Swami Vivekananda: Meaning of Religion, Spirituality

Swami Vivekananda defined religion in such away that it would be equally acceptable to people professing any religion or belonging to any country. His definition of religion was divested of dogmas and creeds, and external aids like sacred books, rituals and ceremonials, some of his famous and cryptic definitions of religion are: 
  • Religion is the struggle to transcend the limitation of the senses.
  • Religion is the idea of raising the brute unto man and man unto God.
  • Religion is the eternal relationship between the eternal soul and eternal God.
  • Religion is the idea of evolution of the individual soul towards the infinite.
  • Religion is the manifestation of divinity that is already in man.
  • Religion is realisation
Swamiji said that in essence, the concepts of spirituality in different religions do not differ from one another. He Pointed out that whatever be the mode of practice in whichever religion, the following four disciplines alone form the basis of all spirituality.
  1. Control of the mind.
  2. Dispassion towards the things of the world.
  3. Company of holy men
  4. Love for fellow beings. 
Religion lead one by hand and shows him the way to realisation of the Self. That is, not only how to live the life but also how to give up the life (mundane) and achive the eternal life. Yad gatva na nivartante tat dhama paramam mama - Gita.


Om Shantih Shantih Shantih.

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