Ilkogretim Online - Elementary Education Online, 2021; Vol 20 (Issue 6): pp.
3280-3286
http://ilkogretim-online.org
doi: 10.17051/ilkonline.2021.06.307
Philosophical Practice And Spirituality With Special Reference
To Swami Vivekananda
Samaresh Bandyopadhyay Research Scholar, Department of Education, Dr. A.P.J Abdul
Kalam University, Indore, M.P.
Dr. Osmita Hati Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
University, Indore, M.P.
Abstract:
Swami Vivekananda was a devout Vedantist. Vedanta, he believes, is absolutely impersonal.
Vedanta is eternal. It isn't the product of a single person or prophet. As a result, it isn't
centred around a single person as the centre of attention. Dvaita, Visista-dvaita, and Advaita
are three different manifestations of Vedanta, according to Swami Vivekananda. As a result,
people aren't hostile toward him. They aren't set in stone. They are merely stages in the
process of supporting an individual in attaining greater and higher standards until
everything is merged in the wonderful unity with Creator. Swami Vivekananda is the essence
of an entire philosophy of life for mankind. Both the most modest and the most powerful can
put it into practises and grow in all aspects, including physical, mental, and spiritual growth.
The secular and spiritual blend in this process to give man a practical plan for a peaceful and
meaningful earthly career. Vivekananda's message becomes much more relevant and
necessary in today's dark environment of character crisis produced by the worldwide
collapse of moral values. This paper summarizes the values and thoughts of philosophical
practice and spirituality of Swami Vivekananda.
Keywords: Philosophy, Spirituality, Swami Vivekananda, India.
INTRODUCTION:
ARISE AWAKE AND STOP NOT
TILL THE GOAL IS REACHED !
Be strong ! Be brave !
Strength is Life; Weakness is Death.
Strength is one thing needful
Know you are the creators of your own destiny.
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Never forget that all your strength is within.
Dare to be ‘abhaya’ - fearless and you will be truly free.
Let our youths be strong, - strong first.
India calls for infinite energy, infinite zeal, and infinite courage.
Religion will grow out of strength
- Swami Vivekananda
Awake and Arise
Let us remember the central truth of our religion: man's spirit, or Atman, is an immortal,
birthless, all-pervading, and everlasting soul. The Infinite Being and the finite soul, according
to Swamiji, are one and the same. This is actual knowledge: souls' spirits' [1]. As a result,
everyone has reason to be hopeful. No one can live indefinitely or be degraded perpetually.
No matter how filthy, life is nothing more than a playground [2]. Even if we are punched and
knocked around, the soul remains unharmed. We are the Infinite.... Please don't be alarmed.
Think about how many times you've failed. Don't be concerned; time is limitless. If you keep
expressing yourself, the light will finally arise...
Swami asserts that there is an ocean of endless power and benefits beneath the human body.
Never believe that the soul can achieve anything. It is the height of heresy to believe this.
This, if there is a sin, is it: admitting to being weak [3].
Never lose sight of the reality that you already possess all of the necessary power.
You have complete control over your life and are capable of achieving anything you desire.
Each of you has the power to free yourself from all wants and misery. If you believe it, the
power will come to you [4]. If you believe you have infinite power, infinite knowledge, and
invincible energy within you, and if you can tap into that power, you can become like me.
Be fearless and courageous.
Keep your head held high! Take a risk! All that is required is for you to be strong! Life is a
source of strength! Weakness is the cause of death! Make a statement! Dare to be unique!
Keep your head held high! Make a hero out of yourself! Keep your foot on the ground like a
rock! In India, you must have endless energy, infinite zeal, and infinite courage. Let our
youths be the first to stand up for themselves. As a result of its power, religion will grow [5].
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Weakness is a sin, whereas strength is a virtue. Fearlessness is a word that lands like a
bombshell on a sea of ignorance in the Upanishads. And the only religion that should be
promoted is the religion of fearlessness [6].
In life, strength is the finest guidance. Throw out everything that weakens you in religion, as
well as all other difficulties, and don't get involved. Thinking about strength rather than
weakness is a remedy for weakness. Teach men to see the power that they already possess.
“You are pure and faultless, and what you term sin does not belong to you,” Vedanta says,
rather than telling them they are sinners.”
Practice Spiritual Boldness
"... Because I am the birthless, deathless, ever alive, Omnipotent, Omnipresent Spirit, the sun
cannot dry, fire cannot burn, and the sword cannot kill." This is the face of spiritual bravery...
Rise up in this mentality, men and women, and dare to believe in and practises the Truth!
The world requires a few hundred heroic men and women [7]. Practice the fearlessness that
dares to know the Truth, that dares to show the Truth in life, that does not cower in the
presence of death, but rather welcomes it, that teaches man that he is the spirit, that he is the
entire universe, and that nothing can kill him [8]. Then you'll be set free. Instead of focusing
on impurity, emphasizes our purity. You, lions, are pure, infinite, and flawless spirits. Within
you resides the power of the cosmos [9].
Be Kind and Benevolent
Assisting others and doing good in the world are part of our social responsibilities. To
nominally help the world, but genuinely to help ourselves. We should always try to help the
world; it should be our ultimate motivation; nevertheless, when we think about it, the world
doesn't really need our help. This universe was not made for you or me to enter and assist.
As a result of this, we merely gain moral exercise [10].
Build up Your Character
The sum of a man's tendencies, the sum total of his mental bent, is his character. This is
exactly what becoming a character entail.
Work like a master
Swami Vivekananda emphasizes the importance of treating work as a kind of worship in his
essay The Secret of Work.
"Work as if you were a stranger sojourner in this region," Swamiji urges, "but don't chain
yourselves, bondage is dreadful." This planet is not our home; it is merely one of many phases
on our journey. "All of nature is for the soul, not the soul for nature," the Sankhya famously
said [11].
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The heart of Vivekananda's teaching is that one should labour like a master rather than a
slave, that one should work continuously rather than doing slave work. We should put our
liberty to good use! For the sake of love, work!
Seek for the Highest
Do not leave the diamond mine for the sake of glass beads! This is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity. "Seek for the highest, aim for the top, and you will achieve the highest," Swamiji
says [12].
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA’S PHILOSOPHY AND SPIRITUALITY OF LIFE:
God's Thought: Swami Vivekanand, a fervent Vedantist, attributes God's properties to three:
unlimited existence, infinite knowledge, and endless happiness.
God is both impersonal and everywhere at the same time. He can be found in every living
thing on the globe. Man is the incarnation of God. Man's adoration is the actual work of God.
'Existence cannot be without knowledge and love; knowledge cannot be without love, and
love cannot be without knowledge,' Swami Vivekananda writes in his Complete Works (Vol.
II). A balance of Existence, knowledge, and infinite happiness is what we desire. After all, it
is our goal. We desire harmony rather than one-sided progress. It's also possible to have the
mind of Sankara and the heart of Buddha. "I believe we will all put in a lot of effort to reach
that fortunate combo." As a result, Vivekanand holds man to a very high standard [13].
Swami Vivekanand is a great believer in man and recognises his dignity and diversity.
Indeed, he considers Man to be a manifestation of God. He believes that "the only God to
admire is the human soul in the human body." Of fact, all creatures are temples, but man is
the highest of them all, the Taj Mahal of temples. There's no use in travelling to another
temple if I can't worship there. Everything that binds me melts the moment I realise God
resides in every human body's temple, the moment I bow in reverence before every human
being and recognize God in him - that is the moment I am set free. According to him,
Vedanta's goal is to know man as he truly is. This is the message of Vedanta. "How can you
worship an unmanifested God if you can't worship God's manifestation, your brother man?"
he wonders. If you can't see God in the human face, how can you discern God in the sky,
representations made up of dull, dead objects, or simple hypothetical scenarios in your head?
When you start recognizing God in men and women, I'll start calling you religious."
Vivekananda emphasizes man's eternal fellowship with God as a result [14].
Spiritual brotherhood and universalism were important to Vivekananda. The saint sees the
self in all beings after realising the self. As a result, he devotes his entire life to the service of
all living things.
Swami Vivekanand says that perfection is a legacy.
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"Perfection is something that already lives inside us; it is not something that can be attained."
Immorality and delight are not acquired qualities; we already possess them and have for a
long time." As a result, perfection is passed down through the generations [15].
Swami Vivekananda pinned his hopes for the regeneration of his country on the youth. For
this reason, he desired that they receive the proper education and go about obtaining the
most out of their schooling. He also urged them to share their knowledge with the broader
population in order to help the country as a whole while also helping themselves. He desired
those young men obtain man-making education and that such educated young men use their
education to assist others in becoming men [16].
All world faiths, according to Swami Vivekananda, are founded on a universal foundation of
direct experience. According to yoga teachers, the science is a religious approach that trains
man to have a proper knowledge of his place in the world. Gaining a true understanding of
human life is the finest type of education, and religion's role in this regard is unquestionable
and crucial. Religion provides significant informal education in the development of a
person's character and quality of life [17].
Vivekananda envisioned a programme for educating India's populace in order to strengthen
their inner capabilities and make them potentially powerful as a social realist and a practical
vedantist [18].
The goal of Karma yoga is for man to achieve "realisation" of his own nature, when Jnana,
"Shakti," and "Karma" all come together in one location [19]. Karma's highest goal is constant
self-abnegation, in which there is no "I," only "Thou," and karma yoga leads him there
whether he realizes it or not. "He who works without a goal in mind, whether it's money,
fame, or something else, works the best."
CONCLUSION:
Education's most important goal is to influence people's thoughts [20]. The goal for India,
then, is for us to have complete control over our country's education, whether spiritual or
secular, and for it to be done as much as possible on national lines and using national
techniques [21]. According to Vivekananda, the essential theme of Indian history is to reveal
the underlying unity in diversity. He appreciated India's spiritual heritage as well as the
cultural synthesis that had emerged over time. Education is a continuous process. It should
embrace all aspects of life from birth to death: physical, material, intellectual, emotional,
moral, and spiritual. It must also address men and women's needs and concerns from all
walks of life [22].
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15. Eknath Rande, Vivekananda’s Rousing call to Nation, Swastik Prakasham, Calcutta, Inia,
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