Vivekananda and service

Brahman alone is real, the universe is ultimately unreal and the individual soul is no other than the Universal Soul.
-- Adi Shankara, summarizing the philosophy of the Vedanta

Jiva is Siva [each individual is divinity itself]
-- Vivekananda, emphasizing the second part of Adi Shankara’s summary

I cannot help feeling rather repulsed by the central message of Swami Swahananda’s essay Swami Vivekananda’s Concept of Service. According to Vivekananda, real worship consists in service to mankind. The philosophical basis for this notion of worship is as follows. The Vedas, Upanishads, and the Vedanta are monistic; they hold that the Ultimate Reality, called Brahman or God, is the Divine Ground of all things in the universe. This pantheistic doctrine argues asserts that all material and spiritual beings consist only of this infinite Brahman. Thus if each individual person is given the distinction of divinity, then Vivekananda is allowed to equate service to humanity as worship of God.

The argument is undoubtedly logical, but I disagree vehemently with several of its initial assumptions. Firstly, the assertion that Brahman is the sum total of all that there is, was, and will be is groundless. Common sense tells us that the universe is not monistic; indeed, dualism can be seen everywhere. There is the physical (all matter) and the metaphysical (soul, mind, etc.); there is simply no reason to suggest that Brahman is the only ‘substance’ that composes the universe. Secondly, there is no evidence to suppose that all human beings are equal; again, an appeal to common sense tells us that all human beings are different (and perhaps thus unequal). The notion that all human beings are somehow equal only stems from the argument that God is inherent in every being; if the latter argument is disputed (as above) the former is brought into question also.

One might argue that service to mankind is good even if it does not equate to worship of God. This argument is not without merit; I acknowledge that Vivekananda’s concept of service can be a practical way to live life. For example, his various practical proposals for the advancement of mankind (these include: education for the masses, uplifting of women’s living standards, patriotism, and socialism) are generally sound.

But once one removes the spiritual base of service, one is left with nothing of real value. Swahananda admits that without transcendental value for morality, all service becomes merely a secular exercise devoid of real value. Some philosophers argue that humanism (celebrating humanity’s intrinsic value without an appeal to God) is a valid basis for service, but Vivekananda’s concept of service is alien to humanism for the following reasons. Firstly, it must be noted that service is only food teleologically – it is only good insofar as it is worship to Brahman. If worship is the ideal of service, and if worship is impossible, it is necessary that service be meaningless also. Vivekananda argues that the individual must lay down his life for society. Undoubtedly, if there is an essential unity to the universe, this argument is sound; if there is no such unity, however, it is absurd that the individual would find any reason to live for the sake of society. Lastly, it might be argued that altruism improves human life as a whole; but I argue that egoism would be better.

Swahananda desperately wants Brahman to exist in reality, if only for the sake of morality. I admit it is an enticing thing to believe that such an entity exists, but sadly, the truth is often other than what one would wish.