(Response to 3.H.1 Teachings of Swami Vivekananda, presented by Swami Atmapriyananda)
The teachings of Swami Vivekananda resonate strongly with this Catholic Benedictine monk. To be a person of faith implies living a faith without walls, not restricted to particular times of the day or days of the week. It also implies the skill of seeing in every human situation from dressing well for a party to washing the dishes after a meal as actions which reveal both respect for others and willingness to serve, even the most menial of tasks. The point is that when the Christian or Hindu thinks of the ’other’, acts sensitively to the ‘other’, he/she is respecting not just the human person, but the divine presence within that human being. As Swami Atmapriyananda puts it, ‘there are not two lives, the daily life and the spiritual life’. This is not just a way of ‘spiritualising’ the present moment wherever one is, it is a matter of being continuously aware of the ‘big picture’ that we live within a larger context, not limited by geography, nationality, culture or family. It is the context which underpins daily living and offers a future in spite of all that happens around us.
