Early Life
Swami
Vivekananda, known in his pre-monastic life as Narendra Nath Datta, was
born in an affluent family in Kolkata on 12 January 1863. His
father, Vishwanath Datta, was a successful attorney with interests in a
wide range of subjects, and his mother, Bhuvaneshwari Devi, was endowed
with deep devotion, strong character and other qualities. A precocious boy,
Narendra excelled in music, gymnastics and studies. By the time he
graduated from Calcutta University, he had acquired a vast knowledge of
different subjects, especially Western philosophy and history. Born with
a yogic temperament, he used to practise meditation even from his boyhood, and
was associated with Brahmo Movement for some time.
With Sri Ramakrishna
At
the threshold of youth Narendra had to pass through a period of spiritual
crisis when he was assailed by doubts about the existence of God. It was
at that time he first heard about Sri Ramakrishna from one of his
English professors at college. One day in November 1881, Narendra went to
meet Sri Ramakrishna who was staying at the Kali Temple in Dakshineshwar.
He straightaway asked the Master a question which he had put to several others
but had received no satisfactory answer: “Sir, have you seen God?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Sri Ramakrishna replied: “Yes, I
have. I see Him as clearly as I see you, only in a much intenser sense.”
Apart
from removing doubts from the mind of Narendra, Sri Ramakrishna won him over
through his pure, unselfish love. Thus began a guru-disciple relationship
which is quite unique in the history of spiritual masters. Narendra now
became a frequent visitor to Dakshineshwar and, under the guidance of the Master,
made rapid strides on the spiritual path. At Dakshineshwar, Narendra also
met several young men who were devoted to Sri Ramakrishna, and they all became
close friends.
Difficult Situations
After
a few years two events took place which caused Narendra considerable
distress. One was the sudden death of his father in 1884. This left
the family penniless, and Narendra had to bear the burden of supporting his
mother, brothers and sisters. The second event was the illness of Sri
Ramakrishna which was diagnosed to be cancer of the throat. In September
1885 Sri Ramakrishna was moved to a house at Shyampukur, and a few
months later to a rented villa at Cossipore. In these two places
the young disciples nursed the Master with devoted care. In spite of
poverty at home and inability to find a job for himself, Narendra joined the
group as its leader.
Beginnings of Monastic Brotherhood
Sri
Ramakrishna instilled in these young men the spirit of renunciation and
brotherly love for one another. One day he distributed ochre robes among
them and sent them out to beg food. In this way he himself laid the
foundation for a new monastic order. He gave specific instructions to
Narendra about the formation of the new monastic Order. In the small
hours of 16 August 1886 Sri Ramakrishna gave up his mortal body.
After
the Master’s passing, fifteen of his young disciples (one more joined them
later) began to live together in a dilapidated building at Baranagar in
North Kolkata. Under the leadership of Narendra, they formed a new
monastic brotherhood, and in 1887 they took the formal vows of sannyasa,
thereby assuming new names. Narendra now became Swami Vivekananda
(although this name was actually assumed much later.)
Awareness of Life's Mission
After
establishing the new monastic order, Vivekananda heard the inner call for a
greater mission in his life. While most of the followers of Sri
Ramakrishna thought of him in relation to their own personal lives, Vivekananda
thought of the Master in relation to India and the rest of the world. As
the prophet of the present age, what was Sri Ramakrishna’s message to the
modern world and to India in particular? This question and the awareness
of his own inherent powers urged Swamiji to go out alone into the wide
world. So in the middle of 1890, after receiving the blessings of Sri
Sarada Devi, the divine consort of Sri Ramakrishna, known to the world as
Holy Mother, who was then staying in Kolkata, Swamiji left Baranagar Math and
embarked on a long journey of exploration and discovery of India.
Discovery of Real India
During
his travels all over India, Swami Vivekananda was deeply moved to see the
appalling poverty and backwardness of the masses. He was the first
religious leader in India to understand and openly declare that the real cause
of India’s downfall was the neglect of the masses. The immediate need was
to provide food and other bare necessities of life to the hungry
millions. For this they should be taught improved methods of agriculture,
village industries, etc. It was in this context that Vivekananda grasped
the crux of the problem of poverty in India (which had escaped the attention of
social reformers of his days): owing to centuries of oppression, the
downtrodden masses had lost faith in their capacity to improve their lot.
It was first of all necessary to infuse into their minds faith in
themselves. For this they needed a life-giving, inspiring message.
Swamiji found this message in the principle of the Atman, the doctrine of the
potential divinity of the soul, taught in Vedanta, the ancient system of
religious philosophy of India. He saw that, in spite of poverty, the
masses clung to religion, but they had never been taught the life-giving,
ennobling principles of Vedanta and how to apply them in practical life.
Thus
the masses needed two kinds of knowledge: secular knowledge to improve
their economic condition, and spiritual knowledge to infuse in them faith in
themselves and strengthen their moral sense. The next question was, how
to spread these two kinds of knowledge among the masses? Through
education – this was the answer that Swamiji found.
Need for an Organization
One
thing became clear to Swamiji: to carry out his plans for the spread of
education and for the uplift of the poor masses, and also of women, an
efficient organization of dedicated people was needed. As he said later
on, he wanted “to set in motion a machinery which will bring noblest ideas to
the doorstep of even the poorest and the meanest.” It was to serve as
this ‘machinery’ that Swamiji founded the Ramakrishna Mission a few
years later.
Decision to attend the Parliament of Religions
It
was when these ideas were taking shape in his mind in the course of his
wanderings that Swami Vivekananda heard about the World’s Parliament of
Religions to be held in Chicago in 1893. His friends and admirers in
India wanted him to attend the Parliament. He too felt that the
Parliament would provide the right forum to present his Master’s message to the
world, and so he decided to go to America. Another reason which prompted
Swamiji to go to America was to seek financial help for his project of
uplifting the masses.
Swamiji,
however, wanted to have an inner certitude and divine call regarding his
mission. Both of these he got while he sat in deep meditation on the
rock-island at Kanyakumari. With the funds partly collected by his
Chennai disciples and partly provided by the Raja of Khetri, Swami Vivekananda
left for America from Mumbai on 31 May 1893.
The Parliament of Religions and after
His
speeches at the World’s Parliament of Religions held in September 1893 made him
famous as an ‘orator by divine right’ and as a ‘Messenger of Indian wisdom to
the Western world’. After the Parliament, Swamiji spent nearly three and
a half years spreading Vedanta as lived and taught by Sri Ramakrishna, mostly
in the eastern parts of USA and also in London.
Awakening his countrymen
He
returned to India in January 1897. In response to the enthusiastic
welcome that he received everywhere, he delivered a series of lectures in
different parts of India, which created a great stir all over the
country. Through these inspiring and profoundly significant lectures
Swamiji attempted to do the following:
- to rouse the religious consciousness of the people and create in them pride in their cultural heritage;
- to bring about unification of Hinduism by pointing out the common bases of its sects;
- to focus the attention of educated people on the plight of the downtrodden masses, and to expound his plan for their uplift by the application of the principles of Practical Vedanta.
Founding of Ramakrishna Mission
Soon
after his return to Kolkata, Swami Vivekananda accomplished another important
task of his mission on earth. He founded on 1 May 1897 a unique
type of organization known as Ramakrishna Mission, in which monks and lay
people would jointly undertake propagation of Practical Vedanta, and various
forms of social service, such as running hospitals, schools, colleges, hostels,
rural development centres etc, and conducting massive relief and rehabilitation
work for victims of earthquakes, cyclones and other calamities, in different
parts of India and other countries.
Belur Math
In
early 1898 Swami Vivekananda acquired a big plot of land on the western bank of
the Ganga at a place called Belur to have a permanent abode for the monastery
and monastic Order originally started at Baranagar, and got it registered as
Ramakrishna Math after a couple of years. Here Swamiji established a new,
universal pattern of monastic life which adapts ancient monastic ideals to the
conditions of modern life, which gives equal importance to personal
illumination and social service, and which is open to all men without any
distinction of religion, race or caste.
Disciples
It
may be mentioned here that in the West many people were influenced by Swami
Vivekananda’s life and message. Some of them became his disciples or
devoted friends. Among them the names of Margaret Noble (later
known as Sister Nivedita), Captain and Mrs Sevier, Josephine McLeod
and Sara Ole Bull, deserve special mention. Nivedita dedicated her
life to educating girls in Kolkata. Swamiji had many Indian disciples
also, some of whom joined Ramakrishna Math and became sannyasins.
Last Days
In
June 1899 he went to the West on a second visit. This time he spent most
of his time in the West coast of USA. After delivering many lectures
there, he returned to Belur Math in December 1900. The rest of his life
was spent in India, inspiring and guiding people, both monastic and lay.
Incessant work, especially giving lectures and inspiring people, told upon
Swamiji’s health. His health deteriorated and the end came quietly on the
night of 4 July 1902. Before his Mahasamadhi he had written to a
Western follower: “It may be that I shall find it good to get outside my body,
to cast it off like a worn out garment. But I shall not cease to
work. I shall inspire men everywhere until the whole world shall know
that it is one with God.”