In one of those obscure, seemingly unlikely, yet epoch-making encounters in the grand pageant of human interactions, the paths of three trailblazers of contemporary history- the divinely graceful French actress and singer, Sarah Bernhardt, the Yugoslav inventor-genius par excellence Nikola Tesla, and the Indian cyclonic monk and firebrand Vedantist, Swami Vivekananda, came together in ostensibly mysterious ways towards the end of the nineteenth century. An icon of the theater, a deeply far-sighted scientist, and a trailblazing monk: what could this trio possibly have in common- or, as some might argue, was their historic meeting somehow pre-ordained, was it an evolutionary inevitability?
As is well known, Vivekananda arrived in the United States for the first time in 1893, as a participant representing Hinduism at the Chicago World Parliament of Religions, primarily at the behest of his many friends and admirers in Western and Southern India. History records their earnest efforts and encouragement that eventually sent forth this path-breaking emissary of Indian philosophy and thought to a region of the Western world that was steeped in the deepest darkness vis-a-vis the sacred literature of the East, its abiding message of universal brotherhood, and Vivekananda’s own awe-inspiring declaration of the Divinity of Man (echoes of the potent pronouncements from the Rishis of ancient India: Tat Tvam Asi (That Thou Art) and Amritasya Putra (Hark, ye sons of Eternity)).
It may be rightly asserted that it was Vivekananda who opened the doors to facilitate East Meeting West in the truest modern sense of that concept. Not only through his exposition of the ideals of India, especially the non-dual (advaita) aspects of the Vedanta, but to a much greater extent, through the sheer impact of his personality, erudition, and relentless efforts to break down sectarian barriers, abolish inert (and potentially violent) dogmas, and eliminate racial, social and cultural divides that continually plague the human race (we see such sectarian zealotry and intolerance of unimaginable intensity in our world today, especially in the mindlessly consumer-driven culture of the past twenty-five years), that Vivekananda enabled the realization of the American melting pot, however misunderstood, misused and distorted conceptually these days. Despite the current American obsession with China and Japan as the torchbearers of Asia, history no doubt will bear testimony that there were virtually no Chinese or Japanese equivalents of a Vivekananda or a Tagore (one may also include Gandhi in this group) that revealed the tranquil temperance of India and the East to Western society beset with bigotry, racism, missionary zeal and imperial arrogance. It is truly their rishi-like far-sighted efforts that have enabled the intermingling of people from across the continents, and the cultural understanding among people that we take for granted in this age. In this aspect as well, the contributions of India to the darkness-dispelling modern era (with distinct signs of regression at times) cannot be sufficiently emphasized. India has not flooded the world with Japanese automobiles, or Chinese imports. Instead, India has impacted, as it always has, the world of thought. It has brought people together; it has bridged cultures; it has provoked the world of the mind, not of the material. At a significant level, as all strife-ridden societies show us, this is what ultimately matters the most.
It was during Vivekananda’s second visit to the United States in 1896 that he encountered Sarah Bernhardt- then, and for several decades after, the reigning empress of the European theater. In his magnificent essay, Sarah Bernhardt and Vivekananda (which he wrote as his contribution to the book, Vedanta for the Western World, that he edited), the noted playwright and thinker Christopher Isherwood outlined the significance of the meeting of these two remarkable people from that age [1]. Towards the end of his essay, Isherwood speculated about a possible meeting of the two in our own proximate time, and what their conversation might entail.
Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) is considered by many as the greatest actress who ever lived. For well over sixty years, she dominated the stage not only in her native France, but throughout the world. She lived an utterly individualistic lifestyle, marked by flamboyance and eccentricity, in manner of dress, behavior, and social interactions. She broke taboos, as is characteristic of iconoclasts, and is even known to have occasionally slept in a coffin that she kept in her room (as her shelter from the world, or perhaps as part of her exploration of the occult). In her “biography” of Sarah Bernhardt, written in the form of an imaginary correspondence with the legendary actress, the French novelist Francoise Sagan observes, “There is a basic tenet in the Hindu religion which holds that the soul lives on in proximity to the body for as many years as the person lived on earth.” In the imaginative biography, thus, Bernhardt’s soul and psyche report not only on her past life, but on contemporary events as well [2].
During his trip to Paris in 1900 to attend the Congress of the History of Religions, Swami Vivekananda met Sarah Bernhardt for the second time. Hosted initially by Mr. and Mrs. Francis Leggett at their handsome residence in the Place des Etats-Unis, Vivekananda came into close contact with many celebrated men and women of knowledge and culture. These included Patrick Geddes, Professor of Sociology, Edinburgh University; Jane Addams, American social activist; Mme. Emma Calve and Mrs. Potter Palmer of Chicago; Princess Demidoff; the Duke of Newcastle; and of course, Mme. Sarah Bernhardt. Bernhardt had a fervent love for India and told Vivekananda several times how she regarded his country as “very ancient, very civilized.” One year she staged a drama concerning India, and presented a realistic scene of an Indian street, with men, women, children and sadhus. She had told the Swami during their first meeting in New York that to gain a true setting for the play, she had visited museums for a whole month and carefully studied everything relating to India.
Following a three-month sojourn in France, Vivekananda left with a group including Josephine MacLeod and Mme. Calve, on board the legendary Orient Express. During a visit to the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, the Swami was shown the various rooms, including Indian and Chinese exhibits- and was especially moved by the story of Napoleon’s son (Napoleon II, who briefly became emperor upon his Father’s abdication in 1815), who was kept in virtual imprisonment there, and had died of a broken heart. Interestingly, Vivekananda had seen a play named l’Aiglon (the Young Eagle) by Sarah Bernhardt that portrayed the tragic story [3].
The story of the Serbian inventor and electrical wizard, Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) is that of a genius who was a direct, and many would argue, unmatched rival to the more widely known American icon, Thomas Edison. While Edison was making history through the development of the DC (direct current) motor, Tesla had already devised the considerably superior AC (alternating current) machine that soon became the industry standard. In addition to his groundbreaking work with AC motors and dynamos, Tesla’s induction coil led to the development of radio transmission, neon light, radar, and a host of high voltage devices. The impact of Tesla’s inventions and ideas has been immeasurable in the advancement of modern electrical and communications technology.
Interestingly, the extremely dexterous and in some ways eccentric Tesla also had a mystical and introspective dimension to his personality. In the 1890s, when the bachelor Tesla’s name began to assume legendary proportions in New York high society, he began to be associated with, among others, the heiresses Anne Morgan and Flora Dodge, the pianist Marguerite Merington, and Sarah Bernhardt. Tesla had first met Bernhardt in Paris in 1892. Apparently, while Tesla was resting at a sidewalk cafe with friends, Bernhardt, while passing him, dropped her handkerchief in a flirtatious gesture. Tesla sprang to his feet and returned it to her, and, it turns out, a bond was established between the two. Later, he met Bernhardt again in the presence of Vivekananda, in 1896- the “encounter” that is the focal point of this essay. It is believed that Tesla had kept Bernhardt’s handkerchief for the rest of his life [4].
In their biographical work, Tesla: Master of Lightning, the authors Cheney and Uth speculate that despite his claims to the contrary, Tesla had a mystical bend of mind [4]. Such is illustrated by the following comment: Have you ever abandoned yourself to the raptures of the contemplation of a world you yourself create? You want a palace and there it stands, built by architects finer than Michelangelo. All this world, real or imaginary, it matters little, you want to be able to see through some such thing as a wire, for if you succeed in transmitting sight you will see it all ([5], Tesla, 1896). Following his encounter with Vivekananda, Tesla used Eastern/Hindu philosophical concepts in his writings. Thus he wrote, “There manifests itself in the fully developed being, Man, a desire…. to imitate nature, to create, to work himself the wonders he perceives….. Long ago he recognized that a perceptible matter comes from a primary substance, of tenuity beyond conception, filling all space- the Akasa or luminiferous ether- which is acted upon by the life-giving Prana or creative force, calling into existence, in never ending cycles all things and phenomena. The primary substance, thrown into infinitesimal whirls of prodigious velocity, becomes gross matter; the force subsiding, the motion ceases and matter disappears, reverting to the primary substance.” ([6], Tesla, 1930; elsewhere 1907)
As the author and electrical engineer Toby Grotz writes on this subject, “…. There are words in Sanskrit that describe concepts totally foreign to the western mind. Single words may require a full paragraph for translation into English….. Tesla’s use of Vedic terminology could provide a key to understanding his view of electromagnetism and the nature of the universe….. (Leland) Anderson suggested that it was through association with Swami Vivekananda that Tesla may have come into contact with Sanskrit terminology….” [7]
During his trips to the United States and Europe, Swami Vivekananda met with several major scientists of the time, including Lord Kelvin, and of course, Nikola Tesla. Swami Nikhilananda wrote later, “Nikola Tesla…. was much impressed to hear from the Swami his explanation of the Samkhya cosmogony and the theory of cycles given by the Hindus. He was particularly struck by the resemblance between the Samkhya theory of matter and energy and that of modern physics. The Swami also met in New York Sir William Thompson, afterwards Lord Kelvin, and Professor Helmholtz, two leading representatives of western science. Sarah Bernhardt, the famous French actress had an interview with the Swami and greatly admired his teachings.” [8]
In all likelihood, Tesla first met Swami Vivekananda at a party given by Sarah Bernhardt in early 1896. Some days earlier, Bernhardt was playing the part of “Iziel” in a French play depicting the life of the Buddha. Upon seeing the Swami in the audience, Bernhardt arranged a meeting also attended by Tesla. Thus it is that these three disparate figures came together, leading to the search, on Tesla’s part, for the relationship between energy and matter that culminated in Albert Einstein’s celebrated relativistic theory. The meeting with Swami Vivekananda greatly stimulated Tesla’s interest in Eastern science. During a lecture in India, Vivekananda later remarked, “I myself have been told by some of the best scientific minds of the day, how wonderfully rational the conclusions of the Vedanta are. I know one of them personally, who scarcely has time to eat his meal, or go out of his laboratory, but who would stand by the hour to attend my lectures on the Vedanta; for, as he expresses it, they are so scientific, they so exactly harmonize with the aspirations of the age and with the conclusions to which modern science is coming at the present time.” [9]
That Tesla’s beliefs and ideas corroborated (as did those of other leading scientists) aspects of Vedic science is further proof that ideas originating from the human mind have fascinating convergences, across space and time. Thus, serving as his Master Sri Ramakrishna’s foremost vehicle for the exposition of Hindu philosophy and the unifying principles of Advaita to the world (his famous words in this regard are pertinent here: I have a message to the West as the Buddha had a message to the East), Swami Vivekananda also served as the catalyst that united East and West in the fields of science and philosophy. And in accomplishing that crucial objective, the beautiful Sarah Bernhardt, perhaps dispatched by destiny, played a curiously vital role.
Bibliography
- Christopher Isherwood, “Sarah Bernhardt and Swami Vivekananda,” in Vedanta for theWestern World, Vedanta Pr,
- Francoise Sagan, Dear Sarah Bernhardt. New York: Henry Holt and Company (1988).
- The Life of Swami Vivekananda by His Eastern and Western Disciples, Volume 2. Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 5th ed. (1981).
- Margaret Cheney and Robert Uth, Tesla: Master of Lightning. New York: Barnes and Noble Books (1999).
- “Tesla as a Seer,” American Electrician, September 1896.
- “Man’s Greatest Achievement,” New York American, July 1930.
- Toby Grotz, “The Influence of Vedic Philosophy on Nikola Tesla’s Understanding of Free Energy,” World Wide Web Publication, Southern Autumn of 1997, at the URL:
http://www.hinduism.fsnet.co.uk/namoma/life_swamiji/life_swamiji_tesla.htm
- Swami Nikhilananda, Vivekananda, the Yogas and Other Works. New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center (1973).
- Marie Lousie Burke, Swami Vivekananda in the West, New Discoveries, The World Teacher. Mayavati: Advaita Ashrama, p. 500 (1985).
Monish R. Chatterjee, Dayton, Ohio
SIGN UP FOR COUNTERCURRENTS DAILY NEWS LETTER
