A BRIEF LIFE OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

EARLY DAYS

      Swami Vivekananda, or Narenndranath Datta, or simply Naren, as he was called in his pre-monastic days, was born to Vishwanath Datta and Bhuvaneshwari Devi in Calcutta on Monday, 12 January 1863.
The Datta family was rich, respectable, and renowned for charity, learning, and a strong spirit of independence. Narendranath's grandfather, Durgacharan Datta, was a well-versed in Persian and Sanskrit and was skilled in law. But after the birth of his son Vishwanath, he renounced the world and became a monk. he was then only twenty-five years of age.
      Vishwanath Datta was an attorney-at-law in the Calcutta High Court. He was proficient in English and Persian, and took great delight in reciting to his family the poems of the Persian poet Hafiz. he also enjoyed the study of the Bible and of the Hindu scriptures in Sanskrit. Though charitable to an extravagant degree and sympathetic towards the poor, Vishwanath was rationalistic and progressive in outlook in matters religious and social, owing perhaps to the influence of western culture. Bhuvaneshwari Devi was an accomplished lady with a regal bearing. She was deeply religious. Before the birth of Narendranath, though she had daughters, she yearned for a son and asked one of her relatives at Varanasi to make religious offerings to VĪreśvara Śiva. It is said that she dreams latter that Śiva promised to be born as her son. Narendranath was born some time afterwards.
      In his early childhood, Narendranath was rather restless and given to much fun and frolic. but at same time, he had a great attraction for spiritual matters and would play at worshiping or meditating on the images of Ráma–Sítá, Śiva, etc. The stories of the Rámáyana and the Mahábhárata, whis his mother told him. Traits such as courage, sympathy for the poor, and attraction towards wandering monks appeared spontaneously in him. Even in child hood, Narendranath demande convincing arguments for every proposition. With these qualities of head and heart, he grew into a vigorous youth.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A BRIEF OF LIFE OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - II

Image
At the feet of Sr i Ramakrishna       As a youth, Narendranath's leonine beauty was matched by his great courage. He had the build of an athlete, a resonant voice, and a brilliant intellect. he distinguished himself in athletics, philosophy, and music, and among his colleagues was the undisputed leader. At college, he studied and absorbed western thoughts, and this implanted a sprit of critical inquiry in his mind. His inborn tendency towards spirituality and his respect for ancient religious traditions and beliefs, on the one side, and his argumentative nature, coupled with his sharp intellect, on the other, were now at war with each other. In this predicament, he tried to find comfort in the Bráhmo Samáj, the popular socio-religious movement of the time. the Bráhmo Samáj believed in a formless God, deprecated the worship of idols, and addressed itself to various forms of social reform. Narendranath also met prominent religious leaders, but could not get a convincing...
Read more

A BRIEF LIFE OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA - III

Image
The Wandering Monk       A remarkable change of outlook came over Narendrnath between the closing of 1888, when he first left on his temporary excursions, and 1890, when he parted finally from his brethren and traveled alone as an unknown mendicant. he began to assume various names in order to conceal his identity so that he might be swallowed up in the immensity of India.       Now it was that the natural desire of an Indian monk for a life of solitude gave way to the prescience that he was to fulfill a great destiny; that he was not the life of an ordinary recluse struggling for personal salvation. Under the influence of his burning desire to know India better and the mute appeal rising all around him from oppressed India, he went first to Varanasi, the holiest city of Hindus. After Varanasi, he visited Lucknow, Agra, Vrindaban, Hathras and Rishikesh and then returned to Baranagore for a time. A Hathras, he met Sarat Chandra Gupta who became his firs...
Read more