Narendranath Dutta, premonastic name of Swami
Vivekananda, was born a leader. He inherited the generousity
and liberal mindedness of his father and intelligence, sharp
memory, deep attachment to Hindu Sashtras and Puranas from
his mother.
He was an all rounder, had a sweet tone and
could sing well, very good at sports and had an athletic physique,
had a ready wit. Simultaneously his range of knowledge was
very vast and he was very rationalistic. Wherever he was present
he commanded ready attention.
He was meditative by nature since his childhood.
When he read philosophy he grew inquisitive regarding the
existence of God and proof thereof. He met many saintly persons,
but was disappointed .Finally on the advice of a relative,
he approached “the Saint of Dakshineswar” as Sri Ramakrishna
was known those days. The river met the sea and there was
no looking back.
A new epoch making chapter began in the annals
of religious history. Sri Ramakrishna assured him that God
can be seen and if Naren so wished, he could even show God
to him. From the first day Sri Ramakrishna loved Narendranath
dearly and trained him meticulously for the future work. However
neither he ever asked for unquestioned loyalty nor Narendranath
was ready to forgo his individuality. In the end Narendranath
accepted him as his master.
After the passing of Sri Ramakrishna , Narendranath
travelled extensively throughout the length and breadth of
India, purpose being a strong desire to realise God. But he
was stupefied by the conditions prevailing in the then India,
his motherland. The ignorance and the superstitions prevailing,
the approach of the higher caste people made him sad. What
hurt him most was the callousness of the educated upper class
people. He abandoned all his ideas and his soul cried for
the emancipation of his motherland.
Being persuaded by some enthusiastic young
men of Chennai, he set sail for America in 1893.Overcoming
many obstacles he participated in the Chicago World Parliament
of Religion in the same year representing Hinduism. He made
deep impact among the American people, the press paid him
rich tributes. He stayed on in America till 1896 and preached
the great teachings of Vedanta and other values of Hinduism.
The western intelligentsia were felt compelled to revise their
wrong notions regarding Indian Culture. He made some dedicated
disciples among them.
On his return to India he established The
Ramakrishna Math and Mission with headquarter at Belur, Kolkata
with help of his sannyasin brother disciples, the aim being
the service to man as service to God and simultaneously working
for one’s own salvation. Now this movement has spread worldwide.
He had a great faith on the masses and called upon the higher
class people to leave the ruling mentality to serve these
masses. He was passionate about the upliftment of women and
was vehement against the confining of and atrocities committed
against women. He was dreaming of reemergence of a vibrant
civilisation combining the ancient truths and principles of
Vedanta along with the latest developments of science and
technology. He was born in 1863 in Kolkata, India and entered
into Mahasamadhi in 1902 when he was less than forty.
