Vivekananda : A search for light

This year is one hundred and fiftieth birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. I’ll start this article with a comment passed by Sri Sri Ravishankar to inaugurate Swami Vivekananda's one hundred and fiftieth birth anniversary celebrations.

Swami Vivekananda left behind a dream in the hearts of India's youth - the dream that India should walk with her head held high, in every field, whether it pertains to trade, religion, social justice, economics or politics. In every field, Indians should walk with their head held high; and to bring this dream to reality is the responsibility of the Indian youth.

A hundred and fifty years ago Swamiji came at a time when people did not give any importance to India's knowledge and religion. Our religion was considered to be a superstition. Swami Vivekananda presented our religion from a scientific standpoint and accorded it its rightful place in the world.

People like us who learn about great people through reading and hearing from others, get opportunity to know more about the activities after they achieved their recognition. So the fact behind making Vivekanada is covered with myth. So in modern and rational mind the story after Chicago is more accepted and discussed.  Pre-Chicago stories don’t raise that kind of interest and curiosity.

So the secrete of a confused angry educated boy to turn into Vivenananda is not even much cultured in spiritual societies also. But I think, that should be given enough importance so the common people like us, who are living in the same world of confusion, can relate more easily. His explanation about Hindu religion, Urge for Humanity, direction to bring religious harmony is still if not more relevant after 150 years. But what scare knowledge he received from his uneducated guru is partly myth and partly forgotten without getting enough importance.

Vivekanda didn’t turn into a rational person all of a sudden. Before meeting Ramakrishna also,  he asked many people a simple direct question, did you see god ? And from the lectures and literatures in his post Chicago life it doesn’t appear he has compromised his critical mind a bit by simply being moved with the emotional aspect of spirituality.

That means in his five years of interaction with Ramakrishna he found some light, something he realized, what he was searching for so long and so desperately. After that he just tried to do his duty being an awaken person in this world. I think in the activities of Ramakrishna Mission we still sense the reflection of the Karma Yoga of that awaken person.

But the knowledge or the light or the happiness, what made an young boy like Naren to work and live like Vivekananda is not being emphasized enough. But this aspect is more important as we can find light on our way in this world of contradiction which often confuses us to identify our very own path of living and growing. And the call for society and humanity ? That’s ever changing. Though its true his direction for social help, still have its relevance even after 100 years, as it has come from some very deep root of human consciousness, so it didn’t become irrelevant like Socialism, Nationalism, Capitalism even Stateism supported by so called democracy in such a short period of time. But the truth is, even this can be unfold very naturally if the first one kindles.

So taking help of Rabindranath Tagore let me conclude :

`Je dhane hoiya dhanee,

manire manona mani,

tahari khanik,

Magi ami natosheere,'

Possessing what wealth you can neglect whatever this world can offer, I beg little of that stretching my hand ......bending my head.

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