Swami Vivekananda
This sacred land of Bharatha has never fallen short of leaders. It has been the
birthplace of so many people who lead the youth of this country in a brighter
direction. But there was One Man whose life became a lifestyle for the young
blood, whose ideologies became a guiding lamp for a better country, whose voice
woke the sleep, whose words became the strength in the muscles, and whose
actions became a motive, whose simple presence was enough to create dreams.
He was Swami Vivekananda.
Born on the 12th of January 1863, Narendranatha Datta in
Calcutta, he was no ordinary kid. The brightness and
wisdom of the child had left his parents, Vishwanatha Datta
and Bhuvaneswari Devi stunned. By the age of ten, he had
not only indulged himself in reading Hindu Scriptures like
Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, and Mahabharatha but also
started with western philosophies and the spiritual works of
David Hume, Herbert Spencer, and others. All the reading
and immense knowledge in him made him question the
existence of God, and the path to find the answer to this question led him to Guru
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
Guru Ramakrishna’s preaching and way of living enlightened Narendra that all
living beings were an embodiment of the divine self; therefore, service to God
could be rendered by service to humankind. In December 1886, he, along with
eight other disciples, took monastic vows and decided to live a life like Swami
Ramakrishna. Narendra took the name “Swami Vivekananda”.
Swamiji, in 1886, decided to leave the monastery as a Parivrajaka. He became a
wandering monk with no fixed abode or ties. He traveled to India for the next five
years, and in 1893, for the first time, he left for the west, where he spoke at
Harvard and made a huge impact for the very first time on western society.
He attended the Parliament of World religions, and his speech there, representing
India and Hinduism, left the world astonished. Every newspaper the next day had
Swamiji in the headlines. The New York Herald wrote, “Vivekananda 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". He later
traveled around the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
It was his ideologies and his thoughts that made the whole world turn towards him
and bow towards the Sanatana Dharma. Here are a few of his ideologies;
Swamiji’s thoughts on civilization:
Swami Vivekananda had mastered himself through his studies of the Hindu
civilization. He said it incorporated various religions and accepted all religions as
true. In his Chicago speech, Swamiji highlighted how the Indian Civilization has
always upheld tolerance and acceptance. He quoted Rig Veda, “Ekam Sat, Viprah
Bahudha Vadanti”, which means, "truth is one. Sages call it by different names",
just as the various water streams reach the same ocean, so do all the religions lead
to the same God.
He placed before the world the Indian idols of selflessness and acceptance. He said
each nation has its unique essence, and for India, it is religion and spirituality
which is its Central current. History itself has the best testimony to this fact. All the
soul-elevating ideas, and the different branches of knowledge, that hail in the
world, are found on a proper investigation to have their roots in India.
He said, "I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both
tolerance and universal acceptance. We
believe not only in universal acceptance but
we accept all religions as true." These words
of Swamiji did not just make the western
world realize the essence of the Hindu
civilization but also made the Indians rethink
and remember their great lane of heritage
which had slipped their minds due to westernization.
Swamiji’s thoughts on Society:
Swami Vivekananda proclaimed that "the society is the greatest but, the highest
truth becomes practical. That is my opinion. And, if the society is not fit for the
highest truth, make it so, and the sooner, the better". According to him, service to
the poor is equivalent to service to God. He advocated that the poor and the
downtrodden are as divine as God and said, "Shiva jnane Jiva Seva", which means,
serving the beings with the knowledge, that the being is none other than God
himself. Reminder people how the Vedanta doctrine all is one one is appearing in
many implied that got can be found in everything. Hence to change this greatest
society, to make it more acceptable of the ultimate truth, we shall have to find God
in all and consider all as forms of God.
He pointed out the idea of Daridra Narayana Seva which was a path to find God in
serving the poorest. This idea was later included in the Swami Vivekananda
Medical Mission, 1972.
Swamiji’s Thoughts on education:
The idea of ideal education, according to Swami Vivekananda, is not filling the
mind with a lot of facts but perfecting the instrument and getting complete mastery
of the mind. He said, "education is a manifestation of the perfection already
existing in man".
Swami Ji believes that education will help raise the masses and build the nation.
Real education enables man to stand on his legs, and it is worthless if it does not
help common masses of people equip themselves for the everyday struggles of life.
He stressed that a sound mind resides in the inner sound body, and education is the
process by which character is formed, the strength of the mind is increased, and
intellect is sharpened, as a result of which one can stand on his own feet.
Swamiji’s thoughts on Youth:
Swami Ji always said, "my hope of the future lies in the youths of character,
intelligence, and obedience- good to themselves and the country at large". He
always said that he had faith in the younger generation and they will work out the
whole problem like lions. He always wanted the youth to stand up for themselves,
be bold and strong, and take responsibility on their shoulders. He wanted the youth
of this nation to have muscles of iron and nerves of Steel and train themselves to
serve humanity. The talks of Swami Vivekananda on youth have been blood
boiling and awakening even after a hundred years.
Throughout his life, Swamiji presented Sanatan Dharma before the world with
confidence and clarity. He penned down the basic ideas of nationalism for India,
which has been inspiring innumerable leaders even today.
On the 4th of July 1902, Swami Ji attained "maha samadhi" while meditating and
was cremated on the banks of the river Ganga.
Swami Ji's strong thoughts and ideologies have kept him a life among us even
today.
