Replies to comments of Bros. Williams
Expert: William Schindler, a.k.a. Brother William - 12/31/2007
Question
i have come across some one villifying swami vivekananda. could u check out his blog and tell me if he is right or wrong. it pains me to read such trash being written about him but some of it seems with some proof. vivekanandayb.blogspot.com is the site.
Answer given by the expert at the above site
Answer
Dear RJ,
Thank you for your question.
I checked the link you provided. It is easy to criticize but difficult to build something positive. Swamiji himself said this envious slander-mongering was a product of servitude under the British. Slaves feel they have no power to change their situation, so they turn their anger on their own kind, who make easy targets.
Look at the great good Swamiji accomplished in 40 short years, and you will get a sense of the greatness of the man. Life in samsara means imperfection in some aspects, but these are merely ornaments on the Divine Lila, helping us appreciate the great by contrast with human errors.
Swamiji came to America as a young, idealistic sannyasi, completely unfamiliar with American culture or the management of money. He trusted people here, some of whom were trustworthy and some of whom were not. He learned, as we all do, by experience.
What is clear is that he was always focused on helping India by establishing the Ramakrishna Math and Mission. His priorities for Himalayan centers and publications reflected his belief that westerners would be an important part of the work, both in contributing money and by coming to work in India.
Reading Swamiji's Complete Works we find such lofty thoughts expressed in clear, forceful language that breaks through the clouds of superstition and ignorance that encrusted the Sanatana Dharma in the late 19th Century. His language sounds modern and relevant even today, attesting to the universality of his message.
Swamiji accomplished in his short lifetime more than most people do in many lifetimes. To criticize him for being also human is simply pettiness born of feelings of inferiority. When South Asians as a whole truly grasp his message, they will grow beyond such pettiness into the glory of their true Self.
Best wishes,
Br. William
ybrems
It is already nearly four years, after Br. William gave his expert opinion. No further comments appeared at the above allexperts.com.
Brother William declared his credentials: William Schindler, a.k.a. Brother William
Expertise
I can answer questions about Vedanta philosophy, Patanjali Yoga philosophy and practice, Tantra, Bhagavad-Gita, Upanishads, Vivekachudamani (Shankara`s Crest-jewel of Spritual Discrimination), Advaita (non-dualism), the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda tradition, Goddess worship, meditation practice, Hindu monasticism (sannyasa), and Sanskrit.
Experience
I've been studying and practicing Vedanta and Tantra since 1969.
Organizations
I'm the founder and spiritual director of Ashram West, a gay spiritual community based on traditional Hindu Tantra. I have been a member of the Vedanta Society of Southern California since 1969.
Publications
I have three books in print: GAY TANTRA, ESSAYS ON GAY TANTRA, BLOOD OF THE GODDESS.
Education/Credentials
I hold a B.A. in Sanskrit (UC Berkeley 1975) and an M.A. in clinical psychology (Antioch University 1986).
AllExperts.
ybrem
Reply: pramAdO dhImatOpi. (Even wise persons can falter).
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Vivekananda thrived on the business of tantra and vEdanta. Bros. Williams is continuing the business tradition. Bros. Williams neither did read all my posts carefully nor did read the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda.
A person who can understand the true philosophical depth of advaita (monistic philosophy will be in the intermediate camp of a mountaineer reaching the next camps atheism, egalitarianism, humanism, Marxism, rationalism and socialism) before reaching the pinnacle of union-(yoga) with people. Unfortunately, Bros. William lost his way and compass. He entered the tunnel of 'tantra'. His Gurus Vivekananda and RKP Hamsa also practised tantra. Vivekananda claimed that he started his journey with the divine electric shock given by RKP who himself was a superstitious tantrik specialising in telling juicy philosophical anecdotes. Vivekananda tried his tantra and yoga on the drunken American Aristocratic Women. He ended up prematurely, abandoning his philosophy. He embraced goat sacrifices to propitiate Goddess Durga and exploded fireworks.
Envy and inferiority complexEvery critic of Vivekananda need not suffer from envy. For example, why should I envy Vivekananda? Did he knock away my job? Did he knock away my lover? His critics need not suffer from any inferiority complex. I need not have any inferiority complex because I am not inferior to Vivekananda or Williams. Once I saw a fruit salad seller outside Dakshineswar Temple and a water-melon slice seller near Belur Math. I felt that they were superior in their service to the society than Vivekanandas and their cults. This truth will come out when a cost-benefit input-output analysis is carried out. Collecting funds in the name of charity, and obtaining Government grants by exhibitionism are colorful show-pieces. We have in our State, contests of bulls dragging granite slabs on the race path. Their owners feed them with special nutrition, and massage and wash them everyday. The bulls look gorgeous and drag the slabs marvellously. You tie them to a plough or an ordinary cart. They won't go even a meter. Country bullocks, even if half-starved and uncared for, do that effortlessly. Monks are like contest bulls. Salad sellers and water-melon or samosa sellers are like the country bullocks. If at all, anybody is to have envy and inferiority complex, it must be the astrologers, gurus, preachers tantriks, and so called experts in mystical, occult and obscure witchcrafts. And not cart pullers, bike mechanics or bajji-makers.
Slander: Hagiographers and panegyrics fail to recognise the difference between objective criticism and villification. If criticism itself amounts to slander as Vivekananda and Williams branded their critics, I must not hesitate to say that Vivekananda was also on the path of slander. He belittled everybody. Vivekananda patronised a journal, exclusively for the purpose of throwing rubbish on P.C. Mazumdar, who dared to publish the information he had on Vivekananda. Majundar represented Brahmo Samaj at the World Congress of Religions. He helped Vivekananda in getting admitted to the Congress and sitting on the dais.
Servitude to the British : Swamiji didn't lag behind. He regretted his inability to attend the Jubilee Celebrations of Coronation of Victoria in London, along with Raja of Khetri.
Confusion: We should not take the good work done by Nivedita, Christina, disciples of RKP, disciples of Vivekananda, as the work done by Vivekananda himself. Due credit should go to the respective persons. They might have been genuinely influenced by the hollow preachings of Vivekananda.
Money-making in the name of Guru and GodVivekananda's object of visiting United States and Europe both the times was making money in the name of his Guru Ramakrishna, Hinduis, Indian poor. His true purpose was later recognised by his own donors. For example, Ms. Henrietta Mueller, an important donor for the Belur Math site, gave a Press Conference in Bombay, that everything was fake and joined Theosophical Society. Donors asked for accounts and ensured that appropriate Trust like Organisations were established to prevent misuse of funds.
We respect Vivekananda, should not mean, that we should close our eyes to everything he did. We respect Hinduism, should not mean that we should support everything in the name of Hinduism. I respect Karl Marx and Lenin does not mean that I support everything they did.
Entitlement to fun and ordinary behaviorsI wish to make one more thing clear again. Swamiji was entitled to his quota of fun, entertainment, and enjoyments to his heart's content. But this, he ought not to have indulged while wearing saffron dresses, stick, in the name of advaita VEdAnta and Hinduism. Packing should reflect the product. Product should justify the packing.
Public Persons and Private Persons
There should always be difference between "public persons" and "private persons". A public person should follow a higher level of moral turpitude than a private person. Why? A public person is taken as a role model. He is praised as the weight-lifter of a Nation. Hence, he should have moral stamina. An obese person cannot run an obesity clinic.
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