Swami Vivekananda 2

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Part 2

To arrest the sectarian influence of onward march of 'scientific

reason', to fight the onslaught of external technological progress,

which claimed material prosperity as the only goal for humanity, one

required answers in the scientific language alone. Language of

simplicity and faith was brushed aside as weakness and defeat. Religion

was on defensive in the face of clattering advances of science. To

combat this destructive march of quasi-purposive science, Swami

Vivekananda entered the world arena as a great disciple of Sri

Ramakrishna.

 

Swami Vivekananda was born in an educated and well-to-do family in

Calcutta, on 12th January 1863. His father was a famous pleader/lawyer,

educated and well versed in modern liberal thought and of scientific

outlook. He was well traveled and knew many languages including Persian

and English.

 

His mother, Bhuvaneshawaridevi, was pious and wise lady devoted to God.

She inspired the latent virtues of fearlessness, honesty, justice, and

devotion in her son, Narendra (as Swami Vivekananda was called in his

childhood). She told Narendra stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata, the

two greatest Indian Epics, which influenced later life of Swami

Vivekananda.

 

>From his early childhood, Narendra was naughty, brave, and fearless. He

also did not approve of injustice or sycophancy. But his peculiar

tendencies right from the childhood were 1) Ease with which he used to

go into intense meditation, and 2) Unusual capacity of intense mental

concentration, which made him learn and remember essential subject

matter in the books in very short period of time, and that too by just

reading once! As an example, let me cite the following example (example

is from his later life):

 

Once Swami Vivekananda was reading the volumes of 'Encyclopedia

Britannica'. His disciple associate (Sharatchandra Chakravarti), seeing

those twenty four volumes, remarked, " It is difficult to master the

contents of so many volumes in one life. " He did not know at the time

that the Swami had already finished ten volumes and was reading the

eleventh. " What do you mean? " said Swamiji. " Ask me whatever you like

from those ten volumes and I can tell you all about it. "

 

The disciple, out of curiosity, brought down the books and asked Swamiji

many questions on difficult and varied topics/subjects, selecting one or

two from different volumes. Swami Vivekananda not only replied each

correctly, but in many instances he quoted the very language of the

books!

 

At other time, Swami Vivekananda happened to turn the pages of a book in

quick succession just by looking at them once. The disciple asked as to

what Swamiji was doing. Swami Vivekananda replied, " Why, I am reading

the book. " The fellow was utterly surprised to see such an odd method of

reading a book! Then Swami Vivekananda explained, just as a child reads

every letter of a word, most of adults read a cluster of words or a full

sentence, " I can read from paragraph to paragraph " ! Thus, three glances

and the whole page used to be read!

 

Later he greatly emphasized to cultivate power of mind in the form of

purity and concentration for spiritual gains, so also for perfection in

many arts, and studies in science and other branches of education.

 

Continued ... 3

 

c s shah

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