Fabulous Personalities- 8
(JAN 12 1863 – JUL 4 1902)
Dr.Sundar ram MBBS., MD
RISE, AWAKE AND STOP NOT TILL THE GOAL IS REACHED is the famous slogan uttered by Swami Vivekananda who is one of the most influential spiritual leaders of Hinduism. He was also a prolific thinker, great orator and passionate patriot. He worked tirelessly towards betterment of the society, in servitude of the poor and needy, dedicating his all in making the world a better place to live.
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION
Born as Narendranath Dutta, into an affluent family in Calcutta, he was one of the eight children of Vishwanath Dutta and Bhuvaneshwari devi. He was born on Jan 12,1863 on the occasion of Makar sankranti. As a young boy, Narendranath displayed sharp intellect. His mischievous nature belied his intrest in music , both instrumental as well as vocal . He excelled in his studies as well, first at the Metropolitan institution, and later at the Presidency College in Calcutta. By the time he graduated from the college, he had acquired a vast knowledge of different subjects. He was active in sports, gymnastics, wrestling and body building. He was an avid reader and read up on almost everything under the sun. He perused the Hindu scriptures like the Bhagvad Gita and the Upanishads on one hand, while on the other hand he studied western philosophy, history and spirituality by David Hume, Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Herbert Spencer.
SPIRITUAL APPRENTICESHIP
In 1880 , he joined Keshab Chandra Sen’s Nava Vidhan, which was established under the guidance of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. His initial beliefs were shaped by Brahmo concepts , which included belief in a formless God and deprecation of Idolatry. He raised a lot of questions to prominent spiritual leaders regarding coming face to face with God but their answers never satisfied him. He was very much impressed with Ramakrishna’s simplicity,intellect and patience and love and became a staunch follower of his principles.
FOUNDER OF
RAMAKRISHNA MATH
After the demise of Ramakrishna, his devotees and admirers stopped supporting his disciples. Around 15 of his disciples began to live in a dilapidated building at Baranagar in North Calcutta, which was named Ramakrishna Math , the monastic order of Ramakrishna. They formally renounced all ties to the world and took vows of monkhood and Narendranath emerged as Vivekananda meaning ‘the bliss of discerning wisdom’.
LECTURE AT THE WORLD PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS
During the course of his wanderings across the west,he came to know about the World Parliament of religions being held in Chicago, America in 1893. He was keen to attend the meeting to represent India and Hinduism. He faced insurmountable hardships on his way to Chicago, but his spirits remained as indomitable as ever. On September 11 1893, when the time came, he stunned the audience with his opening line “My dear brothers and sisters of America”. He received a standing ovation from the audience for the opening phrase. He went on to describe the principles of Vedanta and their spiritual significance, putting Hinduism on the map of world religions.
His religious conscience was an amalgamation of Sri Ramakrishna’s spiritual teachings of Divine manifestation and his personal internalization of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy. According to him, the ultimate goal is to achieve freedom of the soul and that encompasses the entirety of one’s religion. Swami Vivekananda revealed to the world the true foundation of India’s unity as a nation. He was successful in creating a virtual bridge between the culture of East and the West.He played a key role in ending India’s cultural isolation from the rest of the world. His message of universal brotherhood and self awakening remains relevant even today. His words have become goals of self improvement especially for the youth of the country. For this very reason, his birthday is being celebrated as National Youth day in India.
