#057A, REPLIES TO COMMENTS, SWAMIJI AND RELATIVES

Shri kk said... (On Oct. 24, 2008).
dear, What if u take a piece of total letter and ask stupid question? Who said swamiji should not say what ever he feels about any one? That is what called liberation. They can say any thing about any one what they feel correct. Who said a swamiji or a yogi is out of all raga and dwesha, they conquerd it, so they can use it as a weapon to demolish the animal instinct in a stupid man.

REPLIES
Comment: What if u take a piece of total letter and ask stupid question? Who said swamiji should not say what ever he feels about any one?

Ans.: All the quotes on Net/in printed books from Swami Vivekananda which present him as saint and demy God, are only pieces of total letters/speeches. For example, the booklets 'Thus Spake Vivekananda', 'Thus Spake Shri Ramakrishna' etc. are just few lines quoted in isolation. You can find fault with me if my comments conflict with the whole letter. The total letters are available freely on Net. You can always check them.

Who said swamiji should not say what ever he feels about any one? That is what called liberation.

Ans. We poor Indians expect Swamijis to be Jitendriayas (Conquerers of senses) and revere them for that reason. Jivha (tongue - with dual functions of tasting and speaking) is one of the senses. Monks are to have great control over their eating and talking habits, if they are true monks. Householders because of their problems of 'samsaram' may have occasions to lose their patience and control over tongue, but true monks cannot. We expect Swamijis to be more courteous, polite and circumspect in their speeches and writings. They become ordinary mortals like us if they speak as they like. Liberation is an abstract noun. It may mean many different things to many people. Anyway, Liberation does not mean speaking/writing without concern for family members. Swamijis like other citizens can speak anything about any one if they feel correct, provided they give reasons for what they have said. This need to give reasons, Supreme Court of India follows very meticulously and advises High Courts to give reasons for all their verdicts.

Who said a swamiji or a yogi is out of all raga and dwesha, they conquerd it, so they can use it as a weapon to demolish the animal instinct in a stupid man.

*One of the differences between us and the Swamijis is: We ordinary mortals have love and hate. They do not have love and hate. Pl. see this 2/56 from Bhagavad Gita:

du:kheeshv anudvignamanaa: sukheeshu vigataspruha:
viitaraagabhayakroodha: sthitadhiir munir uchyatee

Viita raaga bhaya kroodha = One who has overcome love, fear and anger.

Swamijis using raga and dvesha to demolish animal instinct in a stupid man cannot succeed. Reason: We cannot clean filth using filth.

Swami Vivekananda was demolishing animal instincts in whom? In his mother? In his younger brother? In his sisters? Were they stupid?

*What Vivekananda was apparently trying to do by exposing his relatives to foreigners? - He was probably seeking the sympathy of foreigners.

*People in India do not normally expose their own family members to outsiders, unless there is an extreme exigency.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
*Monkhood in India, is a rebirth. A monk has to forget the relatives of his past birth like a dead man. The homams performed by Swamijis while accepting monkhood often consists of some chants about one's own funeral rites and renouncing relatives. I do not wish to say that a monk should be irresponsible to his pre-monastic family members, and nobody criticises him for discharging his duties as a son. Aadi S`ankaracharya won acclaim of the Hindus when he performed the funeral rites of his mother, though some relatives opposed it, as it was against tradition. Thus a monk has to tread middle path. A problem arose for Vivekananda because his renunciation was more a result of circumstances like death of father, poverty etc. rather than true 'vairagya'.

Summary: Monkhood is not just wearing ochre-robes.