All differences in this world are of degree, and not of

kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.

Swami Vivekananda
Practical Vedanta Lecture on 10 th November 1896

Newsletter of the
Vivekananda Study Circle,
JNU, New Delhi ISSUE # 2,
12th January, 2017

My whole ambition in life is to set in motion a machinery which will bring noble
ideas to the door of everybody, and then let men and women settle their own fate.
Let them know what our forefathers as well as other nations have thought on the
most momentous questions of life. Let them see specially what others are doing
now, and then decide.
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. 5, p. 29

FROM THE VICE CHANCELLORS DESK

THIS ISSUE AT A GLANCE

Swami Vivekananda had said that the greatest bane of
Indians is that they cannot work together. The inability to
live and work harmoniously with others hinder both spiritual
and social progress, progress of the individual as well as the
nation. The special theme of this newsletter this year is
Working Together. The Editorial and the articles The
Golden Principles of Teamwork, Transcultural
Perspective, Anti-dotes to Fault-finding deal with this
theme from different vantage points and try to offer practical
workable solutions to the problem.
The article Love Incarnate is about kenotic love that
characterizes the Divine and is thus reflected in the lives of
mystics and saints.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EDITORIAL
THE GOLDEN PRINCIPLES OF TEAM
WORK

The year 2017 marks the 150th birth anniversary of Sister

Nivedita (1867-1911), one of the well-known disciples of
Swami Vivekananda. She is remembered as one who gave
her all to India. Her influence in the cultural, social and
political life of Bengal of her times, and her contribution to
the development of Indian society are indubitable. The
ambit of her contribution encompasses fields like national
education, womens empowerment, spirituality, social
service, values, the writing of Indian history, art,
advancement of science in India, nationalism and politics.
The articles Metamorphosis, Sister NiveditaAn Ideal
Social Worker, and Sister Nivedita and the Conception
of an Education with a Soul are devoted to various
aspects of Sisters life and work.

TRANSCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE: A

In the Heritage Corner, we have a short piece on Moral

MODEL FOR WORKING COLLABORATIVELY and Holistic Education in Kautilyas Arthashastra.
ANTI-DOTES TO FAULT-FINDING
The section From Our Scriptures presents the famous
LOVE INCARNATE
METAMORPHOSIS
SISTER NIVEDITA AND THE CONCEPTION
OF AN EDUCATION WITH A SOUL
SISTER NIVEDITAAN IDEAL SOCIAL

dialogue between Maitreyi and Yajnavalkya on SelfKnowledge that we find in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
Finally, the innovative and interesting book Tiya: A
Parrots Journey Home is reviewed in the section Book
Review.
Hope you enjoy reading this issue!

WORKER
HERITAGE CORNER
FROM OUR SCRIPTURES
BOOK REVIEW
ABOUT VIVEKANANDA STUDY CIRCLE

EDITORIAL
TOGETHER WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL
Together we stand, divided we fall. Remember these lines from the Pink Floyd song Hey You? Or, for that
matter, the story of the bundle of sticks that we all read as children? This is no new knowledge that we shall be able
to achieve more if we work unitedly. The evidence is all around us in naturelook at the bees, the ants, and several
other creatures that work together diligently. But there is, of course, a big difference between human beings and ants
and beeshuman beings are laden with big egos, complicated emotions, and often even a distorted thinking
process. We have no access to the minds of bees and ants, but on the face of it, they are better team-workers than
humans.
The situation is even more difficult with Indians. As Swami Vivekananda repeated so many times, the great bane of
Indians is that we cannot work together, as our minds are fraught with jealousy and suspicion. He pointed out that
whenever one of our countrymen stands up and tries to become great, we all try to hold him down. He wrote to
his disciple Alasinga Perumal: Jealousy is the central vice of every enslaved race. And it is jealousy and want
of combination which cause and perpetuate slavery. You cannot feel the truth of this remark until you come out
of India. The secret of westerners success is this power of combination, the basis of which is mutual trust and
appreciation. Again, he advised, the faculty of organization is entirely absent in our [Indians] nature, but this has
to be infused. The secret isabsence of jealousy. Be always ready to concede to the opinions of your brethren, and
try always to conciliate.
The fact remains that both our individual spiritual growth as well as the progress of the nation depend on our
ability to love and work together with our fellow citizens. How to achieve this? We need to identify the
obstacles, and more importantly identify and apply the remedies. To put it squarely, we cannot work together, we
cannot accept each other, we are jealous and suspicious of one anothersimply because we do not love each
other. While love is a word we use frequently, true love is within the grasp of a few evolved souls only (although
all of us can aspire to attain that some day). Put in other words, absence of love means we make a distinction
between ourselves and othersthe absence of
oneness. These are of course lofty ideals. But let us begin with small, sure steps that we can practice.
Vivekananda wrote to one of his brother disciples, the success of your undertakings depends wholly upon your
mutual love. There is no good in store so long as malice and jealousy and egotism will prevail In another letter
to his brother disciples at the Math, he instructed:
1. Know partiality to be the chief cause of all evilif you show towards any one more love than towards
somebody else, rest assured, you will be sowing the seeds of future troubles.
2. If anybody comes to you to speak ill of any of his brothers, refuse to listen to him in toto. It is a great sin to
listen even. In that lies the germ of future troubles.
3. bear with everyones shortcomings. Forgive offences by the million. And if you love all unselfishly, all
will by degrees come to love one another. As soon as they fully understand that the interests of one depend upon
those of others, every one of them will give up jealousy. To do something conjointly is not in our very national
character. Therefore you must try to inaugurate that spirit with the utmost care, and wait patiently.
Herein, Swamiji laid the foundations of a successful team-building. Note that he repeatedly warned against
speaking and listening to ill about fellow workers. He wrote in a letter to his brother disciple:

Know that talking ill of others in private is a sin. You must wholly avoid it. Many things may occur to the mind,
but it gradually makes a mountain of a molehill if you try to express them. Everything is ended if you forgive and
forget. Elsewhere he wrote: You must not throw cold water on anybodys project. Give up criticism altogether.
Help all as long as you find they are doing all right, and in cases where they seem to be going wrong, show them their
mistakes gently. It is criticizing each other that is the root of all mischief. That is the chief factor in breaking
down organizations The more one has a feeling and loving heart, the more one will be able to appreciate and
encourage the other, instead of criticizing and finding faults.
Swamiji also had some invaluable advice to give to aspiring leaders of a team. He wrote that the best leaderis
one who leads like the baby. The baby, though apparently depending on everyone, is the king of the household.
On the other hand, he who is the servant of all is their true master; that is, the leader of the team is actually the
servant of the team. Service, if practiced in the true spirit, can uproot many an evil tendency of the human mind; it
is one of the best spiritual sadhanas. Vivekananda wrote to his disciple: you will have to take charge of the whole
movement, not as a leader, but as a servant. Do you know, the least show of leading destroys everything by rousing
jealousy? He warned against our tendency to boss others.
Another important factor in instilling collaborative work, as pointed out by the Swami is obedience. In reply to
a question, he had once remarked: it is absolutely necessary for you, instead of frittering away your energy and
often talking of idle nonsense, to learn from the Englishman the idea of prompt obedience to leaders, the absence of
jealousy, the indomitable perseverance and the undying faith in himself. As soon as he selects a leader for a
work, the Englishman sticks to him through thick and thin and obeys him. Here in India, everybody wants
to become a leader, and there is nobody to obey. Everyone should learn to obey before he can command. There
is no end to our jealousiesUntil this absence of jealousy and obedience to leaders are learnt by [us], there
will be no power of organization.
Thus, cultivating qualities like mutual trust and appreciation instead of suspicion and criticism, love instead of
jealousy, service instead of domination, and obedience to the chosen leader instead of self-importance will enable us
to engage in work collaboratively. One who is devoid of these qualities will also find it difficult to progress on the
spiritual path which demands purity of heart. The realization of advaita or non-dualism is difficult indeed, but
anything that runs counter to love runs counter to this realization as well. To end with the words of Swami
Ashokananda: In criticizing a person you are shutting off the most wonderful truth: that person is God.
Furthermore: Forget that anyone is bad, that anyone is inferior. You have to go beyond the persons behaviour. The
real person is God, peeping through the eyes. This is the highest ideal.

THE GOLDEN PRINCIPLES OF TEAM WORK

Sama Bhagat
For most of my working life I have been a member of a team. In later years, I have often headed teams. So when I
was asked to present my views on what I considered the Golden Principles of Teamwork, I sat down to give it some
thought. It is not that I have not pondered upon this before, but writing an article requires a level of thinking which
I had not as yet engaged with. I needed to look back on my years of work, and distil from my experiences and
learnings what I considered the vital tenets of team work. I looked back on my working life and thought about the
highs and the lows I had traversed. When I thought about it, the highs had seemed higher when the joy of attainment
was shared and celebrated. The lows were shared too and the collective disappointment of the team, egged each one
of us to push aside negative feelings and look towards the future with optimism and hopenot just for the sake of
making us all feel better but because that was the only way to make things change for the better. And I thought to
myself, Yes, that is what a team can doit can magnify the joy of triumphs and dispel the lows that
accompany failure. I feel this acrostic communicates my belief:

TOGETHER
EVERYONE
ACHIEVES
MORE

No man is an island, said John Donne, of the need for humans to interact with one another. The very existence of
society goes to show that humans cannot exist in isolation. In school, we learn how the human species organized itself
into groups or tribes and learned to survive and thrive by staying together. They were able to combat threats and there
was obviously safety in numbers. They moved from being hunter-gatherers to farmers, but community life continued.
Humans have a need to communicate, interact and exchange ideas. To be able to do this effectively, they need to
respect and value each other. We learn early in life that we need to work together. At school, we work in teams to
play games and work on projects and presentations. We realize the importance of the skills of collaboration and
communication. And in recent times, much attention is being focused on what we now call 21st Century Skills. Of
course there are times when we do need to work in isolation too, but working alone needs a set of skills different from
those required to work in a team.
What is a team? A team is a group of people who work together to achieve a common goal. This common goal
binds them together. These are individuals, each with their own strengths and skill that they combine and harness
together. It is important for each member to recognize these strengths and weaknesses for them to complement each
other. The beauty of a team is that it is greater than the sum of its parts. It is important for the members to recognize
this. This knowledge will feed the belief that they can meet the challenges they need to.
Andrew Carnegie said, Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct
individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain
uncommon results.

This mutual goal is the common denominator that binds the group and drives them. A shared objective and the desire
to achieve it, propels individuals to give their best efforts. I clearly recall the times we have had huddles and
meetings to change plans because a project was not going as it should have been. Each member of the team was
involved and contributing because they believed in what they were doing. Alternate ideas for damage control
flowed fast and thick in brainstorming sessions. In contrast, when we had worked on something where some team
members had not bought into an idea, and did not believe we had what it took to achieve our target, we had either
not been successful or had, but with tremendous effort and much struggle. Belief from all members of the team
makes it easier to achieve a goal because the team is united and does not face internal resistance to the
execution of ideas. It is difficult to combat doubt and lack of faith within the team and get them to believe in the
goal. Often those member/members infect the attitude of other members as well. Then it requires much greater
effort to get everyone to buy in once again, and work as a team that believes in its vision.
People on a team need to believe they can achieve
their goal with each member knowing the value
they bring towards achieving that common goal
both singly and collectively. If the fire to achieve
exists, and if team members are aware of their
respective individual strengths, as well as of their
collective fortes, they will learn to leverage these
strengths to best advantage. Therefore, mutual
belief in the shared goal is of critical importance
since it is the flame that lights the fire of
achievement.
The following quote by Vince Lombardi sums it up succinctly: Individual commitment to a group effortthat is
what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
This brings us to the 1st Golden Principle of teamwork and that is:
1. SHARING A COMMON VISION OR GOAL
Once the goal is shared and each individual is clear about the final target, it is important to plan and lay down the
strategy, method and process to be followed in achieving the goal. Here, it is important for the team leader to break
down the entire project into smaller deliverables. They then need to assign tasks to each member taking care to see that
nothing is missed out. The danger here is that a small missed detail may come back to haunt us because it may be
small but critical to the success of the project.
Once the entire range of tasks is outlined in detail, the next step is to assign or select tasks. This too needs to be
done with careful consideration. Tasks can either be assigned or selected in a democratic manner, with the task
being matched to the individual best suited to do it. This requires either a team leader who knows the strengths of
the team and is able to assign tasks based on his/her knowledge or if done in a more democratic manner, it needs
the team to have a high degree of selfawareness as well as knowledge of mutual strengths. There are numerous
considerations to take into account herewho can take on and enjoy a challenge, and rise to it; who is the slow but
steady and reliable worker; who will track time versus output to change track if need be; who manages resources well
and keeps track of all resources; whose interpersonal skills are good to take on external interface with required
service providers, and so on. Based on all of these considerations, tasks can either be chosen or assigned such that the
team works efficiently and to maximum potential.

I have learnt from experience that it is not an easy decision to make. If one is to be fair and wish for the growth of all
team members one does tend to assign tasks that will help team members grow because of the challenge they pose. If
this is done, then care needs to be taken to see that there is time and scope for changing track if things do not work out
and the situation demands a change. But a fair chance for all team members to attempt various tasks should be
considered, especially if an individual is interested in doing so. I recall, how on a project, a struggling teammate had
called me to request that the role I had assigned her and one which she had aspired to attempt, now be assigned to
another member of a team because she acknowledged that the latter would be much better at it and also because our
looming deadlines did not permit her the luxury of learning on the job.
This brings us to the 2nd Golden Principle:
2.HAVING A SOUND UNDERSTANDING OF INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES FOR
MAXIMUM EFFECTIVENESS
This does not mean that individuals only perform tasks that they are good at or comfortable with. For then,
there is no challenge, no growth and no sense of accomplishment. Constantly challenging oneself to grow and learn
new skills keeps both the individual and the team growing in capability and efficiency. Strong teams often have
members with diverse skills and personalities. This multiplicity of talents and abilities, if tapped successfully, can
result in a synergy that can be a powerful force and charge and motivate the team. A multifaceted team also
provides plenty of opportunity for team members to learn from each other.
People on a team have varying personalities. This encourages team members to work on their interpersonal skills and
this in turn engenders strong team bonds. Members on a team who respect and appreciate each others abilities are able
to build strong relationships within the team. In such teams, all members participate, learn and grow.
The following quotes of Stephen Covey encapsulate these ideas:
Strength lies in differences, not in similarities. Synergy is better than my way or your way. Its our way.
Appreciating individual triumphs as well as the collective successes of the team does wonders for the teams morale
and goes a long way in motivating the team. Celebrating achievements gives both the individual as well as the team
the feeling that their contribution is valued and respected. This further brings the team together and encourages them
to perform.
That brings us to the 3rd Golden Principle:
3. APPRECIATE AND CELEBRATE TEAM STRENGTHS AND DIFFERENCES. LEARN FROM EACH OTHER.
An important aspect of working in a team is scheduling and time management. If we are to work together and
deliver on time, we must take care to schedule effectively and to manage time well. While scheduling, it is
important to take into account personal differences in working style. Therefore, it is best to ask team members to
draw up their schedules giving them the outer time limit. It is a good idea for individuals to break up tasks into
smaller parts and to assign delivery dates for each. Care needs to be taken to ensure that individual schedules
enable the timely delivery of the entire deliverable. When people take responsibility for their own schedules, they
are more likely to deliver on time than when schedules are imposed on them.
As far as time management is concerned, it is one of the critical aspects of working as a team. The onus for good time
management cannot lie on any one individual; each member must pull their weight. However, very often, there are
those on a team who are better at this than others. It is wise that these individuals take the responsibility for time
management.

10

At the same time, each member should strive to improve their time management skills so that the team is strong at
managing time. To facilitate this, schedules should be drawn up in consultation with team members, and regular
review meetings scheduled so that progress is closely tracked. This will enable the team to change track and control
slippage on time rather than have to take action when things escalate or spiral out of control and have panic set in.
Therefore, time management is the responsibility of the entire team and must be worked on collectively.
So we come to the 4th Golden Principle:
4. PLANNING AND MANAGING TIME EFFECTIVELY
For teams to work successfully, it is imperative that there be open and honest communication among all team
members. All members must have a clear understanding of collective and individual roles and where the team is
heading. Any lack of clarity needs to be addressed immediately so everyone is on the same page. Teammates must
also be able to discuss workload openly so that there is no building of feelings of resentment because one member
feels burdened in comparison to another. They should be in a position to communicate such feelings and discuss them
to be able to contribute effectively.
For a teams success, it is imperative that there be trust between team members. Members of a team where
there is open and honest communication prove to be strong because they can indulge in frank critique and healthy
debate. An idea or plan is critiqued and not an individual and all members have the chance to air their views in
the belief that they will be heard and heeded. This belief creates trust in the team and confidence in its
members, resulting in the development of strong bonds between teammates. Such teams have a deep sense of
dedication and commitment. In such a team, each member knows their strengths as well as those of others. They
are cognizant of the value each of them brings to the table. This appreciation engenders confidence and trust
within individuals, as well as in the team as a whole and eggs them onto achieve higher levels of cooperation and
reliance. They are therefore, an effective team.
That is the 5th Golden Principle:
5. HAVING OPEN AND HONEST COMMUNICATION
I have listed here, the five principles I consider vital to successful teamwork. Of course, the importance of a good
leader is critical.
Finally, I would like to say, being a member of a team teaches invaluable skills that help in both personal and
professional growth. Each individuals efforts collectively fuel the growth of every team member and of the team as a
whole.
I sincerely believe in the dictum, Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much (Hellen Keller).

Sama Bhagat is Vice President and Publisher (Core Subjects) with textbook publishing house Orient Blackswan Pvt
Ltd. She has almost two decades of teaching experience ranging from teaching college to primary school students. All
through her career she has been part of teams and has mentored and guided teams.

11

TRANSCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE: A MODEL FOR WORKING COLLABORATIVELY*

Soma Sen
The secret of Westerners success is this power of combination, the basis of which is mutual trust and
appreciation. Swami Vivekananda, Letter 59.
Here I would like to present the idea that no matter if one is from East or West or North or South, the secret of
collaboration is mutual trust and appreciation of the other. We seem to have forgotten this fundamental adage as
evidenced by the separatism and violence that mark our world today. It is an interesting paradox in a world that is
getting smaller and in which national boundaries are becoming increasingly impervious. It seems that as we get to
know each other better, the more mistrusting we become of the other. One explanation could be that the
knowing that is occurring is based on false knowledge and dichotomies. So how do we truly get to know and
work with each other? I present here a framework that might prove to be useful in transcending our own cognitive,
emotional, and spiritual boundaries. This at the very minimum requires critical self-reflection and humility on ones
part.
The model I present here is called the Transcultural Perspective (TCP)1 and it is a model that is utilized by a
Social Work Program in the United States to teach the students how to work with diverse population groups.
However, I believe that this model is much more versatile and can be used as a personal and professional model by
anyone. I would argue that the idea of diversity is rooted in exclusionary or boundary making processes. For
example, if I am an Indian, then I am not something else and if I am a Hindu, then I am not Christian or Muslim or
an atheist. However, all such labels are social constructs. To quote Swamiji, All differences in this world are of
degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything. So the question is that until we achieve the
true knowledge professed by Non-Dualism (Advaita principles) through our spiritual endeavors, how do we
overcome these boundaries that characterize our current, socially constructed realities? Swamiji says, Through
mutual trust and appreciation.
The TCP could provide some concrete ways of achieving that goal. Please note that culture here is used to represent
the ethos or world view of an individual. Typically, people associate culture with ethnicity. However, within the
Indian context, perhaps it is more relevant to talk about family culture, urban and rural cultures, class specific culture,
religion specific culture etc. The transcultural perspective embraces five interrelated but distinct dimensions of
diversity: 1) cultural knowledge (recognizing the importance of culture in our lives); 2) cultural competence
(translating principles into practiced behaviors); 3) understanding dynamics of power, privilege and oppression;
4) positionality and self-reflexivity (maintaining a capacity for critically evaluating ones own social location
and cultural perspectives), and 5) respectful partnership (demonstrating respect in interactions with client
systems). Each dimension is interlocked and, as a whole, forms an integrated model. Each of these dimensions
will be defined further in the following paragraphs.
Cultural Knowledge: This dimension emphasizes the importance of understanding concepts and processes related
to ones culture and how these intersect with our everyday realities. Learning about culture does not necessitate
learning about specific groups in a manner that may reinforce stereotypes (for e.g., all men behave this way or all
women behave this way). We need to recognize the fact that all human beings operate in cultural contexts and
culture informs how people construct both the material world (e.g., transportation, shelter, food, art), the social
world (e.g., definitions and beliefs about family, child-rearing, religion, kinship, social roles, parenting, health and
mental health, aging, education, etc.), and the spiritual world (e.g., religious rituals and traditions, the meanings
behind these, the connectivity to others, etc.). This dimension of the transcultural model focuses on the discovery of
key knowledge about the construct of culture as well as processes for how to locate knowledge about issues and
concerns that may disproportionately impact different groups (created by religion, class, gender, etc.) Thus, the
dimension highlights both knowledge and the process of inquiry about the other with whom we are forging
collaboration.

Laurie Drabble, Soma Sen and Sergio Yomar Oppenheimer, Integrating a transcultural perspective into the social work curriculum: A
descriptive and exploratory study, in Journal of Teaching in Social Work, Vol. 32 Iss. 2 (2012) pp. 204-221.

*This article was originally published in the Bulletin of R amakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, October 2016. It is being republished here with the permission of the author.

12

Cultural competence: The primary focus of this dimension is on culturally responsive behaviors and practices by all
individuals involved in the collaborative process. There are three key points related to this dimension. First, there is
value in learning about the history, cultural norms, and issues that may disproportionately impact specific populations
(defined by the various socio-demographic variables such as class, gender, age, religion etc). Second, cultural
competence is conceptualized as a life-long commitment to continued learning and inquiry (rather than as mastery of a
narrow, and possibly stereotyped, knowledge base). Finally, that behaviors, attitudes, and skills may shift and change
depending on the context, the salience of cultural identity for a community member, or in relation to other conditions
or circumstances. Thus, cultural competence is not conceptualized as a pre-determined, package of behaviors and
skills to apply to specific groups but as a set of tools and action guides that are largely culturally relevant but that are
also open to revision and readjustment depending on the cultural member, situational conditions, and context.
Therefore, any successful collaborative effort would have to take into account that one could never be completely
culturally knowledgeable and competent of the other, but that it is a creative process that is malleable and is subject to
change.
Power, privilege, oppression, & structural contexts: This dimension emphasizes the dynamics of power relations in
the larger society as well as how those dynamics are reflected in the ways in which we approach one another. This
dimension is grounded in critical theory, which posits that social circumstances and human actions are inextricably
linked to larger social structures and that changes in social structures and definitions of social problems are reflective
of power relationships. Power dynamics in this dimension are defined by three concepts: privilege, oppression, and
structural contexts. Privilege can be defined as unearned advantages, entitlements, and conferred dominance. From this
perspective, the experiences of marginalized groups (women, religious minorities, those belonging to lower class or
caste, etc.) are considered in the context of dominant historical, political, economic, and social structures. Every
individual belongs to more than one group at any point in time. This intersectionality causes any individual to have
and not have privileges in society. For example, a woman faculty member at any University could have the privilege
of higher education and may be of class, however, this privilege often gets diluted in the context of gender-based
oppressive social structures. It is therefore, critical for an individual who is entering into a collaborative process to
understand these concepts of privilege and oppressions and how these constructs manifest in their own lives and in the
lives of the other(s).
Positionality and self-reflexivity: This dimension highlights how positionality, or ones social location in relation to
others, influences an individuals world view and therefore their behaviors. From this perspective, individuals are
defined not in terms of fixed identities but by their location within shifting networks of relationships, which can be
analyzed and changed.2 Such a dimension is important in that it refers to the multiple identities and social locations of
an individual touched upon previously (or in terms of where they come from, the different groups and social
memberships to which they belong, and where they are located in terms of power). Social location can include (but is
not limited to) the following: gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, generation, regional origin, disabilities
(health and mental health), linguistic background, and socioeconomic class. These locational aspects and intersecting
identities shape how we view each other and interact with others. Positionality influences epistemology; and
understanding positionality is fundamental to exploring potential bias, challenging power, and examining how
experiences shape our perceptions of reality.
Self-reflexivity is more than simple self-awareness: it involves the ability to understand how ones own life
experiences shape perceptions of others, consider how meaning and identities are co-created through the
interactions between the self and others, and to critically evaluate how positions in the larger social structure may
influence interactions and power dynamics between and among the collaborating entities.
Thus any collaboration requires critical thinking and an understanding of how certain social location bestows or
strips one of power and privilege in society. However, this understanding is not enough to forge a successful
partnership. That requires critical self-reflection; that is, uncovering our world views, our biases and assumptions
that we make as a result of our social locations and how then these impact our perception of others.
2Maher

and Tetreault as cited in David Takacs, Positionality, Epistemology, and Social Justice in the Classroom, in Social Justice, Winter
2002, p. 169.

13

Respectful partnership: This dimension is the crux of this short paper. How do we build respectful partnerships with
each other? Going back to Swamijis power of combination I would argue that this can be fostered through a spirit
of both inquiry and collaboration. It is of utmost salience that a space for dialogic encounters be created, where
individuals engaging in collaboration can understand and learn from each other.
In conclusion, it is important to note that all these five dimensions are interconnected and cannot really be looked at, or
practiced in isolation. However, if one wants to start somewhere, I would argue that positionality and self-reflexivity,
which promote the idea of critical self awareness could be a good starting point. As Swamiji states: We are what our
thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.
This journey into oneself to unearth our cognitive, emotional and spiritual structures needs temerity and a
willingness to be truthful about our discovery; that is, to accept our non-idealized selves characterized by
biases and blind-spots. It is only when we are able to recognize and accept our own fragility that we
begin to see others with more compassionate eyes. Indian spirituality and philosophy give us ample
guidance towards understanding the Self. It is only through understanding oneself that we can truly
understand the other and it is in that true understanding that we become true collaborators. This paper provides
a framework that might aid us in this journey of creating mutual trust and appreciation that is the foundation of
collaboration.
Dr. Soma Sen is Associate Professor at the School of Social Work, San Jos State University, U.S.A. Her research and
scholarly interests lie in the area of minority health and related issues; role of gender, culture and poverty on healthseeking behavior and access to health care services; sex work, sex trafficking and HIV/AIDS; immigration and human
trafficking; and other related areas.

THIS IS THE GIST OF ALL WORSHIP TO BE PURE AND TO DO GOOD TO

OTHERS. HE WHO SEES SHIVA IN THE POOR, IN THE WEAK, AND IN THE
DISEASED, REALLY WORSHIPS SHIVA; AND IF HE SEES SHIVA ONLY IN THE
IMAGE, HIS WORSHIP IS BUT PRELIMINARY.
~ SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

14

ANTI-DOTES TO FAULT-FINDING
Sanghamitra Khan
Sri Ramakrishna had said that we should not criticize even the worm. Fault-finding is a great defect in human
character. Neither does it allow us to grow spiritually, nor does it let us live our daily lives in peace. Holy
Mother Sri Sarada Devi had famously said that if we want peace, we should not find faults with others, but rather
with ourselves; no one is a stranger, the whole world is our own.
Swamiji had written in one of his letters: It would be the height of cruelty and hardheartedness to take note of
others shortcomings instead of rectifying ones own. The most curious observation is that, while we notice others
faults very quickly and easily, we almost always remain blind to our own faults! The truth is that none of us is free
from faults. We should recognize that perhaps others around us also have difficulties because of our faults. We
should thus cultivate forbearance towards the shortcomings of others.
It is true that in our practical lives, at times, dealing with a difficult person might become unbearable. What is
the way out in such a situation? Prayer. We can earnestly pray to Godto deliver us from the situation, to
make us more patient and forbearing, and also to do good to the person concerned. Such difficult situations are in
reality training grounds and purity-drilling mechanisms that help us grow spiritually by making us strong, loving and
pure in heart.
The source of fault-finding is the tendency of our minds to sit in judgment of otherswe want to determine what
others should do, how they should be, and so on. We forget that the other personno matter how difficult or
wickedis as much a child of God as we ourselves are. The most effective means for uprooting the fault-finding
tendency of our minds is also prayer. Holy Mother used to pray earnestly that her mind be made free of fault-finding.
Another method to combat fault-finding is to cultivate its oppositeappreciation of others. Swami
Brahmananda, one of the foremost direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, used to say that one should make it into a
habit to appreciate others. A negative habit can only be countered by its opposite positive habit. As Sri Ramakrishna
used to say (in a different context)the more one moves towards the east, the more one automatically moves away
from the west. The more we dwell on others faults, the more we shall become fault-finding. Therefore, we must
immediately stop this tendency of our minds and re-direct the mind towards looking for others qualities instead
of their faults; and make this tendency strong by frequently and genuinely appreciating others.
We should note that by criticizing others, we are tarnishing our own minds. The greatest spiritual damage that occurs
is to us. Holy Mother had pointed out that everybody can criticize, but who can make right? Only the Almighty.
Hence, remembering this, with the help of prayer and control of the mind, we should refrain from fault-finding, that
degrades us spiritually and also leads to discord in our daily lives.

Sanghamitra Khan is a home-maker.

TO WORK, TO SUFFER, AND TO LOVE, IN THE HIGHEST SPHERES; TO TRANSCEND LIMITS; TO BE SENSITIVE TO GREAT
CAUSES; TO STAND TRANSFIGURED BY THE NATIONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS; THIS IS THE TRUE EMANCIPATION OF
WOMAN, AND THIS IS THE KEY TO HER EFFICIENT EDUCATION.
~ SISTER NIVEDITA

15

LOVE INCARNATE
RMJ
This is my favourite picture of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa so far. It reminds me of a painting I came across more than
15 years ago, by the American artist Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), called The Deep. I have a vivid memory of standing
for a long time in front of The Deep, lost in contemplation and awe, oblivious to being in a public place.

Ramakrishna, Artist Unknown, Date Unknown

The Deep, Jackson Pollock, 1953, Centre

Georges Pompidou, Paris, France

Through a cloud of brush gestures in oil and enamel paint on canvas, Pollocks image expresses a sense of the
glimpsed, the realised but not physically seen, beyond the immediate and the ordinary. It is one of his most
mature paintings. Different in many formal ways from The Deep, the painting of Ramakrishna, like Pollocks,
succeeds in conveying similar ontological substance. The image depicts, for me, not only the authenticity and joy of
Ramakrishnas experience of oneness with the Divine, but also something of his own self-abandonment. Although
they apparently come from diverse traditions, and although one artist is expressing his own experience whilst
the other is portraying Ramakrishnas experience, both artists draw us towards encountering the Infinite
directly, for ourselves. Both images serve as vivid
invitations to us to become absorbed in, and then pass through and beyond, the presenting form.
Definitive of any mystic is the direct, overwhelming experience of That unwritable, unsayable, timeless Reality which
we haltingly refer to indirectly, as best we can(as Allah, Brahman, God, the One, the Ultimate, the Void,
YHWH,,etc.). Many Zen practitioners prefer to represent the experience (of Shunyata/Shunya) by the circular enso
symbol whilst many practising Hindus prefer to chant the sound aum. Imagingwhether through painting,
drawing, film, musical performance or enactmentis a medium for expressing the Infinite with which words alone
can almost never compare.
However s/he may attempt to express or share It, the seers experience converts their life into one of total
orientation towards That which has been encountered. From the first awareness on, their life and their will is no longer
their own.

16

As Rumi put it:

Do you think I know what Im doing?
That for one breath or half breath I belong to myself?
These enlightened ones have the power to change our lives. What is the essence of that power? Honest attempts to
remember and narrate sayings, actions and life stories can inspire us, whether we approach the records as poetry,
history, philosophy, Scripture or as some combination of these. Yet it is not words or actions per se that are the
wonder, it is the event of their being itself which reflects or presents the invisible and apparently absent, confronting
us with a trace of the Infinite in our midst (as Rumi wrote,
The miracle of Jesus is himself, not what he said or did about the future).
When we talk about incarnation, we are talking about a live imaging of the unimaginable, That which can
only present Itself. The living image acts both as a mirror and a window to what lies both within and beyond
the finite. It is the art, or Lila, of the Timeless/Boundless, fully invested in the formor mediumof the
familiar and tangible in time and space.
Place your mind in the mirror of eternity, wrote Clare of Assisi; Gaze into this mirror every day [] and
constantly see your own face reflected in It; Intuit, consider, contemplate, desiring to imitate and transform
yourself through contemplation into the image of the Divine One Itself.
When we return the gazethe unceasing, unwavering, all-seeing gaze of the Eternal, as embodied in a Godsaturated soulor when we become absorbed in Nature or in a work of art, we find ourselves confronted with the
mystery at the heart of being. Through completely opening ourselves in contemplation of the living space and timebound image, we are changed as we come to realise that I and the image are one. Indeed every I, am/is Gods
work of art (Letter of Paul to the Ephesians). We are as much an image of the boundless mind of the Artist as is
the great soul we become absorbed in. We host the Eternal Presence/ the Timeless Void within uscreated and
Creator as one.

CLEANSE THE MIND, THIS IS ALL OF RELIGION.

~ SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

17

Kenotic Love1
Before being, before space or time, before any sound or image of colour and shape, the first creative act involved a
going beyond no-thing, beyond no-one to an unfolding of the possibility of relationship, of the one and the morethan-one. This may be conceived, by analogy, as springing from a desire or a choice for the other (to use the language
of analogy, obviously)an intention not only unconditional and limitless for the other, but also self-limiting. All that
there now is, and all that there has ever been or ever will be, is rooted in that definitively free, unnecessary and
altruistic becoming. I think of this first choice to become as the First Sacrifice, or the First Love.

Sarada Devi and Sister Nivedita, 1898

Screenshot from Clare and Francis, Fabrizio Costa, 2007

As categories of time and space evolved, so this ongoing self-outpouring and self-limitation manifested more
and more apparently. The very etymology of the word Brahman, for example, suggests the choice for going
beyond OneSelf for the sake of the other. Indeed, isnt the freely given gift of oneself for the sake of the other,
the very definition of love? Is it not self-evident, writes Vivekananda, that this universe is but a manifestation of
[] love? With this thought we recognise afresh the truth of Martin Luther King Jrs much more recently
expressed conviction that the creative force that is Love is literally the most powerful force there is. It is the ground
and source of all that is.
We must not confuse this great root Force with a facile sentimentalism or permanent state of delight and positivity.
All that is has emerged to its current state of being through a gargantuan struggle involving the full gamut of creation,
fierce dialectic, destruction, recreation. The front runners, bearing in their bodies the trace, or blueprint of the
future, have largely been ousted by their own contemporaries, considered anti-social, abnormal freaks posing some
kind of threat to the status quo (which, of course, they do). This applies equally to the struggles that our mystic,
illuminated souls have facedthey are always evolutionary front runners.
Is it any surprise that when we gaze into the mirror of the ones who image the Infinite to us, desiring to imitate
them, the transformation that we might expect to see in practice will have everything to do with this radical kenotic
love, this gargantuan self-outpouring? For it is this most powerful other-orientated creating Force of Love, issuing
from the Source-of-all-being, which defines and incarnates within the soul we recognise as being connected as
completely with the Infinite as with the finite, as being as intrinsically Divine as s/he is thorough-goingly human. Is it
not this Love which becomes incarnate? When we contemplate, imitate and yearn to become one with such an
embodiment of that First Love, we are opening ourselves to the ultimate, original power that drives evolutionright
here, right now.
Kenosis Greek , pronounced knsis; meaning literally emptying out, or pouring out until empty.

18

The mirror as well as the face in it

We are the mirror as well as the face in it

We are tasting the taste this minute
of Eternity. We are pain
and what cures pain. We are
the sweet cold water and the jar that pours.
Jesus washing Peters Feet, Ford Madox Brown, 1852-6

In my mid-twenties I used to visit an art gallery which was just around the corner from the shared, rented flat I was
living in then. At that time, one of my favourite rooms was the one dedicated to the Pre-Raphaelites, a nineteenthcentury band of English artists, radical in their time, who wanted to recover and portray in all its vibrancy the direct,
transcendental experience that has always inspired great art, and which can inspire those who encounter the images
created.
One of the paintings I would sometimes spend a long time with depicts the moment when Jesus, on the night before he
was crucified, knelt down and washed the feet of each one of his disciples, including those of the man who was about
to betray him to the religious and political authorities of the day. Jesus was overcome with intense tenderness, real
love for these few people, who were some of his closest friends. What drew me to this work was the representation of
the disciples facesthe commotion, their sense of unworthiness and of being humbleda kind of bewilderment-atbeing-so-loved. Their cultural and religious expectations were overturned in the experience of Jesus passion, in their
endurance and eventual free acceptance of their Masters love, of his devotion to them.

Messengers are not greater than the one who sent them, John records him as having said. Those who
experience the Infinite directly and intimately, always express something like that. Whenever they come down
the mountain of their overwhelming experience of timelessness and oneness with the Presence/Void, and whenever
they return their attention to the world around them, they see God everywhere. I see that it is God who has
become all. It seems to me that people and other living beings are made of leather, that it is God who, dwelling
inside these leather cases, moves the hands and the feet, the heads, said Ramakrishna , I see you all as so many
sheaths. Jesus saw the One who sent him not only in his disciples but in all that is; the [sovereign
power/rule/realm] of God, he preached, is at hand, among usit is Here and Now .

BLESSED ARE THEY WHOSE BODIES GET DESTROYED IN THE SERVICE OF

OTHERS. ~ SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

19

Through his actions more than his words, Jesus made it clear to the disciples that he came, not to be served but to
serve. This was not a philosophical position, or a conscious decision made after careful deliberation; it was the
natural outpouring of his experience of the Eternal, the very essence of which is Self-effacing, and which is Present
in every human being, indeed in every instance of manifest (and unmanifest) being.
A very early hymn in praise of Jesus expresses this self-emptying love in a simple mixture of Hellenic and Jewish
imagery, inviting the followers of the Way2 to let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus who, though
he was in very nature God, did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped at, but emptied
[] himself, taking the very nature of a servant, being born in human likeness, and being found in human
form, humbled himself and became obedient to death. And this self-emptying path was in no way a constantly
blissful, pleasant one, but a way of massive strugglejoy, grief, intensitypouring his very life blood out in
response to the Reality he was born to embody and work out in practice, day in, day out.
Likewise, Rumi writes of the true sufi that,

The sufi opens both hands to the

universe
and gives away each instant, free
unlike someone who begs on the street for money to
survive a dervish begs to give you her life.
In you the dervish perceives (literally sees, not theoretically posits) The Friend, the One. Kenotic love the
unconditional love that gives all of itself, holding nothing backis naturally inextricable from the mystics experience
of Reality. This is because the Presence is intrinsically Self-emptying, self-lessing. Manifest Reality is by nature
endlessly generous, endlessly going beyond the particular instance of self (or Lila). In fact, can we think of any
Great Soul who has not embodied a radical love of the other? Real love always challenges and expands the
boundaries of conventional wisdom. It shatters time-and culture-bound mores. It supersedes religious and
secular laws. As Vivekananda wrote, What is the limit for unlimited Love, with which [the one who has reached
supreme Bhakti] has become one?
We can always expect to see passionate, kenotic love in the mystic ones who image Godwithus. It is the original Artist who has possession of their soulswhose First Love
choice is definitive of all awakened being. It is that very Love which is embodied in the
illuminated, free soul. And so as we gaze upon a Self-presenting living image of Love,
longing to experience the Real Presence they bear, we hope that our own lives are being
transformed, that our lives be poured out in radical response to encounter with the most
powerful force there isthe Love that is at the root and core of all.

RMJ, 2016. The author lives in Himachal Pradesh.

Christianity is a much later term to describe the followers of Jesus, who were originally known as followers of the Way.

20

METAMORPHOSIS*
Pravrajika Divyanandaprana

One of the most entrancing of changes, carefully

fortified by nature, is the creation of a butterfly. An
ugly stout caterpillar, builds a cocoon and transforms
its life energies, little by little, in an unimaginable
way, into one of the most beautiful creatures on our
planet. As the myriad coloured, brightly winged,
delicate butterfly takes wings and soars towards the
blue sky, one cannot but wonder whence this
transformation?
All the lessons that God intended to teach us are enshrouded in the nature around us. If we are willing to learn,
there are lessons in leaves and messages in the dew that glistens on them. Learning is Metamorphosis. A very
interesting part of learning is questioning oneself. We, humans, have a unique way of deluding ourselves with a
permanent sense of identity; until we question the I in all its bareness. When somebody truly does, he is in for a
real shocker.
Human identity is a defining feature of the human experience. No other
creature has a sense of I or self as strong as we do. Man values his
OR SELF AS STRONG AS WE DO. MAN
VALUES HIS RELATIONSHIPS, HIS AFFEC- relationships, his affections and possessions because of their connections
TIONS AND POSSESSIONS BECAUSE OF to his I. But how true is the I? A cursory look at the mind, which
THEIR CONNECTIONS TO HIS I. BUT HOW radiates the sense of being, shows something of the nature of a movie
show. The movie is part documentary (based on memory), part drama
TRUE IS THE I?
(based on desire), with a sprinkling of fantasy, comedy and fiction, all
collaged together by the ego which poses as the leading actor. And so we sport many identities and remain
absorbed in our images and ego-ties. Questioning the ego, peering into its nature, snaps the absorption in the
images, for there cannot be a movie without a leading character, and this disrupts the show. The mind comes out of
its absorption and becomes conscious of itself. Control becomes possible. Atmavichar or self-analysis thus serves
as a key to genuine transformation.
NO OTHER CREATURE HAS A SENSE OF I

In human beings, the self-awareness has come full circle and hence holds the potential to manifest itself fully. That
is why the sense of I, the fringe of our true Being, is so strong. With a little analysis we can see that the sense of I
has two levels. One is the thinkable portion. It is usually the epithets, appellations and labels we have collected
over time. It forms the crust of our personality. More fundamental to this is the feel of existence, without thought.
Now, here we have an interesting find. We do remain over, even when we are not thinking. When scrutinized this is
a state of simple, intense self-awareness. It is completely independent of our mental cogitation. It is also
independent of effort. No process of knowledge is involved in it. In fact it is more felt when the mind is
absolutely non-functional, as for instance, during periods of tranquility, in the still hours of dawn and dusk. It steals
upon us unawares. The refreshing touch of no-thought and the underlying, flowing, unbroken awareness
mesmerizes us occasionally. This experience is fairly common in young people. Meditation is an attempt to
consciously and categorically usher in this state and then intensify it. It is plumbing into ones own depths; bringing
ones whole being into full awareness. It can be
TRANSFORMATION IS
achieved by training attention, which is nothing but a spark of
ALWAYS TRANSFORMATION
consciousness, arising at will and illumining the objects it falls upon. This
OF I. NEITHER CHANGE OF
makes meditation a cutting-edge spiritual technology to plumb into the
PLACE, NOR METHOD, NOR
depths of our personality structure. Transformation is always
RELIGION ACTUALLY
transformation of I. Neither change of place, nor method, nor religion
TRANSFORMS UNLESS OUR
actually transforms unless our sense of I has changed.
SENSE OF I HAS CHANGED.

*This article came out in Samvit (September 2016) and is being re-printed here with due permission.
21

In 1898 Nivedita accompanied Vivekananda to Almora. She had

left a comfortable life and an illustrious career, in other words
snapped the ties of I, to realize the truths that her Master spoke
of. In his wonderful personality she saw a selflessness and purity
that were astounding.
Initially she did not know what to make of it. Once shorn of
the little self, the truth behind the I resurrects itself. When
one touches the magnificent reality of ones true Being, the
murky ego which is always unsure of itself, surrenders and
submits or rather acknowledges its non-existence. This is the
basis of all true selflessness for the Self reigns over the ego.
And hence a spiritual person radiates a dignity that redefines the
conventional attitude of respect. Nivedita saw this clearly in the
firm character of her great Guru Vivekananda. She saw how
indeed a true sannyasin stands at the head of the Vedas. Her
worship of the person now transmuted into selfless dedication to
his cause.

(From left to right) Josephine MacLeod, Mrs. Ole

Bull (seated), Swami Vivekananda and Sister
Nivedita in Kashmir, 1898

Vivekananda could see the past and future of his disciple and
acknowledged the intensity of her aspiration. But the realization
WAS NOTHING BUT THE CALM RESIGNATION demanded neither mere change of place nor exchange of objects, but a
OF THE EGO TO THE SELF. WHEN THE EGO IS transformation, a metamorphosis. And transformation is always in the
NO LONGER ACTIVE IN POSING AND PRETENCE, I. We judge people by their works, but thought precedes work, and
THE SELF IS ABLE TO MANIFEST. WHEN THE awareness precedes thought. The content and intensity of this
SELF IS ABLE TO MANIFEST, LIFE BECOMES awareness renders power to the thought and these energized thoughts
inspire actions. Consecration, if real and life-long, has to stand on the
ONE OF DETERMINED HIGHER PURPOSEA
bed-rock of authenticity. It is not just the polishing of the exterior;
SAGA OF CONSECRATION, A CHRONICLE OF expressed in the majesty of our works and the fineness of our words.
DEVOTION.
Every brick of the personality structurefrom the inner awareness to
its subtle percolation in daily actionis to be trained. Thus discipline, deconditioning and the essential rewiring are
inevitable. Vivekananda slashed down all personal affection, only in order to bestow the Impersonal vision in its
place. Slowly, Nivedita found that her self-identity metamorphosed into selfless being. And from such natural
renunciation came the ability to work in conjunction with the divine will.
THE FIERCE LIGHT OF REAL SELFLESSNESS

Magnificent vast objects naturally still the mind and uproot the little ego. The loftiness of the Himalayan peaks had
been the haven of Vedic seers and sages. Nature in itself is a shrine. One evening in the pristine precincts of the
Himalayan peaks, Nivedita felt an awakening within. She penned it down, Long, long ago Sri Ramakrishna had
told his disciples that the day would come when his beloved Naren would manifest his great gift of bestowing
knowledge with a touch. That evening at Almora, I proved the truth of his prophecy. For alone in meditation I found
myself gazing deep into an infinite good to the recognition of which no egoistic reasoning had led me Her vision
cleared, she took note, I am learningthat there is a certain definite quality which may be called spiritualitythat
nothing that I have ever called nobility or unselfishness was anything but the feeblest and most sordid of qualities
compared to the fierce light of real selflessness. It is strange that it has taken so long to make me see these elementary
truths clearly. A life of complete dedication is the result of a transcendental touch somewhere in the soul. Stepping
into a higher state of awareness brought its own vision, its own luminosity and understanding. Meditation now
became a habit with Nivedita. And in its depths, she found the rationale of her dedication. The fierce light of real
selflessness was nothing but the calm resignation of the ego to the Self. When the ego is no longer active in posing
and pretence, the Self is able to manifest. When the Self is able to manifest, life becomes one of determined higher
purposea saga of consecration, a chronicle of devotion. Niveditas personality was suffused with a divine glow.

22

Having lost itself, the ego made way for the integration of the best
values of life. The silence of the east and the energy that
characterized the west conjoined in Niveditas frame. Herself
charged she came to Kolkata and found shelter close to a veritable
powerhouse. Nivedita came to live with Holy Mother Sri Sarada
Devi in the winter of 1898.
In Mothers house at 10/2 Bosepara Lane, she lived gracefully
imbibing her first impressions of orthodox Hindu life.Onlookers
were surprised at what they saw. Many a time they found Nivedita
take a mat and kiss it over and over again and then dust it with great
care before it was spread on the floor. Mother would sit on it and so
the extreme care! I never saw a face so full of love was
Niveditas acute discernment of Mother. She saw in Mother what
everyone saw, but which none could fully articulate. A
commingling of womanly virtue, immaculate purity and incredible
love radiated from those eyes, leaving no doubt that Mother was the
visible embodiment of divine motherhood.

Sri Sarada Devi and Sister Nivedita

The calmness and consistency of her demeanor revealed the bright

light of Self-knowledge. Compelled and thrilled, Nivedita penned
INNATE DIVINITY, RATHER THAN A FIASCO OF these immortal words which come close to a complete description of
ONES FALSE IDENTITY. ALL-HOODS, ARE BUT Mother, A yearning love that can never refuse us; a benediction that
A MEANS TO AN END, AND NOT AN END IN
forever abides with us; a presence from which we cannot grow away;
ITSELF. TO GET CAUGHT UP IN THE MEANS IS a heart in which we are always safe; sweetness unfathomed, bond
BAD ENOUGH, BESTOWING IT ULTIMATE
unbreakable, holiness without a shadowall these indeed and more is
VALUE IS CATACLYSM. IT IS A DEVIATION
motherhood.
DISPARITIES DISSOLVE, IF LIFE IS ELEVATED
AND MADE INTO AN EXPRESSION OF ONES

FROM ONES SOURCE AND HENCE THE CAUSE

Nivedita saw to her amazement that Mothers lofty life dismissed,

PEACE UNLESS RAISED TO ITS TRUE STATURE. without regret, many of the modalities that characterize the modern
feminist
discourse.
East/West,
motherhood/career,
tradition/modernitythe disparities dissolve, if life is elevated and
made into an expression of ones innate divinity, rather than a fiasco of ones false identity. All-hoods, are but a
means to an end, and not an end in itself. To get caught up in the means is bad enough, bestowing it ultimate value is
cataclysm. It is a deviation from ones source and hence the cause of ones misery. No human mind can find peace
unless raised to its true stature. It is against our very grain to live a life of false values and identities. And hence the
need to understand the deep sense of self-alienation that throws up the storms of anxieties, fears and insecurities in
the conscious mind. Many a time we attribute the solution to a raised sense
SEEING MOTHER ONE COULD PERCEIVE
of identity. And hence the run to build identity. After a long struggle to find
THE JOY OF LIVING BEYOND BODY
the solution, one sees that one cannot build on false grounds. A mansion
CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE HARMONY IT
cannot be raised on shaky ground, nor a monument built on sand. The actual
BROUGHT INTO ONES DAILY LIFE.
solution lies in a raised, transformed consciousness. Seeing Mother one could
COMPLICATED SITUATIONS,
perceive the joy of living beyond body consciousness and the harmony it
UNPREDICTABLE MANNERISMS,
brought into ones daily life. Complicated situations, unpredictable
BLUNDERS AND ACHESALL THE
mannerisms, blunders and achesall the results of inflated egos, got
RESULTS OF INFLATED EGOS, GOT
subdued in this divine presence. A Himalayan peace and purity pervaded the
SUBDUED IN THIS DIVINE PRESENCE.
household. Every man, woman and child who crossed the threshold felt he
had come home and into the lap of his mother. No wonder Nivedita could call Mother, Sri Ramakrishnas final word
as to the ideal of Indian womanhood.
OF ONES MISERY. NO HUMAN MIND CAN FIND

23

Holy Mother recognized in Nivedita the soul of a goddess and would endearingly call her Khukidaughter. She
watched with pride Niveditas growing intuitions. In fact, Mothers complete acceptance of Nivedita, in the midst
of her orthodox setting, is another turning point in Indian history which made the work for women possible in an
unexpected way. As if by divine design, it combined the best of the east and west thus making way for an
enlightened global civilization. Nivedita went on to play a major role in Mothers movement. The school she started,
which Mother inaugurated, became the nucleus of the Sarada movement and cradled its biggest, independent,
womens monastic organizationSri Sarada Math and the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission.
Touched by light and nourished by nectar, the butterfly flutters about radiating the joy of life. As it darts from
flower to flower, it gives us the message of freedomthe freedom to change and better ourselves, to rise above our
circumstances, to effect the transformations that truly matter. The making of a butterfly is natures magnificent act
of metamorphosis, executed silently, to teach us that change is always within oneself. Change is an unfolding
from within, not an imposition from without. This means we are never at the mercy of a world out there.
Everything is indubitably entwined with our consciousness which is fully laden with the equipment required for
every change. And once the metamorphosis takes place, we may take wing into a life of complete freedom.
Pravrajika Divyanandaprana is a nun of the Sri Sarada Math and is presently Principal, Nivedita
Vidyamandir, Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, New Delhi.

HUNGER FOR THE GOOD OF OTHERS AS AN END IN ITSELF, THE INFINITE PITY THAT WAKES IN THE HEART OF AN
AVATAR AT SIGHT OF THE SUFFERING OF HUMANITYTHESE ARE THE SEED AND ROOT OF NATION-MAKING.
~ SISTER NIVEDITA

NEVER MIND THE STRUGGLES, THE MISTAKES. I NEVER HEARD A COW TELL A LIE, BUT IT IS ONLY A COWNEVER A
MAN. SO NEVER MIND THESE FAILURES, THESE LITTLE BACKSLIDINGS; HOLD THE IDEAL A THOUSAND TIMES, AND IF
YOU FAIL A THOUSAND TIMES, MAKE THE ATTEMPT ONCE MORE.
~ SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

24

SISTER NIVEDITA AND THE CONCEPTION OF AN EDUCATION WITH A SOUL

Anindita Chakraborti

Margaret Elizabeth Noble, more popularly known as Sister Nivedita, an Anglo-Irish social worker, was one amongst
the many disciples of Swami Vivekananda. It was the Swami, who called her by the name Nivedita, meaning
someone who is dedicated to the almighty God.
She had the caliber to impart education and inspire others. Swami Vivekanandas principles and teachings had an
imprint on her mind and heart and this brought about a major change in the way she lived her life, being inspired to
do something for the welfare of the women of India. Seeing the fire and passion in her to transform the society,
Swamiji could foresee her futuristic role as a Mother to the Indian people. She was a motivating force for people in
all walks of life. Her lectures and various discourses gave people direction on how to lead their lives. Throughout
her life, she worked hard for serving the Indian people and society at large.
Being an educationist, she wrote several papers and believed that our conception of education must have a soul.
Imparting education does not only mean cramming knowledge into open minds, but to bring it into their
hearts, their souls, and their lives. Education should be the training of the attention, rather than the learning of any
special subject, or the development of any particular faculty should be the chosen goal of education. The beauty of our
traditional education involves a long chain of texts upon texts, offering endless insights to the diligent student. But
what is the ultimate purpose hereto know more, or to be more? As educators, should we be more interested in how
much our students learn, or how deeply they bring the learning into their lives? The texts should be springboards for
personal growth, for changing ourselves, our communities, our world.
A contemporary teacher is focused on penetrating the students minds, but nervous about touching their souls. We
have succeeded in conveying worlds of educational content, familiarizing our students with countless number of
books. But we have been less successful in reaching their hearts, their souls, and their lives. To succeed in this realm,
we need to bring a fundamental changea different perspectivein our teaching.
It could be about turning information into transformation, knowledge into wisdom. Nivedita believed that in
Soulful Education, success means creating a space for students to bring knowledge from their minds to their
hearts, souls, and lives. Success means enabling students to hear their own authentic inner voices, and to feel
nourished and clarified through the learning process. Success means inviting and empowering students to apply
knowledge to the formation of their unique identities and paths in life. According to her, at every step in the ascent
of knowledge, the childs own will must act. Educators do not profess to provide answers. Every persons
challenge is to seek and provide answers for him/herself. The negative impact of trying to imprint the educators
truth on the student actually dims their personal light
rather than enlightening them.
According to Nivedita, all power is in the human mind. We can master anything, simply by giving our attention
to it. Teachers should aim at evoking the soul of the learner or helping the learner bring knowledge into
his/her heart and life. What we need is effective education, not affective education. If people do not find an
emotional connection to their learning and are unable to recognize its personal relevance, then all that they
learn will remain detached and disconnected from their lives. Thoughts and ideas will dangle in the outer
hemispheres and never penetrate their actual lives. The separation of mind and heart while learning creates
room for internal dissonance and personal destruction. A disconnect between mind and heart, between
intellectual and emotional lives, causes confusion and disharmony. Like the left and right hands, like the
accelerator and brakes of a car, the mind and heart have to work in
tandem. When they send different or colliding messages, the results can be disastrous.
When education focuses on "how much and how well" to the exclusion of all other
values, what happens to the students? What we need from education is less of "what"
and more of "how"- how can this education affect us personally, and enable us to
become our best selves? Education should actually involve the training of feelings: to
feel nobly and to choose loftily and honestly. Character is self-restraint. Self- restraint is
self direction. Self-direction is concentration.

25

Our soul is continually calling to us from within our best selves. It calls to us on many levels: in our daily lives,
in our imminent decisions, and in the direction and purpose of an entire lifetime. Our soul is doing more than
keeping us aliveit is conveying to us our inner truth, our souls truth. It has been implanted within us to
function as our inner GPS, guiding us to our destination, our proper destiny. Each person has a different and unique
soul, a different and unique journey. However, every person also has the free will to listen or to ignore the voice of his
or her soul. If we do not listen to this inner authentic voiceif we get off-trackwe are likely to feel estranged,
both from God and from ourselves. We will suffer, spiritually and perhaps physically too, because of the
breakdown between the life we are living and the life our soul wants us to live. The perpetual challenge facing
every human being is to find the clarity and will to listen to this inner voice. The purpose of learning is ultimately to
sharpen our ability to hear the inner voice of the soul. Only this inner voice has the power to clarify our purpose in the
world.
Nivedita laid great emphasis on the training of the heart. A person can only study from the place of his heart. So it
became clear that the emotional, heartfelt connection to wisdom would have to be the culminating element in Soulful
Education. A full educational process would need to access and harmonize the voices of the soul, to integrate
intellectual, emotional and physical elements. Any teaching without processing is of no use. The processing is what
imprints the learning onto the soul of the student and leaves a long-lasting impression. Otherwise, the knowledge tends
to slip away without leaving a trace.
The rich and precious voices of Indian history have always become the background orchestra that enabled students to
better hear the expression of their own souls. Nivedita tried her utmost to inculcate the nationalist spirit in the minds of
her students. In her editorial, in Karma Yogin, the nationalist journal of Aurobindo Ghose, she wrote: The whole
history of the world shows that the Indian intellect is second to none. This must be proved by the performance of a
task beyond the power of others, the seizing of the first place in the intellectual advance of the world. Is there any
inherent weakness that would make it impossible for us to do this? Are the countrymen of Bhaskaracharya and
Shankaracharya inferior to the countrymen of Newton and Darwin? We trust not. It is for us, by the power of our
thought, to break down the iron walls of opposition that confront us, and to seize and enjoy the intellectual sovereignty
of the world. She also added a single generation enamored of foreign ways is almost enough in history to risk the
whole continuity of civilization and learning. The vision of education is to rescue our national resources from the
shelf and bring it into our hearts, our souls and our lives. She suggested that our own countrymen could be better
educators than the best-intentioned foreigner, because they are in harmony with our highest emotional life.
Nivedita was of the firm belief that mothers by teaching their children to love and to act on their love can be the finest
educators. The mother is the only personality who teaches the first word the child utters as well as morality that the
child has to follow throughout the life in order to make her child grow into a total personality. Whatever the mother
teaches her child creates a permanent impression in the heart and mind of the child and so the life of the child gets
embodied with the mothers teaching. The influence of mother over her children is so strong that she can make a dull
child into a brilliant one. Nivedita said: For thousands of years most Indian women have risen with the light to
perform the Salutation of the Threshold. It is this patience of woman that makes civilizations. It is this patience of the
Indian woman, with this her mingling of large power of reverie, that has made and makes the Indian nationality.
Sister Nivedita probed into the heart of Indian womanhood and reflected in her rhythmic and eloquent prose the
natural simplicity and spiritual fervor of the women of India. Women, she contended, are the embodiment and
repository of the ancient wisdom of the East. Modern education neglected this factor altogether. Learning is a neverending process because there is no end point in the journey to becoming our best selves, to fulfilling the destiny
that god created us to fulfillin Niveditas words, the development of the child for the good, not of himself, but of
jana-desha-dharma, the development of the individual for the benefit of the environment.
The full process of learning involves four stages: 1. Learning with our minds; 2. Bringing the learning into our hearts;
3. Conceiving how the learning can affect us; and 4. Putting the learning into action. Another principle of Soulful
Education: the necessity of kindred spiritspeople sharing the aspiration of becoming their better selves through their
learning. When is learning great? When it leads to doing. Learning and doing must be intrinsically intertwined.
When men become good themselves, they start radiating love in all directions. That radiation attracts other people to
godly life. In this way they can try to light other torches with love, humility and compassion. If we are able to light
more and more of these torches, then ultimately, by gathering together, we can create a great light which will envelope
our entire world.

26

Internally, we should have within us a sense of social and national responsibility. We should always be concerned
about our society. There must be a feeling that whatever work we do must have a bearing on the welfare of society
also. This is the true nature of the citizen. Swami Vivekananda wrote in one of his letters: So long as the millions live
in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed
to them. Reading Swamijis letters lights the fire of patriotism and love of service in our hearts.
The life of Sister Nivedita is a lesson in changing our consciousness. The only hope for the future depends on the
change of our consciousness and the change is bound to come. But it is left to us to decide if we shall collaborate
for this change or if it will have to be enforced upon us by the power of crushing circumstances. So, wake up and
collaborate. The future of the earth depends upon the change in consciousness. No man liveth to himself alone.

Anindita Chakraborti is a home-maker and a mother of two.

TAPASYA IS THREEFOLDOF THE BODY, OF

SPEECH, AND OF MIND. THE FIRST IS SERVICE
TO OTHERS; THE SECOND, TRUTHFULNESS;
AND THIRD, CONTROL AND CONCENTRATION.
~ SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

27

SISTER NIVEDITA AN IDEAL SOCIAL WORKER

Kalpana Mehta
If we look back into the history of the world and search for the
character who embodies selfless work, the name that comes to our
mind is that of Sister Nivedita, earlier known as Margaret Elizabeth
Nobel. She is an ever-inspiring figure to those who want to work for
the upliftment of society.
She did not work only for India, she also did notable work for the
West (especially England). She started her journey from England
itself. In 1895 she opened her own school for adults who wished to
study the modern educational methods. Margaret was among those
who wanted to bring out education from the hands of specific classes
of people and make it available to the common masses. She
introduced various new methods in the field of education. She also
delivered lectures on The Psychology of the Child and The Rights
of Women. Her method of work was aggressive but creative. She was
successful on all the fronts like education, politics and of course in
social life.
In his visit to England, Swami Vivekananda appealed to the women
who were ready to serve the women of India. Nivedita was impressed
by Swami Vivekananda's knowledge of Vedanta, realization of
onenesswhich was the major quest of her lifeand by his love for
his people. And so she immediately responded to the call and was
ready to work for India. She considered Vedanta (Upanishad) the
foundation of Indian Nationality; in her words: Upanishads of the
National History would make eternal foundations for the Indian
Nationality in the Indian heart...
To do social work in the light of Vedanta or Swami Vivekananda is not an easy task. He said to the social
workers: Lay down your comforts, your pleasures, your name, fame or position, nay even your lives, and
make a bridge of human chains over which millions will cross this ocean of life. Sister Nivedita proved his
words true in her own life. She left whatever she had acquired in Europeincluding her own identity as well as
nationality about which she was very proud and spent the rest of her life in the Service of India (Bharat). It was in
her nature, to accept challenges and respond accordingly. She transformed herself for the work in India. She learnt
Bengali, observed and followed the local customs and traditions. She merged herself with India, she accepted India
as her motherland, because of which, while speaking about the people of India, she always said our people. She
used to say I love India as the birthplace of the highest and best of the all religions, as the country that has the
grandest mountains, the Himalayas. The country where the homes are simple, where domestic happiness is most to
be found, and where the women unselfishly, unobtrusively, ungrudgingly serve the dear ones from early morn to
dewy eve.
She started vocational school for the girls. Niveditas idea of education was Unless we train the FEELINGS and
the CHOICE, our man is not educated. He is only decked out in certain intellectual tricks that he has learnt to
perform. By these tricks he can earn his bread. He cannot appeal to the heart, or give life. He is not a man at all; he
is a clever ape. She insisted that the education must be in mother tongue. She run the school according to Indian
culture and traditions. She did not merely reproduce what she used to do in England. With all respect, she also
inspired the people to send their widow girls to the school and gave them good education, which would enable them
to stand on their own feet. She was
the torch-bearer for them.
While working with the people she always felt that she was one among them. She could easily mix with the people,
because she was practicing the words of Swami VivekanandaLove opens the most impossible gates; love is the
gate to all the secrets of the universe. Feel, therefore, my would-be reformers, my would-be patriots!

28

At the time of famine and plague, with Swami Saradananda, she herself cleaned the streets and gutters of Kolkata,
fed the people and bandaged their wounds. Sometimes people found her with a small child in her lap whose parents
just passed away due to famine and plague. She passed many sleepless nights because of the sufferings of the people.
In her whole life, she never cared whether people appreciated or praised her or not. She said that The selfless man is
the thunderbolt. Let us strive only for selflessness and we become the weapon in the hands of God. Because of all
these qualities, the people gave her the name Lok Mata.
She was an intellectual and spiritual giant. That is why she influenced all the fronts of Indiaincluding the freedom
movement. She had great respect and insight for Indian art and culture. Because of this she refused to judge the
foreign games in one of sports-meets in Nagpur and so the organizer reorganized the sports-meet with Indian
games. She believed that the present of India is deep-rooted in her past, and that before her shines a glorious
future. She inspired Abanindranath Tagore to make a picture of Bharat Mata. She helped Jagadish Chandra Bose
in his scientific research and inspired and helped him to bring his work to an international audience. She
established personal contacts with all the contemporary freedom fighters and stood with them against all odds. She
also supported their families. Nivedita had great compassion for all, she passed many days without food and rest.
She used to say Can we not cultivate in our children and ourselves a vast compassion? This compassion will
make us eager to know the sorrows of all men, the griefs of our land and the dangers to which in these
modern days the religion is exposed; and this growing knowledge will produce strong workers, working for the
works sake, ready to die, if
only they may serve their county and fellow-men.
Sister Niveditas life was full of selfless work. In all her work, we never find that she hurt or criticized or violated
any individual or social faiths. She followed the words of Swami Vivekananda: Keep the motto before
youelevation of the masses without injuring their religion.
A true social worker has no separate identity other than the society s/he serves. Sister Nivedita was mother, servitor
and friend personified. Swami Vivekanandas blessing for her came true:

The mothers heart, the

heros will The sweetness
of the southern breeze,
The sacred charm and strength
that dwell On Aryan altars,
flaming, free;
All these be yours and
many more No ancient soul
could dream before
Be thou to Indias
future son The mistress,
servant, friend in one.
Kalpana Mehta is a life-worker of Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari.

NO MAN SHOULD BE JUDGED BY HIS DEFECTS.

NEVER FORGET THE GLORY OF HUMAN NATURE.
~ SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

29

HERITAGE CORNER
MORAL AND HOLISTIC EDUCATION IN KAUTILYAS ARTHASHASTRA
Pradeep K. Gautam
In Indian traditions, social and political conditions must exist for the pursuit of the four great ends of life, the
purusharthasethical goodness (dharma), wealth
and power (artha), pleasure (kama), and spiritual
transcendence (moksha). In ancient Indian
traditions dharma and artha play an important role
as they also relate to statecraft in a significant way.
This need has not changed with time.
Simplistically, this is akin to what we may today
understand as principle and power. But only artha
by itself is insufficient to understand the
philosophy of statecraft of the Indian traditions.
As is well known, terms in Sanskrit have many meanings. The same is the case with terms like dharma and artha.
By dharma I do not mean religion or faith, but only moral and ethical issues of statecraft and by artha I mean
wealth or power. What I attempt is nothing new. It was already embedded in Kautilyas Arthashastra; but it was
probably not noticed or highlighted due to an incomplete and partial understanding of the concepts in the text.
Kautilya insisted on not just fulfilment of one limited and partial aim but success in attainment of all of them.
Although Kautilya argued for artha being his top concern, he did not ignore the balance with dharma (moral) and
kama (desire/pleasure). In 9.7.60 he wrote: Material gain, spiritual good and pleasure: this is the triad of gain.
Kautilyas Arthashastra contained guidance on morals. This included the most fundamental and enduring
values in humanlife, that is, non-violence or ahimsa, and control over the senses. This can be gleaned from the
following sutras:
Book One
Concerning the Topic of Training
Chapter Three
Section 1 (continuation of enumeration of the Science)
1.3.13 (Duties) common to all are: abstaining from injury (to living creatures), truthfulness, uprightness, freedom
from malice, compassionateness and forbearance.
Chapter Six
Section 3 Control over the Senses
Casting out the Group of Six Enemies
1.6.1-3 1. Control over the senses, which is motivated by training in the sciences, should be secured by giving up lust,
anger, greed, pride, arrogance and fool-hardiness. 2. Absence of improper indulgence in (the pleasure of) sound,
touch, colour, taste and smell by the senses of hearing, touch and sight, the tongue and sense of smell, means of
control over senses; or, the practice of (this) science (gives such control). 3. For, the whole of this science means
control over senses.1
Besides dharma as a regulating principle, the text further provides the ontological and epistemic pathways by
prescribing a comprehensive syllabus for a comprehensive education. In Enumeration of the Sciences (1.2.1),
Kautilya explained that philosophy, the three Vedas, economics and the science of politics are the sciences. We can
translate these four subjects as: 1) Anvikshiki, logic/philosophy; 2) Trayi, the triple Vedaor theology; 3) Vartta,
economics, practical arts, such as agriculture, commerce, medicines, manufacturing, etc.; and 4) Danda-niti, science
of governance. R.P. Kangle in his translation remarks: The four vidyas, on the study of all of which Kautilya himself
insists, practically cover all branches of learning known at the time.
1The

operationalization of these may be found in Yoga philosophy as yama (donts) and niyama (dos).

30

Let us look for further details of the syllabus. Kautilya prescribes the most important of the extant social sciences
as we know todayphilosophy/Anvikshiki which includes Samkhya, Yoga and Lokayata. Samkhya and Yoga
are the two schools from the famous six schools of Indian philosophy. Lokayatas are those who argue that
matter alone is real, that there is no life after death, no soul or God. Inclusion of Lokayata philosophy shows the
remarkable attitude of Kautilya that he engaged with all forms of knowledge, thus laying the foundation of both
orthodox and heterodox thinkingthe need to be critical and questioning.
Kautilyas Arthashastra also contained the detailed syllabus for the education of the king. In 1.5.13-14, it is
stated that the king should engage in studying lore (itihasa). Lore consists of Puranas, reports (itivrittathe epics
like Mahabharata and Ramayana), narratives (akhyayika), illustrations (udaharana), treatise on law
(dharmashastra), and treatises on Success (arthashastra). So why does Kautilya want the policymakers and
leaders to be well-versed in the epics? It is obvious that the epics bring clear lessons on moralsboth at
personal level and also when it is related to statecraft.
Are there simpler texts for the education of lay public encompassing the goals of life? Yes, there is an exception
in one little-known remarkable work from ancient India, which, according to C. Rajagopalachari, is a
masterpiece of brevity. The Tamil Veda or Kural by Thiruvalluvar of southern India has combined for the lay
reader key aspects of virtue (aram), wealth (porul) and love (kaman), which corresponds to dharma, artha and kama
of Sanskrit.
Colonel (Retd.) Pradeep Kumar Gautam is presently Research Fellow at the Institute for Defence
Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, where he is steering the project Indigenous Historical
Knowledge. He has written extensively on issues related to non-traditional security like water, climate
change, and environment; Tibet; and military issues. For the past five years, he is engaged in research on
Kautilyas Arthashastra, with special emphasis
on its implications for contemporary issues.

NATIONAL FEELING IS, ABOVE ALL,

FEELING FOR OTHERS.
~ SISTER NIVEDITA

31

FROM OUR SCRIPTURES

As is well-known, Rishi Yajnavalkya was one of the great luminaries of ancient India, whose mention we find in our
scriptures, especially in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, which is originally part of the Shukla Yajur Veda.
Maitreyi was one of his wives, who was keen on acquiring Self-Knowledge. Following is an extract from the
famous conversation between Maitreyi and Yajnavalkya on Self-Knowledge (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Part 2,
Chapter 4, verses 1-6 and 12-14):
Maitreyi, my dear, said Yajnavalkya, I am going to renounce this life. Let me make a final settlement between
you and Katyayani (his other wife). (1)
Thereupon Maitreyi said: Venerable Sir, if indeed the whole earth, full of wealth, belonged to me, would I be
immortal through that? No, replied Yajnavalkya, your life would be just like that of people who have plenty. Of
Immortality, however, there is no hope through wealth. (2)
Then Maitreyi said: What should I do with that which would not make me immortal? Tell me, venerable Sir, of
that alone, which you know [to be the only means of attaining Immortality]. (3)
Yajnavalkya replied: My dear, you have been my beloved [even before], and [now] you say what is after my
heart. Come, sit down; I will explain it to you. As I explain it, meditate [on what I say]. (4)
Then, Yajnavalkya said:Verily, not for the sake of the husband, my dear, is the husband loved, but he is loved for
the sake of the self [which, in its true nature, is one with the Supreme Self].
Verily, not for the sake of the wife, my dear, is the wife loved, but she is loved for the sake of the self.
Verily, not for the sake of the sons, my dear, are the sons loved, but they are loved for the sake of the
self. Verily, not for the sake of wealth, my dear, is wealth loved, but it is loved for the sake of the self.
Verily, not for the sake of the brahmin, my dear, is the brahmin loved, but he is loved for the sake of the self.
Verily, not for the sake of the kshatriya, my dear, is the kshatriya loved, but he is loved for the sake of the self.
Verily, not for the sake of the worlds, my dear, are the worlds loved, but they are loved for the sake of the self.
Verily, not for the sake of the gods, my dear, are the gods loved, but they are loved for the sake of the
self. Verily, not for the sake of the beings, my dear, are the beings loved, but they are loved for the sake of the
self. Verily, not for the sake of the All, my dear, is the All loved, but it is loved for the sake of the self.
Verily, my dear Maitreyi, it is the Self that should be realizedshould be heard of, reflected on, and meditated
upon. By the realization of the Self, my dearthrough hearing, reflection and meditationall this is known. (5)
The brahmin rejects one who knows him as different from the Self. The kshatriya rejects one who knows him as
different from the Self. The worlds reject one who knows them as different from the Self. The gods reject one
who knows them as different from the Self. The beings reject one who knows them as different from the Self.
The All rejects one who knows it as different from the Self. This brahmin, this kshatriya, these worlds, these
gods, these beings, and this Allare that Self. (6)
[Note:- The use of the word reject here means: The notion that there can exist anything which is different
from Brahman is the result of ignorance. Hence, a person who sees this differentiation is denied SelfKnowledge.]
As a lump of salt dropped into water becomes dissolved in water and cannot be taken out again, but wherever we
taste [the water] it tastes salt, even so, my dear, this great, endless, infinite Reality is Pure Intelligence alone. [This
self] comes out [as a separate entity] from these elements and with their destruction [this separate existence] also is
destroyed. After attaining [oneness] it has no more consciousness. This is what I say, my dear. So said
Yajnavalkya. (12)
[Note:- Having no more consciousness here means having no more consciousness of being an individual
entity, of I, so-and-so, son or daughter of so-and-so, I am happy or miserable, etc.]

32

Then Maitreyi said: Just here you have bewildered me, venerable Sir, by saying that after attaining [oneness] the
self has no more consciousness. Yajnavalkya replied: Certainly I am not saying anything bewildering, my dear.
This [Reality] is enough for knowledge, O Maitreyi. (13)
For when there is duality, as it were, then one smells another, one sees another, one hears another, one
speaks to another, one thinks of another, one knows another. But when everything has become the Self, then what
should one smell and through what, what should one see and through what, what should one hear and through what,
what should one speak and through what, what should one think and through what, what should one know and
through what? Through what should one know That owing to which all this is knownthrough what, my dear,
should one know the Knower? (14) [Note:- The Self cannot be an object of knowledge. It is the eternal Knower.
As fire cannot burn itself, so the Self cannot know Itself; the Knower cannot have knowledge of something that is
not its object. The whole universe is known by the Self through different instruments. But through what instrument
should one know the Knower of the universe?]
(Excerpted from Swami Nikhilananda, trans., The Upanishads, vol. III, New York: Harper & Brothers,
1956, pp. 174-184.)

BLESSED ARE THEY WHOSE BODIES GET

DESTROYED IN THE SERVICE OF OTHERS.
~ SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

33

BOOK REVIEW
Tiya, A Parrots Journey Home by Samarpan
Reviewed by Gitanjali Murari
Tiya, the happy-go-lucky parrot, finds himself one day on an adventurous journey foisted on him by an irresistible
voice. He leaves his comfortable life on the banyan tree that is home to his friends, taking an uncharacteristic leap
of faith, to embark into the great unknown. On the way, he has pleasant and not-so-pleasant experiences, each a
lesson in the textbook of life. The voice accompanies him, urging him onwards, especially when Tiya is tempted
to stay back, having found a place and companions to his liking. But he is warned against falling into an agreeable
stupor as danger lurks where least expected and to his annoyance and frustration, Tiya finds the warnings to be true.
Once again, he takes off and tumbles into yet another adventure (or misadventure) and as we accompany him page
after page, the realization dawns on us that these experiences are very familiar. They are our own foibles and fears,
our own well-meant albeit misguided intentions. The writer, with gentle humour takes us on this metaphoric travel via
an endearing parrot, which is in essence the souls inward journey to its own perfection and place of infinite bliss.
Tiya, A Parrots Journey Home has been written imaginatively by Samarpan, a monk. And that is not just the first
pleasant surprise it offers. Usually books on spirituality are highly intellectual fare in the non-fiction category,
replete with philosophical arguments and spiritual jargon. Samarpan brings us a real story in the garb of fiction
similar to a Jataka tale, which is vastly engaging with remarkable illustrations enhancing its quality of a fable. The
prologue includes a quote from Swami Vivekananda, an allegory that defines the divine potential of human life.
This sets the tone for the book. From here on, like Alice in Wonderland, Tiyas peculiar experiences during his
travels, serve up one wonderful insight after another of human failings and vulnerabilities. In one instance, Tiya
reaches the land of the Zarys, human on top and granite statues below. The Zarys are angry people who constantly
spit on each other. And every time they spit and shout curses, they become even more stone-like. At the core of
each insight is the shining truth that we falsely believe our strengths and weaknesses as inevitable and inherent to
our human nature, a belief that binds us and limits us further. Despite its profound subject, the author has wisely
remained non-pedantic, maintaining an irreverently humorous style that coaxes the reader
to have a great laugh at ones own follies. Tiya realizes that every
characteristic is a manifestation of our constant struggle to be free of the
high and lows of life, to go back to that place of eternal calm where our
soul, the shining Hans, rests forever free, untouched by the dual nature of
existence. Samarpan ties it up to the aforementioned allegory very nicely
in the end when Tiya at last completes his life-changing journey and bids
the voice goodbye.
This slim novel can be the go-to book every time one faces a
challenging situation in life. It is an unpretentious refresher course that
can help to bring back our perspective on all that truly matters, reenergizing us to believe in our uniqueness and infinite strength. It is like
the roadmap we need to check often for course correction and which
leads us ultimately to its promised fulfillment of our divine potential.
Based in Mumbai, Gitanjali is a media professional with over 20 years
of experience in Television. She has written three feature film
scripts which she hopes will be made into films one day.

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ABOUT THE VIVEKANANDA STUDY CIRCLE, JNU, NEW DELHI

In an age, intensely materialistic and doubtful of the existence of a Divine Reality, the life of Sri Ramakrishna (18361886) was a vibrant torchlight that demonstrated to humankind not only that God exists, but that the Supreme Reality
can be perceived directly by an aspirant with the help of spiritual practices. He declared unequivocally that all spiritual
paths lead to the same Ultimate Reality. His foremost disciple, Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) took the bold
message of Vedanta to the West and preached to his own countrymen especially the ideals of strength and service.
The Vivekananda Study Circle (VSC) of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi was formed to study the
works of Swami Vivekananda with the ultimate aim of moulding our lives based on the Vedantic truth of Oneness
that he preached. The first session was held on 1 November 2014. VSC-JNU is a non-political, non-profit
organisation, which is not affiliated to any body outside the University. We usually meet every alternate Saturday
to study the scriptures and the works of Swami Vivekananda, and practise chanting and meditation.

Historical Study tour at Purana Qila, Delhi

Swami Nilakanthananda giving a Lecture

at SCIS, JNU

Apart from the regular sessions, VSC-JNU has organized the following public programmes in 2016:
1)

Panel Discussion: Swamijis Message on the Idea Of Acceptance in JNU on 12 January 2016, chaired by Prof.
Anirban Chakraborti (Professor & Dean, SCIS, JNU). Panelists: Prof. Birendra Nath Mallik (Professor of
Neurobiology, SLS, JNU), Pravrajika Divyanandaprana (Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, Hauz Khas, New
Delhi).
2)
Historical Study Tour: Purana Qila and adjoining areas on 20 February 2016.
3)
Lecture by Swami Nilakanthananda (Ramakrishna Math & Mission, Shimla) on Upanishads: Applying them
in our daily lives in JNU on 4 March 2016.
4)
Lecture by Prof. Anirban Chakraborti (Professor & Dean , SCIS, JNU) representing VSC on 11 September,
2016 at Vasant Kunj.
CONTACT :
President, VSC-JNU: Professor Anirban Chakraborti
Secretary, VSC-JNU: Ms. Prachi Singh Email: vscjnu@gmail.com
Newsletter credits:
Editor: Dr. Arpita Mitra
Design & Typesetting: Ms. Swagata M. Bhattacharya and Mr. Sudhir Patwal
Assistance: Mr. Akarshik Banerjee, Sd. Shariq Husain, Ms. Hansa Mehrotra, Mr. Arun Singh Patel, Ms. Ayushi Pundir

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NEWSLETTER CREDITS:
Editor: Dr. Arpita Mitra
Design & Typesetting: Ms. Swagata M. Bhattacharya and Mr. Sudhir Patwal
Assistance: Mr. Akarshik Banerjee, Sd. Shariq Husain, Ms. Hansa Mehrotra, Mr. Arun Singh Patel, Ms. Ayushi Pundir
CONTACT:
President, VSC-JNU: Professor Anirban Chakraborti
Secretary, VSC-JNU: Ms. Prachi Singh
Email: vscjnu@gmail.com