Lessons from life of Great Indian Saint Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda

Introduction:

Swami Vivekananda born Narendranath Datta was an Indian Hindu monk, spiritual leader, and social reformer; who played a significant role in the growing Indian nationalism of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was born on 12 January 1863, in Kolkata and his birthday is observed as a national Youth day. He is the founder of Ramakrishna math and Mission in Calcutta, which is still working towards helping the poor and needy. He was a man of wisdom and a very simple human being.

He is very excellent in his studies. He has got vast knowledge of different cultures. He always uses to travel to the Western world spreading Hindu philosophy and introducing Indian heritage, culture, and philosophy to the West. He is known for his golden thoughts. He once gave a brief speech representing India and Hinduism in Chicago at the Parliament of the World's Religion. His introductory speech, beginning with "Sisters and brothers of America", earned him a 2-minute standing ovation from the crowd of seven thousand. Swami Vivekananda gives top priority to Indian culture, tradition, heritage, literature, values, customs, religion, ethics, morality, and beliefs. Once he said a beautiful quote signifying the importance of religion. He said - " Take away religion from human society and what will remain? Nothing but a forest of brutes. Happiness is not the goal of humanity. Wisdom is the goal of all life."

Life Lessons:

After the death of Swami Vivekananda on July 4th, 1902, all his teachings and lectures were gathered into nine volumes. He was the perfect embodiment of intellect and humanity. He has been an inspiration for the youth of not only India but youths of the world and will remain so for many more generations to come. Here are some instances from his life.

Childhood:

Vivekananda as a child was very sweet. but also had incredible energy and was prone to fits of restlessness at the tender age of three. His family had a hard time getting him to calm down and his mother could only calm him by pouring cold water on his head and chanting the name of Shiva in his ear. Vivekananda also had great affection and fancy for wandering monks. He would always give anything he had to and once gave away his dhoti as he had nothing else with him. Even after being locked up in his room, he would throw things from his window to traveling sadhus as an offering to them.

Extraordinary Qualities:

In childhood, Vivekananda seems like other common children of the village in being naughty and restless. Yet in some circumstances, he would display behaviour that was extraordinary for boys of his age. Those moments transformed him into someone else. At such times he would suddenly become still and silent. At some moments he would start a monologue saying I shall become a king. At other moments he would start talking to some invisible friends. Still more common was his habit of talking to himself. These shifts in his behaviour were often observed by others. After the passing of such moments, he would become normal. This made the Vivekananda unpredictable. Nobody was sure about his actions or the words that he was going to utter. His family and friends regarded Vivekananda as a fun-loving strange boy.

Young Yogi:

Vivekananda loved playing games but his games were different from games played by other young children. He played something that he called the meditation game. In this game he would take off most of his clothes and sit in the manner of old Rishi's by crossing his legs and arms then he would start a breathing yogic exercise called pranayama by slowly breathing in and out. It started as a fun pastime in which many of Vivekananda’s friends participated with folded hands became something much more serious over time. One day little Vivekananda and his friends were playing the meditation game when suddenly a Cobra appeared the Cobra went straight to where Vivekananda was sitting and it spread its hood. All the children got scared and ran away while little Vivekananda continued meditating. The children started shouting to alert Vivekananda but the little yogi sat unperturbed. Feared children ran to call the elders who came running to the scene but the sight of the snake scared them as well. They did not want to disturb the cobra. In time, the snake simply slithered away. The friends and family were relieved to see the snake go. After some time, little Vivekananda came out of the Samadhi and opened his eyes. Everyone asked him why he stayed motionless amidst all the noise and upon marine was surprised he had not even noticed the snake. He was immersed in his Samadhi he was enjoying the Bliss of the absolute that had occupied his mind during the meditation.

Brave boy:

Once a teacher assaulted him for what he thought was a mistake Vivekananda made in the subject of Geography. Vivekananda, although insisted that he was in the right. This infuriated the teacher even more and he asked Vivekananda to stretch out his hand and he struck him on his palm time and again. Vivekananda stood his ground and did not utter a word. Shortly after that, the teacher realized that it was he who had made an error. He apologized to Vivekananda profusely and thereafter always held him in high respect and regard. When Vivekananda narrated this incident to his mother, she said, “If you are right my son, what does it matter? It may be unjust and unpleasant but always do what is right, what you think is right, come what may!” This lesson which he learned from his mother, he always followed in his life.

Courageous boy:

One day in the sixth year of his life Swami Vivekananda went to the Charak fair with his cousin. The Charak Fair is associated with the Hindu god Shiva. At the fair, Vivekananda purchased some idols of Shiva. The boys were so enthralled by the activities at the fair that they forgot about the passage of time. It had grown dark when the two boys started towards their home. The million-crowd made it difficult even to keep pace with each. Suddenly someone pushed one of them and the boys got separated. Vivekananda was frantically looking for his cousin. When a horse-drawn carriage came charging down the lane at a great speed the crowd started running helter-skelter creating even more confusion. When Vivekananda looked up, he saw his cousin standing in the middle of the lane in the path of the carriage. Vivekananda showed an extraordinary presence of mind. He rushed forward and pushed his cousin to the other side. This saved the life of his cousin and the crowd was astonished to see the presence of mind and preached six-year Vivekananda for his courage. They felt ashamed that none of them had the presence of mind to rescue the boy as Vivekananda did.

Intellectual Power:

Swami Vivekananda was eight years old when this incident happened. He loved to dangle head down from a jump of tree in his friend’s compound. One day, he was climbing the tree and an old man approached him asking him not to climb the tree. The old man was probably scared that little Vivekananda could fall and break his limbs. I was just being protective about the jump of flowers when the Kid questioned him why the old man told him that there was a ghost living on the tree and it would hurt him and break his neck if he climbed the tree again. The little boy nodded and the old man walked away. He also convinced an eight-year-old kid not to climb the tree again. Believing this, all of his friends were very scared and asked him why he was doing it despite knowing that he would be hurt. He laughed and said- “How silly fellows you are? Don't believe everything just because someone tells you. If the old grandfather story was true then my neck would have been broken long ago.” He possessed an exceptional common sense for an eight-year-old.

Voracious Reader:

Swami Vivekananda was a voracious reader. While he stayed in Chicago, he used to go to the library and borrow a large number of books and write them to the librarian in a day. The frustrated librarian then asked Swami, why he borrowed books when he doesn't want to read them. She was all the more annoyed when he said he finished reading all of those books he burrowed. She said she would take a test and selected a random page from a book and asked him to tell what was written there. Without even a glance at the book, he recited the lines exactly as they were written. She asked him several more questions and to her surprise, he answered all of them without a flaw.

Compassionate man:

It is well known that Swami Vivekananda represented India and Hinduism in the parliament of world religion in Chicago and before going abroad he was tested by his mother on whether he had the right to preach Hinduism. After a delicious supper, both of them sent down to eat some fruits. Swami cut the fruit and ate it and after that, his mother asked him for the knife. He handed over the knife to his mother and was more than pleased she said you have passed the test and you are now eligible to preach the world. The confused Swami questioned her what was she talking about. His mother replied - “Son, When I asked for the knife, I saw how you handed them to me. You gave the knife by holding its sharp edge and kept the wooden handle of the knife towards me so that I wouldn't get hurt when I take it and this means you took care of me and this was your test in which you passed to have compassion and being able to take good care of others is a remarkable quality. It is the law of nature that the more selfless you are, the more you will receive and so did Swami Vivekananda.

Intelligence and Presence of Mind:

Swami was traveling on a train in the US with traditional saffron clothing and was wearing a wristwatch that caught the attention of a few girls present in the same compartment of the train. They were making fun of his clothes and his appearance. They decided to play a prank and snatch his watch. The girls asked him to give them the watch as they would complain to the cops that he was harassing them. He then remained silent and acted deaf made gestures to the girls to write what they wanted to on a piece of paper. The girls wrote on the paper and gave it to him. He then spoke telling them to call the cops and said that he has a complaint to make sitting the paper.

Concentration:

While Swami Vivekananda was in America, some boys were standing on the bridge and trying to shoot eggshells that were floating in the water. they failed almost at every try. Vivekananda who was watching them from a distance went close to them and took the gun and fired 12 times and every time he fired, he hit the eggshell. The inquisitive boys asked him how he did it. He replied whatever you are doing put your whole mind on it. If you're shooting your mind should be only on the target. Then you will never miss it. If you are learning your lessons and subjects think only of the lesson. In my country student are taught to do this.

Importance of Indian Culture and Heritage:

Once, Swami Vivekananda was traveling someplace and he was in his typical monk robe, the saffron colour robe. Some random asked him, ‘Why don’t you dress like a gentleman?’ And the great Vivekananda replied, ‘Well, for you it is the tailor that makes a gentleman but for me, it is the character that makes one. ‘What an awesome statement! And so profound! 

Brave boy:

One morning, after visiting a temple, Vivekananda was passing through a place, which had a large tank of water on one side and a wall on the other. He was surrounded by a troop of monkeys. The monkeys were not allowing him to pass and as he tried to walk past them, they shrieked, howled, and clutched at his feet. Swami started to run but as he ran, the monkeys got even bolder and attempted to bite at him. When he couldn't escape, he heard an old monk shouting out at him and saying: ‘Face the brutes!’ The old monk’s words had a magical effect on Swami. As a result of it instead of running; he stood his ground, turned back to face the monkeys. And when he did that, the monkeys took to their heels and fled away. With gratitude, Swami gave the traditional greeting to the other monk who smiled and walked away. Vivekananda tells like those monkeys; all negative thoughts and fears chase us as long as we run away from them. We make them stronger but the day we confront these negative thoughts head-on, we overcome them.

Purpose of his Life:

As a wandering monk, Swami Vivekananda once was roaming the forests of the Himalayas. On one particular day, he had not eaten anything and was starving. Tired and with sore feet, he decided to take a rest under a tree in the dense jungle. He saw a huge Bengal tiger roaring. The hungry monk thought Both of them are hungry and let his body be of some use to at least that tiger which can satiate its hunger by eating him. Even as he was staring at death, Vivekananda could think selflessly and think of giving a purpose to his own life. Fortunately, the tiger realized that and quietly went in another direction.

Famous Quotes of Swami Vivekanada:

Arise,awake and do not stop until the goal is reached.

You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual.

There is no other teacher but your own soul.

You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.

We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.

Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way.

All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.

The world is the great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.

External nature is only internal nature writ large.

All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.

Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true.

Conclusion:

We are blessed to have such wise experienced gurus in India. It is important that we are guided by our ancestor’s wise experience and we pass on the lessons and our wise experience to the next generation.

Ignorance of our Cultural values, heritage and traditions is a curse for society. Most people in the world, including the indigenous people of Australia, Africa, and America take pride in their heritage. But here in India, despite having rich cultural heritage and tradition, many among us neither have understanding nor pride. Some of us even ridicule our culture. Only if we first lay a strong foundation can we erect a tall building. Similarly, only if we have knowledge and pride in our forefathers and history, we can create a lustrous present and future. We must learn a lot of lessons from famous Saints like Swami Vivekananda and take pride in Indian cultural values, tradition, heritage, literature, customs, religion, ethics, morality and beliefs.

Reference:

Vivekananda: A Biography... Book by Swami Nikhilananda