Swami Vivekananda : Remarkable Guru Of Wisdom And Bliss

Swami Vivekananda : Remarkable Guru Of Wisdom And Bliss. Born as Narendra Nath Dutta in Kolkata on 12 January 1863, Swami Vivekananda was a spiritual leader.

He is also asocial reformer who spent his entire life eradicating child marriage and illiteracy from India.

His ideas of rationality are one of the main reasons that he is admired by the youth of the country, and that is why, every year, National Youth Day is celebrated on the same day as Swami Vivekananda Jayanti.

Swami Vivekananda was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, and author. He was a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna. 

Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. 

FACTS ABOUT SWAMI VIVEKANANDA:

1. Vivekanamda’s pre-monastic name: Vivekananda was born Narendranath Datta, shortened to Narendra or Naren in a Bengali family.

His ancestral home was at 3 Gourmohan Mukherjee Street in Calcutta, the capital of British India. He belonged to a traditional family and was one of nine siblings. 

2. Spirituality from a young age: Narendranath was interested in spirituality 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. 

3. Prodigious memory and speedy reading ability:  A voracious reader, he was known to borrow multiple books at a go from the library and immediately return them the next day.

To test him, the librarian chose one of the books that he had read the preceding day and asked him a random question. No doubt, he left the librarian stunned with the correct answer. 

4. In 1881 Swami first met Ramakrishna: In a literature class at General Assembly’s Institution, a a professor had recommended all students to visit Ramkrishna to get into the depths of the world of ‘trance’.

This prompted Vivekananda, popularly called Naren back then, to visit him in Dakshineswar. 

 In late 1881, Swami went to Dakshineswar with two friends and met Ramakrishna. This meeting proved to be a turning point in his life.

5. A music lover : Young Naren had an affinity from a very young age. In fact, he was a qualified classical musician, who got trained in Dhrupad under two music maestros of India, Beni Gupta and Ahmad Khan.

Vivekananda could play various musical instruments including sitar and dholak. 

6. Traveled extensively in India : Vivekananda visited centers of learning and acquainted 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), he traveled on foot and by railway with tickets bought by admirers.

7. Vivekananda name given by Ajit Singh of Khetri : 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,” from Sanskrit viveka and ānanda.

8. Speech given by him in English in Chicago : 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 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.

9. Swami founded the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894 : 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. Vedanta Societies refer to organizations, groups, or societies formed for the study, practice, and propagation of Vedanta. 

10. Vivekananda introduce the “four yogas” model : 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.

In 1896, his book Raja Yoga was published, becoming an instant success; it was highly influential in the western understanding of yoga.

11. Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission for social service : Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission for social service on his return to India with a small group of Western disciples in 1897.

Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission at the monastery of Belur Math on the ganga river near Calcutta.

12. Vivekananda founded two other monasteries : One in Mayavati in the Himalayas near Almora, the Advaita Ashrama, and another in Madras (now Chennai). 

13. Founder of two journals : Prabuddha Bharata in English and Udbhodan in Bengali. 

14. Swami predicted his own demise : Vivekananda had many a time predicted his own demise, reiterating that he would not live beyond 40 years of age.

His predictions came true in 1902 when he died at the age of 39 years due to a ruptured blood vessel in his brain.

15. National Youth Day : Vivekananda’s birth anniversary is observed as National Youth Day in India. Famous and Inspirational Quotes by Vivekananda “Arise, awake, and stop not until the goal is achieved.”

“Dare to be free, dare to go as far as your thought leads, and dare to carry that out in your life.”

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