The Legend of Vivekananda

The Legend of Vivekananda

Vivekanand a was originally called Narendra Nath Dutta by name. He was born January 12, 1863, Calcutta [now Kolkata]—died July 4, 1902, near Calcutta in Belur Math at the age 39. He is treated as an important personality who spread the Indian philosophy of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world at the time when India was treated as an uncivilized and a barbarian country by the western world. He contributed a great a great deal in the revival of Hinduism in India, and emphasised on the concept of nationalism in colonial India.

The life of Vivekananda was the life of ideal youth. He possessed all sterling qualities. He had multi-faceted talents; he was a great orator, a great poet, a saint, social reformer and above all spiritual leader of the world. For this reason, Swami Vivekananda is the only personality who can become the true leader or a youth icon. After all, youths are the real dynamic and vibrant segment of the population in any country. Youths are the real assets of the country in the sense that progress of any country depends on them.

What is National Youth Day?

Taking the inspiration from Vivekananda in India National Youth Day is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm on 12^th of January every year on the birthday of Swami Vivekananda. It was first declared by the Government of India in the year 1984 to celebrate the birthday of Swami Vivekananda as the National Youth Day. Since then, our country began to celebrate the National Youth Day with the mission to encourage all the youths of the country towards the philosophy of Swami Vivekananda and his ideas.

Swami Vivekananda’s message of internal Strength

After Swami Vivekananda addressed the Parliament of Religions at Chicago, he stayed in America and Europe for 4-5 years. During these years in America he was walking on the streets with his peculiar dress –the ochre robe and the ochre turban on his head. Some American passerby saw this person with peculiar dress with surprise. Therefore they began to think that this person seems to be much uncivilized and seem to have come from an uncivilized and a backward country. On being asked by Americans, Vivekananda replied that I am from India and I am an Indian.

They told him that you are looking uncivilized with a peculiar dress. Vivekananda gave a beautiful reply that look at your country, the dress and tailor make a person great and civilized. But in my country India, dress and tailor do not make a person great and civilizes; but character makes the person great and civilized.

According to Swami Vivekananda, inner strength lets us control and overcome mental and emotional reactions.In turn, we are able to realise our full potential. Vedanta  teaches us that man’s true nature is divine, eternally blissful, and ever free. Vivekananda said that it is because of our weakness that we have not realized our full potential. The underlying source of human weakness is dual experience of attraction and aversion. We, human beings all fall prey to attraction and aversion in one form or another. This is where our weakness lies. Therefore, inner strength lies in the ability to recognise and overcome weakness. This strength can only come by tapping the indefinite source of strength within.

Swami Vivekananda’s message on Purpose of Life.

Swami Vivekananda always held that the real birth of individual takes place when the purpose of his life germinates. He believed that a person who does not have a purpose is nothing but a walking and taking corpse. These people can not make their life successful as they don’t have any objective in their life. Till their objective is not recognised their life is absolutely meaningless.

According to Vivekananda, our youngsters should be left free to decide what they want to do in their lives.  Right from the childhood, it is utmost important not to decide the purpose of life with the narrow objective to be something or the other.

 

Swami Vivekananda’s Message on Character Building

According to Swami Vivekananda, character is the foundation for self development.  Vivekananda emphasised on character building particularly on particularly on human-making and character building education. He not only wanted money making education, but man making and character building education along with.

Swami Vivekananda realised that there are three things, which are necessary to make every man and every nation  great:---

1)    Conviction of the powers of goodness,

2)    Absence of jealousy and suspicion,

3)    Helping all who are trying to be and do well.

Swami Vivekananda suggested to leave jealousy and treachery; and to learn to work untimely for others. He told that purity, patience and perseverance overcome all obstacles. He suggested to take courage and work on. Vivekananda believed that patience and steady work are the only way to success.

Character formation is possible only through hard work. While living in all kinds of comfort and avoiding all types of labour, by living a life of inactivity and laziness no one can build up good character.

Swami Vivekananda’s Message of Self-Confidence

Self confidence in the self is the necessary pre-condition to do any work in human life. He attached more importance to the self confidence. But unfortunately, we have limited ourselves without knowing our capabilities. Vivekananda believed that everything that is happening around us, be it small, big positive or negative, gives us the opportunities to manifest the potential within.

Swami Vivekananda’s message on Nationalism

Though the growth of nationalism is attributed to the western world, Vivekananda’s nationalism is deeply rooted in Indian spirituality and morality. He contributed immensely to the concept of nationalism in colonial India and played an important role in guinging the Indian youths into 20^th century.

Vivekananda’s views on nationalism is closely related to spiritualism. He related India’s regeneration to her age-old tradition of spiritual goal. He said, “each nation has a destiny to fulfil, each nation has message to deliver, each nation has a mission to accomplish. Therefore we must have to understand the mission of our own race, the destiny it has to fulfil, the place it has to occupy in the march of nations, and the role which it has to contribute to the harmony of races”.

His nationalism is based on humanism and universalism, the two cardinal features of Indian spiritual culture. He taught people to get rid first of self inflicted bondages and resultant miseries.

Unlike western nationalism which is secular in nature, swami Vivekananda’s nationalism is based on religion which is life blood of the Indian people. Deep concern of masses, freedom and equality through which one expresses self, spiritual integration of the world on the basis of universal brotherhood and ‘Karmayoga’, a system of ethics to attain freedom both political and spiritual through selfless service make the basis of his nationalism.