维韦卡南达（Swami Vivekananda ），1863年1月12日——1902年7月4日，原名Narendranath Datta，印度神秘主义者罗摩克里希纳的首席弟子。18岁时，他遇到了Ramakrishna，後来成为其忠实的追随者（男宠）。1893年，前往美国参加芝加哥宗教议会，发表演讲一炮而红。之後在美国丶英国和欧洲发表了数百场演讲，传播印度教哲学的核心教义，是印度教吠檀多向西方世界最成功的传教士。

维韦卡南达不仅被视为印度复兴的爱国先知，也被视为湿婆丶佛陀和耶稣的化身（Sil，1997）。（版按：哇！好神奇！教义完全相反的各个教派的教主都融合了丶贯通了，全部汇集到他一身。後面还声称自己是印度教改革家——商羯罗的转世。就他的知识面，如果扩大了而知道中国还有位道家的老子丶儒家孔子，不知道二位名号是否够响亮丶能够入得他的眼？人说万千宠爱集一身，他是万千化身为一体！）

维韦卡南达从出生起就是完美的，他不需要精神纪律来获得自己的解放。无论他实行什麽戒律，都是为了暂时揭开掩盖他真正的神性和在世上的使命的面纱。甚至在他出生之前，主就选择了他作为帮助他进行人类精神救赎的工具（Nikhilananda，1996）。

维韦卡南达1863年出生於加尔各答，七岁时开始冥想，并声称八岁时首次体验到三摩地。

《《他认为自己是个禁欲者，一个印度教传统的独身学生，他努力工作，珍惜禁欲纪律，崇敬神圣的事物，并享受乾净的言语丶思想和行为（Nikhilananda，1996）。》》

他是一位英俊丶肌肉发达的年轻人，尽管有些粗壮，下巴像斗牛犬一样，1881 年，18岁的他第一次见到了他的导师罗摩克里希纳。身为「至尊天鹅」最爱丶最重要的弟子，年轻的「小鸭子」维韦卡南达，

《《他不断地受到他坦率的丶着迷的同性恋导师——罗摩克里希纳的奉承和宠爱，被他崇拜地喂养，为了大师的神秘欢乐而定期唱歌，并被年长的男人告诉他. .....透过冥想实现了个人…[一个]永恒实现的人…摆脱了…女人和财富的诱惑（Sil，1997）。》》

1886年，即他的古鲁去世前不久，维韦卡南达吉 (Vivekanandaji) 发誓成为一名出家者。（在东印度名字和头衔中添加後缀“ji”以表示尊重。）“Swami”本身——意思是“成为自我的主人”——只是商羯罗在十三世纪建立的寺院名称。采用此尊称需要正式宣誓独身和贫穷。

有趣的是，在後来的几年里，维韦卡南达实际上声称自己是商羯罗的转世（Sil，1997）。（版按：转世轮回是法界的真实状况，不幸的是，这也成爲宗教骗子欺骗信徒的绝佳工具，反正信徒们也没有宿命通，如西藏密宗的活佛转世一样，就尽量理直气壮丶放心大胆地吹嘘便是。）

无论如何，经过十几年对他已故的上师日益虔诚的奉献，维韦卡南达在三十岁时来到了美国。 1893年，他在芝加哥举行的宗教议会上向美国男女代表印度教。

《《他对外向丶受过教育丶富裕的女性世界完全陌生，却被她们的慷慨丶善良以及对来自遥远国度的英俊丶年轻丶机智丶有点迷人天真的处男的坦率无条件的钦佩和痴迷所迷住。西尔，1997）。》》

然而，乍一看，罗摩克里希纳向维韦卡南达保证的自净会带来纯洁和享受，以及“免受女性诱惑的自由”似乎有些不完整。因为，维韦卡南达曾承认，1884 年他父亲过世後，

《《他在朋友的陪伴下参观妓院并饮用酒精饮料（Sil，1997）。》》

不过，值得庆幸的是，维韦卡南达并没有真正享受这些房子里各种女士们的快乐。相反，根据他自己的证词，他只是被他的朋友拖到那里，希望在他父亲去世後让他振作起来。然而，喝了几杯酒後，他开始向他们说教，告诉他们这种放荡的行为在来世可能会发生什麽事。随後，他因「不识相丶扫兴」而被朋友们赶了出来，然後独自跌跌撞撞地回家，喝得酩酊大醉（Sil，2004）。

所以只是喝了几杯太多了。妓院里。救世主「被上帝选为帮助祂的工具」来拯救人类，这并不令人意外。
但无论如何，“如果你继续玩火”，你就会被烧伤，正如维韦卡南达本人所言：

《《我心中立刻升起了欲望的感觉。我对自己感到非常厌恶，以至於我坐在一盆燃烧的火绒上，伤口花了很长时间才愈合（《Sil》，1997）。》》

** **
我的野心是透过印度教思想征服世界——看到印度教徒从北极到南极（Vivekananda，in [Sil，1997]）。

宣布这一消息後不久，维韦卡南达就自豪地声称自己「帮助应对了席卷世界的吠檀多浪潮」。他同样很快就预测「十年後，绝大多数英国人将成为吠檀多派」（Sil，1997）。

此外，这位热情的年轻僧侣希望实现全球变革，并不仅限於「世界各地的印度教徒」的精神革命。相反，他的其他宏伟梦想包括建立一个社会进步丶经济主权和政治稳定的印度（Sil，1997）。

然而，要实现这些目标，就必须面对某些出乎斯瓦米意料之外的具体现实，包括在表达自己的想法时需要事先思考。事实上，维韦卡南达似乎明确反对这种做法：

《《计划！计划！这就是为什麽你们西方人永远不能创造宗教！如果你们当中有人这样做过，那也只是少数天主教圣徒没有计划。规划者从来没有宣扬过宗教！ （尼基拉南达，1996 年）。》》

因此，考虑到这种反感，维韦卡南达在 1897 年底之前就已经缩小了他的目标，也就不足为奇了：

《《我已经唤醒了我们很多人，这就是我想要的（Nikhilananda，1996）。》》

此外，正如 Chelishev (1987) 在谈到天真的僧侣所倡导的社会进步时所观察到的：

《《维韦卡南达从空想社会主义的立场来解决社会不平等问题，寄望有产阶级的善意与宽容。》》

可以理解的是，一年之内，斯瓦米就意识到这种方法是徒劳无功的：

《《我目前已经放弃了对群众进行教育的计划（Sil，1997）。》》

《《它会逐渐到来。我现在想要的是一群热情的传道者。我们必须在马德拉斯有一所学院来教导比较宗教……我们必须有一家出版社，以及用英语和白话文印刷的论文（Vivekananda，1947）。》》
正如一位沮丧的奉献者最後所说的：

《《斯瓦米有很多好主意，但他什麽也没付诸实行……他只是说说而已（《Sil》，1997）。》》

** **
维韦卡南达声称在 1898 年经历了湿婆本人的幻象。在那种狂喜中，他「获得了不朽之主Amarnath的恩典，除非他自己愿意，否则他不会死」（Nikhilananda，1996）。

这位连续吸烟丶患有糖尿病的圣人，表面上“温柔地走进那个漆黑的夜晚”，然而几年後，也就是 1902 年，在健康状况逐年下降之後，他就去世了。他年仅三十九岁，「就这样实现了他自己的预言：『我活不过四十岁』」（Nikhilananda，1996）。

当然，有预言，还有更早的预言：

《《维韦卡南达庄严地宣称：「这次我会活到一百嵗……这次我要完成许多艰巨的任务……这一生我将比前世展示更多的力量。」（西尔，1997 ）。（版按：这位维韦卡南达，一会儿说自己活不过四十嵗，一会預言自己会活百岁。印度教和密宗都推崇神通，但是因爲没有正确知见和禅定，所以往往是用鬼神通丶黑魔法，前言与後语互相矛盾冲突也是他们的常态。）》》

** **
尽管发生了许多逆转，维韦卡南达还是预见到他的教义将对世界产生巨大而持久的影响：

《《他曾对麦克劳德小姐说，源自 Belur Math（维韦卡南达的修道院/大学之一）的精神理想将影响世界思想潮流 1100 年…
「所有这些景像都在我面前升起」－这就是祂的话（Nikhilananda，1996）。》》

保留维韦卡南达印度教品牌的吠檀多协会目前只有约 22,000 名会员，在世界各地设有十几个中心。因此，它不太可能成为斯瓦米宏伟设想的「全球精神复兴」的任何重要组成部分。那麽，维韦卡南达的实际遗产中最重要的部分，除了单纯的组织公关之外，可能仅仅在於他为随後一个世纪追随他进入美国的其他东方教师铺平了道路。

CHAPTER III
THE HANDSOME
DUCKLING
(VIVEKANANDA)

[Vivekananda] is seen not just as a patriot-prophet of resurgent India but much more—an incarnation of Shiva, Buddha and Jesus (Sil, 1997).
Perfect from his birth, [Vivekananda] did not need spiritual disciplines for his own liberation. Whatever disciplines he practiced were for the purpose of removing the veil that concealed, for the time being, his true divine nature and mission in the world. Even before his birth, the Lord had chosen him as His instrument to help Him in the spiritual redemption of humanity (Nikhilananda, 1996).

BORN IN 1863 IN CALCUTTA, Vivekananda began meditating at age seven, and claimed to have first experienced samadhi when eight years old.

He regarded himself as a brahmachari, a celibate student of the Hindu tradition, who worked hard, prized ascetic disciplines, held holy things in reverence, and enjoyed clean words, thoughts, and acts (Nikhilananda, 1996).
A handsome and muscular, albeit somewhat stout and bulldog-jawed youth, he first met his guru, Ramakrishna, in 1881 at age eighteen. As the favorite and foremost disciple of that “Supreme Swan,” the young “Duckling,” Vivekananda,

was constantly flattered and petted by his frankly enchanted homoerotic mentor [i.e., Ramakrishna], fed adoringly by him, made to sing songs on a fairly regular basis for the Master’s mystical merriment, and told by the older man that he was a ... realized individual through his meditations ... [an] eternally realized person ... free from the lure of ... woman and wealth (Sil, 1997).
Vivekanandaji took his monastic vows in 1886, shortly before his guru’s death, thereby becoming a swami. (The suffix “ji” is added to East Indian names and titles to show respect.) “Swami” itself—meaning “to be master of one’s self”—is simply the name of the monastic order established by Shankara in the thirteenth century. The adoption of that honorific entails taking formal vows of celibacy and poverty.

Interestingly, in later years, Vivekananda actually claimed to be the reincarnation of Shankara (Sil, 1997).

In any case, following a dozen years of increasing devotion to his dearly departed guru, Vivekananda came to America at age thirty. There, he represented Hinduism to American men and women at the 1893 Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago.

A total stranger to the world of extroverted, educated, and affluent women, he was charmed by their generosity, kindness, and frankly unqualified admiration for and obsession with a handsome, young, witty, and somewhat enchantingly naïve virgin male from a distant land (Sil, 1997).
The earlier-celebrated purity and enjoyment of “clean acts,” and “freedom from the lure of women” guaranteed to Vivekananda by Ramakrishna, would nevertheless at first glance appear to have been somewhat incomplete. For, the former once admitted that, following the death of his father in 1884,

he visited brothels and consumed alcoholic beverages in the company of his friends (Sil, 1997).
Thankfully for his legacy, though, Vivekananda was not actually partaking of the various ladies’ delights in those houses. Rather, by his own testimony, he was simply dragged there once by his friends, who hoped to cheer him up after his father’s death. He, however, after a few drinks, began lecturing to them about what might become of them in their afterlives for such debauchery. He was subsequently kicked out by his friends for being that “wet blanket,” and stumbled home alone, thoroughly drunk (Sil, 2004).

So it was just a few drinks too many. In a whorehouse. Nothing unexpected from a savior “chosen by God as His instrument to help Him” in the salvation of humanity.

Either way, though, “if you keep on playing with fire” you’re going to get burned, as Vivekananda himself observed:

Once in me rose the feeling of lust. I got so disgusted with myself that I sat on a pot of burning tinders, and it took a long time for the wound to heal (in Sil, 1997).
* * *
[I]t is my ambition to conquer the world by Hindu thought—to see Hindus from the North Pole to the South Pole (Vivekananda, in [Sil, 1997]).
It was not long after that announcement that Vivekananda was proudly claiming to have “helped on the tide of Vedanta which is flooding the world.” He was likewise soon predicting that “before ten years elapse a vast majority of the English people will be Vedantic” (in Sil, 1997).

The enthusiastic young monk’s hopes of effecting global change, further, were not limited to a spiritual revolution, of “Hindus ‘round the world.” Rather, among his other vast dreams were those of a socially progressive, economically sovereign and politically stable India (Sil, 1997).

The realization of those goals, however, was to come up against certain concrete realities not anticipated by the swami, including the need to think ahead in manifesting one’s ideas. Indeed, Vivekananda was, it seems, explicitly opposed to such an approach:

Plans! Plans! That is why you Western people can never create a religion! If any of you ever did, it was only a few Catholic saints who had no plans. Religion was never, never preached by planners! (in Nikhilananda, 1996).
Not surprisingly, then, given this antipathy, before the end of 1897 Vivekananda was already down-sizing his goals:

I have roused a good many of our people, and that was all I wanted (in Nikhilananda, 1996).
Further, as Chelishev (1987) observed with regard to the social improvements advocated by the naïve monk:
Vivekananda approached the solution of the problem of social inequality from the position of Utopian Socialism, placing hopes on the good will and magnanimity of the propertied classes.
Understandably, within a year the swami had realized the futility of that approach:

I have given up at present my plan for the education of the masses (in Sil, 1997).
It will come by degrees. What I now want is a band of fiery missionaries. We must have a College in Madras to teach comparative religions ... we must have a press, and papers printed in English and in the vernaculars (Vivekananda, 1947).
As one frustrated devotee finally put it:

Swami had good ideas—plenty—but he carried nothing out .... He only talked (in Sil, 1997).
* * *
Vivekananda claimed to have experienced, in 1898, a vision of Shiva Himself. In that ecstasy, he “had been granted the grace of Amarnath, the Lord of Immortality, not to die until he himself willed it” (Nikhilananda, 1996).

The chain-smoking, diabetic sage, apparently “going gentle into that dark night,” nevertheless passed away only a few years later, in 1902, after years of declining health. Reaching only an unripe age of thirty-nine, he “thus fulfill[ed] his own prophecy: ‘I shall not live to be forty years old’” (Nikhilananda, 1996).

Of course, there are prophecies, and then there are earlier prophecies:

Vivekananda declared solemnly: “This time I will give hundred years to my body.... This time I have to perform many difficult tasks.... In this life I shall demonstrate my powers much more than I did in my past life” (Sil, 1997).
* * *
In spite of those many reversals, Vivekananda foresaw great and lasting effects on the world for his teachings:

The spiritual ideals emanating from the Belur Math [one of Vivekananda’s monasteries/universities], he once said to Miss MacLeod, would influence the thought-currents of the world for 1100 years....
“All these visions are rising before me”—these were his very words (Nikhilananda, 1996).
The Vedanta Society which preserves Vivekananda’s brand of Hinduism has a current membership of only around 22,000 individuals, and a dozen centers worldwide. It would thus not likely qualify as any large part of the “global spiritual renaissance” grandly and grandiosely envisioned by the swami. The better part of Vivekananda’s actual legacy, then, beyond mere organizational PR, may consist simply in his having paved the way for the other Eastern teachers who followed him into America in the succeeding century.

www.strippingthegurus.com/