一点？你们为何不能做到？你们不知道吗？你们比他们更有学问，你们比对你们有益的程度更加睿智，这便是你们的困难所在！只因你们的血液不过如水，你们的大脑正在腐朽，你们的身体是虚弱的！你们必须改变身体。身体的虚弱是原因，除此之外别无其他。在过去百年中，你们谈了各种改革，各种理想，种种种种；然而到了付诸实践之时，你们却无处可寻——直至你们令整个世界厌倦，"改革"这个名称本身也成了笑柄！原因何在？你们难道不知道吗？你们太清楚了。唯一的原因就是你们软弱，软弱，软弱；你们的身体软弱，你们的心灵软弱，你们对自己没有信念！数百年，上千年，种姓制度、王权和异族的压迫，以及你们自己人的压制，已将你们所有的力量榨干，我的同胞们。你们的脊梁已断，你们如同被践踏的蠕虫。谁来给你们力量？让我告诉你们，力量，力量，这是我们所需要的。获得力量的第一步，是高举奥义书，并相信——"我是灵魂"，"刀剑不能斩断我，武器不能刺穿我，火焰不能燃烧我，风不能使我干涸；我是全能的，我是全知的。"如此反复这些神圣的、救赎性的词句。不要说我们软弱；我们能做任何事，能成就一切。我们不能做什么？一切皆可为；我们都拥有同样荣耀的灵魂，让我们相信它。要有信念，如那奇迦达（Nachiketa）一般。在其父献祭之时，信念降临于那奇迦达；我多么希望这信念能够降临于你们每一个人；我希望你们每一个人都能挺立如巨人，作为世界的推动者，拥有宏大的智慧——在每一方面都是无限的神。这便是我希望你们成为的。这便是你们从奥义书中获得的力量，这便是你们从那里获得的信念。
然而，这不过是为游方僧（Sannyâsin）而设！秘法（Rahasya）！奥义书掌握在游方僧手中；他走入林中！商羯罗心存宽悯，说家主（Grihasthas）也可以研读奥义书，对他们有益，无害。然而理念依然是，奥义书所谈论的不过是遁世隐居者的林中生活。正如我曾经告诉过诸位的那样，对吠陀唯一的权威性注疏，已由那吠陀的启示者——克里希纳（Krishna）在《薄伽梵歌》中一劳永逸地完成了。它存在于生活中每一种职业的每一个人面前。吠檀多的这些理念，必须走出来，不能只停留于林中，只停留于山洞，它们必须走出来，在法庭和审判席上发挥作用，在讲坛上，在穷人的茅屋中，与捕鱼的渔夫在一起，与求学的学生在一起。它们呼唤每一个男人、女人与孩子，无论其职业如何，无论其身处何方。有何可惧？渔夫和其他所有人如何能奉行奥义书的理想？道路已经指明。它是无限的；宗教是无限的，无人能超越其极；你所诚心诚意做的每一件事，对你都是有益的。即便是极细小的事，做好了也能带来奇妙的结果；因此，让每个人都尽其所能地去做吧。若渔夫认为自己是灵，他便会成为更好的渔夫；若学生认为自己是灵，他便会成为更好的学生；若律师认为自己是灵，他便会成为更好的律师，如此等等。其结果将是，种姓将永远存续。社会按群体自我组织，乃是其本性；将要消失的是这些特权。种姓是自然的秩序；我能在社会生活中承担一种职责，你能承担另一种；你能治理一个国家，我能修补一双旧鞋，但这并不意味着你比我更伟大——因为你能修鞋吗？我能治国吗？我善于修鞋，你善于诵读吠陀，但这并不意味着你有理由践踏我的头颅。若一个人犯了谋杀罪却受到称颂，而另一个人偷了一个苹果却遭到绞刑，这将不得不改变。种姓是好的。那是解决人生的唯一自然方式。人必须形成群体，你无法摆脱这一点。无论你走到哪里，都有种姓存在。但这并不意味着这些特权应当存在。它们应当被打倒。若你向渔夫传授吠檀多，他会说，我与你一样是个男人；我是渔夫，你是哲学家，但我内在的神与你内在的神是同一个。这便是我们所需要的——任何人都不应有特权，人人享有平等的机会；让每个人都被教导，神性在内，则每个人都会成就自身的解脱（Moksha）。
自由是成长的首要条件。若你们中有任何人胆敢说"我将使这个女人或孩子得到解脱"，那是错误的，错误了一千次。人们再三问我对寡妇问题的看法，以及我对妇女问题的看法。让我一次性回答——我是寡妇吗，你来问我这无聊的话？我是女人吗，你来反复问我这个问题？你是谁，来解决女性的问题？你是上帝吗，要主宰每一个寡妇和每一个女人？双手放开！她们自己会解决自己的问题。哦，专制者们，妄想着能为任何人做任何事！双手放开！神将看顾一切。你是谁，以为自己无所不知？哦，亵渎者，你怎敢认为自己有权力凌驾于神之上？难道你不知道，每一个灵魂都是神的灵魂吗？管好你自己的业力（Karma）；你身上有沉重的业力需要消化。你的民族或许将你奉上神坛，你的社会或许将你捧上云端，蠢人或许称颂你；然而神不曾沉睡，报应必将随之而来，无论是在今世还是来世。
将每一个男人、每一个女人、每一个人都视为神。你不能帮助任何人，你只能服侍：服侍主的子女，若你有此殊荣，便服侍主本身。若主恩准你能帮助祂任何一个孩子，你便是有福的；不要过于看重自己。你是有福的，因为当别人没有这份殊荣时，这份殊荣被赐予了你。只是将此作为一种礼拜来做。我应当在穷人身上见到神，而我去礼拜他们，是为了我自己的解脱（Moksha）。穷人与苦难者是为了我们的解脱而存在的，使我们能够服侍主——主以患病者的形态显现，以疯癫者的形态显现，以麻风病人的形态显现，以罪人的形态显现！我的话是大胆的；让我再次说，我们被允许以这一切形态服侍主，这是我们生命中最大的殊荣。放弃那认为通过统治他人便能对其有所裨益的念头。你所能做的，不过如同对待植物一样；你可以为生长中的种子提供形成其躯体所需的材料，将泥土、水、空气送到它所需之处。它将凭借自身的本性吸收它所需要的一切。它将凭借自身的本性同化并成长。
将一切光明带到这个世界。光明，带来光明！让光明降临于每一个人；这任务直到每一个人都到达主的面前，才算完成。将光明带给穷人，将更多的光明带给富人，因为他们比穷人更需要光明。将光明带给无知者，将更多的光明带给受过教育者，因为我们时代的教育的虚华是极为可观的！如此将光明带给所有人，其余一切交托于主——因为用同一位主的话来说："你有权去劳作，但无权索取其果实。""不要让你的工作为你带来结果，同时愿你永不无所事事。"
愿那在远古时代将如此崇高的理念赐予我们祖先的神，帮助我们获得力量，将祂的训诫付诸实践！
English
VEDANTA IN ITS APPLICATION TO INDIAN LIFE
There is a word which has become very common as an appellation of our race and our religion. The word "Hindu" requires a little explanation in connection with what I mean by Vedantism. This word "Hindu" was the name that the ancient Persians used to apply to the river Sindhu. Whenever in Sanskrit there is an "s", in ancient Persian it changes into "h", so that "Sindhu" became "Hindu"; and you are all aware how the Greeks found it hard to pronounce "h" and dropped it altogether, so that we became known as Indians. Now this word "Hindu" as applied to the inhabitants of the other side of the Indus, whatever might have been its meaning in ancient times has lost all its force in modern times; for all the people that live on this side of the Indus no longer belong to one religion. There are the Hindus proper, the Mohammedans, the Parsees, the Christians, the Buddhists, and Jains. The word "Hindu" in its literal sense ought to include all these; but as signifying the religion, it would not be proper to call all these Hindus. It is very hard, therefore, to find any common name for our religion, seeing that this religion is a collection, so to speak, of various religions, of various ideas, of various ceremonials and forms, all gathered together almost without a name, and without a church, and without an organisation. The only point where, perhaps, all our sects agree is that we all believe in the scriptures — the Vedas. This perhaps is certain that no man can have a right to be called a Hindu who does not admit the supreme authority of the Vedas. All these Vedas, as you are aware, are divided into two portions — the Karma Kânda and the Jnâna Kânda. The Karma Kanda includes various sacrifices and ceremonials, of which the larger part has fallen into disuse in the present age. The Jnana Kanda, as embodying the spiritual teachings of the Vedas known as the Upanishads and the Vedanta, has always been cited as the highest authority by all our teachers, philosophers, and writers, whether dualist, or qualified monist, or monist. Whatever be his philosophy or sect, every one in India has to find his authority in the Upanishads. If he cannot, his sect would be heterodox. Therefore, perhaps the one name in modern times which would designate every Hindu throughout the land would be "Vedantist" or "Vaidika", as you may put it; and in that sense I always use the words "Vedantism" and "Vedanta". I want to make it a little clearer, for of late it has become the custom of most people to identify the word Vedanta with the Advaitic system of the Vedanta philosophy. We all know that Advaitism is only one branch of the various philosophic systems that have been founded on the Upanishads. The followers of the Vishishtâdvaitic system have as much reverence for the Upanishads as the followers of the Advaita, and the Vishishtadvaitists claim as much authority for the Vedanta as the Advaitist. So do the dualists; so does every other sect in India. But the word Vedantist has become somewhat identified in the popular mind with the word Advaitist, and perhaps with some reason, because, although we have the Vedas for our scriptures, we have Smritis and Purânas — subsequent writings — to illustrate the doctrines of the Vedas; these of course have not the same weight as the Vedas. And the law is that wherever these Puranas and Smritis differ from any part of the Shruti, the Shruti must be followed and the Smriti rejected. Now in the expositions of the great Advaitic philosopher Shankara, and the school founded by him, we find most of the authorities cited are from the Upanishads, very rarely is an authority cited from the Smritis, except, perhaps, to elucidate a point which could hardly be found in the Shrutis. On the other hand, other schools take refuge more and more in the Smritis and less and less in the Shrutis; and as we go to the more and more dualistic sects, we find a proportionate quantity of the Smritis quoted, which is out of all proportion to what we should expect from a Vedantist. It is, perhaps, because these gave such predominance to the Paurânika authorities that the Advaitist came to be considered as the Vedantist par excellence, if I may say so.
However it might have been, the word Vedanta must cover the whole ground of Indian religious life, and being part of the Vedas, by all acceptance it is the most ancient literature that we have; for whatever might be the idea of modern scholars, the Hindus are not ready to admit that parts of the Vedas were written at one time and parts were written at another time. They of course still hold on to their belief that the Vedas as a whole were produced at the same time, rather if I may say so, that they were never produced, but that they always existed in the mind of the Lord. This is what I mean by the word Vedanta, that it covers the ground of dualism, of qualified monism, and Advaitism in India. Perhaps we may even take in parts of Buddhism, and of Jainism too, if they would come in — for our hearts are sufficiently large. But it is they that will not come in, we are ready for upon severe analysis you will always find that the essence of Buddhism was all borrowed from the same Upanishads; even the ethics, the so-called great and wonderful ethics of Buddhism, were there word for word, in some one or other of the Upanishads; and so all the good doctrines of the Jains were there, minus their vagaries. In the Upanishads, also, we find the germs of all the subsequent development of Indian religious thought. Sometimes it has been urged without any ground whatsoever that there is no ideal of Bhakti in the Upanishads. Those that have been students of the Upanishads know that that is not true at all. There is enough of Bhakti in every Upanishad if you will only seek for it; but many of these ideas which are found so fully developed in later times in the Puranas and other Smritis are only in the germ in the Upanishads. The sketch, the skeleton, was there as it were. It was filled in in some of the Puranas. But there is not one full-grown Indian ideal that cannot be traced back to the same source — the Upanishads. Certain ludicrous attempts have been made by persons without much Upanishadic scholarship to trace Bhakti to some foreign source; but as you know, these have all been proved to be failures, and all that you want of Bhakti is there, even in the Samhitas, not to speak of the Upanishads — it is there, worship and love and all the rest of it; only the ideals of Bhakti are becoming higher and higher. In the Samhita portions, now and then, you find traces of a religion of fear and tribulation; in the Samhitas now and then you find a worshipper quaking before a Varuna, or some other god. Now and then you will find they are very much tortured by the idea of sin, but the Upanishads have no place for the delineation of these things. There is no religion of fear in the Upanishads; it is one of Love and one of Knowledge.
These Upanishads are our scriptures. They have been differently explained, and, as I have told you already, whenever there is a difference between subsequent Pauranika literature and the Vedas, the Puranas must give way. But it is at the same time true that, as a practical result, we find ourselves ninety per cent Pauranika and ten per cent Vaidika — even if so much as that. And we all find the most contradictory usages prevailing in our midst and also religious opinions prevailing in our society which scarcely have any authority in the scriptures of the Hindus; and in many cases we read in books, and see with astonishment, customs of the country that neither have their authority in the Vedas nor in the Smritis or Puranas, but are simply local. And yet each ignorant villager thinks that if that little local custom dies out, he will no more remain a Hindu. In his mind Vedantism and these little local customs have been indissolubly identified. In reading the scriptures it is hard for him to understand that what he is doing has not the sanction of the scriptures, and that the giving up of them will not hurt him at all, but on the other hand will make him a better man. Secondly, there is the other difficulty. These scriptures of ours have been very vast. We read in the Mahâbhâshya of Patanjali, that great philological work, that the Sâma-Veda had one thousand branches. Where are they all? Nobody knows. So with each of the Vedas; the major portion of these books have disappeared, and it is only the minor portion that remains to us. They were all taken charge of by particular families; and either these families died out, or were killed under foreign persecution, or somehow became extinct; and with them, that branch of the learning of the Vedas they took charge of became extinct also. This fact we ought to remember, as it always forms the sheet-anchor in the hands of those who want to preach anything new or to defend anything even against the Vedas. Wherever in India there is a discussion between local custom and the Shrutis, and whenever it is pointed out that the local custom is against the scriptures, the argument that is forwarded is that it is not, that the customs existed in the branch of the Shrutis which has become extinct and so has been a recognised one. In the midst of all these varying methods of reading and commenting on our scriptures, it is very difficult indeed to find the thread that runs through all of them; for we become convinced at once that there must be some common ground underlying all these varying divisions and subdivisions. There must be harmony, a common plan, upon which all these little bits of buildings have been constructed, some basis common to this apparently hopeless mass of confusion which we call our religion. Otherwise it could not have stood so long, it could not have endured so long.
Coming to our commentators again, we find another difficulty. The Advaitic commentator, whenever an Advaitic text comes, preserves it just as it is; but the same commentator, as soon as a dualistic text presents itself, tortures it if he can, and brings the most queer meaning out of it. Sometimes the "Unborn" becomes a "goat", such are the wonderful changes effected. To suit the commentator, "Ajâ" the Unborn is explained as "Aja" a she-goat. In the same way, if not in a still worse fashion, the texts are handled by the dualistic commentator. Every dualistic text is preserved, and every text that speaks of non-dualistic philosophy is tortured in any fashion he likes. This Sanskrit language is so intricate, the Sanskrit of the Vedas is so ancient, and the Sanskrit philology so perfect, that any amount of discussion can be carried on for ages in regard to the meaning of one word. If a Pandit takes it into his head, he can render anybody's prattle into correct Sanskrit by force of argument and quotation of texts and rules. These are the difficulties in our way of understanding the Upanishads. It was given to me to live with a man who was as ardent a dualist, as ardent an Advaitist, as ardent a Bhakta, as a Jnani. And living with this man first put it into my head to understand the Upanishads and the texts of the scriptures from an independent and better basis than by blindly following the commentators; and in my opinion and in my researches, I came to the conclusion that these texts are not at all contradictory. So we need have no fear of text-torturing at all! The texts are beautiful, ay, they are most wonderful; and they are not contradictory, but wonderfully harmonious, one idea leading up to the other. But the one fact I found is that in all the Upanishads, they begin with dualistic ideas, with worship and all that, and end with a grand flourish of Advaitic ideas.
Therefore I now find in the light of this man's life that the dualist and the Advaitist need not fight each other. Each has a place, and a great place in the national life. The dualist must remain, for he is as much part and parcel of the national religious life as the Advaitist. One cannot exist without the other; one is the fulfilment of the other; one is the building, the other is the top; the one the root, the other the fruit, and so on. Therefore any attempt to torture the texts of the Upanishads appears to me very ridiculous. I begin to find out that the language is wonderful. Apart from all its merits as the greatest philosophy, apart from its wonderful merit as theology, as showing the path of salvation to mankind, the Upanishadic literature is the most wonderful painting of sublimity that the world has. Here comes out in full force that individuality of the human mind, that introspective, intuitive Hindu mind. We have paintings of sublimity elsewhere in all nations, but almost without exception you will find that their ideal is to grasp the sublime in the muscles. Take for instance, Milton, Dante, Homer, or any of the Western poets. There are wonderfully sublime passages in them; but there it is always a grasping at infinity through the senses, the muscles, getting the ideal of infinite expansion, the infinite of space. We find the same attempts made in the Samhita portion. You know some of those wonderful Riks where creation is described; the very heights of expression of the sublime in expansion and the infinite in space are attained. But they found out very soon that the Infinite cannot be reached in that way, that even infinite space, and expansion, and infinite external nature could not express the ideas that were struggling to find expression in their minds, and so they fell back upon other explanations. The language became new in the Upanishads; it is almost negative, it is sometimes, chaotic, sometimes taking you beyond the senses, pointing out to you something which you cannot grasp, which you cannot sense, and at the same time you feel certain that it is there. What passage in the world can compare with this? — न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चंन्द्रतारकं नेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः । — There the sun cannot illumine, nor the moon nor the stars, the flash of lightning cannot illumine the place, what to speak of this mortal fire." Again, where can you find a more perfect expression of the whole philosophy of the world, the gist of what the Hindus ever thought, the whole dream of human salvation, painted in language more wonderful, in figure more marvellous than this?
व्दा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया समानं वृक्षं परिषस्वजाते ।
तयोरन्यः पिप्पलं स्वाव्दत्त्यनश्नन्नन्यो अभिचाकशीति ॥
समाने वृक्षे पुरुषो निमग्नोऽनीशया शोचति मुह्यमानः ।
जुष्टं यदा पश्यत्यन्यमोशमस्य महिमानमिति वीतशोकः ॥
व्दा सुपर्णा सयुजा सखाया समानं वृक्षं परिषस्वजाते ।
तयोरन्यः पिप्पलं स्वाव्दत्त्यनश्नन्नन्यो अभिचाकशीति ॥
समाने वृक्षे पुरुषो निमग्नोऽनीशया शोचति मुह्यमानः ।
जुष्टं यदा पश्यत्यन्यमोशमस्य महिमानमिति वीतशोकः ॥
Upon the same tree there are two birds of beautiful plumage, most friendly to each other, one eating the fruits, the other sitting there calm and silent without eating — the one on the lower branch eating sweet and bitter fruits in turn and becoming happy and unhappy, but the other one on the top, calm and majestic; he eats neither sweet nor bitter fruits, cares neither for happiness nor misery, immersed in his own glory. This is the picture of the human soul. Man is eating the sweet and bitter fruits of this life, pursuing gold, pursuing his senses, pursuing the vanities of life — hopelessly, madly careering he goes. In other places the Upanishads have compared the human soul to the charioteer, and the senses to the mad horses unrestrained. Such is the career of men pursuing the vanities of life, children dreaming golden dreams only to find that they are but vain, and old men chewing the cud of their past deeds, and yet not knowing how to get out of this network. This is the world. Yet in the life of every one there come golden moments; in the midst of the deepest sorrows, nay, of the deepest joys, there come moments when a part of the cloud that hides the sunlight moves away as it were, and we catch a glimpse, in spite of ourselves of something beyond — away, away beyond the life of the senses; away, away beyond its vanities, its joys, and its sorrows; away, away beyond nature, or our imaginations of happiness here or hereafter; away beyond all thirst for gold, or for fame, or for name, or for posterity. Man stops for a moment at this glimpse and sees the other bird calm and majestic, eating neither sweet nor bitter fruits, but immersed in his own glory, Self-content, Self-satisfied. As the Gita says, यस्त्वात्मरतिरेव स्यादात्मतृप्तश्च मानवः आत्मन्येव च संतुष्टस्तस्य कार्यं न विद्यते ॥ — "He whose devotion is to the Atman, he who does not want anything beyond Atman, he who has become satisfied in the Atman, what work is there for him to do?" Why should he drudge? Man catches a glimpse, then again he forgets and goes on eating the sweet and bitter fruits of life; perhaps after a time he catches another glimpse, and the lower bird goes nearer and nearer to the higher bird as blows after blows are received. If he be fortunate to receive hard knocks, then he comes nearer and nearer to his companion, the other bird, his life, his friend; and as he approaches him, he finds that the light from the higher bird is playing round his own plumage; and as he comes nearer and nearer, lo! the transformation is going on. The nearer and nearer he comes, he finds himself melting away, as it were, until he has entirely disappeared. He did not really exist; it was but the reflection of the other bird who was there calm and majestic amidst the moving leaves. It was all his glory, that upper bird's. He then becomes fearless, perfectly satisfied, calmly serene. In this figure, the Upanishads take you from the dualistic to the utmost Advaitic conception.
Endless examples can be cited, but we have no time in this lecture to do that or to show the marvellous poetry of the Upanishads, the painting of the sublime, the grand conceptions. But one other idea I must note, that the language and the thought and everything come direct, they fall upon you like a sword-blade, strong as the blows of a hammer they come. There is no mistaking their meanings. Every tone of that music is firm and produces its full effect; no gyrations, no mad words, no intricacies in which the brain is lost. No signs of degradation are there — no attempts at too much allegorising, too much piling of adjectives after adjectives, making it more and more intricate, till the whole of the sense is lost, and the brain becomes giddy, and man does not know his way out from the maze of that literature. There was none of that yet. If it be human literature, it must be the production of a race which had not yet lost any of its national vigour.
Strength, strength is what the Upanishads speak to me from every page. This is the one great thing to remember, it has been the one great lesson I have been taught in my life; strength, it says, strength, O man, be not weak. Are there no human weaknesses? — says man. There are, say the Upanishads, but will more weakness heal them, would you try to wash dirt with dirt? Will sin cure sin, weakness cure weakness? Strength, O man, strength, say the Upanishads, stand up and be strong. Ay, it is the only literature in the world where you find the word "Abhih", "fearless", used again and again; in no other scripture in the world is this adjective applied either to God or to man. Abhih, fearless! And in my mind rises from the past the vision of the great Emperor of the West, Alexander the Great, and I see, as it were in a picture, the great monarch standing on the bank of the Indus, talking to one of our Sannyâsins in the forest; the old man he was talking to, perhaps naked, stark naked, sitting upon a block of stone, and the Emperor, astonished at his wisdom, tempting him with gold and honour to come over to Greece. And this man smiles at his gold, and smiles at his temptations, and refuses; and then the Emperor standing on his authority as an Emperor, says, "I will kill you if you do not come", and the man bursts into a laugh and says, "You never told such a falsehood in your life, as you tell just now. Who can kill me? Me you kill, Emperor of the material world! Never! For I am Spirit unborn and undecaying: never was I born and never do I die; I am the Infinite, the Omnipresent, the Omniscient; and you kill me, child that you are!" That is strength, that is strength! And the more I read the Upanishads, my friends, my countrymen, the more I weep for you, for therein is the great practical application. Strength, strength for us. What we need is strength, who will give us strength? There are thousands to weaken us, and of stories we have had enough. Every one of our Puranas, if you press it, gives out stories enough to fill three-fourths of the libraries of the world. Everything that can weaken us as a race we have had for the last thousand years. It seems as if during that period the national life had this one end in view, viz how to make us weaker and weaker till we have become real earthworms, crawling at the feet of every one who dares to put his foot on us. Therefore, my friends, as one of your blood, as one that lives and dies with you, let me tell you that we want strength, strength, and every time strength. And the Upanishads are the great mine of strength. Therein lies strength enough to invigorate the whole world; the whole world can be vivified, made strong, energised through them. They will call with trumpet voice upon the weak, the miserable, and the downtrodden of all races, all creeds, and all sects to stand on their feet and be free. Freedom, physical freedom, mental freedom, and spiritual freedom are the watchwords of the Upanishads.
Ay, this is the one scripture in the world, of all others, that does not talk of salvation, but of freedom. Be free from the bonds of nature, be free from weakness! And it shows to you that you have this freedom already in you. That is another peculiarity of its teachings. You are a Dvaitist; never mind, you have got to admit that by its very nature the soul is perfect; only by certain actions of the soul has it become contracted. Indeed, Râmânuja's theory of contraction and expansion is exactly what the modern evolutionists call evolution and atavism. The soul goes back, becomes contracted as it were, its powers become potential; and by good deeds and good thoughts it expands again and reveals its natural perfection. With the Advaitist the one difference is that he admits evolution in nature and not in the soul. Suppose there is a screen, and there is a small hole in the screen. I am a man standing behind the screen and looking at this grand assembly. I can see only very few faces here. Suppose the hole increases; as it increases, more and more of this assembly is revealed to me, and in full when the hole has become identified with the screen — there is nothing between you and me in this case. Neither you changed nor I changed; all the change was in the screen. You were the same from first to last; only the screen changed. This is the Advaitist's position with regard to evolution — evolution of nature and manifestation of the Self within. Not that the Self can by any means be made to contract. It is unchangeable, the Infinite One. It was covered, as it were, with a veil, the veil of Maya, and as this Maya veil becomes thinner and thinner, the inborn, natural glory of the soul comes out and becomes more manifest. This is the one great doctrine which the world is waiting to learn from India. Whatever they may talk, however they may try to boast, they will find out day after day that no society can stand without admitting this. Do you not find how everything is being revolutionized? Do you not see how it was the custom to take for granted that everything was wicked until it proved itself good? In education, in punishing criminals, in treating lunatics, in the treatment of common diseases even, that was the old law. What is the modern law? The modern law says, the body itself is healthy; it cures diseases of its own nature. Medicine can at the best but help the storing up of the best in the body. What says it of criminals? It takes for granted that however low a criminal may be, there is still the divinity within, which does not change, and we must treat criminals accordingly. All these things are now changing, and reformatories and penitentiaries are established. So with everything. Consciously or unconsciously that Indian idea of the divinity within every one is expressing itself even in other countries. And in your books is the explanation which other nations have to accept. The treatment of one man to another will be entirely revolutionized, and these old, old ideas of pointing to the weakness of mankind will have to go. They will have received their death-blow within this century. Now people may stand up and criticise us. I have been criticised, from one end of the world to the other, as one who preaches the diabolical idea that there is no sin! Very good. The descendants of these very men will bless me as the preacher of virtue, and not of sin. I am the teacher of virtue, not of sin. I glory in being the preacher of light, and not of darkness.
The second great idea which the world is waiting to receive from our Upanishads is the solidarity of this universe. The old lines of demarcation and differentiation are vanishing rapidly. Electricity and steam-power are placing the different parts of the world in intercommunication with each other, and, as a result, we Hindus no longer say that every country beyond our own land is peopled with demons and hobgoblins, nor do the people of Christian countries say that India is only peopled by cannibals and savages. When we go out of our country, we find the same brother-man, with the same strong hand to help, with the same lips to say godspeed; and sometimes they are better than in the country in which we are born. When they come here, they find the same brotherhood, the same cheer, the same godspeed. Our Upanishads say that the cause of all misery is ignorance; and that is perfectly true when applied to every state of life, either social or spiritual. It is ignorance that makes us hate each other, it is through ignorance that we do not know and do not love each other. As soon as we come to know each other, love comes, must come, for are we not ones. Thus we find solidarity coming in spite of itself. Even in politics and sociology, problems that were only national twenty years ago can no more be solved on national grounds only. They are assuming huge proportions, gigantic shapes. They can only be solved when looked at in the broader light of international grounds. International organizations, international combinations, international laws are the cry of the day. That shows the solidarity. In science, every day they are coming to a similar broad view of matter. You speak of matter, the whole universe as one mass, one ocean of matter, in which you and I, the sun and the moon, and everything else are but the names of different little whirlpools and nothing more. Mentally speaking, it is one universal ocean of thought in which you and I are similar little whirlpools; and as spirit it moveth not, it changeth not. It is the One Unchangeable, Unbroken, Homogeneous Atman. The cry for morality is coming also, and that is to be found in our books. The explanation of morality, the fountain of ethics, that also the world wants; and that it will get here.
What do we want in India? If foreigners want these things, we want them twenty times more. Because, in spite of the greatness of the Upanishads, in spite of our boasted ancestry of sages, compared to many other races, I must tell you that we are weak, very weak. First of all is our physical weakness. That physical weakness is the cause of at least one-third of our miseries. We are lazy, we cannot work; we cannot combine, we do not love each other; we are intensely selfish, not three of us can come together without hating each other, without being jealous of each other. That is the state in which we are — hopelessly disorganised mobs, immensely selfish, fighting each other for centuries as to whether a certain mark is to be put on our forehead this way or that way, writing volumes and volumes upon such momentous questions as to whether the look of a man spoils my food or not! This we have been doing for the past few centuries. We cannot expect anything high from a race whose whole brain energy has been occupied in such wonderfully beautiful problems and researches! And are we not ashamed of ourselves? Ay, sometimes we are; but though we think these things frivolous, we cannot give them up. We speak of many things parrot-like, but never do them; speaking and not doing has become a habit with us. What is the cause of that? Physical weakness. This sort of weak brain is not able to do anything; we must strengthen it. First of all, our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards. Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita. These are bold words; but I have to say them, for I love you. I know where the shoe pinches. I have gained a little experience. You will understand the Gita better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger. You will understand the mighty genius and the mighty strength of Krishna better with a little of strong blood in you. You will understand the Upanishads better and the glory of the Atman when your body stands firm upon your feet, and you feel yourselves as men. Thus we have to apply these to our needs.
People get disgusted many times at my preaching Advaitism. I do not mean to preach Advaitism, or Dvaitism, or any ism in the world. The only ism that we require now is this wonderful idea of the soul — its eternal might, its eternal strength, its eternal purity, and its eternal perfection. If I had a child I would from its very birth begin to tell it, "Thou art the Pure One". You have read in one of the Puranas that beautiful story of queen Madâlasâ, how as soon as she has a child she puts her baby with her own hands in the cradle, and how as the cradle rocks to and fro, she begins to sing, "Thou art the Pure One the Stainless, the Sinless, the Mighty One, the Great One." Ay, there is much in that. Feel that you are great and you become great. What did I get as my experience all over the world, is the question. They may talk about sinners — and if all Englishmen really believed that they were sinners, Englishmen would be no better than the negroes in Central Africa. God bless them that they do not believe it! On the other hand, the Englishman believes he is born the lord of the world. He believes he is great and can do anything in the world; if he wants to go to the sun or the moon, he believes he can; and that makes him great. If he had believed his priests that he was a poor miserable sinner, going to be barbecued through all eternity, he would not be the same Englishman that he is today. So I find in every nation that, in spite of priests and superstition, the divine within lives and asserts itself. We have lost faith. Would you believe me, we have less faith than the Englishman and woman — a thousand times less faith! These are plain words; but I say these, I cannot help it. Don't you see how Englishmen and women, when they catch our ideals, become mad as it were; and although they are the ruling class, they come to India to preach our own religion notwithstanding the jeers and ridicule of their own countrymen? How many of you could do that? And why cannot you do that? Do you not know it? You know more than they do; you are more wise than is good for you, that is your difficulty! Simply because your blood is only like water, your brain is sloughing, your body is weak! You must change the body. Physical weakness is the cause and nothing else. You have talked of reforms, of ideals, and all these things for the past hundred years; but when it comes to practice, you are not to be found anywhere — till you have disgusted the whole world, and the very name of reform is a thing of ridicule! And what is the cause? Do you not know? You know too well. The only cause is that you are weak, weak, weak; your body is weak, your mind is weak, you have no faith in yourselves! Centuries and centuries, a thousand years of crushing tyranny of castes and kings and foreigners and your own people have taken out all your strength, my brethren. Your backbone is broken, you are like downtrodden worms. Who will give you strength? Let me tell you, strength, strength is what we want. And the first step in getting strength is to uphold the Upanishads, and believe — "I am the Soul", "Me the sword cannot cut; nor weapons pierce; me the fire cannot burn; me the air cannot dry; I am the Omnipotent, I am the Omniscient." So repeat these blessed, saving words. Do not say we are weak; we can do anything and everything. What can we not do? Everything can be done by us; we all have the same glorious soul, let us believe in it. Have faith, as Nachiketâ. At the time of his father's sacrifice, faith came unto Nachiketa; ay, I wish that faith would come to each of you; and every one of you would stand up a giant, a world-mover with a gigantic intellect — an infinite God in every respect. That is what I want you to become. This is the strength that you get from the Upanishads, this is the faith that you get from there.
Ay, but it was only for the Sannyâsin! Rahasya (esoteric)! The Upanishads were in the hands of the Sannyasin; he went into the forest! Shankara was a little kind and said even Grihasthas (householders) may study the Upanishads, it will do them good; it will not hurt them. But still the idea is that the Upanishads talked only of the forest life of the recluse. As I told you the other day, the only commentary, the authoritative commentary on the Vedas, has been made once and for all by Him who inspired the Vedas — by Krishna in the Gita. It is there for every one in every occupation of life. These conceptions of the Vedanta must come out, must remain not only in the forest, not only in the cave, but they must come out to work at the bar and the bench, in the pulpit, and in the cottage of the poor man, with the fishermen that are catching fish, and with the students that are studying. They call to every man, woman, and child whatever be their occupation, wherever they may be. And what is there to fear! How can the fishermen and all these carry out the ideals of the Upanishads? The way has been shown. It is infinite; religion is infinite, none can go beyond it; and whatever you do sincerely is good for you. Even the least thing well done brings marvellous results; therefore let every one do what little he can. If the fisherman thinks that he is the Spirit, he will be a better fisherman; if the student thinks he is the Spirit, he will be a better student. If the lawyer thinks that he is the Spirit, he will be a better lawyer, and so on, and the result will be that the castes will remain for ever. It is in the nature of society to form itself into groups; and what will go will be these privileges. Caste is a natural order; I can perform one duty in social life, and you another; you can govern a country, and I can mend a pair of old shoes, but that is no reason why you are greater than I, for can you mend my shoes? Can I govern the country? I am clever in mending shoes, you are clever in reading Vedas, but that is no reason why you should trample on my head. Why if one commits murder should he be praised, and if another steals an apple why should he be hanged? This will have to go. Caste is good. That is the only natural way of solving life. Men must form themselves into groups, and you cannot get rid of that. Wherever you go, there will be caste. But that does not mean that there should be these privileges. They should be knocked on the head. If you teach Vedanta to the fisherman, he will say, I am as good a man as you; I am a fisherman, you are a philosopher, but I have the same God in me as you have in you. And that is what we want, no privilege for any one, equal chances for all; let every one be taught that the divine is within, and every one will work out his own salvation.
Liberty is the first condition of growth. It is wrong, a thousand times wrong, if any of you dares to say, "I will work out the salvation of this woman or child." I am asked again and again, what I think of the widow problem and what I think of the woman question. Let me answer once for all — am I a widow that you ask me that nonsense? Am I a woman that you ask me that question again and again? Who are you to solve women's problems? Are you the Lord God that you should rule over every widow and every woman? Hands off! They will solve their own problems. O tyrants, attempting to think that you can do anything for any one! Hands off! The Divine will look after all. Who are you to assume that you know everything? How dare you think, O blasphemers, that you have the right over God? For don't you know that every soul is the Soul of God? Mind your own Karma; a load of Karma is there in you to work out. Your nation may put you upon a pedestal, your society may cheer you up to the skies, and fools may praise you: but He sleeps not, and retribution will be sure to follow, here or hereafter.
Look upon every man, woman, and every one as God. You cannot help anyone, you can only serve: serve the children of the Lord, serve the Lord Himself, if you have the privilege. If the Lord grants that you can help any one of His children, blessed you are; do not think too much of yourselves. Blessed you are that that privilege was given to you when others had it not. Do it only as a worship. I should see God in the poor, and it is for my salvation that I go and worship them. The poor and the miserable are for our salvation, so that we may serve the Lord, coming in the shape of the diseased, coming in the shape of the lunatic, the leper, and the sinner! Bold are my words; and let me repeat that it is the greatest privilege in our life that we are allowed to serve the Lord in all these shapes. Give up the idea that by ruling over others you can do any good to them. But you can do just as much as you can in the case of the plant; you can supply the growing seed with the materials for the making up of its body, bringing to it the earth, the water, the air, that it wants. It will take all that it wants by its own nature. It will assimilate and grow by its own nature.
Bring all light into the world. Light, bring light! Let light come unto every one; the task will not be finished till every one has reached the Lord. Bring light to the poor and bring more light to the rich, for they require it more than the poor. Bring light to the ignorant, and more light to the educated, for the vanities of the education of our time are tremendous! Thus bring light to all and leave the rest unto the Lord, for in the words of the same Lord "To work you have the right and not to the fruits thereof." "Let not your work produce results for you, and at the same time may you never be without work."
May He who taught such grand ideas to our forefathers ages ago help us to get strength to carry into practice His commands!
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。