The Hinduism of today²

I am a dreamer. I come from the land of Dreams. I am now in a dreamboat. The name of my dreamboat is Hinduism. Day in, day out, it sails. On it sails across the sea of Eternity. It knows no journey's end. Its goal is Immortality. The Boatman is the Dreamer Supreme. If you, my brothers and sisters, would like to sail with me in this boat, do come. I welcome you all with my folded hands, with unbounded love and tears of delight. The fare demands no dollars, no cents, nothing of the sort. The fare is just sympathy, the sympathy that springs from the heart's core.

To add to the joy of our enthusiasm, a voice, quite unexpected, of a courageous dreamer, is now heard echoing and re-echoing in the recesses of our memories. A century and a half ago, he saw the light of day here at Long Island, New York. He is Walt Whitman. The Seer-Poet with his message of the universal "I" joins us in our momentous journey.

Our first stop is a visit to Dr. Radhakrishnan, one of the greatest living philosophers. He speaks on Hinduism:

Keeping this in mind, let us move on to examine Hinduism. It is no doubt a great religion. But it is also a simple religion. It does not want to confuse a man or test his intellectual capacities. It does not crave for his attention or solicit his favour. What it significantly wants from him is his soul's understanding. Hinduism wants not only to preserve, but also to propagate the inner law of every human soul, if so is the Will of God. What it precisely wants is to possess and be possessed by all that is best in the cultural, religious and spiritual wisdom of the world.

Although it has had its periods of inertia, Hinduism is not a static religion. A static religion would lead only to sterility and finally to death. Hinduism has, in its long history, become an emblem of flexibility, independence, creative thinking, spontaneous innovation in both thought and action. Hinduism knows how to adopt, Hinduism knows how to absorb; it knows too how to reject in order to sit at the feet of Truth. Hinduism is a ceaseless mounting cry for Truth. It aspired and so does it still aspire to epitomise an all-embracing spiritual outlook of humanity.

India's past is remarkably rich and varied. The same can be said of her dauntless present. It can and must provide a starting-point for the golden future. The Hinduism of today is sincerely trying to discover an unprecedented way of life in which the groups of radically differing racial, historical, ethical, conceptual and spiritual backgrounds may live in perfect harmony and at the same time actively collaborate in the fulfilment of one task: the marriage of matter and spirit. India, in its purest essence, is neither a matter-mad nor a world-shunning country. And the tolerance with which Hinduism has always been associated is firmly rooted in sacrifice and in recognising fully the other man's right.

India is acting without fear but not with a sense of superiority. Indeed Hinduism has become self-critical of late. Hence its improvement is dawning fast. It is true that the Hinduism of today has countless problems. It is equally true that Mother India alone has to solve all her problems. And certainly she will. An indomitable will is energising Bharat Mata. Progress, both material and spiritual is being effected with lightning speed. One thing of supreme importance is that the Hinduism of today is going to model itself, not on western or eastern, southern or northern patterns, but on the Infinite's own pattern.

Here in America, we are in the land of freedom, a freedom that nourishes dynamic thoughts and dynamic movements. There in India, we are in a land of freedom, the freedom of a fertile tolerant spirituality nourishing all religions. Here we wish to reach God by running speedily, while there we wish to reach God by climbing, swiftly.

Now let us go and listen to a devout Hindu. He says that his father is Silence, his mother is Power. Silence feeds his consciousness. Power utilises his consciousness. His parents teach him to breathe in the air of spiritual oneness, to feel that oneness in all human beings, indeed in the entire creation.

His parents have taught him the secret of secrets that through meditation alone the world can be seen and felt, fully and integrally. They have made him realise his life as part and parcel of humanity. He has no race, no nation of his own. His religion, if there be any, is God-vision. To realise God, he has not to kill his lower self. He has just to transform it into his Higher Self. Lo! The Goal beckons him. Indeed it is a new approach to and a new fulfilment of Truth. Finally, he wants, not only to see God, but to be God himself.

So our boat is sailing, dancing in tune with God's eternal, mystic cadence. We are dreamers. We are at once realists and idealists. Our boat, with its heart's love, pines to touch the far-off shores of the Golden Beyond. Our boat, with its soul's peace, aspires to commune with the Breath of the Supreme.