Vedanta and Indian Culture

Spirituality, the Life-centre of Indian CultureIndian civilization is more than five thousand years old.   During this long period it produced a unique type of highly advanced and variegated culture.  In spite of the innumerable regional, social and linguistic diversities of the country, there has always been a basic unity in Indian culture.  Moreover, this culture maintained unbroken continuity from Vedic times to the present day, in spite of countless wars within the country, invasions from outside and two centuries of subjugation by the British.  This indestructible unity and unbroken continuity of Indian culture are derived from its deep spiritual foundations. 

Swami Vivekananda has pointed out that every civilization or culture has a particular life-centre, a dominant characteristic or trend.  According to him the life-centre of Indian culture is spirituality.  By spirituality is meant a way of life oriented to the ultimate purpose or goal of life which is the realization of the Supreme Spirit or God. 

Unity of Philosophy and Religion in IndiaIndian spirituality is deeply rooted in the ancient philosophical and religious traditions of the land.  Philosophy arose in India as an enquiry into the mystery of life and existence.  A parallel situation arose in ancient Greece also.  But, as Swami Vivekananda pointed out, the Greek philosophers confined their enquiries to the external world, and the method they employed was only speculation, whereas in India philosophical enquiries were carried out in the inner world.  Indian sages, called Rishis or ‘seers’, developed special techniques of transcending the senses and the ordinary mind, collectively called Yoga.  With the help of these techniques they delved deep into the depths of consciousness and discovered important truths about the true nature of man and the universe.

The sages found that man’s true nature is not the body or the mind, which are ever changing and perishable, but the spirit which is unchanging, immortal, pure consciousness.  They called it the Atman.  The Atman is man’s true Self, the true knower, the true source of man’s knowledge, happiness and power.  The Rishis further found that all individual selves are parts of infinite Consciousness which they called Brahman.  Brahman is the ultimate Reality, the ultimate cause of the universe.  Ignorance of man’s true nature is the main cause of human suffering and bondage.  By gaining correct knowledge of Atman and Brahman it is possible to become free from suffering and bondage and attain a state of immortality, everlasting peace and fulfilment known asMukti.

Religion in ancient India meant a way of life which enabled man to realize his true nature and attain Mukti.

Thus philosophy provided a correct view of Reality, while religion showed the correct way of life; philosophy provided the vision, while religion brought about the fulfilment; philosophy was the theory, and religion was the practice.  Thus in ancient India, philosophy and religion complemented each other.  In fact, they together constituted a single endeavour, an integral discipline.  This integral religious philosophy or philosophical religion was called Vedanta.  The term Vedanta comes from the fact that its basic principles constitute the last part or culmination of the ancient scriptures known as the Vedas.  

The VedasThe Vedas are the oldest and most authoritative scriptures of Hinduism.  All other scriptures are subordinate to them.  They were not composed by anybody but were ‘revealed’ to the Rishis; hence they are also called ‘Shruti’, ‘that which is heard’.  The earlier part of the Vedas may have been composed between 2000 B.C. and 1000 B.C.  There are four Vedas: Rig-veda, Yajur-veda, Sama-veda and Atharva-veda.  Each of these has four divisions: Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishads.

Samhita:  This section is a collection of hymns addressed to various deities.  Many of these hymns have deep mystical significance.

Brahmana:  This portion deals with various rituals and also with moral principles.

Aranyaka:  This portion contains various meditations.  Some of these meditations are mental recreations of external rituals.

Upanishads:  These are the records of the transcendental experiences gained by Rishis by following different contemplative techniques.  These experiences are actually revelations about Atman, Brahman and other eternal, universal truths regarding the ultimate Reality.

These eternal truths and principles of the spiritual world, lying scattered in the Upanishads, were brought together and codified by Badarayana in the form of sutras or aphorisms in the 5^th century B.C.  These sutras known as Brahma Sutras form the foundation of the system of philosophy known as Vedanta-Darshana.

Vedanta

Thus the term Vedanta stands for three inter-related things:

(a) the Upanishads collectively, which form the last and the most important part of the Vedas;
(b) the eternal truths and principles of the spiritual realm;
(c) the system of philosophy based on Brahma Sutras.

However, it is mostly in the last sense of Vedanta Darshana (Vedanta Philosophy) that the term Vedanta is commonly used.

In this connection it should be pointed out that five more systems of philosophy arose in India in the early centuries of the Christian era.  These are:

1)     Mimamsa, founded by Jaimini

2)     Vaisheshika, founded by Kanada

3)     Nyaya, founded by Gautama

4)     Sankhya, founded by Kapila

5)     Yoga, founded by Patanjali

These five systems of philosophy always remained confined to small groups of intellectuals.  They never became identified with the mainstream religion of the land and, in due course, they ceased to be in vogue.  Vedanta alone remained the main philosophy of India from the Vedic period, and Vedanta alone got identified with the religion of the land.  As already mentioned, Vedanta is both philosophy and religion.  This combined religious and philosophical tradition of India came to be called Sanatana Dharma, “Eternal Religion” and, still later, as Hinduism.

Other scriptures of Vedanta

Although the Upanishads constitute the original and most authoritative source of Vedanta, they are not the only scripture of Vedanta.  Several other books also came to be accepted as authoritative.  Among these, the most important one is Bhagavad Gita.  It introduced several new concepts into Vedanta such as God incarnating Himself as the Avatar age after age, devotion to personal God as means to Mukti, discharging one’s duties of life in a spirit of selflessness and self-surrender to God as a spiritual path, and so on.  Over the centuries great teachers like Shankara, Ramanuja, and great saints of medieval period enriched Vedanta with philosophical concepts and devotional songs.

Three Phases of Vedanta

Vedanta is not a static philosophy or religion.  It is a highly dynamic, ever-growing philosophy and religion capable of meeting challenges and overcoming obstacles.  In this process of growth, Vedanta has passed through three phases.

(i) Formative Phase:  This phase extended from around 1000 B.C. to 3rd century B.C.  During this period the Upanishads, the Gita and the Brahma-sutras (these three scriptures are together called Prasthana-traya) provided the basic concepts of Vedanta such as Atman and Brahman.

(ii) Scholastic Phase:  This phase extended from about the 8th century A.D. to the 13th century.  During this period great teachers like Shankara expounded and expanded the original intuitive insights of Vedic Rishis and the teachings of the Gita, and established Vedanta as a cogent, comprehensive system of philosophy – the most cogent and comprehensive religious philosophy the world has ever seen.

But during this period Vedanta split into a number of philosophical schools and religious sects. The main philosophical schools were the following:

     Advaita or Non-dualism propounded by Shankara

     Vishishta-advaita propounded by Ramanuja

     Dvaita propounded by Madhva

     Shuddhadvaita propounded by Vallabha

     Achintya-bheda-abheda propounded by Jiva Gosvamin

These schools of philosophy carried on acrimonious debates among themselves which kept up the intellectual vigour of the people.  India produced during this period many great scholars and thinkers.

The main religious sects were:  Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism.  Each of these had several sub-sects.  These sects produced many saints.  These saints spread Vedantic ideas among the common people through songs and teachings. 

Here mention should be made of two other religio-philosophical traditions associated with Indian culture, namely Buddhism and Jainism.  They arose as spiritual movements in the 6th century BC.  They shared some of the basic concepts of India’s ancient belief system such as Karma, rebirth, samsara, Dharma and direct spiritual experience.  But their rejection of the authority of the Veda, caste distinction, belief in an Ultimate Reality as the Supreme Deity and ultimate cause of the universe, and other principles alienated them from the main stream of Vedantic culture.  As a result, Buddhism and Jainism began to decline in India and, after the 12th century AD, Buddhism ceased to have any direct influence on the development of Indian culture. 

(iii)  Modern Phase:  The third phase of Vedanta was inaugurated by Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda in the 19th century.  During this period Vedanta was transformed from an ethnic religious philosophy into a universal philosophy of life. 

Selected Teachings of Swami Vivekananda:

 My ideal, indeed, can be put into a few words, and that is: to preach unto mankind their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life.

 Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man.

 We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one's own feet.

 So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them.

 Whatever you think, that you will be. If you think yourselves weak, weak you will be; if you think yourselves strong, strong you will be.

 If you have faith in all the three hundred and thirty millions of your mythological gods, … and still have no faith in yourselves, there is no salvation for you. Have faith in yourselves, and stand up on that faith and be strong; that is what we need.

 Strength, strength it is that we want so much in this life, for what we call sin and sorrow have all one cause, and that is our weakness. With weakness comes ignorance, and with ignorance comes misery.

 The older I grow, the more everything seems to me to lie in manliness. This is my new Gospel.

 Purity, patience, and perseverance are the three essentials to success, and above all, love.

 Religion is realization; not talk, not doctrine, nor theories, however beautiful they may be. It is being and becoming, not hearing or acknowledging; it is the whole soul becoming changed into what it believes.

 Religion is the manifestation of the Divinity already in man.

 Teach yourselves, teach everyone his real nature, call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, goodness will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity.

 They alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive.

 This is the gist of all worship – to be pure and to do good to others.

 It is love and love alone that I preach, and I base my teaching on the great Vedantic truth of the sameness and omnipresence of the Soul of the Universe.

RESPONSE TO WELCOME

At the World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago
11th September, 1893

Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.

My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honour of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: “As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.”

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: “Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.” Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilisation and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honour of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.