Sages—A Great Need For Moral And Spiritual Guidance
By
Sri Swami Chidananda
This article is a chapter from the book Swami Sivananda, Our Loving Awakener.
(Message given on the 80th Birth Anniversary of Swami Sivananda)
We may say that the saints and sages of this country are, though past from the physical point of view, still living in a cosmic form in and through every true son and daughter of Bharatavarsha who has imbibed and drawn into himself or herself some part of the fundamentals of our culture. For the pattern of the daily life of every individual is undeniably dominated by the high idealism set up for emulation by the Sant-Parampara from the age of the Upanishads right up to this twentieth century. Every true Indian has in himself some element of these saintly qualities, developed and demonstrated by the saints when they lived and moved upon the Indian scene and handed down to us a permanent heritage through their lives and mission.
The innermost core, the very life breath of India’s cultural genius consists of her spiritual idealism. The life ethical or Dharma and the direct experience of divine perfection or Aparokshanubhuti are like her ingoing and outgoing breath. They are the twin beats of the innermost heart of this country. The vital Indian genius did not conceive of this idealism as being theoretical, but meant it to be the very basis of the active life of its people. It was to pervade and control all their life’s activities. The social structure and the pattern of the individual’s life were so conceived as to make this the dominant note in practical living. Hence we have the declaration that Dharma supports man’s life on earth. Dharma bestows prosperity and brings all-round fulfillment of man’s aspiration here. Finally, Dharma becomes the means for the attainment of the great goal of life, namely supreme freedom or Moksha. Such is the concept of the Purushartha Chatushtaya – Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha. The supreme spiritual ideal which is to be life’s culmination is based upon Dharma actively practised in man’s day-to-day life.
The leading spiritual luminaries from time immemorial have ever striven to guide the stream of life along the lines of Dharma towards this progressive realisation of integral perfection. The refinement of human nature and the gradual evolution of human consciousness from its state of grossness and impurity into an ideal state of purity, goodness and divine perfection have been the endeavour of numerous great souls. Their idealism has not been other-worldly. They have striven for the transformation of man’s life here on earth from a state of animalistic quest after the constant appeasement of his lower sensual appetites into a state of higher and nobler aspiration and a loftier seeking of the attainment of the sublime eternal values. They have dedicated their lives to the task of endowing the human being with a loftier vision and inspiring him to earnestly endeavour the achievement of ethical and spiritual perfection, which is the true and worthwhile goal of life. One such true and inspiring representative of this unforgettable galaxy of blessed awakeners in this much disturbed age, the material-minded twentieth century, is the sagely Swami Sivananda, the saint of Ananda Kutir.
To bring about the recognition and an acceptance of the spiritual purpose of man’s life, to reinstate the moral law and a consciousness of moral values in all spheres of human activity, to guide modern men and women everywhere through a life of practical idealism towards a harmonious and integral unfoldment and to admonish, exhort and urge them to live in willing conformity with the universal ethical standards—such were the noble qualities and tasks carried out by this saintly man of wisdom. To this task he had dedicated himself. This noble work Swami Sivananda has been ceaselessly doing for the past more than thirty years. His work was dynamic. Tirelessly this holy man of God had kept himself at this sublime mission, until a gradual revolution has been brought about in the outlook, the sense of values, the attitude and ideals of countless sincere men and women the world over.
Swami Sivananda was a unique phenomenon in many ways. Stepping into this field of spiritual life at what is undeniably a turning point in the near history of the early twentieth century, the period immediately after the First World War and the tremendous boom that followed it, Swami Sivananda saw before him a world suddenly released from strife and tension plunge into an unrestrained attitude of ‘eat, drink and be merry’. The intoxication of the prosperity and glitter of gold and silver made people everywhere to shelve the higher idealism and immerse themselves in the pursuits of material acquisition and a life of sense satisfaction.
Sri Swamiji, filled with the strong inward power of the Divine as the result of his spiritual illumination attained through a decade of intense penance and spiritual pursuits, rose to the role of an awakener and a spiritual leader at the juncture when the inevitable reaction of this sudden boom came with the equally sudden aftermath. It left the whole world bewildered, and in the years that followed the world never had a chance to recover and find its moorings. There followed the disastrous Second World War that has given place to the nightmarish cold war, which is even now stifling people everywhere in its ruthless grip. During all these years this one saintly man, perhaps more than anyone else, had sustained the spirit of humanity with his heartening and rousing message of strong positivism, intense spiritual optimism, hope and active endeavour for spiritual attainment. Though he lived his simple life in his quiet Ashram retreat nestling on the slopes of the Himalayan foothills, yet he had entered into the life stream of humanity. The force of his teachings, the inspiration of his idealistic life and the magnetic influence of his powerful personality had come to be felt as a living transforming presence in the lives of men and women of this twentieth century. His presence was felt as a saving grace and a redeeming power in their frustrated lives, racked by the uncertainties and insecurity of the post-atomic period. The people of today’s world, people of all walks of life, high and low, find in Swami Sivananda a humane philosopher, a man possessed with a fund of common-sense, sympathy and deep understanding of not only their inward spiritual problems and intricate mental conflicts, but also of their simple and practical daily difficulties and problems. Having been guided by him in private as well as in public affairs, men of eminence, leaders and administrators and persons who held high positions and carried heavy responsibilities, had acquired a new vision and learnt a simple technique of harmonising the claims of the world of matter in which they lived with the eternal inner call of their essential spiritual nature, the enfoldment and perfection which is the great task to be achieved. By coming into contact with this spiritual luminary even hard matter-of-fact men of action have had light thrown upon their lives and the secret revealed to them of adhering to the path of virtue and righteousness in the midst of the chaotic, unethical activities in this present age. When truthfulness, selflessness, honesty, purity, moral rectitude seem to be fast vanishing from human society, the gentle and persuasive, but insistent and persistent message of this towering man of wisdom has replanted them in the true life through his simple, universal concept of Divine Life.
Swami Sivananda’s entire philosophy and outlook is based upon his direct spiritual realisation and the resultant deep and unshakable belief in the Supreme Almighty Deity that governs and guides man’s life. This Supreme Presence was to him the most tremendous fact of life. A vibrant, living faith in this Divine Presence pervaded all his life and entered into each and every thought and action of his. Sri Swamiji’s contact with IT was vital and perennial and was unhampered by his perception of and participation in the normal affairs of men and things of this world. This was because to him the whole world stood transfigured as a grand manifestation, a glorious and visible expression of the Divine Substance, into which he had perfectly entered and with which he had integrated his own being. No wonder then that the Light and the Wisdom that flowed forth from him had the power and the illumining quality of the Divine Source with which he lived in unbroken inner union.
Thus, when in solving your problems, he speaks to you, his words enter into you and you find your spirit quickened. Insurmountable obstacles become simple to surmount, what was difficult becomes easy. Fears and misgivings vanish. Doubts that had arisen sink and disappear in a sea of faith, and weakness that was felt in the heart a moment ago is replaced by an upsurge of inner strength. You feel both lightened and enlightened. Such was this strange and yet simple Swami Sivananda, who was throughout a friend and a helper to thousands of people. He was their sympathetic consoler and sage counselor, who is enshrined in the hearts of many as their mentor in matters moral and as their spiritual Guide and Master.
I deem it a great good fortune and privilege to have this sacred opportunity of paying my homage to Satgurudev Swami Sivananda on the auspicious day of his Eightieth Birthday Anniversary. In him I see a unique and amazing confluence of two trends, viz. of renunciation and all the inwardness and detachment it connotes and the thrilling dynamism with all the outwardly expressed activity and a sympathetic interest in human beings and their lives. These two seemingly divergent trends would lead us to suppose revered Gurudev to be a mixture of contradictions. But no, rather it is precisely to teach us that true renunciation and dynamism are not contradictory and to bring home to us the lofty lessons that all inspired altruistic activity for the commonweal of mankind is actually based upon and springs forth from a genuine renunciation of one’s self-centered life. Our revered Master had taken to this ancient Order and lived his noble life of unceasing good works and innumerable services unto all classes and sections of humanity all over the world. His renunciation represents, as it were, a fertile seed out of which has sprung forth the great tree of his renunciate life, full of flowers, fruits and the shade-giving foliage of a many-sided Lokasangraha or selfless service to humanity upon the physical, mental, moral and spiritual fields. The Master’s twin acts of renunciation and dynamic service carry the message: “O Man! Give up thy little ‘I’ and thy petty selfish life; let thy selfless life flower into cosmic love, into world brotherhood and service unto all. Give up your little self and give yourself in body, mind and spirit to the whole world. To renounce is verily to offer yourself as a gift unto the noble cause of human welfare.”
May the world respond to this living call. May the Master’s radiant life inspire one and all. May this Birthday Anniversary mark the dawn of a new day in the life of modern man wherein the spirit of renunciation and self-giving replace that of greed, selfishness and hatred and bring happiness, joy and peace into the lives of all men.