Swami Vivekananda

  

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)

O Vivekananda! Teacher Of Teachers, Supremely Pure,

Guardian Of The World, Sweet One, Prince Of Yogins,

You Took Up A Human Form For The Good Of Mankind.

Graciously Accept Our Humble Prostrations.

ॐ नम: श्रीयतिराजाय विवेकानन्द-सूरये ।

सच्चित्सुख-स्वरूपाय स्वामिने तापहारिणे ॥

Om Namah Sree Yatiraajaaya Vivekaananda Sooraye |

Saccit-Sukha Svaroopaaya Svaamine Taapahaarine ||

    Swami Vivekananda Is The Third Angle Of The Triangle Of The Holy Trio Who Remain At The Forefront Of The Hindu Renaissance. Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, And Swami Vivekananda Had Complimentary Roles In This Tidal Wave Of Bharat’s Rejuvenation. The Noted Patriot And Statesman-Philosopher Sri Rajagopalachari Honoured The Great Swami’s Contribution To The National Life Of India And The Preservation Of The Hindu Religion: “Swami Vivekananda Saved Hinduism And Saved India. But For Him, We Would Have Lost Our Religion And Would Not Have Gained Our Freedom.”

A Profile

       Swami Vivekananda, Known As Narendranath Or Narendra, Or Simply Naren In His Youth, Was Born Into An Aristocratic Family Of Calcutta. His Father Viswanath Datta And Mother Bhuvaneswari Were Exceptionally Intelligent And Noble-Minded, As Well As Generous And Kindhearted. Narendra Inherited These And Many Other Outstanding Qualities From His Parents. He Was An Extraordinary Child By Any Measure. Unusually Gifted, And Endowed With A Sensitive Heart, He Excelled In Whatever He Undertook.

          Narendra Was A Restless Bundle Of Irrepressible Energy. At Times He Was Quite Naughty And Would Throw Uncontrollable Temper Tantrums, Pushing His Mother’s Patience To The Limit. She Would Grab Him And While Repeating The Name Of Siva, Put His Head Under A Tap Of Cold Running Water. With Exasperation She Would Exclaim, “I Prayed To Lord Siva For A Son And He Has Sent Me One Of His Demons!” But Strangely This Remedy Would Calm Him Down And He Would Regain His Natural Cheerfulness.

          Bhuvaneswari Moulded His Character With Tender Care And Attention. She Taught Him His First English Words And The Bengali Alphabet. Further, She Captured His Vivid Imagination By Reading To Him The Tales Of The Ramayana And Mahabharata. From This Early Exposure To These Great Epics Of Bharat, He Developed A Deep And Lasting Love For His Country And Her Traditions. Another Outstanding Characteristic Of Narendra, Even While He Was Quite Young, Was His Keen Interest In Meditation.

          Narendra Was Always The Leader Of His Group Of Friends. He Took Charge In All The Games And Boldly Challenged Anyone Who Shied Away From Anything Out Of Fear Or Superstition. Once An Old Man Threatened The Boys That If They Climbed A Certain Tree That A Demon Would Break Their Necks. The Boys Trembled In Fear, But Narendra Ignored The Empty Threat And Climbed The Tree Saying If It Had Been True, The Demon Would Have Broken Their Necks Long Before! Later He Would Say That A Boy Is Not Really A Boy Unless He Had A Scar On His Head. In Fact, He Did Have A Large Scar On His Forehead That He Bore All His Life From A Fall When He Was Young.

          In All Ways Narendra Was A Well-Rounded Personality—A Trait That He Would Later Advocate For All Youth To Develop. As He Grew From Childhood To Youth, His Multi-Faceted Genius Blossomed. As Expected, He Excelled In School, Mastering With Ease Whatever Subject He Studied. He Was Equally Proficient In Music, Sports, Literature, And The Arts, History, Sanskrit, And Much More. His Memory Was Simply Marvellous. In College He Astounded Both His Indian As Well As English Professors With His Intellectual Brilliance.

          Coupled With His Many Talents Was His Unselfish Pristine Character And Unwavering Love Of Truth, Which Set Him Apart From Others. Narendra’s Inquiring Mind Had A Natural Spiritual Bent Which Led Him To Several Well-Known People In His Search For God. But All Of Them Fell Short Of His Expectation. Eventually He Was Led To Sri Ramakrishna, To Whom He Asked The Pointed Question: “Sir, Have You Seen God?” Sri Ramakrishna’s Surprising Answer To This Heartfelt Inquiry Has Now Become Legend. Straight Came The Reply, “I See Him More Clearly Than I See You.” Narendra Had Never Met Such A Person In His Life Who Could Give A Straightforward Answer To This Profound Question In Such A Simple And Direct Way. Thus, Began The Journey From Narendra To Swami Vivekananda.

          Sri Ramakrishna Recognized Narendra As A Great Sage That He Had Seen In A Vision Who Had Been Earmarked By The Divine Mother To Do Her Work. Narendra Was To Reawaken The Dormant Power In Hinduism, As Well As To Be The Messenger Of Sri Ramakrishna’s Universal Spiritual Teachings To Humanity. Thus, Sri Ramakrishna Began Training Him Accordingly.

          At This Juncture Narendra’s Father Suddenly Passed Away, Leaving The Family Destitute. In His Overzealous Acts Of Charity, He Left Nothing For The Future Maintenance Of His Family. Narendra Was In A Terrible Crisis. His Heart Was Torn Between Taking Care Of His Suffering Family Members And Continuing His Law Education, With That Of His Strong Desire To Pursue The Spiritual Fire Within, That Sri Ramakrishna Had Lit. Vainly He Tried To Find A Solution, But Could Find No Answer. Sri Ramakrishna Told Him To Go To Mother Kali And Ask Her To Fulfil His Needs. Narendra Did As He Was Told, But To No Avail. As Soon As He Entered The Temple And Came Face To Face With The Living Conscious Presence Of The Great Mother, He Forgot All About His Material Requests And Prayed Only For Pure Devotion And Love. After Several Attempts And Failing Each Time To Pray For Mundane Things, Sri Ramakrishna Granted His Request. Narendra Unconditionally Surrendered To Mother Kali At Last.

          After Sri Ramakrishna Passed Away In 1886, Narendra And The Other Young Men Formed A Monastic Community Under Narendra’s Able Leadership. This Community Began To Live Together In A Dilapidated Building In Baranagore, Which Was Thought To Be Haunted. Here With Barely A Cloth Between Them And Very Little Food, They Spent Their Days In Intense Austerity And Spiritual Practices. Thus The Foundation Of The Ramakrishna Order Was Laid And Formally Established Some Years Later. After Taking Monastic Vows In A Solemn, Yet Informal Ceremony, Narendra Eventually Took The Name Swami Vivekananda.

          Swami Vivekananda (Affectionately Known As Swamiji) Spent A Number Of Years As An Itinerant Monk Wandering Across His Beloved Motherland, India. The Further He Travelled, The Deeper His Love And Admiration Grew For India’s Age-Old Traditions, Her Magnificent Diverse Culture, And Deeply Spiritual Roots. He Gained Tremendous Experience During His Travels, Including An Ever-Increasing Intuition Into His Mission To His Country And His Destiny As A World Spiritual Teacher. This Unique Comprehensive Vision Of India’s Renewal And The Broader Implications Of This Renewal For The Rest Of The World Gradually Evolved In Swamiji’s Mind, As He Moved Throughout The Country. His Insight Culminated In His Determination To Uplift India, Spiritually And Materially, And To Reawaken His Countrymen To The Glory Of Ancient Bharat And The Hindu Religion. He Must Rouse Bharat To Her Former Glory, But How To Proceed? A Plan Was Needed.

          By The Time Swamiji Reached Kanyakumari In December 1892, The Intensity Of His Mood Was So Overpowering That He Plunged Into The Sea. He Swam Through Choppy Waters Until He Reached The Area Where Three Oceans Meet. There, Seated On A Rock, He Was Lost In Meditation For Three Days, Which Culminated In A Divine Vision: “Everywhere Is The Same God, Who Is All Love; These Are His Manifold Forms Before You. Rejecting Them, Where Else Should One Seek For God?”  

          As Days Passed A Plan Began To Formulate In His Mind To Visit The West. There He Would Share India’s Spiritual Heritage In Exchange For Assistance For His Country. After He Returned To The Mainland, His Wanderings Were Coming To A Close—In India At Least. Within A Short Time His Wanderings In The West Would Begin.

          In Swamiji’s Brief Life Of Thirty-Nine Years, He Went To The West Twice. The First Time As The Representative Of Hinduism At The World’s Parliament Of Religions Held In Chicago In 1893, Where He Took The West By Storm. He Introduced Hinduism, Eloquently Explaining The Principles, Practices, And Ideals As Well As Dispelling False Notions And Superstitions. He Was Highly Honoured And Proclaimed To Be A Divine Orator In His Own Right. His Second Visit Was In 1899 To Recoup His Failing Health, And To Further The Work Which He Had Begun Earlier Both In America And England Of Spreading The Eternal Teachings Of The Vedanta Philosophy And Religion, As Well As The Details Of Hindu Culture.

          Between These Two Visits, Swamiji Returned To India In 1897, For A Stay Of Two Years, Where He Continued To Work Enthusiastically To Rejuvenate His Motherland. His Experience And Work In The West Seems To Have Been A Catalyst For What Was To Come. More Determined Than Ever To Awaken His Sleeping Countrymen, He Preached Tirelessly From City To City Calling Upon All To Recognize Their Grand Spiritual Heritage.

          In 1898, Property On The Banks Of The Ganga At Belur Was Purchased For A Permanent Monastery. At That Time The Ramakrishna Math And Mission Formally Came Into Existence. It Was Swamiji’s Vision That From This Twin Institution As The Centre, The Grassroots Movement For The Renewal Of Hinduism And Hindu Society Would Flourish And Spread.

The Same Year A Terrible Plague Broke Out In Calcutta Which Would Put His Ideal Of Worship Of God In Man Into Motion. In March 1899, The Relief Work Was Headed By His English Disciple Sister Nivedita Who, Along With Others, Threw Herself Heart And Soul Into The Relief Efforts. Thus Swamiji’s Cherished Wish To Introduce Service As A Means To Benefit Others As Well As Further One’s Own Spiritual Advancement Became Established As The Purpose Of The Ramakrishna Mission.

          Swamiji Worked Tirelessly Until His Last Day To Fulfil The Task That Sri Ramakrishna Had Entrusted To Him. He Passed Away At The Young Age Of Thirty-Nine On July 4.

For Posterity

          Swamiji’s Contribution To India, Especially To Hinduism, Is Inestimable. Not Only Did He Establish The Ramakrishna Math And Mission, But He Laid Out Practical Methods For The Practice Of India’s Ancient Philosophy For, “One’s Own Liberation And For The Benefit Of The World.” His Emphasis Was Always On The Practical Approach To Religion—How Spiritual Principles Can Be Applied In Day-To-Day Life. This Included, Of Course, The Ideal That Service To Others Is Actually Service Or Worship Of God. The Motivation For Such Service Is Love And Self-Sacrifice Which Bring Inner Joy, Unity, And Fulfilment.

          Again, Swamiji Was The First Person To Openly And Unreservedly Proclaim The Glory Of Ancient Bharat And The Hindu Religion. He Was Among The Pioneers Who Broadcasted The Ennobling Ideas Of The Upanishads In English, Which Are Now Flooding The Whole World. Swamiji Also Encouraged Bringing Out These Ideas In Vernacular Languages, Which Is A Blessing To Common People.

The Very Popular Concept Of The Four Yogas Is Yet Another Great Contribution Of His. Earlier Hinduism Had Numerous Yogas Spread Out In Different Texts. But It Was He Who Classified Them According To Human Faculties And Temperaments As Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, And Jnana Yoga. His Available Works Including Lectures, Writings, Class Talks, Interviews, And Letters Are Now Published In Nine Volumes As The Complete Works Of Swami Vivekananda.

Selected Teachings

2. He Alone Lives Who Lives For Others. The Rest Are More Dead Than Alive.
4. The Ideal Of Faith In Ourselves Is Of The Greatest Help To Us. If Faith In Ourselves Had Been More Extensively Taught And Practised, I Am Sure A Very Large Portion Of The Evils And Miseries That We Have Would Have Vanished. Faith In Ourselves, Faith In God—This Is The Secret Of Greatness.
6. This Is A Great Fact: Strength Is Life; Weakness Is Death. Strength Is Felicity, Life Eternal, Immortal; Weakness Is Constant Strain And Misery, Weakness Is Death.
8. Education Is Not The Amount Of Information That Is Put Into Your Brain And Runs Riot There, Undigested All Your Life. We Must Have Life-Building, Man-Making, Character-Building Assimilation Of Ideas.
10. Every Duty Is Holy, And Devotion To Duty Is The Highest Form Of The Worship Of God.

For Further Reading:

2. Swami Tapasyananda, Swami Vivekananda: His Life And Legacy, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai.
4. Eastern And Western Disciples, Life Of Swami Vivekananda, Two Volumes, Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata.
6. Swami Vivekananda, Four Yogas, Condensed By Swami Tapasyananda, Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata.
8. Swami Vivekananda, Lectures From Colombo To Almora, Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata.