There are now so many organisations claiming to be followers of the teachings of Swami Vive- kananda. While the Ramakrish- na Mission, directly founded by him, remains the voice which is trusted the most, there are other organisations including a few political parties, which refer frequently to his philosophy in their programmes. It is thus ex- ceedingly difficult to demarcate the exact area to which Viveka- nanda belonged; he had been the inspiration behind people from different walks of life. A few months ago, I had an opportunity to visit Cambridge University. As we glided along the Cam River during the tourist cruise, our guide explained how the different colleges within the university had grown under the shadow of the Church. It was finally that Trinity college was established, throwing off the yoke of priestly bindings. It was then that I understood Swami- ji’s teachings in a new light. Education and culture had thus flourished in different cou- ntries under the patronage of religion. To Swamiji, ‘religion’ had been the main life force in India behind the development of culture and society. The doc- trine of the intrinsic divinity of man, as declared in the Upan- ishads, can raise the country and unshackle the hidden potential of man. The 19th century Bengal Renaissance had been the force behind the influx of Western ra- tionality and thought in India. Fed up with the superstition ac- cumulated over the ages, educa- ted Indians decided to do away completely with ‘religion’. It is now fashionable to speak of ‘secular education’~ where the word ‘secular’ is interpreted to mean devoid of any particular religious beliefs whatsoever. But this apparently ‘neutral’ stand has often sucked out the life-giv- ing components from culture and education. In the attempt to remove the weeds from a plant, the very plant has been cut down, as it were. Interestingly, Swami Viveka- nanda pursued many of the finer arts, while being firmly rooted in religious heritage. His song ‘Khandana bhava band- hana’ (a person who cuts asun- der the bondage of the world), is a classic example of a song composed in the Brahmo her- itage. While this song describes the admirable qualities of Sri Ramakrishna and his deep com- passion for the afflicted, his name is nowhere mentioned in the lyrics of the song. Being an erstwhile member of the Brah- mo Samaj, Swamiji was inclined to the worship of formless god and was, in general, averse to the use of excessive rituals dur- ing worship. He compiled a book of de- votional songs (Sangit Kalpa- taru) even when he had not tak- en the plunge into monastic life. This book had a learned discus- sion of the ‘raag’ and ‘taal’ in the appendix. In fact, like Ramakr- ishna, Vivekananda would often express the highest religious thoughts through devotional songs. He also composed songs and poems in dif- ferent languages ~ in Bengali, Sansk- rit and even Eng- lish. Even in those days, more than 125 years ago, Sw- ami Vivekananda had travelled thro- ugh 17 countries and was in every way a global citi- zen. Such travels also expanded his ideas about reli- gion and culture. To him, degrada- tion had come to the country not because of reli- gion, but rather, by the non-im- plementation of the doctrines that religious texts, like the Upa- nishads, had preached. In his broad canvas of life, he could compare Eastern and Western cultures and contrast their defining characteristics. He had listened to the musical opera of Ema Calve, the reput- ed singer and viewed the drama of Sarah Bernhardt, the French actress, when he was in the West. In his eagerness to learn the French language, he befrien- ded Jules Bois, a litterateur with whom he stayed for some days while in France. To Vivekanan- da, thus, religion did not prove an obstacle in assimilating the cultural ingredients of different countries. He even took lessons in painting from a young painter while in the U.S., Maud Stumm, who was amazed at his serious interest in drawing portraits. It was this wide exposure to the culture and tradition of oth- er places that fashioned Viveka- nanda’s thoughts on architec- ture. He frequently commented on the pattern of buildings visit- ed during his travels. The Rama- krishna Temple, constructed la- ter at Belur Math, mirrors his synthetic view of religion. While the huge sanctum sanctorum (garbha mandir) of that Temple reminds one of the largeness of a cathedral, the vaulted roof within the natmandir (where people assemble) was inspired by the Kanheri caves of Maha- rashtra. The parabolic design above the doorway resembles the structure of a mosque. Sankari Prasad Basu, a great researcher on Vivekananda, re- marked that Vivekananda was a prolific viewer of artefacts, whi- ch he watched with keen enthu- siasm. These he came across at the different statues of India; at the Chicago Exhibition and at Paris and London. During his visit to Baroda, he keenly stud- ied the drawings of Ravi Verma and often mentioned them in his writings. Vivekananda was a speaker with unparalleled eloquence. It is thus that his lec- ture at Chicago in 1893, starting with the words ‘Sisters and Brothers of America’, is quoted again and again, even today. Rom- ain Rolland, who penned a life on Swami Vivekanan- da in French, more than 25 years after his passing away – compared the rea- ding of Vivekanan- da’s writings (lec- tures) to the recei- ving of an electric shock. But he was not content with mere tem- porary inspiration. He understo- od that great words and schol- arly utterances required a con- certed effort by men and women in order to be practiced. It was that the Ramakrish- na Mission was set up in 1897. Interestingly, Vivekananda could nurture this new organization for a very short period. His bro- ther disciples and the groups of monks and admirers worked unselfishly to implement his dreams and carry the flag of the organization in the future. It is this legacy of Vivekan- anda that has kept his philosop- hy alive, even in the present. Armchair philosophy does not touch the life of a common man. It is thus that his doctrine of ser- vice, which considers ‘man as god’, has spread its tentacles to different fields of activity ~ edu- cation, relief, medical service and the like. Vivekananda thus has not evaporated into thin air to re- main as a footnote, as with many other historical personali- ties. It is the flood tide of change in society that his philosophy has brought that keeps men and women dreaming about greater ideals in future. Benevolent ide- as, which otherwise would have been nipped in the bud, have received the water of his inspira- tion and have grown into mass- ive structures, in course of time. Education is one field that has benefited enormously from the teachings of Vivekananda. His message that ‘Education is the manifestation of the perfec- tion already in man’, declares knowledge to be inherently pre- sent in every human being. Tea- chers and books are accessories to unearth this hidden treasure in human beings. Such thoughts have been implemented throu- gh the educational institutions set up by the Ramakrishna Mis- sion. Residential institutions, where students are imparted lessons in character building along with regular lessons, have become the cornerstones of this education system. Thousands of students have passed out from these institutions and are now important members in the social structure of India. Other schools and colleges have spru- ng up too, inspired by these ‘man-making’ thoughts of Vive- kananda. Another message of Viveka- nanda which catches the imagi- nation is his doctrine of ‘fear- lessness’. The more one faces di- fficulties, the more the courage that emanates from a man. This strength comes from one’s own being (the ‘Atman’) and not merely from the physical body or the mind. It is not governed by money, attendants or social position either. Character, Vivekananda declared, can break through insurmountable barriers and bring about changes in society. Further, character is fashioned by the degree of unselfishness that a person harbours in his mind, the thoughts beyond his own personal gain. How can a person have the capacity to remember things read even once? Others have corroborated his astonishing memory. When asked, Viveka- nanda pointed to continence (‘brahmacharya’) as an impor- tant factor behind the same. The body and mind are like mirrors in which reflect things read and heard about. The more these instru- ments of learning are cleansed, so does the concentration on a particular object increase. Just as the concentrated beams of the sun focused at a point burn up a piece of paper – the mind waves, when fixed on a particu- lar thought, unearths the secrets hidden behind a particular object. The life of Vivekananda re- minds others that for perform- ing momentous deeds, money and materials are only second- ary factors. Purity and unselfish- ness when activated with a proper message (shiva jnane jiva seva ~ serving people consider- ing them as veritable gods), can move the world. Such a grand message must be delivered in the language of the masses ~ like the one that Ramakrishna used to provide his lucid explanation of the tenets of religion.

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