UNITED KINGDOM, May 6, 2007: “I consider everyone a Hindu until they say they are not,” says Swami Dayananda Saraswati, a well-known swami of the Advaita-Vedanta tradition. Being highly articulate in several languages, including English, he has been able to reach out to hundreds of thousands of people through his writings and speeches and personal leadership. He founded the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam as well as several charitable institutions around the world.
Hindu Voice UK interviewed Swamiji on his recent trip to the UK and asked: “What, in our opinion, is the most important teaching of Hinduism?” Swami replied, “If I were to choose one aspect, it would be the teaching that God is the only reality, which can be invoked through any name or form. All worship offered with a pure heart is valid. There can be million forms of worship, offered to any name or form that you choose. This is the universal outlook of Hinduism. Hinduism is a very profound religion, not based in simple beliefs. God is to be understood, not just believed in.” When asked for his thoughts on Western society, Swami said, “I have no problem with the West. They have achieved many things. But they have come to a certain stage of extreme materialism where they have to face certain stern realities. We see the amount of psychiatric disease, depression etc. prevalent in the West, even amongst people who are rich in terms of money. The wisdom of ancient India is the solution to such problems. The society needs to learn that the most important thing is that a person has to be at comfort with oneself, and learn who we really are. For the full interview with Swami click on the url above.