Essay on Swami Vivekananda

Essay on Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda was a great Hindu monk in India. He is considered as a patriotic saint who was a great philosopher and theologian. The word “Strength” was his favorite word. Swami Vivekananda thought that there is no greater religion than serving the sick, poor and oppressed. He introduced the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world. He had founded the Ramkrishna Mission and Ramkrishna Math. We celebrate his birthday as the “National Youth Day” every year.

Introduction

Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu saint, spiritual leader is a great personality of our nation. The chief disciple of Ramkrishna Paramhans, Swami Vivekananda had been played an important role to spread the Indian Yoga and Vedanta philosophy in the western world. He was a social reformer and regarded as a patriotic saint in India. For the helping of needy people, Swami Vivekananda founded Ramkrishna Mission and Belur Math Which still continues to serve the poor helpless people.

Early Life and Education of Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda was born on the festival of Makar Shankranti on 12 January 1863 in an affluent Bengali family. His father’s name was Viswanath Dutta and mother’s name was Bhubaneshwari Devi. In his childhood, he was restless and very naughty and his name was Narendranath Dutta. Swami Vivekananda started his study at Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's Metropolitan Institution at the age of eight. He became graduate in 1881 from the Scottish Church College by receiving first-division marks in the Fine Arts examination. He was fond of reading and read a wide range of different subject of books such as history, philosophy, literature, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Vedas and many more. He was well trained in Indian classical music and regularly practiced sports, physical exercise, wrestling, and bodybuilding . Swami Vivekananda was famous for his quick reading skill and excellent memory so many people called him “shrutidhara”, meaning "the person who remembers forever what once heard".

Spiritual Crisis and met with Ramakrishna Paramhans

Swami Vivekananda’ family was a religious family and he also read several religious books and met many saints to find out the answer of existence of God. During his spiritual crisis, Swami Vivekananda joined Keshab Chandra Sen's Nava Vidhan in 1880. In this time, William Hastie, the Principal of the Scottish Church Collegehe told him about Ramkrishna Paramhansa and he met him at  Dakshineshwar and asked him, has he seen God? Ramkrishna Paramhansa answered that he see the God as clearly as him. Swami Vivekananda accepted  Ramkrishna Paramhansa as Guru. On 16 August, 1886 Ramkrishna Paramhansa was died  and Swami Vivekananda and other 15 disciples of  Ramkrishna Paramhansa started living together at Ramakrishna Math. In 1886, Swami Vivekananda set out on a tour of India on foot as a ‘Parivrajak’. During his tour, he was sad to see the human misery, poverty, superstition that and decided to dedicate his life to serve the people.

Speech at the World Parliament of Religions

Swami Vivekanada heard about the World Parliament of Religions which was held in Chikago, America. He decided to attened the meeting for representing Hiduism. After facing many difficulties, he began his journey to America on 31 May, 1893.  On 11 September 1893, Swami Vivekananda came on the stage and stunned everyone by addressing the audience “My brothers and sisters of America” and received standing ovation. He explained the principles and spiritual significance of Vedanta and introduced the Hinduism to the world. Staying two years in America, Swami Vivekananda established the Vedanta Society of New York in 1894.

Establishment of Ramakrishna Mission and Other Works

Swami Vivekananda came back India from America and on 1 May 1897, he established Ramakrishna Mission in Calcutta. The headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission is at Belur Math for serving the poor, helpless population. Other two monasteries were also founded by him- the Advaita Ashrama and another is in today’s Chennai. He also found many educational institutes, hospitals etc. Swami Vivekananda wrote many books such as Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, My Master etc. Two journals were founded by Swami Vivekananda, one in English, named Prabuddha Bharata and other in Bengali named Udbhodan. In 1898, Swami Vivekananda composed a prayer song "Khandana Bhava–Bandhana", for dedicating to Ramakrishna Paramhans.

Conclusion

On July 4, 1902, Swami Vivekananda, a Hindu yoga guru, a philosopher, a writer, and an extraordinary speaker was died at the age of forty and was cremated on the Banks of Ganga River.