Arise! Awake! Stop not until the goal is reached! By Sayandeep Das (14 yrs old) In this present world where technology and industries are growing rapidly, it would be daft of us to forget about our motherland, and legendary people who led her to greatness. One of the great aspects of India is her spirituality and tradition. There is no better man to consider than the eminent Narendranath Datta a.k.a Swami Vivekananda. Sri Rabindranath Tagore- “If you want to know India, study Vivekananda. In him everything positive and nothing negative.” Early life Narendranath Datta, or little Naren, was born to Vishwanath Datta and Bhuvaneswari Devi on 12th January 1863. His family was rich and renowned for charity. Naren was a dynamic child, interested in music, games and sport. At the same time he had a natural devotion for spiritual matters. He would meditate on images of Hindu idols. He was very kind to the poor and would give away anything that he could find, to help others. Naren was selfless from birth. At the feet of Sri Ramakrishna (1881) He studied and absorbed Western thought and this implanted a spirit of critical inquiry in his mind. Narendranath roamed with the question, “Sir, have you seen God?” He did not receive a convincing answer. After many days, he was at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna. Thus came the historic meeting of the two souls. “Sir,” Narendranath asked. “Have you seen God?” Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa answered, “Yes, I have seen him as clearly as I see you here, only more intensely.” At last, here was one that could assure Narendranath from his own experience that God existed. All that was left of him was to follow his way. The disciples training began. In 1884, Vishwanath Datta passed away. Narendranath’s family suffered from many troubles. His master suggested him to pray to the mother Kali at Dakshineswar for alleviation of the family’s distress. Three times he had been asked to go to the mother Kali, yet he did not ask for material assistance. He prayed for renunciation and devotion. At last, the master blessed him that his family would not suffer from poverty. The wandering monk After the death of Sri Ramakrishna in 1886, few disciples gathered around to take the vow of a Sanysa. Towards the end of 1888, he began to take temporary excursions away from the Ramakrishna Math he was creating, with an intense desire to discover his mission in life. He travelled extensively through India to U.P, Maharastra, Kerala, Mysore, Madras Gujarat and Hyderabad. The unique meditation at Kanyakumari India had always held fast to Dharma, he observed, even through the times she suffered and sought material prosperity. The whole of Indian culture was saturated with spirituality. He realized Indian culture could not be understood apart for her Dharma traditions. Inspite of Vivekananda’s love for his country, he was not blind to her faults. He observed poverty, lack of education, the misery of woman as well as the cast system that had ruled India over the centuries. What was the way out? How could India be regenerated? He searched for answers to these questions.
At Kanyakumari, he prostrated himself with tears at the feet of Mother Kumari. Bearing the pain and suffering of millions of Indians raging in his heart, he swam across a turbulent sea to a rock of the south coast, and sitting there for the whole night he went into meditation. It was not a meditation on God but instead on mother India, for him who was the Divine Durga incarnate. He saw in his heart of hearts that India would only raise through a renewal of highest spiritual consciousness of oneness which made her, throughout her history, the cradle of religions and cultures. After meditation on 25th, 26th and 27th December, he discovered his mission. Narendranath transformed into the future Swami Vivekananda. Sitting at the last bit of rock on the Indian Ocean, he took the momentous decision of going into the west for spreading India’s traditions to seek help. He decided to visit America to present Hindu Dharma in the Parliament of Religions in Chicago. At this moment he had a dream where Sri Ramakrishna was out on the sea and beckoned him to follow. This coupled with the blessing from Sri Sarada Devi- the spiritual consort of the master settled the question for him. His journey commenced on 31st May 1963. Contd….
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