"Vivekananda" is translated into Russian as "light of reason". The real name of the Indian thinker was different - Narendranatt Dutt. But the nickname, as is often the case, turned out to be so suitable that it was under it that he went down in history. And also with a respectful prefix - Swami, indicating that he was a monk (in India this does not mean life in a monastery).
Vivekananda was born in 1863 in Bengal, in the family of a wealthy lawyer from the highest caste of Brahmins. He studied in college, where, by the way, he mastered English perfectly. However, he did not follow in his father's footsteps, although he received legal training. Initially, Vivekananda was interested in Western and Indian philosophy, but then a significant event happened in his life - he met the priest of the temple, Rani Rasmani, named after the woman priestess who once founded it.
This man (Gadodhar Chattopadhyaya), who had a huge influence on the formation of the personality of Narendranatt, went down in history under the name Ramakrishna (1836 - 1886). It should be noted that the first teacher of Ramakrishna was an "enlightened" woman (in India they are called sanyasini). In short, in the views of Ramakrishna himself, one can see his good acquaintance with the ancient philosophy of Shaktism - the cult of the feminine principle. At the same time, this man himself thought in an original way, was fluent in yoga and hypnosis, and was known for his righteousness and hermitage. At the first meeting with Vivekananda, Ramakrishna appreciated the extraordinary abilities of the young man. Soon Vivekananda became one of his disciples.
Comparing the now published records of Ramakrishna's conversations with his disciples and the works of Swami Vivekananda, you see: the disciple went further than his teacher, taking all the best from him. In the early 1890s, after the death of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda made a walking trip across India, which took almost three years. He went to the extreme south of his country.
Meanwhile, America has decided to hold the World Congress of Religions. It was in 1893. Vivekananda learned about the upcoming congress from the newspapers during his travels. And he went to the USA. His speeches at the convention were so impressive that he received many offers to lecture and then traveled around America for about two years. It was the recordings of his lectures that formed the basis of books published later. Once in one of the states of the "Wild West" the listeners decided to test Vivekananda's excerpt in the "cowboy" way - they began to shoot at the wall of the hall to the right and left of the lecturer. But Vivekananda remained calm.
Glory did not spoil this young, but already wise man. He visited England, France, China. Upon his return to India, Vivekananda continued his educational activities, although he did not live long (he died in 1902). Mahatma Gandhi treated Vivekananda with great respect, considering him one of his spiritual teachers.
The philosopher is still remembered in the West and in the East. There are ashrams named after him. They have been operating for almost a hundred years, not striving to unnecessarily expand the number of students at the expense of curious lovers of the exotic. But the main thing is that there are very interesting books by Vivekananda.
In Russia, by 1914, almost all of them were published in Russian. New translations were published in the 1990s. Swami Vivekananda is one of the most famous Indian philosophers. But he is revered by both yogis and researchers of the mysteries of the human psyche. In his works, on the whole, the course of events on the world stage in the 20th century is accurately predicted, including a wave of revolutions with a subsequent rollback.
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Swami Vivekananda singled out karma yoga, raja yoga, jnana yoga and bhakti yoga (and in general there are more than twenty varieties of yoga). The well-known breathing exercises of hatha yoga and postures (asanas) are only the initial stage in the preparation of a yogi. And the four types of yoga listed are the main ways of his further spiritual development. All of them not only do not contradict one another, but, on the contrary, are intertwined. And yet, you can choose the main path depending on your character.
The followers of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda chose as their emblem the image of a swan floating on a lotus flower on the waters of a calm lake in the rays of the rising sun. The emblem is surrounded by the figure of a wise serpent. The lake is a symbol of karma yoga (yoga of action). The rays of the sun are the symbol of jnana yoga (yoga of knowledge). The serpent symbolizes the royal or raja yoga. The lotus is the symbol of bhakti yoga, or yoga of love. And the swan in this case means the innermost "I" of a person.
Vivekananda was far from preaching an abstract worldview, avoiding worldly affairs and worries. On the contrary, he emphasized the eternal value of labor for the benefit of other people and wrote: "Take responsibility for everything and remember that you create your own destiny."
To better understand the essence of the four types of yoga, it is easiest to give the floor to the philosopher himself. From Karma Yoga: "This world will become for us what the optimists see it, if we learn to control our mind." From Raja Yoga: "The whole process of the transition of the mind to the layer of more subtle vibrations in yoga is called in one word - samadha." And here is how Vivekananda advises to prepare the mind for the perception of these "subtle vibrations", having previously avoided the "rough" vibrations: “The full moon is reflected in the waves of the lake, but the surface is so worried that we do not see this reflection clearly. Let the water calm down."
From almost unknown in our country "Jnana Yoga": "If I am angry, the whole world is full of evil." And further: "The thought of the transmigration of souls is not only nothing terrible, but it is also very important for the moral health of mankind." Finally, one quote from Bhakti Yoga: “The highest use of life is service to all living things” …
An observant philosopher's remark about the deep essence of the differences between the cultures of the West and the East is interesting. According to him, a typical representative of Western civilization strives for everything to be clean outside (and in fact, in some countries it is customary to maintain special cleanliness in the garden near the cottage, in front of the porch of the house), and secondly, inside, in the soul. Eastern civilization, on the other hand, prioritizes inner purity, while such a person can live in poverty, remaining indifferent to it. In the more distant future, as Vivekananda predicted, people will certainly learn to combine the science of the West with the spirituality of the East, which will lead humanity to a higher level of development.
"This same world will become for us what the optimists see it, if we learn to control our minds."
In our difficult and, alas, quite anxious age, it would be nice to know the opinion of Swami Vivekananda, expressed by him in relation to both religious and secular fanaticism: “Fanatics cannot work, because they waste three quarters of their energy. A calm, balanced, practical person really works."
