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Swami Tathagatananda
Vedanta Society of New York

“I definitely remember all of you. When our Vedanta Society celebrated the centenary of Swami Vivekananda’s visit to America in 1994, Vivekananda Vidyapith presented a play on Swami Vivekananda’s life as a part of our celebration. One hundred students participated in the play. Dr. and Mrs. Jani’s son Pranav played the part of Swami Vivekananda. I heard he got married and both him and his wife are professors. At that time Pranav was coming out from his teens. There were recitations and music. Everything has been recorded in the history of our society. We are also receiving your quarterly magazine ‘Sapling’ for last several years. I have a great respect for the Vidyapith from the time I knew about it.

I have come across several Indians who are American citizens and have been well established here, but they try to hide their national origin as much as possible. They feel as if it is a crime to be of Indian origin. I feel very unhappy to see this attitude. Yes, India’s standard of living might be lower than here, but Indian culture has something positive to contribute for the welfare of humanity. I know several graduate students and other well-educated Indians who do not know much about the Indian culture. Swami Vivekananda said in the Parliament of Religions that India is the home of or Mother of all religions. This fact has been verified by European scholars. They have paid their glorious tribute to the immortal contribution of the Indian culture. Western scholars have translated most of the Sanskrit books of Indian scriptures. They want to know what is it in the Indian culture that has made India a living civilization for thousands of years. Swami Vivekananda wanted every educated Indian, whether living in India or outside India, to know about the immortal treasure of India’s culture, especially the eternal values described in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Know first something about the Indian culture, and then you can share it with others. In India also several people have very little understanding of Indian culture. It is a sad thing to observe that several educated people who have achieved something in their fields know very little about the real Indian culture. They go to temples, do fasting and perform a few rituals. But, that is not the real Indian culture. I tell them read a couple of Swami Vivekanada’s books to understand the significance of Indian culture.

Thank you all for giving us a chance to see you on your premises. You, the students of the Vidyapith, probably do not know how much you are benefited by what you are learning here. You may not be aware of it. But, I am sure in your matured years you will realize the importance of the knowledge imparted to you. I extend my thankfulness to Mahendra Jani and his wife Vandana Jani for starting, developing and running such an institution and contributing to the future generations the glory of Indian culture and heritage. Thank you."