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Subject: Swami Vivekananda: The First Great Social Revolutionary
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Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 01:31:04 GMT

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Subject: Swami Vivekananda: The First Great Social Revolutionary
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From: Tattva Darsana
Article: Swami Vivekananda and Modern Socialism
Author: Sibranjan Chatterjee

Associated with:
  Sister Nivedita Academy
  118, Big Street, 
  Triplicane, Madras: 600 005


Swami Vivekananda: The First Great Social Revolutionary
-------------------------------------------------------

Swami Vivekananda was the first great social revolutionary of India. 
He was the first among the 19th century Indians who strongly protested
against untouchability. He was the first monk and outstanding spiritual
leader in the history to uphold without any reservation the cause of 
women and the common people. Swamiji was again the first Indian who
firmly stood for social justice and for eradication of economic
inequality. As Swamiji said: "Remember the nation lives in the cottage. 
But alas! no body ever did anything for them... Can you raise them? Can
you give them back their lost individuality? Can you become the
occidental of occidentals in your spirit of equality, freedom, work and
energy, and in the same time a Hindu to the backbone in religious
culture and instincts? This is to be done and we will all do it. You are
all born to do it..Sympathy to the poor, to the down trodden, even unto
death --this is our motto.". Swamiji said elsewhere: "Engrossed in the
struggle for existence, they had not the opportunity for the awakening
of knowledge. They have worked so long like machines guided by human
intelligence, and the clever educated section have taken the substantial
part of the fruits of their labour. In every country this has been the
case. But times have changed. The lower classes have gradually awakening
to this fact and making a united front against this, determined to exact 
their legitimate dues... The upper clases will no longer be able to 
repress the lower, try they ever so much. The well-being of the higher 
classes now lies in the helping the lower to get their legitimate rights". 

Vivekananda was the first to draw the attention of the Indian leaders to
the social implication of the curse of mass poverty. Before him many
great people attempted in their individual ways to feed the starving.
But no person before Vivekananda had categorically pointed out that
freedom of the people from want of daily bread was the first condition
of national regeneration of India. As Swamiji pointed out: "Their
extreme poverty is one the causes why the Chinese and the Indians have
remained in a state of mummified civilization."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Krithi