A new world order.
The example set by Ramakrishna beckons as a
lighthouse to
show direction to the embattled
world of today writes Swami
Jitatmananda, Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission, Swami
Vivekananda’s Ancestral house and cultural center.
Ramakrishna, who stayed at the Dakshineswar Temple, had
embraced all religious paths, thereby converting the temple
precincts into an authentic sanctuary of many gods,
goddesses and saints. The formless god espoused by Totapuri
and Muslim Sufi meditation of mystic Govinda Ray also co-
existed there as also co-existed tantrics, vaishnavites and
saivaites. The small room at one end of the spacious
courtyard of the temple, where Ramakrishna stayed became a
parliament of religions as people of diverse faiths
congregated there to listen to very simple and rustic
messages of Ramakrishna.
Ramakrishna’s life was a
lighthouse for universalism of
religions. He realized that god was infinite and there must
be infinite ways to reach him. He worshipped his own wife
Sarada Devi as Goddess Kali some 150 years ago. Feminists
of the present era hold almost identical views because
women have the power to create. They represent power in its
truest form. The Kali within us through its intensity of
becoming, of expanding and breaking through boundaries
takes us to heights unattainable in the normal course.
He shunned treasure and completely conquered lust. People
tested him on both the counts and found him of a very noble
disposition not affected by common afflictions of sex or
money. Vivekananda, his most famous disciple was surprised
to find that the simple man possessed qualities that are
even scarce in gods. Ramakrishna could transform the lives
of sinners into saints by a single touch or even by a word.
The Ramakrishna Hindu Temple in San Francisco built by
Swami Trigunatita in 1906 is now an American Heritage site.
The greatest Ramakrishna Temple consecrated at Belur Math
in 1937, in Vivekananda’s words, acts as a lighthouse for
to-day’s
humanity that is mired in fundamentalist wars. A
new civilization dawns there. We await the birth of a new
world order where peace and humanity will reign supreme.
No clash of civilizations of SP Huntington vintage would
tarnish humanity in that order. The divinity embedded in
humanity would be brought to the fore by the example set by
a most unassuming saint of modern times. Ramakrishna is a
heritage for humanity. We look forward to him for peace and
tranquility for the entire human race irrespective of
caste, creed and religion.