(337E) - Why It Is Necessary to Discuss Swamiji Today(7)

 

(337E) - Why It Is Necessary to Discuss Swamiji Today(7)

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3 January 1898, Deoghar, Baidyanath

Swamiji means a torrent of questions—reasons offered for every action, and then the resolve to enshrine those truths in one’s own heart. 

Compassion and Love

Two streams flow through the human heart—compassion and love. When we see only the physical body in another living being, the service we offer is mere compassion. But when we perceive the eternal soul behind that body, the same service becomes love. Hence Mahaprabhu Chaitanya said, “Compassion toward all beings, love toward God.” True devotion opens this very doorway between humanity and the Divine.

Rules of Society

Social rules arose to protect people, though their origins are now forgotten. In ancient times royal scribes called Magadhas recorded the events of the kingdom, Sutas recited them impartially, and sages wrote them down. Yet the sages were never lawmakers. People themselves, driven by necessity, created different regulations for self-protection. Trouble begins when those temporary measures harden into permanent chains.

The ban on widow-remarriage is a striking example. Once there were more girls than boys and a severe shortage of suitable grooms; in that situation it was nearly impossible to find a new husband for a widow. What began as a practical response later fossilized into a moral code that imprisoned women’s freedom. To reform any social custom we must uncover the original need it once served, for mere criticism cannot remove the root cause.

Wealth, Learning, and Society

The right to acquire wealth and knowledge is natural to everyone. Yet some secretly fear: “If everyone becomes educated, who will work for us?” Such narrowness hides the true face of society. For them society means only a handful of privileged families; they refuse to see the welfare of the many.

The Path to Liberation

Liberation lies not outside but within. “You are your own redeemer.” This maxim is true not only for the individual but for all humanity. Moving toward freedom is the highest human pursuit, and it reaches fulfillment only when we help free the body, mind, and soul of others as well.

The Essence of Religion

All religions teach the same core truth—the ending of craving. Desire is of two kinds: higher and lower. As the Buddha said, craving is the root of suffering, yet aspiration creates strength. Only by renouncing lower desire can the higher aspiration blossom.

Freedom and Society

One view says, “Sacrifice the individual for the welfare of the collective”—that is socialism. Another forcibly seizes individual liberty—this is tyranny. A third exalts personal will above all—this is extreme individualism. Humanity must find balance among these three currents.

The Indian Spirit

India’s soil holds both grandeur and the patience of tapasya. Some have created learning with scant food or light; some have lavished unending affection on a destitute wife; others have offered limitless devotion to a shameless husband. Their lives may lack outward glitter, but they contain the quiet shadow of inner peace. Their minds are as deep as the blue sky, where new stirrings arrive silently—without clamor, yet infinite.

To be continued…

Blogger: Rabin Majumder
Date: 23-09-25

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