Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekanda, born as Narendra Vishwanath Datta in Calcutta. The Datta family was known for its affluence, philanthropy, scholarship and independent spirit. His grandfather, Durgacharan Datta had renounced the world after his father was born. Swami Vivekanada’s father was an attorney at law in the High Court of Calcutta.

In 1870, at the age of seven, Narendra entered High School. He demonstrated exceptional intelligence in scholastics and art. As an adolescent, Naren was an intellectual. He devoured newspapers, was a voracious reader and attended public meetings. Music was his favorite pastime. In 1879, Naren entered Presidency College of Calcutta for higher studies.

It was from the principal and professor of English, Mr Hastie, that Naren learnt of spirituality and the godliness of Sri Ramakrishna. His association with Sri Ramakrishna stirred up his quest for spirituality. Sri Ramakrishna was ignorant of the modern way of thinking while Naren was a symbol of modern spirit. Inquisitive, alert, intellectually honest, he was critical of idol worship and rituals of Hindu religion. For five whole years Naren closely watched Sri Ramakrishna before accepting him as a preceptor or Guru. Naren studied western philosophers like Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, Plato with equal intensity as he studied the teachings of Indian philosophy of philosophers like Shankaracharya, Buddha, Ramanuja and the like.

In his study, the Hindu philosophical systems of Jnan(Right Knowledge), Bhakti(Worship), Karma(Action) and Raja(Royal path) yoga received due share of attention along with the Vedas, Vedanta and Upanishads. After the demise of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekananda was torn between loyalty to his guru's monastery and its mission, and his yearning to be a wandering monk. He felt that being tied down to the monastery was impeding his progress in the realization of God.

In 1890, Swami Vivekananda set through the expanse of the country, wandering as he met and stayed with both prince and pauper, realizing first-hand the social condition of India. He understood its strengths and weaknesses, and the condition of his countrymen.

When he reached Kanyakumari, the southern most end of the country, his mind was agitated, searching a solution to the miseries of the people of India, and also for his own mission in life.

Swami Vivekananda sought the holy rock in midsea to medidate, as it was associated with the Divine Mother. The fishermen on the shore would not ferry him across without any payment, and Swamiji was penniless. So he plunged into the sea and swam across to the rock.

Seated on the rock, he meditated in solitary splendour for three days and three nights (25-27 December 1892). The object of his meditation was Mother India—her past, present and future. Enlightenment came to him : Time is ripe for you to broadcast the message of Vedanta, of ancient wisdom, to the world.

There, sitting on the last stone of India, he realised in the silence of his heart: India shall rise only through a renewal and restoration of that highest spiritual consciousness. The meditation on the Rock at Kanyakumari was a prelude to Swami Vivekananda’s ascent to world recognition through his soul-stirring lectures at the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago and thereafter in different parts of America, England and Europe.

On September 11th 1893 the Parliament of World religions opened its deliberations to disseminate knowledge about progress and enlightenment in human culture in Chicago, USA. With funds partly collected by Swami Vivekananda’s Chennai disciples and partly provided by the Raja of Khetri, Swamiji left for America from Mumbai on 31st May 1893. Swamiji participated in the World Congress and created waves through his speech. His opening words began with.

"Brother and Sisters of America." left his audience awestruck and spellbound with his unusual but warm and informal greeting. To the World Parliament of Religions he offered a message of a shared spirituality and the unified harmony of all world religions. "Arise! Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached." This universal message along with his dynamic spiritual personality won the hearts and minds of many seekers; and his vision is treasured till date.

The Parliament of religions offered Swamiji the long yearned platform to introduce Hinduism and the four schools of Yoga - Path of Wisdom, Worship, Action and the Royal path of yoga to the Western World.

Unexpectedly Vivekananda proved to be luminary of the World Parliament of Religions
The New York Herald said of Vivekananda.

"He is undoubtedly the greatest figure in the Parliament of Religions. After hearing him we feel how foolish it is to send missionaries to this learned nation."
The Boston Evening Post said.

"If he (Vivekananda) merely crosses the platform he is applauded; and this marked approval of thousands he accepts in a childlike spirit of gratification without a trace of conceit…"

From 1896 he worked ceasely in India teaching as well as doing social work towards the upliftment of his brethren with both his Indian and Western followers. Soon after his return to Kolkata, Swami Vivekananda accomplished another important task of his mission on earth. He founded on 1 May 1897 a unique type of organization known as Ramakrishna Mission, in which monks and lay people jointly undertook propagation of Practical Vedanta, and various forms of social service, such as running hospitals, schools, colleges, hostels, rural development centres etc, and conducting massive relief and rehabilitation work for victims of earthquakes, cyclones and other calamities, in different parts of India and other countries.

In the latter years of his life Swami Vivekananda lived in the Belur Math. Devotees from foreign lands visited the monastery. On Friday July 4th 1902 Swamiji left the earthly abode through self volition. After meditating for three hours he breathed his last. Although he was no more, his strong words still ring through the hearts and minds of all his devotees. ’May I be born again and again, and suffer thousands of miseries so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls.’

Swami Vivekananda naturally stands as the one who drew India out of her isolation of centuries and put her on the world map again.

In January 1962, the people of Kanyakumari put up a memorial on the rock where he had meditated and discovered the mission of his life - The Vivekananda Rock Memorial in celebration of his birth centenary.