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Swami Vivekananda was born in an aristocratic Bengali]] family of Calcutta on January 12, 1863. Swami's parents influenced his thinking—the father by his rational mind and the mother by her religious temperament. From his childhood, he showed inclination towards spirituality and God realization. As a guru, Ramakrishna taught him Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism) and that all religions are true, and service to man was the most effective worship of God. After the death of his Guru, Vivekananda became a wandering monk, touring the Indian subcontinent and getting first-hand knowledge of India's condition. He later sailed to Chicago and represented India as a delegate in the 1893 Parliament of World Religions. He conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes, disseminating Vedanta and Yoga in America, England and a few other countries in Europe. He also established the Vedanta societies in America and England.

Early life (1863-1888)

Birth and childhood

Swami Vivekananda was born in Shimla Pally, Calcutta (presently known as Kolkata) on 12 January 1863, Monday at 6:49 A.M.,[1] during the Makara Sankranti festival in a traditional Kayastha family,[2] and was given the name Narendranath Dutta.[3] His father Viswanath Dutta[4] was an attorney of Calcutta High Court. He was considered generous, and had a liberal and progressive outlook in social and religious matters.[5] His mother Bhuvaneshwari Devi was pious and had practiced austerities and prayed to Vireshwar Shiva of Varanasi to give her a son. She reportedly had a dream in which Shiva rose from his meditation and said that he would be born as her son.[2] Narendranath's thinking and personality were influenced by his parents—the father by his rational mind and the mother by her religious temperament.[6][7] From his mother he learnt the power of self-control.[7] One of the sayings of his mother Narendranath quoted often in his later years was, "Remain pure all your life; guard your own honor and never transgress the honor of others. Be very tranquil, but when necessary, harden your heart."[3] He was reportedly adept in meditation and could reportedly enter the state of samadhi.[7] He reportedly would see a light while falling asleep and he reportedly had a vision of Buddha during his meditation.[8] During his childhood, he had a great fascination for wandering ascetics and monks.[7]

Narendranath had varied interests and a wide range of scholarship in philosophy, religion, history, the social sciences, arts, literature, and other subjects.[9] He evinced much interest in the Hindu scriptures like the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. He was also well versed in classical music, both vocal and instrumental and is said to have undergone training under two Ustads, Beni Gupta and Ahamad Khan.[10] Since boyhood, he took an active interest in physical exercise, sports, and other organizational activities.[9] Even when he was young, he questioned the validity of superstitious customs and discrimination based on caste[11] and refused to accept anything without rational proof and pragmatic test.[6]

When his father moved to Raipur in 1877 for 2 years then Narendranath along with the whole family shifted there. At that time there were no good schools in Raipur so he spent his time with his father and had discussions on spiritual topics. Narendranath learned Hindi in Raipur and for the first time the Question of existence of God came to his mind. It is believed that once he experienced an ecstasy during this period of life. The family returned to Calcutta in 1879 but it is believed that these 2 years were the turning point in his life. Raipur is sometimes termed as the "Spiritual Birthplace" of Swami Vivekananda.

College and Brahmo Samaj

Narendranath started his education at home, later he joined the Metropolitan Institution of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar in 1871[12] and in 1879 he passed the entrance examination for Presidency College, Calcutta, entering it for a brief period and subsequently shifting to Scottish Church College, Calcutta|General Assembly's Institution.[13] During the course, he studied western logic, western philosophy and history of European nations.[11] In 1881 he passed the Fine Arts examination and in 1884 he passed the Bachelor of Arts.[14][15]

Narendranath is said to have studied the writings of David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Baruch Spinoza, Georg W. F. Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer, Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, John Stuart Mill, and Charles Darwin.[16][17] Narendra became fascinated with the Evolutionism of Herbert Spencer, and translated Spencer's book on Education into Bengali for Gurudas Chattopadhyaya, his publisher. Narendra also had correspondence with Herbert Spencer for some time.[18][19] Alongside his study of Western philosophers, he was thoroughly acquainted with Indian Sanskrit scriptures and many Bengali works.[17] According to his professors, student Narendranath was a prodigy. Dr. William Hastie, the principal of Scottish Church College, where he studied during 1881-84, wrote, "Narendra is really a genius. I have travelled far and wide but I have never come across a lad of his talents and possibilities, even in German universities, among philosophical students."[16] He was regarded as a srutidhara—a man with prodigious memory.[20][21] After a discussion with Narendranath, Dr. Mahendralal Sarkar reportedly said, "I could never have thought that such a young boy had read so much!"[22]

Narendranath became the member of a Freemason's lodge and the breakaway faction from the Brahmo Samaj led by Keshab Chunder Sen.[13] His initial beliefs were shaped by Brahmo concepts, which include belief in a formless God and deprecation of the idolatry|worship of idols.[23] Not satisfied with his knowledge of Philosophy, he wondered if God and religion could be made a part of one's growing experiences and deeply internalized. Narendra went about asking prominent residents of contemporary Calcutta whether they had come "face to face with God".[24] but could not get answers which satisfied him.[25]

His first introduction to Ramakrishna occurred in a literature class in General Assembly's Institution, when he heard Principal Reverend W. Hastie lecturing on William Wordsworth's poem The Excursion and the poet's nature-mysticism.[26] In the course of explaining the word trance in the poem, Hastie told his students that if they wanted to know the real meaning of it, they should go to Ramakrishna of Dakshineswar. This prompted some of his students, including Narendranath to visit Ramakrishna.[13][27][28]

With Ramakrishna

"The magic touch of the Master that day immediately brought a wonderful change over my mind. I was astounded to find that really there was nothing in the universe but God! … everything I saw appeared to be Brahman. … I realized that I must have had a glimpse of the Advaita state. Then it struck me that the words of the scriptures were not false. Thenceforth I could not deny the conclusions of the Advaita philosophy."[29]|width=20%|align=right|}}

Narendranath's meeting with Ramakrishna in November 1881 proved to be a turning point in his life.[30] About this meeting, Narendranath said, "He Ramakrishna looked just like an ordinary man, with nothing remarkable about him. He used the most simple language and I thought "Can this man be a great teacher?". I crept near to him and asked him the question which I had been asking others all my life: "Do you believe in God, Sir?" "Yes", he replied. "Can you prove it, Sir?" "Yes". "How?" "Because I see Him just as I see you here, only in a much intenser sense." That impressed me at once. […] I began to go to that man, day after day, and I actually saw that religion could be given. One touch, one glance, can change a whole life."[30][31] Even though Narendra did not accept Ramakrishna as his guru initially and revolted against his ideas, he was attracted by his personality and visited him frequently.[32] He initially looked upon Ramakrishna's ecstasies and visions as, "mere figments of imagination",[6] "mere hallucinations".[33] As a member of Brahmo samaj, he revolted against idol worship and polytheism, and Ramakrishna's worship of Kali.[34] He even rejected the Advaita Vedanta|Advaitist Vedantism of identity with absolute as blasphemy and madness, and often made fun of the concept[33]

Though at first Narendra could not accept Ramakrishna and his visions, he could not neglect him either. It had always been in Narendra's nature to test something thoroughly before he would accept it. He tested Ramakrishna, who never asked Narendra to abandon reason, and faced all of Narendra's arguments and examinations with patience—"Try to see the truth from all angles" was his reply.[32] During the course of five years of his training under Ramakrishna, Narendra was transformed from a restless, puzzled, impatient youth to a mature man who was ready to renounce everything for the sake of God-realization. In time, Narendra accepted Ramakrishna as guru, and when he accepted, his acceptance was whole-hearted and with complete surrendering as disciple.[32]

In 1885 Ramakrishna suffered from Head and neck cancer|throat cancer and he was shifted to Calcutta and later to Cossipore. Vivekananda and his brother Disciples of Ramakrishna|disciples took care of Ramakrishna during his final days. Vivekananda's spiritual education under Ramakrishna continued there. At Cossipore, Vivekananda reportedly experienced Nirvikalpa Samadhi.[35] During the last days of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and some of the other disciples received the ochre monastic robes from Ramakrishna, which formed the first monastic order of Ramakrishna.[36] Vivekananda was taught that service to men was the most effective worship of God.[6][37] It is reported that when Vivekananda doubted Ramakrishna's claim of avatar, Ramakrishna reportedly said, "He who was Rama, He who was Krishna, He himself is now Ramakrishna in this body."[38] During his final days, Ramakrishna asked Vivekananda to take care of other monastic disciples and in turn asked them to look upon Vivekananda as their leader.[39] Ramakrishna's condition worsened gradually and he expired in the early morning hours of August 16, 1886 at the Cossipore garden house. According to his disciples, this was Mahasamadhi.[39]

Founding of the Ramakrishna Math

After the death of their master, the monastic disciples led by Vivekananda formed a fellowship at a half-ruined house at Baranagar near the river Ganges, with the financial assistance of the householder disciples. This became the first building of the Ramakrishna Math, or the monastery of the disciples who constituted the first Monasticism|monastic order of Sri Ramakrishna.[30]

The dilapidated house at Baranagar was chosen because of its low rent and proximity to the Cossipore burning-ghat, where Ramakrishna was cremated. Narendra and other members of the Math often spent their time in meditation, discussing about different philosophies and teachings of spiritual teachers including Ramakrishna, Adi Shankara, Ramanuja, and Jesus Christ.[40] Narendra reminisced about the early days in the monastery as follows-[40]

“ We underwent a lot of religious practice at the Baranagar Math. We used to get up at 3:00 am and become absorbed in japa and meditation. What a strong spirit of detachment we had in those days! We had no thought even as to whether the world existed or not. ”

In the early part of 1887, Narendra and eight other disciples took formal monastic vows. Narendra took the name of Swami Bibidishananda. Later he was coronated with the name Vivekananda by Ajit Singh, the Maharaja of Khetri.[41]

In January 1899 the Baranagar Math was shifted a newly acquired plot of land at Belur in the district of Howrah, now famous as the Belur Math.

References

  1. ↑ Mukhopadhyay, Manishankar (1996). [www.nirmalsahityam.com Obishshashyo Vivekananda]. Kalikātā: Sāhityama, 19. Retrieved on 16 August 2011. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, p. 11
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Swami Chetanananda, Swami Vivekananda, God lived with them, at 20
  4. ↑ Nikhilananda, Swami. Swami Vivekananda - A Biography. Ramakrishna Vivekananda Center OF New York, 3, 5, 23, 44. 
  5. ↑ Amiya Sen 2003, p. 19
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Nikhilananda 1964
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Amiya Sen 2003, p. 20
  8. ↑ Biswas, Arun Kumar (1987), Buddha and Bodhisattva, Cosmo Publications, at 19
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Arrington, Robert L. (2001), Swami Vivekananda, A Companion to the Philosophers, Blackwell Publishing, at 628
  10. ↑ Amiya Sen 2003, p. 21
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Early Years
  12. ↑ Banhatti 1995, p. 4
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Amiya Sen 2006, pp. 12–14
  14. ↑ Amiya Sen 2003, pp. 104–105
  15. ↑ Pangborn, Cyrus R. (1976), The Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Hinduism: New Essays in the History of Religions, Brill Archive, at 106
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Dhar 1976, p. 53
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Malagi, R.A. (2003), Stirred Spirit: The Prose of Swami Vivekananda, Perspectives on Indian Prose in English, Abhinav Publications, at 36–37
  18. ↑ Prabhananda 2003, p. 233
  19. ↑ Banhatti 1995, pp. 7–9 "Vivekananda is said to have offered, in a letter to Herbert Spencer, some criticism of the celebrated philosopher's speculations, which the aged stalwart is said to have appreciated."
  20. ↑ Swami Vivekananda By N.L. Gupta, p.2
  21. ↑ Dhar 1976, p. 59
  22. ↑ Dutta, Mahendranath, Dhirendranath Basu, ed., Sri Sri Ramakrishner Anudhyan (6th ed.), at 89
  23. ↑ Bhuyan, P. R. (2003), Swami Vivekananda, Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, at 5
  24. ↑ Amiya Sen 2006, pp. 12–13
  25. ↑ Pangborn, Cyrus R. (1976), The Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Hinduism: New Essays in the History of Religions, Brill Archive, at 106
  26. ↑ Joseph, Jaiboy. Master visionary, The Hindu, 002-06-23. Retrieved on 2008-10-09.
  27. ↑ Mukherjee, Dr. Jayasree (2004), "Sri Ramakrishna's Impact on Contemporary Indian Society", Prabuddha Bharatha. Retrieved on 2008-09-04
  28. ↑ Swami Chetanananda, God lived with them, at 22
  29. ↑ Mannumel, Thomas, The Advaita of Vivekananda: A Philosophical Appraisal, at 17
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Prabhananda 2003, p. 232
  31. ↑ Vivekananda, Swami, My Master, The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, vol. 4, Advaita Ashrama, at 178–179
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Banhatti 1995, pp. 10–13
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Rolland, Romain (1929), Naren the Beloved Disciple, The Life of Ramakrishna, at 169–193
  34. ↑ Arora, V. K. (1968), Communion with Brahmo Samaj, The social and political philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, Punthi Pustak, at 4
  35. ↑ Isherwood, Christopher (1976), Meditation and Its Methods According to Swami Vivekananda, Vedanta Press, at 20
  36. ↑ Cyrus R. Pangborn, The Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Hinduism: New Essays in the History of Religions, at 98
  37. ↑ Isherwood, Christopher (1976), Meditation and Its Methods According to Swami Vivekananda, Vedanta Press, at 20
  38. ↑ Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, p. 183
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Rolland, Romain (1929), The River Re-Enters the Sea, The Life of Ramakrishna, at 201–214
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 God lived with them, p.38
  41. ↑ God lived with them, p.39
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