VIVEKANANDA STUDY CIRCLE
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY - MADRAS
A Report on the activities for the past Five years
(Prepared and Presented by Prabhu. R on Tuesday, 20th of August 2002, the second day of the two night celebrations commemorating completion of five years of VSC activities)
As Swami Baneshananda ji reminded us yesterday, last year, Vivekananda Study Circle began its activities with the Inaugural Function on the 11th of September 2001. I dedicate this report to the unfortunate victims on that fateful day. Almost a hundred years ago, it was on the same day, 11th of September 1893 that Swami Vivekananda spoke at the Inaugural Session of the World Parliament of religions at Chicago. He concluded his now famous maiden speech saying
“Sectarianism, Bigotry and its horrible descendent, 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 honour of this convention may be the death knell of all fanaticism, of all persecution with the sword or with the pen and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.”
These prophetic words show how relevant his ideas are, even today. Back home, Swami Vivekananda stirred the youth everywhere in India by his rousing speeches and writings. His special message for the youth of Chennai, then called Madras:
“Young Men of Madras, my hope is in you. Will you respond to the call of the nation? Each one of you has a glorious future, if you dare believe me.”
Fifty years into our independence, here at IIT Madras, many of us had lost touch with these great and positive ideas. A feeling of deep-seated unrest and a void was being felt with science and technology on one hand and cultural moorings on the other-seemingly disjoint and irreconcilable. It was at such a time, in around 1996,Professor NVC Swamy, the then Director of IIT Madras started a lecture series on Swami Vivekananda and our Heritage. Suddenly, we had found something, a personality, which as Jawaharlal Nehru had put it:
“Rooted in the past and full of Pride in India’s heritage, Vivekananda was a kind of bridge between the past of India and her present.”
Thus was formed the Vivekananda Study Circle in September 1997 as a youth forum,
for study, discussion, exchange and dissemination of these ideas. It was a quest
to find out our roots, the meaning of values and our hoary cultural heritage.
Fortunately for us, Swami Brahmeshananda, a qualified doctor and who had already
handled a similar activity at IT-BHU had come to Chennai in the same year and
consented to conduct the Sunday Classes.
The first year saw the evolution of the format for Sunday classes,which we have now come to follow. A typical session runs from 9:30 am, to a little over 11 am. The session begins with Peace chants, followed by a short, guided meditation; Reading from inspiring letters written by Swami Vivekananda sets the tone. We then have the main talk for the day, and discussion.
These classes have been the basis of our sustenance over the years, and have provided many insights, cleared many misconceptions, and have nourished an intellectual culture. They have showed us how Yoga means much more than a series of postures for improvement of health, have showed us the charm and the power of Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita, have revealed to us the secrets behind the greatness of saints and leaders, the way of character development, and the deeper ideas of spirituality. The first year also saw the setting up of our book and cassette library. Now consisting of over three hundred books and seventy-five audiocassettes, the library is open to all free of cost.
Swami Vivekananda’s idea of giving back to society what we have received and his
idea of service led to the setting up of a
tuition center at Velachery
(near
IIT Campus), for school-going students of the economically weaker sections. With
the gradual increase in the students seeking tuitions, the assistance of NSS,
IIT Madras was sought and currently both our volunteers and NSS students take
part in this activity.
The second year also saw us organizing
‘Guest
Lectures’
for
the first time. Related to topics of general concern, they provided a new
dimension about themes like ‘Democracy in Indian Tradition’, ‘Integration of
personality’ and ‘Youth in a global society’.
Developments in the Third Year, 1999-2000
In retrospect, the third year of our activities changed us in many fundamental ways. The year-long programme which we now follow, took shape in this year. The Inaugural Function was defined as an occasion to look back, assess our achievements, and set goals, and also as an occasion to reach out to the freshers.
Recognizing the importance of meditation as a key to a better life, it was decided that an exclusive session be dedicated to learning it, at the beginning of the academic year. Divided into talks on the theory and practice of meditation and a complete hour-long session of Guided Meditation, it was set as a means of learning a simple and effective technique of meditation.
The Sunday classes were classified into two sets- those dealing with lighter topics in the odd semester and somewhat deeper ones in the even semester, so that the freshers could get a gradual orientation.
The idea of arranging a book sale with titles covering all aspects of spirituality and our culture during the ‘Bharath Utsav’ at IIT-Madras was implemented.
Since it was felt that the Study Circle was emphasizing only on intellectual development, we started organizing Rama Nama Sankirtan a lofty and soothing hymn, to address the devotional aspect of our spirituality.
At the tuition center, Saturdays were designated for extra curricula, in keeping with Swami Vivekananda’s vision of a ‘Man-Making education’.
The third year was also the first time, when we commemorated Swami Vivekananda’s birthday, which has been declared by Government of India as the‘National Youth Day’.
And finally, we arrived at a radically new perspective of our own scope and relevance at IIT-Madras, through a series of special lectures held in that year. The talk-cum-slide show by Sri Michel Danino on ‘Indus Sarasvati Civilization and its bearing on the Aryan Question’ showed us for the first time, that India of the past was not just spiritually strong, but she was materially prosperous as well. This talk will remain memorable to us for long both for its content and the overwhelming response and participation from students on the campus. The talk by Swami Jitatmananda of Ramakrishna Ashrama, Rajkot revealed to us, how startlingly close the conclusions of Vedanta come, to those of modern Physics. The talk by Dr David Frawley on ‘India in the twenty first century’ discussed the roles and responsibilities of Indians in the coming century as also our great possibilities. These and other special lectures inculcated in us, an acute sense of awareness of issues facing our nation and society.
Developments in the Fourth Year, 2000-2001
With a well-defined basic framework of our activities achieved after the first three years and the ideas gained during the third year, the fourth year sustaining the momentum and at the same time, expanding our reach. Apart from the regular Sunday classes and Rama Nama sankirtans some events need special mention.
The book sales conducted by VSC at the ‘Bharat Utsav’ celebrations that year was a milestone in terms of the number of books sold and the number people visiting the stall. It showed to us, that contrary to popular conceptions, today’s youth are indeed interested in our heritage and want to imbibe its catholic spirit.
At the end of the odd semester that year, we had to contend with the sad parting withSwami Brahmeshananda,the guide and instructor of VSC, since its very inception.Swami Baneshananda,the next incumbent editor of Vedanta Kesari, has since kindly assumed that role. Though we had seen situations where students pass out, this was the first time we had to address the task of ensuring continuity in the face of a changing Guide. This interregnum saw us emerging stronger and more robust than ever.
The National Youth Day celebrations that year were held on a much larger scale than previous years and extended over four days. The screening of a film based on the talk given by an American Lady who called herself ‘Peace Pilgrim’ to students at California State University was highlight. Her realizations, remarkably similar to Vedantic teachings, exemplified to us, the Vedic teaching,‘Ekam Sat Vipra Bahuda Vadanti’.
On the fourth day of these celebrations, we declared our new library open with a simple ceremony. Called ‘Vivekananda Study Center’and located in the basement of Brahmaputra hostel, the room also has provisions made, for a few people to read, meditate, or just sit and discuss ideas.
Over the years, VSC has been maturing as an organization with better planning, coordination, and execution of work. Despite their many positive aspects, organizations have sometimes been felt to stifle personal interaction and warmth with more emphasis on tasks. VSC has set to overcome this, through informal meetings held usually on Friday nights in our library room. Discussions are held on topics from Swami Vivekananda’s works, and scriptures like the Gita and the Upanishads. These help not only in developing a clearer conception of philosophical points, but also help in inculcation of the spirit of separation of people from the ideas they hold. This goes a great length in developing an open minded and a rational temperament.
Keeping in view Swami Vivekananda’s insistence on learning Sanskrit as a key way of imbibing our ancient and national cultural values, VSC organized a ten-day spoken Sanskrit camp in the even semester that year, with the help of Samskrita Bharathi, Chennai. While the thoroughly enjoyable teaching style of Prof R Ramachandran of Samskrita Bharathi remains a cherished memory, the zestful response of a large number of students and campusites to the programme was a revelation.
The fourth year also saw the successful launching of our own website,
http:// www.oocities.org/vsc_iitm
and an e-group to promote in-depth discussions on issues of spiritual and national significance.
The website has now become comprehensive with texts of transcribed talks organized by VSC, all our annual reports, and some inspiring teachings of Swami Vivekananda being uploaded to it. The website also contains a catalogue of all the books and cassettes available in our library and details abut any forthcoming events to be conducted by us.
Developments in the Fifth Year, 2001-2002
For many years from now, whenever doubts assail us about the relevance and efficacy of Vedantic ideas in the modern world, the memory of the Ingural Function for 2001-2002 will confront us. Because of the delayed reopening of the Institute, the Inaugural Function also had to be delayed and it happened to be held on a day that has surely altered the course of world history- 11th of September, 2001.Here we were, discussing the perils of improvements in technology alone at the cost of inner unfoldment, how the West may have to suffer, if it did not accept the Vedantic principles of unity of life and cooperative development and at that very moment, America was facing the cost of hegemonic policies and nurturing of medieval ideas for selfish manipulation . The irony was lost to us.
Swami Vivekananda concluded his last speech at the Parliament of Religions by saying:
“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"
We are convinced these ideas alone can lead us to the next stage in the evolution of human consciousness, towards a better human society.
In the odd semester that year, we had to face a serious crunch of time because of its short duration. The even semester was marked by the National Youth Day celebrations. Each year, we have been implementing different visions of ours on this occasion.
Swami Vivekananda was a great exponent of the concept of divinity of man. He exhorted the youth of the nation several times, saying “All power is within you; you can do anything and everything.. without even the guidance of any one”. Development of a well-rounded personality should therefore, be the unraveling of the infinite possibilities innate in the self. Pointing this out was the idea behind a CD show on Personality development, held on the occasion.
The ancient technique of Yoga has been found effective in developing a healthy physique, which is at the same time flexible and supple; and unlike ordinary physical exercises, it also engenders a sharp mind. A ten-day ‘Yoga Camp’ was thus launched as part of the celebrations, which saw the participation of more than hundred students.
A
view to promote interaction between different sections of society was the reason
behind conducting essay writing and other competitions for students of the two
schools within the campus.
Human society has suffered long because of the artificial barriers that have sought to divide the ‘spiritual’ from the ‘secular’. Though such ideas did not exist in an earlier phase of our national life, we have been fettered by these cruel divisions for more than thousand years. At the end of our third year, we had set VSC as a subjective quest for spiritual, nationalistic or cultural fulfillment.At the end of five years, we have evolved a goal of a ‘Dynamic and Integrated'life where all life is seen as an expression of the eternal quest of the soul to find itself. As sister Nivedita, one of the foremost disciples of Swami Vivekananda had put it,“No distinction, henceforth, between sacred and secular. To labour is to pray. To conquer is to renounce. Life is itself religion. To have and to hold is as stern a trust as to quit and to avoid”. If we can aid the march of human destiny towards a more promising ideal even a little, we will consider our mission fulfilled.
Thank you