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SWAMI VIVEKANANDA
BY : REJAUL HOQUE SARKAR
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INTRODUCTION
Swami Vivekananda (12
January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath
Datta was an Indian Hindu monk, a chief disciple of the 19th-century
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 19th 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 Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893.
Born into an aristocratic Bengali family of Calcutta, Vivekananda 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 could be 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 India. 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 is celebrated there
as National Youth Day.
Early life (1863–88)
Birth and
childhood
Vivekananda was born Narendranath Datta (shortened to Narendra
or Naren) at his ancestral home
at 3 Gourmohan Mukherjee Street in Calcutta, the capital of British
India, on 12 January 1863 during the Makar
Sankranti festival. He belonged to a traditional Bengali Kayastha family and was one of nine siblings. His father, Vishwanath Datta, was an
attorney at the Calcutta High
Court. Durgacharan Datta,
Narendra's grandfather was a Sanskrit and Persian scholar who left his family and became a monk
at age twenty-five. His mother, Bhubaneswari Devi, was a devout housewife. The progressive, rational attitude of
Narendra's father and the religious temperament of his mother helped shape his
thinking and personality.
Narendranath was interested spiritually from a young age, and
used to meditate before the images of deities such as Shiva, Rama, Sita, and Mahavir Hanuman. He was fascinated by wandering
ascetics and monks. Naren was
naughty and restless as a child, and his parents often had difficulty controlling
him. His mother said, "I prayed to Shiva for a son and he has sent me one
of his ghosts".
Education
In 1871, at the age of eight, Narendranath enrolled at Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's
Metropolitan Institution, where he went to school until his family moved to Raipur in 1877. In 1879, after his family's return to
Calcutta, he was the only student to receive first-division marks in the Presidency College entrance examination. He was an avid reader in a wide
range of subjects, including philosophy, religion, history, social science, art
and literature. He was also
interested in Hindu scriptures, including the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. Narendra was trained in Indian classical music, and regularly participated in physical
exercise, sports and organised activities. Narendra studied Western logic,
Western philosophy and European history at the General Assembly's Institution (now known as the Scottish Church
College). In 1881 he passed the
Fine Arts examination, and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1884. Narendra studied the works of David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Baruch Spinoza, Georg W. F. Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer, Auguste Comte, John Stuart Mill and Charles
Darwin. He became fascinated with
the evolutionism of Herbert
Spencer and corresponded with
him, translating Spencer's book Education (1861) into Bengali. While studying Western philosophers,
he also learned Sanskrit scriptures and Bengali literature. William Hastie (principal of General Assembly's
Institution) 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' Some accounts have called
Narendra a shrutidhara (a person with a prodigious memory).
Spiritual
apprenticeship - influence of Brahmo Samaj
In 1880 Narendra joined Keshab
Chandra Sen's Nava Vidhan,
which was established by Sen after meeting Ramakrishna and reconverting from Christianity to
Hinduism.Narendra became a member of a Freemasonry lodge "at some point before
1884" and of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj in his twenties, a breakaway faction
of the Brahmo Samaj led by Keshab Chandra Sen and Debendranath
Tagore. From 1881 to 1884 he was
also active in Sen's Band of
Hope, which tried to discourage youths from smoking and drinking.
It was in this cultic milieu that Narendra became acquainted
with western esotericism. His initial beliefs were shaped by
Brahmo concepts, which included belief in a formless God and the deprecation of idolatry, and a "streamlined, rationalized,
monotheistic theology strongly coloured by a selective and modernistic reading
of the Upanisads and of the Vedanta." Rammohan Roy, the founder of the
Brahmo Samaj who was strongly influenced by unitarianism,
strived toward a universalistic interpretation of Hinduism. His ideas
were "altered [...] considerably" by Debendranath Tagore, who had a romantic approach to the development of these
new doctrines, and questioned central Hindu beliefs like reincarnation and
karma, and rejected the authority of the Vedas. Tagore also brought this
"neo-Hinduism" closer in line with western esotericism, a development which was
furthered by Keshubchandra Sen. Sen
was influenced by transcendentalism,
an American philosophical-religious movement strongly connected with
unitarianism, which emphasised personal religious
experience over mere reasoning
and theology. Sen strived to
"an accessible, non-renunciatory, everyman type of spirituality",
introducing "lay systems of spiritual practice" which can be regarded
as prototypes of the kind of Yoga-exercises which Vivekananda popularised in
the west.
The same search for direct intuition and understanding can be seen
with Vivekananda. Not satisfied with his knowledge of philosophy, Narendra came
to "the question which marked the real beginning of his intellectual quest
for God." He asked several
prominent Calcutta residents if they had come "face to face with
God", but none of their answers satisfied him. At this time, Narendra met
Debendranath Tagore (the leader of Brahmo Samaj) and asked if he had seen God.
Instead of answering his question, Tagore said "My boy, you have the Yogi's
eyes." According to
Banhatti, it was Ramakrishna who really answered Narendra's question, by saying
"Yes, I see Him as I see you, only in an infinitely in tenser sense."Nevertheless, Vivekananda was more
influenced by the Brahmo Samaj's and its new ideas, than by Ramakrishna It was Sen's influence who brought
Vivekananda fully into contact with western esotericism, and it was also via
Sen that he met Ramakrishna.
With
Ramakrishna
In 1881 Narendra first met Ramakrishna, who became his spiritual
focus after his own father had died in 1884.
Narendra's first introduction to Ramakrishna occurred in a
literature class at General Assembly's Institution when he heard Professor
William Hastie lecturing on William
Wordsworth's poem, The
Excursion. While explaining
the word "trance" in the poem, Hastie suggested that his students
visit Ramakrishna of Dakshineswar to understand the true meaning of
trance. This prompted some of his students (including Narendra) to visit
Ramakrishna.
They probably first met personally in November 1881, though Narendra did not consider this
their first meeting, and neither man mentioned this meeting later. At this time Narendra was preparing
for his upcoming F. A. examination, when Ram
Chandra Datta accompanied him to Surendra Nath Mitra's, house where
Ramakrishna was invited to deliver a lecture. According
to Paranjape, at this meeting Ramakrishna asked young Narendra to sing.
Impressed by his singing talent, he asked Narendra to come to Dakshineshwar.
In late 1881 or early 1882, Narendra went to Dakshineswar with
two friends and met Ramakrishna. This
meeting proved to be a turning point in his life. Although he did not initially accept
Ramakrishna as his teacher and rebelled against his ideas, he was attracted by
his personality and began to frequently visit him at Dakshineswar. He initially saw Ramakrishna's
ecstasies and visions as "mere figments of imagination" and "hallucinations" As a member of Brahmo Samaj, he
opposed idol worship, polytheism and Ramakrishna's worship of Kali. He even rejected the Advaita Vedanta of "identity with the
absolute" as blasphemy and madness, and often ridiculed the idea. Narendra tested Ramakrishna, who faced
his arguments patiently: "Try to see the truth from all angles", he
replied.
Narendra's father's sudden death in 1884 left the family
bankrupt; creditors began demanding the repayment of loans, and relatives
threatened to evict the family from their ancestral home. Narendra, once a son
of a well-to-do family, became one of the poorest students in his college. He unsuccessfully tried to find work
and questioned God's existence, but
found solace in Ramakrishna and his visits to Dakshineswar increased.
One day Narendra requested Ramakrishna to pray to goddess Kali
for their family's financial welfare. Ramakrishna suggested him to go to the
temple himself and pray. Following Ramakrishna's suggestion, he went to the
temple thrice, but failed to pray for any kind of worldly necessities and
ultimately prayed for true knowledge and devotion from the goddess. Narendra gradually grew ready to
renounce everything for the sake of realising God, and accepted Ramakrishna as
his Guru.
In 1885, Ramakrishna developed throat
cancer, and was transferred to Calcutta and (later) to a garden house in Cossipore. Narendra and Ramakrishna's other disciples took care of him during his last days,
and Narendra's spiritual education continued. At Cossipore, he experienced Nirvikalpa samadhi. Narendra and several other disciples
received ochre robes from Ramakrishna, forming his first monastic order. He was taught that service to men was
the most effective worship of God. Ramakrishna
asked him to care for the other monastic disciples, and in turn asked them to
see Narendra as their leader. Ramakrishna
died in the early-morning hours of 16 August 1886 in Cossipore.
Founding
of first Ramakrishna Math at Baranagar
After Ramakrishna's death, his devotees and admirers stopped
supporting his disciples. Unpaid rent accumulated, and Narendra and the other
disciples had to find a new place to live. Many
returned home, adopting a Grihastha (family-oriented) way of life. Narendra decided to convert a
dilapidated house at Baranagar into a new math (monastery) for the remaining
disciples. Rent for the Baranagar Math was low, raised by "holy
begging". The math became the first building of the Ramakrishna Math: the monastery of the monastic order of Ramakrishna. Narendra and other disciples used to
spend many hours in practising meditation and religious austerities every day.
Narendra later reminisced about the early days of the monastery:
We underwent a lot of religious practice at the Baranagar Math.
We used to get up at 3:00 am and become absorbed in japa and meditation. What a strong spirit
of detachment we had in those days! We had no thought even as to whether the
world existed or not.
In 1887, Narendra compiled a Bengali song anthology named Sangeet Kalpataru with Vaishnav Charan Basak. Narendra
collected and arranged most of the songs of this compilation, but could not
finish the work of the book for unfavourable circumstances.
Monastic
vows
In December 1886, the mother of Baburam invited Narendra and his other brother
monks to Antpur village. Narendra and the other
aspiring monks accepted the invitation and went to Antpur to spend few days. In
Antpur, in the Christmas Eve of 1886, Narendra and eight other disciples took
formal monastic vows. They
decided to live their lives as their master lived. Narendranath took the name "Swami
Vivekananda".
Travels
in India (1888–93)
In 1888, Narendra 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
favourite books: the Bhagavad
Gita and The Imitation of Christ. Narendra travelled extensively in
India for five years, visiting centres of learning and acquainting himself with
diverse religious traditions and social patterns. He developed sympathy for the
suffering and poverty of the people, and resolved to uplift the nation. Living primarily on bhiksha (alms), Narendra travelled on foot and
by railway (with tickets bought by admirers). During his travels he met, and
stayed with Indians from all religions and walks of life: scholars, dewans, rajas, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, paraiyars (low-caste workers) and government
officials. Narendra left Bombay
for Chicago on 31 May 1893 with the name "Vivekananda", as suggested
by Ajit Singh of Khetri, which means "the bliss of discerning
wisdom".
First
visit to the West (1893–97)
Vivekananda started his journey to the West on 31 May 1893 and visited several cities in Japan
(including Nagasaki, Kobe, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo), China and Canada en route to the
United States, reaching Chicago
on 30 July 1893, where the
"Parliament of Religions" took place in September 1893. The Congress was an initiative of the Swedenborgian layman, and judge of the Illinois
Supreme Court, Charles C. Bonney, to gather all the religions of the
world, and show "the substantial unity of many religions in the good deeds
of the religious life." It
was one of the more than 200 adjunct gatherings and congresses of the Chicago's
World's Fair, and was "an
avant-garde intellectual manifestation of [...] cultic milieus, East and
West," with the Brahmo Samaj
and the Theosophical Society being invited as being representative
of Hinduism.
Vivekananda wanted to join, but was disappointed to learn that
no one without credentials from a bona
fide organisation would be
accepted as a delegate. Vivekananda
contacted Professor John Henry
Wright of Harvard University, who invited him to
speak at Harvard. Vivekananda
wrote of the professor, "He urged upon me the necessity of going to the
Parliament of Religions, which he thought would give an introduction to the
nation" Vivekananda
submitted an application, "introducing himself as a monk 'of the oldest
order of sannyāsis ... founded by Sankara,' supported by the Brahmo Samaj
representative Protapchandra Mozoombar, who was also a member of the
Parliament's selection committee, "classifying the Swami as a
representative of the Hindu monastic order.
Parliament
of the World's Religions
The Parliament of the World's Religions opened on 11 September
1893 at the Art Institute of
Chicago as part of the World's Columbian Exposition. On this day, Vivekananda gave a brief
speech representing India and Hinduism. He was initially nervous, bowed to Saraswati (the Hindu goddess of learning) and
began his speech with "Sisters and brothers of
America!". At these words,
Vivekananda received a two-minute standing ovation from the crowd of seven
thousand. According to Sailendra
Nath Dhar, when silence was restored he began his address, greeting the
youngest of the nations on behalf of "the most ancient order of monks in
the world, the Vedic order of sannyasins, a religion which has taught the world
both tolerance, of and universal acceptance". Vivekananda quoted two illustrative
passages from the "Shiva mahima strotam": "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." According to Sailendra Nath Dhar,
"[i]t was only a short speech, but it voiced the spirit of the
Parliament."
Parliament President John
Henry Barrows said, "India,
the Mother of religions was represented by Swami Vivekananda, the Orange-monk
who exercised the most wonderful influence over his auditors". Vivekananda attracted widespread
attention in the press, which called him 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 noted, "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". American newspapers reported
Vivekananda as "the greatest figure in the parliament of religions"
and "the most popular and influential man in the parliament". The Boston
Evening Transcript reported
that Vivekananda was "a great favourite at the parliament... if he merely
crosses the platform, he is applauded". He
spoke several more times "at receptions, the scientific
section, and private homes" on
topics related to Hinduism, Buddhism and harmony among religions until the
parliament ended on 27 September 1893. Vivekananda's speeches at the Parliament
had the common theme of universality, emphasising religious tolerance. He soon became known as a
"handsome oriental" and made a huge impression as an orator.
Lecture
tours in the UK and US
After the Parliament of Religions, he toured many parts of the
US as a guest. His popularity opened up new views for expanding on "life
and religion to thousands". During
a question-answer session at Brooklyn Ethical Society, he remarked, "I
have a message to the West as Buddha had a message to the East."
Vivekananda spent nearly two years lecturing in the eastern and
central United States, primarily in Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and New York. He
founded the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894. By spring 1895 his busy, tiring
schedule had affected his health. He
ended his lecture tours and began giving free, private classes in Vedanta and yoga. Beginning in June 1895,
Vivekananda gave private lectures to a dozen of his disciples at Thousand Island Park in New York for two months.
During his first visit to the West he travelled to the UK twice,
in 1895 and 1896, lecturing successfully there. In November 1895 he met Margaret
Elizabeth Noble an Irish woman who would become Sister Nivedita. During his second visit to the UK in
May 1896 Vivekananda met Max
Müller, a noted Indologist from Oxford
University who wrote
Ramakrishna's first biography in the West. From
the UK, Vivekananda visited other European countries. In Germany he met Paul Deussen, another Indologist. Vivekananda was offered academic
positions in two American universities (one the chair in Eastern Philosophy at Harvard
University and a similar position
at Columbia University); he
declined both, since his duties would conflict with his commitment as a monk.
His success led to a change in mission, namely the establishment
of Vedanta centres in the West. Vivekananda adapted traditional Hindu ideas and
religiosity to suit the needs and understandings of his western audiences, who
were especially attracted by and familiar with western esoteric traditions and
movements like Transcendentalism and New
thought. An important element in
his adaptation of Hindu religiosity was the introduction of his "four
yogas" model, which includes Raja
yoga, his interpretation of Patanjali's Yoga
sutras, which offered a practical
means to realise the divine force within which is central to modern western
esotericism. In 1896 his book Raja Yoga was published, which became an instant
success and was highly influential in the western understanding of Yoga.
Vivekananda attracted followers and admirers in the US and
Europe, including Josephine
MacLeod, William James, Josiah Royce, Robert G. Ingersoll, Nikola Tesla, Lord Kelvin, Harriet Monroe, Ella Wheeler Wilcox,Sarah Bernhardt, Emma Calvé and Hermann
Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz. He
initiated several followers : Marie Louise (a French woman) became Swami Abhayananda, and Leon Landsberg
became Swami Kripananda, so that they could continue the work
of the mission of the Vedanta Society. This society still is filled with
foreign nationals and is also located in Los
Angeles. During his stay in
America, Vivekananda was given land in the mountains to the southeast of San Jose, California to establish an retreat for Vedanta
students. He called it "Peace retreat", or,Shanti Asrama. The largest American centre is the
Vedanta Society of Southern California in Hollywood,
(one of the twelve main centres). There is also a Vedanta Press in Hollywood
which publishes books about Vedanta and English translations of Hindu
scriptures and texts. Christina
Greenstidel of Detroit was also initiated by Vivekananda with
a mantra and she became Sister Christine, and they established a close
father–daughter relationship.
From the West, Vivekananda revived his work in India. He
regularly corresponded with his followers and brother monks, offering advice and financial support.
His letters from this period reflect his campaign of social service, and were strongly worded. He wrote to 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". In 1895, Vivekananda
founded the periodical Brahmavadin to teach the Vedanta. Later,
Vivekananda's translation of the first six chapters of The Imitation of Christ was published in Brahmavadin in 1889. Vivekananda left for India on 16
December 1896 from England with his disciples Captain and Mrs. Sevier and J.J.
Goodwin. On the way they visited France and Italy, and set sail for India from Naples on 30 December 1896. He was later
followed to India by Sister Nivedita, who devoted the rest of her life to the
education of Indian women and India's independence.
Back in
India (1897–99)
The ship from Europe arrived in Colombo, British Ceylon (now Sri
Lanka) on 15 January 1897, and
Vivekananda received a warm welcome. In Colombo he gave his first public speech
in the East, India, the Holy
Land. From there on, his journey to Calcutta was triumphant. Vivekananda
travelled from Colombo to Pamban, Rameswaram, Ramnad,Madurai, Kumbakonam and Madras,
delivering lectures. Common people and rajas gave him an enthusiastic
reception. During his train travels, people often sat on the rails to force the
train to stop so they could hear him. From
Madras, he continued his journey to Calcutta and Almora. While in the West, Vivekananda
spoke about India's great spiritual heritage; in India, he repeatedly addressed
social issues: uplifting the people, eliminating the caste system, promoting
science and industrialisation, addressing widespread poverty and ending
colonial rule. These lectures, published as Lectures
from Colombo to Almora, demonstrate his nationalistic fervour and spiritual
ideology.
On 1 May 1897 in Calcutta, Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission for social service. Its ideals are
based on Karma Yoga, and its governing body consists of the
trustees of the Ramakrishna Math (which conducts religious work). Both Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna
Mission have their headquarters at Belur
Math. Vivekananda founded two
other monasteries: one in Mayavati in the Himalayas (near Almora), the Advaita Ashrama and another in Madras. Two journals
were founded: Prabuddha
Bharata in English and Udbhodan in Bengali. That year, famine-relief work was begun by Swami Akhandananda in the Murshidabad district.
Vivekananda earlier inspired Jamshedji
Tata to set up a research and
educational institution when they travelled together from Yokohama to Chicago on Vivekananda's first
visit to the West in 1893. Tata now asked him to head his Research Institute of Science;
Vivekananda declined the offer, citing a conflict with his "spiritual
interests". He visited
Punjab, attempting to mediate an ideological conflict between Arya Samaj (a reformist Hindu movement) and sanatan (orthodox Hindus). After brief visits to Lahore, Delhi and Khetri, Vivekananda returned
to Calcutta in January 1898. He consolidated the work of the math and trained
disciples for several months. Vivekananda composed "Khandana
Bhava–Bandhana", a prayer song dedicated to Ramakrishna, in 1898.
Second
visit to the West and final years (1899–1902)
Despite declining health, Vivekananda left for the West for a
second time in June 1899 accompanied
by Sister Nivedita and Swami Turiyananda. Following a brief stay in England, he
went to the United States. During this visit, Vivekananda established Vedanta Societies in San Francisco and New York and
founded a shanti ashrama (peace retreat) in California. He then went to Paris for the Congress
of Religions in 1900. His
lectures in Paris concerned the worship of the lingam and the authenticity of the Bhagavad Gita. Vivekananda then visited Brittany,
Vienna, Istanbul, Athens and Egypt. The French philosopher Jules Bois was his host for most of this period,
until he returned to Calcutta on 9 December 1900.
After a brief visit to the Advaita
Ashrama in Mayavati Vivekananda
settled at Belur Math, where he continued co-ordinating the works of
Ramakrishna Mission, the math and the work in England and the US He had many
visitors, including royalty and politicians. Although Vivekananda was unable to
attend the Congress of Religions in 1901 in Japan due to deteriorating health,
he made pilgrimages to Bodhgaya and Varanasi. Declining health (including asthma, diabetes and chronic insomnia) restricted his activity.
Death
On 4 July 1902 (the day of his death) Vivekananda awoke early, went to the
chapel at Belur Math and meditated for three hours. He taught Shukla-Yajur-Veda, 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. According to his disciples,
Vivekananda attained mahasamādhi; the rupture of a blood vessel in his
brain was reported as a possible cause of death. His disciples believed that the
rupture was due to his brahmarandhra (an opening in the crown of his head)
being pierced when he attained mahasamādhi.
Vivekananda fulfilled his prophecy that he would not live forty years. He was cremated on a sandalwood funeral pyre on the bank of the Ganga in Belur, opposite where Ramakrishna was cremated sixteen years earlier.
Teachings
and philosophy
Vivekananda propagated that the essence of Hinduism was best
expressed in Adi Shankara's
Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Nevertheless, following Ramakrishna, and in
contrast to Advaita Vedanta, Vivekananda believed that the Absolute is both
immanent and transcendent. According
to Anil Sooklal, Vivekananda's neo-Advaita "reconciles Dvaita or dualism
and Advaita or non-dualism". Vivekananda
summarised the Vedanta as follows, giving it a modern and Universalistic
interpretation:
Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this
Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by
work, or worship, or mental discipline, or philosophy—by one, or more, or all
of these—and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or
rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details.
Nationalism was a prominent theme in Vivekananda's thought. He
believed that a country's future depends on its people, and his teachings
focused on human development. He
wanted "to set in motion a machinery which will bring noblest ideas to the
doorstep of even the poorest and the meanest".
Vivekananda linked morality with control of the mind, seeing
truth, purity and unselfishness as traits which strengthened it. He advised his followers to be holy,
unselfish and to have śraddhā (faith). Vivekananda supported brahmacharya (celibacy), believing it the source of
his physical and mental stamina and eloquence. He emphasised that success was an
outcome of focused thought and action; in his lectures on Raja Yoga he said,
"Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream
of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your
body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the
way to success, that is the way great spiritual giants are produced".
Influence
and legacy
Vivekananda was one of the main representatives
of Neo-Vedanta, a modern interpretation of selected aspects of Hinduism
in line with western
esoteric traditions, especially Transcendentalism, New
Thought and Theosophy. His
reinterpretation was, and is, very successful, creating a new understanding and
appreciation of Hinduism within and outside India,[3] and was the principal
reason for the enthusiastic reception of yoga, transcendental meditation and
other forms of Indian spiritual self-improvement in the West. Agehananda Bharati explained, "...modern Hindus derive their knowledge
of Hinduism from Vivekananda, directly or indirectly". Vivekananda
espoused the idea that all sects within Hinduism (and all religions) are
different paths to the same goal. However,
this view has been criticised as an oversimplification of Hinduism.
In the background of emerging nationalism in
British-ruled India, Vivekananda crystallised the nationalistic ideal. In the
words of social reformer Charles
Freer Andrews, "The Swami's intrepid
patriotism gave a new colour to the national movement throughout India. More
than any other single individual of that period Vivekananda had made his
contribution to the new awakening of India". Vivekananda drew attention to the
extent of poverty in the country, and maintained that addressing such poverty
was a prerequisite for national awakening. His
nationalistic ideas influenced many Indian thinkers and leaders. Sri Aurobindo regarded Vivekananda as the one who awakened India
spiritually. Mahatma
Gandhi counted him among the few Hindu reformers "who have
maintained this Hindu religion in a state of splendor by cutting down the dead
wood of tradition".
The first governor-general of independent India, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, said
"Vivekananda saved Hinduism, saved India".According to Subhas Chandra Bose, a proponent of
armed struggle for Indian
independence, Vivekananda was "the maker of modern India"; for Gandhi, Vivekananda's influence
increased Gandhi's "love for his country a thousandfold". Vivekananda
influenced India's independence movement; his
writings inspired independence activists such as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Aurobindo Ghose, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bagha
Jatin and intellectuals such as Aldous Huxley, Christopher Isherwood, Romain Rolland. Many years after Vivekananda's death Rabindranath Tagore told French Nobel laureate Romain Rolland, "If you want to know India, study
Vivekananda. In him everything is positive and nothing negative". Rolland
wrote, "His words are great music, phrases in the style of Beethoven,
stirring rhythms like the march of Händel 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!"
Jamshedji Tata was
inspired by Vivekananda to establish the Indian
Institute of Science, one of India's best-known research universities. Abroad, Vivekananda communicated with
orientalist Max Müller, and
scientist Nikola Tesla was one of those influenced by his
Vedic teachings. While National Youth Day in India is observed on his birthday,
12 January, the day he delivered his masterful speech at the Parliament of
Religions, 11 September 1893 is "World Brotherhood Day". In September 2010, India's Finance
Ministry highlighted the relevance of Vivekananda's teachings and values to the
modern economic environment. The then Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,
the current President of India,
approved in principle the Swami Vivekananda Values Education Project at a cost
of₹1 billion (US$15 million),
with objectives including involving youth with competitions, essays,
discussions and study circles and publishing Vivekananda's works in a number of
languages. In 2011, the West
Bengal Police Training College was renamed the Swami Vivekananda State Police
Academy, West Bengal. The state technical university in
Chhattisgarh has been named the
Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekananda Technical University. In 2012, the Raipur airport was renamed Swami Vivekananda Airport.
The 150th birth
anniversary of Swami Vivekananda was
celebrated in India and abroad. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in
India officially observed 2013 as the occasion in a declaration. Year-long events and programs were
organised by branches of the Ramakrishna
Math, the Ramakrishna Mission,
the central and state governments in India, educational institutions and youth
groups. Bengali film director Tutu (Utpal) Sinha made a film, The Light: Swami Vivekananda as a tribute for his 150th birth
anniversary.
Works
Lectures
Although Vivekananda was a powerful orator and writer in English
and Bengali, he was not a
thorough scholar, and most of his
published works were compiled from lectures given around the world which were
"mainly delivered [...] impromptu and with little preparation". His main work, Raja Yoga, consists of talks he
delivered in New York.
Literary
works
According to Banhatti, "[a] singer, a painter, a wonderful
master of language and a poet, Vivekananda was a complete artist", composing many songs and poems,
including his favourite, "Kali
the Mother". Vivekananda blended humour with his teachings, and his
language was lucid. His Bengali writings testify to his belief that words
(spoken or written) should clarify ideas, rather than demonstrating the speaker
(or writer's) knowledge.
Bartaman Bharat meaning
"Present Day India" is
an erudite Bengali language essay written by him, which was first published in
the March 1899 issue of Udbodhan, the only Bengali language magazine of
Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. The essay was reprinted as a book in
1905 and later compiled into the fourth volume of The Complete Works of Swami
Vivekananda. In this essay his
refrain to the readers was to honour and treat every Indianas a brother irrespective of
whether he was born poor or in lower caste.
Publications
Published
in his lifetime
·
Sangeet Kalpataru (1887, with Vaishnav Charan Basak)
·
Karma Yoga (1896)
·
Raja Yoga (1896 [1899 edition])
·
Vedanta Philosophy: An address before the
Graduate Philosophical Society (1896)
·
Lectures from Colombo to Almora (1897)
·
Bartaman Bharat (Bengali) (March 1899), Udbodhan
·
My Master (1901), The Baker and Taylor Company, New
York
·
Vedânta philosophy: lectures on Jnâna
Yoga (1902)
Vedânta Society, New York OCLC 919769260
Published
posthumously
·
Addresses on Bhakti Yoga
·
Bhakti Yoga
·
The East and the West (1909)
·
Inspired Talks (1909)
·
Narada Bhakti Sutras – translation
·
Para Bhakti or Supreme Devotion
·
Practical Vedanta
·
Speeches and writings of Swami Vivekananda;
a comprehensive collection
·
Complete Works: a
collection of his writings, lectures and discourses in a set of nine volumes
References
1.
"World fair 1893 circulated photo".
vivekananda.net.
Retrieved 11 April 2012.
2.
Bhajanānanda (2010), Four
Basic Principles of Advaita Vedanta, p.3
3.
Michelis
2005.
4.
Georg
2002, p. 600.
5.
Clarke
2006, p. 209.
6.
Von Dense 1999, p. 191.
7.
Dutt
2005, p. 121.
8.
Virajananda
2006, p. 21.
9.
Paul 2003, p. 5.
10. Badrinath 2006, p. 2.
11. Mukherji
2011, p. 5.
12. Banhatti 1995, p. 1.
13. Badrinath 2006, p. 3.
14. Bhuyan 2003, p. 4.
15. Banhatti 1995, p. 2.
16. Nikhilananda 1964.
17. Sen 2003, p. 20.
Sources
Internet
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