十五 迪旺吉·撒黑布
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中文
十五
致哈里达斯·维哈里达斯·德赛先生
芝加哥，
1894年1月29日。
亲爱的迪万吉先生，
数日前收到您的上封来信。您曾去看望我可怜的母亲和兄弟们。我很高兴您去了。但您触动了我心中唯一柔软的地方。迪万吉，您应当知道，我并非铁石心肠之人。如果说在这整个世界上我爱着什么人，那就是我的母亲。然而我过去相信，现在仍然相信，如果不是我舍弃世俗，罗摩克里希纳·帕拉马罕萨——我伟大的导师——前来传布的伟大使命就不会见到光明；而那些年轻人——那些如中流砥柱般抵挡着当今物质主义与奢靡之风汹涌浪潮的人——又将何处安身？他们已经为印度，特别是为孟加拉做了大量的善事，而这不过只是一个开端。在上天的帮助下，他们将成就令全世界世世代代感恩的伟业。因此，一方面是我对印度宗教乃至全世界未来的愿景，是我对千百万一代代沉沦堕落、无人相助、甚至无人想到他们的众生的爱；另一方面，是使最亲近、最心爱的人痛苦——我选择了前者。"余下的事主会成全。"祂与我同在，对此我深信不疑。只要我是真诚的，就没有什么能够阻挡我，因为祂会是我的帮助。印度有许许多多人无法理解我；可怜的人们，他们怎么能理解呢？他们的思想从未超越日常吃喝的琐碎事务。我知道只有少数像您这样高尚的灵魂能够欣赏我。愿上天保佑您高贵的人格。但无论是否得到赏识，我生来就是要组织这些年轻人的；不仅如此，每个城市都有数百人准备加入我；我要送他们如势不可挡的波涛般席卷印度，把安慰、道德、宗教、教育送到最卑微、最受压迫者的门前。这件事，我要么完成，要么赴死。
我们的人民没有理想，没有鉴赏力。另一方面，那种可怕的嫉妒和猜疑——千年奴役的必然产物——使他们成为每一个新思想的敌人。但上天是伟大的。
关于阿拉提（Arati）以及您提到的其他事情，这是印度各地每一座寺院的通行仪轨，而礼拜古鲁是吠陀中首先教导的责任。它有好的一面也有不好的一面。但您必须记住，我们是一个独特的团体，我们中间没有人有权将自己的信仰强加于他人。我们中许多人不信任何形式的偶像崇拜；但他们无权反对别人这样做，因为那将破坏我们宗教的第一原则。再者，神只能在人之中、通过人来认识。光的振动无处不在，即使在最黑暗的角落；但只有在灯中，光才为人所见。同样地，神虽然无所不在，我们只能将祂构想为一个伟大的人。关于神的一切观念，如慈悲的守护者、救助者、保护者——这一切都是人的观念，是拟人化的；而这些观念又必须附着于一个人，称他为古鲁、先知或化身。人不能超越自身的天性，正如你不能跳出自己的身体。当那位古鲁比你们所有历史上的先知加在一起还要圣洁百倍时，一些人崇拜他又有什么害处呢？如果崇拜基督、克里希纳或佛陀没有害处，为什么崇拜这个人就会有害呢？他从未做过或想过任何不圣洁的事，他的智慧仅凭直觉就高出所有其他先知，因为他们都是片面的？正是他第一个向世界带来了这一真理的理念——并非存在于某一宗教之中，而是存在于每一宗教之中——这一理念正在全世界赢得认同，而且是在没有科学、哲学或任何其他知识帮助的情况下实现的。
但即便如此，这也不是强制性的，没有任何一位兄弟告诉过您说所有人都必须崇拜他的古鲁。不，不，不。但同样，我们中也没有人有权反对别人的崇拜。为什么？因为那将颠覆这个世所罕见的最独特的团体——十个持有十种不同观念和思想的人和谐共处。等等看吧，迪万吉，上天是伟大而慈悲的，您会看到更多。
我们不仅容忍而且接受每一种宗教，在上天的帮助下，我正努力将此传布于全世界。
使每个人伟大、每个民族伟大的三件事是： 一、对善的力量的信念。 二、没有嫉妒和猜疑。
三、帮助一切努力向善和行善的人。
拥有如此非凡智慧和其他优点的印度民族为何会四分五裂？我的回答是：嫉妒。从来没有哪个民族像这可悲的印度民族一样，彼此之间如此可悲地嫉妒，如此羡慕彼此的声名与荣誉。如果您来到西方，您会发现西方民族最显著的特征就是没有这种嫉妒。
在印度，三个人不可能为了一件事合作五分钟。每个人都争夺权力，长此以往，整个组织便土崩瓦解。天哪！天哪！我们何时才能学会不嫉妒！在这样一个国家，尤其是在孟加拉，创建一个由最不灭的爱紧紧联结在一起的兄弟团体——尽管彼此存在差异——这难道不是了不起的事吗？这个团体将会壮大。这种将非凡的自由精神与永恒的活力和进步相结合的理念，必须传遍印度。它必须像电流般激活整个民族，必须渗透到社会的每一个毛孔，尽管面对着作为这个奴隶民族遗产的可怕的愚昧、怨恨、种姓观念、陈腐守旧和嫉妒。
您是少数高尚灵魂之一，如同大海中耸立于水面之上的岩石，超然于这片普遍停滞之海。愿上天永远保佑您！
永远忠诚的，
辨喜。
English
XV
To Shri Haridas Viharidas Desai
CHICAGO,
29th January, 1894.
DEAR DIWANJI SAHEB,
Your last letter reached me a few days ago. You had been to see my poor mother and brothers. I am glad you did. But you have touched the only soft place in my heart. You ought to know, Diwanji, that I am no hard-hearted brute. If there is any being I love in the whole world, it is my mother. Yet I believed and still believe that without my giving up the world, the great mission which Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, my great Master came to preach would not see the light, and where would those young men be who have stood as bulwarks against the surging waves of materialism and luxury of the day? These have done a great amount of good to India, especially to Bengal, and this is only the beginning. With the Lord's help they will do things for which the whole world will bless them for ages. So on the one hand, my vision of the future of Indian religion and that of the whole world, my love for the millions of beings sinking down and down for ages with nobody to help them, nay, nobody with even a thought for them; on the other hand, making those who are nearest and dearest to me miserable; I choose the former. "Lord will do the rest." He is with me, I am sure of that if of anything. So long as I am sincere, nothing can resist me, because He will be my help. Many and many in India could not understand me; and how could they, poor men? Their thoughts never strayed beyond the everyday routine business of eating and drinking. I know only a few noble souls like yourself appreciate me. Lord bless your noble self. But appreciation or no appreciation, I am born to organise these young men; nay, hundreds more in every city are ready to join me; and I want to send them rolling like irresistible waves over India, bringing comfort, morality, religion, education to the doors of the meanest and the most downtrodden. And this I will do or die.
Our people have no idea, no appreciation. On the other hand, that horrible jealousy and suspicious nature which is the natural outcome of a thousand years of slavery make them stand as enemies to every new idea. Still the Lord is great.
About the Ârati as well as other things you speak of, it is the form in every one of the monasteries in all parts of India, and the worshipping of Guru is the first duty inculcated in the Vedas. It has its bad and good sides. But you must remember we are a unique company, nobody amongst us has a right to force his faith upon the others. Many of us do not believe in any form of idolatry; but they have no right to object when others do it, because that would break the first principle of our religion. Again, God can only be known in and through man. Vibrations of light are everywhere, even in the darkest corners; but it is only in the lamp that it becomes visible to man. Similarly God, though everywhere, we can only conceive Him as a big man. All ideas of God such as merciful preserver, helper, protector — all these are human ideas, anthropomorphic; and again these must cling to a man, call him a Guru or a Prophet or an Incarnation. Man cannot go beyond his nature, no more than you can jump out of your body. What harm is there in some people worshipping their Guru when that Guru was a hundred times more holy than even your historical prophets all taken together? If there is no harm in worshipping Christ, Krishna, or Buddha, why should there be any in worshipping this man who never did or thought anything unholy, whose intellect only through intuition stands head and shoulders above all the other prophets, because they were all one-sided? It was he that brought first to the world this idea of truth, not in but of every religion, which is gaining ground all over the world, and that without the help of science or philosophy or any other acquirement.
But even this is not compulsory, none of the brethren has told you that all must worship his Guru. No, no, no. But again none of us has a right to object when another worships. Why? Because that would overthrow this most unique society the world has ever seen, ten men of ten different notions and ideas living in perfect harmony. Wait, Diwanji, the Lord is great and merciful, you will see more.
We do not only tolerate but accept every religion, and with the Lord's help I am trying to preach it to the whole world.
Three things are necessary to make every man great, every nation great: 1. Conviction of the powers of goodness. 2. Absence of jealousy and suspicion.
3. Helping all who are trying to be and do good.
Why should the Hindu nation with all its wonderful intelligence and other things have gone to pieces? I would answer you, jealousy. Never were there people more wretchedly jealous of one another, more envious of one another's fame and name than this wretched Hindu race. And if you ever come out in the West, the absence of this is the first feeling which you will see in the Western nations.
Three men cannot act in concert together in India for five minutes. Each one struggles for power, and in the long run the whole organisation comes to grief. Lord! Lord! When will we learn not to be jealous! In such a nation, and especially in Bengal, to create a band of men who are tied and bound together with a most undying love in spite of difference — is it not wonderful? This band will increase. This idea of wonderful liberality joined with eternal energy and progress must spread over India. It must electrify the whole nation and must enter the very pores of society in spite of the horrible ignorance, spite, caste-feeling, old boobyism, and jealousy which are the heritage of this nation of slaves.
You are one of the few noble natures who stand as rocks out of water in this sea of universal stagnation. Lord bless you for ever and ever!
Yours ever faithfully,
VIVEKANANDA.
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。