Need for a New Temple of
Sri Ramakrishna

SWAMI SWAHANANDA

A former Editor of The Vedanta Kesari and then the Head of the Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi, Swami Swahananda is at present the Minister-in-charge of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, Hollywood, USA. This is the edited version of his Presidential Address given on the Religious Harmony Day, February 8, 2000, at the Public Meeting during the Consecration Ceremony of the Universal Temple of Sri Ramakrishna, Chennai.

Revered Swamis and dear monks, nuns, devotees and friends:

I am very happy to be here, just to be present and express my happiness on this occasion. For many years, we are outside the country, living in America. We have lost the ability of talking to more than a hundred people. We normally speak to say 150 people, week after week, and 300-400 people once a while on special occasions. So, our style has become more or less homely and sometimes scholarly for more intimate groups of people. Today I shall try to combine these two.

For the last few days, the Swamis have been trying to defend, expand, or explain the necessity of a temple with Sri Ramakrishna as the central figure. To be able to decide this, we must first decide if religion is necessary and whether religion is the means of introducing the virtues necessary for individual and society.

Ritual is the standardized technique used in almost all religions. Rituals are necessary. They are nothing but the essential values codified, systematized, glorified and conveyed to a larger number of people. Individually, you can have your personal emotions and opinions and act in whichever way you like. But the moment religion is institutionalized for a larger number of people, it takes the form of rituals. Rituals are a must, not only for religions, but in every walk of life. They teach us, for example, how to train people to respect their elders, or the President, or anybody for that matter. Thus life is ritualized. These are all rituals in one way or the other and, of course, rituals are more important in religious life. Nowadays, many people say that they are not in favour of rituals, yet at every step and at every stage of life, they have some rituals or other. Rituals are continually being codified and systematized. The moment they go wrong, they no longer remain acceptable and new rituals evolve.

Rituals are the means by which certain ideas are expressed. For example I love somebody. In order to express that, I must give service to that person. I remember Swami Tyagisananda, a very scholarly Swami of our order, who was in Trichur and Bangalore. He has translated the Narada Bhakti Sutras and written a very scholarly commentary on it. There is one word, there, Atmarama. Now all the commentators explain Atmarama as bliss in the Self within. Swami Tyagisananda beautifully states that the Atman is everywhere. After realizing the Atman, what is a saint going to do? The Atman must express in action, in service. This was exactly Swami Vivekananda's idea: that we see the Atman everywhere, whether you close your eyes or open them. We know about it, but this is a new way of presenting that idea. Thus rituals in temples, from various points of view, are solidified, crystallized ideas. They are unavoidable and necessary.

At the end of the last century, Swami Vivekananda recommended private shrines for people of Protestant America. Normally, Protestantism has organized types of prayers and activities. Swami Vivekananda advised devotees to reserve a corner in their house for spiritual thinking. Within three months, it will acquire vibrations that will give strength and inspiration. You go there, unburden yourself and get spiritual inspiration for the upliftment of your life; and that is the major and basic support provided by temples and other holy edifices of mankind. You get uplifted when you go there. Not only the Indian, but American devotees are also equally inspired. In every Ramakrishna centre, a Swami is there. If a Swami is not there, the holy presence is there and it is manifested through rituals, like the morning and evening services. So, you can easily say, 'Yes, the Swami is not there, but Thakur is there, Holy Mother is there and we worship them.' So rituals are necessary, temples are the places where spirituality is condensed. That is the idea.

Religions are many. To lessen the strife among them, harmony of religions has to be stressed. Sri Ramakrishna is the modern teacher to bring this idea to the fore compared to the other sectarian systems. That is why a temple of Sri Ramakrishna is of great benefit and is a contemporary need.

Sri Ramakrishna represents the best ideas possible, especially in the religious field. That is why Sri Ramakrishna is considered by us as Avatara Varishtha, the greatest among the humanized Gods. If he is the greatest, you have to prove why he is the greatest. Consider an analogy. What is the highest peak? There are various peaks of the Himalayas; which is the highest one? It is that one from which you can see every other peak. If you go to any other peak, some portions you see, and some you don't. Through Sri Ramakrishna, you can recognize every religion. That is the greatness of Sri Ramakrishna. All his words proved true also.

Sri Ramakrishna has another special appeal since he is very recent. As one American devotee stated, Sri Ramakrishna has been photographed. It may be said that other great teachers might or might not have been there; or they might have been like this or like that. Since Sri Ramakrishna was photographed, people have more faith in his existence, that he really lived the life here.

Swami Vivekananda said that the ultimate proof of religion is 'direct perception' or 'realization.' That is the source of religion. Religions normally issue forth from scriptures and the lives of saints. There is debate on this and there are various theories about the origin of religions like wonder, fear, etc. But Swamiji's explanation was that man wants to transcend the senses, to go beyond the senses and to experience the Reality behind them face to face. Mahatma Gandhi said that Sri Ramakrishna's life helps us to see God face to face. That shows there was a man, a real man, who was photographed, and who realized the Ultimate Reality and declared that it is true. Sri Ramakrishna not only spoke about It; he lived that Reality.

Often the question is asked, 'What is reality?' Reality is that which is always real for all time--past, present and future. Which is real today, but not real tomorrow--we don't call that reality. Now, is there any reality in man? Vedanta enquires, 'Who am I?' Of course, first comes the body; if the body is not there, I am not there. Is the body real? Of course it is; but it is real only for about 100 years. After one hundred years, it won't be real. That is, it is not ultimately real. What about the mind? The mind constantly changes. So Reality is not the body, not the mind, It is the Spirit, says Vedanta. We should remember that one of the limitations of the sciences is that they cannot express the final nature of things when dealing with phenomena and creation. The materialists ask the religious persons, 'How do you know that there is an ultimate Reality?' The believers in God reply, 'By our special method of intuition, direct experience, anubhuti, bodhi.' The materialists say, we don't accept your methodology. That doesn't matter, say the believers. You have already accepted that you have no other means of knowing the truth. This is another method with us. Why not try this? Herein lies the divergence of the two approaches.

Now, religious teachers have two ideas. First, correct understanding and second, realization. There is a regular training for this. Mystic experience is more sudden. Sri Ramakrishna, in recent times, worked on all these levels. If religion has to be thrown out, then you have to first establish that there is an alternative; but no one knows the alternative. The need of real spirituality is the major organic necessity of man. Religion cannot be thrown out. If we can establish that religion is not necessary, or there is no need for spiritual realization, only then will there be no need for religion.

We can also look at religion from three levels: (1) Individual, (2) Social and (3) Trans-social. At the third level one tries to find the truth asserting, 'Whatever may come, I want to know the truth.' Then there is the individual need, 'I am in trouble; if there is any hope, I will pray to God,' thereby people take recourse to religion. There is a story about a Christian Theology School, where Christian clergy spend a whole year being trained as preachers. When the parting lecture was delivered, the teacher said, 'I have taught you what answers are to be given to what questions, but the crucial thing is to effectively convey the ideas on your face. When you describe heaven your face must show the glory of heaven. As for hell--the punch line is coming--your natural face will do'. The idea is that pessimism is easier to accept and practise than optimism.

The following story illustrates why we should try to be optimistic. After giving the Sunday sermon a minister went to the side of a river for a stroll. While walking on the bridge he saw a young man and asked him, 'What are you doing here?' The young man replied, 'Life is hopeless, I want to commit suicide.' Ministers are good men, so he asked that person, 'Come, come let us talk about it.' So from 12 midnight he started talking with the young man and at 2 a.m. both of them, hand in hand, jumped into the river! So pessimism is a much easier idea for people. Sir P.S. Sivaswami Iyer of Madras, wrote Evolution of Hindu Morals and he has said there that Hindus are not pessimistic, because they believe in ultimate happiness. For Hinduism and Buddhism, life is often a suffering, because life after life, the same thing is repeated. After some time, monotony is bound to come. That is the argument Sankaracharya put against heaven, which can never be a permanent place. He gives the analogy of rich people who have two problems: one monotony, and the other, jealousy.

Thus individuals need to find a solution to their problems and encouragement and society needs higher values. Life requires some self-sacrifice. If every man in a family or in the society is selfish, that family or society will not last long. But how are you going to achieve these higher ideals? There must be some idealistic teaching and an agency to teach it. Religion down the ages has brought people the idea of unselfishness. That is the social necessity of religion. Even if I, as an individual, don't need anything, still I cannot disturb the needs of other people. Religion is a necessity, spirituality is the core of religion and it is not only for oneself, but for the society. Then there must be good teachers who will be able to teach the ideals to the members of the society. Sri Ramakrishna represents such an ideal. But a mere ideal will not do, people have to practise it and then others will follow these ideal people. Rituals support the transmission of these ideas and temples are the places where rituals are demonstrated and practised daily to inspire aspirants to follow similar regular practices that will add depth and understanding to their lives and help them move closer to the Reality.

Spirituality is the organic necessity of man and is enshrined in religions. But various religions must have mutual understanding. Sri Ramakrishna brought this harmony of religions. That is why in the modern age he is a special ideal to be emulated. For these reasons a Ramakrishna Temple in the midst of many other temples is a welcome venture.