Conclusion

The first four sections of this introduction to Vedanta and Hinduism, (1, 2, 3, and 4) discussed the philosophical background of Hinduism. The middle sections (5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) described the various methods by which spiritual culture is imbibed in India. The last three sections (10, 11, and 12) dealt with the modern Hindu renaissance through the lives and teachings of three great exemplars.

To summarize briefly, Hinduism puts its main emphasis on spiritual practice for the sake of direct, intuitive experience of the divine. Ethical disciplines such as truthfulness, non-injury, chastity, and non-covetousness are essential both for the self-purification of the individual seeker and for the development and preservation of a healthy social and cultural environment without which religion cannot flourish. Living exemplars, saints and seers whose exalted living and direct realization of spiritual truth bear living testimony to the relevance and validity of religion, are necessary to keep religion alive and to uplift the society.

Unity in diversity has been the keynote of Hindu thought and life. The Godhead is non-dual, but in the relative world the divine expresses itself through different names and forms and may be approached by various paths. As such, all religions are accepted and respected as valid approaches to the same God. Neither a dull uniformity nor a religious Esperanto is wanted, but rather a sympathetic understanding of the rich diversity of the human mind and human culture. As many minds, so many paths to the ultimate Truth.

In today's world, Indian wisdom is important for our very survival. Its quest for higher values of life, its emphasis on nonviolence, its love for the spiritual over the material, its affirmation and realization of the divinity inherent in man, and its comprehensive, synthetic philosophy of the harmony of religions based on direct, intuitive experience of the One behind the many, of Unity in diversity---all these characteristics breathe a spirit which is universal, positive, and humane. This spirit gives rise to those values of peace, tolerance, and nonaggressiveness which will help to usher in the new climate of friendship any unity for mankind. The modern relevance of the Indian spirit has been appreciated by many Western thinkers. We conclude with quotations from two of them.

Will Durant writes in Our Oriental Heritage:

"Perhaps in return for conquest, arrogance, and spoliation, lndia will teach us the tolerance and gentleness of the mature mind, the quiet content of the unacquisitive soul, the calm of the understanding spirit, and a unifying, pacifying love for all living beings." (Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, Vol. 1, Our Oriental Heritage (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1935) p. 33)

Highlighting the need for the accommodative spirit of Hinduism, Arnold Toynbee says:

"At this supremely dangerous moment in human history, the only way of salvation for mankind is an Indian way. The Emperor Asoka's and the Mahatma Gandhi's principle of nonviolence and Sri Ramakrishna's testimony to the harmony of religions: here we have the attitude and the spirit that can make it possible for the human race to grow together into a single family---and, in the Atomic Age, this is the only alternative to destroying ourselves.

In the Atomic Age the whole human race has a utilitarian motive for following this Indian way. No utilitarian motive could be stronger or more respectable in itself. The survival of the human race is at stake. Yet even the strongest and most respectable utilitarian motive is only a secondary reason for taking Ramakrishna's and Gandhi's and Asoka's teaching to heart and acting on it. The primary reason is that this teaching is right---and is right because it flows from a true vision of spiritual reality." (Arnold J. Toynbee, in foreword to Swami Ghanananda, Shri Ramakrishna and His Unique Message (London: Ramakrishna-Vedanta Centre, 3rd ed., 1970), pp. viii-ix )

  Vedanta 101

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Books by Swami Tathagatananda:

1. The Vedanta Society of New York -- A Brief History, 2000
2. Mahabharat--Katha (Bengali), 1998
3. Ramayan Anudhyan (Bengali), 1996
4. Healthy Values of Living, 1996
5. Meditation on Swami Vivekananda, 1994
6. Meditation on Shri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, 1993
7. Glimpses of Great Lives, 1989
8. Shubha Chinta (Bengali), 1988
9. Smaran--Manan (Bengali), 1987

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