Vivekananda Saw Practical Vedanta As Panacea

Vivekananda Saw Practical Vedanta As Panacea

Swami Vivekananda was never concerned with world-negating spirituality distanced from the din and bustle of daily living. He was intensely perturbed by the endless suffering of mankind and discovered that the root of all suffering lies in ignorance, disharmony, divisiveness and confinement of consciousness within finitudes. His esoteric experience of Advaita philosophy of Vedanta offered him a unique panacea. In the light of his experience of cosmic consciousness he found a bridge between science and spirituality, between religions and between the mundane and divine. From absolutely secular, scientific and experiential philosophy he developed the concept of practical Vedanta as a formula of living.

Swamiji prescribed the following motto of life as self-realisation and selfless service to humanity: “Atmano mokshartham jagaddhitaya cha.“ The twofold complementary agenda can be best practised with the concept of practical Vedanta which is not a religious but a spiritual formula for all.

The central theme of Vedanta is essential unity in diversity or ultimate oneness of existence. Brahmn alone abides. Its manifestation through names, forms and attributes are merely apparent within time, space and causality rooted in cosmic delusion. Each soul is potentially divine and essentially one. Hence Vedantic Self-realisation is infinite self expansion in the universe as expression of the Absolute. There is no divisiveness in One without a second as Christ also experienced, “I and my Father are one.“

Practical Vedanta is rooted in Upanishadic revelations. But the best lesson is found in the Gita delivered at Kurukshetra which teaches us unattached action with spiritual anchorage.

Joyful action flows from the centre of our being where we are not lost in the circumference of worldly doing and possessing with undue attachment.Then every action is divine action and play of the divine in the divine world. The mundane and spiritual get united in massive oneness and we experience joy in life as the play of consciousness.

For Swamiji renunciation did not lie in negating creation but in divinisation of entire creation and serving all. When we behold Creation as expression of the Absolute within and without our sense of personal loss, then gain or ego satisfaction get automatically sublimated. Instead of being player we become observer of cosmic drama with joy of Being.

The resultant effect is selfless love for entire Creation and absolute freedom from human bondage. Then our happiness no longer depends on anything or anybody but flows from within.

Sense of immortality gives us our freedom to act without fear or temporal concern. Tremendous sense of harmony enables us to enjoy apparent diversity in thought, action, belief and worship. We become not tolerant but appreciative of one another and rise above sectarian boundaries where solutions to all problems flow from empathy.

Practical Vedanta starts with self-purification through selfless service which is possible only when we are grounded in cosmic Self through constant Self-inquiry and deep meditation. Self-expansion leads to falling in love with everybody with perception of own Self. Then our life becomes an instrument of cosmic will for playing divine tune as a finite expression of inexpressible Infinite.

Swamiji wanted us to attain this divine consciousness and make it our sole mission and direction. In that elevated consciousness our personal suffering becomes enactment, disharmony a veil of ignorance and the creation a cosmic drama. Behind all these remains blissful singular existence and consciousness of cosmic Self behind the plurality of names, forms and attributes. Therefore, he said, “Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached.“

Om Namah Shivay