"हिरण्यमय"
तमो वा इदमेकमास तत्पश्चात्तत्परेणेरितं विषयत्वं प्रयात्येतद्वै रजसो रूपं तद्रजः खल्वीरितं विषमत्वं प्रयात्येतद्वै तमसो रूपं तत्तमः खल्वीरितं तमस:संप्रास्रवत्येतद्वै सत्त्वस्य रूपं तत्सत्त्वमेवेरितं तत्सत्त्वात्संप्रास्रवत्सोंऽशोऽयं यश्चेतनमात्रः प्रतिपुरुषं क्षेत्रज्ञः संकल्पाध्यवसायाभिमानलिङ्गः प्रजापतिस्तस्य प्रोक्ता अग्यास्तनवो ब्रह्मा रुद्रो विष्णुरित्यथ यो ह खलु वावास्य राजसोंऽशोऽसौ स योऽयं ब्रह्माथ यो ह खलु वावास्य तामसोंऽशोऽसौ स योऽयं रुद्रोऽथ यो ह खलु वावास्य सात्त्विकोंऽशोऽसौ स एव विष्णुः स वा एष एकस्रिधाभूतोऽष्टधैकादशधा द्वादशधाऽपरिमितधा चोद्भूत उद्भूतत्वाद्भूतेषु चरति प्रतिष्ठा सर्वभूतानामधिपतिर्बभूवेत्यसावात्मान्तर्बहिश्चान्तर्बहिश्च॥
Indeed, in the beginning this universe was one tamas. That was in the highest. When impelled by the highest, it moves on to differentiation. That form, indeed, is rajas. That rajas, when impelled, moves on to differentiation. That, indeed, is sattva's form. That sattva, when impelled, flows forth the essence. That part is the intelligent principle in every person, the knower of the body that has the signs of resolution, perseverance, and egotism. The forms of Prajapati called Vishva have been told earlier. O brahmacharis, now, indeed, his tamasic part is Rudra. brahmacharis, now, indeed, his rajasic part is Brahma. O brahmacharis, now indeed, his sattvic part is Vishnu. Indeed, that one becomes threefold. He developed forth eight- fold, eleven-fold, rwelve-fold, and in unlimited parts. Because he developed thus, he is a created being and moves about, having entered all beings. He became the lord of all created beings. That is the self within and without, yes, within and without.
सृष्टि-रचना के पूर्व यह (भूतात्मा) केवल अन्धकार (अज्ञान) रूप ही था। पश्चात् परमात्मा द्वारा प्रेरणा प्राप्त करके इन्द्रियों के विषय रूप में परिणत हो गया । इन (रूपों) में से यह वस्तु रजोगुण के रूप में है। यह तमोगुण का भी स्वरूप है अर्थात् प्रेरणा प्राप्त तमोगुण ही तमोगुण में से प्रकट होता है। यह सत्त्व गुण का भी रूप है अर्थात् प्रेरणा प्राप्त हुआ सत्त्वगुण हो सत्त्वगुणों में से स्रवित हुआ है। जो यह चेतन सत्ता हर भूत-प्राणियों में क्षेत्रज्ञ जीव रूप से स्थिर है और परमात्मा का अंश है। वह संकल्प युक्त और अध्यवसायी, दृढ़निश्चयी है, अहंकार रूप (मैं पन) से पहचाना जाने वाला तथा समस्त प्रजा का पति है। ब्रह्मा, विष्णु एवं रुद्र को ही परमात्मा का सब बड़ा और श्रेष्ठ शरीर कहा गया है। उस परमात्मा के रजोगुण अंश को ‘ब्रह्मा’ कहा गया है, तमोगुण अंश को ‘रुद्र’ और जो सतोगुण अंश है, उसे ‘विष्णु’ कहा गया है। इस कारण से वह एक ही परमात्मा तीन (ब्रह्मा, विष्णु, रुद्र) रूपों में, आठ (अष्टवसु) रूप मे ग्यारह (रुद्र)रूपों में, बारह (आदित्य) रूपों में दश अन्य (असंख्य संसारी जन रूप) अगणित रूपों उत्पन्न हुआ है। वह इस तरह ‘उद्भूत’ होते हुए भी प्रत्येक भूतों-प्राणियों में स्थित है। वही समस्त प्राणियों का अधिष्ठाता है और वही अन्दर-बाहर आत्मा के रूप में विद्यमान है। वही अन्दर और बाहर है॥
दिव्धा वा एष आत्मानं बिभर्त्ययं यः प्राणो यश्चासावादित्योऽथ द्वौ वा एतावास्तां पञ्चधा नामान्तर्बहिश्चाहोरात्रे तौ व्यावर्तेते असौ वा आदित्यो बहिरात्मान्तरात्मा प्राणो बहिरात्मागत्यान्तरात्मनानुमीयते।
गतिरित्येवं ह्याह यः कश्चिद्विद्वानपतपाप्मा-ध्यक्षोऽवदातमनास्तन्निष्ठ आवृत्तचक्षुः सोऽन्तरात्मागत्या बहिरात्मनोनुमीयते गतिरित्येवं ह्याहाथ य एषोऽन्तरादित्ये हिरण्मयः पुरुषो यः पश्यति मां हिरण्यवत्स एषोऽन्तरे हृत्पुष्कर एवाश्रितोऽन्नमत्ति॥ (अथ प्रपाठक- 6.1)
" This self bears himself in two ways,
as he who is the vital energy (प्राण) and he who is the Sun (सूर्य
-matter). Therefore, two indeed are these paths—inward and outward. They
both turn back in a day and night. That Sun, indeed, is the outer self,
the inner self is the vital energy. Hence, the course of the inner self
is inferred from the course of the outer self. For it has been said: ’Now, whoever is a knower, who has freed oneself from evil, the one presiding over the senses,
pure-minded, firmly established in that, with senses turned inward, is
the self.’ Likewise, the course of the outer self is inferred by the
course of the inner self. For it has been said: ‘Now that golden person (हिरण्यमय),
who is within the Sun, who looks on this earth from his golden state,
is the one who has entered into the lotus of the heart and consumes
food. (6.i)
वह परमात्मा दो प्रकार की आत्माओं (स्वरूपों) को ग्रहण करता है। यह जो प्राण है तथा जो सूर्य है, यही दोनों सर्वप्रथम उत्पन्न हुए हैं। यह सूर्य बाह्य आत्मा है और प्राण अन्तः की आत्मा है। इसकी गति को देखकर यह अनुमान लगाया जाता है कि वह अन्तरात्मा ही है। वेदों में कहा गया है कि यह आत्मा गतिरूप ही है। जिस विद्वान् (knower- ज्ञाता, ब्रह्मविद या आत्मवेत्ता) के पापों का शमन हो चुका है, वह सभी का अध्यक्ष होता है। उसका मन पवित्र होता है तथा उसकी स्थिति परमात्मा में ही रहती है। उस (विद्वान्) का ज्ञान-चक्षु जाग्रत् हो जाता है तथा वह अन्तरात्मा में हो स्थिर रहता है। यह गतिशोल होता हुआ वहिर्गमन कर जाता है। आत्मा की गति का अनुमान लगाया जा सकता है, ऐसा वेदों ने भी प्रतिपादित किया है। सूर्य के मध्य भाग में जो ‘पुरुष’ स्वर्ण के रूप में दृष्टिगोचर होता है, जो हमें हिरण्यमय अर्थात् प्रकाश स्वरूप दृष्टिगोचर होता है, वही (पुरुष) हृदयरूपी कमल में स्थित रहते हुए अन्न को ग्रहण करता है॥
[यहाँ आत्मा को गति रूप कहा गया है। जिस प्रकार किसी सुचालक (good conductor) में इलैक्ट्रॉन तो हर समय उपस्थित रहते हैं, किन्तु जब वे गतिशील होते हैं, तभी विद्युत् प्रवाह का आभास होता है। इसी प्रकार आत्म-तत्त्व, परमात्म-तत्त्व सभी जगह कण-कण में विद्यमान है, जब वह संकल्पपूर्वक गतिशील होता है, तभी चेतना का आभास होता है। यह ऋषियों की अनुभूति से प्रकट हुआ तथ्य है।]
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सम्पादकीय (प्रबुद्ध भारत)
भगिनी निवेदिता- वज्र शक्ति
(Sister Nivedita- Vajra Shakti)
सिस्टर निवेदिता भारत माता के लिए नैवेद्य (offering-भेंट) थीं। वे पूर्णतया भारत के लिए समर्पित थीं। स्वामी विवेकानन्द ने भारत के कल्याण के उद्देश्य से भगिनी निवेदिता के रूप में जो नैवेद्य चढ़ाया है, मनुष्य के रूप में वैसा पूर्ण नैवेद्य दूसरा नहीं हो सकता। यह नैवेद्य विकास के हर पहलू को स्पर्श करता है। मानव शक्ति की मातृ प्रेम सहित सभी अभिव्यक्तियाँ राष्ट्र निर्माण, बल्कि पुनर्निर्माण, के लिए समर्पित थीं। स्वामी जी किसी काम को अपूर्ण नहीं छोड़ते थे। जिस प्रकार वे 'आमूल-चूल सुधार' (root and branch reform या पूर्ण सुधार) के पक्षधर थे, उसी प्रकार भारत के लिए उनका उपहार भी 'root and branch ' या पूर्ण सुधार के लिए था ।
यही कारण है कि सिस्टर निवेदिता को उनके जन्मस्थान में जितना महत्व दिया जाता है, वह भारत में उन्हें दिए जाने वाले सम्मान का एक छोटा सा हिस्सा भी नहीं है। आज भगिनी निवेदिता का नाम उसी तरह 'भारत' का पर्यायवाची शब्द बन चुका है, जिस प्रकार उनके गुरु स्वामी विवेकानन्द थे। भगिनी निवेदिता के विषय में कुछ कहने या उन्हें स्मरण करने का कोई भी प्रयास स्वामी विवेकानन्द को याद करने के प्रयास के साथ-साथ भारत के सदियों पुराने सांस्कृतिक, सामाजिक, राजनीतिक, दार्शनिक और आध्यात्मिक इतिहास को याद करने का प्रयास भी है। ऐसा कोई भी प्रयास, उन सीपियों के वाह्य आवरण को खंरोचने के प्रयास जैसा है, जिसके भीतर ज्ञान के अमूल्य मोती-जवाहर समाविष्ट हैं। इस कालातीत खजाने की ओर की ओर अधिक से अधिक, केवल संकेत भर ही किया जा सकता है।
सिस्टर निवेदिता को उनके जन्म के समय से ही, भारत को समर्पित करने के लिए गढ़ा जा रहा था। परम्परागत प्रथा के अनुसार जिस प्रकार भारत में किसी वृक्ष का पहला फल किसी देवी या देवता को प्रसाद के रूप में चढ़ाया जाता है, उसी प्रकार आयरलैंड का सर्वोत्तम फल भारत को समर्पित करने के लिए चुना गया था। सर्वशक्तिमान को अर्पित किया जाने वाला प्रसाद अनिवार्य रूप से सर्वोत्तम तो होना ही चाहिए और निवेदिता के पास वैसी ही गहरी अंतर्दृष्टि और तीक्ष्ण बुद्धि थी।
उन्होंने बहुत कम उम्र में ही, 'शिक्षा' को समस्त सामाजिक समस्याओं के केंद्र रूप में पहचान लिया था। अतएव, शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में उनके प्रयोग भारत में भी स्वाभाविक रूप से जारी रहे। भारत में अनौपचारिक शिक्षा (non-formal education) की शुरुआत सर्प्रथम भगिनी निवेदिता ने ही की थी। उन्होंने कलकत्ता स्थित अपने स्कूल में लड़कियों को भेजने के लिए वस्तुतः घर-घर जाकर भिक्षाटन भी किया था । और जब पहली लड़की ने उनके स्कूल में नाम लिखाया, तो वे बहुत खुश हुईं। और इस प्रकार उन्होंने एक प्रेरणादायी और महान कार्य की शुरुआत की, जिसने आगे चलकर लड़कियों को शिक्षित करने के ऐसे कई प्रयासों को जन्म दिया।
प्लेग महामारी के समय भगिनी निवेदिता ने रोगियों के उपचार में अपना योगदान दिया। उन्होंने जरूरत मंद लोगों को अन्न-वस्त्र प्रदान किए। उन्होंने भारतीय शिक्षा में नवाचार ( innovation) के लिए संघर्ष किया। उन्होंने भारत में विज्ञान की उच्च शिक्षा के लिए संघर्ष किया। उन्होंने भारतीय विश्वविद्यालयों में पढ़ाए जाने वाले दर्शनशास्त्र (philosophy), मानविकी (Anthropology-मनुष्य जाति का विज्ञान), समाजशास्त्र (sociology) आदि अन्य कई अन्य विषयों में भारतीय पारंपरिक विचारों को पश्चिमी विचारों के साथ सामंजस्यपूर्ण रूप से संयोजित करने का प्रयास किया। उन्होंने दृश्य कलाओं (visual arts) में भारतीय रूपांकनों को प्रस्तुत करने का एक अनूठा तरीका अपनाने का प्रयास किया और भारतीय कला के पुनर्जागरण के अग्रदूतों को प्रभावित किया।
उन्होंने अनेक स्वतंत्रता सेनानियों को नरम -दल वाली (रियायती राजनीति-concessionary politics) त्यागकर पूर्ण स्वतंत्रता के लिए संघर्ष करने के लिए प्रेरित किया। आयरलैंड में स्वशासन के लिए संघर्ष करने के दौरान उनके निजी अनुभवों का स्वाभाविक परिणाम था। उन्होंने ऐसे समय में महिला-सशक्तिकरण या नारी के अधिकारों के लिए आवाज़ उठाई जब भारत में ऐसे प्रयास के विषय में किसीने सुना भी नहीं था।
>> महामण्डल ध्वज :
भगिनी निवेदिता ने स्वाधीन भारत के लिए 'गेरुआ के भीतर वज्र निशान' वाला एक राष्ट्रीय ध्वज बनाया था। हालाँकि इसे, कभी राष्ट्रीय ध्वज के रूप में कभी अपनाया नहीं गया, लेकिन 'वज्र निशान' वाला यह ध्वज, भगिनी निवेदिता की रचनात्मक ऊर्जा का सर्वोत्तम प्रतीक है। "She, Swamiji's offering in the female form, shakti, came upon India as a thunderbolt. भगिनी निवेदिता स्वामी विवेकानन्द द्वारा स्त्री की आकृति में भारत के लिए समर्पित एक कल्याणकारी शक्ति हैं, जो भारत के राष्ट्रीय चरित्र को अमोघ वज्र जैसा बनाने के लिए अवतरित हुई थीं। (इसलिए 1967 में जब - "स्वामी विवेकानन्द की मनुष्य-निर्माण और चरित्र-निर्माणकारी शिक्षा' द्वारा Be and Make' आंदोलन को भारत के गाँव -गाँव तक पहुँचा देने के लिए, "अखिल भारत विवेकानन्द युवा महामण्डल" को आविर्भूत होना पड़ा; तब महामण्डल ने भगिनी निवेदिता द्वारा निर्मित इस ध्वज को अपने संघ के ध्वज के रूप में ग्रहण कर लिया।) वे जहाँ कहीं भी गईं, जिनसे भी मिलीं, जो कुछ भी पढ़ा, जो कुछ भी देखा - सब कुछ को भारत के सांस्कृतिक मूल्यों से आच्छादित कर अपने ह्रदय में रचा-बसा लिया था। पैट्रिक गेडेस # के साथ उनका सहयोग भारत के कल्याण के प्रति समर्पित था। [#सर पैट्रिक गेडेस (1854 - 1932) एक स्कॉटिश जीवविज्ञानी, समाजशास्त्री, भूगोलवेत्ता, परोपकारी और अग्रणी नगर नियोजक थे। उन्हें शहरी नियोजन और समाजशास्त्र के क्षेत्र में अपनी नवीन सोच के लिए जाना जाता है । उनकी रचनाओं में सामाजिक विज्ञान में ' विश्व स्तर पर सोचें, स्थानीय स्तर पर कार्य करें' की अवधारणा के शुरुआती उदाहरणों में से एक है। उन्होंने
1919 से 1925 तक बॉम्बे विश्वविद्यालय में समाजशास्त्र और नागरिक शास्त्र
के विभाग में कार्य किया । 1915 और 1919 के बीच गेडेस ने कम से कम अठारह
भारतीय शहरों पर"Detailed Town Planning Report" (विस्तृत नगर नियोजन रिपोर्ट) की एक श्रृंखला लिखी, जिसका एक चयन जैकलीन टायरविट की पैट्रिक गेडेस इन इंडिया (1947) में संकलित किया गया है। ]
रवींद्रनाथ टैगोर के साथ उनकी बैठकें भारत-कल्याण के लिए थीं। उनका हिमालय प्रवास भारत के लिए था। उन्होंने शासकों (rulers) से पैरवी की, शासितों के साथ भोजन किया, और गुरुओं के चरणों में शिक्षा प्राप्त की—यह सब भारत के लिए था। परिणामस्वरूप, वह स्वयं भारत बन गईं। यही कारण है कि वे सुब्रमण्यम भारती जैसे महान कवि के जीवन की दिशा को मोड़ सकीं। भगिनी निवेदिता ने सुब्रमण्यम भारती को माँ काली का भक्त बनने की दिशा में मोड़ दिया, वह काली-भक्ति उन्हें स्वामीजी से विरासत में मिली थीं। निवेदिता के कारण सुब्रमण्यम भारती का जीवन रूपांतरित हो गया था । (#तमिल को सबसे मीठी बोली-भाषा मानने वाले, कई भाषाओं के जानकार सुब्रमण्यम भारती, स्वामी विवेकानंद की शिष्या भगिनी निवेदिता को अपना गुरु मानते थे। निवेदिता ने उन्हें महिलाओं के उत्थान के लिए काम करने को प्रोत्साहित किया था।)
भगिनी निवेदिता भारत की महिमा (प्राचीन भारतीय-संस्कृति और सभ्यता की महिमा) को लेकर अत्यंत भावुक थीं। भारतीयता उनके शरीर, मन और आत्मा (3H) में, उनके निधन तक व्याप्त रही। हमें उसी आक्रामक समर्पण (aggressive dedication) को आत्मसात करने की आवश्यकता है। भारत की महानता को ढूँढ़ने के लिए, हमें इसके गौरवशाली इतिहास की खोई हुई गलियों में भटकना होगा, उसके जर्जर पृष्ठों की धूल झाड़नी होगी और भारत की अविनाशी गति-शीलता (undying dynamism) को उजागर करना होगा। आज हमें अपने देश के सामाजिक, दार्शनिक, राष्ट्रीय, सांस्कृतिक और आध्यात्मिक जीवन में आक्रामक होने की आवश्यकता है। लक्ष्य प्राप्ति के प्रति तत्परता ही महान व्यक्तियों, विशेषकर श्री रामकृष्ण, स्वामी विवेकानंद और भगिनी निवेदिता के जीवन की विशेषता रही है। आज उस तत्परता की नितांत आवश्यकता है। आत्म-संतुष्टि का सुख (The comfort of complacence) कभी भी प्रगति का मार्ग नहीं हो सकता।
निवेदिता ही भारत हैं। भारत को जानने के लिए हमें निवेदिता को जानना होगा। भारत या किसी भी प्रकार की भारतीयता से दूर-दूर तक जुड़ा कोई भी व्यक्ति निवेदिता को गहराई से अध्ययन करने के लिए बाध्य है। निवेदिता की वज्र शक्ति को हमें स्वीकार करना ही होगा। यह शक्ति आज भी, उन असंख्य महिलाओं की प्रतिभा के माध्यम से हमसे संवाद कर रही है जो अपने-अपने क्षेत्र (इसरो या अंतरिक्ष विज्ञान आदि) के कार्यों में उत्कृष्टता प्राप्त कर रही हैं। उन सभी में निवेदिता के सूक्ष्म अंश विद्यमान हैं। विराट निवेदिता (greater Nivedita) अनेक छोटी-छोटी निवेदिताओं में व्याप्त हो गई हैं ।
निवेदिता को स्मरण करने का सबसे अच्छा तरीका- किसी भी क्षेत्र में महिलाओं की उत्कृष्टता का जश्न मनाना है, चाहे वह उपक्रम कितना भी छोटा क्यों न हो। आज कोई भारतीय महिला यदि अच्छा और सशक्त लेखन करती हैं, तो उनके माध्यम से भगिनी निवेदिता लिख रही होती हैं। यदि कोई भारतीय महिला किसी भी प्रकार की प्रदर्शन कला में अपनी विशेषज्ञता प्रदर्शित करती हैं, तो उनके माध्यम से निवेदिता ही प्रदर्शन-कला में भाग लेती हैं। और, यदि कोई भारतीय महिला अपनी मातृ-वृत्ति से स्वाभाविक रूप से शिक्षा देती है, तो निवेदिता उसके माध्यम से शिक्षा देती हैं। समय की मांग यह है कि सिस्टर निवेदिता के लेखन, विशेषकर उनके पत्रों का आलोचनात्मक विश्लेषण किया जाए। यह बड़ा दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है कि, उनके बहुआयामी व्यक्तित्व को समेटने वाली कोई विस्तृत जीवनी, आज तक उपलब्ध नहीं हुई है। यद्यपि भगिनी निवेदिता, भारत के लिए अब तक की सबसे सच्ची उपहार थीं, वे सही मायने में एक भारतरत्न थीं, किन्तु सदियों पुरानी भारतीय रूढ़िवादिता ने भारतीय जनमानस को उनसे दूर कर दिया है, और उन्हें केवल एक विदेशिनी स्त्री के रूप में देखना सिखाया है, जो हमसे सीखने और हमारी मदद करने के लिए आई थी। निवेदिता को भारत के लिए बाहरी (परायी) या 'विदेशिनी' कहना अपनी देशभक्ति की कमी को दर्शाना है। वह भारत के लिए उतनी ही बाहरी (परदेशी) हैं, जितनी स्वामीजी थे। निवेदिता के अथक प्रयासों के बिना भारतीय विज्ञान संस्थान ( Indian Institute of Science) जैसे राष्ट्रीय महत्व के कई भारतीय संस्थान कभी स्थापित नहीं हो पाते। फिर भी, हमने उन्हें एक विस्मृत व्यक्तित्व मानकर नज़रअंदाज़ कर दिया है, जिनके लिए इतिहास की पाठ्यपुस्तकों में औरंगजेब और बाबर के बजाए भगिनी निवेदिता के नाम पर पर्याप्त पृष्ठ भी नहीं दिए गए हैं।
महत्वाकांक्षी बुद्धिजीवियों को परेशान करने वाली उत्तर-आधुनिक समाज के रूप में दिखावा करने की प्रवृत्ति (The postmodern penchant) ने कई राष्ट्रीय प्रतीकों को एक ऐसी धुंधली स्मृति में बदल दिया है,मानो उनका कोई महत्व नहीं है। परन्तु भगिनी निवेदिता के बहुमूल्य रचनाओं (लेखन) का ऐसा हश्र होना भारत के हित के साथ घोर अन्याय है। उनकी रचनाएँ यदि कुछ और नहीं, तो व्यक्तिगत और सार्वजनिक सम्भाषण में वह बहुप्रतीक्षित ईमानदारी लाएँगी, जिससे भारत त्रस्त है और इसके प्रशासकों को इसकी पवित्रता की रक्षा के लिए अथक प्रयास करने पर मजबूर करेगा। निवेदिता हमसे भारत को जानने, अर्थात इसकी वैदिक सभ्यता और संस्कृति को जानने और इससे से प्रेम करने का आह्वान करती हैं। 'Though her (Sister Nivedita-The Vajra Shakti), everyone can become a patriot of India irrespective of the country of birth.' 'वज्रशक्ति भगिनी निवेदिता' को एक आदर्श प्रेरणा श्रोत 'Role Model' के रूप में सामने रखकर जन्म स्थान (जाति या धर्म) की परवाह किए बिना, प्रत्येक व्यक्ति (दारा शिकोह के जैसा ?) भारत का एक देशभक्त नागरिक बन सकता है।
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Editorial (Prabuddha Bharata)
Sister Nivedita: Vajra Shakti
SISTER NIVEDITA was offered to India. Her offering was in all respects. No human being can be more completely offered to any cause than what Swami Vivekananda offered through Sister Nivedita. It was an offering in all dimensions . All the manifestations of human power including maternal love were offered to the cause of the building, rather rebuilding, of a nation. Swami ji never did anything in any manner that was less than thorough. He wanted a ‘root and branch reform’ and he made a ‘root and branch’ offering.
Today, the amount of attention given to Sister Nivedita in the country of her birth is not even a minute fraction of the reverence she is accorded in India. Nivedita is synonymous with India as was her guru, Swamiji. Any attempt to describe or remember Nivedita is an attempt to remember Swamiji and it is also an attempt to remember the centuries-old cultural, social, political, philosophical, and spiritual history of India.
Any such attempt can only be an attempt merely scratching at the outermost covering of the shell that contains gems of invaluable wisdom. At best, one can only draw pointers to this timeless treasure. Sister Nivedita was being prepared to be offered to India since her birth. Just as the first fruit of a tree is traditionally offered to a deity in India, similarly the best fruit of Ireland was chosen to be offered to India. Offerings to the almighty have to be necessarily the best and Nivedita possessed a keen insight and sharp intellect.
She touched the centre of all social problems at a very young age: education. Her experiments with education had their natural continuance in India. She pioneered non-formal education. She literally begged from door to door to send girl students to her school in Calcutta. She was enthralled when she got her first girl student and thus sowed the humble beginnings of a great work, a work of inspiration that would lead to numerous such efforts to educate the girl-child.
Nivedita plunged to treat the sick. She clothed the distressed. She fought for innovation in Indian education. She fought for higher education in science in India. She strived to bring the Indian traditional thought in a harmonious synthesis with the Western thought in philosophy, humanities, sociology, and many other subjects that are taught in Indian universities. She sought to bring a unique way of representing Indian motifs in visual arts and influenced the pioneers of the reawakening of Indian art.
She inspired numerous freedom fighters to give up concessionary politics and fight for complete freedom. This also was a natural continuance from her experiences at fighting for Home Rule in Ireland. She stood for women rights at a time when such attempts were practically unheard of in India.
Nivedita strived to protect Indian forests and to bring about a deep understanding of natural conservation in Indian minds. She wanted that all-renouncing monks take up the study of sciences so that they could, through practice and precept, teach science to the masses.
She created a flag for India. Though it was never adopted as the national flag, this flag, the vajra, best symbolises Nivedita's energy. She, Swamiji's offering in the female form, shakti, came upon India as a thunderbolt. Wherever she went, whoever she met, whatever she read, whatever she saw—all were encompassed with and entrenched in the thought of India. her collaborations with Patrick Geddes were for India.
her meetings with Rabindranath Tagore were for India. her sojourns to the Himalayas were for India. She lobbied with the rulers, dined with the ruled, and learnt at the feet of masters—all for the sauce of India. She herself became India as a result. That is why she could turn the very course of the life of a great poet like Subramania Bharati. She turned him towards Kali, whom she had inherited from Swamiji. Bharati's life became transformed because of Nivedita.
Nivedita was passionately mad with the thought of India. The Indian cause occupied her body, mind, and spirit, till her passing away. That aggressive dedication is what we need to imbibe. We need to wander through lost lanes of history, dust its brittle pages, and unearth that undying dynamism. We need to be aggressive in social, philosophical, national, cultural, and spiritual life today. A sense of urgency to attain the goal is what characterises the lives of the great ones, especially the lives of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda, and Sister Nivedita. That urgency is much needed today. The comfort of complacence has never been the path of progress.
Nivedita is India. We need to know Nivedita to know India. Anyone even remotely connected with India or ariy- thing Indian needs to study Nivedita in depth. We need to acknowledge the vajra shakti, thunderbolt power, that Nivedita was. This power is speaking to us through its charges of brilliance even today through the numerous women who are excelling in their pursuits. All of them have minuscule specks of Nivedita in them. The greater Nivedita has pervaded into so many smaller Niveditas.
The best way to commemorate Nivedita would be to celebrate the excellence of women in no matter how small a venture. If an Indian woman writes well and with power, Nivedita writes through her. If an Indian woman displays her expertise in any of the performing arts, Nivedita performs through her. And, if an Indian woman educates naturally through her maternal instinct, Nivedita teaches through her. The need of the hour is to critically analyse the writings of Sister Nivedita, especially her letters. It is unfortunate that till date, there is no comprehensive biography that covers her multi-dimensional personality. Though Nivedita was the truest offering ever possible, the age -old Indian orthodoxy has distanced Indian minds from her and has made them see her only as an outsider, who came to learn and help. To call Nivedita an outsider to India is to betray one's lack of patriotism. She is an outsider to India only as much Swamiji is.
Many Indian institutions of national importance like the Indian Institute of Science would never have seen the light of day but for Nivedita's untiring efforts. And yet, we have dismissed her as a forgotten figure, who is not even granted enough pages in history textbooks or studies.
The postmodern penchant that haunts the aspiring intellectual has reduced many a national icon to a faint memory of no importance. It is a grave injustice to the cause of India that such is the fate of Nivedita's writings. If not anything more, her writings would bring the much-wanted sincerity in individual and public discourse that has plagued India and has forced its administrators to launch desperate drives to protect its sanctity. Nivedita calls upon us to try to know India. Though her, everyone can become a patriot of India irrespective of the country of birth.
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To our READERS
INDIA is undergoing a process of waking up from millennia-old slumber. As Swami Vivekananda prophesied, such an awakening would bring tremendous power into action. Hence, it is imperative that a resilient spirit, of assimilating all shocks of turbulence that could result from a phenomenal increase in the Indian national power, be developed much before a significant national awakening. As chance would have it, India and the rest of the world celebrate the sesquicentennial anniversary of Sister Nivedita tailing similar celebrations of her guru, Swamiji. This issue of Prabuddha Bharata is dedicated to the sterling offering to India that Swamiji made in Nivedita. Nivedita's thought offers an aggressive dynamism generally not associated with matters religious or spiritual Any awakening has to begin with dynamism and it is probably with this note that India would awaken. Despite highly optimistic accounts of India having arrived, it is only reasonable to surmise that Swamiji's vision of Indian reawakening was much broader and in depth than whatever fleeting images of glory India has managed to attain in the recent past. Apologetics have never created history. Nivedita asks us, people from India and the rest of the world, to unapologetically pursue one's ideals, only in a language more direct and piercing than her Guru .
We have attempted to bring together hitherto lesser known aspects of the multi-faceted personality that Nivedita was. It is our hope and earnest prayer that this issue of Prabuddha Bharata would motivate the readers to study and practice Nivedita's thought.
This year we continue to endeavour towards simplifying abstruse Vedantic concepts and with this aim we start a new column 'Bala-bodha' , where we would decode one Vedantic term every month, in a contemporary and lucid language. We are sure that this column would encourage readers to take up a deeper study of Vedanta.
We thank our subscribers and readers for having supported us for these 121 years. We invite them to send us letters or emails, giving their feedback, and also expressing their views on issues that find place in the pages of this journal. We thank the staff of the journal for ensuring a smooth ride. We are grateful to all the authors, reviewers, photographers, artists, publishers who have sent their books for review, proofreaders, copy editors, advertisers, patrons, donors, web page designers, and well- wishers. Their support and encouragement has ensured that gems of wisdom and insights of depth have reached the minds of countless, month after month, year after year.
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Sister Nivedita
(Swami Vireswarananda)
[Text of the address delivered by Siimat Swami Vireswarananda ji Maharaj, a a disciple of Sri Sarada Devi, inaugurating the birth centenary celebrations of Sister Nivedita on 28 October 1967 at Mahajati Sadan, Calcutta. It was published in Prabuddha Bharata-73/2 in (February 1968), 49-50 and is being reprinted here - Editor.) Srimat Swami Vireswarananda ji Maharaj was the tenth President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.]
" We are hear to celebrate the birth centenary of a great soul who, though an alien, had made India her motherland and had dedicated her self to her service. The memorial raised to her in the laps of the Himalayas, where she breathed her last, ’Here reposes Sister Nivedita who gave her all to India’ is literally true .
Born in Ireland, brought up in England, her field of activity was in India; but through her life and work she belongs to the whole world. her idealism and spirit of dedication have lifted her to the ranks of the eternal. her parents were pious Christians and her mother had consecrated her at birth to the service of God. She too was endowed with the qualities of self- sacrifice and passion for Truth. It only needed the living touch of a great soul to set ablaze the latent fire of dedication in her. And this was what happened when she met Swami Vivekananda in London in 1895. In spite of her being on the guard not to be influenced by the magnetic personality of the ‘Hindu Yogi’ and her intensely independent nature, she was captivated by his nobility and loftiness of his life and teachings. The result was as she said later, ‘I had recognized the heroic fibre of the man and de- sired to make myself the servant of his love for his own people.'
Sister Nivedita was a unique gift of Swami Vivekananda to India. A talented lady deeply rooted in Western culture and civilization was as it were uprooted from that soil by Swami Vivekananda and made to strike root in Indian culture and civilization. The metamorphosis was a painful one even to a brave heart like the Sister's but she did succeed in the end. Discipleship to this ‘Master’ and playing the role of a servant to India according to his vision was also no easy task. But he knew what he could expect from her and was not disappointed. The intense spiritual training she received under her Guru’s supervision, the infinite trust he had in her, as also the blessing of the Holy Mother who accepted her and treated her as her own child, all these made the seemingly impossible possible. Thence-for- ward she dedicated herself to the cause of India in various ways. She inspired patriotism in the youth of India, and called upon them to dedicate their lives for the emancipation of India.
She worked for the education and uplift of Indian women and interpreted to the West Indian culture and ideals in various fields—in arts, education, social life, religion, religious symbology etc. through speeches and books like 'Religion and Dharma', 'Web of Indian life', 'Footfalls of Indian History', 'Siva and Buddha', 'Kali the Mother'. She also influenced many great personalities of her time in India.
Nivedita was a horn educator, endowed with the vision and qualities needed. She started a school for girls which has now blossomed into the Nivedita Girls’ School. Besides she became instrumental to a great extent in laying the foundation for the development of ‘national education’ in India.
Her great qualities of 'Head' and 'Heart' and her versatile genius drew to her quite a number of leading personalities of the time in the field of art, literature, science, education, journalism and politics. Many she inspired and helped in their own fields. Her strength of character, Her originality, and her kind heart and self-effacement evoked loving tributes from many. The most significant tribute was ‘this radiant child of God’ It was her own innate purity coupled with the blessings of her Guru and the Holy Mother that transformed Margaret E Noble into this ‘radiant child of God.’
In serving India to the best of her abilities she became convinced that political freedom was indispensable for the building of the nation. But she did not want to compromise the position of the Ramakrishna Order which had eschewed politics completely at the behest of its founder Swami Vivekananda. So in order to be fair both to herself and the Order she resigned from it thereby feeling free to work in the political field. She, however, maintained the spiritual bond. The brother disciples of Swami ji also maintained the same love and affection which they had for her before her resignation. She continued to be one of them as before. The break was only from the organizational point for the safety of the Order and not in any other respect. This act of hers was misunderstood in some quarters by people who did not know the true story behind this decision of hers. It was no doubt very painful to her but she could realize that it was the only way to be faithful to herself and to the Order, which she loved so much.
Her politics was of an aggressive type and she had no patience with moderate politics of the petitionary type. Therefore, the Swadeshi movement had her full support. In spite of this view in politics she was a friend of the leaders of the different schools of politics, for she had realized that India had to be united if she was to achieve her freedom. It was her dream to see in India ‘the great re-establishment of Dharma' , when the whole of this nation shall be united together not in a common weakness, not in a common misfortune or grievance, but in a great ever-living consciousness of the common nationality; common heritage ... ’
Nivedita had her full share of trials and tribulations and had to lead an austere life. But she was, and had been, prepared for in Swami ji had held before her tire ideal of sacrifice in these words, ‘Sacrifice in the past has been the law, it will be, alas, for ages to come' Nivedita had accepted this ideal placed before her by her Guru, for we read in her book 'Kali the Mother', ‘Look for no mercy for thyself and I shall make thee bearer of great vessels of mercy to others. Accept bravely thine own darkness and thy lamp shall cheer many. Fulfil gladly the meanest service and leave high places unsought.'
May the life of this great dedicated soul inspire our youth in the service of our Motherland is my earnest prayer to Swami Vivekananda who gave in her this unique gift to our Motherland.
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Understanding India: Nivedita’s Example
(Swami Smaranananda)
[Srirnat Swami Srnaranananda ji Maharaj is a Vice President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.]
Ah!, EXCLAIMED SWAMI VIVEKANANDA, when he heard of Sister Nivedita's visit to Gopaler Ma, ‘that is the old India that you have seen, the India of prayers and tears, of vigils and fasts, that is passing away, never to return." The old India may pass away, never to return, but nevertheless, the need to understand old India in the context of the new, so as to serve her, cannot be over emphasized.
This fact is not fully appreciated even by many well-meaning, thoughtful modern men and women in this country who wish to serve her. And of the educated rabble, the less said the better. They think that life's values consist only in getting a half-digested education, enabling them to imitate Western customs and manners, without an understanding of either the East or the West. Here we are not concerned with the latter. But that it is necessary to understand India rightly if we want to serve her, is illustrated in Sister Nivedita's life of dedication, her training in the hands of her master, her life of an Indian nun, her deep study of the history, tradition, and values of India. Swami Vivekananda insisted that she should identify herself completely with India, make herself more Indian than Indians themselves, if she were to serve Indian women. And the disciple proved herself more than worthy.
Hers was not a role of a mere social worker, serving Indian women as objects of pity. She tried to understand India's deeper values and urges by becoming a unit of the Indian milieu. In tire words of Rabindranath Tagore: ‘Because she had a comprehensive mind and extraordinary insight of love, she could see the creative ideals at work behind our social forms. and discover our soul that has living connection with its past and is marching towards its fulfilment’ Tagore further draws attention to the fact that Nivedita, being an idealist, ‘saw a great deal more than is usually seen by those foreigners who can only see things, but not truths’ (1.245).
It is interesting to read how Swami ji trained Nivedita to bring about this understanding in her. He was never tired of telling his disciples that, to understand anything rightly, one must look at it from its own point of view with sympathetic eyes. During 1898, Nivedita accompanied Swamiji in his journeys through northern India, to Almora and Kashmir. Everywhere Swamiji painted glorious pictures of India's past: of ancient Pataliputra, hoary traditions of Varanasi, of Buddha's youth and renunciation in the foothills of the Himalayas. At Almora, Nivedita studied the Bhagavadgita under Swami Swarupananda, a prominent disciple of Swamiji.
It was here that Swamiji put Nivedita to a rigorous test. Speaking of this period, she says: ‘My relation to our Master at this time can only be described as one of clash and conflict. I can see now how much there was to learn, and how short was the time for learning to be, and the first of lessons, doubtless, is the destruction of self-sufficiency in the mind of the taught. But I had been little prepared for that constant rebuke and attack upon all my most cherished prepossession which was now my lot’(1-79—8o).
But this phase was not to last long. An evening came when Swami ji changed his attitude and blessed his disciple heartily and brought peace. The period of turmoil was a necessary condition for shattering many preconceived notions and put herself in the position of a disciple, ready to understand India in its proper perspective, and make herself a fit instrument for India's service. Nivedita's education in the hands of her master was rightly in accord with the injunction of the Gita: ‘Know that by prostrating yourself by questions, and by service; the wise, those who have realised the Truth, will instruct thee in knowledge'’
II
In her research into India's heritage and customs and manners, Sister Nivedita did not merely Scratch at the surface. She endeavoured to study the deeper urges of the Indian mind that have moulded her destiny through the ages, the urges that had withstood the onslaught of foreign hordes and had stood the test of time. A glance at Nivedita's writings can reveal how she entered into the Indian mind.
Talking of India's history, she says: ‘India as she stands is only to be explained by the history of India. The future waits, for us to create it out of the materials left us by the past, aided by our understanding of this our inheritance.’4 Therefore, a clear grasp of our past is a sine qua non for a clearer grasp of our present-day problems. Indian history, as it is available to us in books, is often distorted, though attempts are afoot since independence to bring out an Indian history of India. Nivedita, therefore, feels the need for travel. The ancient monuments that lie scattered over the length and breadth of the land offer interesting clues to our past. And what we see today is only a small fraction of what time and invaders have left undestroyed.
A study of these monuments reveals, according to Nivedita, one of the master facts of Indian history—that India is and always has been a synthesis. The Vedantic base of Indian life is mainly instrumental in providing her a syncretic outlook. Thus most of the foreigners who came to India made this country their home ultimately and became a drop in this vast ocean of humanity. This was possible because ancient India always believed in learning and absorbing. She could melt the alien influence in her own crucible and give it a shape of her own. India was vigorous as long as this characteristic of hers ran through her activities like a thread through a garland. In the words of Nivedita: ‘We have to recognise India herself all-containing, all-domi- nating, moulding, and shaping the destinies and the very nature of the elements out of which she is composed. The Indian people may be defective in the methods of mechanical organization, but they have been lacking, as a people, in none of the essentials of organic synthesis.’
Though great monuments sprang up in large numbers in post Buddhistic India, in her earlier period of long civilized history, she put her powers ‘into the dreams and philosophy of the Upanishads’ And what can be a better means of preserving our ancient heritage than through words, the repository of human thought in spite of their ephemeral character ? We find today that the devastation to our historic monuments could not efface from the face of the nation the thought current set in motion by the Vedas and the Upanishads. In the modern world, the most ancient books of the world—the Upanishads— are read and sought after by intellectuals every-where.Therefore, Nivedita says: ‘Indian students will do most to help the growth of knowledge if they begin [the study of India's history] with the robust conviction that in the long tale of their Motherland there can be nothing to cause them anything but pride and reverence.’
Nivedita was aware that, if a nation wants to progress, she has to learn from others, too. While keeping the essentials intact, the non-essentials that may be unwanted accretions to the national mind will have be brushed aside. Swami ji had pointed our that India's degeneration began on that day when she invented the word mleccha for foreigners and shut herself away from the outside world. A harmonious fusion of the best in the East and West was what was needed by India.
Nivedita knew that India's contribution in the past to world's culture and civilization was not sufficient to keep her alive. She must be conscious of her individuality in the present time and renew herself for bringing forth new blossoms in all walks of life; otherwise, she would disappear like ancient Egypt and Greece, Judea, and Rome. Reflecting in this wise, she writes: ‘To give a religion to the world may be a sufficient proof that one's. past was not in vain, but evidently it is no sort of safeguard for the future. ... The orthodox is apt to tread the round of his own past eternally. The unorthodox is as apt to harness himself to the foreign present, with an equal blindness. In suicidal desperation, the would-be patriotic reiterate the war cries of antagonistic sects, or moan for the advent of a new religion, as if by introducing a fifth element of discord, the Indian peoples could reach unity. Nor does the education at present offered, promise any solution of the problem’.
Thus Nivedita called upon Indians to put forth new enthusiasm in regenerating the country. And she outlined the task in words of trans- parent clarity: ‘Our task is to translate ancient knowledge into modern equivalents. We have to clothe the old strength in a new form. The new form airier that old strength is nothing but a mockery: almost equally foolish is the savage anachronism of an old-time power without fit expression. Spiritually, intellectually, there is no undertaking, but we must attempt it’.
Ill
Today we have come a long way off from the conditions that existed in Nivedita's time. The struggles of the early decades of this century have borne fruit as political independence. But, perhaps owing to our many commissions and omissions, we are struggling for our place in a narrow world that has seen two world wars since Nivedita's time. And the problems we face today are, in a sense, more acute than in her time.
All right-thinking Indians have to give thought to these questions: What ails us today? Why are we so dependent on other countries economically? how can we make our voice felt in a highly competitive world! Is it by ignoring our past that we can progress or through a proper understanding of the past, present, and the future of the country? What should be our guidelines for steering our course across these troubled waters? We can answer these questions to a great extent by studying Nivedita's approach to India's problems. And we must remember that Nivedita's ideas were moulded in the fiery furnace of her master's life and teachings.
Today's crisis in India may be termed as a ‘crisis of values’ Our problems on the economic, political, and social levels can all be traced to this one cause. A nation reflects its philosophy in its various aspects of life. But what is our philosophy today? Social values are in a melting pot, while there is a spiritual vacuum. The high ideals that characterised our leadership in the beginning of this century raised high hopes in many a heart of a full-fledged renaissance in all walks of life. But one now feels as if the flower of renaissance has withered before it fully blossomed.
India's political struggles and social upheavals in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were rooted in its past and were yet modern. To blend harmoniously the best of both the worlds—the East and the West—was the slogan of the day. But what do we find today?
It looks as if we are tired after the first round of the battle is won. There is an all-round lack of enthusiasm, of inertia. Young and old alike look to others to solve their problems, while those who are piloting the ship of the state, harp on old-time slogans with little relevance to current problems. But what Nivedita said fifty years back greatly applies to us even today: ‘The Indian mind has not reached out to conquer and possess its own land as its inalienable share and trust, in the world as a whole. It has been content, even in things modern, to take obediently whatever was given to it. And the newness and the strangeness of the thing given has dazed it. The Indian people as a whole for the last two generations have been as men walking in a dream, without manhood, without power to react freely against conditions, without even commonsense’.
What is needed today is fresh thinking. A new leadership, not afraid to think anew and not forgetting older values that have preserved our individuality all these thousands of years is the need of the moment. And this new thinking has to be constructive. The problem now is not
fighting against an alien power, but struggling against our own defects. The educated Indian,affluent Indian has to understand that the values of selflessness and love of truth are the very basis for serving the nation. The moment we attained political independence, most of us have started thinking in terms of reaping its benefits as early as possible, at the cost of others, instead of understanding that the real struggle to make the nation self-suocient lies ahead. The result is that plans and projects, however wonderful they may appear on paper, fail to materialise into reality or at the most remain poor imitations of Western models, worked ineociently, proving themselves a drain on the nation's resources.We might have succeeded in our age of re
Constructive work needs India and worked with a deep understanding the very values of 5bfnddbn and sacrifice which of her institutions, let us bestir ourselves to ac- Swami Vivekananda stressed. Today it appears tion—action that makes less noise, but works si- that tarn as—inertia—has once again come over lently, yet sincerely, and steadily . And let us pray the land as a dark cloud.
men and women of this country must acquaint themselves with the values of
renunciation and sacrifice that have sustained this nation for five thousand years. In their ears
must ring once again the voice of Swami Vivekananda: " O
India! With this mere echoing of others, with this base imitation of others,
with this dependence on others, this slavish
weakness
not that the
idea of thy womanhood is Sita, Savitri, Damayanti; forget not that the God the thou worshippest is the great
Ascetic ofascetics,
the all-renouncing Shankara, the Lord of Uma;
forget not that thy marriage, thy wealth,
thy life are not for sense-pleasure, are not for thy indi- vidual personal happiness; forget not that
thou art born as a sacrifice to the Mother's
altar; for-
the illiterate,
the cobbler, the sweeper, are thy flesh and blood, thy brothers. Thou brave
one, be bold, take courage, be proud that thou art an Indian, and proudly proclaim, ’I am an Indian, every Indian is my
brother'.’
