THE SECRET OF WORK BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA-Notes

THE SECRET OF WORK BY SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

INTRODUCTION:

     Literature is essentially an outcome of a writer's experiences. And experiences are given to the writer through his life. If the different aspects of his life are studied, it may help us in understanding his expressions or his ways of expression by considering his background and assessing the place where the particular expression might have stemmed from thereby giving the closest meaning to his expression if not the right one, as literature claims to be devoid of possessing an absolute meaning solely relying on relative meanings.

Details of the Writer:

Person's name             

               The original name of Swami Vivekananda is Narendranath Dutta.

Narendra left Bombay for Chicago on 31 May 1893 with the name "Vivekananda", as suggested by Ajit Singh of Khetri, which means "the bliss of discerning wisdom".

Designation    

               He was a Hindu Monk or reformer.

Nationality      

               He was an Indian and Bengali hailing from Kolkata.

Period

               He belonged to the late 19th century (1863 - 1902)

He died at the age of 39.

Speciality         

               He revived Hinduism in India and introduced it in the West.

               Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saint and his birthday is celebrated in India as National Youth Day.

              

About his works          

Notable works             

               They include Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, My Master , Lectures from Colombo to Almora.

               His famous speech was in the Parliament of Religions, Chicago, which took place in September 1893.

Themes adopted         

               He adopted Hindu philosophy with new interpretations.

Techniques adopted 

               He mostly delivered speeches, also composed songs and poems and an essay. He wrote in both English and Bengali.

Influences        

               He was influenced from a very young age. His grandfather was a Monk and his father was a lawyer.  His father's progressive and rational attitude and mother's religious nature contributed to his spiritual quest which he satisfied through Shri Ramakrishna.

Influenced       

               He influenced Subhas Chandra Bose, Aurobindo Ghose, Mahatma Gandhi , Rabindranath Tagore, Jawaharlal Nehru , Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Jamsetji Tata, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Narendra Modi , Anna Hazare and many westerners.

Criticism           

               In India, Common people and rajas gave him an enthusiastic reception. During his train travels, people often sat on the rails to force the train to stop so they could hear him.

     In the West, William Hastie (principal of General Assembly's Institution) wrote, "Narendra is really a genius. I have travelled far and wide but I have never come across a lad of his talents and possibilities, even in German universities, among philosophical students."

     Many people were attracted and became his disciples in the East and in the West.

     Some of his works were published in his lifetime and some posthumously which includes complete works of his.

Brief Life History         

Political views              

               He obviously lived during the British rule, spoke about nationalism and made the Indians spiritually awake using his patriotism.

Social aspect

               He was admired by many people.

Financial status            

               He was born in an aristocratic family but due to his father's sudden death in 1884, he became the poorest student in his college. And later he lived on people's gifts and holy begging ( mādhukarī).

Personal details           

               He was one of nine siblings and he did not marry.

Educational background

               He was the only student to receive first-division marks in the Presidency College entrance examination. He completed Fine Arts Degree and a Bachelor in Arts degree. He read philosophy, religion, history, social science, art and literature, the Vedas , the Upanishads , the Bhagavad Gita , the Ramayana , the Mahabharata and the Puranas, Western logic, Western philosophy and European history.

Religious aspect          

               He was a Hindu Monk and reformer. His initial beliefs were shaped by Brahmo concepts, which included belief in a formless God and the deprecation of idolatry. He later continued to be the disciple of Shri Ramakrishna.

Cultural aspect             

               He followed Vedantic culture based on spirituality.

Linguistic background             

               He knew both Bengali and English.

Historical position      

               He belonged to the late 19th century.

Geographical access  

               He travelled in India to learn and preach.

     He visited several cities in Japan (including Nagasaki, Kobe , Yokohama , Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo), China and Canada en route to the United States, reaching Chicago then Detroit, Boston, and New York. He visited UK twice. Paris, Brittany , Vienna, Istanbul , Athens and Egypt .

     He returned to India and reached Colombo and travelled through Pamban , Rameswaram , Ramnad, Madurai , Kumbakonam and Madras, delivering lectures.

Synopsis of The Secret of Work:

     Vivekananda explains to us about two things: one about 'help' and the other about 'work'.

     Regarding help, he discusses two things, its types and their degree of greatness. Types of help are three, physical, intellectual and spiritual. An example of physical need is hunger. An example of intellectual need is knowledge. An example of spiritual need is enlightenment. According to the degree of greatness, physical help is good, intellectual help is better but spiritual help is the best. The reason for the differences in greatness of help is the span of their benefits. Hunger if satisfied for one time will arise again in a short time. Knowledge if satisfied for one occasion, will be needed more for another occasion. Enlightenment if obtained, will analyse and limit wants forever.  

     Regarding work, he discusses three things: how we must work, what are the effects of a work and what are the objectives of a work. Answering to how we must work, he gives reference to Bhagavad Gita which asks us to work incessantly. There are two effects of any work upon its performer: Goodness and badness. If the former is achieved, we will continue to do it. If the latter is achieved, we will cease to do it. To keep doing something 'incessantly', as is asked to do in Gita, we must not expect anything in return. This is the quality of non-attachment - not attaching oneself with the work for any returns. A person who works for his family will not expect returns. This is an example of non-attachment. Just as the lotus which floats on water but does not get wet, we must work but must not get attached to it.

This is one quality.

     The second quality is that we must work with freedom. Only if we work with freedom, without any kind of compulsion, we will be able to work with commitment. This is the second quality. A slave will work out of compulsion not with freedom but a master will work with freedom. Therefore, we must work like a master.

     Only if we work with love, we will be able to carry it out wholeheartedly. This is the third quality. A slave will not work with love but a master will work with love. Therefore, we must work like a master. Vivekananda also explains a characteristic of love that love does not give any kind of pain in any way. A man may love a woman but if it creates suspicion or jealousy and hurts either or both of them then it is not love because, Vivekananda says, "Every act of love brings happiness" and not pain.

     The fourth quality of work is based on the objectives of a work. Our work should render rights and justice. It should not trouble or incur loss for anyone. We can work with either might or mercy. Might demands selfish work. Mercy demands selfless work. Right and justice can be delivered through mercy but not with might. Hence, mercy is the fourth quality of work. Mercy can be practised if the motive of doing the work is not to obtain any response or return from people but to attain the reward from God, atleast a personal God. This will make us work for God which will make work as 'worship'.

     Vivekananda explains about the impacts on a person's character. As said earlier, there are two effects of any work upon its performer: Goodness and badness. Effects of a work leave impressions in the mind which in turn determine the character of a person. Good effects leave good impressions in the mind which in turn make the character of a person good. Similarly with bad. Our mind should be like a lake. When it is disturbed, ripples are formed but later subside leaving no impression on the surface. Similarly, we will receive impressions but we should not let it get inscribed on our brain. The more the impression the stronger is the character, be it good or bad. Just like a tortoise tucks itself inside its shell and never comes out during disturbances, a person's character will never let him do anything against his will.

     After the battle of Kurukshetra the five Pandava brothers performed a great sacrifice and made very large gifts to the poor. But the sacrifice of the Brahmin family as narrated by the mongoose was greater. The idea of complete self-sacrifice is illustrated in the story.

CONCLUSION:

     I would like to conclude with Vivekananda's conclusion which reads:

'Never vaunt of your gifts to the poor or expect their gratitude, but rather be grateful to them for giving you the occasion of practising charity to them. Thus it is plain that to be an ideal householder is a much more difficult task than to be an ideal Sannyasin; the true life of work is indeed as hard as, if not harder than, the equally true life of renunciation.'