The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 4/Writings: Prose/On Professor Max Müller
Though the ideal of work of our Brahmavâdin should always be "
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन — To work thou hast the right, but never to
the fruits thereof", yet no sincere worker passes out of the field of
activity without making himself known and catching at least a few rays of
light.
The beginning of our work has been splendid, and the steady earnestness
shown by our friends is beyond all praise. Sincerity of conviction and
purity of motive will surely gain the day; and even a small minority, armed
with these, is surely destined to prevail against all odds.
Keep away from all insincere claimants to supernatural illumination; not
that such illumination is impossible, but, my friends, in this world of ours
"lust, or gold, or fame" is the hidden motive behind ninety per cent of all
such claims, and of the remaining ten per cent, nine per cent are cases
which require the tender care of physicians more than the attention of
metaphysicians.
The first great thing to accomplish is to establish a character, to obtain,
as we say, the प्रतिष्ठिता प्रज्ञा (established Wisdom). This
applies equally to individuals and to organised bodies of individuals. Do
not fret because the world looks with suspicion at every new attempt, even
though it be in the path of spirituality. The poor world, how often has it
been cheated! The more the संसार that is, the
worldly aspect of life, looks at any growing movement with eyes of
suspicion, or, even better still, presents to it a semi-hostile front, so
much the better is it for the movement. If there is any truth this movement
has to disseminate, any need it is born to supply, soon will condemnation be
changed into praise, and contempt converted into love. People in these days
are apt to take up religion as a means to some social or political end.
Beware of this. Religion is its own end. That religion which is only a means
to worldly well-being is not religion, whatever else it may be; and it is
sheer blasphemy against God and man to hold that man has no other end than
the free and full enjoyment of all the pleasure of his senses.
Truth, purity, and unselfishness — wherever these are present, there is no
power below or above the sun to crush the possessor thereof. Equipped with
these, one individual is able to face the whole universe in opposition.
Above all, beware of compromises. I do not mean that you are to get into
antagonism with anybody, but you have to hold on to your own principles in
weal or woe and never adjust them to others' "fads" through the greed of
getting supporters. Your Âtman is the support of the universe — whose
support do you stand in need of? Wait with patience and love and strength;
if helpers are not ready now, they will come in time. Why should we be in a
hurry? The real working force of all great work is in its almost unperceived
beginnings.
Whoever could have thought that the life and teachings of a boy born of poor
Brâhmin parents in a wayside Bengal village would, in a few years, reach
such distant lands as our ancestors never even dreamed of? I refer to
Bhagavan Ramâkrishna. Do you know that Prof. Max Müller has already written
an article on Shri Ramakrishna for the Nineteenth Century, and will be very
glad to write a larger and fuller account of his life and teachings if
sufficient materials are forthcoming? What an extraordinary man is Prof. Max
Müller! I paid a visit to him a few days ago. I should say, that I went to
pay my respects to him, for whosoever loves Shri Ramakrishna, whatever be
his or her sect, or creed, or nationality, my visit to that person I hold as
a pilgrimage. "मद्भक्तानां च ये भक्तास्ते मे भक्ततमा मताः — They who are devoted to
those who love Me — they are My best devotees." Is that not true?
The Professor was first induced to inquire about the power behind, which led
to sudden and momentous changes in the life of the late Keshab Chandra Sen,
the great Brâhmo leader; and since then, he has been an earnest student and
admirer of the life and teachings of Shri Ramakrishna. "Ramakrishna is
worshipped by thousands today, Professor", I said. "To whom else shall
worship be accorded, if not to such", was the answer. The Professor was
kindness itself, and asked Mr. Sturdy and myself to lunch with him. He
showed us several colleges in Oxford and the Bodleian library. He also
accompanied us to the railway station; and all this he did because, as he
said, "It is not every day one meets a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa."
The visit was really a revelation to me. That nice little house in its
setting of a beautiful garden, the silverheaded sage, with a face calm and
benign, and forehead smooth as a child's in spite of seventy winters, and
every line in that face speaking of a deep-seated mine of spirituality
somewhere behind; that noble wife, the helpmate of his life through his long
and arduous task of exciting interest, overriding opposition and contempt,
and at last creating a respect for the thoughts of the sages of ancient
India — the trees, the flowers, the calmness, and the clear sky — all these
sent me back in imagination to the glorious days of Ancient India, the days
of our Brahmarshis and Râjarshis, the days of the great Vânaprasthas, the
days of Arundhatis and Vasishthas.
It was neither the philologist nor the scholar that I saw, but a soul that
is every day realising its oneness with the Brahman, a heart that is every
moment expanding to reach oneness with the Universal. Where others lose
themselves in the desert of dry details, he has struck the well-spring of
life. Indeed his heartbeats have caught the rhythm of the Upanishads "
तमेवैकं जानथ जात्मानमन्या वाचो विमुञ्चथ — Know the Atman alone, and leave off all
other talk."
Although a world-moving scholar and philosopher, his learning and philosophy
have only led him higher and higher to the realisation of the Spirit, his
अपरा विद्या (lower knowledge) has indeed helped him to
reach the परा विद्या (higher knowledge). This is real
learning. विद्या ददाति विनयम् — "Knowledge gives humility." Of
what use is knowledge if it does not show us the way to the Highest?
And what love he bears towards India! I wish I had a hundredth part of that
love for my own motherland! Endued with an extraordinary, and at the same
time intensely active mind, he has lived and moved in the world of Indian
thought for fifty years or more, and watched the sharp interchange of light
and shade in the interminable forest of Sanskrit literature with deep
interest and heartfelt love, till they have all sunk into his very soul and
coloured his whole being.
Max Müller is a Vedantist of Vedantists. He has, indeed, caught the real
soul of the melody of the Vedanta, in the midst of all its settings of
harmonies and discords — the one light that lightens the sects and creeds of
the world, the Vedanta, the one principle of which all religions are only
applications. And what was Ramakrishna Paramahamsa? The practical
demonstration of this ancient principle, the embodiment of India that is
past, and a foreshadowing of the India that is to be, the bearer of
spiritual light unto nations. The jeweller alone can understand the worth of
jewels; this is an old proverb. Is it a wonder that this Western sage does
study and appreciate every new star in the firmament of Indian thought,
before even the Indians themselves realise its magnitude?
"When are you coming to India? Every heart there would welcome one who has
done so much to place the thoughts of their ancestors in the true light", I
said. The face of the aged sage brightened up — there was almost a tear in
his eyes, a gentle nodding of the head, and slowly the words came out: "I
would not return then; you would have to cremate me there." Further
questions seemed an unwarrantable intrusion into realms wherein are stored
the holy secrets of man's heart. Who knows but that it was what the poet has
said—
तच्चेतसा स्मरति नूनमबोधपूर्वं ।
भावस्थिराणि जननान्तरसौहृदानि ॥
—"He remembers with his mind the friendships of former births, firmly rooted
in his heart."
His life has been a blessing to the world; and may it be many, many years
more, before he changes the present plane of his existence!
- Notes
- ↑ Written for the Brahmâvadin, from London, June 6, 1896.