Monday 16 July 2012

Swami Vivekanand: Why we disagree

In Sept 1893 Swami Vivekanand went to world parliament of religion, on the second day of parliament he was asked in stage to deliever something on “why we disagree”.Now here is the reply in his words I will tell you a little story. You have heard the eloquent speaker who has just finished say, “Let us cease from abusing each other,” and he was very sorry that there should be always so much variance. But I think I should tell you a story which would illustrate the cause of this variance. A frog lived in a well. It had lived there for a long time. It was born there and brought up there, and yet was a little, small frog. Of course the evolutionists were not there then to tell us whether the frog lost its eyes or not, but, for our story’s sake, we must take it for granted that it had its eyes, and that it every day cleansed the water of all the worms and bacilli that lived in it with an energy that would do credit to our modern bacteriologists. In this way it went on and became a little sleek and fat. Well, one day another frog that lived in the sea came and fell into the well. “Where are you from?” “I am from the sea.” “The sea! How big is that? Is it as big as my well?” and he took a leap from one side of the well to the other. “My friend,” said the frog of the sea, “how do you compare the sea with your little well?” Then the frog took another leap and asked, “Is your sea so big?” “What nonsense you speak, to compare the sea with your well!” “Well, then,” said the frog of the well, “nothing can be bigger than my well; there can be nothing bigger than this; this fellow is a liar, so turn him out.” That has been the difficulty all the while. I am a Hindu. I am sitting in my own little well and thinking that the whole world is my little well. The Christian sits in his little well and thinks the whole world is his well. The Mohammedan sits in his little well and thinks that is the whole world. have to thank you of America for the great attempt you are making to break down the barriers of this little world of ours, and hope that, in the future, the Lord will help you to accomplish your purpose.

Message

So this was the story but did you understand the core message of Swami Vivekanad? The message was simple but strong and takes the world towards universal brotherhood. The knowledge is infinite and we should be always ready to take the knowledge, no matter from where it comes and on other hand should give up whatever seems to be false. The situation of many people today is same as that frog of well. We are not ready to accept the truth due to our ego or any other reason. We are sitting in our own little well and thinks that the world is our well. Knowledge is always better than ignorance so we should come out from the well of ignorance and search for the ocean of knowledge.

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