Biography of Swami Vivekananda
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| Swami Vivekananda |
Twelfth January, 1863 saw the birth of a new star in the religious horizon of the world. On this day pious Biswanath Dutta, an attorney of Calcutta High court, and Bhubaneswari Devi were blessed with a son whom they fondly called ‘Bile’. His real name was Narendranath. Young Narendranath was a lively and even naughty boy who was more fond of sports and games and active life than a life of contemplation and
meditation. But as a student of Scottish Church College he became serious and showed interest in Western philosophy and became familiar with the then progressive Brahma Society of Calcutta. But none of these things satisfied his queries about the ultimate truth. So he went to Dakshineswar to meet Ramkrishna with whom he seemed to feel an immediate spiritual affinity. The meeting initiated a turning point of his life. Later he became the disciple of the prophet and came to be known as Swami Vivekananda. It was under Ramakrishna’s mystical impact that Vivekananda felt himself to be a capable apostle of Hindu Vedanta philosophy. He set sail for America to take part in the World Religion Congress to present to the West the authentic Hindu view of life. His profound and eloquent speech held the audience spellbound and for the first time in the modern era the West heard from the lips of the young Hindu yogi the truth of Hinduism of which they had been ignorant till then. Through his historic speech, the Hindu monk conveyed the eternal messages of ‘Help and not Fight’, ‘Assimilation and not Destruction’ ‘Harmony and Peace and not Dissension’. Returning to India Vivekananda made efforts to found the Ramakrishna Mission. He founded the Ramakrishna Mission in May, 1897 and Belur Math in December, 1898. Swamiji was a symbol of endless energy, courage and strength. “Arise! Awake! And stop not till the goal is reached” was his inspiring message. He was a great patriot, social reformer and man of letters. His works inspire the spirit of nationalism in the youth of India. Swamiji left his mortal frame on 4th July, 1902 at the age of 39 but his eternal messages will serve as a beacon for generations to come. In the words of Chelyshev, “Many years will pass, many generations will come and go, Vivekananda and his time will become the distant past, but never will fade the memory of the man who all his life dreamed of a better future for people.”
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