Yuva Bharati / March 2018 / 21The last mentioned topic ‘Marx and
Vivekananda – a Comparative Study’ is a
masterpiece on the topic. It is a scholarly
work, the result of a profound study. It
will be unfair not to say a few lines about
such a highly readable book.
This is a unique book of Shri Parameswaranji
in which he has extensively compared
the two stalwarts – one representing the
materialistic creed with his clarion call to
the workers to unite, in their fight against
exploitation, and the other representing
the spiritual heritage of India, as the one
chosen by the glorious Paramahamsa, Sri
Ramakrishna, the Sage of Dakshineswar
who was ever in communion with
God, the most beloved of the Divine
Mother of the Universe. Both, Marx and
Vivekananda, advocated progress and
social justice. But their approaches were at
variance with each other. Communism or
Capitalism, both are exploitative in nature,
promoting consumerism. Communism
could not stand for long the test of time.
Vivekananda’s concern for the poor and
the downtrodden, his call for the uplift
of the masses without destroying their
faith, his call for national regeneration and
national reconstruction won over as the
positive message appropriate for India, for
the Indian psyche. If Marx had known
Indian history and the Hindu religion and
philosophy better, there would have been
more in common to share between the two
makers of history. Alas! Marxism today
stands alienated from the very land of its
birth. None has contradicted Karl Marx
more vehemently than himself when he
uttered these words: “All I know is that I
am not a Marxist.”
For Vivekananda spiritual life is inseparable
from national life. According to him,
“Religion is the backbone of India.” The
Purusharthas address not only the material
needs but also the supramundane needs
of man leading to the highest good -- the
summum bonum of life. Vivekananda
was a socialist in the sense that he did not
believe in preaching religion to the hungry.
First, bread, and then religion. Half loaf is
better than no bread at all.
This book very beautifully sketches the
life and times of Karl Marx (together
with Engels) and Swami Vivekananda.
One might wonder why a subject of this
nature fell within the interest of Shri
Parameswaranji. Quoting his own reply to
this question will be more justifiable. “The
main reason that prompted this study is
the growing interest among the followers
of Marx and Vivekananda in the interfaces
of their philosophy and approach...Also,
the interaction among them at certain
levels. Those who seriously take up the
study of Marx in India cannot for long
remain oblivious of Vivekananda and
his influence. Both were radical thinkers
whose interest and vision went far beyond
mere intellectual formulations. They were
in fact torch-bearers of change, each in
his own way. The influence of Swami
Vivekananda on the Indian psyche is so
profound, and still growing that anyone
who sincerely seeks mass involvement in
socio-economic change cannot ignore the
Swamiji’s hold on it.”