Swami Vivekananda in Delhi : A Picture of a Ground Reality

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Swami Vivekananda in Delhi : A Picture of a Ground Reality

Swami Vivekananda on Culture

• The finer the organism, the higher the culture the greater is the power to enjoy pleasure and the sharper are the pangs of pain. 
•  … as culture comes, physical happiness lessens.  
• It is culture of the heart that we want.  
• It is culture that withstands shocks, not a simple mass of knowledge.  
• You can put a mass of knowledge into the world, but that will not do it much good.  There must come culture into the blood.  
• … it is spiritual … and ethical culture alone that can change wrong racial tendencies for the better.  
• The only way to bring about the levelling of caste is to appropriate the culture…. That done, you have what you want.  
• We all know … of nations which have masses of knowledge. but what of them?  They are like tigers … because culture is not there.  
• Teach the masses in the vernaculars, give them ideas; … but something more is necessary; given them culture.  
• If … it is impossible for the Europeans to throw off the few centuries of culture…, do you think it is possible for you to throw off the culture of shining scores of centuries? 
• … this accumulated culture of ages of which the Brahmin has been the trustee, he must now give to the people at large……   
• … instead of fighting and quarrelling …. use all your energies in acquiring the culture which the Brahmin has, and the thing is done.  
• … with the supremacy of the priestly power, there is a great prevalence of intellectual and literary culture. 
• But for the rising of …Vaisya power, who would have carried today the culture … of one end of the world to the other? 
• What a wonderful culture there must have been among the Aryans twenty-five hundred years ago … !  

Swami Vivekananda on Heritage 

• Do not sell your priceless heritage for such delusions. 
• Each of you (Indians) was born with a splendid heritage, which is the whole of the infinite past life of your glorious nation.   

Swami Vivekananda on Art

Art has its origin in the expression of some idea in whatever man produces. . . . Where there is no expression of idea, . . . it cannot be styled as true art….  Art is — representing the beautiful. . . . art must be in touch with nature—and wherever that touch is gone, art degenerates —yet it must be above nature…. In art, interest must be centred on the principal theme…. There must be art in everything.. . . art sees the inner beauty of nature. . . . The secret of Greek art is its imitation of nature even to the minutest details . . . . the secret of Indian art is to represent the ideal. . . . Japanese art is art plus absolute cleanliness. . . . unless the eye is . . . trained, one cannot appreciate . . .  the inner genius of a work of art…. They (the Japanese) are great as a nation because of their art….The very soul of the Asian is interwoven with art…. Don’s you know that art is, with us a part of religion?….The Asian never uses a thing unless there be art in it.. . . how much arty there is in them (our buildings)!. . . with us art is everywhere. . . . since the time the Europeans have come into contact with Asia, they are trying to infuse art into their own life. …Their (Westerners’) ideal is utility, ours art….Now what we need is the combination of art and utility. . . . should we not . . . preserve those (works of art) which we possess from going to ruin?. . . I saw nothing like the development of art which took place in our country during the Buddhistic period….. (The Classic Greek art demanded) that the proportion of the human body must be faithfully reproduced in art….. Even luxuries are arranged according to ideas . . . to make them reflect as much of thought-life as possible—and this is art.. . . in our country also, attempts to give expression to original ideas in art are no longer seen. . . . Shri Ramakrishna was born to vivify all branches of art and culture in this country….. In the building of . . . Temple and Math I have the desire to bring together all that is best in Eastern and Western art. . . . as in matters of religion, so in fine arts, India is the primal Guru of the whole world.