The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 4/Translation: Prose/Our Present Social Problems
OUR PRESENT SOCIAL PROBLEMS[1]
— "The Lord whose nature is unspeakable love." That this characteristic of God mentioned by Nârada is manifest and admitted on all hands is the firm conviction of my life. The aggregate of many individuals is called Samashti (the whole), and each individual is called Vyashti (a part). You and I — each is Vyashti, society is Samashti. You, I, an animal, a bird, a worm, an insect, a tree, a creeper, the earth, a planet, a star — each is Vyashti, while this universe is Samashti, which is called Virât, Hiranyagarbha, or Ishvara in Vedânta, and Brahmâ, Vishnu, Devi, etc., in the Purânas. Whether or not Vyashti has individual freedom, and if it has, what should be its measure, whether or not Vyashti should completely sacrifice its own will, its own happiness for Samashti — are the perennial problems before every society. Society everywhere is busy finding the solution of these problems. These, like big waves, are agitating modern Western society. The doctrine which demands the sacrifice of individual freedom to social supremacy is called socialism, while that which advocates the cause of the individual is called individualism.
Our motherland is a glowing example of the results and consequence of the
eternal subjection of the individual to society and forced self-sacrifice by
dint of institution and discipline. In this country men are born according
to Shâstric injunctions, they eat and drink by prescribed rules throughout
life, they go through marriage and kindred functions in the same way; in
short, they even die according to Shastric injunctions. The hard discipline,
with the exception of one great good point, is fraught with evil. The good
point is that men can do one or two things well with very little effort,
having practiced them every day through generations. The delicious rice and
curry which a cook of this country prepares with the aid of three lumps of
earth and a few sticks can be had nowhere else. With the simple mechanism of
an antediluvian loom, worth one rupee, and the feet put in a pit, it is
possible to make kincobs worth twenty rupees a yard, in this country alone.
A torn mat, an earthen lamp, and that fed by castor oil — with the aid of
materials such as these, wonderful savants are produced in this country
alone. An all-forbearing attachment to an ugly and deformed wife, and a
lifelong devotion to a worthless and villainous husband are possible in this
country alone. Thus far the bright side.
But all these things are done by people guided like lifeless machines. There
is no mental activity, no unfoldment of the heart, no vibration of life, no
flux of hope; there is no strong stimulation of the will, no experience of
keen pleasure, nor the contact of intense sorrow; there is no stir of
inventive genius, no desire for novelty, no appreciation of new things.
Clouds never pass away from this mind, the radiant picture of the morning
sun never charms this heart. It never even occurs to this mind if there is
any better state than this; where it does, it cannot convince; in the event
of conviction, effort is lacking; and even where there is effort, lack of
enthusiasm kills it out.
If living by rule alone ensures excellence, if it be virtue to follow
strictly the rules and customs handed down through generations, say then,
who is more virtuous than a tree, who is a greater devotee, a holier saint,
than a railway train? Who has ever seen a piece of stone transgress a
natural law? Who has ever known cattle to commit sin?
The huge steamer, the mighty railway engine — they are non-intelligent; they
move, turn, and run, but they are without intelligence. And yonder tiny worm
which moved away from the railway line to save its life, why is it
intelligent? There is no manifestation of will in the machine, the machine
never wishes to transgress law; the worm wants to oppose law — rises against
law whether it succeeds or not; therefore it is intelligent. Greater is the
happiness, higher is the Jiva, in proportion as this will is more
successfully manifest. The will of God is perfectly fruitful; therefore He
is the highest.
What is education? Is it book-learning? No. Is it diverse knowledge? Not
even that. The training by which the current and expression of will are
brought under control and become fruitful is called education. Now consider,
is that education as a result of which the will, being continuously choked
by force through generations, is well-nigh killed out; is that education
under whose sway even the old ideas, let alone the new ones, are
disappearing one by one; is that education which is slowly making man a
machine? It is more blessed, in my opinion, even to go wrong, impelled by
one's free will and intelligence than to be good as an automaton. Again, can
that be called society which is formed by an aggregate of men who are like
lumps of clay, like lifeless machines, like heaped up pebbles? How can such
society fare well? Were good possible, then instead of being slaves for
hundreds of years, we would have been the greatest nation on earth, and this
soil of India, instead of being a mine of stupidity, would have been the
eternal fountain-head of learning.
Is not self-sacrifice, then, a virtue? Is it not the most virtuous deed to
sacrifice the happiness of one, the welfare of one, for the sake of the
many? Exactly, but as the Bengali adage goes, "Can beauty be manufactured by
rubbing and scrubbing? Can love be generated by effort and compulsion?" What
glory is there in the renunciation of an eternal beggar? What virtue is
there in the sense control of one devoid of sense-power? What again is the
self-sacrifice of one devoid of idea, devoid of heart, devoid of high
ambition, and devoid of the conception of what constitutes society? What
expression of devotedness to a husband is there by forcing a widow to commit
Sati? Why make people do virtuous deeds by teaching superstitions? I say,
liberate, undo the shackles of people as much as you can. Can dirt be washed
by dirt? Can bondage be removed by bondage? Where is the instance? When you
would be able to sacrifice all desire for happiness for the sake of society,
then you would be the Buddha, then you would be free: that is far off.
Again, do you think the way to do it lies through oppression? "Oh, what
examples or self-denial are our widows! Oh, how sweet is child-marriage! Is
another such custom possible! Can there be anything but love between husband
and wife in such a marriage!" such is the whine going round nowadays. But as
to the men, the masters of the situation, there is no need of self-denial
for them! Is there a virtue higher than serving others? But the same does
not apply to Brâhmins — you others do it! The truth is that in this country
parents and relatives can ruthlessly sacrifice the best interests of their
children and others for their own selfish ends to save themselves by
compromise to society; and the teaching of generations rendering the mind
callous has made it perfectly easy. He, the brave alone, can deny self. The
coward, afraid of the lash, with one hand wipes his eyes and gives with the
other. Of what avail are such gifts? It is a far cry to love universal. The
young plant should be hedged in and taken care of. One can hope gradually to
attain to universal love if one can learn to love one object unselfishly. If
devotion to one particular Ishta-Deva is attained, devotion to the universal
Virat is gradually possible.
Therefore, when one has been able to deny self for an individual, one should
talk of self-sacrifice for the sake of society, not before. It is action
with desire that leads to action without desire. Is the renunciation of
desire possible if desire did not exist in the beginning? And what could it
mean? Can light have any meaning if there is no darkness?
Worship with desire, with attachment, comes first. Commence with the worship
of the little, then the greater will come of itself.
Mother, be not anxious. It is against the big tree that the great wind
strikes. "Poking a fire makes it burn better"; "A snake struck on the head
raises its hood" — and so on. When there comes affliction in the heart, when
the storm of sorrow blows all around, and it seems light will be seen no
more, when hope and courage are almost gone, it is then, in the midst of
this great spiritual tempest, that the light of Brahman within gleams.
Brought up in the lap of luxury, lying on a bed of roses and never shedding
a tear, who has ever become great, who has ever unfolded the Brahman within?
Why do you fear to weep? Weep! Weeping clears the eyes and brings about
intuition. Then the vision of diversity — man, animal, tree — slowly melting
away, makes room for the infinite realisation of Brahman everywhere and in
everything. Then —
समं पश्यन् हि सर्वत्र समवस्थितमीश्वरम् ।
न हिनस्त्यात्मनात्मानं ततो याति परां गतिम् ॥
— "Verily, seeing the same God equally existent every where, he does not injure the Self by the self, and so goes to the Supreme Goal" (Gitâ, XIII. 28).
- Notes
- ↑ Translated from a Bengali letter written to Shrimati Mrinalini Bose from Deoghar (Vaidyanâth), on 23rd December, 1898.