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Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda

• On surface level, a Westerner appears as materialist, cruel, and greedy to Indian eye, and to Western eye, Indian appears as lazy, custom-ridden, and beggarly!


• As different individuals have different set of samskaras and proportion of qualities (gunas), similarly each nation has its own proportion of qualities; good qualities are not a monopoly of any one nation. Each nation has proportion of good and bad qualities.


• From time immemorial Shiva, Kali and Krishna are being worshipped in India and they will always rule Supreme here! No missionary of any religion will be able to remove them from India!


• With India the prominent idea is Mukti, Ultimate Liberation whereas with Western nations it is Dharma, seeking happiness here and hereafter.



• Till now Mukti was only possible in India but now-onwards it will be possible in other lands.


• By forcing on everyone the ideal of Moksha, Buddhism brought ruin to India. The old idea of Swadharma - acting as per ones position and capacity (varnashrama) - is correct and it gradually guides all towards higher and higher ideals; it also maintains the strength and vigour of society/nation.


• Without Dharma and proper karma no one can acquire chitta-shuddhi (purification of mind) - basic criterion for aspiring Moksha ideal.


• Buddha and Christ offered only Moksha; those who don't want it or are incapable of it are left with nothing, while Vedic religion rightly offers Dharma, Artha, and Kama besides Moksha.



• Each nation has a central purpose for which it exists, e.g. French - political independence, English - business principle, Hindu - spiritual independence and no interference in religious matters. The Pathan dynasties came and went without being able to firmly establish their rule in India because they tried to destroy Hindu religion; but Moguls succeeded greatly because they did not touch Hindu's religion, in fact, Jahangir, Shah-Jahan, and Dara-Shikoh were born of Hindu mothers! Mogul empire was propped by Hindus; as soon as Aurangazeb tried to touch Hindu religion, the Mogul empire simply vanished!


• Arya - Hindu (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya), Cheen, Hun, Darad, Pahalava, Yavana, Khash; Cheen- not China but ancient tribe in north-eastern Kashmir, Hun - Tibetan tribe, Yavana - Greeks, Darad - Afgan-border tribe, Pahalava - Ancient Parsees, Khash - semi-Aryan tribes of Himalaya, ancestors of Europeans.


• In all customs and habits the Hindu vision is inward while Western vision is outward. The Hindu keeps diamonds wrapped in a rag, as it were, while the Westerner preserves a lump of earth in a golden casket!


• As to Veg or Non-Veg diet, it is best to follow as per the birth and profession i.e. as per the injunctions of Hindu scriptures about Varnashrama.



• Food habits and cooking methods vary according to different cultures, religions, climates etc. In India the main food is Roti and/or Rice, rest all is "Vyanjana". In West, poor classes eat bread and potatoes while fish and meat is "Vyanjana"; for wealthy in West fish and meat is primary and rest is chutney. For West French food and clothing is trend-setter. Since primitive times humans have taste for rotten meat and it continues till today in some form or other; the vegetarians too have their onions and garlics.


• Each religion has certain food-related injunctions except Christianity. Jews, like Hindus, do not eat flesh which is not offered to God. Milk being hard digest it is not taken along with flesh; milk should be sipped in small quantities for easy digestion. 'The Chinese were the primeval teachers of civilisation in dress and other things pertaining to various comforts and luxuries.'


• In Europe it is Shakti-worship everywhere; 'Ave Maria', Mother of God, and women are respected. Moors brought Shakti-worship to Europe but later they forgot it and were left behind in Africa; but in Europe and Christianity, it flourished.


• France is the centre of Western Civilisation; their love for art and nature is exceptional. The word 'firang' used by Indians for outsiders, for Europeans is derived from Frank - the original rulers of Europe.



• Renaissance - in 16th Century AD, when India was ruled by Moghuls, Europe - especially Italy - which had been dead for some time, had re-birth when it was invaded by Arabs. The Arabs had absorbed the culture of Persia. Persia had the mix of old Greece and India. When Arabs conquered Persia they acquired this rich mixed culture and later impregnated Europe with it. But this revival of Italy was brief and so was the Moghul revival of India. The power of civilisation that had rushed in Italy was mainly utilized by Franks and the other nations of Europe.


• In modern Europe science, art, philosophy, military, fashion etc. first starts in Paris, then it flows out everywhere. France has fine taste w.r.t. everything while others imitate Paris. 'Paris is the fountain-head of European Civilisation, as Gomukhi is of the Ganga.'


• Chastity of woman is more important in every society because chastity increases the tendency for multiplying population - nature's own tendency.


• With French Revolution and Napoleon's victories in Europe, ideas of Liberty, Equality, and Freedom were implanted in whole Europe.



• Knowledge is finding unity in diversity. That particular relation by which man finds this sameness is called law or Natural Law. '... the variations that the One has undergone, the different sorts of species and individuality It is assuming - that can be understood, and the enquiry into this is called Science.'


• Primitive man's occupations: hunting, fishing, cattle-tending, & then tilling of land. Before the arrival of man on scene, Nature was changing trees, plants, birds, beasts etc. but man hastened this with his occupations. Initially there was no marriage system, only matrimonial relations and Mother was head/important figure. Then man developed the idea of owning wealth, property and woman; so marriage system appeared within tribes but still snatching of wives was rampant. Later this dropped and mutual consent among tribes was settled.


• Devas - agriculture, civilized, village and town systems, weak in physique; Asuras - fishing, hunting, cattle-grazing, uncivilized, strong in physique; Frequent fights between the above two and also intermingling, slowly King, Merchant, Labourer classes developed.


• Asian civilization developed on fertile soil on banks of Ganges, Yangtse-kiang, Euphrates - these had Daivi (divine) aspects. While European civilization developed on high mountains or sea coasts - these had Asuri (demonical) aspects.



• Asuras from Central Asia, Arabia chased and scattered Devas of Asia all over world. Europe started to become civilized; in time Yavana (Greeks) appeared out of this process. Later in Italy, Roman barbarians conquered civilized Etruscans and assimilated their culture & learning; became victorious in all directions. Later Asuras from Asia and barbarians from Northern Europe destroyed the Romans and through fusion & mixture of various races modern European race sprang up. They kept fighting among themselves for some time and meanwhile the two heads of Christian Churches (Roman and Constantinople) exercised more and more control over kings, queens, and people.


• Meanwhile Arabs, taking inspiration from Mohammad, spread towards Europe and with them brought the Culture of Indian and Greece to Europe.


• A tribe of Asuras - Seljuk Tartars - became Muslims and conquered Arab and Asia. Arabs had tried to conquer India but failed; it was Turks and Tartar Muslims who conquered India. From Kutubbuddin to Moguls all are Tartars - they are same race as Tibetans but only converted to Islam. Without Tartar blood, war-like spirit is almost impossible; Russian have three-fourths Tartar blood in their veins!


• The Tartars blocked the access to Jerusalem for Christians and hence barbarian Crusades followed. Even eating Mohammedan's blood was popular!



• Slowly Europe started civilizing due to contact with Asia. A sect called 'Knights Templars' were influenced by Advaita and ridiculed Christianity. They were exterminated by European Kings under the order of Pope. Moors - a tribe of Muslims - conquered Spain and made it civilized centre of learning; but Europe was slowly converted into military camp and was same till recent times.


• The 'Progress of Civilization' boasted by Western Nations is nothing but successful accomplishment of desired objective by wrong means i.e. end justify the means. The European ethics means, "Get out from this place, I want to come and possess it". Wherever they have gone they have wiped out aboriginal people. Organized Christianity never helped propagation of knowledge, secular or spiritual, and it lend helping hand in wiping out conquered races. As against this, wherever Islam went, the aboriginal culture survives; Koran encourages knowledge, art, science but New Testament cannot be said to do so actively.


• All the progress of Europe has been done by going against the Gospel. In the modern period European civilization has firmly rejected Church-Christianity and thus science and other branches have developed. But for ignorance ridden rustic rural masses, Christianity would not have survived. On the other hand in Islamic countries, scholars and peasants, rulers and masses follow and accept precepts of religion. Indian Aryans love peace, culture of mind and they are cultivators of land; they know that the real enjoyment is only possible in peace which comes from renunciation. Here ruling over the plough and sword was Dharma, the protector of all.


• The Western scholars - according to their own tendency - have come to conclusion that Aryans came from mountains into India and wiped out aboriginal people! This is foolish guesswork and inability to understand ancient Indian texts. The means of European civilization is sword while that of Bharata is division into different Varnas. Varnashrama is the stepping stone to civilization: raising one by steps according to one's learning and culture.

( Vol V of Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda can be downloaded here )

----------- Om Tat Sat -----------