A Comprehensive Collection - Swami Vivekananda

"""""""""""""""""""""""""SWAMl S REPLY TO THE ADDRESSES. 61meri at whose expense you have got your education, and bygrinding whore face you have to maintain your position:md pay your teachers for teaching you that the babajisare only vagabonds."A few of our fellow-countrymen in Bengal havecriticised what they call"anewdevelopmentHinduism. And well they may. For Hinduism is onlyjust now penetrating into Bengal, where so long the wholeidea of religion was a bundle of Desacharas as to eatingand drinking and marriage.This short paper has not the space for the discussionof such a big subject as whether the view of Hinduism,the disciples of Rama Krishna have been preaching allover India, is in accordancewith theSatSastrasnot. But I shall give a few hints to our critics, whichmay help them in understanding our position better.In the first place, I never contended that a correctidea of Hinduism can be gathered from the writings ofofor"AmritaKasidas or Krittivas," though their words aresaman,"and those that hear them are Punyavans." Butwe must go to Vedic and Darsanic authorities and to the"great Acharyas and their disciples all over India.If, brethren, you begin with the Sutras of Gautamaand read his theories about the Aptas in the light of thecommentaries of Yatsyayana," and go up to the Mimansakaswith Sabara and other commentators, you will findout what they say about the Aloukika Pratyaksha andwho are Aptas and whether every being can become anApta or not, and that the proof of the Vedas is in theirbeing the words of suchAptas."If you have to look intothe introduction of Mahidhara to the Yajurveda, you willfind a still more lucid discussion as to the Yedas beinglaws of the inner life of man, and as such being eternal.