Why I Don t Follow Vivekananda Anymore
I first picked up the teachings of Vivekananda when i waJust out of Class X, some 27 years back. And i Cist wrote something in this columnar the man who i by then described as my philosophical guru-in 2004,12 years ago. Over the years, increasingly, i have thought about his works, spoken about hem, written about them. But something's been changing. The recurrent need to explain something entirely in his words has diminished. The frequencies with which i have to flip open the pages of my old, well-worn and underlined books on and by Vivekananda has been quietly reducing. The sense of panic when they get briefly misplaced isn't as high. For something i wrote about Vivekananda recently, the learned gentleman reading the draft took a deep breath and said to me, "You know, don't get me wrong, but there's more of what you think here than of what he says." That was when i got some sense of why that charge was coming my way. Once understood and absorbed Vivekananda absorbed tilth point didn’t need to pick up the books to quote him, didn't see many of his thoughts just as thoughts but as experiments i'd done with my life, things i'd lived out-my reflexes imperceptibly changed. Contradictory as it may appear, the more i followed him, the more the idea of 'following itself began to seem pedestrian. Over time, by absorbing what he was saying, learnt to not believe in indisputable truths but instead to believe in doubt; to consistently question, to as to wonder; to not be God-fearing but to fear the idea of being afraid; to realise that any entity that i fear is an entity that diminishes me. From the man who wore saffron i learnt not to leave the interpretation of my life's rights and wrongs to those who wear saffron-or any other shade of righteousness. And so, i realised that the less i blindly hero-worshipped Vivekananda, the greater was his success as my hero, as my teacher. After all, the victory of a teacher at school lies not in our need to refer all questions back to him, but in our increasing need to not do that since he has enabled us to master the subject. Whythen, should the victory of a philosophy lie in the need of the follower t keep following, instead of mastering the thought itself? The Little Leaderthat every word of his be unquesably worshipped. The evolved miMaster looks to go beyond that, aKrishna did at the end of the Gitalooks to talk to you as an equal arleaves the final call to you. I have for long been enthrallethis dramatic, flamboyant thingVivekananda said: "The olderigthe more everything seems to mein manliness. This is my new goseven evil like a man. Be wicked, imust, on a grand scale!" Theoldegrow, the more everythingaboutfollowing Vivekananda seems tolie in understanding the core of not in being a clerical follower ofwritings. I have begun to think thtruly follow Vivekananda is to loreflex of 'following' itself.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Anshul Chaturvedi kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy : Anshul Chaturvedi Speaking Tree ,Times of India
Why I Don t Follow Vivekananda Anymore
I first picked up the teachings of Vivekananda when i waJust out of Class X, some 27 years back. And i Cist wrote something in this columnar the man who i by then described as my philosophical guru-in 2004,12 years ago. Over the years, increasingly, i have thought about his works, spoken about hem, written about them. But something's been changing. The recurrent need to explain something entirely in his words has diminished. The frequencies with which i have to flip open the pages of my old, well-worn and underlined books on and by Vivekananda has been quietly reducing. The sense of panic when they get briefly misplaced isn't as high. For something i wrote about Vivekananda recently, the learned gentleman reading the draft took a deep breath and said to me, "You know, don't get me wrong, but there's more of what you think here than of what he says." That was when i got some sense of why that charge was coming my way. Once understood and absorbed Vivekananda absorbed tilth point didn’t need to pick up the books to quote him, didn't see many of his thoughts just as thoughts but as experiments i'd done with my life, things i'd lived out-my reflexes imperceptibly changed. Contradictory as it may appear, the more i followed him, the more the idea of 'following itself began to seem pedestrian. Over time, by absorbing what he was saying, learnt to not believe in indisputable truths but instead to believe in doubt; to consistently question, to as to wonder; to not be God-fearing but to fear the idea of being afraid; to realise that any entity that i fear is an entity that diminishes me. From the man who wore saffron i learnt not to leave the interpretation of my life's rights and wrongs to those who wear saffron-or any other shade of righteousness. And so, i realised that the less i blindly hero-worshipped Vivekananda, the greater was his success as my hero, as my teacher. After all, the victory of a teacher at school lies not in our need to refer all questions back to him, but in our increasing need to not do that since he has enabled us to master the subject. Whythen, should the victory of a philosophy lie in the need of the follower t keep following, instead of mastering the thought itself? The Little Leaderthat every word of his be unquesably worshipped. The evolved miMaster looks to go beyond that, aKrishna did at the end of the Gitalooks to talk to you as an equal arleaves the final call to you. I have for long been enthrallethis dramatic, flamboyant thingVivekananda said: "The olderigthe more everything seems to mein manliness. This is my new goseven evil like a man. Be wicked, imust, on a grand scale!" Theoldegrow, the more everythingaboutfollowing Vivekananda seems tolie in understanding the core of not in being a clerical follower ofwritings. I have begun to think thtruly follow Vivekananda is to loreflex of 'following' itself.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Anshul Chaturvedi kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy : Anshul Chaturvedi Speaking Tree ,Times of India