THE POLITICAL IDEAS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

V i v e W formw that man wuuld fo& even the highest idah for
power and wealth and called for the mcessary moral and religious regeneration
through education, to prepare men for politics. The whole meaning of life and its
oneness and the unity of the nations and peoples had to be understood before. The
rights of the masses had to be understood and not thought of w a concession
granted to them by the magnanimity of the rich. most of all, the end of this life
had to be understood Without all these, politics would be a disaster, especially in
1ndia.l A spiritual upheaval is necessary if the political revolution were to truly
came h u t . And in its turn, the newly found political vigour ought k, open up
the gates for a new spiritual tide. They ought to produce each other and help
other.' It is for these reasons that he was not over enthusiastic about political
agitations against the British Without creating the necessary conditions in the
masses through education, no amount of political agitation will do g o d to the
country.

Vivekmda, then, w most interested in the well being of his ntltion wd

its political life. Though he did not directly participate in it he was a formidable
awakened of the political feelings of the nation and their sense of self-respect in
front of the alleged superiority of the English. Nethaji Subhas Chandra Bose, one
of the p t political leaders of the prt-independent India said of him: Though the
swami never gave my political message, everyone who came into contact with
him or his writings developed a spirit of patriotism and a political mentality. So
far at least as Bengal is concerned, Swami Vivekananda may be considered as the
spiritual father of the modem nationalist movement: Vivehanda also has
influenced most of the leaders of the political independence of India as Gandhi
and Aurobindo themselves acknowledged.'
On the Britirh rule

Vivekananda's diffidence of the political abilities of the Indians did not

prevent him from criticising the deficiencies of the British in practicing real
politics - the common good of *e people. Being a monk and not belonging to
any political movement he tool the freedom to criticise ;both the sides.

To him the alien imperialism seemed partly a blessing since it had for the
first time after the Pataliputra Empire brought the whole of India under one
governrnenf and making possible communication with the outside world. But
they were unable to determine what is truly good for the inhabitants of this
countryq6They helped to bring thus the ancient Hindu and the ancient Greek
come together again7 But they seemed to him to be more interested in their own
imperial glory (India was considered the biggest gem in the crown of England),
than in the well being of the Indian people.8

This is the state of things - even education will no more be permitted to

spread; freedom of the press is stopped already, (of course we have been
disarmed long ago). the bit of self-govemment granted to them for some years is
being quickly taken off. We are watching what next? In his own typically strong
language Vivekananda described the exploitation of the rulers. ... they have their
heels on our necks, they have sucked the last drop of our blood for their pleasure,
they have carried away with them millions of our money, while our people have
starved by village and provinces. And now the Chinese rose today and swept the
English into the sea, as they well deserve, it would be more than justice.'0

He preached essentially the greatness of India and their self-respect and

innate strength and not hates against British or violent revolt' against the
government. He made a distinction between the British government and the
British people and held the latter in good esteem." He had number of fiiends and
disciples among them. His travel in England formed his attitude to& them.
No one ever landed on English soil with more hatred in his hekt for a race than I
did for the English, and on this platform are present English friends who can bear
witness to the fact, but the more I lived among them and saw how the machine
was working - the English national life- and mixed with them,I found where the
heartbeat of the nation was,and the more I loved them. There is none among here
present, any brothers, who loves English more than I do now." That was the first
public address he gave in Calcutta on his triumphal return from the West. This
attitude of Vivekananda contributed much to quench the fires of hate blazing
against the English in many die-hard promoters of Indian Independence. This
shows us that Vivekananda was truly a man without frontiers. For him the
highest value was not the independence of the nation, but the independence of
man,of every man, but did not hesitate to ~pplaudwhen he found true humanity
even in the oppression.

The Cyclic rule of the four castes

Vivekananda had a very interesting and original theory of how the world
is governed by various groups at various moments of history in which a precise
pattern of caste can be discerned. We have seen that in all thee societies thee four
fundamental castes exist, the castes being natural. Due to the games of evolution
the number and the strength of each of these castes vary, so that at given periods
one dominates over the others. A careful study of the history of humanity shows
Vivekananda that these four castes, one after another in succession have ruled the
world and given to political life their own specific stamp. Among the Chinese,
the Sumarins, the Babylonians, the Emans, the Chaldeans, the Aryas, the
Iranians, the Jews, the Arabs all have had these periods of caste rules.13

World political history can, therefore, be divided into four periods, ruled
respectively by Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.
 Thc ancient society was guided by mdea and laws inspired by the spiritual
Bcnilg of ishis. The priest was the mighty man of the land Knowingly or

unknowingly every society gives its priest abundant leisure-time and looh af€er
his material weds. Thw, he has the opportunity for meditation and higher
thoughts and philosophy. He becomes learned and wise and this is the origin of
his supremacy over the other castes." By the power of his mind he controls
ev-g in the country, beginning with the king down to the lowest subject
The forces of nature themselves seem to be under his control since he is the
knower of the spirit that is behind a1 creation. He knows the secret of the gods
and how to appease their anger and get their benediction by sa~rifices.'~And
hence the supreme power rested in his hands. The king was under his thumb. He
was also thee historian and without his sympathies no king would get a lasting
name in history.16

Selfishness made him lose all these, and, in order to perpetuate his hold on
society, he created endless rites, false mysticism, obscure ceremonies and
meaningless customs. Buddhism, Jainism and the Charvaka philosophy in India
were reactions against this caricature of priesthood in the ancient world,"
Ritualism spelt the death-knoll of the priestly power in the history of the world.

The is survival of the fittest. The stronger tends to replace the weaker. the
Khsatriya, who saw that behind the cereonialism of the priest there was nothing,
rose to replace the power of the priest. There began a strife between the priestly
and the military class. Budhdism is a typical example of this fight and the
Buddhists won the battle. It was the victory of liberty and reason over the
entangling knew of mustecism and cemonials. On the religious side the
Buddhist reformation represented fieedom from ceremonials and on the political
side, the overthrow of the priest by the ~ s h a s t i ~ a rAnd
. " with it also the political
ideology and the ideals of society changed emperor became the centre of all
power. C h a n m Ashoh and 0 t h great rulers of this period an shining
examples.

The conquest of India by the English was an event of great surprise for
Vivekananda, not because it was a foreign power, but because it was the Vaishm
power. India had been ruled by foreigners so many times before. In fact the
previous rulers, the Moguls were Muslims from the Middle East. But it was
unheard of before that a band of traders should uproot kings and take up their
power, and later call forth the services of their own kingdom (English Crown) to
rule what they had acquired19

The "natural caste duty" of the Vaishya is the equal distribution of wealth.
He is the breadwinner of the community. Instead the English were interested
winning the bread only for their own families and not for the community in
which they lived Hence, the downfall of the Vaishyas, was imminent. India
would soon be independent, and the common masses, the Shudras will come to
power. And they had to be prepared for this task, lest they too fail in their natural
caste duty of senice to the community. It is for this that Vivekananda worried so
much about preparing the masses for their future, about their education, and about
their manliness and their religious education. Preparation of the masses is the only
way to speed up the revolution of the working classes. Vivekananda was quite a
revolutionary in that sense. The Shudra rule had not yet come in most of the
world according to Vivekananda, except in America .." But the ferment was
already there, for the towering economic injustices of the Vaishyas cannot last
forever.

Those who by their physical labours make possible the intellectual

development of the Brahmin, the prowess of the Kshatiya and the fortune of the
Vaishya are the Shudras. They are the basis of all power in society whatever be
the caste that rules. And in all societies they have always been considered "beasts
of burden" "base-born", and moving corpks", and kept well under 1- with
severe punishments and hard work.. 2'

In the past it has happened oflen that the Shudras have come to pow.
But they did it by changing their caste, by acquiring the qualities of Brahmins or
KJhariyas or Vaishyas. .n It has also happened that the higher castes loss their
qualities and become Shudras. The fail of the Roman Empire was a case of the
Shudras (slaves) becoming Kshatriyas an4 overthrowing the original Kshatriyas.
The present Europe is on the whole an old population of Shudras now become
Kshatiryas and Vaishyas. Instead, china, a great Kshatriya nation is now going
down to Shudrahood, as also India. He once severely reprimanded the Hindus
for fast becoming Shudras. .23 The small Japan is throwing off its Shudrahood
and fast becoming Vaishya and Kshatriya. Greece and Italy are coming up while
the Turkish and the Spanish powers are going down in the ladder of castes. .24

But the time is coming "whm there will be rising of the Shudra class with
their Shudrahood, that is to say, not like that as at present when the Shudras are
becoming great by acquiring the characteristic qualities of the Vaishya or the
-
Kshatriya, but with their inborn Shudra nature and habits and not becoming in
essence Vaishya or Kshatriya, but remaining as Shudras - will g i n absolute
supremacy in every society.

R a t -Reddy, interpreting the mind of Vivekananda assign the following

titles for the various of governments presided over by the castes. The Brahmin
rule could be called Aristocracy; the Kshamya- rule, Monarchy; the Vaishya rule,
Plutarchy and the Shudra rule, Democracy. .UAnd no rule is totally good or bad
Each rule, taking inspiration from the ori@ good quality of its caste has been
good and has served its purpose.

The failure to be faithful to their call had been their ruin. But such things
are only to bc e-d since history itself, following natural evolution, develops
by rise and hll,just like thee waves in the aaa Cutc mlutioas are neassuy
for the gradual development of society and in g e d they are gradual and not
violent and destructive. But they are durable since they take place steadily and on
a wide scale. Besides being natural, the changes of caste rules are also beneficial
to the society. They make political nnewal possible, introduce new idem and
usher in growth and wens for the new situations in life. ?6

-
The urnasses* the source of political power

Vivekananda holds that the masses are the basis or the source of political
power. The logic is simple enough. It is the individuals who make up the society.
Hence the power of the society is the collectivity of the power of the individuals.
And since, the masses constitute the most numerous group in society, they are the
"reservoir of all powers ", the "back bo~ie28 in the social structure. And the
government is only a social structure created for the common good of all in the
society.

Every ruling group is only a "delegate" of this people's power.

"Sovereignty, in Vivekananda's thinking, may be defined as a "General will" it -
is not ofthe State but fn thee State. 29 Then is no power above the people. There
is only the aggregate power of the people. The ruling caste, whether it wes
Brahmin or Kshatriya or Vaishyagrovided only the "form" of the government,
but not the power itself The rights of the masses are "natural", not legal. "Give
the masses u r rights." said Vivekananda. Power is not of divine origin, for
there is no divine apart from the human. And it is not the privilege of any section
of society either. Hence public consent is the source of power. 30

Now, if the masses are the source of power, how is it that they have
always been slaves to p t s or small ruling groups. The reason is that they
themselves are not aware of their power. And hence there is no attempt to
org& this p o w Again the w o n for this is the lack of education, a lack of
education that is artificially produced by the selfishness of the higher classes. 'I

The only way to raise the power of thee masses is to educate them. It is
for this motive that in India Vivekananda wanted thee diehard orthodox upper
chsses to go, so that a "renascent India" may be born from the masses. 32 He
exhorted the social reformers of India not to waste time on reforming the society
from above but fiom below, by giving education to the people, because the
masses were the "lenislative body who are quite capable of solving their own
problems. "The new order of things is the salvation of the people by the people. 'I
V i v e h d a hoped that the rich would initiate the reform movements to uplift the
Poor.

Resistance and Revolution

In preaching the advent of the poor Vivekananda's intention was "not to

set up class-strife between the poor presents, the labouring people and wealthy
classes, 34 for 'bone can hate others without degenerating himself. " Killing
others to remove evil would only increase it. 36 Hence we can certainly exclude
the idea of amed resistance or violent revolution fiom the mind of Vivekananda.

But he did preach resistance. It is an inalienable right of the individual to

resist tyranny and encroachment upon personal freedom. "Yours is the right to
rebel", he proclaimed to the poor, and in a moment of fewour he even said,
"Thrash the strong. " Vivekananda condemned the Indians who justified the lot
of the poor by saying that it was the result of their Karma. Resistance to injustice
is a necessary step in moral development. Only through resistance to evil can a
man reach the highest Advaitic ideal of non-resistance. 38 11 is also a social
necessity without it any society would soon fall into the hands of the wicked and
that would lead to di~aster.'~
 But the ultimate motive for resistance is the salvation of one's own
activity and that of all in the society. In society freedom and activity
mistance meant the same thing for Vivekananda, bccause one depended on
tbc 0th~.40 Vivekananda's theow of resistance is also a consequence of his
accent on strength, about which we spoke in the chapter on moral philosophy. It
is the duty of the weak to resist, India was week. Hence resistance is a must for
her. But no resistance can be offered that proceeds from selfishness and aims at
harming the other. First of all, it is against the Advaitic theory of one-ness.
Secondly the philosophy of Karma-Yoga on which the theory of resistance is
based would not admit any egoistic motive in action. Egoistic resistance would
only produce slavery in another form - a spiritual slavery that is worse than the
physical and the social one.

Thus, while it is weakness to slavishly submit to oppression, it is also

weakness to conceive of physical violence. Vivekananda's words, "It is weakness
that conceives the idea of resistance, 4 ' is to be understood in h s sense. "Non-
resistance" was the ideal of Advaita. But how are we to reconcile both resistance
and non-resistance, as Vivekananda preached them?

With thls background we could say that Vivekananda certainly wanted

resistance but a non-violent resistance Satyagraha. Reddy puts together the ideas
and offers the following theory. Vivekananda's theory of resistance can be
divided into three levels: 1. Violent - resistance - found in the animal kingdom; 2.
non-violent resistance - to be used in human society ; 3. and non-resistance -
found in the spiritual kingdom. Man is in the intermediate stage. " This theory
has certainly influenced Gandhi. "Vjvekananda's concept of non-aggression was
later tra~~~lated
by Gandhiji into the principle of non-violence. 43

When, through this process of resistance the masses would come to power,
they would have to safeguard all the values for which they were fighting -
&OQm equality and unity, This rule of the masses is what Vivekananda called
udemcnq" or "socialism".

The socialism of Vivekananda

Vivekananda has been widely acclaimed as the prophet of Vedantic

socialism. According to B.N.Datta, Vivekananda was the first Indian to call
himself a socialist. " What did he mean by socialism?

"Everything goes to show that socialism or some form of rule by the

people, call it what you will, is coming on the boards. "6 "The doctrine which
demands the sacrifice of individual freedom to social supremacy is called
socialism, while that which advocates the cause of the individual is called
individualism ." These two citations show that for Vivekananda socialism simply
meant a form of government that made up by all the people of a country. In this
sense his "socialism" is just another name for democracy - the govemment of the
people. Democracy is also the expression of the fimdamental need for self-
determination that man has. Man cannot be always dictated as to how he should
grow. He has to experiment, and only in freedom, even through mistakes, he can
grow. It is better to go wrong by one's own Eree will and intelligence than to be
"
good as a robot Ba socialism is not only to safeguard the freedom d the
individual but also a form of government where the individ~ialwill spontaneously
act for the common good. "49 Because, "the individuals's life is in the life of the
whole, the individuals happiness is in the happiness of the whole; apart from the
whole the existence of the individual is inconceivable - this is an eternal truth and
is the bed-rock on which the wiverse is built.

The fundamental values of man, freedom, equality and unity - when lived
in the political society becomes democracy. Hence democracy is based on those
values and is meant to propagate these values. The reason for the existence of
democracy is man-making. The foundation of democracy is Advaita Vedanta,
6n is the best philosophy of man-making. " A monotheistic religion,
Vivekananda, would demand monarchy, rather than democracy, and in this
sew,the duelists cannot truly be democratic.

Freedom, Equality and Unity

Freedom is the possibility of self-determination for Vivekananda. "If I

cannot make my own fortune, then I am not free. 53 In the first place this
possibility of "making one's own fortune" refers to the spiritual field, based on
the theory of Karma. " It is the possibility of the realization of the divine within
man. Hence, freedom is, first of all, spiritual, and as such it has always been
understood in India. But the merit of Vivekananda consists in having turned the
Advaitic idea of spiritual freedom also into a political manifesto, or, giving it a
social colouring. '' "In the traditional Indian thought freedom is viewed as a
personal liberation or salvation. In a masterly way Vivekananda incorporated into
it the Western idea of social and political liberty. 56

Both spiritual and political freedoms are needed. "The Greek sought
political liberty. The Hindu has always sought spiritual liberty. Both are one-
sided.... To care only for spiritual liberty is a defect, but the opposite is still
greater defect. Liberty of both soul and body is to be striven for. '' The political
is the means, and the spiritual freedom, is the end. Social and political freedoms
are necessary conditions of growth into the spiritual and individual freedom.

What is social liberty? "Liberty does not certainly mean the absence of
obstacles in the path of misappropriation of wealth etc., by you and me, but it is
our natural right to be allowed to use our own body, intelligence, or wealth
according to our will, without doing harm to others; and all the members of a
society ought to have the same opportunity for obtaining wealth, education, or
privilege. That, then is Vivekananda's definition of in social and political
freedom.
 Hence, first of all "Liberty of thought and action is the only condition of
life, of growth and well-being. "Caste or no caste, creed or no creed, any man, or
class, or caste or nation, or institution which bars the power of frrr thought and
mion of an individual - even so long as that power does not injure others is -
devilish and must go down. .59 Freedom is the sacrosanct value of an individual. "
Freedom with but one meal a day and tattered rags on is a million times better
than slavery in gold chains. The primacy of the individual is almost in the mind
of Vivekanandda. Political and social structures are only subservient to him.
Realization being the final end of man, it cannot be otherwise. Thee individual is
to be assisted and not lorded over by the society, much less hindered in his task of
liberation. Hence there can be no political law that can go against the natural
rights of the individual or violate the sacredness of his conscience. 61

Nevertheless, "the individual 's life is in the life of the whole, and the
individual's happiness is in the happiness of the whole. " An individual truly
becomes universal only when he sees the whole society in himself and himself in
the whole society. "To move slowly towards the infinite whole, bearing a constant
feeling of intense sympathy and sameness with it,... is the individual's sole duty.
Not only is it his duty but in its transgression is his death, while compliance with
this great truth leads to life immortal. " Hence, individual freedom leads to social
duty. There is no conflict between the interests of the individual and of the
society. Vivekananda explicitly introduces the problem of individual-society
conflict and says that in reality there is no conflict. The society is not to a
b4marter"to the individual, and the individual is not to be an egoist. "
Even though the individual's freedom is primary in the social sphere it is
not to be measured by the standards of "me" and 'mine", but from the point of
view of all. Hence the concept of social freedom naturally leads to the concept of
equality,
 Libmy in society implies rights and opport&ities for the "making of
one's own fortune". By equality Vivekananda does not mean that all equal,
becaw they are not, but he means that all should be given equal rights and
opportunities. In the mind of Vivekananda, privilege is the bane of any society .6'
' T h e work of ethics is not destruction of variety in the world, but the destruction
of privilege. Every privilege forges a chain for other men in society. We have
seen this while spealung of caste. Hence 'Liberty is not only based upon equality,
but is fully identical with it." for there is no fkedom without equality and no
equality without freedom.

Already biological evolution has produced inequality among men. Social

privilege should not aggravate this situation. If at all any privilege is given, it
should be for the weak. Freedom means also freedom from want. Maternal
poverty is a hindrance to spiritual and social liberty. hence Vivekananda
recognises to right of every man to acquire and own material wealth. This, of
course, will produce economic inequality, since some men work and earn ably
than others. Here again, equality meant for Vivekananda equal opportunity to earn
wealth. '69

But he did not advise attachment to material wealth because owner is only
an administrator, not the master. Besides the fact that the goods of this world
produce more desire and prolong the Maya existence, wealth in itself belongs to
God alone and has a Universal destination. "Not that you should not have things
which are necessary and things which are even luxuries. have all that you want,
and more, only know the truth and realise it Wealth does not belong to anybody.
Have no idea of proprietorship. You are nobody, nor am I, nor anybody else. All
belongs to the Lord 70 We ignore this sublime mcth,...with our short-sighted vision
we think ministering to the self at any cost is the be-all and end-all of life.
Wisdom, knowledge, men strength, prowess, and whatever else nature gathers and
provides us with, are only for diffusion 'I When the moment of need is at hand,
We often forget this fact, puts the stamp of ''mine only" upon the entrusted
deposits, and p
i WSU,we sow the see of our own ruin '*
Man should thus realise that his social living is meant to realise his
innermost self, in which dl his brothers too are included. Freedom, the birth-right
of every individual leads to unity. Its concrete expression in society is equality -
the equal opportunity for all to make one's own fortune.

Vivekananda wanted the democratic society also to lead to class-

cooperation Castes, being natural, cannot be destroyed; hence, the best policy is
cooperation. Besides, all of them have something to contribute. "If it is possible to
form a State in which the knowledge of the priest period, the culture of the
military, the distributive spirit of the commercial and the ideal of equality of the
last can all kept intact, minus their evils, it will be the ideal .73

The era: Anarchism - the ideal form of Government.

Vivekananda wished that democracy or socialism, or the so called Sudhra

rule, should so function that it should lead to anarchism. His anarchist State is to
be without laws, without caste, without religion (in the present sense), without
-
State (anarchism). It would be based only on humanity that boundless divine
humanity wiuch, having been d s e d in all to the full would reign supreme.
There would be no structure whatever to limit man's freedom. The freedom of his
humanity would be without Frontiers. Every one would be a universal man, just as
Bhudda, Chirst and Ramakrishna were. The individual will be all. The ideal
Brahmin is " beyond law 74

"In every country, real greatness of the soul means extraordinary

individuality and that individuality you cannot get in society. It frets and fumes
and wants to burst society. If society wants to keep it down the soul wants to burst
society into pieces.75 Thus, upholding the sacredness and the primacy of the
individual in the sphere of spirituality, Vivzkananda wants a society without
"wiety''. The "socie~"that he warns to eliminate is that which hinders the
freedom of the individual, not the communion among men. It is t h ~ "society"
s that
the spiritual man has to burst to pieas in order to rise from its chaos. In the words
of Reddy, " the ideal of truth or M o r n is not to be lowered to adapt to the life of
ordinary man. Society must follow the extraordinary individual and not he follow
its rules. The man of trust or freedom is above society (underline mine). Society is
superfluous to him and he is not bound by its laws. 76

Vivekananda, hence, was averse to laws, all 'societies', governments, and

held them to be comparative evils. "One must admit that law, government and
politics are phases not final in any way . 7 b e yserve the purpose of liberating the
individual, just like the caterpillar is protected by it covering. But when the
butterfly is formed the outer cover has ended the butteffly is formed the outer
cover has ended its scope and has to go and allow the butterfly to fly to its
freedom. Thus, "Vivekananda's concept of divinity of human nature, his
contemptuous outlook of law, government and society as evil institutions and his
eulogy of the ideal Brahimnhood for the reconstruction of society form the basis
of his anarchist thought .79

But his anarchism is not nihilism. In the famous lecture on the "Real
nature of man", Vivekananda held that nihilism was not possible for any man. " I
have never seen a man who could become a nihilist for one minute.80 He
explained how, because of its nihilistic leanings, Buddhism was thrown out of
India by the ~indus." A nihilist wants to destroy society for the sake of
destroying it, for he has not absolute value. But Vivekananda wants to destroy
society in order to safeguard that which is true in the society itself, the individual.
Hence in his thinking there is only subordination of government and society to the
Individual, not the individual that the Western society thinks of when it speaks of
freedom of the individual in a democratic society. That is only a phase, not the
The production of "supermen", men without frontiers, whose frontier will
 Y h
O ~ their b t y itself, not ony State or "religion" of race or colour or culture
Or COde of morality, is the god of society and all the political life.

"If the Brahmin is who has killed all selfishness and who lives and works
-
to acquire and propagate wisdom and the power of love if a cotmhy is altogether
inhabited by such Brahmins, by men and women who are spiritual and moral and
g d , is it strange to think of that country as being above and beyond all law?
What police, what military are necessary to govern them? Why should anyone
govern them at all? Why should they live under a government? They are good
and noble, and they are men of

Nationalism and Internationalism

The concept of Nation

Vivekananda used the term "nation" to designate each group of people

with a particular characteristic and a parhcular mission to llfil for the community
of the nations. Hence this term was synonymous to "race", "people" and the like.

Any nation that fails in this mission, or is attacked in this characteristic

will come to ruins. The mission of Rome was military prowess, meant to be used
to unite the ancient nations. When that was attacked, it fell. Greece's individuality
was in her intellect. When she failed in it, she came to naught. England's soul is
trade and politics. When her economic system, because of its profit-making
nature, becomes increasingly contradictory she will become an insignificant
nati~n.~"roducin~ material wealth and technology seems to the mission of the
Americans. The day they do not share it with the rest of the world, they nullify
their role in the community of the nations. India, instead, has a spiritual mission -
to teach the Advaitic oneness of being, and a humanity without frontiers. Her only
hope of survival is by being faithful to this mission.

ils "nutionulily". It is its

l'his particular nntio~lnl"wculth" can hc r~i~nicd
jdentityeard. Each represents an ideal, each is a "type manifestation"" It is not
O ~ an
Y ideal that has to be shared with othen, but it is also an ideal into which
that nation itself has to b e m e mon and more mature. It is also an ideal to be
reached.8s

It is this ideal that unites a nation. A nation becomes such not because of
territory, language or physical descent, but because of this particular mission.
Just like the individuality of a man, the individuality of a nation too is only a
means to finally realise its oneness with the rest of humankind.

Besides each nation is to be appreciated or depreciated basing on this

criterion.& India, for example, cannot be accused for being poor, but only if she
becomes irreligious. Each has to be judged according to its own standards. And
every nation is necessary for the community of nations, because each is unique
and its contribution cannot be made by another.

Because of the peculiarity of each nation, it caryot simply borrow the

culture of another nation, but has to "inculturise" it, to make it one's own. No
nation is to "imitate" another, but only mutually give and receive in its own way.
It is in this context that Vivekananda condemned those Indians who slavishly
aped the English civilisation. At heart, they were "Indians"; they could not
become "English" by imitating the externals. They should only receive the wealth
of the English culture and "Indians" it. That is the real growth."

The nationalism of Vivekananda

The term "nationalism" has various meanings. It first of all means love of
one's own country and people and the search for its independence, prosperity and
prestige in the community of the nations. Besides all this, it could also mean a
theory by which the individuals are seen only in function of the nation, or the
superiority of one nation over the rest that justifies an aggressive attitude.
Vivekananda is a nationalist in the first sense of the term. Vivekananda has been
acclaimed as a nationalist in India by mon of the scholars, for his great love of his
mnherland and the prestige that he gave her in the midst of the community of
nations.

Glory of India

If there is anything about Vivekananda that is most obvious, it is that he

was thoroughly Indian. His pride of India was immense. In his very first lecture
in the Parliament of Religions, he stated many times that he was proud to belong
to the ancient and the eternally young nation of India, cradle of spirituality and
land of tolerance and acceptance.88This most ancient of nations will also be the
youngest and the most modem according to his vision. "In my minds eye, I see
the future giant slowly maturing. The future of India, the youngest and the most
florious of the nations of the earth as well as the As Nivedita says, "he
was a born lover and the queen of his adoration was his month land . . . .90

His role in giving the Indians the price of their own nation in a time when
the nation was prostrate in the dust of ignorance and poverty cannot be
overestimated All those who knew him have been unanimous on this point. He
took upon himself the life mission of routing the sleeping leviathan of India. He
wanted to show Indians that they can do something, and that they have a great
He tenned India the most moral nation in the
treasure to give to the wor~d.~'
"head and shoulders above all the other nations."93He told his people that
the name Hindu was their most glorious possession, that they were children of
immortals of gods and sages, and that their nation was an undying one.94

Indians should throw off the feeling of inferiority and the slavish mentality
of thnking that everything good came from the West. As a principle
Vivekananda defended everything Indian in front of the foreigners, and pointed
out the ori@ goodness of Indian laws and customs to the Indians themselves.
He was often aggressive in arguments when it came to defending his land of
 Nothing Man, h a w , needed apology or caused shame. He made it one
of the p$~iples of his life not to be ashamed of his own ancestors and tbeir
inheritance." "Let us not curse and abuse the weather-beaten and work-worn
Even institutions and modes of life
institutions of our thricsholy m~thertand.~
that today seem useless have had their purpose in the past. "This national ship has
been fenying millions and millions of souls across the waters of life. But today,
perhaps througb your own fault, this boat has become a little damaged, has sprung
a I& Let us to and stop the holes. Let us gladly do it without heart's blood, and
if we cannot then let us die."98Words like these had fire in them and memorized
his listeners. He provoked their racial pride by calling them all Aryans what ever
be their colour and language and culture. "If the Europeans do not like us, Aryas,
-
because we are dark, let them take another name for themselves what is that to
us?a99For him the Indians were the handsomest race with the finest f ~ e sand
,
this was not a vain pride in his own nation but a truth he learned from his
trave~s.'"~

The Indians are to stand on their own feet, since they are next to none in
intelligence and power."'0'The strength of their race is proven by being the only
race in the world to survive for 3000 years, unlike the Romans, the Greeks, the
Egyptians and many other ancient cultures. He traced the reason of this to the
strength of their spirituality and their W a s t n e s s in it. Hence, it was an
indestructible He worked indefatigably to arouse the national
consciousness of the Indians, by preaching Vedanta, the most original discovery
of the hd~ans.'~'
He hammered repeatedly on their lethargy and their sense of
inferiority in front of the colonizing nations of the world, and thus, was the great
pncursor of the tidal wave that inundated the whole length and breadth of the
land in the bqpnning of this century under the guidance of Mahatma Gandhi.

One might wonder at the extravagant welcome he received when he

retumcd to India after his first visit to the West. It was not just the sign of the
w&nition of the g n a m e ~of~one of their own sons, but of the greatness of the
Mother herself. Never before did Hinduism and India appear so glorious and
magnificent to the Indian himself. Most Indians before did not even imagine their
religion wdd have been so scientific and coherent as a system. Reading his
words in magazines and of his fame in America seemed to the average Indian like
a new proof of his own dignity, and the joy was wild It was this joy that flowed
over into the grand receptions that greeted him on his arrival.

Vivekananda evoked a spontaneous affection all over India, because of his

s i m lwe for him nation and his identification with the cause of the masses. He
told them: "For the next fifty years this alone shall be our key note - thin, our
great Mother He had gone to America, not for the Parliament of
religions, he declared, but in search of some solution for the problems of his
countrymen. "Who cared about th~sParliament of Religions? Here wets my own
flesh and blood sinking every day, and who cared for them. This was my first
stcP.lMTnu patriotism began with heartfelt sympathy for the poor and then
followed up with proper action in their Eavour, and not merely with "fiothy
talk."'06

Tbe present woes of India

. Vivekananda spoke not so much of the woes of India due its own rulers,
though he did not spare them too, but mostly of her owes because of the faults of
her sons themselves. His flagellation of his own for their inaction and
superstrtions was merciless.

Jealousy of each other was pointed out as one of the main defects of the
Indians.'ol He compared the Indians to the Negroes of Texas, in the United States.
Compelled to live as slaves, they would tolerate the wealth and greatness of the
whites, but whenever a fellow Negro came up in life, their jealousy never
tolerated that and tried all their best to pull him down. Indians too, having lived
under foreign rule for long centuries had acquired this mentality typical of
s l a v ~ .lalousy
'~ was the national sin of India, in his opinionlo9when writing a
his own intimate Friends and disciples he used such terms as "honid" and
"diabolical" to describe the evils of Indian society."0 "Why should the Hindu
nation, with all its wonderful intelligence and other things, has gone to pieces? I
would answer you, jealous1. ''I

A direct consequence of jealousy is deviation among the Indians. They

were a divided race, and they have become deeply individualistic, though their
philosophy is the most altruistic possible. They consequently lacked the power of
the combination of the Westerners, whole force was unity. He remembered how
the English managed to conquer India, precisely because of jealousy and he
internal divisions and betrayals on the part of the ~ndians."~
They do not have
mutual appreciation, though they would rush to appreciate any foreigner. They
had closed themselves into water-tight compartments of good and bad, clean and
dirty, high and low, intelligent and foolish, Brahmin and ~hudra'"

Lose of self-respect and will power was another blemish on the Indian
character. They had become a "nation of mendicants" and have thrown all self-
esteem to the winds. Even the so-called respectable middle class citizens
crouched before the foreigner for a job and to eater into his servitude. "hduhas
become as a whale a Shudra class today," he lamented. Her Brahmins are the
foreign professors, her Kshativas are the ruling Englishmen and Vaishvas too the
English in whose narrow itself is the instinct of trade so that only Shudraness is
left with tbe ~ndians."' The constant tyranny of the higher castes had reduced the
masses to he "professional beggars" who had lost their most coveted treasure,
"manlint9sn. 115

He was asked during a conversation why he praised India as much in the

West,while in India itself cutting her to pieces. He answered that it was no his
job to trumpet before the world the vices of India but her virtues. Defects had to
be point4 out directly with the intention of correcting them. That is the sign of
authcutic Besides, he claimed a right to criticize India since he was
not a cama ad saviour~riticimported from abroad, but a son of the soil. If there
were foolish customs he was not bound to produce always a scientific defence for
them It was much more difficult for him to stigmatize than for his foreign friends.
For the latter it was a lecture that demonstrated his learning and won him the
applause of the crowds. But for Vivekananda, it w mud thrown at his own face!
117

Object poverty and the consequent physical weakness at present were

other serious problem in India So many were the causes for this. "First of all is
our physical weakness. That physical weakness is the cause of at least one-third of
our miseries. We are lay, we cannot work; we cannot combine, we do not love
each other. We are intensely selfish, not three of us can

We must take notc of the typc of criticism that Vivckananda ma& on

India His was not condemnation but reprove. He did not criticise the customs of
India but their degeneration. He did not criticise the caste system, but the
selfishness of the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas. He blamed the defects of the
British rule but never the British people. He upbraided inaction, but never
meditation and spiritual pursuit He censured lust but not mamage customs of
individual peoples. But In short, his was a criticism not of institutions and
persons, but the defects that blocked progress and development And moist of all
no one in India took him to task for his criticism, because they all saw the truth in
it came. In his straight from which it came and the motive for wh~chit came. In
his smightfomud manner be said hngs and did not know how to make black,
white. His mission was to speak the truth for the sake of man-making.

'fhe unity of India

The real force that can make all the races and languages and cultures of
India stick together is only their religion. That is the om: common thing they have
in all their diversity. Religion, therefore, should be accepted as the foundation of
the national unity of india."' Though in general Vivekananda speaks of
Hinduism, he really now means Advaita Vedanta, which for him is the core of all
religions in India and in the world. Hence from this exhortation of his, the other
religionists were not exc~udcd"~
All were Indians and hence their dcstlny hangs
together.lm~ewrote in a letter to a Muslim friend appreciating Islam as the only
religion that approached nearest to the Advaitist ideal of equality and
brotbethood, the special contribution of Prophet Mohammed The Hindus had
betrayed this with their degenerated caste system.'2'

Thus in malung Vedanta the pmcbcal base of unity for India, the help and
the contribution of other religions was needed. Islam contributed the wonderful
idea of brotherhood. Christianity taught service to the poor and the masses. " I
am firmly persuaded that without the help of practical Islam, theories of
Vcdantism, however fine and wonderful they may be, are entirely valueless to the
vast mass of mankind . We want to lead mankind to the place where there is
neither Vedas, nor the Bible, nor the Koran; yet this has to be done by
hmonising the Vedas, the Bible and the Koran. Uankind ought to be taught that
religions are but the various expressions of THE RELIGION, which is Oneness,
so that each may choose that path suits him best. For our own motherland a
junction of the two great systems, Nnduism and Islam - Vedanta Brain and Islam
body - is the only bope. I see in my mind's eye the hture perfect India rising out
of this chaos and strife, glorious and invincible, with Vedanta brain and Islam
bodY."'*

Hence, anyone who wants to work for the future of India and her unity
must start with the unification of religion. It is a unity that recognises the
diversity of cach religion as the "way" of each man.'21 Unity was a must if India
wen to survive, for unity is power and division is weakness. Vivekananda
pointed out how compact little nations like a pan and England managed to rule
huge unwisely and divided and Divided nations like China and lndial*' The
semt was that they wm able to bring all their ideas and power a day in India
Indin should be "a nation of those whose hearts beat the sarne spiritual ~ u n e . " ' ~ ~

Faithful to his "ultimate concernw,Vivekananda showed that religious

particularities are not to come in the way of unity within India "For the next fifty
years this alone shall be our Keynote, - this great Mother India. Let all other vain
Gods disappear for that time from our minds. This is the only God k t is awake,
our own race, everywhere N s hands, everywhere HIS feet, everywhere his ears.
He wvers everyhng. All other Gods are sleeping. What vain Gods shall we go
and yet camot worship that we see all around us, the Virat? When we have
worshipped this, we shall be able to worship all other ~ o d s .

Even when he said that the true vitality of the Indian nation is in religion,
he does not put it above the people. He only recognise a fact. "We have seen that
ow vigour.. . is in our religion. I am not going to discuss now whether it is right
or not, whether it is Beneficial or not in the long nm,to have vitality in religion,
but for good or evil it is there; you cannot get out of it, you have it now and for
ever, and you have to stand by it, even if have not the sarne faith that I have in our
religion."'27The primacy of man over religious creeds is clear.

The internationalismof Viekananda

The sign of the time today in the history of the world is that all nations an
turning into a global village. More than ever before, mankind has come to see
that the fate or the wellbeing of all men hang together, that they are all in the same
boat, and whether they move forward or sink to the bottom, they do it together.
Well, Vivekananda saw this point a hundred years ago. It is best to let his speak:
"E=n in politics and sociology, problems that were only national twenty years
ago can no longer be solved on national grounds only. They are assuming huge
proportions, gigantic shapes. They can only be solved when looked at in the
&b light of international grounds, international organisation, intcmational
combination; international laws an the ny of the day. Again, there cannot be any
progre~without the whole world following in the wake ... Every idea has to
become broad till it cover the whole world, evey aspiration must go on increasing
till it has engulf4 the whole of humanity; nay, the whole of life, within its
=p"'"

Tat shows beyond any doubt that the nationalism did not simply anti-
intemalism.ln "Intense as was his love for his country, his love was not confined
to his country alone. There was nothing chauvinistic about his j~triotisrn."'~~
He
wrote to his brothers: "I belong as much to India as to the world, no humbug
about As a matter of fact, from the time of Ram Mohan onwds, there
has been a certain universalism and internationalism in many of the Indian
philorophers.'32 He had two ideals and one was never sacrificed for the other,
they were never in contradiction - the nation-making and world-making. His
nationalism was not sectarianism."' He was truly "catholic".'34 None before him
has been so unconditionally universality as Vivekananda. Because of his broadest
philosophical basis he has the first true universalistic in India, to be followed by
Gandhi and others later.'35

The intcmationalism of Vivekanada is a logical consequence of his idea of

a "nation" itself Each being a "type manifestation", having a particular
characteristic, is in need of the other. It is as though this world is a great
philharmonic orchestra. Each nation plays a tune. But the grand harmony will be
produced only when each instrument plays its pn.'36 Singly they would lose their
beauty and purpose. Vivekananda also revives another image dear to him in the
context of internationalism that of an organism. "We should get beyond out
national superstitions and get to think of humanity as one vast orgamsm, slowly
coming towards light - a wonderful plant, slowly unfolding itself to that
wonderhl truth which is called ~od.""' And each nation is a part of this
organism, having its own indispensable role to play.
 No nation can live alone or infringe the law of give-and-take with
impmity. No one can infringe that law with impmity.13' "I am thoroughly
convinced that no individual or nation can live by holding itself apart from the
community of others, and whenever such attempts has been made under false
-
ideas of greatness, policy, or holiness the result has always been disastrous to the
secluding one.'39Each nation is unique, because of its particular bend, but no one
is to be considered superior to another. He castigated the orthodox Hindus for
considering themselves a superior race and calling all foreigners ~ l e c h c h a s . ' ~
He p s e d Ram Mohan for brealang this attitude of the traditional ~ i n d u s . ' ~In'
the same way he derided the English for their presumed superiority.'42 "...that
between &ions one is superior and the other inferior has no meaning
whatsoever."

In short, man can no more afford to build walls, but only bridges. Man
without frontiers is our only hope of survival. "Humankind cannot be saved
unless we reach the universal oneness."'" Solutions to any problem can never be
attained on racial or narrow grounds. Every idea has to become broad till it
covers the whole of his world, every aspiration must go on increasing till it has
engulfed the whole of humanity, nay, the whole of life, within its scope.""' He
said to his Indian brothers, that as long as they tried to build only their country
they were doomed to failure.'" nations is meant only to realix the divinity
within man Its scope is to promote humanity without frontiers in its widest
sew.

Mass Awakening

Both Sri Rarnakrishna and Swami Vivekananda persevered throughout

their lives to lift mankind above religious differences. In fact they sought to use
religion as a catalyst for brining about intercommunal harmony. And, for this,
both of them triad to reach people of all religions with the message that harmony,
not disharmony, is the inner spirit of religion. It is interesting to note that in 1924,
Jinnah and Patel had comc to the conclusion that the communal problem of India
would be satisfactorily resolved were the religious fanatics of both the Hindu and
Muslim communities curbed. But they could not do what they would have liked.
On the c o n t t q , the sheer force of circumstances gradually jostled them in such a
role that aided and abetted communal politics. What appeared to be
communalism based on religious appeal was, in Eect, rooted deep in the socio-
economic conditions. Nevertheless, religion and religious appeal provided the
potent force for political communalism.

Swami Vivekananda, as I am strongly inclined to believe, wanted to lead

the Indians away ftom such religious communalism. The speech that he delivered
in 1897 at Madras contained such a message. Professor Sundararama Ayar
rightly says that in this speech Swami Vivekananda outlined and elcplained a
religious revival encompassing all the religious communities aimed at achieving a
common national goal. In other words, in an age when religion was acting as a
divisive factor, Swami Vivekananda sought to use religion as a binding force for
an all-Indian nationalist upsurge. His key message to India, as culled From the
Katha Upanisad, was 'Arise, Awake, and stop not till the goal is reached'

The basis for such a political message had already been created by the life
and works of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda's mentor. For Sri
Ramakrishna 'So many religions, are so many paths, to the temple of God.' He
uid: 'LC[ all mcn and womcn sincerely follow their own religions as true, but
never think that only their religions are true and all others are false. All religions
arc true, all lead to the same God.' Swami Vivekananda goes M e r than his
mentor and asserts that all these religions have their own missions to perform in
history. Ebch religion represents a p a t truth, each represents a parhcular
excellence-ssomething which is its soul. As he says: 'I accept all religions that
wen in the past and worship with them all. I worship God with everyone of
them, in whatem form they worship Him. Further, I shall kecp my heart open
for all that may come in the future, for God's book is still a continuous revelation,
going on.'

Swami Vivekananda was well aware of the fact that any such action-plan
for awakening the masses should have a populist strategy. A well-thoughtat
and clearly spelt-out strategy for the purpose was made public by him in a letter
written to Alasinga (28 May 1894). This strategy contained, among other things,
the following aspects.
1. to raise some money;
2. to build a small lecture-hall in an area inhabited by poor and low-
caste people;
3. the hall would be used to arrange public lectures with magic lanterns
and other necessary aids on religion, geography, astronomy, etc.;
4. to raise and train a group of young men who would disseminate the
message of national awakening far and wide; and
5, the ultimate goal would be to awaken the common masses.

Persons spear-h&ng such a missionary work have to be selfless. But reality

suggests that in the Third World context mostly such persons succumb to the
mundane ambition of turning themselves into self-seeking leaders. Self-seeking
leaders cannot do the job that Swami Vivekananda meant. This was exactly the
reason why the same letter contained a cautionary note for his colleagues in the
following words: '..do not try to become a leader, go on serving only.'

If closely analysed this letter reveals a comprehensive idea of mass-

mobilization as enunciated by Swami Vivekananda. In a society where religion
was a potent driving force, it was a perfect strategy to start a programme with
religious teachings for the common men Such teachings were aimed at exposing
these illiterate people to the real meaning and purpose of religion. Another aspect
of this strategy is to stress the role of young and ddcated workers. Finally,
essential qualities of the required type of leaderfleaders were also clearly
 indicated. To all intents and purposes, this letter contained a comprehensive
formula for mass-awakening in India.

But comparatively greater emphasis was placed on the inner and real
message of religion as a catalyst for national unity and awakening. As Swami
Vivekananda drew attention to the Vedantic message 'no religion is destructive
for othcr religions'. If all the religions existing in India were not contrary to each
other, he exhorted the followers of each to forge a broader unity on the basis of
consciousness. He was convinced that the human mind was the real basis of
national unity and cohesion. In other words, the message was simple, loud, and
clear. if there was a meeting of minds, obstacles to national unity could be
overcome. With such a perspective of national unity in mind, Swami
Vivekananda could not see eye to eye with the administrative unity improvised by
the colonial administration. He was convinced that in the absence of a national
unity rooted deep in the human mind, the common working language (English),
the railway network, and the postal stamp could not bring about the desired
national integration.

As we write about Swami Vivekananda's percepbon of national

resurgence in India we are also reminded of the world perspective that he had in
his mind In fact, he considered the subcontinent as only a part of a universal
whole. In other words, he was also thlnhng of the regeneration of mankind
across the globe. As he categorically stated, 'I do really love India. But to me
there is no difference among India, England, and America'

Concluding Observations

I
Mtal has called Vivekananda a "political futurist". "'
bough Vivekananda never wanted to get mixed up in politics, he was a political
wrctician. His ideas were quite forward for the age in which he spoke and are
levant even today, nay, today more than ever before.
 Of course, besides his roots in Hinduism and Advaitia philosophy,
Viveksnaada was certainly also influenced by Western political ideologies.
Rbddy maintains that his political thought is "Indian in orientation and European
in environment"'a This influence is clear from the k
tthat he at least criticised
the Westem party-based democracy and other related evi~s."~
Aurobindo himself
said that when Vivekananda held that everybody has to be a Brahmin, he was
influenced by European democratic ideas.'% We have also pointed out the
possible contact of Vivekananda with Marxist ideas. But in his socialism, the
infrastntchrrc is religion, not economy. For him the exclusive economic concern
is the opium of the people. There are, however, some words of Vivekananda that
might possibly betray his acquaintance with Marxist ideas. In the first place,
though he did not like economy to be the basis of the cultural and religious
phenomena, he recognised that "there runs an economic struggle through every
religious struggle. The animal called man has some religious influence, but he is
guided by economy. Individuals are guided by something else, but the mass of
mankind never made a move useless economy was involved"151 Again, he
condemned making the individual only a mean for society. "Every man should
know that he is a man and not simply a slave of the society."'52 These ideas may
prove his knowledge of the writing of h4am, though they need not necessarily.

Vivekananda's notion of "nation" and its "mission" in the world

community are very similar to those of Hegel. But Vivekananda cites Hegel in
connection with his idealism, and never in connection with his social ideas. He
certainly knew the writing of Hegel. But the exact nature and the extent of his
influence are difficult to determine. This social theory, however, is not a product
of his Advaitia background.

While we could easily accept the notion that each race has a patxular
contribution to make to the human race, his quasicategorical division of the East
as spiritual and the West as material may be questionable. The West has had its
ghb in spirituality and mysticism and cannot be said to be totally, or almost
totally waiting for spirituality from the East. For hundreds of years the West has
lived virtually under the sway of religion. This idea is original of Vivekananda,
and not faught by his Master Ramakrishna. It sounds practically like the claim to
spiritual superiority over other nations. Though Vivekananda himself was not a
"nationalistn in the negative sense of the term, this subtle claim to spiritual
superiority has given to modern Hinduism a militant Hindu nationalistic
The present day aggressive Hindu movements like RSS, take their inspiration,
rightly or wrongly, from the fiery speeches of Vivekananda and his like.

His interpretation of the political history of the world within the

Framework of the caste cycle is very interesting and not without its share of truth
His pdction of the rise of the working classes and his immense interest in the
welfare of the poor make him, without doubt, a great political visionary and
benefactor.

Vivekananda's theory of political resistance, as we shown, is of

undoubtable value and has influenced the Independence movement of India. One
might, nevertheless, point out that his insistence on the right to resistance has
been dictated to him by his heart and common sense than a logical deduction fiom
his Advaita philosophy. His great love for India and his anxiety for her progress
produd this theory. His insistence on the unity of India based on religious unity
(exploiting the basic religious tendency that all Indians share), should be re-
proposed to India, which, today is getting fast divided for religious motives.

But apart from other positive and negative observations that one could
make, it should be accepted that Vivekananda is true to his "ultimate conc;ernU
also in his political thinking. Above the castes, the nations, political and social
laws is man, the same brother man all over the world, with the inalienable
qualities of freedom, equality and unity. The two world wars have strongly
produced today the awareness of the truth that humanity stands or falls together.
V i v c b d a said this a hundred years ago.