The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 6/Conversations and Dialogues/VIII
VIII
(Translated from Bengali)
(From the Diary of a Disciple)
(The disciple is Sharatchandra Chakravarty, who published his records in a Bengali book, Swami-Shishya-Samvâda, in two parts. The present series of "Conversations and Dialogues" is a revised translation from this book. Five dialogues of this series have already appeared in the Complete Works,Volume 5)
[Place: Calcutta. Year: 1897, March or April.]
Today the disciple came to meet Swamiji at Baghbazar, but found him ready
for a visiting engagement. "Well, come along with me", were the words with
which Swamiji accosted him as he went downstairs, and the disciple followed.
They then put themselves into a hired cab which proceeded southwards.
Disciple: Sir, where are you going to visit, please?
Swamiji: Well, come with me and you will see.
Thus keeping back the destination from the disciple, Swamiji opened the following conversation as the carriage reached the Beadon Street: One does not find any real endeavour in your country to get the women educated. You, the men are educating yourselves to develop your manhood, but what are you doing to educate and advance those who share all your happiness and misery, who lay down their lives to serve you in your homes?
Disciple: Why, sir, just see how many schools and colleges hare sprung up nowadays for our women, and how many of them are getting degrees of B.A. and M.A.
Swamiji: But all that is in the Western style. How many schools have been started on your own national lines, in the spirit of your own religious ordinances? But alas, such a system does not obtain even among the men of your country, what to speak of women! It is seen from the official statistics that only three or four per cent of the people in India are educated, and not even one per cent of the women.
Otherwise, how could the country come to such a fallen condition? How can
there be any progress of the country without the spread of education, the
dawning of knowledge? Even no real effort or exertion in the cause is
visible among the few in your country who are the promise of the future, you
who have received the blessings of education. But know for certain that
absolutely nothing can be done to improve the state of things, unless there
is spread of education first among the women and the masses. And so I have
it in my mind to train up some Brahmachârins and Brahmachârinis, the former
of whom will eventually take the vow of Sannyâsa and try to carry the light
of education among the masses, from village to village, throughout the
country, while the latter will do the same among women. But the whole work
must be done in the style of our own country. Just as centres have to be
started for men, so also centres have to be started for teaching women.
Brahmacharinis of education and character should take up the task of
teaching at these different centres. History and the Purânas, housekeeping
and the arts, the duties of home-life and principles that make for the
development of an ideal character have to be taught with the help of modern
science, and the women students must be trained up in ethical and spiritual
life. We must see to their growing up as ideal matrons of home in time. The
children of such mothers will make further progress in the virtues that
distinguish the mothers. It is only in the homes of educated and pious
mothers that great men are born. And you have reduced your women to
something like manufacturing machines; alas, for heaven's sake, is this the
outcome of your education? The uplift of the women, the awakening of the
masses must come first, and then only can any real good come about for the
country, for India.
Near Chorebagan Swamiji gave it out to the disciple that the foundress of
the Mahâkali Pâthashâlâ, the Tapasvini Mâtâji (ascetic mother), had invited
him to visit her institution. When our carriage stopped at its destination,
three or four gentlemen greeted Swamiji and showed him up to the first door.
There the Tapasvini mother received him standing. Presently she escorted him
into one of the classes, where all the maidens stood up in greeting. At a
word from Mataji all of them commenced reciting the Sanskrit meditation of
Lord Shiva with proper intonation. Then they demonstrated at the instance of
the Mother how they were taught the ceremonies of worship in their school.
After watching all this with much delight and interest, Swamiji proceeded to
visit the other classes. After this, Mataji sent for some particular girl
and asked her to explain before Swamiji the first verse of the third canto
of Kalidasa's Raghavamsham, which she did in Sanskrit. Swamiji expressed his
great appreciation of the measure of success Mataji had attained by her
perseverance and application in the cause of diffusing education among
women. In reply, she said with much humility, "In my service to my students,
I look upon them as the Divine Mother; well, in starting the school I have
neither fame nor any other object in view."
Being asked by Mataji, Swamiji recorded his opinion about the institution in
the Visitors' Book, the last line of which was: "The movement is in the
right direction."
After saluting Mataji, Swamiji went back to his carriage, which then
proceeded towards Baghbazar, while the following conversation took place
between Swamiji and the disciple.
Swamiji: How far is the birthplace of this venerable lady! She has renounced everything of her worldly life, and yet how diligent in the service of humanity! Had she not been a woman, could she ever have undertaken the teaching of women in the way she is doing? What I saw here was all good, but that some male householders should be pitchforked as teachers is a thing I cannot approve of. The duty of teaching in the school ought to devolve in every respect on educated widows and Brahmacharinis. It is good to avoid in this country any association of men with women's schools.
Disciple: But, sir, how would you get now in thin country learned and virtuous women like Gârgi, Khanâ or Lilâvati?
Swamiji: Do you think women of the type don't exist now in the country?
Still on this sacred soil of India, this land of Sitâ and Sâvitri, among
women may be found such character, such spirit of service, such affection,
compassion, contentment, and reverence, as I could not find anywhere else in
the world! In the West, the women did not very often seem to me to be women
at all, they appeared to be quite the replicas of men! Driving vehicles,
drudging in offices, attending schools, doing professional duties! In India
alone the sight of feminine modesty and reserve soothes the eye! With such
materials of great promise, you could not, alas, work out their uplift! You
did not try to infuse the light of knowledge into them. If they get the
right sort of education, they may well turn out to be the ideal women in the
world.
Disciple: Do you think, sir, the same consummation would be reached through
the way Mataji is educating her students? These students would soon grow up
and get married and would presently shade into the likeness of all other
women of the common run. So I think, if these girls might be made to adopt
Brahmacharya, then only could they devote their lives to the cause of the
country's progress and attain to the high ideals preached in our sacred
books.
Swamiji: Yes, everything will come about in time. Such educated men are not
yet born in this country, who can keep their girls unmarried without fear of
social punishment. Just see how before the girls exceed the age of twelve or
thirteen, people hasten to give them away in marriage out of this fear of
their social equals. Only the other day, when the Age of Consent Bill was
being passed, the leaders of society massed together millions of men to send
up the cry "We don't want the Bill." Had this been in any other country, far
from getting up meetings to send forth a cry like that, people would have
hidden their heads under their roofs in shame, that such a calumny could yet
stain their society.
Disciple: But, sir, I don't think the ancient law-givers supported this custom of early marriage without any rhyme or reason. There must have been some secret meaning in this attitude of theirs.
Swamiji: Well, what might have been this secret meaning, please?
Disciple: Take it, for instance, in the first place that if the girls are
married at an early age, they may come over to their husbands' home to learn
the particular ways and usages of the family from the early years of their
life. They may acquire adequate skill in the duties of the household under
the guidance of their parents-in-law. In the homes of their own parents, on
the other hand, there is the likelihood of grown-up daughters going astray.
But married early, they have no chance of thus going wrong, and over and
above this, such feminine virtues as modesty, reserve, fortitude, and
diligence are apt to develop in them.
Swamiji: In favour of the other side of the question, again, it may be argued that early marriage leads to premature child-bearing, which accounts for most of our women dying early; their progeny also, being of low vitality, go to swell the ranks of our country's beggars! For if the physique of the parents be not strong and healthy, how can strong and healthy children be born at all? Married a little later and bred in culture, our mothers will give birth to children who would be able to achieve the real good of the country. The reason why you have so many widows in every home lies here, in this custom of early marriage. If the number of early marriages declines, that of widows is bound to follow suit.
Disciple: But, sir, it seems to me, if our women are married late in life, they are apt to be less mindful of their household duties. I have heard that the mothers-in-law in Calcutta very often do all the cooking, while the educated daughters-in-law sit idle with red paint round their feet! But in our East Bengal such a thing is never allowed to take place.
Swamiji: But everywhere under the sun you find the same blending of the good
and the bad. In my opinion society in every country shapes itself out of its
own initiative. So we need not trouble our heads prematurely about such
reforms as the abolition of early marriage, the remarriage of widows, and so
on. Our part of the duty lies in imparting true education to all men and
women in society. As an outcome of that education, they will of themselves
be able to know what is good for them and what is bad, and will
spontaneously eschew the latter. It will not be then necessary to pull down
or set up anything in society by coercion.
Disciple: What sort of education, do you think, is suited to our women?
Swamiji: Religion, arts, science, housekeeping, cooking, sewing, hygiene —
the simple essential points in these subjects ought to be taught to our
women. It is not good to let them touch novels and fiction. The Mahakali
Pathashala is to a great extent moving in the right direction. But only
teaching rites of worship won't do; their education must be an eye-opener in
all matters. Ideal characters must always be presented before the view of
the girls to imbue them with a devotion to lofty principles of selflessness.
The noble examples of Sita, Savitri, Damavanti, Lilavati, Khana, and Mirâ
should be brought home to their minds and they should be inspired to mould
their own lives in the light of these.
Our cab now reached the house of the late Babu Balaram Bose at Baghbazar.
Swamiji alighted from it and went upstairs. There he recounted the whole of
his experience at the Mahakali Pathashala to those who had assembled there
to see him.
Then while discussing what the members of the newly formed Ramakrishna Mission should do, Swamiji proceeded to establish by various arguments the supreme importance of the 'gift of learning" and the "gift of knowledge". [1] Turning to the disciple he said, "Educate, educate, ' नान्यः पन्था विद्यतेऽयनाय — Than this there is no other way'." And referring in banter to the party who do not favour educational propaganda, he said, "Well, don't go into the party of Prahlâdas!" Asked as to the meaning of the expression he replied, "Oh, haven't you heard? Tears rushed out of the eyes of Prahlada at the very sight of the first letter 'Ka' of the alphabet as it reminded him Of Krishna; so how could any studies be proceeded with? But then the tears in Prahlada's eyes were tears of love, while your fools affect tears in fright! Many of the devotees are also like that." All of those present burst out laughing on hearing this, and Swami Yogananda said to Swamiji, "Well, once you have the urge within towards anything to be done, you won't have any peace until you see the utmost done about it. Now what you have a mind to have done shall be done no doubt."
- ↑ The allusion here is to the classification of various gifts, mentioned by Manu.