Love Conquers All

Ethics, principles and values that guide ordinary people to do extraordinary work in eternal India

- RAMASUBRAMANIAN O.B.

Srimat Swami Ranganathanandaji (1908 – 2005), the 13th President of the Ramakrishna Order, described Vedanta as the Science of Human Possibilities. Swami Vivekananda observes that Vedanta has penetrated every aspect of Indian life making seva and tyaga the goals of life even among ordinary people. He indicates that these are the values by which the majority of people in this country live. To me, Vedanta is ever present and active in the way our ordinary people carry on without giving up hope even under extreme situations and in the way they choose to work, often with nothing more than a deep conviction; conviction that whatever good that is done contributes to the betterment of the whole universe. To me, it is Vedanta that manifests as this conviction. All my life, I have been blessed to interact with people with such deep convictions. This series is a tribute to their convictions as much as to the ethos of the land that directs the same. Here I document my encounters with them.

Modern times is also imprisoned by commodified celebration of the individual as great, at the cost of recognizing the same greatness inherent in us. Therefore, I am consciously leaving out names and will only outline the process so as to not confuse the process with the outcome. Each one of us, no matter how ordinary, has unlimited potential which can be manifested through simple efforts.