Lessons from Swamiji

Swami Vivekananda is not a part of the traditional RSS iconography. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi has latched on to the famous Hindu ascetic, apparently in a political gesture, seeking to transmit the Hindu man of action image to young Hindus. This appears a part of a broader effort to incorporate certain extolled figures of our anti-colonial movement into the amended version of the Hindutva pantheon as prominent Hindutva votaries were absent from the protracted anti-British struggle.

The acclaimed swami was not linked to any party but was seen by his contemporaries — including the agnostic Jawaharlal Nehru — as a patriotic holy man, who conveyed to the world the idea of the spiritual unity of India and Indians, although they practised many faiths.

At the 1893 Parliament of World Religions in Chicago, Swami Vivekananda was practically received as a rock star for the message he gave. He said: “As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea; so, O Lord, the different paths which men take, through different tendencies, various though they appear, all lead to Thee.” This was during a time when colonial rulers sought to divide the ruled on religious lines.

On Monday, 124 years after Swamiji’s Chicago address, Congress president Sonia Gandhi sought to stress this aspect when she spoke of his message of the oneness of all religions and the unity of Indians, subtly hinting that Mr Modi does not practise what Vivekananda preached. The PM addressed a youth gathering on the occasion too, but focused equally on Vivekananda and RSS icon Deendayal Upadhyay.