“It is our duty to encourage the efforts of every individual to live in accordance with his lofty aspirations and ideals. At the same time, it is also our responsibility to bring that ideal as close to reality as possible” - Swami Vivekananda.
On January 12, 1863, a little before sunrise, a boy was born to Vishwanath Dutta and Bhuvaneshwari Devi in Calcutta. They named the boy Narendranath Dutta. That boy later guided the world and earned a place as one of the spiritual gurus. His name is Swami Vivekananda. Let us review the teachings of Vivekananda, who gave us the path of knowledge and a good message.
Narendra had a habit of researching everything he knew since childhood. Why something? What? They were not the ones who would leave anything unexplored. H developed a curiosity about spirituality at an early age. Saints and monks attracted his attention. One day, a monk came to Narendra's house and asked for alms. Without a second thought, Narendra ran into the house, brought a beautiful cloth, and gave it to the monk. Due to such feelings, Vivekananda got used to meditating from a young age.
Vivekananda was a child genius. Along with studies, he also excelled in music and gymnastics. His specialty was reading quickly and understanding it well. Once, he borrowed some books from Sir John Lubbock's library and returned them the next day. The librarian asked him, "Have you read so many books daily?" He took a book and asked some questions about it. Narendra answered all of them quickly and without any hesitation. The librarian was surprised to learn that Narendra had read all the books.
Narendra had a keen interest in matters related to God and His existence. This interest led him to the Kali temple in Dakshineswar, where Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa resided. Initially, Narendra did not accept Ramakrishna Paramahamsa as his guru. As he learned more about his guru, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Swami became the most critical person in Vivekananda's life.
Although he came from a wealthy family, Vivekananda, who experienced severe financial problems after his father's death, changed the course of the entire Indian state with his spiritual consciousness at this stage. In 1887, after Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa became a Siva, Narendra and some other disciples took up sannyasa. It was then that his name changed from Narendra to Vivekananda. Vivekananda means ‘joy through wisdom and knowledge’. After taking up sannyasa, Swami Vivekananda made spiritual journeys to all parts of India.
As part of his journey, Vivekananda, faced with hardships by the people, vowed to find a solution. In 1893, he introduced Vedanta knowledge to the Western world through the platform of the World Conference of All Religions held in Chicago, America. He encouraged the whole world to be curious about India's glorious culture and traditions.
National Youth Day: Sri Aurobindo stated that on one occasion, Swami Vivekananda awakened India’s spirituality. Vivekananda, who added nationalism to this consciousness and this awakening, explained how crucial nationalism among the youth of that country is for the existence of a country.
Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, and Dr. B.R. Swami Vivekananda have inspired many like Ambedkar. With his impressive eloquence and excellent subject knowledge, he worked hard to awaken society. He awakened the youth of the country. He taught them what to do. On the occasion of the birth anniversary of such a great man, India is celebrating ‘National Youth Day’ on January 12.
Swamiji’s ideals and his messages guide the youth. It is essential for today’s youth, striving to achieve more progress in a shorter time than the conditions of that time, to understand Vivekananda’s teachings. It is also timely.
In his speech on Raja Yoga, he said, ‘Take a good subject. Make it your life’s desire. That should be the supreme goal in your thoughts, dreams, and life. Your brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body should think the same. Put aside all other thoughts. Only then will you be able to achieve success,’ Vivekananda revealed. Whether you want to be a talented athlete or start a budding organization, I believe that if you stick to this principle taught by Vivekananda, you will never be able to go back. Never give up on your goal. You should pursue it, and move forward with perseverance and determination in achieving your goal. Swami Vivekananda emphasized that it is good to get inspiration and motivation from the lives of others, but we should not give up on our individuality. For this, he explained a seed as an example.
A seed takes the help of earth, soil, air, and water to become a tree. But when it is planted in the ground, it does not become soil, when it meets the air, it does not become air, or when it consumes water, it does not become water. It simply turns them into steps and grows on its own. It transforms into a plant and then into a tree. Today's youth have a habit of imitating movie heroes and idols. It is good to get inspiration from the lives of successful people, but it is better to choose your path and move forward without blindly following the ways and instructions others give to achieve success in your life.
This applies to people from all walks of life. Knowing the best practices from around the world is good, but we should not ignore our rich culture, glorious history, and socio-economic reality. Let us never forget that we must lead our own success story.
Today's youth face challenges in the form of excessive propaganda, incomplete information, and domination. The youth's mind can accept different ideas and concepts and understand their reality. As Vivekananda once said, just as a frog in a well thinks it knows everything, one should keep abreast of the changes in the world and society and move forward.
One should keep learning new things throughout one's life.
There is no end to learning. Everyone should learn new things as well as know the good
ideals and qualities in others. If they like it, they should practice it. Along with this, one should never ignore the roots of our culture and traditions.
Swami Vivekananda believed that the whole world should live together as brothers. He also emphasized that the essence of all religions is to know the divinity in humans and respect it. Referring to a verse from the Bhagavad Gita, he said, “Just as the canals and rivers that originate in different places... all the different rivers meet in the ocean... the final destination of different thoughts and worship methods is also the same.”
At the same meeting, he described fanaticism and bigotry over caste and religion as terrible monsters in the face of humanity. He said that if these terrible monsters had not been there, humanity would have already made much more progress.
Although they warned us in 1893, these teachings are still relevant today. Inspired by their teachings, today’s youth should fight against narrow-minded casteism, fanaticism, and intolerance. We should move forward with the inspiration of our basic principle, ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, to build a broad world.
Swami Vivekananda, while removing the entrenched superstitions in Indian society, introduced the world to the greatness and profound knowledge of the Indian philosophical tradition. A spiritual master with incredible charm, he guided millions of people worldwide and gave a message to the coming generations. ‘Whatever you think, it is a reflection of your mind.
If you think of yourself as weak, you will remain weak. If you consider yourself intense, you can move forward boldly.’ I hope the country's youth will move forward by taking Vivekananda’s divine words as an example.
On the occasion of Vivekananda’s Jayanti, along with reading and understanding his life, we can also practice the message he gave in our lives.
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