ARCHITECTURE MAKETH NOT MAN

ARCHITECTURE MAKETH NOT MAN

It is time to forsake the path of organisational affluence, adopt simpler means and measures, and resort to building individuals of excellence through transmission of the fire of character instead of persistent building of expensive architecture for the same purpose which will inevitably backfire owing to its location away from the origin of the Ramakrishna Movement. Time, indeed, for course-correction. Remember, construction in concrete or marble doth not make men of character. It is the lived life of renunciates that inspires renunciation of base selfishness in the organic man.

Practise what you preach and see what a wonderful change comes over society. Right now no such effect is visible because character and renunciation are missing. The sooner they are recovered and this needless architectural expenditure given up, the better for the resurrection of the common man, the masses. What we need are not the stereotypical institutes of human excellence in granite where no such excellence will ever be achieved -- one speaks from past experience of the Mission's like institutes -- but more schools and colleges, universities and hospitals than are there right now. Remember they must be real universities and not fanciful remote-run ones of little consequence. Above all we need to see honesty, sincerity, truthfulness and humility among those who are by seemingly divine mandate the preachers of these lofty principles but are not their worthy repositories or practitioners.

One more thing -- no more humouring the rich and the powerful, please. Duty lies with the poor and the underprivileged, the destitute and the dispossessed, the diseased and the dying. The least contamination of Sri Ramakrishna's ideals -- and there are wide deflections from them as of now -- will spell the doom of organisation. So, beware! 'টাকা মাটি, মাটি টাকা' (Money is mud; mud, money) must not be renounced. That is happening now and it is renunciation in reverse order, a regression from the original evolutionary course. 

These are not the antagonistic views of an uncompromising enemy but are the heart-felt sympathetic verbal expressions of a much-sufferer at the hands of this organisational decadence, of one who wishes nothing but the best for the Mission and relentlessly works to fulfil Swamiji's grand mission in and through his twin organisations carrying his Master's name.

An observation, though. Of late we see this growing sycophancy in the Mission directed towards its executive end which is rather incongruous, given the Mission's high standards in the past. There are so many sycophants who unfailingly keep humouring their executive boss. None has the courage to speak up, point out the errors, grievous ones made by the Mission authorities who seem through adulation to be impervious to sanity or good sense. Perhaps, it is obligatory to obey whatever comes from the top but whither 'viveka' (discrimination) then? Is compromise then the name of the game notwithstanding the fact that it is ruining the goodwill of the Mussion?

Long years ago Swamiji had mused, "Organisation breeds new evils. ... To organise or not to organise? if I organise, the spirit will diminish, and if I do not organise, the message will not spread." Time it is to brood over this lingering doubt that dwelled in Swamiji's mind. It will do the Mission good. Swamiji had said, "Religions of the world have become lifeless mockeries. What the world wants is character." Time, indeed, it is to build character. Thakur built it in a hut in childhood and so did many of his poorer disciples. The renascent Indians mostly built their basic character in rural India that was then devoid of even the basic necessities for decent living. And, yet, they rose. Will all these costly buildings, these expensive amenities help modern India rise? Are you sure, O protagonists of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda in radically altered terms?

Written by Sugata Bose