Swami Vivekanand Pg 2

Swami Vivekanand (1863 - 1902) Pg 2/2

He again addressed the Parliament briefly and said “Like the proverbial frog, men of every religion feel convinced that their little well is the whole world.” He stressed “Each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his own individuality and grow according to his own law of growth. A lover of mankind and promoter of peace and human brotherhood, he became the spiritual ambassador of India.

American poetess Ella Wheeler Wilcox, writes “We went out to hear him out of curiosity, and in just ten minutes we felt lifted upon to an atmosphere so rarefied, so vital, so wonderful that we sat spell-bound. When it was over, we came out with a new courage, new hope, new strength and new faith.” He was described as “An orator by divine right and most impressive figure in the Parliament.

He stayed in America and England for three years, where he gave true knowledge of Yoga, Vedanta philosophy and Hindu religion. Upon his return to India in 1897,he gave series of lectures through out India, which uplifted the morale of the Indian society. He founded Ramakrishna Math and Mission, the largest charitable relief mission in India.

Upon his return from America he had been the target of criticism from other orthodox Hindus, who wanted to outcast him for crossing the ocean. His reaction was “How do you outcast a person who has no caste, I am a monk and I am beyond caste!”

His travels to America took India to new spiritual greatness and wakened India to a new national spiritual consciousness. He gave them a dream. He helped restore a sense of pride.

The Fiery Monk, truly a "warrior monk" and a brilliant mind, one of the greatest sons of India, a spiritual light to millions all over the world, attained mahasamadhi on 4th July 1902, at the age of 39, fulfilling his own prophecy of not living to be Forty. He did this after orderly discharge of what He already knew were His last and final instructions that morning.

Jai Hind!

MrJi's Column

Hinduism Matters!