十一至十五 摘自弟子室利·沙拉特·钱德拉·查克拉瓦提的日记
本译文由人工智能辅助工具生成，可能存在不准确之处。如需查阅权威文本，请参考英文原文。
AI-translated. May contain errors. For accurate text, refer to the original English.
中文
十一
（译自孟加拉语）
印度需要的不是演讲而是实干——印度最紧迫的问题是贫困——培养年轻的游方僧（Sannyasin）使其兼为世俗与精神的导师和为大众服务的工作者——劝勉青年为他人而工作
（摘自一位弟子的日记）
（本篇及后续对话中的弟子为沙拉特·钱德拉·查克拉瓦蒂。）
弟子：斯瓦米吉，您为何不在国内讲演呢？您的演说曾震动了整个欧美，但回到这里后却沉默不语。
斯瓦米吉：在这个国家，首先要整治好土壤，然后播下种子，植物才能茁壮成长。西方的土壤——欧洲和美洲——非常肥沃，适合播种。他们已经到达了受用（Bhoga）的顶峰。在充分享受了一切受用之后，他们的心灵即便在那些享乐中也无法获得安宁，仿佛还需要别的什么。在这个国家，你们既没有受用，也没有瑜伽（Yoga）（即出离）。一个人只有在受用饱和之后，才会倾听并理解关于瑜伽的教导。在印度这样一个已沦为疾病、悲苦和苦难温床的国家，人们因饥饿而形容枯槁、心志衰弱，演讲又有什么用呢？
弟子：怎么会这样呢？您不是常说我们这片土地是宗教之邦，这里的人民对宗教的理解无人能及吗？那么，您那振奋人心的雄辩为何不能在此激励国人，使之充分收获其果实呢？
斯瓦米吉：现在你要明白宗教的真正含义。首先需要的是供奉龟化身（Kurma），而那位腹神就好比这只龟。在你安抚好它之前，没有人会欢迎你谈论宗教。印度正为如何面对饥饿这一幽灵而焦躁不安。外国人对国家最优质资源的掠夺，无节制的商品出口，更重要的是奴隶天性中那种可憎的嫉妒，正在侵蚀着印度的命脉。首先，你们必须消除饥饿和饥荒的苦难，消除那些你想向之宣讲宗教的人们对基本生存的持续焦虑；否则，演讲之类的事情不会有任何益处。
弟子：那么我们该怎么做才能消除这种苦难？
斯瓦米吉：首先，需要一些充满出离精神的年轻人——那些愿意为他人牺牲生命、而非沉溺于自身幸福的人。为此目标，我将创建一所道场来培训年轻的游方僧（Sannyasin），他们将逐门逐户，用事实和推理让人民认识到自己的悲惨处境，教导他们谋求福祉的方法和途径，同时尽可能用最简单易懂的语言，向他们阐明更高深的宗教真理。我们国家的民众就像沉睡的巨兽。现行大学教育体系所及的民众不过百分之一二。即便是受过教育的人，在为国家做贡献的努力中也未能成功。但那不是他们的错，可怜的人哪！他们一走出校门，就发现自己已是几个孩子的父亲了！他们想方设法谋得一个职员的位置，最多不过是个副地方官。这就是教育的终局！背负着家庭的重担，他们既无暇做任何伟大的事，也无法想任何崇高的理想。他们连满足个人的需求和利益都力不从心，又怎能指望他们为他人做什么呢？
弟子：那么我们就没有出路了吗？
斯瓦米吉：当然有。这里是永恒宗教之地。国家固然衰落了，但必将再次崛起，而那次崛起将震惊世界。波谷越深，浪潮就会以更大的力量升得越高。
弟子：印度将如何再度崛起？
斯瓦米吉：你看不到吗？东方天际已现曙光，旭日升起只在须臾之间。你们都要齐心协力投入进来！把整个世界当作一切，整天想着"我的家业（Samsara），我的家业"，那有什么意义？你们现在的职责是走遍国家各地，深入每一个村庄，让人民明白光坐着无所事事已经不行了。让他们认清自己的真实处境，大声说："兄弟们啊，起来吧！觉醒吧！你们还要沉睡多久！"去劝导他们如何改善自身的境况，用通俗易懂的方式向他们阐明经典（Shastra）中的崇高真理。长久以来，婆罗门垄断了宗教；但既然他们已经无法抵挡时代的洪流，那就去采取行动，让这片土地上的每一个人都能得到那份宗教。让他们铭记，他们与婆罗门享有同样的宗教权利。为所有人传授那些炽烈的真言（Mantra），甚至包括最底层种姓的旃陀罗（Chandala）。同时，用简明的语言向他们传授生活所需的知识，以及贸易、商业、农业等方面的技能。如果你做不到这些，那你的教育和文化就是虚假的，你研读吠陀（Vedas）和吠檀多（Vedanta）也是白费！
弟子：可我们哪有那样的力量？斯瓦米吉，若我能有您百分之一的能力，我就感到万分荣幸了。
斯瓦米吉：多么愚蠢！力量之类的东西会自然而来。投身于工作吧，你会发现如此巨大的力量涌来，以至于你都难以承受。即便是为他人做了最微小的工作，也能唤醒内在的力量；即便是为他人起了最微小的善念，也会逐渐在心中注入狮子般的勇气。我对你们的爱深之又深，但我希望你们都在为他人的奉献中死去——看到你们这样做，我反倒会感到欣慰！
弟子：那些依靠我的人怎么办呢？
斯瓦米吉：如果你准备好为他人牺牲生命，神必定会为他们提供某种供养。你难道没有读过薄伽梵歌（Gita）第六章第四十节中克里希纳（Krishna）的话吗？"न हि कल्याणकृत्कश्चित् दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति——行善者绝不会遭遇不幸，我亲爱的人啊"？
弟子：我明白了，先生。
斯瓦米吉：根本在于出离。没有出离，就无法全心全意地为他人付出。出离者以平等之眼看待一切，献身于为众生服务。我们的吠檀多（Vedanta）不也教导我们以平等之眼看待一切吗？那你为什么还执着于妻子儿女比其他人更属于你自己呢？就在你的门槛前，那罗延（Narayana）本人化身为贫穷的乞丐正在饿死！你不给他任何东西，却只顾用美食满足妻子儿女的口腹，这岂不是禽兽之行！
弟子：为他人做事有时需要大量金钱，我到哪里去弄呢？
斯瓦米吉：你为什么不做力所能及之事呢？即便因缺乏金钱而无法给予他人物质帮助，你至少可以在他们耳边说几句好话，或传授一些好的教导，不是吗？难道这也需要钱吗？
弟子：是的，先生，这我能做到。
斯瓦米吉：光说"我能"是不够的。用行动向我证明你能做什么，那时我才会知道你来见我是有了实际的收获。站起来，投入到工作中去——这一生能有多长？既然来到这个世界，就要留下一些印记。否则，你和树木石头有什么区别？它们也是出现、衰败然后消亡。如果你愿意像它们一样生生死死，那你尽可以。用你的行动向我证明你研读吠檀多（Vedanta）的最高成果。去告诉所有人："你们每个人心中都蕴藏着那个永恒的力量"，并努力去唤醒它。个人的解脱（Moksha）有什么用？那纯粹是自私。抛开你的冥想，抛开你的解脱（Moksha）之类的东西！把你全部的心灵和灵魂投入到我所献身的事业中来。
弟子屏息凝神地聆听了这些振奋人心的话语，斯瓦米吉以他一贯的热情和雄辩继续说道。
斯瓦米吉：首先要整治好土壤，千百个辨喜（Vivekananda）将应时而生，来到这个世界宣讲宗教。你不必为此担忧！你不知道我为什么创办孤儿院、饥荒救济事业等等吗？你看不到尼维迪塔修女——一位英国女士——是如何学会服务印度人的，甚至为他们做卑微的工作吗？而你们作为印度人，难道不能同样服务你们自己的同胞吗？你们所有人都去吧，哪里爆发了瘟疫或饥荒，哪里的人民在受苦，就去那里减轻他们的痛苦。你们最多不过在尝试中死去——那又怎样？像你们这样的人每天不知有多少像虫子一样生生死死，这对世界又有什么差别？死是必然的，但要为一个伟大的理想而死，在生命中怀抱伟大的理想去赴死，那才是更好的死法。逐门逐户地宣讲这个理想，在为国家做善事的同时，你们自己也将从中获益。我们国家未来的希望就寄托在你们身上。看到你们过着无所作为的生活，我感到极度痛心。投入工作吧——去工作！不要迟疑——死亡之日在一天天逼近！不要坐在那里无所事事，以为什么事以后慢慢来——记住——那样什么也做不成！
十二
智慧（Jnana）与虔信（Bhakti）的调和——存在-意识-极乐（Sat-Chit-Ananda）——教派主义如何产生——引入信心（Shraddha）与对力量女神（Shakti）及化身（Avatara）的崇拜——我们现在需要的是英雄的理想，而非甜蜜情感（Madhura-Bhava）——室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）——化身（Avatara）
弟子：斯瓦米吉，请问智慧（Jnana）与虔信（Bhakti）如何才能调和？我们看到虔信道路的追随者（虔信者）一听到商羯罗（Shankara）的名字就掩耳不听，而智慧道路的追随者（智者）则看到虔信者以主之名号泪如泉涌、如醉如痴地歌舞时，就称他们为狂热分子。
斯瓦米吉：问题在于，所有这些冲突都发生在智慧（Jnana）和虔信（Bhakti）的预备阶段。你没有听过室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）讲述的湿婆（Shiva）的鬼卒与罗摩的猴兵的故事吗？
弟子：听过，先生。
斯瓦米吉：但至上的虔信（Bhakti）与至上的智慧（Jnana）之间没有区别。至上的虔信就是认识到神即是爱（Prema）本身的形式。如果你看到神的爱的形式显现于一切之中、无处不在，你怎么还能憎恨或伤害他人？只要心中还存有丝毫欲望，或者如室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）所说的，对欲望与财富（Kama-Kanchana）的执着，那种爱的证悟就永远不会到来。在爱的圆满证悟中，甚至连自身身体的意识都不复存在。同样，至上的智慧就是认识到万物的一体性，在一切事物中看到自己的真我（Atman）即是一切的真我。只要还有丝毫"我执"（Aham）的意识存在，那也不可能实现。
弟子：那么您所说的爱就是至上的智慧？
斯瓦米吉：正是如此。爱的证悟只有在成为圆满的智者之后才能到来。吠檀多（Vedanta）不是说梵（Brahman）是"存在-意识-极乐"（Sat-Chit-Ananda）——绝对的存在、智慧与极乐吗？
弟子：是的，先生。
斯瓦米吉："存在-意识-极乐"的含义是——"存在"（Sat），即存有；"意识"（Chit），即觉知或智慧；"极乐"（Ananda），即至福，也就是爱。关于梵（Brahman）的"存在"面向，虔信者与智者之间并无争议。只是智者更侧重于"意识"（Chit）即智慧的面向，而虔信者则更关注"极乐"（Ananda）即爱的面向。但一旦"意识"的本质被证悟，"极乐"的本质也随之证悟。因为"意识"所是的，正是"极乐"所是的。
弟子：那么为什么印度还盛行如此多的教派主义？为什么关于虔信和智慧的经典之间还有那么多争论？
斯瓦米吉：问题在于，所有这些争战和论辩都围绕着预备性的理想，即人们为了达到真正的智慧或真正的虔信而采取的那些理想。但你认为哪个更高——目的还是手段？手段当然不可能高于目的，因为达到同一目的的手段必然是多种多样的，它们因个人追随者的性情或心智能力而异。数念珠、冥想、礼拜、在圣火中奉献——所有这些都是宗教的支分，不过是手段；而达到至上虔信（Para-Bhakti）或最高的梵的证悟才是至高无上的目的。若你稍加深思，就会明白他们在争论什么。一个人说："如果你面朝东方向神祈祷，就能到达他那里。"另一个人说："不，你必须面朝西方而坐，那样才能见到他。"也许很久以前，某人面朝东方冥想而证悟了神，他的弟子们便立即开始宣扬这种姿态，断言除非采取这种姿势，否则无人能见到神。另一方人前来质询："怎么会这样？某某人面朝西方而证悟了神，这是我们亲眼所见的。"一切教派就是这样产生的。也许有人通过反复念诵主的名号"哈利"而获得了至上虔信，于是这立即被编入经典：
हरेर्नाम हरेर्नाम हरेर्नामैव केवलम् । कलौ नास्त्येव नास्त्येव नास्त्येव गतिरन्यथा ॥
हरेर्नाम हरेर्नाम हरेर्नामैव केवलम् । कलौ नास्त्येव नास्त्येव नास्त्येव गतिरन्यथा ॥
——"哈利之名，哈利之名，唯有哈利之名。在末法时代（Kali），确实别无他途，别无他途，别无他途。"
又假设有人以"安拉"之名而臻于圆满，于是由他创立的另一种信仰便开始传播，如此等等。但我们必须看清所有这些崇拜形式和宗教修行所要达到的最终目的是什么。这个目的就是"信心"（Shraddha）。在我们的孟加拉语中，没有一个对等的词来表达梵文"信心"（Shraddha）一词。《伽陀奥义书》（Katha Upanishad）说，信心（Shraddha）进入了那奇科塔（Nachiketa）的心中。即使用"专注"（Ekagrата）一词，我们也无法表达"信心"（Shraddha）一词的全部意涵。"一心不二的虔诚"（Ekagranishtha）在一定程度上传达了"信心"（Shraddha）的含义。如果你以坚定的虔诚和专注冥想任何真理，你会看到心灵越来越趋向于"一"，即引领你走向对"绝对存在-智慧-极乐"的证悟。虔信或智慧的经典特别劝告人们在生命中选取这样或那样的坚持（Nishtha），使之成为自己的修行。随着时代的推移，这些伟大的真理遭到歪曲，逐渐变成了地方习俗（Deshachara）。这不仅发生在印度，在世界上的每个民族、每个社会都是如此。而缺乏辨别力的普通民众便以此为争论的焦点，相互争斗。他们已经忘记了目的，因此教派主义、争吵和冲突便持续不断。
弟子：那么，斯瓦米吉，有什么拯救之道呢？
斯瓦米吉：必须像从前那样，把真正的信心（Shraddha）重新唤回。杂草必须连根拔除。在每一种信仰、每一条道路中，固然都有超越时间和空间的真理，但大量的糟粕也已堆积其上。必须将这些清除干净，把真正永恒的原则呈现在人们面前；唯有如此，我们的宗教和我们的国家才能真正获益。
弟子：这要如何实现呢？
斯瓦米吉：首先，我们要引入对伟大圣者的崇拜。那些已经证悟了永恒真理的伟大灵魂，应当作为人们效仿的榜样呈现出来；在印度而言——室利·罗摩旃陀罗（Ramachandra）、室利·克里希纳（Krishna）、摩诃毗罗（Mahavira）以及室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna），等等。你能在这个国家引入对室利·罗摩旃陀罗和摩诃毗罗的崇拜吗？暂且搁置室利·克里希纳（Krishna）在温达文（Vrindavan）的那一面，而广泛传播对以狮吼般声音宣讲薄伽梵歌（Gita）的室利·克里希纳的崇拜。并将对力量女神（Shakti）——一切力量之源的神圣母亲——的崇拜引入日常生活。
弟子：室利·克里希纳（Krishna）与温达文牧女（Gopi）的神圣游戏难道不好吗？
斯瓦米吉：在当前的形势下，那种崇拜对你们没有益处。吹笛子之类的事不会使国家重生。我们现在最需要的是一位英雄的理想——浑身上下激荡着刚猛之气（Rajas）的英雄——那位敢于赴死以求知真理的英雄——以出离为铠甲、以智慧为利剑的英雄。我们现在需要的是生命战场上勇士的精神，而非把人生视为享乐花园的多情恋人！
弟子：那么，以牧女的理想所描绘的爱之道是虚假的吗？
斯瓦米吉：谁说的？我可没有这样说！那是一种非常高深的修行（Sadhana）。在这个对感官享乐和财富极度执着的时代，很少有人甚至能够理解那些更高的理想。
弟子：那么那些将神作为夫君或恋人来崇拜（甜蜜情感，Madhura）的人，是否走在正确的道路上？
斯瓦米吉：我敢说并非如此。他们中也许有少数值得尊敬的例外，但要知道，其中大部分人都具有阴暗的怠惰（Tamasika）本性。他们大多充满病态、受着异乎寻常的软弱所困。国家必须振兴。必须引入对摩诃毗罗的崇拜；力量女神（Shakti）的礼拜必须成为我们日常修行的一部分；室利·罗摩旃陀罗必须在每个家庭中受到供奉。你们的福祉就在于此，国家的利益就在于此——别无他路。
弟子：但我听说薄伽梵室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）过去常常大量地唱诵神的名号？
斯瓦米吉：确实如此，但他的情况不同。他与普通人之间怎能相提并论？他一生践行了宗教的一切不同理想，以此表明每一种理想都只通向同一个真理。你我可曾能做到他所做的一切？我们中没有一个人完全理解了他。因此，我不敢随处随地谈论他。他到底真正是什么，唯有他自己知道；他的形体虽是人身，但除此之外的一切都与常人截然不同。
弟子：请问，您是否认为他是一位化身（Avatara，神的化身）？
斯瓦米吉：你先告诉我——你所说的化身（Avatara）是什么意思？
弟子：我的意思是像室利·罗摩旃陀罗、室利·克里希纳（Krishna）、室利·高朗迦（Gauranga）、佛陀（Buddha）、耶稣等这样的存在。
斯瓦米吉：我所知道的薄伽梵室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）甚至比你刚才列举的那些更为伟大。何止是相信——那不过是微不足道的小事——我是知道！不过，我们现在暂且放下这个话题吧；以后再谈。
停顿片刻后，斯瓦米吉继续说道：为了重建法（Dharma），大师（Mahapurusha，人类伟大的导师）应时代与社会的需要而降世。你愿意称他们为大师还是化身（Avatara）——这无关紧要。他们每个人都在自己的一生中展示了那个理想。然后，人们逐渐在他们的模型中被塑造——真正的人被造就了！渐渐地，教派产生并传播。随着时间的推移，这些教派衰落了，类似的改革者便再次出现。这一法则如同一道水流，亘古不息，一直流淌至今。
弟子：您为什么不宣传室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）是一位化身（Avatara）呢？您确实拥有这样做所需的力量、口才和一切条件。
斯瓦米吉：老实说，我对他的理解非常有限。在我看来，他是如此伟大，以至于每当我要谈论他的时候，我都担心自己会忽略或曲解真理，担心我微薄的力量不够，担心在试图赞颂他的时候反而按自己的理解描绘了他的画像，从而贬低了他！
弟子：但现在已有许多人在宣传他是一位化身（Avatara）。
斯瓦米吉：他们愿意就让他们去做吧。他们是按照自己所理解的来做的。如果你也理解了他，你同样可以去这样做。
弟子：我连您都无法领悟，更何况室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）！今生若能得到您些许恩典，我便心满意足了。
十三
梵（Brahman）与差异——对一体性的亲证——至上极乐是一切的目标——时刻想着"我即是梵"——辨别与出离是途径——无所畏惧
弟子：斯瓦米吉，请问，如果唯一的梵（Brahman）是唯一的实在，那为什么世界上还存在这一切差异呢？
斯瓦米吉：你不是在从现象存在的角度来考虑这个问题吗？从现象的一面来看，人可以通过推理和辨别，逐步抵达一体的根源。但如果你已经稳固地安住于那个一体之中，从那个立场上，告诉我，你怎么还能看到这种差异？
弟子：确实如此，如果我存在于那个一体之中，我怎么还会提出这个"为什么"的问题？既然我提出了这个问题，就已经意味着我是在看到了这种多样性的前提下发问的。
斯瓦米吉：很好。通过现象存在的多样性去探究一体的根源，在经典中被称为"排除法"（Vyatireki）推理，即间接论证的过程，也就是"附加与否定"（Adhyaropa和Apavada）——先假定某个不存在或不真实的事物为存在或真实的，然后通过推理过程表明那并非一个存在或真实的实体。你说的正是通过假定不真实为真实来抵达真理的过程——不是吗？
弟子：在我看来，存在的或可见的状态似乎是不言自明的，因而是真实的，而与之相反的则似乎是不真实的。
斯瓦米吉：但吠陀（Vedas）说："唯一，无有第二。"如果实在中只有那唯一的存在——梵（Brahman）——那么你所说的差异就是虚妄的。我想你是相信吠陀的吧？
弟子：是的，就我个人而言，我视吠陀（Vedas）为最高权威；但在论辩中，如果对方不承认其为最高权威，那就必须用其他方法来驳斥他。
斯瓦米吉：那也是可以做到的。你看，有那么一个时刻，你所谓的差异完全消失了，我们根本无法感知到它。我在自己的生命中亲身经历过那种状态。
弟子：您是什么时候经历的？
斯瓦米吉：有一天，在达克希涅斯瓦尔的庙园里，室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）触摸了我的心脏部位，首先我开始看到那些房屋——房间、门窗、走廊——树木、太阳、月亮——全都飞散开去，仿佛粉碎了——化为原子和分子——最终融入了虚空（Akasha）。渐渐地，虚空也消失了，之后，我的自我意识也随之消融；接下来发生了什么，我已不记得了。起初我感到恐惧。从那种状态回来之后，我又重新开始看到房屋、门窗、走廊和其他事物。还有一次，我在美国一个湖边有过完全相同的证悟。
弟子：这种状态难道不也可能是由大脑失调引起的吗？而且我不明白证悟这样的状态能有什么幸福可言。
斯瓦米吉：大脑失调！当它既非由疾病引起的谵妄，也非由饮酒引起的醉态，更非由各种奇怪的呼吸练习产生的幻觉——而是在一个身体健康、神志清醒的正常人身上发生的时候，你怎么能称之为大脑失调呢？再者，这种体验与吠陀（Vedas）完全一致。它也与古代那些受到启示的仙人（Rishi）和大师（Acharya）们的证悟之言相吻合。你最终是把我当成疯子了吗？（微笑）
弟子：哦，不，我当然不是那个意思。经典中有数以百计关于这种一体性证悟的例证，而您又说这可以像手掌上的果实一样直接证悟，加之这是您生命中的亲身经历，与吠陀及其他经典的言说完全吻合——我怎敢说它是虚假的？商羯罗（Shankara）阿阇梨也在证悟了那种状态后说过："宇宙消逝到哪里去了？"等等。
斯瓦米吉：要知道——这种一体的智慧正是经典所说的对梵（Brahman）的证悟，通过它，人可以摆脱恐惧，生死的枷锁永远断裂。一旦证悟了那至上极乐，便不再被此世的苦乐所压倒。人们被卑下的贪欲和财欲所束缚，无法享受那梵的极乐。
弟子：如果确是如此，如果我们真的是至上梵（Brahman）的本质，那我们为什么不努力去获得那种极乐呢？为什么我们一次又一次地被贪欲和财欲这毫无价值的罗网所诱惑，落入死亡的巨口？
斯瓦米吉：你说得好像人不渴望获得那种极乐似的！深思一下，你就会看到，无论任何人在做什么，都是在希望获得那至上极乐。只是并非每个人都意识到了这一点，因而无法理解。那至上极乐完整地存在于一切之中，从大梵天（Brahma）直到一片草叶。你也是那不可分割的梵（Brahman）。此时此刻，如果你真正地、绝对地认为自己就是梵，你就可以证悟。这一切不过是缺乏直接的觉知而已。你之所以谋职工作、为妻子辛勤劳作，也说明最终的目标是达到那梵的至上极乐。在一次又一次纠缠于错觉的迷宫中、在被忧患苦恼沉重打击之后，目光自然会转向自己真正的本性——内在的真我（Atman）。正是因为心中存在着这种对极乐的渴望，人在一次又一次遭受沉重打击之后，才会把目光转向内在——转向自己的真我。这个时刻必定会来到每一个人身上，无一例外，对有些人来说也许就在今生，对另一些人来说则要经过千百次的轮回（Samsara）。
弟子：这一切都取决于导师（Guru）的加持和主的恩典啊！
斯瓦米吉：主的恩典之风永远在吹拂。你只需要张开你的帆。无论做什么事，都要全心全意地专注于其上。日夜不停地想："我的本质就是那至上的存在-智慧-极乐——我有什么恐惧和忧虑？这身体、心意和智识都是短暂无常的，而超越这一切的才是我自己。"
弟子：这样的念头偶尔会出现片刻，但很快就消失了，我便想起各种杂乱无章的东西。
斯瓦米吉：在最初阶段确实会这样，但渐渐地就会克服。但从一开始，心中就需要强烈的渴望。时刻这样想："我永远纯净，永远觉知，永远自在；我怎么可能做出恶行？我怎么可能像普通人那样被贪欲和财欲这些微不足道的诱惑所迷惑？"用这样的念头来强化心志。这必将带来真正的利益。
弟子：心志的力量偶尔会来，但随后我又想，如果我去考副地方官的考试，财富、名声和声望就会到来，我就能过上富足快乐的生活。
斯瓦米吉：每当这样的念头出现在心中时，就在内心辨别真实与虚妄。你不是读过吠檀多（Vedanta）吗？即使在睡觉的时候，也要把辨别之剑放在枕边，这样贪婪就连在梦中也无法靠近你。这样修炼力量，出离心将渐渐到来，届时你就会看到——天堂之门已经为你敞开。
弟子：如果是这样的话，斯瓦米吉，为什么虔信的经典说过多的出离会扼杀产生柔情的感受呢？
斯瓦米吉：扔掉，我说，把那些教导这种东西的经典扔掉！没有出离，没有对感官对象的炽烈厌离，没有像躲避肮脏的污秽一样远离财富和贪欲——"न सिध्यति ब्रह्मशतान्तरेऽपि——即使经历百次梵天的劫期也绝不可能获得解脱（Moksha）。"念诵主的名号、冥想、礼拜、在圣火中奉献、苦行——所有这些都是为了引发出离。一个没有获得出离的人，要知道他的努力就像一个人在船还锚泊不动的时候拼命划桨一样。"न प्रजया धनेन त्यागेनैके अमृतत्वमानशुः——非由子嗣，非由财富，唯有通过出离，少数人才获得了不死"（《独存奥义书》，第三颂）。
弟子：仅仅舍弃财富和贪欲就能成就一切吗？
斯瓦米吉：即便舍弃了这两者之后，道路上还有其他障碍；比如接踵而来的就是名声和荣誉。除非具有非凡的力量，很少有人能在那种情况下保持平衡。人们向他们献上崇敬，各种享乐便逐渐悄然而入。正是由于这个原因，四分之三的出离者（Tyagi）被阻碍了进一步的进展！为了建立这座道场和其他事业，谁知道我自己是否也不得不再来一次！
弟子：如果您这么说，那我们就完了！
斯瓦米吉：有什么可怕的？"अभीरभीरभीः——无所畏惧，无所畏惧，无所畏惧！"你见过纳格·摩诃夏耶（Nag Mahashaya）——即便过着居士的生活，他比游方僧（Sannyasin）还更胜一筹！这是极为罕见的；我很少见到像他这样的人。如果有人想做一个居士，就让他以纳格·摩诃夏耶为榜样。他如同一颗璀璨的明星照耀在东孟加拉的精神苍穹中。告诉那里的人们常去拜访他，这将对他们大有裨益。
弟子：纳格·摩诃夏耶似乎是室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）在世上演出的神圣戏剧中谦卑的活化身。
斯瓦米吉：毫无疑问，确实如此！我有一个愿望想去看看他。你愿意和我一起去吗？我喜欢看雨季中水漫田野的景象。你给他写封信好吗？
弟子：我当然愿意。他每次听到您的消息都欣喜若狂，说东孟加拉将因您双足的尘埃而被圣化为朝圣之地。
斯瓦米吉：你知道吗，室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）曾称纳格·摩诃夏耶为"一团烈火"？
弟子：是的，我听说过。
应斯瓦米吉之邀，弟子品尝了一些供品（Prasada，神圣食物），在傍晚时分离开前往加尔各答；他深深沉浸在从这位受到启示的老师口中所听到的无畏信息之中——"我是自由的！""我是自由的！"
十四
舍弃欲望与财富（Kama-Kanchana）——神的慈悲降临于为证悟而奋斗的人——无条件的慈悲与梵（Brahman）是一体的
弟子：斯瓦米吉，室利·罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）曾经说过，一个人如果不先舍弃欲望与财富（Kama-Kanchana），就无法在宗教证悟的道路上走得很远。如果是这样的话，居士们该怎么办？因为他们的全部心思都放在这两样东西上。
斯瓦米吉：确实如此，无论是在家人还是游方僧（Sannyasin），心灵若未摆脱对欲望与财富的贪恋，便永远无法转向神。请务必明白这一事实：只要心灵还被这些所缚，真正的虔诚、坚定与信仰便永远不会到来。
弟子：那在家人该怎么办呢？他们应该走什么道路？
斯瓦米吉：满足我们较小的欲望并永远了结它们，以辨别力舍弃较大的欲望——这就是道路。没有出离，便永远无法证悟神——即使梵天亲自另有教导也无济于事！
弟子：但是一个人出家为僧之后，就能立刻舍弃一切吗？
斯瓦米吉：游方僧（Sannyasin）至少在努力使自己具备出离的条件，而在家人在这方面就像船夫——船还停在锚地，他们却在拼命划桨。对享乐的欲望何曾满足过？"它只会愈演愈烈"（《薄伽梵往世书》九·十九·十四）。
弟子：为什么？长期反复享受感官对象之后，难道不会对世间产生厌倦吗？
斯瓦米吉：有多少人能达到那种境界？心灵因持续接触感官对象而受到染污，并被永久地塑造和烙印。出离，唯有出离，才是一切证悟的真正秘诀，是根本真言。
弟子：但经典中先贤们也有这样的训示："与妻子儿女同住而能克制五根，即为苦行。""对于已断除贪爱的人来说，居于家中与隐居山林修行并无分别。"
斯瓦米吉：能在家庭中舍弃欲望与财富的人确实有福了！但有多少人能做到呢？
弟子：那游方僧又如何呢？他们是否都能完全舍弃情欲和对财富的执着？
斯瓦米吉：正如我刚才所说，游方僧（Sannyasin）走在出离的道路上，他们至少已经上了战场，为目标而战；然而在家人却不同，他们尚未认识到贪欲带来的危险，甚至还没有尝试去证悟真我（Atman）；必须努力摆脱这些执着——这个念头还不曾进入他们的脑海。
弟子：但也有许多在家人在为此而努力。
斯瓦米吉：是的，那些在努力的人必定会逐渐走向出离；他们对欲望与财富的过度执着将渐渐减轻。但对于那些拖延说"不急！时候到了自然会做"的人而言，证悟真我（Atman）还遥遥无期。"让我此刻就证悟真理！就在今生！"——这才是英雄的话语。这样的英雄随时准备在下一刻出离一切，经典（《贾巴拉奥义书》第三章）对他们说："当你对世间的虚荣感到厌恶的那一刻，就舍弃一切，走上出家之路。"
弟子：但罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）大师不是常说"当一个人向神祈祷时，通过神的恩典，所有这些执着都会消失"吗？
斯瓦米吉：是的，当然如此，通过他的慈悲确实可以，但一个人必须先纯净，才能接受这慈悲——在思想、言语和行为上都纯净；那时神的恩典才会降临。
弟子：但对于能在思想、言语和行为上自我控制的人来说，还有什么需要恩典的呢？因为他已经能够凭借自身的努力在灵性道路上发展了！
斯瓦米吉：上主对那些他看到全心全意为证悟而奋斗的人是极为慈悲的。但如果你无所作为，不去奋斗，你就会发现他的恩典永远不会降临。
弟子：每个人都渴望向善，然而心灵却因某种不可知的原因总是趋向恶！难道不是每个人都希望向善——趋于完美——证悟神吗？
斯瓦米吉：要知道，渴望如此的人已经是在奋斗了。当这种奋斗得以持续时，神就会赐予他的慈悲。
弟子：在化身的历史中，我们发现许多人，可以说曾过着非常放纵的生活，却无需太多努力、无需修行或虔信（Bhakti）便能证悟神。这该如何解释？
斯瓦米吉：是的，但他们内心一定已经产生了极大的不安；长期沉溺于感官对象必定已经在他们心中激起了深深的厌恶。缺乏安宁必定已经在吞噬他们的心灵。他们心中的空虚感已经如此深切，以至于哪怕一刻的生命对他们来说都难以忍受，除非能获得随上主慈悲而来的那种平静。所以神对他们是仁慈的。这种发展是在他们身上直接从愚暗（Tamas）到纯善（Sattva）实现的。
弟子：那么，无论走的是什么道路，是否可以说他们确实以那种方式证悟了神？
斯瓦米吉：是的，为什么不呢？但从正门进入宅邸，难道不比从不光彩的侧门进入要好吗？
弟子：毫无疑问，确实如此。但这也证明了一个观点：仅凭恩典，人也能证悟神。
斯瓦米吉：哦，是的，确实可以，但能做到的人实在太少了！
弟子：在我看来，那些试图通过控制感官、舍弃欲望与财富来证悟神的人，持的是自力奋斗的理论；而那些持念上主名号、依靠他的人，则由上主亲自将他们从一切世间执着中解脱出来，并引领他们到达证悟的最高境界。
斯瓦米吉：不错，这是两种不同的立场，前者为智慧（Jnana）修行者所持，后者为虔信（Bhakti）修行者所持。但出离的理想是两者共同的根本。
弟子：这毫无疑问！但吉里什·钱德拉·戈什有一次对我说，神的慈悲不可能有任何条件；不可能有任何法则来约束它！如果有的话，它就不能再称为慈悲了。恩典或慈悲的领域必须超越一切法则。
斯瓦米吉：但在吉里什所指的那个领域中，一定有某种更高的法则在运作，只是我们无法知晓。那些话确实是为发展的最终阶段而说的，唯有那个阶段才超越时间、空间和因果。然而当我们到达那里时，谁来施予慈悲，向谁施予慈悲，因果律又在哪里呢？在那里，敬拜者与被敬拜者，冥想者与冥想的对象，知者与所知，一切合而为一——你可以称之为恩典或梵（Brahman），随你所愿。那全然是一个统一的、同质的实在！
弟子：斯瓦米吉，听了您这番话，我似乎领悟了一切哲学与宗教（吠陀与吠檀多）的精髓；过去我仿佛一直生活在华而不实的空洞言辞之中。
十五
非暴力教义与肉食——人的纯善、激情与愚暗——饮食与灵性——"饮食"之义——食物的三种缺陷——不可触碰与种姓偏见——恢复古老的四种姓制度与仙人的法规
弟子：请问，斯瓦米吉，饮食的选择与人的灵性发展之间是否存在某种关联？
斯瓦米吉：是的，或多或少是有的。
弟子：吃鱼和肉是否恰当或必要？
斯瓦米吉：吃吧，孩子！如果这样做有什么害处，由我来承担。看看我们国家的民众吧！他们脸上是怎样一副愁苦的神情，心中是怎样缺乏勇气和热忱——大腹便便而手脚无力——一群遇到芝麻小事就惊慌失措的懦夫！
弟子：吃鱼和肉能增强力量吗？为什么佛教和毗湿奴派宣扬"不杀生是最高的美德"？
斯瓦米吉：佛教和毗湿奴派并非两种不同的东西。当佛教在印度衰落时，印度教从中吸取了几条基本的行为准则，将其据为己有，这些如今被称为毗湿奴派。佛教的教条"不杀生是最高美德"本身很好，但试图通过立法将其强加于所有人，而不顾及广大民众的实际能力，佛教给印度带来了灾难。我在印度遇到过许多"宗教伪善者"——他们用糖喂蚂蚁，同时却毫不犹豫地为了不义之财去毁掉自己的兄弟！
弟子：但在吠陀（Vedas）以及《摩奴法典》中，也有食鱼食肉的训示。
斯瓦米吉：是的，同样也有禁止杀生的训示。因为吠陀（Vedas）教导说："不可伤害任何众生"；摩奴也说："断除欲望能带来巨大成果。"杀生与不杀生的训示都有，根据遵行其中一种或另一种修行之人的个人能力、适宜程度和具体情况而定。
弟子：如今这里的风气是，一旦皈依宗教就放弃鱼和肉，许多人认为不这样做比犯通奸之类的大罪还要严重。您认为这种观念是怎么产生的？
斯瓦米吉：你知道它们是怎么来的又有什么用？你难道没有清楚地看到，这些观念正在毁灭我们的国家和社会吗？你看——东孟加拉的人大量食用鱼、肉和甲鱼，他们比这一带的人健康得多。就连东孟加拉的富人晚上也还没有改吃油炸饼或薄饼，他们不像我们这样患胃酸过多和消化不良。我听说在东孟加拉的乡村，人们根本不知道消化不良是什么意思！
弟子：确实如此，斯瓦米吉。在我们那一带从来没有人抱怨消化不良。我来到这一带之后才第一次听说这种病。我们早晚都是鱼配米饭。
斯瓦米吉：是的，尽量多吃，不必害怕批评。这个国家已经被那些只吃素食的消化不良的修行者充斥了。那不是纯善（Sattva）的表现，而是深重愚暗（Tamas）的表现——死亡的阴影。面容明亮，心中充满无畏的热忱，行动力极强——这些是纯善（Sattva）的表现；而懒惰、昏沉、过度执着和嗜睡则是愚暗（Tamas）的征兆。
弟子：但鱼和肉不是会增加人的激情（Rajas）吗？
斯瓦米吉：那正是我希望你们拥有的。现在最需要的就是激情（Rajas）！你们现在认为具有纯善品质的人，百分之九十以上实际上都深陷在最深重的愚暗（Tamas）之中。如果你能在其中找到十六分之一真正具有纯善品质的人，就算不错了！我们现在需要的是激情能量的巨大觉醒，因为整个国家都被愚暗（Tamas）的殓布所裹。这片土地上的人民必须得到温饱——必须被唤醒——必须变得更加充满活力。否则他们将变得如同树木和石头一样僵死。所以我说，大量地吃鱼和肉吧，孩子！
弟子：当一个人完全发展了纯善（Sattva）品质之后，对鱼和肉的喜好还会存在吗？
斯瓦米吉：不，不会了。当纯粹的纯善（Sattva）高度发展时，对鱼和肉的一切喜好都会消失，而其在灵魂中显现的征兆是：为他人牺牲一切，对欲望和财富完全无执，没有骄傲和我执。当这些品质在一个人身上显现时，对动物性食物的欲望就消失了。而在没有这些征兆的地方，你却发现有人站在不杀生的一边，那就要确知，其中不是伪善就是宗教的做作。当你自己达到那种纯粹纯善的境界时，无论如何都要放弃鱼和肉。
弟子：在《歌者奥义书》（七·二十六·二）中有这样一段话："通过纯净的饮食，人的纯善品质得以净化。"
斯瓦米吉：是的，我知道。商羯罗（Shankara）说那里的"饮食"一词指的是"感官的对象"，而罗摩努阇则将其理解为"食物"。在我看来，我们应当取能调和这两种观点的含义。我们是要把一生都花在讨论食物的净与不净上呢，还是去修习控制感官？显然，控制感官是主要目标；而辨别好与坏、净与不净的食物，只是在一定程度上有助于达到这个目的。据我们的经典记载，有三种因素使食物不净：（一）种类缺陷，即某类食物的天然缺陷，如洋葱、大蒜等；（二）偶然缺陷，即外在不洁物的存在所导致的缺陷，如从店铺购买的甜食上沾附的死虫、灰尘等；（三）来源缺陷，即食物因来自不良来源而产生的缺陷，比如被邪恶之人触碰和经手过的食物。前两类缺陷尤其需要特别注意避免。但在这个国家，人们恰恰对这两类毫不在意，却一味地为第三类争吵不休——而那恰恰是只有瑜伽（Yoga）士才能真正辨别的！这个国家从头到尾都被"不可触碰主义"那一派"别碰"、"别碰"的叫嚷声弄得烦不胜烦。而在他们那个排外的圈子里，也没有对好人坏人的辨别，因为只要脖子上挂根线、自称婆罗门的人，他们的食物都可以接受！罗摩克里希纳（Ramakrishna）大师则完全无法以这种不加辨别的方式从任何人手中接受食物。有很多次，他拒绝接受某些人触碰过的食物，经过严格调查后发现，这些人确实有某些特殊的污点要隐瞒。你们的宗教如今似乎已经局限在厨房的锅子里了。你们把宗教的崇高真理搁在一边，却如俗语所说，在为果皮争斗而非为果实本身！
弟子：那您的意思是，我们应该吃任何人经手的食物吗？
斯瓦米吉：我何曾这样说？你看，你身为某个等级的婆罗门，比如说婆陀查里亚等级的，你为什么不能吃所有等级的婆罗门烹制的米饭呢？你属于拉里支派，为什么要反对吃巴伦德拉支派婆罗门烹制的米饭？巴伦德拉人又为什么要反对吃你烹制的米饭？而且，印度西部和南部的其他亚种姓，如马拉地人、泰卢固人、卡瑙吉人，为什么不能同样如此呢？难道你没有看到，孟加拉的数百名婆罗门和文士种姓的人现在偷偷跑到公共餐馆去享用美食，出来之后却摆出社会领袖的架子，制定规则来维护不可触碰主义。我们的社会真的应该受这些伪善者制定的法规来指导吗？不，我说绝不。相反，我们必须把他们赶出去。古代伟大仙人制定的法规必须恢复，并重新成为最高准则。唯有如此，国家才能获得福祉。
弟子：那么，古代仙人制定的法规现在不是在统治和引导我们的社会吗？
斯瓦米吉：空幻的妄想！如今哪里还是这样？在我游历期间，即使我仔细而彻底地寻找，也从未在印度的任何地方发现仙人的法规仍在通行。盲目的、往往毫无意义的习俗——为人民的地方偏见和观念所认可——以及妇女中间流行的用法和仪式——才是各地真正统治社会的东西！有多少人愿意阅读经典，或经过仔细研究后按照经典的教导来引导社会呢？
弟子：那我们该怎么办呢？
斯瓦米吉：我们必须恢复古代仙人的法规。我们必须将全体人民引入我们古老的摩奴和耶若伐尔基亚的法典中，并在此处彼处做些修改以适应时代变迁的情况。你难道没有看到，现在印度的任何地方都找不到原始的四种姓制度（四种姓）了吗？我们必须重新划分整个印度教人口，将其按照古代的方式归入四个主要种姓——婆罗门、刹帝利、吠舍和首陀罗。现代那些将婆罗门分裂成如此众多种姓般的无数细分支派必须废除，通过统合所有支派来建立一个统一的婆罗门种姓。其余三个种姓同样也必须各自统合为一个群体，就像吠陀（Vedas）时代那样。不这样做的话，你们只是像现在这样高喊"我们不碰你！""我们不让他回到种姓中！"祖国就真的能从中受益吗？绝不会的，孩子！
注释
——
English
XI
(Translated from Bengali)
India Wants not Lecturing but Work—The Crying Problem in India is Poverty—Young Sannyasins to be Trained Both as Secular And Spiritual Teachers and Workers for the Masses—Exhortations to Young Men to WORK for Others
(From the Diary of a disciple)
(The disciple in this and the following conversations is Sharat Chandra Chakravarty.)
Disciple: How is it, Swamiji, that you do not lecture in this country? You have stirred Europe and America with your lectures, but coming back here you have kept silence.
Swamiji: In this country, the ground should be prepared first; then if the seed is sown, the plant will come out best. The ground in the West, in Europe and America is very fertile and fit for sowing seeds. There they have reached the climax of Bhoga (enjoyment). Being satiated with Bhoga to the full, their minds are not getting peace now even in those enjoyments, and they feel as if they wanted something else. In this country you have neither Bhoga nor Yoga (renunciation). When one is satiated with Bhoga, then it is that one will listen to and understand the teachings on Yoga. What good will lectures do in a country like India which has become the birthplace of disease, sorrow, and affliction, and where men are emaciated through starvation, and weak in mind?
Disciple: How is that? Do you not say that ours is the land of religion and that here the people understand religion as they do nowhere else? Why then will not this country be animated by your inspiring eloquence and reap to the full the fruits thereof?
Swamiji: Now understand what religion means. The first thing required is the worship of the Kurma (tortoise) Incarnation, and the belly-god is this Kurma, as it were. Until you pacify this, no one will welcome your words about religion. India is restless with the thought of how to face this spectre of hunger. The draining of the best resources of the country by the foreigners, the unrestricted exports of merchandise, and, above all, the abominable jealousy natural to slaves are eating into the vitals of India. First of all, you must remove this evil of hunger and starvation, this constant anxiety for bare existence, from those to whom you want to preach religion; otherwise, lectures and such things will be of no benefit.
Disciple: What should we do then to remove that evil ?
Swamiji: First, some young men full of the spirit of renunciation are needed —those who will be ready to sacrifice their lives for others, instead of devoting themselves to their own happiness. With this object in view I shall establish a Math to train young Sannyâsins, who will go from door to door and make the people realise their pitiable condition by means of facts and reasoning, and instruct them in the ways and means for their welfare, and at the same time will explain to them as clearly as possible, in very simple and easy language, the higher truths of religion. The masses in our country are like the sleeping Leviathan. The education imparted by the present university system reaches one or two per cent of the masses only. And even those who get that do not succeed in their endeavours of doing any good to their country. But it is not their fault, poor fellows! As soon as they come out of their college, they find themselves fathers of several children! Somehow or other they manage to secure the position of a clerk, or at the most, a deputy magistrate. This is the finale of education! With the burden of a family on their backs, they find no time to do anything great or think anything high. They do not find means enough to fulfil their personal wants and interests; so what can be expected of them in the way of doing anything for others ?
Disciple: Is there then no way out for us?
Swamiji: Certainly there is. This is the land of Religion Eternal. The country has fallen, no doubt, but will as surely rise again, and that upheaval will astound the world. The lower the hollows the billows make, the higher and with greater force will they rise again.
Disciple: How will India rise again?
Swamiji: Do you not see? The dawn has already appeared in the eastern sky, and there is little delay in the sun's rising. You all set your shoulders to the wheel! What is there in making the world all in all, and thinking of "My Samsâra (family and property), my Samsâra"? Your duty at present is to go from one part of the country to another, from village to village, and make the people understand that mere sitting idly won't do any more. Make them understand their real condition and say, "O ye brothers, arise! Awake! How much longer would you remain asleep!" Go and advise them how to improve their own condition, and make them comprehend the sublime truths of the Shâstras (scriptures), by presenting them in a lucid and popular way. So long the Brahmins have monopolised religion; but since they cannot hold their ground against the strong tide of time, go and take steps so that one and all in the land may get that religion. Impress upon their minds that they have the same right to religion as the Brahmins. Initiate all, even down to the Chandâlas (people of the lowest castes), in these fiery Mantras. Also instruct them, in simple words, about the necessities of life, and in trade, commerce, agriculture, etc. If you cannot do this then lie upon your education and culture, and lie upon your studying the Vedas and Vedanta!
Disciple: But where is that strength in us? I should have felt myself blessed if I had a hundredth part of your powers, Swamiji.
Swamiji: How foolish! Power and things like that will come by themselves. Put yourself to work, and you will final such tremendous power coming to you that you will feel it hard to bear. Even the least work done for others awakens the power within; even thinking the least good of others gradually instils into the heart the strength of a lion. I lore you all ever so much, but I wish you all to die working for others—I should rather be glad to see you do that!
Disciple: What will become of those, then, who depend on me?
Swamiji: If you are ready to sacrifice your life for others, God will certainly provide some means for them. Have you not read in the Gita (VI. 40) the words of Shri Krishna, "न हि कल्याणकृत्कश्चित् दुर्गतिं तात गच्छति —Never does a doer of good, O my beloved, come to grief"?
Disciple: I see, sir.
Swamiji: The essential thing is renunciation. With out renunciation none can pour out his whole heart in working for others. The man of renunciation sees all with an equal eye and devotes himself to the service of all. Does not our Vedanta also teach us to see all with an equal eye? Why then do you cherish the idea that the wife and children are your own, more than others? At your very threshold, Nârâyana Himself in the form of a poor beggar is dying of starvation! Instead of giving him anything, would you only satisfy the appetites of your wife and children with delicacies? Why, that is beastly!
Disciple: To work for others requires a good deal of money at times, and where shall I get that?
Swamiji: Why not do as much as lies within your power? Even if you cannot give to others for want of money, surely you can at least breathe into their ears some good words or impart some good instruction, can't you? Or does that also require money?
Disciple: Yes, sir, that I can do.
Swamiji: But saying, "I can", won't do. Show me through action what you can do, and then only I shall know that your coming to me is turned to some good account. Get up, and put your shoulders to the wheel—how long is this life for? As you have come into this world, leave some mark behind. Otherwise, where is the difference between you and the trees and stones? They, too, come into existence, decay and die. If you like to be born and to die like them, you are at liberty to do so. Show me by your actions that your reading the Vedanta has been fruitful of the highest good. Go and tell all, "In every one of you lies that Eternal Power", and try to wake It up. What will you do with individual salvation? That is sheer selfishness. Throw aside your meditation, throw away your salvation and such things! Put your whole heart and soul in the work to which I have consecrated myself.
With bated breath the disciple heard these inspiring words, and Swamiji went on with his usual fire and eloquence.
Swamiji: First of all, make the soil ready, and thousands of Vivekanandas will in time be born into this world to deliver lectures on religion. You needn't worry yourself about that! Don't you see why I am starting orphanages, famine-relief works, etc.? Don't you see how Sister Nivedita, a British lady, has learnt to serve Indians so well, by doing even menial work for them? And can't you, being Indians, similarly serve your own fellow-countrymen? Go, all of you, wherever there is an outbreak of plague or famine, or wherever the people are in distress, and mitigate their sufferings. At the most you may die in the attempt—what of that? How many like you are being born and dying like worms every day? What difference does that make to the world at large? Die you must, but have a great ideal to die for, and it is better to die with a great ideal in life. Preach this ideal from door to door, and you will yourselves be benefited by it at the same time that you are doing good to your country. On you lie the future hopes of our country. I feel extreme pain to see you leading a life of inaction. Set yourselves to work—to work! Do not tarry—the time of death is approaching day by day! Do not sit idle, thinking that everything will be done in time, later on! Mind—nothing will be done that way!
XII
Reconciliation of Jnana and Bhakti—Sat-Chit-Ananda—How Sectarianism Originates—Bring in Shraddha and the Worship of Shakti and avataras—The Ideal of the Hero We Want Now, not the Madhura-Bhava—Shri Ramakrishna—Avataras
Disciple: Pray, Swamiji, how can Jnâna and Bhakti be reconciled? We see the followers of the path of devotion (Bhaktas) close their ears at the name of Shankara, and again, the followers of the path of knowledge (Jnanis) call the Bhaktas fanatics, seeing them weep in torrents, or sing and dance in ecstasy, in the name of the Lord.
Swamiji: The thing is, all this conflict is in the preliminary (preparatory) stages of Jnana and Bhakti. Have you not heard Shri Ramakrishna's story about Shiva's demons and Râma's monkeys?
Disciple: Yes, sir, I have.
Swamiji: But there is no difference between the supreme Bhakti and the supreme Jnana. The supreme Bhakti is to realise God as the form of Prema (love) itself. If you see the loving form of God manifest everywhere and in everything, how can you hate or injure others? That realisation of love can never come so long as there is the least desire in the heart, or what Shri Ramakrishna used to say, attachment for Kâma-Kânchana (sense-pleasure and wealth). In the perfect realisation of love, even the consciousness of one's own body does not exist. Also, the supreme Jnana is to realise the oneness everywhere, to see one's own self as the Self in everything. That too cannot come so long as there is the least consciousness of the ego (Aham).
Disciple: Then what you call love is the same as supreme knowledge?
Swamiji: Exactly so. Realisation of love comes to none unless one becomes a perfect Jnani. Does not the Vedanta say that Brahman is Sat-Chit-Ânanda— the absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss?
Disciple: Yes, sir.
Swamiji: The phrase Sat-Chit-Ananda means—Sat, i.e. existence, Chit, i.e. consciousness or knowledge, and Ananda, i.e. bliss which is the same as love. There is no controversy between the Bhakta and the Jnani regarding the Sat aspect of Brahman. Only, the Jnanis lay greater stress on His aspect of Chit or knowledge, while the Bhaktas keep the aspect of Ananda or love more in view. But no sooner is the essence of Chit realised than the essence of Ananda is also realised. Because what is Chit is verily the same as Ananda.
Disciple: Why then is so much sectarianism prevalent in India? And why is there so much controversy between the scriptures on Bhakti and Jnana?
Swamiji: The thing is, all this waging of war and controversy is concerning the preliminary ideals, i.e. those ideals which men take up to attain the real Jnana or real Bhakti. But which do you think is the higher—the end or the means? Surely, the means can never be higher than the end, because the means to realise the same end must be numerous, as they vary according to the temperament or mental capacities of individual followers. The counting of beads, meditation, worship, offering oblations in the sacred fire—all these and such other things are the limbs of religion; they are but means; and to attain to supreme devotion (Parâ-Bhakti) or to the highest realisation of Brahman is the pre-eminent end. If you look a little deeper, you will understand what they are fighting about. One says, "If you pray to God facing the East, then you will reach Him." "No," says another, "you will have to sit facing the West, and then only you will see Him." Perhaps someone realised God in meditation, ages ago, by sitting with his face to the East, and his disciples at once began to preach this attitude, asserting that none can ever see God unless he assumes this position. Another party comes forward and inquires, "How is that? Such and such a person realised God while facing the West, and we have seen this ourselves." In this way all these sects have originated. Someone might have attained supreme devotion by repeating the name of the Lord as Hari, and at once it entered into the composition of the Shâstra as:
हरेर्नाम हरेर्नाम हरेर्नामैव केवलम् । कलौ नास्त्येव नास्त्येव नास्त्येव गतिरन्यथा ॥
हरेर्नाम हरेर्नाम हरेर्नामैव केवलम् । कलौ नास्त्येव नास्त्येव नास्त्येव गतिरन्यथा ॥
—"The name of the Lord Hari, the name of the Lord Hari, the name of the Lord Hari alone. Verily, there is no other, no other, no other path than this in the age of Kali."
Someone, again, let us suppose, might have attained perfection with the name of Allah, and immediately another creed originated by him began to spread, and so on. But we have to see what is the end to which all these forms of worship and other religious practices are intended to lead. The end is Shraddhâ. We have not any synonym in our Bengali language to express the Sanskrit word Shraddha. The (Katha) Upanishad says that Shraddha entered into the heart of Nachiketâ. Even with the word Ekâgratâ (one-pointedness) we cannot express the whole significance of the word Shraddha. The word Ekâgranishthâ (one-pointed devotion) conveys, to a certain extent, the meaning of the word Shraddha. If you meditate on any truth with steadfast devotion and concentration, you will see that the mind is more and more tending onwards to Oneness, i.e. taking you towards the realisation of the absolute Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. The scriptures on Bhakti or Jnana give special advice to men to take up in life the one or the other of such Nishthas (scrupulous persistence) and make it their own. With the lapse of ages, these great truths become distorted and gradually transform themselves into Deshâchâras or the prevailing customs of a country. It has happened, not only in India, but in every nation and every society in the world. And the common people, lacking in discrimination, make these the bone of contention and fight among themselves. They have lost sight of the end, and hence sectarianism, quarrels, and fights continue.
Disciple: What then is the saving means, Swamiji?
Swamiji: That true Shraddha, as of old, has to be brought back again. The weeds have to be taken up by the roots. In every faith and in every path, there are, no doubt, truths which transcend time and space, but a good deal of rubbish has accumulated over them. This has to be cleared away, and the true eternal principles have to be held before the people; and then only, our religion and our country will be really benefited.
Disciple: How will that be effected?
Swamiji: Why, first of all, we have to introduce the worship of the great saints. Those great-souled ones who have realised the eternal truths are to be presented before the people as the ideas to be followed; as in the case of India—Shri Râmachandra, Shri Krishna, Mahâvira and Shri Ramakrishna, among others. Can you bring in the worship of Shri Ramachandra and Mahavira in this country? Keep aside for the present the Vrindâvan aspect of Shri Krishna, and spread far and wide the worship of Shri Krishna roaring the Gita out, with the voice of a Lion. And bring into daily use the worship of Shakti—the divine Mother, the source of all power.
Disciple: Is the divine play of Shri Krishna with the Gopis of Vrindavan not good, then?
Swamiji: Under the present circumstances, that worship is of no good to you. Playing on the flute and so on will not regenerate the country. We now mostly need the ideal of a hero with the tremendous spirit of Rajas thrilling through his veins from head to foot—the hero who will dare and die to know the Truth—the hero whose armour is renunciation, whose sword is wisdom. We want now the spirit of the brave warrior in the battlefield of life, and not of the wooing lover who looks upon life as a pleasure-garden!
Disciple: Is then the path of love, as depicted in the ideal of the Gopis, false?
Swamiji: Who says so? Not I! That is a very superior form of worship (Sâdhanâ). In this age of tremendous attachment to sense-pleasure and wealth, very few are able even to comprehend those higher ideals.
Disciple: Then are not those who are worshipping God as husband or lover (Madhura) following the proper path?
Swamiji: I dare say not. There may be a few honourable exceptions among them, but know, that the greater part of them are possessed of dark Tâmasika nature. Most of them are full of morbidity and affected with exceptional weakness. The country must be raised. The worship of Mahavira must be introduced; the Shakti-pujâ must form a part of our daily practice; Shri Ramachandra must be worshipped in every home. Therein lies your welfare, therein lies the good of the country—there is no other way.
Disciple: But I have heard that Bhagavan Shri Ramakrishna used to sing the name of God very much?
Swamiji: Quite so, but his was a different case. What comparison can there be between him and ordinary men? He practiced in his life all the different ideals of religion to show that each of them leads but to the One Truth. Shall you or I ever be able to do all that he has done? None of us has understood him fully. So, I do not venture to speak about him anywhere and everywhere. He only knows what he himself really was; his frame was a human one only, but everything else about him was entirely different from others.
Disciple: Do you, may I ask, believe him to be an Avatara (Incarnation of God)?
Swamiji: Tell me first—what do you mean by an Avatara?
Disciple: Why, I mean one like Shri Ramachandra, Shri Krishna, Shri Gauranga, Buddha, Jesus, and others.
Swamiji: I know Bhagavan Shri Ramakrishna to be even greater than those you have just named. What to speak of believing, which is a petty thing—I know! Let us, however, drop the subject now; more of it another time.
After a pause Swamiji continued: To re-establish the Dharma, there come Mahâpurushas (great teachers of humanity), suited to the needs of the times and society. Call them what you will—either Mahapurushas or Avataras—it matters little. They reveal, each in his life, the ideal. Then, by degrees, shapes are moulded in their matrices—MEN are made! Gradually, sects arise and spread As time goes on, these sects degenerate, and similar reformers come again. This has been the law flowing in uninterrupted succession, like a current, down the ages.
Disciple: Why do you not preach Shri Ramakrishna as an Avatara? You have, indeed, power, eloquence, and everything else needed to do it.
Swamiji: Truly, I tell you, I have understood him very little. He appears to me to have been so great that, whenever I have to speak anything of him, I am afraid lest I ignore or explain away the truth, lest my little power does not suffice, lest in trying to extol him I present his picture by painting him according to my lights and belittle him thereby!
Disciple: But many are now preaching him as an Avatara.
Swamiji: Let them do so if they like. They are doing it in the light in which they have understood him. You too can go and do the same, if you have understood him.
Disciple: I cannot even grasp you, what to say of Shri Ramakrishna! I should consider myself blessed in this life if I get a little of Your grace.
XIII
Brahman and Differentiation—Personal Realisation of Oneness—Supreme Bliss is the Goal of All—Think Always, I am Brahman—Discrimination and Renunciation are the Means—Be Fearless
Disciple: Pray, Swamiji, if the one Brahman is the only Reality, why then exists all this differentiation in the world?
Swamiji: Are you not considering this question from the point of view of phenomenal existence? Looking from the phenomenal side of existence, one can, through reasoning and discrimination, gradually arrive at the very root of Unity. But if you were firmly established in that Unity, how from that standpoint, tell me, could you see this differentiation?
Disciple: True, if I had existed in the Unity, how should I be able to raise this question of "why"? As I put this question, it is already taken for granted that I do so by seeing this diversity.
Swamiji: Very well. To enquire about the root of Oneness through the diversity of phenomenal existence is named by the Shâstras as Vyatireki reasoning, or the process of arguing by the indirect method, that is, Adhyâropa and Apavâda, first taking for granted something that is nonexistent or unreal as existing or real, and then showing through the course of reasoning that that is not a substance existing or real. You are talking of the process of arriving at the truth through assuming that which is not-true as true—are you not?
Disciple: To my mind, the state of the existing or the seen seems to be self-evident, and hence true, and that which is opposite to it seems, on the other hand, to be unreal.
Swamiji: But the Vedas say, "One only without a second". And if in reality there is the One only that exists—the Brahman—then, your differentiation is false. You believe in the Vedas, I suppose?
Disciple: Oh, yes, for me self I hold the Vedas as the highest authority; but if, in argument, one does not accept them to be so, one must, in that case, have to be refuted by other means.
Swamiji: That also can be done. Look here, a time comes when what you call differentiation vanishes, and we cannot perceive it at all. I have experienced that state in my own life.
Disciple: When have you done so?
Swamiji: One day in the temple-garden at Dakshineswar Shri Ramakrishna touched me over the heart, and first of all I began to see that the houses —rooms, doors, windows, verandahs—the trees, the sun, the moon—all were flying off, shattering to pieces as it were—reduced to atoms and molecules —and ultimately became merged in the Âkâsha. Gradually again, the Akasha also vanished, and after that, my consciousness of the ego with it; what happened next I do not recollect. I was at first frightened. Coming back from that state, again I began to see the houses, doors, windows, verandahs, and other things. On another occasion, I had exactly the same realisation by the side of a lake in America.
Disciple: Might not this state as well be brought about by a derangement of the brain? And I do not understand what happiness there can be in realising such a state.
Swamiji: A derangement of the brain! How can you call it so, when it comes neither as the result of delirium from any disease, nor of intoxication from drinking, nor as an illusion produced by various sorts of queer breathing exercises—but when it comes to a normal man in full possession of his health and wits? Then again, this experience is in perfect harmony with the Vedas. It also coincides with the words of realisation of the inspired Rishis and Âchâryas of old. Do you take me, at last, to be a crack-brained man? (smiling).
Disciple: Oh, no, I did not mean that of course. When there are to be found hundreds of illustrations about such realisation of Oneness in the Shastras, and when you say that it can be as directly realised as a fruit in the palm of one's hand, and when it has been your own personal experience in life, perfectly coinciding with the words of the Vedas and other Shastras—how dare I say that it is false? Shri Shankaracharya also realising that state has said, "Where is the universe vanished? " and so on.
Swamiji: Know—this knowledge of Oneness is what the Shastras speak of as realisation of the Brahman, by knowing which, one gets rid of fear, and the shackles of birth and death break for ever. Having once realised that Supreme Bliss, one is no more overwhelmed by pleasure and pain of this world. Men being fettered by base lust-and-wealth cannot enjoy that Bliss of Brahman.
Disciple: If it is so, and if we are really of the essence of the Supreme Brahman, then why do we not exert ourselves to gain that Bliss? Why do we again and again run into the jaws of death, being decoyed by this worthless snare of lust-and-wealth?
Swamiji: You speak as if man does not desire to have that Bliss! Ponder over it, and you will see that whatever anyone is doing, he is doing in the hope of gaining that Supreme Bliss. Only, not everyone is conscious of it and so cannot understand it. That Supreme Bliss fully exists in all, from Brahmâ down to the blade of grass. You are also that undivided Brahman. This very moment you can realise if you think yourself truly and absolutely to be so. It is all mere want of direct perception. That you have taken service and work so hard for the sake of your wife also shows that the aim is ultimately to attain to that Supreme Bliss of Brahman. Being again and again entangled in the intricate maze of delusion and hard hit by sorrows and afflictions, the eye will turn of itself to one's own real nature, the Inner Self. It is owing to the presence of this desire for bliss in the heart, that man, getting hard shocks one after another, turns his eye inwards—to his own Self. A time is sure to come to everyone, without exception, when he will do so to one it may be in this life, to another, after thousands of incarnations.
Disciple: It all depends upon the blessings of the Guru and the grace of the Lord!
Swamiji: The wind of grace of the Lord is blowing on, for ever and ever. You just need to spread your sail. Whenever you do anything, do it with your whole heart concentrated on it. Think day and night, "I am of the essence of that Supreme Existence-Knowledge-Bliss—what fear and anxiety have I? This body, mind, and intellect are all transient, and That which is beyond these is myself."
Disciple: Thoughts like these come only for a while now and then, but quickly vanish, and I think all sorts of trash and nonsense.
Swamiji: It happens like that in the initial stage, but gradually it is overcome. But from the beginning, intensity of desire in the mind is needed. Think always, "I am ever-pure, ever-knowing, and ever-free; how can I do anything evil? Can I ever be befooled like ordinary men with the insignificant charms of lust and wealth?" Strengthen the mind with such thoughts. This will surely bring real good.
Disciple: Once in a while strength of mind comes. But then again I think that if I would appear at the Deputy Magistrateship Examination, wealth and name and fame would come and I should live well and happy
Swamiji: Whenever such thoughts come in the mind, discriminate within yourself between the real and the unreal. Have you not read the Vedanta? Even when you sleep, keep the sword of discrimination at the head of your bed, so that covetousness cannot approach you even in dream. Practising such strength, renunciation will gradually come, and then you will see—the portals of heaven are wide open to you.
Disciple: If it is so, Swamiji, how is it then that the texts on Bhakti say that too much of renunciation kills the feelings that make for tenderness?
Swamiji: Throw away, I say, texts which teach things like that! Without renunciation, without burning dispassion for sense-objects, without turning away from wealth and lust as from filthy abomination— "न सिध्यति ब्रह्मशतान्तरेऽपि—never can one attain salvation even in hundreds of Brahma's cycles". Repeating the names of the Lord, meditation, worship, offering libations in sacred fire, penance—all these are for bringing forth renunciation. One who has not gained renunciation, know his efforts to be like unto those of the man who is pulling at the oars all the while that the boat is at anchor. "न प्रजया धनेन त्यागेनैके अमृतत्वमानशुः—neither by progeny nor by wealth, but by renunciation alone some (rare ones) attained immortality" (Kaivalya Upanishad, 3).
Disciple: Will mere renouncing of wealth and lust accomplish everything?
Swamiji: There are other hindrances on the path even after renouncing those two; then, for example, comes name and fame. Very few men, unless of exceptional strength, can keep their balance under that. People shower honours upon them, and various enjoyments creep in by degrees. It is owing to this that three-fourths of the Tyâgis are debarred from further progress! For establishing this Math and other things, who knows but that I may have to come back again!
Disciple: If you say things like that, then we are undone!
Swamiji: What fear? "अभीरभीरभीः—Be fearless, be fearless, be fearless!" You have seen Nâg Mahâshaya how even while living the life of a householder, he is more than a Sannyâsin! This is very uncommon; I have rarely seen one like him. If anyone wants to be a householder, let him be like Nag Mahashaya. He shines like a brilliant luminary in the spiritual firmament of East Bengal. Ask the people of that part of the country to visit him often; that will do much good to them.
Disciple: Nag Mahashaya, it seems, is the living personification of humility in the play of Shri Ramakrishna's divine drama on earth.
Swamiji: Decidedly so, without a shadow of doubt! I have a wish to go and see him once. Will you go with, me? I love to see fields flooded over with water in the rains. Will you write to him?
Disciple: Certainly I will. He is always mad with joy when he hears about you, and says that East Bengal will be sanctified into a place of pilgrimage by the dust of your feet.
Swamiji: Do you know, Shri Ramakrishna used to speak of Nag Mahashaya as a "flaming fire"?
Disciple: Yes, so I have heard.
At the request of Swamiji, the disciple partook of some Prasâda (consecrated food), and left for Calcutta late in the evening; he was deeply thinking over the message of fearlessness that he had heard from the lips of the inspired teacher—"I am free!" "I am free!"
XIV
Renunciation of Kama-kanchana—God's Mercy Falls on Those Who Struggle for Realisation—Unconditional Mercy and Brahman Are One
Disciple: Shri Ramakrishna used to say, Swamiji, that a man cannot progress far towards religious realisation unless he first relinquishes Kâma-Kânchana (lust and greed). If so, what will become of householders? For their whole minds are set on these two things.
Swamiji: It is true that the mind can never turn to God until the desire for lust and wealth has gone from it, be the man a householder or a Sannyâsin. Know this for a fact, that as long as the mind is caught in these, so long true devotion, firmness, and Shraddhâ (faith) can never come.
Disciple: Where will the householders be, then? What way are they to follow?
Swamiji: To satisfy our smaller desires and have done with them for ever, and to relinquish the greater ones by discrimination—that is the way. Without renunciation God can never be realised—यदि ब्रह्मा स्वयं वदेत्—even if Brahmâ himself enjoined otherwise!
Disciple: But does renunciation of everything come as soon as one becomes a monk?
Swamiji: Sannyasins are at least struggling to make themselves ready for renunciation, whereas householders are in this matter like boatmen who work at their oars while the boat lies at anchor. Is the desire for enjoyment ever appeased? "भूय एवाभिवर्धते—It increases ever and ever" (Bhâgavata, IX. xix. 14).
Disciple: Why? May not world-weariness come, after enjoying the objects of the senses over and over for a long time?
Swamiji: To how many does that come? The mind becomes tarnished by constant contact with the objects of the senses and receives a permanent moulding and impress from them. Renunciation, and renunciation alone, is the real secret, the Mulamantra, of all Realisation.
Disciple: But there are such injunctions of the seers in the scriptures as these: "गृहेषु पञ्चेन्द्रियनिग्रहस्तपः—To restrain the five senses while living with one's wife and children is Tapas." "निवृत्तरागस्य गृहं तपोवनम्—For him whose desires are under control, living in the midst of his family is the same as retiring into a forest for Tapasya."
Swamiji: Blessed indeed are those who can renounce Kama-Kanchana, living in their homes with their family! But how many can do that?
Disciple: But then, what about the Sannyasins? Are they all able to relinquish lust and love for riches fully?
Swamiji: As I said just now, Sannyasins are on the path of renunciation, they have taken the field, at least, to fight for the goal; but householders, on the other hand, having no knowledge as yet of the danger that comes through lust and greed, do not even attempt to realise the Self; that they must struggle to get rid of these is an idea that has not yet entered their minds.
Disciple: But many of them are struggling for it.
Swamiji: Oh, yes, and those who are doing so will surely renounce by degrees; their inordinate attachment for Kama-Kanchana will diminish gradually. But for those who procrastinate, saying, "Oh, not so soon! I shall do it when the time comes", Self-realisation is very far off. "Let me realise the Truth this moment! In this very life!"—these are the words of a hero. Such heroes are ever ready to renounce the very next moment, and to such the scripture (Jâbâla Upanishad, 3.) says, "यदहरेव विरजेत् तदहरेव प्रव्रजेत— The moment you feel disgust for the vanities of the world, leave it all and take to the life of a monk."
Disciple: But was not Shri Ramakrishna wont to say, "All these attachments vanish through the grace of God when one prays to Him?"
Swamiji: Yes, it is so, no doubt, through His mercy, but one needs to be pure first before one can receive this mercy—pure in thought, word, and deed; then it is that His grace descends on one.
Disciple: But of what necessity is grace to him who can control himself in thought, word, and deed? For then he would be able to develop himself in the path of spirituality by means of his own exertions!
Swamiji: The Lord is very merciful to him whom He sees struggling heart and soul for Realisation. But remain idle, without any struggle, and you will see that His grace will never come.
Disciple: Everyone longs to be good, yet the mind for some inscrutable reasons, turns to evil! Does not everyone wish to be good—to be perfect —to realise God?
Swamiji: Know them to be already struggling who desire this. God bestows His mercy when this struggle is maintained.
Disciple: In the history of the Incarnations, we find many persons who, we should say, had led very dissipated lives and yet were able to realise God without much trouble and without performing any Sâdhanâ or devotion. How is this accounted for?
Swamiji: Yes, but a great restlessness must already have come upon them; long enjoyment of the objects of the senses must already have created in them deep disgust. Want of peace must have been consuming their very hearts. So deeply they had already felt this void in their hearts that life even for a moment had seemed unbearable to them unless they could gain that peace which follows in the train of the Lord's mercy. So God was kind to them. This development took place in them direct from Tamas to Sattva.
Disciple: Then, whatever was the path, they may be said to have realised God truly in that way?
Swamiji: Yes, why not? But is it not better to enter into a mansion by the main entrance than by its doorway of dishonour?
Disciple: No doubt that is true. Yet, the point is established that through mercy alone one can realise God.
Swamiji: Oh, yes, that one can, but few indeed are there who do so!
Disciple: It appears to me that those who seek to realise God by restraining their senses and renouncing lust and wealth hold to the (free-will) theory of self-exertion and self-help; and that those who take the name of the Lord and depend on Him are made free by the Lord Himself of all worldly attachments, and led by Him to the supreme stage of realisation.
Swamiji: True, those are the two different standpoints, the former held by the Jnânis, and the latter by the Bhaktas. But the ideal of renunciation is the keynote of both.
Disciple: No doubt about that! But Shri Girish Chandra Ghosh once said to me that there could be no condition in God's mercy; there could be no law for it! If there were, then it could no longer be termed mercy. The realm of grace or mercy must transcend all law.
Swamiji: But there must be some higher law at work in the sphere alluded to by G. C. of which we are ignorant. Those are words, indeed, for the last stage of development, which alone is beyond time, space, and causation. But, when we get there, who will be merciful, and to whom, where there is no law of causation? There the worshipper and the worshipped, the meditator and the object of meditation, the knower and the known, all become one—call that Grace or Brahman, if you will. It is all one uniform homogeneous entity!
Disciple: Hearing these words from you, Swamiji, I have come to understand the essence of all philosophy and religion (Vedas and Vedanta); it seems as if I had hitherto been living in the midst of high-sounding words without any meaning.
XV
Doctrine of Ahimsa and Meat-Eating—Sattva, Rajas, Tamas in Man—Food And Spirituality—'Âhâra'—Three Defects in Food—Don't-Touchism and Caste-Prejudices—Restoring the Old Chaturvarnya and the Laws of the Rishis
Disciple: Pray, Swamiji, do tell me if there is any relation between the discrimination of food taken and the development of spirituality in man.
Swamiji: Yes, there is, more or less.
Disciple: Is it proper or necessary to take fish and meat?
Swamiji: Ay, take them, my boy! And if there be any harm in doing so, I will take care of that. Look at the masses of our country! What a look of sadness on their faces and want of courage and enthusiasm in their hearts, with large stomachs and no strength in their hands and feet—a set of cowards frightened at every trifle!
Disciple: Does the taking of fish and meat give strength? Why do Buddhism and Vaishnavism preach "अहिंसा परमो धर्मः—Non-killing is the highest virtue"?
Swamiji: Buddhism and Vaishnavism are not two different things. During the decline of Buddhism in India, Hinduism took from her a few cardinal tenets of conduct and made them her own, and these have now come to be known as Vaishnavism. The Buddhist tenet, "Non-killing is supreme virtue", is very good, but in trying to enforce it upon all by legislation without paying any heed to the capacities of the people at large, Buddhism has brought ruin upon India. I have come across many a "religious heron" in India, who fed ants with sugar, and at the same time would not hesitate to bring ruin on his own brother for the sake of "filthy lucre"!
Disciple: But in the Vedas as well as in the laws of Manu, there are injunctions to take fish and meat.
Swamiji: Ay, and injunctions to abstain from killing as well. For the Vedas enjoin, "मा हिंस्यात् सर्वभूतानि—Cause no injury to any being"; Manu also says, "निवृत्तिस्तु महाफला—Cessation of desire brings great results." Killing and non-killing have both been enjoined, according to the individual capacity, or fitness and adaptability on those who will observe the one practice or the other.
Disciple: It is the fashion here nowadays to give up fish and meat as soon as one takes to religion, and to many it is more sinful not to do so than to commit such great sins as adultery. How, do you think, such notions came into existence?
Swamiji: What's the use of your knowing how they came, when you see clearly, do you not, that such notions are working ruin to our country and our society? Just see—the people of East Bengal eat much fish, meat, and turtle, and they are much healthier than those of this part of Bengal. Even the rich men of East Bengal have not yet taken to Loochis or Châpâtis at night, and they do not suffer from acidity and dyspepsia like us. I have heard that in the villages of East Bengal the people have not the slightest idea of what dyspepsia means!
Disciple: Quite so, Swamiji. We never complain of dyspepsia in our part of the country. I first heard of it after coming to these parts. We take fish with rice, mornings and evenings.
Swamiji: Yes, take as much of that as you can, without fearing criticism. The country has been flooded with dyspeptic Bâbâjis living on vegetables only. That is no sign of Sattva, but of deep Tamas—the shadow of death. Brightness in the face, undaunted enthusiasm in the heart, and tremendous activity—these result from Sattva; whereas idleness, lethargy, inordinate attachment, and sleep are the signs of Tamas.
Disciple: But do not fish and meat increase Rajas in man?
Swamiji: That is what I want you to have. Rajas is badly needed just now! More than ninety per cent of those whom you now take to be men with the Sattva, quality are only steeped in the deepest Tamas. Enough, if you find one-sixteenth of them to be really Sâttvika! What we want now is an immense awakening of Râjasika energy, for the whole country is wrapped in the shroud of Tamas. The people of this land must be fed and clothed—must be awakened —must be made more fully active. Otherwise they will become inert, as inert as trees and stones. So, I say, eat large quantities of fish and meat, my boy!
Disciple: Does a liking for fish and meat remain when one has fully developed the Sattva quality?
Swamiji: No, it does not. All liking for fish and meat disappears when pure Sattva is highly developed, and these are the signs of its manifestation in a soul: sacrifice of everything for others, perfect non-attachment to lust and wealth, want of pride and egotism. The desire for animal food goes when these things are seen in a man. And where such indications are absent, and yet you find men sidings with the non-killing party, know it for a certainty that herein, there is either hypocrisy or a show of religion. When you yourself come to that stage of pure Sattva, give up fish and meat, by all means.
Disciple: In the Chhândogya Upanishad (VII. xxvi. 2) there is this passage, "आहारशुद्धौ सत्त्वशुद्धिः—Through pure food the Sattva quality in a man becomes pure."
Swamiji: Yes, I know. Shankarâchârya has said that the word Âhâra there means "objects of the senses", whereas Shri Râmânuja has taken the meaning of Ahara to be "food". In my opinion we should take that meaning of the word which reconciles both these points of view. Are we to pass our lives discussing all the time about the purity and impurity of food only, or are we to practice the restraining of our senses? Surely, the restraining of the senses is the main object; and the discrimination of good and bad, pure and impure foods, only helps one, to a certain extent, in gaining that end. There are, according to our scriptures, three things which make food impure: (1) Jâti-dosha or natural defects of a certain class of food, like onions, garlic, etc.; (2) Nimitta-dosha or defects arising from the presence of external impurities in it, such as dead insects, dust, etc. that attach to sweetmeats bought from shops; (3) Âshraya-dosha or defects that arise by the food coming from evil sources, as when it has been touched and handled by wicked persons. Special care should be taken to avoid the first and second classes of defects. But in this country men pay no regard just to these two, and go on fighting for the third alone, the very one that none but a Yogi could really discriminate! The country from end to end is being bored to extinction by the cry, "Don't touch", "Don't touch", of the non-touchism party. In that exclusive circle of theirs, too, there is no discrimination of good and bad men, for their food may be taken from the hands of anyone who wears a thread round his neck and calls himself a Brâhmin! Shri Ramakrishna was quite unable to take food in this indiscriminate way from the hands of any and all. It happened many a time that he would not accept food touched by a certain person or persons, and on rigorous investigation it would turn out that these had some particular stain to hide. Your religion seems nowadays to be confined to the cooking-pot alone. You put on one side the sublime truths of religion and fight, as they say, for the skin of the fruit and not for the fruit itself!
Disciple: Do you mean, then, that we should eat the food handled by anyone and everyone?
Swamiji: Why so? Look here. You being Brahmin of a certain class, say, of the Bhattâcharya class, why should you not eat rice cooked by Brahmins of all classes? Why should you, who belong to the Rârhi section, object to taking rice cooked by a Brahmin of the Barendra section, or why should a Barendra object to taking your rice? Again, why should not the other subcastes in the west and south of India, e.g. the Marathi, Telangi, Kanouji, do the same? Do you not see that hundreds of Brahmins and Kâyasthas in Bengal now go secretly to eat dainties in public restaurants, and when they come out of those places pose as leaders of society and frame rules to support don't-touchism. Must our society really be guided by laws dictated by such hypocrites? No, I say. On the contrary we must turn them out. The laws laid down by the great Rishis of old must be brought back and be made to rule supreme once more. Then alone can national well-being be ours.
Disciple: Then, do not the laws laid down by the Rishis rule and guide our present society?
Swamiji: Vain delusion! Where indeed is that the case nowadays? Nowhere have I found the laws of the Rishis current in India, even when during my travels I searched carefully and thoroughly. The blind and not unoften meaningless customs sanctioned by the peoples local prejudices and ideas, and the usages and ceremonials prevalent amongst women, are what really govern society everywhere! How many care to read the Shâstras or to lead society according to their ordinances after careful study?
Disciple: What are we to do, then?
Swamiji: We must revive the old laws of the Rishis. We must initiate the whole people into the codes of our old Manu and Yâjnavalkya, with a few modifications here and there to adjust them to the changed circumstances of the time. Do you not see that nowhere in India now are the original four castes (Châturvarnya) to be found? We have to redivide the whole Hindu population, grouping it under the four main castes, of Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras, as of old. The numberless modern subdivisions of the Brahmins that split them up into so many castes, as it were, have to be abolished and a single Brahmin caste to be made by uniting them all. Each of the three remaining castes also will have to be brought similarly into single groups, as was the case in Vedic times. Without this will the Motherland be really benefited by your simply crying as you do nowadays, "We won't touch you!; We won't take him back into our caste!"? Never, my boy!
Notes
——
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。