By
J.S. Rajput
India begins its celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda at a juncture of history that would have caused him immense pain and anguish. The last fortnight of 2012 shamed India - how inhumanly we treat our women! Not only this, more shocking were a good number of statements that came from politicians and even self-styled and corporatized Godmen. They brought to the fore how shortsighted our ‘educated’ and ‘enlightened’ leaders are! Over hundred years ago, Swami Vivekananda had forcefully articulated the cause of India’s downfall: “In India there are two great evils, Trampling on the women, and grinding of the poor through caste restrictions”. Those who ascribe the crimes against women to the influence of western culture may like to recall Swamis’ admiration of the way west treated their women;”Here(America) men treat their women as well as can be desired, and hence they are prosperous, so learned, so free, and so energetic. But why is it that we are slavish, miserable, and dead? The answer is obvious”. He goes on to elaborate that though our scripture describe women as Shakti; our treatment of them is just a shocking example of giving them dishonor and disrespect. That is the reason why ‘our country is the weakest and the most backward of all countries! Known to call a spade a spade, he pointedly asked how sex discrimination could be practiced by those who accept that the same conscious ‘Self’ is present in all beings. He was very clear that ‘there is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of woman is improved’. In the Indian context he knew it clearly and repeatedly reiterated that the only key to improve their lot was the expansion of education. Indian women have many and grave problems but ‘none that are not to be solved by that magic word ‘education’. That alone would be the path to prepare them ‘acquire the spirit of valour and heroism’. How prophetic were his words when he said ‘in the present day it has become necessary for them also to learn self-defense’. In the present times, it appears to be the most critical lesson that has to be imparted to every girl and every woman. He wanted Indian women be taught sciences and other things which would be of benefit not only to them but to others as well. In his times it was a bold statement as girls were found suitable to read science and mathematics only after the 1968 National Policy on Education based on the recommendations of the Kothari Commission was implemented. Even at that stage, many state governments were unwilling to implement it citing various reasons. Madhya Pradesh government conducted its first class ten examinations under this scheme only in 1986. Such delays and reluctance indicates how tough it has always been to change the age-old perceptions on education and intellectual capabilities of women.
Addressing the American audience he said ‘I should very much like our women to have your intellectuality, but not if it must be at the cost of purity’. Chastity and purity he emphasized but it was not only for women but for both men and women. He wanted the priestcraft to be removed. It may be relevant to recall his experiences in America which appear relevant in this context. Once he became known in America, there was no dearth of admirers of all age groups. It included young women charmed by his mental strength and attractive appearance. He was pursued by hoards of them practically all the time. Many of them offered huge wealth inherited from their parents with one simple request: accept me also with it! The lady host was worried that the learned monk, furiously being pursued by the young ladies may fall for their charm. ‘If you could resist this challenge, you would be just God’ she is supposed to have told him. To Vivekananda, they all were embodiments of mother force! He was convinced that the prosperity of United States was because of the contribution made by their women who were not shackled by the domination of men. He wanted women world over treated as equals, unfettered by social restrictions and religious taboos. His solution: ‘Educate your women first and leave them to themselves; then they will tell you what reforms are necessary for them.’
What made education uppermost in his mind? It was the key to transform the lot of the suffering millions of his suffering countrymen, women prominently included. His concern for the weak manifests in the words that the present-day management Gurus would find golden: “Material civilization, nay even luxury, is necessary to create work for the poor. Bread! Bread! I do not believe in God who cannot give me bread here, giving me eternal bliss in heaven”. To him “These common people have suffered oppression for thousands of years- suffered it without murmur, and as a result have got wonderful fortitude”. Further, these people ‘have got strength that comes of a pure and moral life, which is not to be found anywhere else in the world’. In India that has been sustained by its women against all possible odds.
The young of India have shown readiness to shoulder their responsibility to create a new India. They would need ‘tremendous perseverance and tremendous will’. They shall not permit despair to arise even in the worst of conditions and situations. He advises young to be ever strong, ‘strength is life, and weakness is death’. Every young person may like to ponder over seriously on what the great Swami had said to his followers when he was training them at Belur centre after his return from abroad in 1900: “Tell me what you have done. Couldn’t you give away one life for the sake of others? ...Let this body go in the service of others – and then I shall know you have not come to me in vain.” His vision, imbued with his concern, manifests so clearly in the following words: “A hundred thousand men and women, …nerved to Lion’s courage by their sympathy for the poor and fallen and downtrodden, will go over the length and breadth of the land, preaching the gospel of salvation, the gospel of help, the gospel of social raising up – the gospel of equality.”.
Will the young of India rise to that expectation?
January 8, 2013