Swami Vivekananda’s lecture on ‘Vedantism’ at Jaffna

Basic Human Problem

Human being is basically a ‘cognitive entity’, with a capacity to be conscious about oneself. Being self-conscious, he finds himself as a wanting person, who is unable to fulfil all his needs, physically, psychologically, intellectually. As a person with wants, smallness,inadequacy and insignificancy he can’t be happy and satisfied. This dissatisfaction causes suffering in his mind and is called ‘Samsara’ in Sanskrit.Every human being is struggling to get rid of this suffering. 

There is an urge to be free from all these wants, limitations and inadequacy. Whole life is spent in ‘becoming someone’ better than the present condition. What he wants ‘to become’ differs from time to time, but, that he wants ‘to become someone better and fulfilled’does not change. There is no end for his struggle to become significantentity in life. In fact, he desires to be a significant entity, free from dissatisfaction, inadequacy and limitations by becoming someone better than the present condition at least after his death. That is why he desires for a better life in heavens. This urge to become someone better, significant, and free from smallness and wanting personality is called ‘ Mumukshutvam ’ in Sanskrit. This is a natural, choice-less and universalurge for every human being and therefore it can’t be dismissed.

Initially he tries to be a significant one, free from dissatisfaction and inadequacy by being wealthy, educated and powerful. His life experiences teach him that these external means can’t fulfil his desire to be a ‘significant entity’. When he discovers that neither he can dismiss nor can he fulfil this urge by external achievements, he turns towards the religion and religious scriptures for solution.

Solution Given by Veda – the Hindu Scripture:

Veda is a body of knowledge existing eternally and discovered by the sages and expressed in the form of words. Being eternal, Veda is notauthored by any particular Sage. Veda reveals Conscious Entity as the cause of this creation and nothing exists different from the Conscious Entity. This revelation is unique and valid knowledge. This revelation can’t be verified or negated by human instruments, namely mind and sense organs, since theydon’t have access to that ConsciousEntity. 

Human instruments can function only in the fields of inert matter. Through mind and sense organs one can never know anything about Consciousness Entity.Therefore, Hindus, irrespective of their differences in theological and philosophical interpretations, accept Veda as thehighest source of knowledge in knowing that Conscious Entity. Initial portion of Veda deals with duties of human being, various means to attain different types of achievements by human beings in this life and life after the death. Final portion of Veda, which is called as Vedanta, deals with absolute freedom from all types of limitations, smallness and inadequacy.

When a person approaches Vedanta with a question, ‘Howcan Ibecome a significant and fulfilled entity?’, Vedanta emphatically says that ‘You are already a significant entity. First, find out whether you are factually a wanting person, an insignificant one. If you are factually a wanting person suffering from various limitations and inadequacy, then there is no means for freedom, for fulfilment. If you are not free and fulfilled now, then there is no means or methods to be so in the future. Since, you can’t change the fact by any means, it is meaningless to struggle to be free and fulfilled.Your self-judgement,as a limited, wanting, insignificant and suffering person, does not have any valid data and therefore is nothing but confusion.Therefore, look at yourself once again with adequate emotional maturity and with the help of a competent teacher, who is free from ignorance about oneself.”

This Vedantic vision, this possibility of, oneself being already a fulfilled and significant entity, is an amazing one. This proposition is a gift of Vedanta, of Hinduism, of Vedic culture to the entire humanity. No other scripture, no other religion, no other culture asserts that, ‘Freedom from insignificancy through knowledge’ as the solution for human sufferings. This vision is not a dogma or a doctrine meant for belief. Vedanta does not ask us to believe this vision, but wants us to verify and understand. Vedanta reveals this vision in a systematic way. Understanding this vision is a challenge for our thinking faculty.

Discovering oneself as ever free and significant entity is called ‘Moksha ’ in Sanskrit. This Moksha, freedom from insignificancy, freedom from all limitations, wants, and inadequacy is the real gain and therefore purpose of human life. All other external gains including going to heavens after death can’t make one as fulfilled, since all of them are subject to limitations. All external gains are results of some struggle. No gain can be eternal and unconditional. All gains come with price tags, andsubject to gradations and limitations. That is why Vedas describes that even the Indra , the king of gods, is a wanting person and all types of heavenly pleasures are subject to various limitations and gradations.
In his lecture, Swami Vivekananda recapitulates this assertion of Vedanta;

“..Even in the highest of heavens, says our scripture, you are a slave; what matters it if you are a king for twenty thousand years? So long as you have a body, so long as you are a slave to happiness, so long as time works on you, space works on you, you are a slave. The idea, therefore, is to be free of external and internal nature. Nature must fall at your feet, and you must trample on it and be free and glorious by going beyond…