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The making of the Parivrajak

The making of the Parivrajak

Author: V. G. Rao
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: January 12, 2004

On January 12, the nation commemorates the birth of Swami Vivekanand, one of its greatest sons. With his spirited advocacy of the teachings of Sanatan Dharm he took the world by storm. In his rather short earthly life he singlehandedly achieved what generations of men could scarce achieve. He earned respect for his religion. Till then dismissed as a pagan faith, especially in the West, Hinduism began to be looked on in a new light after Swamiji spoke to the enlightened audience at the World Parliament of Religions on the September 11, 1893, in Chicago. He began his speech with the gambit "Sisters and Brothers of America" to the lasting delight of all those present. He expounded Hinduism with remarkable clarity and in prehensile terms. Overnight many foreigners became disciples of Swamiji. His powers of persuasion won over Sister Nivedita and others to the Hindu fold. Hinduism was born again under the stewardship of Swami Vivekanand.

Swamiji was known as Narendranath Dutta in his pre-novitiate days. His father Vishwanath Dutta was a solicitor. Naren, as he was called fondly, was a rational youth and sceptical to a fault. He studied at the General Assembly Institution in Calcutta. Its principal Hastie once referred to Ramakrishn Paramahamsa, to drive home the meaning of the word "trance", which he claimed the English poet Wordsworth used to experience, sometimes. Vivekanand, who was obsessed with the quest for God, remembered Hastie's advice long afterward.

It was a chance meeting with Shri Ramakrishn Paramahamsa that changed the course of Naren's life. He has described how the first meeting made him question the wisdom of approaching an illiterate person and thereafter to drop the idea of going to him for the second time. Vivekanand has said that a strange, irresistible power seemed to draw him to Ramakrishn despite his reluctance. Vivekanand is said to have posed to the saint if he had seen God. The saint replied in the affirmative that not only had he seen God but would gladly allow Naren a glimpse of Him. Soon He touched Naren with his foot and an electric feeling engulfed the youth's body. He fell into commune with the almighty.

An anecdote ascribed to Shri Ramakrishn Paramahans shows why Naren was the dearest of his disciples. Once the master gave his close disciples a bowl each and asked them to clean them and bring back to him. All but one of the bowls were returned in sparkling new condition. Only Vivekanand's was returned in the same condition as it had been earlier. Yet the master chose his bowl to the confoundment of his wards. He explained later that while all of them had bothered to scrub the exteriors of the pots to near perfect sheen, Vivekanand alone had bothered to clean its inside. His attention to the inner sanctity of a thing, regardless of the appearance of the gross exterior, was conspicuously demonstrated by that instance.

It was through such instructive examples that the master groomed his wards to accept Swamiji as the natural leader among them. Swamiji's ascension to the leadership of the Ramakrishn Mission was a foregone conclusion. He established the Belur Math of December 9, 1898, to propagate Shri Ramakrishn's philosophy, the rubric of which was that God realisation is man's main goal in life. To this purpose he also founded the journal Prabuddh Bharat.

Swamiji was not an archetypal recluse that the image of a Hindu monk conveys. Burning issues of his day consumed much of his thought and energies. He was a fiery patriot whose ideas on religion and nationalism were lapped up by some of the stalwarts of India's freedom struggle. The inspiring slogan: "Awake, arise and wait not until the goal is reached!" was a clarion call made by Vivekanand to the youth of the country to goad them to work towards casting off the chains binding India in the form of foreign slavery. It is well-recognised that Mahatma Gandhi took cue from the teachings of Vivekanand. Swamiji's reference to Daridranarayan, the poorest among the poor and whose cause he held close to his heart, finds resonance in Gandhi's own pleadings on behalf of the Harijans.

My first exposure to Swamiji came during college when my father suggested that I pore over his works. I found his writings easy going and captivating enough to foster my budding interest in Hindu philosophy. That Swamiji also struck a chord with people subscribing to different religions was made clear to me one day, around this time. One of my English professors, a Christian by religion, mentioned during class how much he admired Vivekanand for his lucid prose. He urged us students to also read and enjoy the Complete Works of Swami Vivekanand, which to recall what my late father claimed, contained everything there was to be said about Hinduism.
 


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