Swami
Vivekananda (Bengali:
স্বামী বিবেকানন্দ, Shami Bibekānondo;
Hindi: स्वामी विवेकानन्द, Svāmi
Vivekānanda) (January 12, 1863–July 4, 1902), born Narendranath Dutta is the chief
disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna and the founder of Ramakrishna
Mission. He is considered a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and Americaand is also credited with raising
interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status
of a world religion during the end of the 19th Century.Vivekananda is considered
to be a major force in the revival
of Hinduism in modern India. He is best known
for his inspiring speech beginning with "sisters and brothers of
America",through which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions at Chicago in 1893.
Swami Vivekananda was born in an aristocratic Katyastha
family of Calcutta in 1863. His parents influenced the Swami's thinking—the
father by his rational mind and the mother by her religious temperament. From
his childhood, he showed inclination towards spirituality and God realization.
While searching for a man who could directly demonstrate the reality of God, he
came to Ramakrishna and became his disciple. As a guru Ramakrishna taught him Advaita Vedanta and that all religions
are true, and service to man was the most effective worship of God. After the
death of his Guru, he became a wandering monk touring the Indian subcontinent
and getting a first hand account of India's condition. He later sailed to
Chicago and represented India as a delegate in the 1893 Parliament of World
religions. An eloquent speaker, Vivekananda was invited to several forums in
United States and spoke at universities and clubs. He conducted several public
and private lectures, disseminating Vedanta, Yoga and Hinduism in America,
England and few other countries in Europe. He also established Vedanta societies in America and England.
He later sailed back to India and in 1897 he founded the Ramakrishna Math and
Mission, a philanthropic and spiritual organization. Swami Vivekananda is
regarded as one of India's foremost nation-builders. His teachings influenced
the thinking of other national leaders and philosophers, like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra
Bose, Aurobindo Ghosh,
Radhakrishnan.
Bhuvaneshwari
Devi (1841-1911)."I am indebted to my mother for the efflorescence of my
knowledge."—Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda was born in Shimla Pally, Calcutta at
6:33 a.m on Monday, 12 January 1863, during the eve of Makra Sankranti festival and was given the
name Narendranath Datta. His father Vishwanath Datta was an attorney of Calcutta High
Court. He was considered generous, and had a progressive outlook in
social and religious matters. His mother Bhuvaneshwari Devi was pious and had
practiced austerities and prayed to Vireshwar Shiva of Varanasi to give her a
son. She reportedly had a dream in which Shiva rose from his meditation and said that he would be born
as her son.
His thinking and personality were influenced by his
parents—the father by his rational mind and the mother by her religious
temperament. During his early years he became familiar with Western philosophy
and science, and refused to accept anything without rational proof and pragmatic
test. Another part of his mind was drawn to the spiritual ideals of meditation
and non-attachment.
Narendranath started his education at home, later he was
admitted to Metropolitan Institution of Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar in 1871 and in 1879 he passed the Entrance
Examination. He had varied interests and a wide range of scholarship in
philosophy, history, the social sciences, arts, literature, and other subjects.
He evinced much interest in scriptural texts, Vedas, the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Puranas. He was also well versed in classical music, both vocal and
instrumental. Since boyhood, he took an active interest in physical exercise,
sports, and other organizational activities. Even when he was young, he
questioned the validity of superstitious customs and discrimination based on caste and religion.
Narendranath's
mother played a very important role in his spiritual development. One of the
sayings of his mother Narendra quoted often in his later years was,
"Remain pure all your life; guard your own honor and never transgress the
honor of others. Be very tranquil, but when necessary, harden your heart."
He reportedly was adept in meditation. He reportedly would see a light while
falling asleep and he reportedly had a vision of Buddha during his meditation.
Narendranath entered the first year Arts class of Presidency
College, Calcutta in January 1880 and the next year he shifted to Scottish Church College, Calcutta. During the course, he
studied western logic, western philosophy
and history of
European nations. In 1881 he passed the Fine Arts examination and in
1884 he passed the Bachelor of Arts.
According to his professors, student Narendranath was a
prodigy. Dr. William Hastie, the principal of Scottish Church College, where he
studied during 1881-84, wrote, "Narendra is really a genius. I have
travelled far and wide but I have never come across a lad of his talents and
possibilities, even in German universities, among philosophical students."
He was regarded as a srutidhara—a
man with prodigious memory. After a discussion with Narendranath, Dr. Mahendralal Sarkar
reportedly said, "I could never have thought that such a young boy had
read so much!"
From his childhood, he showed inclination towards
spirituality, God realisation and realizing the highest spiritual truths. He
studied different religious and philosophical systems of East and the West; he
met different religious leaders. He came under the influence of the Brahmo Samaj, an important socio-religious
organization of that time. His initial beliefs were shaped by Brahmo Samaj,
which believed in formless God, deprecated the worship of idols and devoted
itself to socio-religious reforms. He met the leaders of Brahmo Samaj—Devendranath
Tagore and Keshub Chandra Sen,
questioning them about the existence of God, but he could not get convincing
answers.
Narendranath is said to have studied the writings of David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb
Fichte, Baruch Spinoza,
Georg W. F. Hegel,
Arthur
Schopenhauer, Auguste Comte,
Herbert Spencer, John Stuart Mill, and Charles Darwin. Narendra became fascinated
with the Evolutionism of
Herbert Spencer, and translated Spencer’s book on Education into Bengali
for Gurudas Chattopadhyaya, his publisher. Narendra also had
correspondence with Herbert Spencer for some time. Alongside his study of
Western philosophers, he was thoroughly acquainted with Indian Sanskrit
scriptures and many Bengali works.
His first
introduction to Ramakrishna occurred
in a literature class, when he heard Principal Hastie lecturing on William Wordsworth's
poem The Excursion and the poet's nature-mysticism. In the course of explaining the
word trance in the poem, Hastie told his
students that if they wanted to know the real meaning of it, they should go to
Ramakrishna of Dakshineswar. This prompted
some of his students, including Narendranath to visit Ramakrishna.
Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa
|
"The magic touch of the Master that day immediately
brought a wonderful change over my mind. I was astounded to find that really
there was nothing in the universe but God! … everything I saw appeared to be
Brahman. … I realized that I must have had a glimpse of the Advaita
state. Then it struck me that the words of the scriptures were not false.
Thenceforth I could not deny the conclusions of the Advaita
philosophy." |
His meeting with Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa in November 1881 proved to be a turning point in his
life. About this meeting, Narendranath said, "He [Ramakrishna] looked just
like an ordinary man, with nothing remarkable about him. He used the most
simple language and I thought 'Can this man be a great teacher?'– I crept near
to him and asked him the question which I had been asking others all my life:
'Do you believe in God, Sir?' 'Yes,' he replied. 'Can you prove it, Sir?'
'Yes.' 'How?' 'Because I see Him just as I see you here, only in a much
intenser sense.' That impressed me at once. […] I began to go to that man, day
after day, and I actually saw that religion could be given. One touch, one
glance, can change a whole life."
Even though Narendra did not accept Ramakrishna as his guru
initially and revolted against his ideas, he was attracted by his personality
and visited him frequently. He initially looked upon on Ramakrishna's ecstasies
and visions as, "mere figments of imagination", "mere
hallucinations".As a member of Brahmo samaj, he revolted against idol
worship and polytheism, and Ramakrishna's worship of Kali. He even rejected the
Advaitist
Vedantism of identity with absolute as blasphemy and madness,
and often made fun of the concept.
Though Narendra could not accept Ramakrishna and his
visions, he could not neglect him either. It had always been in Narendra's
nature to test something thoroughly before he would accept it. He tested
Ramakrishna, who never asked Narendra to abandon reason, and faced all of
Narendra's arguments and examinations with patience—"Try to see the truth
from all angles" was his reply. During the course of five years of his
training under Ramakrishna, Narendra was transformed from a restless, puzzled,
impatient youth to a mature man who was ready to renounce everything for the
sake of God-realization. In time, Narendra accepted Ramakrishna as guru, and
when he accepted, his acceptance was whole-hearted and with complete
surrendering as disciple.
In 1885 Ramakrishna suffered from throat cancer and he was shifted to
Calcutta and later to Cossipore. Vivekananda
and his brother disciples
took care of Ramakrishna during this final days. His spiritual education under
Ramakrishna continued here. At Cossipore, Vivekananda reportedly experienced Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
During the last days of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and some of the other
disciples received the ochre monastic robes from Ramakrishna, which formed the
first monastic order of Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was taught that service to men
was the most effective worship of God. It is reported that when Vivekananda,
doubted Ramakrishna's claim of avatara,
Ramakrishna reportedly said, "He who was Rama, He who was Krishna, He himself is
now Ramakrishna in this body." During his final days, Ramakrishna asked
Vivekananda to take care of other monastic disciples and in turn asked them to
look upon Vivekananda as their leader. Ramakrishna's condition worsened
gradually and he expired in the early morning hours of August 16, 1886 at the
Cossipore garden house. According to his disciples, this was Mahasamadhi.
After the death of their master, the monastic disciples led
by Vivekananda formed a fellowship at a half-ruined house at Baranagar near the river Ganga, with the financial assistance of the householder disciples.
This became the first Math or monastery of the
disciples who constituted the first Ramakrishna Order.
The dilapidated house at Baranagore was chosen because of its low rent
and proximity to the Cossipore burning-ghat, where Ramakrishna was cremated.
Narendra and other members of the Math often spent their time in meditation,
discussing about different philosophies and teachings of spiritual teachers
including Ramakrishna, Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, and Jesus Christ. Narendra
reminisced about the early days in the monastery as follows, "We underwent
a lot of religious practice at Baranagore Math. We used to get up at 3:00 am
and become absorbed in japam and meditation.
What a strong spirit of dispassion we had in those days! We had no thought even
as to whether the world existed or not" In the early part of 1887,
Narendra and eight other disciples took formal monastic vows. Narendra took the
name of Swami Vividishananda.
Swami
Vivekananda's first photo as a Wandering monk at Jaipur.
In
1888, Vivekananda left the monastery as a Parivrâjaka—the Hindu
religious life of a wandering monk, "without fixed abode, without ties,
independent and strangers wherever they go." His sole possessions were a kamandalu
(water pot), staff, and his two favorite books—Bhagavad Gita and The Imitation of
Christ. Narendranath travelled the length and breadth of India
for five years, visiting important centers of learning, acquainting himself
with the diverse religious traditions and different patterns of social life. He
developed a sympathy for the suffering and poverty of the masses and resolved
to uplift the nation. Living mainly on Bhiksha or alms, Narendranath traveled mostly on foot and railway tickets
bought by his admirers whom he met during the travels. During these travels he
gained acquaintance and stayed with scholars, Dewans, Rajas and people from all walks of life—Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Pariahs (low caste workers), Government
officials.
In 1888, he started his journey from Varanasi. At Varanasi, he met pandit and
Bengali writer, Bhudev
Mukhopadhyay and Trailanga Swami, a famous saint who lived
in a Shiva temple. Here, he also met Babu Pramadadas Mitra, the noted Sanskrit
scholar, to whom the Swami wrote a number of letters asking his advice on the
interpretation of the Hindu scriptures. After Varanasi he visited Ayodhya, Lucknow, Agra, Vrindaban, Hathras and Rishikesh. At Hathras he met Sharat Chandra Gupta, the
station master who later became one of his earliest disciples as Sadananda.
Between 1888-1890, he visited Vaidyanath,
Allahabad. From Allahabad, he visited
Ghazipur where he met Pavhari Baba, a Advaita Vedanta ascetic who spent most
of his time spent in meditation. Between 1888-1890, he returned to Baranagore Math
few times, because of ill health and to arrange for the financial funds when
Balram Bose and Suresh Chandra Mitra, the disciples of Ramakrishna who
supported the Math had expired.
The Himalayas
In July 1890, accompanied by his brother monk, Swami Akhandananda,
he continued his journey as a wandering monk and returned to the Math
only after his visit to the West. He visited, Nainital, Almora, Srinagar, Dehra Dun, Hrishikesh, Hardwar and the Himalayas. During this travel, he
reportedly had a vision of macrocosm and
microcosm, which seems to be reflected in the Jnana Yoga
lectures he gave later in the West, "The Cosmos—The Macrocosm and The Microcosm". During these
travels, he met his brother monks —Swami Brahmananda, Saradananda,
Turiyananda, Akhandananda, Advaitananda. They stayed at Meerut for few days where they passed their
time in meditation, prayer and study of scriptures. In the end of January 1891,
the Swami left his brother monks and journeyed to Delhi alone.
At Delhi, after visiting historical places he journeyed
towards Alwar, in the historic land of Rajputana. Later he journeyed to Jaipur, where he studied Panini's Ashtadhyayi from a Sanskrit
scholar. He next journeyed to Ajmer, where he visited the palace of Akbar and
the famous Dargah and left for Mount Abu. At Mount Abu, he met the Maharaja
Ajit Singh of Khetri, who became his ardent devotee and supporter.
He was invited to Khetri, where he delivered discourses to
the Raja. At Khetri, he also became acquainted with Pandit Narayandas, and
studied Mahabhashya on Sutras of Panini. After two and half months at
Khetri, towards end of October 1891, he proceeded towards Rajasthan and Maharastra.
Continuing his travels, he visited Ahmedabad, Wadhwan,
Limbdi. At Ahmedabad he completed his studies of Mohammedan and Jain culture. At Limbdi, he met Thakore Sahed Jaswant Singh
who had himself been to England and America. From the Thakore Saheb, the Swami
got the first idea of going to the West to preach Vedanta. He later visited
Junagadh, Girnar, Kutch, Porbander, Dwaraka, Palitana, Baroda. At Porbander he stayed three quarters
of a year, in spite of his vow as a wandering monk, to perfect his
philosophical and Sanskrit studies with learned pandits; he worked with
a court pandit who translated the Vedas.
He later traveled to Mahabaleshwar and then to Poona. From Poona he visited Khandwa and Indore around June 1892. At Kathiawar he heard of the Parliament of the World's Religions and was urged by his
followers there to attend it. He left Khandwa for Bombay and reached there on
July 1892. In a Poona bound train he met Bal Gangadhar
Tilak. After staying with Tilak for few days in Poona, the Swami
travelled to Belgaum in October 1892. At Belgaum, he
was the guest of Prof. G.S. Bhate and Sub-divisional Forest officer, Haripada
Mitra. From Belgaum, he visited Panjim and Margao in Goa. He spent three days in the Rachol Seminary, the oldest convent-college of theology of Goa
where rare religious literature in manuscripts and printed works in Latin are preserved. He reportedly studied important Christian
theological works here. From Margao the Swami went by train to Dharwar, and from there directly to Bangalore, in Mysore State.
At Bangalore, the Swami became acquainted with Sir K. Seshadri Iyer, the Dewan of Mysore state,
and later he stayed at the palace as guest of the Maharaja of Mysore, Shri Chamarajendra Wadiyar. Regarding
Swami's learning, Sir Seshadri reportedly remarked, "a magnetic
personality and a divine force which were destined to leave their mark on the
history of his country." The Maharaja provided the Swami a letter of
introduction to the Dewan of Cochin and got him a railway ticket.
Vivekananda
Temple on Vivekananda rock at Kanyakumari,
India
From Bangalore, he visited Trichur, Kodungalloor, Ernakulam. At Ernakulam, he met Chattampi Swamikal,
the guru of Narayana Guru
in early December 1892. From Ernakulam, he journeyed to Trivandrum, Nagercoil and reached Kanyakumari on foot during the Christmas
Eve of 1892. At Kanyakumari, the Swami reportedly meditated on the "last
bit of Indian rock", famously known later as the Vivekananda
Rock Memorial for three days. At Kanyakumari, Vivekananda reportedly
had the "Vision of one India". He wrote,
"At Cape Camorin sitting in Mother Kumari's temple,
sitting on the last bit of Indian rock - I hit upon a plan: We are so many
sanyasis wandering about, and teaching the people metaphysics-it is all
madness. Did not our Gurudeva used to say, `An empty stomach is no good
for religion?' We as a nation have lost our individuality and that is the cause
of all mischief in India. We have to raise the masses."
From Kanyakumari he visited Madurai, where he met Raja of Ramnad, Bhaskara Setupati, to whom he had a letter
of introduction. The Raja became the Swami's disciple and urged him to go to
the Parliament of Religions at Chicago. From Madurai, he visited Rameshwaram, Pondicherry and he travelled to Madras and
here he met some his most devoted disciples, like Alasinga Perumal, G.G.
Narasimhachari, who played important roles in collecting funds for Swami's
voyage to America and later in establishing the Ramakrishna Mission in Madras.
From Madras he travelled to Hyderabad. With the aid of funds collected by his
Madras disciples and Rajas of Mysore, Ramnad, Khetri, Dewans, and other
followers Vivekananda left for Chicago on 31 May, 1893 from Bombay assuming the
name Vivekananda—the name suggested by the Maharaja of Khetri.
His journey to America took him through China, Japan, Canada and he arrived at Chicago in July 1893.
But to his disappointment he learnt that no one without credentials from a bona fide organization would be
accepted as a delegate. He came in contact with Professor John Henry Wright of Harvard University.
After inviting him to speak at Harvard and on learning of his not having
credential to speak at the Parliament, Wright is quoted as having said,
"To ask for your credentials is like asking the sun to state its right to
shine in the heavens." Wright then addressed a letter to the Chairman in
charge of delegates writing, "Here is a man who is more learned than all
of our learned professors put together." On the Professor Vivekananda
himself writes, "He urged upon me the necessity of going to the Parliament
of Religions, which he thought would give an introduction to the nation."
Parliament of World's
Religions
Swami
Vivekananda on the Platform of the Parliament of Religions
The Parliament of Religions opened on 11 September 1893 at
the Art
Institute of Chicago. On this day Vivekananda gave his first brief
address. He represented India and Hinduism.[71] Though initially nervous, he
bowed to Saraswati, the goddess of learning and
began his speech with, "Sisters and brothers of
America!". To these words he got a standing ovation from a crowd of seven
thousand, which lasted for two minutes. When silence was restored he began his
address. He greeted the youngest of the nations in the name of "the most
ancient order of monks in the world, the Vedic order of sannyasins, a religion
which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance." And
he quoted two illustrative passages in this relation, from the Bhagavad Gita—"As the different
streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the
sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take, through different
tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee!"
and "Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men
are struggling through paths that in the end lead to Me." Despite being a
short speech, it voiced the spirit of the Parliament and its sense of
universality.
Dr. Barrows, the president of the Parliament said,
"India, the Mother of religions was represented by Swami Vivekananda, the
Orange-monk who exercised the most wonderful influence over his auditors."
He attracted widespread attention in the press, which dubbed him as the
"Cyclonic monk from India". The New York Critique wrote,
"He is an orator by divine right, and his strong, intelligent face in its
picturesque setting of yellow and orange was hardly less interesting than those
earnest words, and the rich, rhythmical utterance he gave them." 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." The American newspapers reported Swami
Vivekananda as "the greatest figure in the parliament of religions"
and "the most popular and influential man in the parliament".He spoke several more times at the Parliament
on topics related to Hinduism and Buddhism. The parliament ended on 27
September 1893. All his speeches at the Parliament had one common
theme—Universality and stressed religious tolerance.
Lecturing
tours in America, England
|
"I do not come", said Swamiji on one occasion
in America, "to convert you to a new belief. I want you to keep your own
belief; I want to make the Methodist a better
Methodist; the Presbyterian
a better Presbyterian; the Unitarian a better
Unitarian. I want to teach you to live the truth, to reveal the light within
your own soul." |
After the Parliament of Religions, held in Sept. 1893 at The Art
Institute of Chicago, Vivekananda spent nearly two whole years
lecturing in various parts of eastern and central United States, appearing
chiefly in Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and New York. By the spring of 1895, he
was weary and in poor health, because of his continuous exertion.[79] After
suspending his lecture tour, the Swami started giving free and private classes
on Vedanta and Yoga. In June 1895, for two months he conducted private lectures
to a dozen of his disciples at the Thousand Island
Park. Vivekananda considered this to the happiest part of his first
visit to America. He later founded the "Vedanta Society of New York".
During his first visit to America, he traveled to England
twice—in 1895 and 1896. His lectures were successful there. Here he met Miss
Margaret Noble an Irish lady, who later became Sister Nivedita. During his second visit
in May 1896, the Swami met Max Müller a renowned Indologist at Oxford University who wrote Ramakrishna's
first biography in the West. From England, he also visited other European
countries. In Germany he met Paul Deussen,
another famous Indologist.
He also received two academic offers, the chair of Eastern Philosophy
at Harvard University
and a similar position at Columbia
University. He declined both, saying that, as a wandering monk, he
could not settle down to work of this kind.
He attracted several
sincere followers. Among his other followers were, Josephine MacLeod, Miss Muller, Miss Noble, E.T. Sturdy,
Captain and Mrs. Sevier—who played an important role in the founding of Advaita Ashrama and J.J.Goodwin—who became
his stenographer and recorded his teachings
and lectures. The Hale family became one of his warmest hosts in America. His
disciples—Madame Louise, a French woman, became Swami Abhayananda, and Mr. Leon
Landsberg, became Swami Kripananda. He initiated several other followers into Brahmacharya.
Swami Vivekananda's ideas were admired by several scholars
and famous thinkers—William James,
Josiah Royce, C. C. Everett, Dean of the Harvard School of Divinity, Robert G.
Ingersoll, Nikola Tesla,
Lord Kelvin, and Professor Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz. Other personalities
who were attracted by his talks were Harriet Monroe and Ella Wheeler
Wilcox—two famous American poets, Professor William James of Harvard University; Dr. Lewis G. Janes, president of Brooklyn Ethical Association; Sara C. Bull
wife of Ole Bull, the Norwegian violinist; Sarah Bernhardt, the French actress and
Madame Emma Calvé, the French opera singer.
From West, he also set his Indian work in motion.
Vivekananda wrote a stream of letters to India, giving advice and sending money
to his followers and brother monks. His letters from the West in these days
laid down the motive of his campaign for social service. He constantly tried to
inspire his close disciples in India to do something big. His letters to them
contain some of his strongest words. In one such letter, he wrote to Swami Akhandananda,
"Go from door to door amongst the poor and lower classes of the town of
Khetri and teach them religion. Also, let them have oral lessons on geography
and such other subjects. No good will come of sitting idle and having princely
dishes, and saying "Ramakrishna, O Lord!"—unless you can do some good
to the poor." Eventually in 1895, the periodical called Brahmavadin was started in Madras,
with the money supplied by Vivekananda, for the purpose of teaching the
Vedanta. Subsequenly, Vivekananda's translation of first six chapters of The Imitation of
Christ was published in Brahmavadin (1889).
Vivekananda
left for India on 16 December 1896 from England with disciples, Capitan and
Mrs. Sevier, and J.J.Goodwin. On the way they visited France, Italy, seeing Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper, and set sail for
India from the Port of Naples on December 30,
1896. Later, he was followed to India by Miss Muller and Sister Nivedita.
Sister Nivedita devoted the rest of her life to the education of Indian women
and the cause of India's independence.
Swami
Vivekananda at Chennai 1897
Vivekananda arrived in Colombo on January 15, 1897 and
received a grand welcome. Here, he gave his first public speech in East, India, the Holy Land. From there on,
his journey to Calcutta was a triumphal progress. He traveled from Colombo to Pamban, Rameshwaram, Ramnad, Madurai, Kumbakonam and Madras delivering lectures. People and Rajas
gave him enthusiastic reception. In the procession at Pamban, the Raja of Ramnad personally drew the
Swami's carriage. On way to Madras, at several places where the train would not
stop, the people squatted on the rails and allowed the train to pass only after
hearing the Swami. From Madras, he continued his journey to Calcutta and
continued his lectures up to Almora. These lectures
have been published as Lectures from Colombo to Almora. These
lectures are considered to be of nationalistic fervor and spiritual ideology.
His speeches had tremendous influence on the Indian leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, Bipin Chandra Pal and Balgangadhar Tilak.
Founding of Ramakrishna
Math and Mission
Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, a branch of the
Ramakrishna Math, founded on March 19,
1899, later published many of Swami Vivekanada's work, now publishes Prabuddha Bharata journal
On 1 May 1897 at Calcutta, Vivekananda founded the "Ramakrishna Math"—the organ for
propagating religion and "Ramakrishna Mission"—the organ for social
service. This was the beginning of an organized socio-religious movement to
help the masses through educational, cultural, medical and relief work. The
ideals of the Ramakrishna Mission are based on Karma Yoga. Two monasteries were
founded by him, one at Belur, near Calcutta,
which became the Headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Mission and the other at
Mayavati on the Himalayas, near Almora called the Advaita Ashrama and later a third
monastery was established at Madras. Two journals
were started, Prabuddha Bharata
in English and Udbhodan
in Bengali. The same year, the famine relief work was
started by Swami Akhandananda
at Murshidabad district.
Vivekananda had
inspired Sir Jamshetji Tata
to set up a research and educational institution when they had travelled
together from Yokohama to Chicago on the Swami’s first visit to the
West in 1893. About this time the Swami received a letter from Tata, requesting
him to head the Research Institute of Science that Tata
had set up. But Vivekananda declined the offer saying that it conflicted with
his spiritual interests. He later visited Punjab,
in Pakistan with the mission of establishing harmony between the Arya Samaj which stood for
reinterpreted Hinduism and the Sanatanaists who stood for orthodox
Hinduism. At Rawalpindi, he suggested methods for rooting out antagonism
between Arya Samajists and Muslims. His visit to Lahore is memorable for his famous speeches and
his inspiring association with Tirtha Ram Goswami, then a brilliant professor
of Mathematics, who later graced monasticism
as Swami Rama Tirtha
and preached Vedanta in India and America. He also
visited other places, including Delhi and Khetri and returned to Calcutta in
January 1896. He spent the next few months consolidating the work of the Math
and training the disciples. During this period he composed the famous arati song, Khandana Bhava Bandhana during the
event of consecration of Ramakrishna's temple at a devotees' house.
He once again left for the West in June 1899, amid his
declining health. He was accompanied by Sister Nivedita, Swami Turiyananda. He spent a short time in England, and went
on to America. During this visit, he founded the Vedanta societies at San Francisco and New York. He also founded "Shanti
Ashrama" (peace retreat) at California, with the aid of a generous 160
acre gift from an American devotee. Later he attended the Congress of
Religions, in Paris in 1900. The Paris addresses are
memorable for the scholarly penetration evinced by Vivekananda related to
worship of Linga and authenticity of the Gita. From Paris he paid short visits to Brittany, Vienna, Constantinople, Athens and Egypt. For the greater part of this period, he was the guest
of Jules Bois, the famous thinker. He left
Paris in October 24, 1900 and arrived at the Belur Math in December 9, 1900.
The
Swami Vivekananda temple at Belur Math, on the place where he was cremated.
Vivekananda spent few of his days at Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati and later at the
Belur Math. Henceforth till the end he
stayed at Belur Math, guiding the work of Ramakrishna Mission and Math and the
work in England and America. Thousands of visitors came to him during these
years including The Maharaja of
Gwalior and in December 1901, the stalwarts of Indian
National Congress including Lokamanya Tilak. In December 1901, he was
invited to Japan to participate in the Congress of Religions, however his
failing health made it impossible. He undertook pilgrimages to Bodhgaya and Varanasi towards his final days.
His tours, hectic
lecturing engagements, private discussions and correspondence had taken their
toll on his health. He was suffering from Asthma, diabetes and other physical ailments. Few
days prior to his demise, he was seen intently studying the almanac. Three days before his death he
pointed out the spot for this cremation—the one at which a temple in his memory
stands today. He had remarked to several persons that he would not live to be
forty.
On the day of his death, he taught Shukla-Yajur-Veda
to some pupils in the morning at Belur Math. He had a walk with Swami Premananda,
a brother-disciple, and gave him instructions concerning the future of the
Ramakrishna Math. Vivekananda expired at ten minutes past nine on July 4, 1902 while he was meditating. According to his disciples,
this was Mahasamadhi.
Afterward, his disciples recorded that they had noticed "a little
blood" in the Swami's nostrils, about his mouth and in his eyes. The
doctors remarked that it was due to the rupture of a blood-vessel in the brain,
but they could not find the real cause of the death. According to his
disciples, Brahmarandhra— the aperture in the crown of the head must
have been pierced when he attained Mahasamadhi. Vivekananda had
fulfilled his own prophecy of not living to be forty-years old.
Vivekananda was a renowned thinker in his own right. One of his most important
contributions was to demonstrate how Advaitin thinking is not merely philosophically
far-reaching, but how it also has social, even political, consequences.
According to Vivekananda, an important lesson he received from Ramakrishna was
that "Jiva is Shiva" (each individual is divinity itself). This
became his Mantra, and he coined the concept of daridra
narayana seva - the service of God in and through (poor) human beings. If
there truly is the unity of Brahman underlying all
phenomena, then on what basis do we regard ourselves as better or worse, or
even as better-off or worse-off, than others? - This was the question he
posed to himself. Ultimately, he concluded that these distinctions fade into nothingness
in the light of the oneness that the devotee experiences in Moksha. What arises then is compassion for
those "individuals" who remain unaware of this oneness and a determination to help them.
Vivekananda
Rock Memorial by the night, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu
Swami Vivekananda belonged to that branch of Vedanta that held that no one can be truly
free until all of us are. Even the desire for personal salvation has to be
given up, and only tireless work for the salvation of others is the true mark
of the enlightened
person. He founded the Sri Ramakrishna
Math and Mission on the principle of Atmano Mokshartham
Jagat-hitaya cha (for one's own salvation and for the welfare of the
World).
However, Vivekananda also pleaded for a strict separation
between religion and government ("church and state") a value found in
Freemasonry which as a Freemason he had
been exposed to.[114] Although social customs had
been formed in the past with religious sanction, it was not now the business of
religion to interfere with matters such as marriage, inheritance and so on. The
ideal society would be a mixture of Brahmin knowledge, Kshatriya culture, Vaisya efficiency and the egalitarian Shudra ethos. Domination by any one led to
different sorts of lopsided societies. Vivekananda did not feel that religion,
nor, any force for that matter, should be used forcefully to bring about an
ideal society, since this was something that would evolve naturally by
individualistic change when the conditions were right.
Vivekananda made a strict demarcation between the two
classes of Hindu scriptures : the Sruti and the Smritis. The Sruti, by which is meant the
Vedas, consist of eternally and universally valid spiritual truths. The Smritis
on the other hand, are the dos and donts of religions, applicable to society
and subject to revision from time to time. Vivekananda felt that existing Hindu
smritis had to be revised for modern times. But the Srutis of course are
eternal - they may only be re-interpreted.
Vivekananda advised his followers to be holy, unselfish and
have shraddha (faith). He encouraged the
practice of Brahmacharya (Celibacy). In one of the conversations
with his childhood friend Priya Nath Sinha he attributes his physical and
mental strengths, eloquence to the
practice of Brahmacharya.
Vivekananda didn't advocate the emerging area of parapsychology, astrology (one instance can be found in
his speech Man the Maker of his Destiny, Complete-Works, Volume 8,
Notes of Class Talks and Lectures) saying that this form of curiosity
doesn't help in spiritual progress but actually hinders it.
Several leaders of 20th Century India and philosophers have
acknowledged Vivekananda's influence. The first governor general of independent
India, Chakravarti
Rajagopalachari, once observed that "Vivekananda saved
Hinduism, saved India."[116] According to Subhas Chandra
Bose, Vivekananda "is the maker of modern India" and for Mohandas Gandhi, Vivekananda's influence
increased his "love for his country a thousandfold." National
Youth Day in India is held on his birthday, January 12, to commemorate him. This was a
most fitting gesture as much of Swami Vivekananda's writings concerned the
Indian youth and how they should strive to uphold their ancient values whilst
fully participating in the modern world.
Swami Vivekananda is widely considered to have inspired India's
freedom struggle movement. His writings inspired a whole generation
of freedom fighters including Aurobindo Ghose and Bagha Jatin. Vivekananda was the brother
of the extremist revolutionary, Bhupendranath
Dutta. Subhash Chandra
Bose one of the most prominent figures in Indian independence
movement said,
I cannot write about Vivekananda without going into
raptures. Few indeed could comprehend or fathom him even among those who had
the privilege of becoming intimate with him. His personality was rich, profound
and complex... Reckless in his sacrifice, unceasing in his activity, boundless
in his love, profound and versatile in his wisdom, exuberant in his emotions,
merciless in his attacks but yet simple as a child, he was a rare personality
in this world of ours
Aurobindo Ghosh considered Vivekananda as
his spiritual mentor.
Vivekananda was a soul of puissance if ever there was one,
a very lion among men, but the definitive work he has left behind is quite
incommensurate with our impression of his creative might and energy. We
perceive his influence still working gigantically, we know not well how, we
know not well where, in something that is not yet formed, something leonine,
grand, intuitive, upheaving that has entered the soul of India and we say,
"Behold, Vivekananda still lives in the soul of his Mother and in the
souls of her children.
—Sri Aurobindo in Vedic Magazine(1915)
The French Nobel Laureate, Romain Rolland writes, "His words are
great music, phrases in the style of Beethoven, stirring rhythms like the march
of Handel choruses. I cannot touch these sayings of his, scattered as they are
through the pages of books, at thirty years' distance, without receiving a
thrill through my body like an electric shock. And what shocks, what
transports, must have been produced when in burning words they issued from the
lips of the hero!
Vivekananda inspired Jamshedji Tata to set up Indian
Institute of Science, one of India's finest Institutions. Abroad, he had some interactions
with Max Muller. Nikola Tesla was one of those influenced
by the Vedic philosophy teachings of the Swami Vivekananda.
Above all Swami Vivekananda helped restore a sense of pride
amongst the Hindus, presenting the ancient teachings of India in its purest
form to a Western audience, free from the propaganda spread by British colonial
administrators and Christian missionaries, of Hinduism being a caste-ridden,
misogynistic idolatrous faith. Indeed his early foray into the West would set
the path for subsequent Indian religious teachers to make their own marks on
the world, as well herald the entry of Hindus and their religious traditions
into the Western world.
Swami Vivekananda's ideas have had a great influence on the
Indian youth. In many institutes, students have come together and formed
organizations meant for promoting discussion of spiritual ideas and the
practice of such high principles. Many of such organizations have adopted the
name Vivekananda Study Circle. One such group also exists at IIT Madras and is popularly known as (VSC). Additionally, Swami Vivekananda's
ideas and teachings have carried on globally, being practiced in institutions
all over the world.
Mahatma Gandhi
said, "Swami Vivekananda's writings need no introduction from anybody.
They make their own irresistible appeal." At the Belur Math, Gandhi was heard to say that
his whole life was an effort to bring into actions the ideas of Vivekananda. Many
years after Vivekananda's death, Rabindranath
Tagore a Nobel Poet Laureate had said, "If you want to know
India, study Vivekananda. In him everything is positive and nothing
negative."
In his book Raja Yoga, Vivekananda explores
traditional views on the supernatural and the belief that the practice of Raja
Yoga can confer psychic powers such as 'reading another's
thoughts', 'controlling all the forces of nature', become 'almost all-knowing',
'live without breathing', 'control the bodies of others' and levitation. He
also explains traditional eastern spiritual concepts like kundalini and spiritual energy centres.
However,
Vivekananda takes a skeptical approach and in the same book states:
|
“ |
It
is not the sign of a candid and scientific mind to throw overboard anything
without proper investigation. Surface scientists, unable to explain the
various extraordinary mental phenomena, strive to ignore their very
existence. |
” |
He
further says in the introduction of the book that one should take up the
practice and verify these things for oneself, and that there should not be
blind belief.
|
“ |
What
little I know I will tell you. So far as I can reason it out I will do so,
but as to what I do not know I will simply tell you what the books say. It is
wrong to believe blindly. You must exercise your own reason and judgment; you
must practise, and see whether these things happen or not. Just as you would
take up any other science, exactly in the same manner you should take up this
science for study. |
” |
Vivekananda
(1895) rejected ether theory
before Einstein (1905), stating that it cannot
explain the space itself.
In his
paper, read at the World
Parliament of Religions (1893), Vivekananda also hinted about the
final goal of Physics, what in these days, is attempted
by theories like the String Theory.
|
“ |
Science
is nothing but the finding of unity.
As soon as science would reach perfect unity, it would stop from further
progress, because it would reach the goal. Thus Chemistry could not progress
farther when it would discover one element out of which all other could be
made. Physics would stop when it would be able to fulfill its services in discovering
one energy of which all others are but manifestations ... All
science is bound to come to this conclusion in the long run. Manifestation,
and not creation, is the word of science today, and the Hindu is only
glad that what he has been cherishing in his bosom for ages is going to be
taught in more forcible language, and with further light from the latest
conclusions of science. |
” |
The great electrical engineer, Nikola Tesla, after listening to
Vivekananda's speech on Sankhya Philosophy,
was much interested in its cosmogony and its
rational theories of the Kalpas
(cycles), Prana and Akasha. His notion based on the vedanta led him
to think that matter is a manifestation of energy . After attending a lecture
on vedanta by Vivekananda Tesla also concluded that, modern science can look
for the solution of cosmological problems in Sankhya philosophy, and he could
prove that mass can be reduced to potential energy mathematically.
Vivekananda left a body of philosophical works (see Vivekananda's
complete works) which Vedic scholar Frank Parlato has called, "the greatest comprehensive
work in philosophy ever published." His books (compiled from lectures
given around the world) on the four Yogas (Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga) are very influential and still
seen as fundamental texts for anyone interested in the Hindu practice of Yoga.
His letters are of great literary and spiritual value. He was also considered a
very good singer and a poet.[127] By He had composed many songs
including his favorite Kali the Mother. He used humor for his
teachings and was also an excellent cook. His language is very free flowing.
His own Bengali writings stand testimony to the fact that he believed that
words - spoken or written should be for making things easier to understand
rather than show off the speaker or writer's knowledge.
