印度的人民
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中文
辨喜斯瓦米周一晚间在其新系列课程中就"印度人民"所发表的演讲，不仅因他对该国人民的描述而引人入胜，更因演讲者在无意中透露的关于他们思维方式和偏见的见解而令人关注。显而易见，斯瓦米虽是一位受过教育的知识分子，却并非西方文明的崇拜者。他显然被关于童寡妇、妇女压迫以及其他针对印度人民的所谓野蛮行径的议论激怒了不少，在回应时颇有以其人之道还治其人之身的倾向。
在谈话开始时，他让听众了解了该国人民的种族特征。他说，在印度，如同在亚洲其他国家一样，团结的纽带不是语言或种族，而是宗教。在欧洲，种族造就了民族，但在亚洲，不同起源、不同语言的人们只要拥有相同的宗教就能成为一个民族。北印度的人民分为四大阶层，而南印度的语言与北印度的语言截然不同，彼此之间完全没有亲缘关系。北印度人民属于伟大的雅利安人种，欧洲所有民族——除了比利牛斯山脉的巴斯克人和芬兰人——都被认为属于这一人种。南印度人民则与古埃及人和闪族人属于同一种族。为了说明在印度学习彼此语言的困难，斯瓦米说，当他需要前往南印度时，他总是用英语与当地人交谈，除非对方属于能够说梵语的少数精英。
演讲的相当大一部分用于讨论种姓制度，斯瓦米对此的评价是：它有其不好的一面，但其益处大于弊端。简言之，种姓制度是由于儿子始终继承父亲的职业这一惯例而逐渐发展起来的。随着时间推移，社会因此被划分为一系列阶层，每个阶层都被严格限制在自己的界限之内。但这种制度虽然分割了人民，同时也团结了他们，因为同一种姓的所有成员在需要时都有义务帮助同伴。而且由于没有人能够超越自己的种姓，印度人也就没有像其他国家的人民那样为社会地位或个人优越感而进行令人痛苦的争斗。
种姓制度最糟糕的特征在于它压制了竞争，而竞争的遏制实际上正是印度政治衰落和被外族征服的原因。
关于备受争议的婚姻问题，印度教徒持社会主义立场，认为由两个可能彼此有好感的年轻人自行配对结婚，而不顾及社区的福祉，并不是什么好事——社区的福祉比任何两个人的利益都更为重要。"因为我爱珍妮而珍妮爱我，"斯瓦米说道，"并不是我们应该结婚的理由。"
他否认童寡妇的处境如人们所描述的那样悲惨，他说在印度，寡妇的地位总体上具有相当大的影响力，因为该国很大一部分财产由寡妇持有。事实上，寡妇的地位是如此令人羡慕，以至于无论男女几乎都会祈愿成为寡妇。
童寡妇——即曾与在婚前去世的儿童订婚的女子——如果婚姻是生命中唯一真正的目标，她们或许值得同情。但按照印度教的思维方式，婚姻与其说是一种特权，不如说是一种义务，而禁止童寡妇再嫁并非什么特别的苦难。
English
The lecture which the Swami Vivekananda gave Monday night in his new course on "The People of India", was interesting, not only for what he had to relate of the people of that country, but for the insight into their mental attitude and prejudices which the speaker gave without really meaning it. It is apparent that the Swami, educated and intellectual man that he is, is no admirer of Western civilisation. He has evidently been a good deal embittered by the talk about child widows, the oppression of women, and other barbarisms alleged against the people of India, and is somewhat inclined to resort to the tu quoque in reply.
In commencing his talk, he gave his hearers an idea of the racial characteristics of the people. He said that the bond of unity in India, as in other countries of Asia, is not language or race, but religion. In Europe the race makes the nation, but in Asia people of diverse origin and different tongues become one nation if they have the same religion. The people of Northern India are divided into four great classes, while in Southern India the languages are so entirely different from those of Northern India that there is no kinship whatever. The people of Northern India belong to the great Aryan race, to which all of the people of Europe, except the Basques in the Pyrennees, and the Finns, are supposed to belong. The Southern India people belong to the same race as the ancient Egyptians and the Semites. To illustrate the difficulties of learning one another's languages in India, the Swami said that when he had occasion to go into Southern India, he always talked with the native people in English, unless they belonged to the select few who could speak Sanskrit.
A good deal of the lecture was taken up in a discussion of the caste system which the Swami characterised by saying that it had its bad side, but that its benefits outweighed its disadvantages. In brief, this caste system had grown by the practice of the son always following the business of the father. In course of time the community came thus to be divided into a series of classes, each held rigidly within its own boundaries. But while this divided the people, it also united them, because all the members of a caste were bound to help their fellows in case of need. And as no man could rise out of his caste, the Hindus have no such struggles for social or personal supremacy as embitter the people of other countries.
The worst feature of the caste is that is suppresses competition, and the checking of competition has really been the cause of the political downfall of India and its conquest by foreign races.
Respecting the much - discussed subject of marriage, the Hindus are socialistic and see nothing good in matches being made by a couple of young people who might be attached to one another, without regard to the welfare of the community, which is more important than that of any two persons. "Because I love Jennie and Jennie loves me", said the Swami, "is no reason why we should be married."
He denied that the condition of the child widows is as bad as has been represented, saying that in India the position of widows in general is one of a great deal of influence, because a large part of the property in the country is held by widows. In fact, so enviable is the position of widows that a woman or a man either might almost pray to be made a widow.
The child widows, or women who have been betrothed to children who died before marriage, might be pitied if a marriage were the only real object in life, but, according to the Hindu way of thinking, marriage is rather a duty than a privilege, and the denial of the right of child widows to marry is no particular hardship.
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。