On Sept. 11, 1893, Swami Vivekananda gave a speech before the Parliament of world religion. I thought today I could discuss a little about what he said during that speech, and the speeches he later gave at the same event. The entire text of the speeches will be quoted at the bottom of this, if you care to read them, as well as a link to the website from which I got them.
Vivekananda was the first Hindu monk in history to travel to America. I highly suggest reading more about Swamiji, as the story of his arrival in America is fascinating to no end. He had virtually no money, was unaware he needed any kind of credentials for speaking at the parliament, and had to stay with a complete stranger he met on a train in Boston for several weeks before he was able to get what he needed to speak at the parliament in Chicago.
When the day finally arrived, Swamiji was supposed to speak relatively early on, but was so nervous, he kept waving people in front of him. He had no prepared speech, and did not realize others would have prepared one. He had never spoken in public before.
He started his speech with “Sisters and brothers of America,” and the entire assembled crowd began to applaud. They gave him a standing ovation for an opening line not dissimilar to the many who had gone before him. Something about him caused that crowd to cheer for a solid 2 minutes, even after calls for it to settle down by Swamiji himself.
When he was able to speak again, he went on to say how it gladdened him to speak, and receive such a warm welcome. He thanked the people in the name of the most ancient order of monks, and the mother of all religion. He spoke of tolerance, he spoke against bigotry, against fanaticism, and he quoted two hymns that I think sum up the teaching of the parliament in a clear and surprisingly simple way:
I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: “As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.”
“Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.”
He also spoke of his pride to belong to a religion that accepted those outside of itself:
I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation.
Swamiji spoke not just this first time, but also at the final session, on the 27th of September. In both cases, he became the darling of the parliament. The papers and the radios spoke of almost nothing else besides the “Orange-Monk from India,” as the papers were calling him because of his dress. In his second speech, he went on to say that he was not trying to convert anyone to a different faith, but that his goal was to improve the faith of the faithful. I like to think his words, his message, and the message of his Guru, Ramakrishna, may well improve Faith itself.
The seed is put in the ground, and earth and air and water are placed around it. Does the seed become the earth, or the air, or the water? No. It becomes a plant. It develops after the law of its own growth, assimilates the air, the earth, and the water, converts them into plant substance, and grows into a plant.
Similar is the case with religion. The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth.
He spoke of the foolhardy task of trying to convert the world to your way of thinking, and told the attendees that he felt pity for the fanatic, because he has an impossible hope.
Much has been said of the common ground of religious unity. I am not going just now to venture my own theory. But if any one here hopes that this unity will come by the triumph of any one of the religions and the destruction of the others, to him I say, “Brother, yours is an impossible hope.” Do I wish that the Christian would become Hindu? God forbid. Do I wish that the Hindu or Buddhist would become Christian? God forbid.
I have learned so much from the teachings of Vivekananda, I hope whoever reads this might as well. He was a truly exceptional man, with grand ideas, and a vision of a world at peace. We can achieve that world together. We must achieve it together, because none of us can achieve it without the other.
Below is the full text of both speeches, and a link to the website I got them from. As an aside, I know nothing about the content of that website, or its politics.
Address on 11/09/1893
Sisters and Brothers of America,
It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.
My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: “As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.”
The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: “Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me.” Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.
Address on 27/09/1893
Chicago, September 27, 1893
The World’s Parliament of Religions has become an accomplished fact, and the merciful Father has helped those who laboured to bring it into existence, and crowned with success their most unselfish labour.
My thanks to those noble souls whose large hearts and love of truth first dreamed this wonderful dream and then realized it.
My thanks to the shower of liberal sentiments that has overflowed this platform. My thanks to this enlightened audience for their uniform kindness to me and for their appreciation of every thought that tends to smooth the friction of religions. A few jarring notes were heard from time to time in this harmony. My special thanks to them, for they have, by their striking contrast, made general harmony the sweeter.
Much has been said of the common ground of religious unity. I am not going just now to venture my own theory. But if any one here hopes that this unity will come by the triumph of any one of the religions and the destruction of the others, to him I say, “Brother, yours is an impossible hope.” Do I wish that the Christian would become Hindu? God forbid. Do I wish that the Hindu or Buddhist would become Christian? God forbid.
The seed is put in the ground, and earth and air and water are placed around it. Does the seed become the earth, or the air, or the water? No. It becomes a plant. It develops after the law of its own growth, assimilates the air, the earth, and the water, converts them into plant substance, and grows into a plant.
Similar is the case with religion. The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth.
If the Parliament of Religions has shown anything to the world, it is this: It has proved to the world that holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character. In the face of this evidence, if anybody dreams of the exclusive survival of his own religion and the destruction of the others, I pity him from the bottom of my heart, and point out to him that upon the banner of every religion will soon be written in spite of resistance: “Help and not fight,” “Assimilation and not Destruction,” “Harmony and Peace and not Dissension.”
Business Insider article on Vivekananda https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/full-text-of-swami-vivekananda-s-chicago-speech-of-1893-117091101404_1.html