humanity to realise its own potential divine nature. A synthesis of science and religion will serve to harmonise humanity.

Social Relevance

The fifth chapter covers the crux of Hinduism. Swami Vivekananda was the first religious leader in India to understand and openly declare that the real cause of India’s downfall was the neglect of the masses. The immediate need was to provide food and other bare necessities of life to the hungry millions. For this, they should be taught improved methods of agriculture, village industries etc. It was in this context that Swami Vivekananda grasped the crux of the problem of poverty in India owing to centuries of oppression, which had resulted in the downtrodden masses losing their faith in their own capacity to improve their lot. It was necessary therefore to prepare them for the infusion of the message of faith.
Swami forged an inspiring message centred around the principle of the Atman, the doctrine of the potential divinity of the soul, as espoused by the ancient religious philosophy of Vedanta. He saw that, in spite of poverty, the masses clung to religion. But they had never been

taught the lifegiving, ennobling principles of Vedanta or how to apply them in practical life. He gave hints on practical spirituality in his messages. ‘Blame neither God nor others. When you find yourself in suffering, blame yourself and try to do better’.
Thus the masses needed two kinds of knowledge: secular knowledge to improve their economic condition and spiritual knowledge to strengthen their sense of themselves. The next question was how to spread these two kinds of knowledge among the masses? Through education — this was the answer that Swamiji found. This book serves that purpose in a scholarly way.
The sixth chapter deals with various problems of life and its solutions. The fourth verse says, ’One of the greatest lessons I have learnt in my life is to pay as much attention to the means of work as to its ends’. The secret of success lies in this attitude to work. Good intentions, sincerity and infinite love can conquer the world. This is so true to this day.
The seventh chapter deals with the caste system and its problems. Swami Vivekananda said: Caste is a social organisation and not a

Bhavan's Journal,May 15, 2022∎ 69