Perspectives of Modern Vedanta
Modern Vedanta
reflects all the complex characters of present-day society as it tries to
bridge the huge gaps in the social strata the time had built. In a sense modern
Vedanta is a struggle within a tradition for some adjustment without losing the
total spirit of the tradition. This adjustment is ‘reformation’[1]. (“Reform
Movement”)
Vedanta is
considered as the philosophy of modern Hinduism(“Neo-Vedanta”)[2]. In
olden days it was not so popular. This wide popularity and acceptance is a present-day
phenomenon and it is a result of the ‘adjustment’ that it had brought in the
approach towards tradition. The history of this adjustments and popularity
begins with non-Sanskrit philosophical tradition as well as bhakti tradition.
The thrust become strong with opening India to western world and culture. These
two phases have its peculiarities and importance. They share some common ideas
and differ in some interpretation.
The tradition
(for clarity I name it as Sanskrit tradition) was followed in a society that
spread over a wide geographical area. Language is an aspect that closely
connected with the sense of identity. The geographical wideness and various
other reasons produced new languages. Identity(“Identity
”)[3] is a
product of tradition, language and race. In India tradition is preserved by
attaching it with a language – Sanskrit. A contradiction involved here is that
all members of the society could not claim the legacy of Sanskrit as their
tradition.(“Tradition”)[4]
The religious
movements of medieval ages were attempts to redefine this identity and
tradition in a new perspective – a movement that commenced with the development
of regional languages. These developments challenged the supremacy of Sanskrit
language as the medium of transmission of sacred knowledge. The siddhantalesasamgraha
of Apayadikshita reflects this tension. This suggests that regional languages
had tried to pass on the idea of Vedanta and other teachings related to Vedic
tradition and were successful. The independent adaption of adhyatma ramayana in
regional languages all over India is the best example.
The works of Guru
Nischaldas(“Nishchal
Das - Jatland Wiki”) – ‘Vrttiprabhakar’ and ‘vichar sagar’ were great attempts in this line.
Vrttiprabhakar is an independent adaption of Vedanta paribhasha and vicharsagar
is an independent rendering of panchadasi in vernacular old Hindi. This attempt
was a challenge towards tradition then.
From this we can
infer that the reformists were trying to blend two streams, which are
contradictory in all respects, especially in Indian condition, challenging the
tradition and affirming the tradition.
Similar to Guru
Nischaldas, in Kerala we have Ezhuthachan, the author of chintaratnam. This text itself is a challenge on tradition
that he was a Sudra who had no right to learn Vedanta or teach the same. Still
he wrote a comprehensive book on advaitavedanta- one among the two conservative
systems of Indian philosophical tradition. This book is written in the form of
a dialogue between teacher and disciple where disciple is a woman. In Indian
tradition women have no right on Vedas and allied streams of knowledge. Here
Ezhuthachan had challenged the tradition. At the same time he upheld the values
of his tradition.
This is the kind
of adjustment which strongly forces the tradition to accept changes. The pace
of this was slow. Since Buddha we can see attempts of this kind. Compared with
the results of the reform movements of colonial and post-colonial age the
effects of pre-colonial reformist movements are little. At the same time the
language factor played a great role in forming a new sense of identity.
Opening India to
west produced different results. The pace of reform movement become fast and its
reach was wider. The immediate response to western values and culture was
attempts to find out similar values in Indian tradition and presenting them to
the western as well as Indian public.
As reformists searched
for an ideology that will help to face the challenge from west and they found
in Vedanta an ideology which reflected similar values and outlook- equality,
democracy, charity, service etc[5](Halbfass
234). At the same time, being a traditional system of thought, it shared
religious sympathy also. Thus advaitavedanta emerged as the ideology (“Ideology”)[6] of most
of the reform movements all over India. In these movements, from Raja Ram Mohan
Roy and Dayananda Sarasvati[7] (“BBC
- Religions - Hinduism”) to present day Gurus, we have many Vedantins who
transformed Vedanta, especially Advaita Vedanta, to suit need of time.
In order to
defend the argument that Indian religion and social thought neglected human
values like equality, service etc., Swami Vivekananda highlighted the ethical
values of Buddhism and the universality embedded in advaitavedanta. To him
Buddhism was the first missionary religion and Vedanta the ideology that
accepts the equality of all beings in universe. A blending of both these strings
is perfectly done in the Practical Vedanta of Vivekananda.
This was just a
beginning. In the period that followed saw many teachers and systems and
advaita formed an integral part of almost all these systems.
Perspectives on Society
Traditional Vedanta addressed social and ethical
issues in its context. It was a necessity and obligation of philosopher. Yet,
it was subjected to scrutiny. The contradictions in the ethical and
metaphysical views were discussed thoroughly in traditional Vedanta itself.
Since philosophy cannot exist independently of society, it had to compromise to
the demand of dominant tradition. At the same time it had to defend its
metaphysics and the social condition or outlook advocated by it.
The development of regional languages extended the
crisis to new realms and traditionalists had to meet the challenge too. The
encounter, both material and intellectual, with foreign culture deepened the
crisis and forced the society to review its traditional value system. These
situations lead to reforms movements. That is the ideology in a new society
particularly in a multicultural society had to reconsider the traditional
values and approach.
The first concern of reformists was the material as
well as spiritual well-being of society. At the same time they considered the
transformation of the mindset of individuals as way to release them from the
old notions of life and development.
Another area of concern was the ‘right over
tradition’. Reformists placed strong criticism against the traditional view
followed by the elites. Dayanandasarasvati(“Dayananda
Saraswati”) and Sri Chattambiswamikal(“Chattampi
Swamikal”) vehemently criticized the position held by smartas by interpreting
Vedic sources. Both shared a view that the original teachings Vedas are not
discriminatory. But the ill interested commentators interpolated their
sectarian views into them. Dayanandasarasvati establish that all born Hindus
have exclusive right on Vedas and Vedic knowledge in his Satyarthaprakasa. The
vedadhikaranirupanam of Chattampiswamikal also did the same. Svamikal goes to
the extent of quoting and rejecting the commentary of Sree Sankara on
Apasudradhikarana of brahma sutra. Yet he had full respect for the Vedanta
system. These attempts are remarkable because both these teachers were educated
in Indian conditions and they were not influenced by the western values.
The Ramakrishna
mission initiated by Vivekananda considered education and service are essential
for the development of nation and they started schools, colleges and hospitals.
He realized that the cast system and ‘untouchability’ that existed among Hindus
were preventing them from being a united society. The same was also the hurdle
before development. He was concerned about society and he declared that the
sudras will be the next ruling class. By sudras he meant the working class.
Changing a tradition is changing the mindset of its
members. How to transform the mindset of individuals? Acts and decrees will not
be successful as the aim is to change one’s total outlook. Hence he considered
spirituality as the only remedy to correct the society. The reason was that
Indian public was greatly spiritual.
Dr Palpu, one of the prominent figures in the
formation of S.N.D.P Yogam, also had a similar thought. The state of Travancore
was facing many agitations for human rights like equality, right for education,
right for using public roads, jobs in public institutions, right to enter
temple etc. Dr.Palpu himself organized Ezhava memorial but could not attract
mass support(Sanu). At this time he had no association with Sree Narayana
Guru. He realized a fact that only a spiritual personality could attract mass
support and he found the role in Sree Narayanaguru. Time has proved that the
observation of Dr.Palpu was right[8]. The
influence of Dr Palpu on Guru is clear. Guru promoted universal education. He
was the reformer who emphasized the role of technical education for social
development.
At the same time Guru adhered closely to the
tradition. His philosophical and devotional works reflect this close
attachment. His biographers had noted his affirmation that he follows
Sankaracharya in the spiritual realm.
This shows that reformers of modern age took the
welfare and progress of the society as important as anything else. Without
education, both formal and technical, society cannot survive and progress. This
is an important change in the attitude. Tradition considered spiritual
knowledge as supreme and ultimate. This approach forced scientists like P.C.
Ray to indict Sankaracharya and the spread of advaitavedanta as the cause of
decline of technical and scientific spirit during the period up to the European
interference(Ray
195).[9]
Advaitavedanta advocates withdrawal from active social
life is another argument. Modern vedantins reject both these concepts. Advaita
did not denounce Material knowledge as useless. But its interpreters might have
caused for this misunderstanding. The scientists (a group of) and vedantins
claim that quantum physics and Vedanta have something in common.(Rajaram)[10]
In the contemporary Indian spiritualism we can see a
shift of emphasis from the Upanishadic idea of 'knowledge' to the idea of
activity -'karma yoga'- of Bhagavad-Gita. For the transmission of novel ideas
our spiritual leaders and reformers, both political and social, used
Bhagavad-Gita as a tool. All of them emphasized 'karma yoga'. Disinterested
action, a traditional concept, is promoted for developing the sense of service
and social commitment in individuals. This transition was gradual. Sankara
started this kind of interpretation a kind of de-narration of traditional
concepts. He used Bhagavad-Gita as a means to reach ultimate moksha. His
emphasis was on knowledge. Later commentators substituted bhakti as the means
of moksha. Modern commentators replaced it with action or activity or active
social participation or involvement as the dominant teaching of Bhagavad-Gita.
There was another trend in advita Vedanta. It was
headed by traditional scholars like N.S Anantakrishnasastri, Ramarayakavi,
vasudevasastri abhyankar etc. This movement was scholastic and conservative (Halbfass
257, 260)[11].
Their attempts were to establish the supremacy of advaitavedanta over other
systems. The other Vedanta schools also joined in this movement as the attempts
of these scholars were direct attack over other system.
Contemporary Vedanta functions a bridge between
different systems. Almost all the systems associate in some way or other with
advaitavedanta. The best example is contemporary yoga. This argument is true
with ‘kriyayoga of paramahamsa yogananda’ and many systems practiced around.
Modern Vedanta pays more importance to practical ethics. It had presented the
cream of advaita Vedanta in a digestible format to common public- a
revolutionary change that the traditionalist feared. The scholastic arguments
and jargons are absent in the language of contemporary Vedanta[12] (“Practical
Vedanta”). It is plain and clear. Hence it became popular that even an illiterate
village grandma too can narrate the gist of Vedanta to her kids. This is a
result of the reform moments and dissemination of Vedanta principles through
oral and written forms in regional languages.
Notes
[1]. A reform movement is a kind of social movement that
aims to make gradual change, or change in certain aspects of society, rather
than rapid or fundamental changes. A reform movement is distinguished from more
radical social movements such as revolutionary movements.Reformists' ideas are
often grounded in liberalism, although they may be rooted in socialist (specifically,
Social democratic) or religious concepts. Some rely on personal transformation;
others rely on small collectives, such as Mahatma Gandhi's spinning wheel and
the self-sustaining village economy, as a mode of social change. Reactionary
movements, which can arise against any of these, attempt to put things back the
way they were before any successes the new reform movement(s) enjoyed, or to
prevent any such successes.
[2]. Neo-Vedanta, also called neo-Hinduism and
Hindu Universalism is a modern interpretation of Hinduism which developed in
the 19th century in response to western colonialism and orientalism. It
contributed to the Indian freedom struggle and India's identity as a modern,
accepting and independent nation. It presents Hinduism as a "homogenized
ideal of Hinduism" with Advaita Vedanta as its central doctrine.
[3]. Identity may be defined as the distinctive
characteristic belonging to any given individual, or shared by all members of a
particular social category or group. Identity may be distinguished from
identification; the former is a label, whereas the latter refers to the
classifying act itself. Identity is thus best construed as being both
relational and contextual, while the act of identification is best viewed as
inherently processual
[4]. There are many definitions of tradition. The
concept includes a number of interrelated ideas; the unifying one is that
tradition refers to beliefs, objects or customs performed or believed in the
past, originating in it, transmitted through time by being taught by one
generation to the next, and are performed or believed in the present.
[5] However, science is
not the central issue in Vivekananda's rediscovery And reinterpretation of the
Indian tradition. It is ethics, social commitment, and national identity
itself, which he tries to draw from the sources of Hindu religious and
metaphysical thought. The sense of identity and social initiative which he
tries to awaken in his fellow Indians must not be a borrowed or derivative one.
It must coincide with a sense of rediscovery and reacquisition of their own
heritage—and this means, above all, the heritage of Advaita Vedänta, the tradition of Sankara. Ethics,
self-confidence, and brotherly love find their true and binding Foundation in
Advaitic non-dualism; the Indians have discovered the true and metaphysical
principle for that which appears at the surface in the Ethical and social
efforts of the West. They only have to read opt and Transform in to social
action that which was always in their possession. Their Vedanta must become a
"practical Vedanta." (Halbfas 234)
[6]. An ideology is a set of conscious and
unconscious ideas that constitute one's goals, expectations, and actions. An
ideology is a comprehensive vision, a way of looking at things (compare worldview)
as in several philosophical tendencies (see political ideologies), or a set of
ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to all members of this
society (a "received consciousness" or product of
socialization).Ideologies are systems of abstract thought applied to public
matters and thus make this concept central to politics. Implicitly every
political or economic tendency entails an ideology whether or not it is
propounded as an explicit system of thought.
[7]. Both of these reformers wished to rid
Hinduism of what they regarded as superstition. These groups were instrumental
in sowing the seeds of Indian nationalism and Hindu missionary movements that
later journeyed to the West.
[8].
Palpu had met Swami Vivekananda and had talked to him about the plight of
Ezhavas. Swami had suggested that the struggle be carried on with a spiritual
leader as the guiding force. This suggestion at once raised the image of a
radiant face in Palpu’s mind- the face of Narayana Guru.
[9].
The Vedanta philosophy, as modified and expanded by sankara, which teaches the
unreality of the material world, is also to a large extant responsible for
bringing the study of physical science into disrepute. Sankara is unsparing in
his strictures on Kanada and his system. (P.C.Ray P.195 footnote)
[10].
To make sense of this mass of contradictions, some of the pioneers like
Schrödinger, Heisenberg, Robert Oppenheimer and David Bohm turned to eastern
philosophy. There they found that problems lying at the center of new physics
like reality, and existence had received the attention of Vedanta
philosophers........
I
see the question of Reality as the meeting ground between Vedanta and modern
physics, especially quantum mechanics. But this is at the metaphysical level
without insupportable claims that our ancestors already knew about discoveries
made by modern science. Reality is the Holy Grail of quantum physics; it is an
area in which Vedanta can make a significant contribution and thereby come to
occupy a central position in modern metaphysics. But for this to happen Vedanta
or some parts of it must be expressed in an idiom that can work with modern
science. This is the program that my colleagues and I are pursuing. Navaratna
Srinivas Rajaram (NS Rajaram)
[11]. In contrast to Neo-Hinduism and other, less
reserved forms of adopting Western ideas which may amount to a complete neglect
of traditional Hindu thought, there are ways of survival or deliberate
continuation of the Indian tradition in which European concepts and
orientations play apparently no role at all and in which the European
foreigners are referred to only in accordance with traditional xenology and its
basic concept of the mleccha. Yet, the absence of explicit forms of
assimilation and ostensible influences does not mean that such
"traditionalism" has remained entirely unaffected by the Western presence.
(Halbfass 257)
Generally, the authors of these and similar
works of modern Sanskrit literature warn against the practice of
reinterpretation (for instance, of the four main"castes,"varna),that is
so common in Neo-Hinduism, and against the introduction of "new sectarian traditions"(nutanasampradaya)
(Halbfass 260)
[12].
You must be a practical Vedantin. Mere theorising and lecturing is only
intellectual gymnastics and lingual warfare. This will not suffice. If Vedanta
is not practicable, no theory is of any value. You must put Vedanta in daily
practice in every action of yours. Vedanta teaches oneness or unity of self.
You must radiate love to one and all. The spirit of Vedanta must be ingrained
in your cells or tissues, veins, nerves and bones. It must become part and
parcel of your nature. You must think of unity, speak of unity and act in
unity. If you deliver a thrilling lecture on the platform on Vedanta and say, I
am the all; I am the one Self in all; there is nothing but myself and show in
action the next moment a different attitude of selfishness and separateness,
you will not produce any impression on the public. You will be called as a dry
Vedantin only. Nobody will care for you. (Swami
Sivananda)
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