Swamiji's Warning and Direction
When Swami Vivekananda returned to India from America, a few people said to him at some place
in South India : "Swamiji, please come to politics and make India free. Then we will all follow
you." Swamiji replied : "I can give you freedom tomorrow itself. But will you be able to preserve
it? Where do you have the men? First make men in the true sense of the term and then think of freedom."
We realize today how true Swamiji's words were! Why is the condition of our country so wretched?
Because there are no men of character and integrity. It is misguided education and life-pattern
that are preventing the making of true men. There is much substance in what you hear nowadays
in Convocation meetings, but one fails to find in them any mention about the ideal of life. How
different were the convocation meetings of the ancient times as we find in the upanishads! In those
days teachers would tell the student before he returned home : "Be truthful, be righteous. Speak
the truth, practice religion, don't perform evil deeds, follow what is good." They used to say,
"Be a man. Don't stop the pursuit of Knowledge just because you are now leaving the school. Study
you must, always."They would further instruct : "Matr-devo �bhava, Let your mother be your God;
pitr-devo bhava, let your father be your God; �a`ca`rya-devo bhava,�let your
teacher be your God." They used to give all these instructions. To this Swamiji has added two more
instructions : "Daridra-devo bhava,�let the poor be your God;�mu`rkha-devo bhava,
�let the ignorant be your God."
Back