Swami Vivekanand (The Master Builder of Our Nation)

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FOOTBALL OR GITA ?

Swamiji was a hero in his own right. He was pure, strong and courageous. He exhorted the youth of our country again and again to be strong and fearless. He said: "physical weakness is the cause of at least one-third of our miseries. We are lazy, We cannot work. We speak of many things parrot-like but never do them; speaking and not doing has become a habit with us. What is the cause of that ? Physical weakness. This sort of weak brain is not able to do anything. We must strengthen it". First of all our young men should be strong. Religion will come afterwards. Be strong, my young friends, that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita".

 

As one of the greatest architect of modern Indian renaissance, Swamiji made us truly 'India-conscious'. He urged us to reassess the fundamental values of our culture and heritage and in that process installed God-consciousness in our lives. He taught us that the foundation of a true spiritual life should be built on service to fellow-beings. Finding the self in him as the self everywhere, he realised that there is no difference between the sacred and the secular. According to him, every aspect of life is and should be made a part of religion. His famous equation that 'Work is Worship; was a natural outcome of this thinking.

 

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