Swadhyaya is based on the philosophy
of the Bhagawad Gita. Tat twam asi (That thou art) and Aham-brahma-asmi (I am
divine) are the twin principles of the Vedanta on which the Swadhyaya movement
is founded.
Dadaji's philosophy is as
follows:
·
God exists.
·
God exists within me.
·
That makes me divine
and worthy of self-respect.
·
That makes others
divine and worthy of respect.
·
Since God exists, and
exists within me, it follows that God also exists within the whole
universe. Everything in this universe is
therefore divine and to be reverenced.
·
This means that my
attitude towards myself, others and the universe is one of respect and
reverence.
·
It also means I am
related to everything in the Universe by virtue of having a common creator.
·
The above two points
motivate me to care for the welfare of others, for I am related to them. And respect pre-empts me from damaging them
in any way.
·
Over and above this,
the central reality of my existence is God, and my only aim in life is to
realize the God within me. How may I do
that? Through the three Vedic paths of jnana,
bhakti, and karma. Jnana is the path of
knowledge or self-study (Swadhyaya) which indicates not only introspection but
knowing the self through knowing others.
·
Bhakti is an
understanding of God’s nearness to me and my relation to Him. Such an awareness fills me with love and
gratitude to Him for looking after my welfare, and motivates me to do something
for him, which is to look after His universe.
·
The path of
self-realization through karma lies in selfless action, when one does one’s
duty with no consideration for profit or loss.
·
All three paths to
self-realization, therefore, lead me towards humanity and the universe, which
motivates me once again to have its welfare at heart.
In Dadaji’s scheme of things,
therefore, contradictions do not exist.
The spiritual and the material aspects of life are perfectly welded, as
are individual and collective welfare.
His vision of man is that of a perfectly integrated being, who is linked
through bonds of respect, devotion and brotherhood to himself, to others and to
the universe. Such a man has confidence
and self-respect. His awareness of
divinity fills him with heroism, courage and the determination to live life to the
fullest. His ideals are noble and
unfaltering, for he never loses sight of his ultimate aim of
self-realization. And his commitment to
the welfare of humanity and the universe is unshakeable. Such a man not only leads a joyful. Full,
successful and noble life, he does so through helping others realize it. He is also highly rational. For his self-respect frees his mind of
slavery and enables him to discriminate good from bad.
All in all, Swadhyaya recognizes
that what human beings need, besides food, shelter and security, essentially
consists of the following:
·
Self-dignity and
esteem for one’s cultural heritage,
·
a sense of becoming,
·
a sense of pursuing
worthy ideals,
·
a sense of belonging
to a worthy group
·
a sense of being in
command of one’s destiny,
·
a sense of wholeness,
and
·
a sense of justice in
the larger order.
Dada is a supporter of
Varnavyavastha (four-fold division of ancient Indian social order), but he
gives it an entirely new meaning. For
him, everyone who does God’s work is a Brahmin since God resides in him. An asprashya
(untouchable) is one who has been deserted by God. Cultivators are bhumiputras (sons of the soil); fishermen are sagarputras (sons of the sea), with allusion of their linkage with
Matsyavatar (the first of Vishnu’s incarnations). Even the lowly coolies (porters) become Vasudev sena (army of Vasudev), alluding
to the mythological story that Vasudev had carried his son, Krishna, in a
basket on his head across the flooded river Yamuna. The idea is that, in keeping with the heritage
of the people, each group must be imbued with a sense of pride in its
occupation, thus empowering them to discard the traditional docility that was
associated with their lowly avocations.
Born in 1922 into an erudite family,
“The Maharashtrian saint” of Brahmin upbringing, Dada does not reject tradition
as part of building a new social order; he uses it to bring far-reaching
changes to the existing order. He probes the whyness of Hindu tenets rather
than blindly accepting thoughts held sacred by traditionalists or dry
scholarship.
The 1991 movie “Antarnaad” (Hindi: अंतरनाद) ("Inner
voice"), made by Shyam Benegal, is based on
the Swadhyaya Movement by Pandurang Shastri Athavale. The lead actors are Kulbhushan
Kharbanda, Girish Karnad, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri.
Revered as an Activist
Philosopher, Dadaji died on October 25, 2003 at the age of 83, in Khetwadi
in South Mumbai, India.
(Excerpts
from The book “Vital Connections : Self, Society, God – Perspectives on
Swadhyaya” . Edited and with an
introduction by Raj Krishan Srivastava)
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