Abstract

Of all the forces that have worked and are still working to mold the destinies of humans, none, certainly, is more potent than the manifestation of which we call religion. Generally, in life, we give importance only to those things that fulfill our daily needs. In this aspect, we take food, clothes, and dwelling as essential aspects of life, from which we accomplish our physical needs. But according to Swami Vivekananda, in this life, we are not bound to this physical necessity. There are higher desires than this and continuous motivation to these higher desires leads to the ‘necessity of religion’. Now the question is that what role does religion play in our lives? Religion played a major role in Vivekananda’s ideas. To Vivekananda religion was not only talk or doctrine or theory but the realization of the best and strongest powers within oneself. He said – “it is being and becoming, not hearing or acknowledging; it is the whole soul becoming changed into what it believes.” Vivekananda believes that the essence of man lies in his soul, which he possesses in addition to his body and mind. While Swamiji defines education as ‘the manifestation of the perfection already in man.’ The aim of education is to manifest in our lives perfection, which is the very nature of our inner self.