Swami Vivekananda (The Master Builder of Our Nation)

March 7, 2000

EXPERIMENTS WITH TOBACCO PIPES

We find his discriminating intellect coming into play, in yet another instance. In those days, caste differences were very conspicuous and certain norms were strictly adhered to. This was something which often baffled Naren. For example, he could not find any ryhme or reason why in his father's parlor were kept different tobacco hookaha for clients belonging to different castes. He wanted to find the answer to it in his own way. He wondered what would happen if a Brahmin smoked the hookah reserved for Muslim or vice-versa. The explanation which the elders had given was that one would lose one's caste if one smoked from the hookah meant for the lower caste. So, one day, when his father was busy speaking to the clients in another room. , Naren decided to test the validity of his statement by smoking from every hookah, available in the room. He wanted to see weather that action would lead to any change in his personality. At that juncture his father entered the room and finding Naren near the hookahs enquired what he was up to. Naren calmly told him that he was merely trying to see if anything would happen if he violated caste rules. He was convinced that nothing of that sort actually happened.

Naren was always full of life and vigor. He had a magnificent physique. He excelled in every game whether it to be playing marbles, running or boxing. He was an adept at fencing, lathi play and wrestling and could row very well. He was good at music and was gifted with an enchanting voice, possibly inherited from his mother. His father saw to the up-keep of his natural talents by providing regular tuition through excellent teachers.

LOST IN THE LAP OF NATURE

From his early childhood, he was more at home in the realm of the soul than of body and mind. Once he was escorting his mother and sister to Rajpur in the Central Province. He was only 14 years old then. They had to travel a long distance by a bullock cart through a dense forest in the Vindhya region. The lofty mountains on either side of the road, the lush green vegetation and creepers laden with beautifully colored flowers and the sweet chirping of birds of different size, shape and colour, thrilled his heart. Suddenly, his eyes fell on a bee-hive hanging on one side of a huge cliff. All this enchanting beauty of nature created a deep impression on his mind. The grandeur of nature and the power of destiny absorbed his mind and he passed into an inward bliss, losing all outward consciousness for a considerably long time, during the journey.

Cont.