K S MadhavanJan. 2016

About Swami Vivekananda

&“EMPOWER INDIA”Swami Vivekananda’s

Thoughts On the subject

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA • Born: Kolkata 12 Jan. 1863 as

Nerendra Dutta in a well to do family.

• Died – July 1902 at the age of 39. • He made the world know about

Yoga, Vedas and true meaning Hinduism.

• He founded the Ramakrishna Mission to help poor people and Ramakrishna Mutt to promote true Hinduism.

Initial Days• Studied in Presidency College and Scottish Church College in Kolkata. • In early days he was against Hinduism and was involved in “Esotericism” - rationalised Christianity rejecting both atheism and bad practices in Christianity and against idol

worship and polytheism but accepting some aspects of the so-called ‘pagan’ Hindu religion.

Initial Days• He was very intelligent and his professors considered him extraordinarily intelligent.• Principal of Presidency College, William Hastie, an Englishman, wrote: “Narendra is a genius. I have travelled far and wide, but never come across a lad of his talents possibilities, even in German universities among philosophical students”• He interacted and corresponded with great authors and

philosophers while in college.

Exposure to Philosophy• Authors and great philosophers like David Hume,

Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer, Charles Darwin influenced him greatly.

• He translated the book of Herbert Spencer “Education” influenced by his work on “evolutionism” and corresponded with him regularly. Spencer called the young 21 years old Narendra a genius the like of whom he has never met in all his travels around the world.

• He was introduced to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa by his professor Hastie while explaining the poem “The Excursion” by William Wordsworth. For understanding meaning of “Trance” he asked students to visit Ramakrishna in Dakshineshwar, who exhibited its true essence.

Encounter with Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

• Initially he was against Ramakrishna’s teachings and saw his trance and vision as imagination and hallucination.• Opposed idol worship and polytheism. Rejected Advaita philosophy. Ramakrishna

asked him to see truth from all angles, but he did not get its true meaning until his father died.• All the family wealth was lost as lenders took away all

their property as compensation for their loans. From being very rich, he became one among the very poor.

Encounter with Ramakrishna• He then questioned the existence of God. Ramakrishna

asked him to visit Kali temple and pray for family welfare there. Slowly his constant questioning of Kali Mata about the problems faced and its solutions transformed him.

• When Ramakrishna was dying he was made a Sanyasi wearing ochre robes. His understanding of Ramakrishna’s teachings made him form the Ramakrishna Mutt. They paid rent for the premises by begging in the form of “Holy begging”. He experienced Nirvikalpa Samadhi after this.

Narendra becomes Vivekananda• He became Swami Vivekananda in 1886 after becoming a full fledged sanyasi. He reminiscence – “We underwent a lot of deep devotional practices at the Mutt. We got up at 3.00 AM and became absorbed in Japa and meditation.”• He travelled all over India and stayed with all kinds of people – Hindus, Muslims, Christians, very poor low caste people

and of course with Diwans, Maharajas and scholars.

Vivekananda Visit to America• He visited Chicago to participate in the “Parliament of

Religions” in 1894. He was afraid as this was his first speech in front of so many great people from all over the world.

• He prayed to Goddess Saraswati and began his speech – “Sisters and brothers of America!” The audience was stunned and there was a standing ovation from the 7000 participants for more than two minutes.

• He continued – “I greet the people of the youngest nation in the world, America, on behalf of the most ancient order of monks in the world, the Vedic order of sannyasins, and the Hindu religion which has taught to the world tolerance and universal acceptance.”

Vivekananda in Parliament of Religions• He quoted from Shiva Mahimna Stotram – “As different

streams of rivers having sources in different places mingle their water in the same ocean, so Oh Lord! The different paths that men take through different tendencies, though various they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee! Oh Lord!”

• “Whoever comes to me, Lord Shiva says, through whatever form, I reach him. All men struggle through paths that in the end lead to Me.”

• At the end of the conference, the President of the Parliament, John Henry Barrows, said “India, the Mother of all religions, was represented by Sw. Vivekananda, the orange monk who exercised the most wonderful influence over the participants.”

Akashat patitam toyamYathaa gachati sagaramSarva deva namaskarahKesavan prati gachati

Vivekananda in Parliament of Religions• The press coverage was phenomenal calling him “The cyclonic monk of India”• New York Herald wrote – “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.”

• He was the most popular and influential man in the parliament.

• He explained why idol worship is important for the common man through focus on a visible image.

Vivekananda in Parliament of Religions• He announced in the conference – “I am proud to belong to a religion that has taught to the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We accept all religions as true.”• He established Vedanta Centres and Yoga Centres in the West. He introduced Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnyana Yoga and Patanjali Sutras to the West.

Vivekananda in Parliament of Religions• Some of his disciples became total devotees of Hinduism

by becoming Hindu monks – • Irish follower Margaret Elizabeth Noble who became

Sister Nivedita • She wrote the books “Cradle Tales of Hinduism”, “Kali the

Mother” and “The Web of Indian Life”.• The French devotee Marie Louis who changed the name

to Swami Abhayananda• Leon Landsberg who became Swami Kripananda.

Vivekananda in Parliament of Religions

• The French Nobel Laureate Romain Rolland wrote – “If you want to know India, study Vivekananda. In him

everything is positive, nothing negative. His words are music. Phrases in the style of Beethoven, stirring rhythms like the march of Handle 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!"

FOLLOWERS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA • Many of the most famous people around the world were

inspired by Sw. Vivekananda – – Mahatma Gandhi, - Chakravarti Rajagopalachari– Aldous Huxley - Christopher Isherwood– Romain Rolland - Bal Gangadhar Tilak– Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose– Jamshedji Tata, Founder of Tata Group of cos.

He inspired Indian Independence Movement. Gandhi wrote – “You are the maker of modern India” His influence increased the love of the country a thousand-fold for Mahatma Gandhi.

FAMOUS QUOTES OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

• “Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached.”• “All living beings are embodiment of the divine

self.” • “Service to God can be rendered by service to

humanity.”• “You have to grow from inside out. None can teach

you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.”

• “You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.”

FAMOUS QUOTES OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA (cont.)

• “The world is a great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.”

• “We are what our thoughts have made us. So take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live, they travel far.”

• “Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways. Yet each can be true.”

• “The more we come out and do good to others, the more our hearts will be purified. And God will be in them.”

FAMOUS QUOTES OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA (cont.)

• “If money can help a man do good to others, it is of some value; but if not, it is simply a mass of evil. And the sooner it is got rid of, the better.”

• “The will is not free. It is a phenomenon bound by cause and effect. But there is something behind the will that is free.”

• “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life. Think of it, dream of it, live that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of the body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”

• “Greatest sin is to think yourself as weak.”

Dear All, Thank you for the opportunity given to me to talk about Sw. Vivekananda. I am honoured.

K S Madhavan