National Youth Day (12th January) is celebrated every year on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda was arguably the most inspiring person for the younger generation and hence his birthday, January 12th, is celebrated as "National Youth Day". A monk and a heartened disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekanand has been an influential personality who inspired by millions of people worldwide. His morals and magnetic aura are being celebrated even after a century of his demise. Today, we are celebrating National Youth Day. Though we all are aware of and read the activities of this great "Youth Icon", so I would like to highlight here some unknown facts about Swami Vivekananda which may not be known to you.
Swami Vivekananda’s uncontested wisdom and eloquence as an
orator and leader were made known to the world during his few years in public
life. However, it is known by few that he was an average scorer all through his
academic life. It is learnt that he could only score 56 per cent at the
university entrance level examination and around 57 per cent in his BA
examinations. But still, he was said to be stong in English grammar as well as
his stock of words.
Swamiji used to borrow books from the library and return it
the next day. The librarian doubted whether he really read the books or not. So
the librarian tested him by asking questions from a random page of the books.
Swamiji answered them correctly and also quoted lines from the same page.
Swami Vivekananda’s iconic speech at the "World
Religion Conference in Chicago" is remembered by one and all. It was on
September 11th, 1893, when Swami Vivekanand gave a speech full of wisdom. For
those unversed, it was in this iconic "Chicago Speech" that
Vivekananda addressed the audience as "My Dear Brothers and Sisters of
America". In the speech that blew everyone’s mind, Swami Vivekananda had
mentioned the basic yet most important things that one should follow in life.
These things included being patriotic, loving all religions,
analysing religion, being acquainted with science, knowing the importance and
necessity of rituals, being aware of roots of Hinduism, being aware of the goal
of science, being aware of the cause of the downfall of India, and being
against religious conversations.
On hearing this, all the people present there stood up for
him and played applause. The speech impressed the attendees so much that Swami
Vivekananda went on to become "India’s spiritual ambassador in
America", and his teachings spread across the entire world.
After the death of his guru Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami
Vivekananda sought to travel the length and breadth of India as a wandering
monk. Ramakrishna taught Vivekananda that serving humans is more than
worshiping God. It was during these travels that he gained extensive knowledge
about the Hindu culture in India and came to understand the sufferings of the
common man.
Swami Vivekananda is an example of people living their lives
short, but to the fullest. His enthusiasm and vision are a benchmark for the
youth around the world. The way he saw things was way ahead of his time and
that brought him fame and name. His philosophical approach towards Hinduism
took the religion across the borders of India and made it known around the
world. He needs to be credited with the flow and existence of Hinduism outside
India and specially in the West. He was a man born in the 19th century but was
centuries ahead of his time.
In November 1895, Swami Vivekananda met for the first time,
Miss Margaret Nobel (an Irish girl) who had come to visit London and stayed
there for three months. On a cold afternoon, she first met Swamiji when Swami
Vivekananda was explaining Vedanta philosophy in the drawing room of an
aristocratic family in London. She was so motivated by the speeches and
activities of Swamiji that she
converted herself into Hinduism by Swami Vivekananda with a new name as "Sister
Nivedita" meaning "the offered one". Nivedita wrote in 1904 to a
friend about her decision to follow Swami Vivekananada as a result of her
meeting him in England in November 1895.
Soon after his return to Kolkata, Swami Vivekananda
accomplished another important task of his mission on earth. He founded on 1st
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.
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" (known as
"Belur 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.
It may be mentioned here that in the Western countries 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 Captain Sevier
and Mrs Sevier, Josephine McLeod and Sara Chapman 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".
Free India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wrote:
“Rooted in the past, full of pride in India’s prestige, Vivekananda was yet
modern in his approach to life’s problems, and was a kind of bridge between the
past of India and her present! He came as a tonic to the depressed and
demoralized Hindu mind and gave it self-reliance and some roots in the past.”
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose wrote: “Swamiji harmonized the East and the West,
religion and science, past and present. And that is why he is great. Our
countrymen have gained unprecedented self-respect, self-reliance and
self-assertion from his teachings.”
Swami Vivekananda predicted that he would not live beyond
the age of 40 and it came true. He went for his heavenly abode at the age of
40.
On his birthday, let us inspire our youths to follow the ideologies of "Swami Vivekananda" and devote them for the sake of wellbeing of poor people in distress, helping people in difficult situations like flood, droughts and other natural calamities. Also to inspire people what is real "Hinduism" and its applications in common people's life!
(Dr. Bhaskar Chakraborty
is Associate Professor & Head, Department of Chemistry, Sikkim
Government College (NBBGC), Tadong, Gangtok, Sikkim)
