1. Swami VivekanandaA PRESENTATION Swami Vivekananda, the great
Hindu Monk of India, left his mortal coil exactly a century ago,on
July 4 , 1902.Time has proved the truth of the words
SwamiVivekananda uttered before his death: "It may bethat I shall
find it good to get outside my body -- tocast it off like a worn
out garment. But I shall notcease to work. I shall inspire men
everywhere untilthe world shall know that it is one with God."Work
unto death, I am with you, and when I amgone, my spirit will work
with you.
2. OVERVIEW 100 Years Later A Glowing Tribute Homage An
Estimate (of the inestimable) A Prophetic Voice Divine Sparks Be
and Make
3. SWAMI VIVEKANANDA 100 Years Later
4. This is the centenary year of themaahasamaadhi of Swami
Vivekananda, thepatriot-saint and the intrepid Hindu Monk ofIndia
who dazzled the West by his fascinatingpersonality, scintillating
intellect and powerfuloratory. One hundred years ago, on July
4,1902, completing his divinely ordainedmission, the great Swami
left his mortal coiland returned to the Divine Source. In thewords
of his illustrious disciple, SisterNivedita, .on the wings of
meditation, hisspirit soared whence there could be noreturn, and
the body was left, like a foldedvesture, on the earth. And the day
hechose of all others was the Fourth of July the American
Independence Day.
5. His was a rare personality, a dynamicand dedicated life in a
short span. Hismulti-faceted life and work, and theinspiring
message were for the spiritualregeneration of India and the
world.Having given his ideal a firm practicalshape, having inspired
millions of peoplewith the noble ideals of Renunciationand Service,
having made Indiaconscious of her glorious past, andhaving awakened
her to future tasks,Vivekananda wound up his earthlycareer at the
age of thirty-nine years,five months and twenty-two days,
thusfulfilling his own prophecy: I will not liveto be forty years
old. "
6. At the height of his glory and renown, how unassuming and
ego-less hewas! Here is the testimony: If there has ever been a
word of truth, aword of spirituality, that I have spoken anywhere
in the world, I owe it tomy Master; only mistakes are mine They
call me the cyclonic Hindu.Remember, it is His will I am a voice
without a form. This is also atestimony to his fidelity to his
Great Master Sri Ramakrishna.
7. And, as to his spiritual depth and universality of outlook,
mark his words: What is India or England or America to us? We are
the servants of that God who by the ignorant is called
man.Renunciation, service and sacrifice were his watchwords. And,
anembodiment of renunciation that he was, he wore himself out in
the serviceof God in man. Here is his testament: When will that
blessed day dawnwhen my life will be a sacrifice at the altar of
humanity? Let the body, sinceperish it must, wear out in action and
not rust in inaction It is better to wearout than to rust out.
8. Time has proved the truth of the words Swami Vivekananda
uttered beforehis death: "It may be that I shall find it good to
get outside my body -- tocast it off like a worn out garment. But I
shall not cease to work. I shallinspire men everywhere until the
world shall know that it is one with God."Work unto death, I am
with you, and when I am gone, my spirit will workwith you.
9. Swami Vivekanandas influence on societies and individuals
can be classifiedinto: his impact as a teacher of the message of
Eternal India, which is in factthe spiritual message of Sanatana
Dharma, popularly known as Hinduisim, orthe rational and universal
gospel of the Vedanta; his stress on the practice ofreligion of
service, based on equality and tyaga; his role as an
awakener,builder and organizer of modern India with its patriotic,
spiritual and servicemovements; his contribution as a cultural and
spiritual emissary of India to theWest; his work as an interpreter
of Indian values in the universal language ofscience and, his
influence in taming and unifying science itself.
10. Humanity has not yet opened fully the gift it has received
fromSri Ramakrishna, the gift of the advent and work of
SwamiVivekananda. We can only envy the future world, which will
bedelighted and blessed with this gift, which it has been ready
toreceive but slow to uncover.
11. Swami Vivekananda "burst into theworld like a bomb not to
lick it intodestruction with tongues of fire, butto rouse men from
their spiritualstupor by the boom of his powerfulvoice. His words
seem to gaingreater force as they roll down theyears. Vivekananda
is today a voicewithout form.
12. The main concern of the world today is peace and harmony.If
peace and harmony are to rise and rein in the hearts and minds of
allpeople all over the world, they should have an opportunity to be
exposed tothe revealing insights of spirituality, which Swami
Vivekananda hasbequeathed to humanity.
13. Swami Vivekananda is verily a bridge between the East and
the West.He is a dynamic spiritual force to shape the future of
humanity. Histeachings have set in motion a spiritual force, which
can eventuallybring into the western civilization the needed
qualitative change .
14. The greatest of all benefactions, according to
SwamiVivekananda, is the act of rousing man to the glory ofthe
divinity within. The awakened man solves forhimself all his
problems, secular and sacred."The solution to all human problems is
in mans becoming Man (with capitalM) in all his dimensions, by
manifesting his divinity. Problems areunderstandably many. But the
solution is one -- to become the new kind ofman, who being
simultaneously scientific and spiritual eventually becomesfree. It
is this new man, pure in heart, clear in brain, unselfish in
motivation,who works in a balanced manner with his head, heart and
hand, who hasshed all his smallness and illusions, who has
experienced unity of existencein his expanded consciousness -- this
selfless, spotless and fearless man ofcharacter, enlightenment and
love, is the hope of the world.
15. What made Swami Vivekananda stand apartfrom others is that
in his life there was mademanifest a tremendous force for the moral
andspiritual welfare and upliftment of humanityirrespective of
caste, creed or nationality. Thispower of his is what characterizes
Swamijiswork even to this day. Though his voice iswithout a form
today, the vibrations of the samehave been caught up in many a
heart and havesurcharged and transformed them.
16. As we offer our homage to Swami Vivekananda in the
centenary year ofhis mahasamadhi, let us meditate on his
multi-faceted life and work andinspiring message for the spiritual
regeneration of humanity. And, above all,let us translate his
spiritual teachings into our day-to-day life and beblessed
thereby.All glory to that great Hindu Monk of India!
17. A GLOWING TRIBUTEbySrimat Swami Ranganathanandaji13th
President of the Ramakrishna Order
18. Swami Vivekananda is the one person who stands as a golden
linkbetween India and the western world, and who promises to be
sucha link between India and the rest of the world as well.
19. For the first time in our history of the past thousand
years, our countryproduced a great teacher in Swami Vivekananda who
took India out of herisolation of centuries and brought her into
the mainstream of internationallife. This is a great work, whose
beneficent results are slowly and steadilybecoming evident as
decades roll on.
20. Swami Vivekananda had a fourfold training, which equipped
him for theworld mission. Firstly, his education in modern western
science, literature,and history; secondly, his assimilation of the
positive elements in theIndian culture and traditions; thirdly, his
discipleship at the feet of SriRamakrishna, the very
personification of the Indian spiritual tradition; andfourthly, his
intimate grasp of the realities of contemporary India during
hislife as a wandering monk for six years. And this fourfold
training madeVivekananda an embodiment of the East and the
West.
21. He passed away on 4th July 1902, atthe young age of 39
years, 5 months,and 22 days. Out of the nine years ofhis public
ministry, from the Parliamentof Religions in 1893 up to his death
in1902, he gave over four most intenseyears to the West. The
intensity of hisnine years of work in the West and inIndia, the
output of spiritual,intellectual, literary, and organizationalwork,
besides the traveling involvedduring the period, is
unprecedented.As a teacher of modern India and asher cultural and
spiritual Emissary tothe West, Vivekananda has illuminedthe horizon
of national andinternational life, which has no parallelin the
history
22. He was a man with a message and he delivered it fearlessly
and intensely. He had said of himself: Buddha had a message to the
East, and I have a message to the West.The West will one day learn
to feel proud of this Emissary of modern Indiaand learn from him
the philosophy of comprehensive spirituality and
totallife-fulfillment and the way to its own redemption from a
soul-killingmaterialism. When that response comes from the West,
the tunnelconnecting East and West would be complete, and a new
culture, neithereastern nor western, but just human, would be
evolved, making for thespiritual growth of man everywhere and
tending to develop a mankind-awareness in all nations, and marking
the fulfillment of the purposes of theadvent of Sri Ramakrishna and
Swami Vivekananda in the modern age.
23. A HOMAGEVictory to that Intrepid Hindu Monk of India
27. AN ESTIMATE (of the inestimable) Surely, Vivekanandas words
do not need introduction from anybody; they make their own
irresistible appeal.- Mahatma Gandhi The best introduction to
Vivekananda is not to read about him but to read him.- Christopher
Isherwood If you want to know India, study Vivekananda. In
himeverything is positive and nothing negative. - Rabindranath
Tagore
28. A PROPHETIC VOICEToday man requires one moreadjustment on
the spiritual plane; todaywhen material ideas are at the height
oftheir glory and power, today when man islikely to forget his
divine nature, throughhis growing dependence on matter, and
islikely to be reduced to a mere money-making machine, an
adjustment isnecessary.
29. The whole world requires Light. It isexpectant! India alone
has that Light,Not in the magic, mummeries, andcharlatanism, but in
the teachings ofthe glories of the spirit of real religionof the
highest spiritual truth. That iswhy the Lord has preserved the
racethrough all its vicissitudes into thepresent day. Now the time
has come.
30. As I look upon the history of my country, Ido not find in
the world another countrywhich has done quite so much for
theimprovement of the human mind and thatIndia was the homeland of
the invisiblepowers that ruled the destinies of men andnations and
its ancient scriptures wouldmake it the teacher of the world.
31. DIVINE SPARKSEach soul is potentially divine. The goal (of
life) is tomanifest this Divinity within by controlling nature,
external (through physicalscience, technology and socio-political
processes), and internal (through thescience of religion). Do this
either by work or worship or psychic control orphilosophy by one or
more or all of these and Be Free All power is withinyou; you are
the reservoir of omnipotent power Awake from this hypnotismof
weakness. None is really weak; the soul is infinite, omnipotent
andomniscient. Stand up, assert yourself, proclaim the God within
you Teachyourself, teach everyone his real nature, call upon the
sleeping soul and seehow it awakes. Power will come, glory will
come, goodness will come, puritywill come and everything that is
excellent will come, when the sleeping soul isroused to
self-conscious activity.
32. BE AND MAKEThe monosyllable superimposed on the bosom of
man symbolizeshis intrinsic Divinity, which is his real nature. The
prayer: tamaso maa jyotirgamaya Lead me from darkness to
Lightquoted in the inner orb, is indicative of mans spiritual quest
his aspiration todiscover, realize and manifest the innate
Divinity. The meditative posture of man, the brilliant sun behind
him, the lotus on whichhe is seated and the waves beneath it are
symbolic of mystic communion, pursuit ofknowledge, devotional
absorption and selfless work, respectively. The design thus depicts
the gospel of Swami Vivekananda, according to whichman can
discover, realize and manifest the Divinity enshrined in him, by
cultivating anintegrated life, with due emphasis on pursuit of
knowledge, devotional absorption,mystic communion and selfless
service. Be and Make is an epigram of Swamiji exhorting man to
unfold his intrinsicdivinity through the cultivation of an
integrated life and also to help others marchtowards that end.