二 在波士顿二十世纪俱乐部
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中文
二
（于美国波士顿二十世纪俱乐部）
问——吠檀多（Vedanta）是否对伊斯兰教产生过影响？
答——吠檀多精神中的宗教宽容确实深刻影响了伊斯兰教。印度的伊斯兰教与其他任何国家的伊斯兰教截然不同。只有当来自其他国家的穆斯林向印度的同教者宣讲不应与异教徒共处时，穆斯林群众才会被煽动起来，发生冲突。
问——吠檀多承认种姓制度吗？
答——种姓制度与吠檀多的宗教精神是对立的。种姓是一种社会习俗，我们所有伟大的布道者都曾试图打破它。从佛教开始，每一个教派都曾反对种姓制度，然而每一次反对反而更加巩固了它的枷锁。种姓制度不过是印度政治制度的产物，它本质上是一种世袭的行会制度。与欧洲的贸易竞争对种姓制度的瓦解，远比任何说教都更为有力。
问——吠陀（Vedas）的独特之处是什么？
答——吠陀的一个独特之处在于，它们是唯一反复宣称你必须超越它们的经典。吠陀说，它们的撰写只是为了适应稚嫩的心智；当你成长之后，就必须超越它们。
问——您认为个体灵魂是永恒真实的吗？
答——个体灵魂由人的思想构成，而思想每时每刻都在变化。因此，它不可能是永恒真实的。它仅在现象界中是真实的。个体由记忆和思想组成，这怎么可能是真实的呢？
问——佛教作为一种宗教为何在印度衰落了？
答——佛教在印度并未真正衰落，它本质上只是一场巨大的社会运动。在佛陀（Buddha）之前，大量动物被杀用于祭祀及其他用途，人们大量饮酒食肉。自佛陀的教导传播以来，酗酒现象几乎消失，杀生之事也几近绝迹。
English
II
(At the Twentieth Century Club of Boston, U. S. A.)
Q.—Did Vedanta exert any influence over Mohammedanism?
A.—This Vedantic spirit of religious liberality has very much affected Mohammedanism. Mohammedanism in India is quite a different thing from that in any other country. It is only when Mohammedans come from other countries and preach to their co-religionists in India about living with men who are not of their faith that a Mohammedan mob is aroused and fights.
Q.—Does Vedanta recognise caste?
A.—The caste system is opposed to the religion of the Vedanta. Caste is a social custom, and all our great preachers have tried to break it down. From Buddhism downwards, every sect has preached against caste, and every time it has only riveted the chains. Caste is simply the outgrowth of the political institutions of India; it is a hereditary trade guild. Trade competition with Europe has broken caste more than any teaching.
Q.—What is the peculiarity of the Vedas?
A.—One peculiarity of the Vedas is that they are the only scriptures that again and again declare that you must go beyond them. The Vedas say that they were written just for the child mind; and when you have grown, you must go beyond them.
Q.—Do you hold the individual soul to be eternally real?
A.—The individual soul consists of a man's thoughts, and they are changing every moment. Therefore, it cannot be eternally real. It is real only in the phenomenal. The individual consists of memory and thought, how can that be real?
Q.—Why did Buddhism as a religion decline in India?
A.—Buddhism did not really decline in India; it was only a gigantic social movement. Before Buddha great numbers of animals were killed for sacrifice and other reasons, and people drank wine and ate meat in large quantities. Since Buddha's teaching drunkenness has almost disappeared, and the killing of animals has almost gone.
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。