[Buddha-l] Modern Advaita sages

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Tue, 2006-01-10 at 13:11 +0100, Erik Hoogcarspel wrote:

> Vivekananda was like Rammohan Roy and others a rationalist because of
> his English education. He liked science and he never had any feelings
> for the trational Indian gods.

Are you speaking the the Swami Vivekananda who said:

\begin{quote}
Then, if you can, lower your intellect to let any allegory pass
through your mind without questioning about the connexion. Develop
love of imagery and beautiful poetry and then enjoy all mythologies as
poetry. Come not to mythology with ideas of history and reasoning. Let
it flow as a current through your mind; let it be whirled as a candle
before your eyes, without asking who holds the candle, and you will
get the circle; the residuum of truth will remain in your mind.

The writers of all mythologies wrote in symbols what they saw and
heard; they painted flowing pictures. Do not try to pick out the
themes and so destroy the pictures; take them as they are and let
them act on you. Judge them only by the effect and get the good out of
them.

Your own will is all that answers prayer; only it appears differently,
under the guise of different religious conceptions, to each mind. We
may call it Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Jehovah, Allah---but it is only the
Self, the ``I.''
\end{quote}

Or perhaps you're thinking of the Swami Vivekananda who said:

\begin{quote}
I accept all the religions that were in the past and worship with them
all; I worship God with every one of them, in whatever form they worship
him. I shall go to the mosque of
the Mohammedan; I shall enter the Christian church and kneel down before
the crucifix; I shall enter the Buddhist temple, where I shall take
refuge in Buddha and his Law.  I shall go into the forest and sit down
in meditation with the Hindu who is trying to see the Light which
enlightens the heart of everyone. Not only shall I do this, but I shall
keep my heart open for all the religions that may come in the future. Is
God's book finished? Or is revelation still going on? It is a marvelous
book---these spiritual revelations of the world. The Bible, the Vedas,
the Koran, and all the other sacred books are but so many pages, and an
infinite number of pages remain yet to be unfolded. I shall leave my
heart open for all of them.
\end{quote}

>  Later on when he was famous, some Germand vaidantins who offered him
> a place to stay, were shocked to discover that he liked wine very much
> and used to smoke a pipe as well.

Germans are so easily shocked, eh? You'd think they'd lighten up a bit.
(I'm no expert in the German language, but is it true they have no word
for Weltanshauung?)

-- 
Richard