SWAMI VIVEKANANDA (விவேகானந்தர்)

Swami Vivekanand:

Swami Vivekanand was born on 12 January 1864 Narendranath Datta, a Chief disciple of the 19^th-Centuary Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western World. and is credited with raising interfaith                     
  awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion  during the late 19^th century. He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India, and contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India. Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He is perhaps best known for his speech which began, “Sisters and brothers of America, in which he introduced of Hinduism at the Parliament of the World’s Religion in Chicago in 1893.

Born into an aristocratic Bengali family of Calcutta, Vikekananda was inclined towards spirituality. He was influenced by his Guru, Ramakrishna Deva, from whom he learnt that all living beings were an embodiment of the divine self, therefore, service to God couldbe rendered by service to mankind. After Ramakrishna’s death, Vivekananda toured the indian subcontinent extensively and acquired first-hand knowledge of the conditions prevailing in British Indian. He later travelled to the United States, representing India at the 1893 Parliament of the World Religions. Vivekananda conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes,disseminating tenets of Hindu philosophy in the United States, England and Europe. in India, Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saint and his birthday there as National Youth Day.

Awareness of Life’s Mission:

After establishing the new monastic order, Vivekananda heard the inner call for a greater mission in his life. While most of the followers of Sri Ramakrishna thought of him in relation to India to their and the rest of the world. As the prophet of the present age, what was Sri Ramakrishana’s message to the modern world and to India in particular? This question and the awareness of his own inherent power urged Swamiji to go out alone into trhe wide world. So in the middle of 1890, after receiving the blessings of Sri Sarada Devi, the divine consort of Sri Ramakrishna, known to the world as Holy Mother who was then staying in Kolkata, Swamiji left Baranagar Math and embarked on a long journey of exploration and discovery of India.

Discovery of Real India :

During his travels all over India, Swami Vivekananda was deeply moved to see the appalling poverty and backwardness of the masses. He was the first religious leader in India to understand and openly declare that the real cause of India’s downfall was the neglect of the masses.The immediate need was to provide food and other bare necessities of life to the hungry millions. for this they should be taught improved methods methods of agriculture. village industries, etc. It was in this context that Vivekananda grasped the crux of the problem of poverty in India ( which had escaped the attention of social reformers of his days) : owing to centuries of oppression, the downtrodden masses had lost faith in their capacity to improve their lot. It was first of all necessary to infuse into their minds faith in themselves. For this they needed a life-giving, inspiring message. Swamiji Found this message in the principle of the Atman, the doctrine of the potential divinity of the soul, taught in Vedanta, the ancient system of religious philosophy of India. He saw that, in spite of poverty, the masses clung to religion, but they had never been taught the life-giving,ennobling principle of Vedanta and how to apply them in pratical life.

Need for an organization:

One thing became clear to Swamiji: to carry out his plans for the spread of education and for the uplift of the poor masses, and also of women, an efficient organization of dedicated people was needed. As he said later on, he wanted “to set in motion a machinery which will bring noblest ideas to the doorstep of even the poorest and the meanest. “ It was to serve as this ‘machinery’ that Swamiji founded the Ramakrishna Mission a few years later.

Decision to attend the Parliament of Religions:

            It was when these ideas were taking shape in his mind in the course of his wanderings that swami Vivekananda heard about the World’s Parliament of Religions to be held in Chicago in 1893. His friends and admires in India wanted him to attend the Parliament. He too felt that the Parliament would provide the right forum to present his Master’s message to the world, and so he decided to go to America. Another reason which prompted Swamiji to go to America was to seek financial help for his project of uplifting the masses.

Swamiji, however, wanted to have an inner certitude and divine call regarding his mission. Both of these he got while he sat in deep meditation on the rock-island at Kanyakumari. With the funds partly collected by his Chennai disciples and partly provided by the Raja of Khetri, Swami Vivekananda left for America from Mumbai on 31 May 1893.

Founding of Ramakrishna Mission:

Soon after his return to Kolkatta, 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 would jointly undertake propagation of Practical Vedanta, and various forms of social service, such as running hospitals, school, colleges, hostels,rural development centers.

Death:

On 4 July 1902 (the days of his death) Vivekananda awoke early, went to the monastery at Belur Math and meditated for three hours. He taught Sanskrit grammar and the philosophy of yoga to Pupils, later discussing with colleagues a planned Vedic college in the Ramakrishna Math. At 7:00 p.m. Vivekananda went to his room, asking not to be disturbed, he died at 9:10 p.m. while meditating.