SWAMI VIVEKANANDA
(1863 – 1902)
Swami Vivekananda’s inspiring personality was well known both in East and West during the last decade of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth. The unknown monk of India suddenly kept into fame at the Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893, at which he represented Hinduism. His vast knowledge of Eastern and Western culture as well as his deep spiritual insight, fervid eloquence, brilliant conversation, broad human sympathy, colourful personality and handsome figure made an irresistible appeal to the many types of Americans who came in contact with him. People who saw or heard Vivekananda even once still cherish his memory after lapse of more than half a century.
Swami Vivekananda’s mission was both national and international. A lover of mankind, he strove to promote peace and human brotherhood on the spiritual foundation of the Vedantic Oneness of existence. A mystic of the highest order, Vivekananda had a direct and intuitive experience of reality. He derived his ideas from that unfailing source of wisdom and often presented them in the soul-stirring language of poetry.
Swami Vivekananda’s first lesson started from his mother with the glory of gods and goddesses, the greatness of the sages of India and followed by Metropolitan Institute. For higher education he enrolled in Presidency College Calcutta and finally got his Bachelor of Arts degree from General Assembly’s Institution, founded by the Scottish General Missionary Board. Narendra’s college days were marked by tremendous intellectual and spiritual upheaval, in which the principal of the institution Professor William Hastie took a significant role. Attending college Narendranath studied the philosophical, social and scientific ideas of Western thinkers like Jeremy Bentham, Charles Darwin, David Hume, William S. Jevons, John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, Auguste Comte, Rene Descartes, George Hegel, Baruch Spinoza and many more. The scientific ideas and the realistic analysis of those western thinkers shook the religious belief of Narendranath that he inherited from his childhood. They raised a tumult in his mind. In search of the link of the eastern and western thinking, he joined Brahmo Samaj, attracted by its sympathetic program of social reform. But it did not satisfy his deeper spiritual urge. He was wandering place to place in search of existence of God.
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During the XXI century, the Western Mind seemed to have proven its superiority in idea development and their applications throughout the world. Most of the current worlds wealth together with the knowledge centers is located in the west, as well as the pace of economic development of the west is much higher than that of other countries everywhere in the world. In the following essay I am going to ...
After Ramakrishna’s Maha Samadhi, within few years young Narendranath left the monastery and his brother disciple. Restlessness always worked in Narendranath, which forced him for a pilgrimage. He feared for his attachment may obstruct his quest of realization of God. Furthermore there was another desire in him, to see the country, his motherland, the teeming millions of people, their sufferings, the aged old traditions and culture of India. In this compelling urge, he left monastery. As a wondering monk he travelled whole India, from East to West, North to South. His journey through Varanasi, Vrindavan, Hardwar, Kedar Badri, Dehra Dun, Allahabad, Delhi, Jaipur, Ajmer, Agra, Ahmedabad, Indore, Mysore, Madras, Hydrabad, Cochin, Pondichery connect him with saints and religious gurus of different faiths, which enriched his knowledge. Sometimes he meditate in the silent mountain cave of Himalaya, sometimes interact in the crowded city with numerous people belonging to the intelligentsia, the professional classes and high officials and local princes, some of them were noble soul, and some of their attitude towards human suffering shocked him. Vivekananda was moved by the miserable condition of the rural India, he distressed to find ignorance, superstitions, exploitation, poverty, hunger, cast-tyranny among the unprivileged groups. When he reached to the Cape Comorian,at the tip of India, he felt an irresistible inner urge to reach to the rock out in the Indian Ocean, he plunged into the turbulent waters and swam to the rock and after three days meditation vividly realize his future task for his Mother India, which needed him to cross the ocean.
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Part one: 1. Holden s Hunting cap: His hat is something that makes him stand out from the crowd and society. To Holden, wearing his hat says that he s not going to be like all the rest of the phonies. It s also something that he really likes and he constantly talks about it being different. On page 22 he refers to his hat as a people shooting hat, meaning he shoots people down when he wears it ...
On request of some of his admirers and friends in South India, he headed to America to attain the Parliament of Religions, which was a part of the World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago. Vivekananda return to India as a national hero. The people of India gave a grand reception in honor of his success in the West. In response he ended by giving a clarion call to the people of India – “The sign of life is expansion, we must go out, expand, show life, or degrade, fester and die. Arise, awake for the time is propitious”. The glory of Parliament of Religions didn’t put him any comfort, the workaholic Swami did a gigantic work in next five years. He formed an organization “Ramakrishna Mission Association” with the disciples of Ramakrishna and created an order of sannyasis in India who would dedicate their lives for others. They would show how Ramakrishna’s message of self-less service to suffering people could be translated in life. In 1899 established Belur Math in Howrah, near the Ganges river as the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Order. Swami went on an extensive lecture tour in Northern India, he mentioned – “the secret of religion lies not in theories but in practice, Practical Patriotism means not a mere sentiment or not an emotion of love for the motherland but a passion to serve our fellow countrymen, to find God by serve man.” He also wanted to develop the women, to bring them in the light of education and progress.
In regard of this his western friends and disciple – Margaret Noble, Ole Bull, Josephine MacLeod, Christine Greenstidel came to India and did a remarkable job for the women education in India. 1899 Swami revisited to America and attained Paris Congress and toured Europe and Egypt. When he was in Cairo the news of Captain Sevier’s death made him to interrupt his journey and on November 1900 he returned to Belur Math and visited Mayavati to meet Mrs. Sevier. Gradually his health was getting worse, but he said – “No rest for me! I shall die in harness! I love action. Life is a battle and one must always be in action…Let me live and die in action”. July 4, 1902, the day came when the “cyclone” stopped on this earth. He had a great desire to attain Nirvikalpa Samadhi, which was admonished by his master Sri Ramakrishna. But at last he attained that state and left the baton for the future young people, who are dedicating their life for the mankind. progress.
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Is it correct to say that INDIA HAS ATTAINED FULFLEDGED FREEDOM? On the basis of the right to express opinions constitutionally a basic right assured for the citizen of India, I would like to draw your kind attention to ponder over it before the celebration of India’s Independence on the above cited topic. One may have the freedom to express his or her opinion without affecting the feeling of any ...
“My message in life is to ask not to quarrel over different ideals, but to show that the goal is the same in all cases however opposite it may appear, as we wend our way through this mazy vale of life, let us bid ear other Godspeed.”
