🕉 ARISE! AWAKE! ... 1

🕉 ARISE! AWAKE! ... 1

'But most of his (Sri Chaitanya's) so-called disciples in Bengal do not know how his power is still working all over India; and how can they? The disciples have become Gadians (Heads of monasteries) while he (Sri Chaitanya) was preaching barefooted from door to door in India, begging Achandalas (all down to the lowest) to love God.' -- Swami Vivekananda 

P.S. A point to note in today's context as well with regard to the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna who have become Gadians, too, with massive fund-raising being official policy under many a pretext in complete violation of the Master's message 'Taka maati, maati taka' [Money is mud, mud money]. And while the discerning few criticise, hoping that better sense prevails and a corrective course is undertaken, the massive body of foolish followers indiscriminately submit to such perversion that is slowly eroding the goodwill of the Mission built over a century of sacrifice and labour of love. These millions must start thinking -- a faculty which they have seemingly mortgaged at the shop of blind devotion -- as to what the fundamental spiritual imperatives are of a Mission that is representative of the Divine in His latest earthly incarnation. Remember, Swamiji had in his now much-celebrated San Francisco lecture 'Is Vedanta the Future Religion?' exhorted his audience thus: "Let men think." But will they? Will you? 🕉 

Written by Sugata Bose