Christ, the Oriental Prophet - Swami Vivekananda

There must have been a nucleus, a tremendous power that came down, a marvelous manifestation of spiritual power – and of that we are speaking.

That is the Orient: A Golgotha of power, of kingdoms, of learning. No wonder, the oriental mind looks with contempt upon the things of this world and naturally wants to see something that changeth not, something which dieth not, something which in the midst of this world of misery and death is eternal, blissful, undying. An oriental Prophet never tires of insisting upon these ideals; and, as for Prophets, you may also remember that without exception, all the Messengers were Orientals.

We see, therefore, in the life of this great Messenger of life, the first watchword: ‘Not this life, but something higher’; and, like the true son of the Orient, he is practical in that.

People of the West are practical in their own departments, in military affairs, and in managing political issues and other things. Perhaps the Oriental is not practical in those ways, but he is practical in his own field; he is practical in religion. If one preaches a philosophy, tomorrow there are hundreds who will do their best to make it practical in their lives. If a man preaches that standing on one foot would lead one to salvation, he will immediately get five hundred to stand on one foot. You may call it ludicrous; but, mark you, beneath that is their philosophy – that intense practicality.

© "Bhavan’s Journal" (June 30, 2003) published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kulapati KM Munshi Marg, Chowpatty, Mumbai 400 007. Website: www.bhavans.info. Reprinted with permission.

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