The most ancient scriptures of India are the Vedas. The Vedanta is the philosophical portion of the Vedas. It refers to the final portion of the Vedic literature – which is the Upanishads. It also includes the Bhagwad Gita, the great epics – the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Puranas and other texts and hymns. Vedanta teaches us the highest truths regarding the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. Each of us is a part of the Supreme Soul and is qualified to have the highest illumination. To receive the highest illumination we must be sincere in our efforts and put in disciplined hard work.
Vedanta preaches harmony of all religions. Each of us should follow the path suited to us. Anyone who sincerely wishes to know God will surely realize Him. God can be worshiped with form or without form. We can have any type of relationship with God. Sri Ramakrishna teaches that God is Mother. By living a sincere life, being honest and balanced and doing our duties to the best of our abilities we prepare ourselves for receiving the final grace. Swami Vivekananda was a great Vedantist or follower of Vedanta. He taught that the greatest worship of God is done by seeing God in man and serving mankind. This incident is about Swami Vivekananda and a bank failure and how he observed a Vedantist in action:
This incident happened when Swami Vivekananda was in Paris in 1896. Swamiji had a warm and polite outlook and easily made friends. Many of these were the rich and titled – those who we term as VIPs. One of these was an Italian Duchess, the Duchess of Parma. She was living in Paris at that time. One day, she took Swamiji for a ride in the country for a change of scenery. She hired a horse carriage with a driver and they went off for a long country ride. The Duchess knew several languages. She was aware that Swamiji took trouble to learn foreign languages and spoke decent French. The Duchess spoke to him in English and said that the driver of the coach spoke excellent polished French. Normally one would not expect a coach driver of such polished speech.
While this conversation was going on, the carriage came to the side of a village road. A maid servant was walking out with a little boy and girl. The coachman stopped the carriage and got out. He took the children and seated them on his lap and kissed them. He stroked their hair lovingly and spoke to them for some time and then got back in the driver’s seat. Such behavior was unheard of in those days. The children were of ‘upper class’ and a lowly hired coach driver had picked them up and kissed them! The Duchess was shocked and asked the driver why he had done such an act.
The coach driver replied: They are my children. I was the manager of a Bank in Paris. It was a big bank but it failed. I need several years to pay back the debts. So I have kept my wife, son and daughter in a rented house in this village with a maid to look after them. With the little money I had, I bought this horse carriage and work to support my family. I pay off my debts slowly. When my debts are paid off, I will open a bank again and be a banker.
Swami Vivekananda who witnessed this conversation with the coach driver was amazed and delighted. He used to recount this story to all and say: That coach driver was a practical Vedantist. He has really understood the essence of Vedanta. He was in such a high position and lost it all. But he remained balanced and sane and went about his work in the best way possible. He was not overcome by his problems. He had a good strong mind.
We face a variety of problems in life. The problems never break us. It is the way we handle the problems that break us. We must walk with the conviction that God never gives us more than we can carry. We must remain calm and balanced. Then the solution to the problem will arise from the problem itself. The SitaRam Mantra and meditation keeps our mind calm and we are able to face our problems with clarity, patience and find the right solution.
