Biography of Swami Vivekananda

Biography of Swami Vivekananda, Swami Vivekananda (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902) named Narendranath Dutta was a Hindu monk, philosopher, writer, musician and chief disciple of the nineteenth century Indian mystic Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. The name of his Purvashram was Narendranath Dutta. He took a leading role in promoting Hinduism as well as Indian Vedanta and Yoga philosophies in the United States and Europe. Many credit Vivekananda with establishing mutual harmony between different religions and promoting Hinduism as one of the world’s major religions in the latter half of the 19th century.

He was one of the pioneers of Hindu renaissance in India. He also introduced the concept of Indian nationalism in British India. Vivekananda founded Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. His most famous speech, “Brothers and Sisters of America”, delivered at the Chicago World Congress in the United States in 1893, was the first time he introduced Hinduism to Western society. Swami Vivekananda was born into an upper class Hindu Bengali family in Calcutta. He was attracted to spirituality from childhood.

From his guru Ramakrishna Deva he learns that all living beings are the mirror of God; So serving people is serving God. After Ramakrishna’s death, Vivekananda toured the Indian subcontinent well and gained direct knowledge of the socio-economic conditions of British India. Later he went to the United States of America and represented India and Hinduism in the World Religions Mahasabha in 1893. He gave numerous public and domestic lectures on various aspects of Hindu philosophy in USA, England and Europe. Took class. Notable books written include Chicago Lectures, Karma Yoga, Raj Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Vedanta at Harvard University, Vivekananda in India, Bhabbar Katha, Paribrajaka, East and West, Present India, Veervani (poetry-collection), Madi Acharyadeva etc. Vivekananda was a musician and singer.

Two famous songs composed by him are “Khandan-Bhav-Bandhan” (Sri Ramakrishna Aratrik Bhajan) and “Nahi Surya Nahi Jyoti”. Besides, “Nachuk Tahate Shyama”, “4 July Prati”, “Sannyasi Geeti” and “Sakha Prati” are some famous poems written by him. The last two stanzas of the poem to “Sakha” – “Where are you looking for God in the face of many forms?” The one who loves life, that person serves God. ” is one of Vivekananda’s most quoted quotes. In India, Vivekananda is known as ‘Bira Sannyasi’ and his birthday is celebrated as National Youth Day in India.

biography;

Genealogy (left) Bhubaneswari Devi (1841-1911); “I owe the blossoming of my knowledge to my mother.” Vivekananda (Right) 3, Gourmohan Mukherjee Street, Shimla, Kolkata. Birth place of Vivekananda. Now it is a museum and cultural center. Shami Vivekananda was born in a Kayasth Dutta family in North Calcutta. The original home of this Dutta family was Dutta-Deratona or Datta-Deratona village in the Kalna sub-division of Burdwan district in the present day Republic of India, West Bengal.

The Duttas were residents of the village since the Mughal rule. Researchers assume that they were the zamindars of that village. In the 18th century, a member of the Dutta family, Ramnidhi Dutta, along with his son Ramjivan Dutta and grandson Ramsundar Dutta, settled in the village of Gar-Gobindpur (now Fort Calcutta).

William and Maidan region) migrated. When the construction of Fort William began, Dattarao moved to Sutanuti village (now North Kolkata) along with other residents of the area. Here at first they lived in a house in Madhu Roy’s lane. The house in which Vivekananda was born at No. 3 Gouramohan Mukhopadhyay Street was built by Rammohan Dutta, the eldest son of Ramsundar Dutta. Rammohan Dutta’s eldest son Durgaprasad Dutta was Vivekananda’s grandfather. He was a scholar in Sanskrit and Persian. After the birth of his only son Vishwanath Dutta at the age of 25, he left home after taking Sannyas. Vishwanath Datta was brought up by Durgaprasad’s younger brother Kaliprasad. He was an attorney of Calcutta High Court.

Viswanath Dutt learned Bengali, Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Hindi and Sanskrit languages. He had special interest in reading literature, history and scriptures. He was liberal about religion. Bible and Dewan-i Hafiz were his favorite books. He wrote two books named Sulochana (1880) and Shishtachar-Paddati (in Bengali and Hindi, 1882). He publicly expressed his support for the introduction of widow marriage by Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar. After Durgaprasad left the family, the financial prosperity of the Dutta family was destroyed due to the extravagant spending of Kaliprasad. But Vishwanath Dutt’s far-reaching reputation as an attorney was able to bring back that ease.

His stable Bhubaneswari Devi was the daughter of Nandalal Basu of Shimla. She was a particularly devoted woman. After the death of his first few children and the birth of a daughter, he arranged for a son to be offered to one of his relatives living in Kashi to perform daily puja at the Vishwanath temple in Kashi. Since Swami Vivekananda was born soon after, he believed that he had a son by the grace of Shiva. Father’s progressive and rational outlook and mother’s piety were particularly helpful in shaping Vivekananda’s thoughts and personality.

First Life (1863-88) Birth and childhood

Vivekananda’s paternal name was Narendranath Dutta (nicknames were Vireshwar or Bille and Narendra or Naren). He was born on 12 January 1863 on Makar Sankranti festival at No. 3 Gouramohan Mukhopadhyay Street in Shimla area of North Kolkata. His father Viswanath Dutt was a lawyer of Calcutta High Court. Vivekananda belonged to a traditional Bengali Kayastha community where he had nine brothers and sisters. His middle brother Mahendranath Dutta was a noted writer and Vivekananda’s companion in foreign travels.

The younger brother Bhupendranath Dutta was a prominent communist leader and writer. Narendranath’s interest in spirituality emerged from childhood. During this time he would often meditate in front of the idols of Shiva, Rama, Sita and Mahavir Hanuman. He also had a special interest in saints. Vivekananda was very daring as a child. It became difficult for his parents to handle him at times. His mother used to say, “I wanted a son from Shiva. He himself sent a ghost of his disciple.”

Education

In 1871 AD, Narendranath Ishwarchandra was admitted to the Metropolitan Institution at Vidyasagar. He attended this school until 1877 AD when his family temporarily shifted to Raipur (now Chhattisgarh state of the Republic of India). In 1879, the Dutta family returned to Calcutta. Narendranath passed the first division in the entrance examination of Presidency College (now Presidency University, Calcutta). He was the only student who passed the examination in the first category that year. He used to read a lot of books. He had special interest in reading books on philosophy, religion, history, sociology, art and literature.

He was also interested in reading Hindu scriptures like Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas etc. Besides, he took training in Hindustani Sasthiya Sangi and regularly participated in exercises, sports and social service activities. While studying at the General Assembly’s Institution (now Scottish Church College, Calcutta), Narendranath studied Western logic, Western philosophy and European history. He passed the fine arts examination in 1881 AD. Graduated in 1884 AD. Narendranath read the works of David Hume, George W. F. Hegel, Arthur Soffenhire, August Cote, John Stuart Mill and Charles Darwin.

He was particularly attracted to Herbert Spencer’s theory of evolution. At that time he was also exchanging letters with Spencer. He translated Spencer’s book Education (1861) into Bengali. Along with reading the works of Western philosophers, he also studied Sanskrit scriptures and Bengali literature. William Hastie, principal of the General Assembly’s Institution, wrote, “Narendra is a true genius. I have seen many countries, but never seen a student of such genius and potential; not even among the philosophy students of German universities.” Some memoirs describe Narendranath as a ‘shutidhar’ (a man with an extraordinary memory). It can also be mentioned.

Spiritual Apprenticeship-Influence of Brahmo Samaj, See also: Swami Vivekananda and meditation;

In 1880 AD, he became a member of Keshav Chandra Sen’s Nava Vidhan, which Sen founded after meeting Ramakrishna and converting from Christianity to Hinduism. By 1884, Narendranath became a member of the Freemasonry Lodge, and in his twenties also joined the Brahmo Society of Keshav Chandra Sen and Devendranath Tagore. From 1881 to 1884 he was active in Sen’s Band of Hope, which tried to discourage the youth from smoking and drinking. Narendra became familiar with the Eastern religion of Esotericism. His early religion was modeled on the concept of Brahman.

During this time he became a believer in formless God and became a critic of paganism. and strongly prescribed the selective and modern reading of the Upanishads and the Vedas, a rationalization of smooth, monotheistic theology. At this time Narendranath met the Brahmin leader Devendranath Tagore and asked him, “Have you seen God?” Without answering this question, Devendranath said, “Your eyes are like those of a yogi.” Not satisfied with his knowledge of philosophy, Narendranath wondered if God and religion were really part of the evolving human experience. He thinks deeply about this. He asked many prominent residents of Calcutta whether they had witnessed God. But no one’s answer could satisfy him.

With Ramakrishna

Main article: Relationship between Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev and Swami Vivekananda

See also: Swami Vivekananda’s prayer at Dakshineswar Kalibari

In 1881, Narendranath first met Ramakrishna Dev. Narendranath Ramakrishna first heard about Paramahamsa Dev while reading at the General Assembly’s Institution. Professor William Hastie mentioned Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Deva while teaching William Wordsworth’s poem The Excursion in a literature class. While explaining the word ‘trance’ used in the said poem, he told the students that to understand the true meaning of ‘trance’, the students should go to Dakshineshar and see Ramakrishna Paramahansa Dev. Hearing this, some students including Narendranath became interested in seeing Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev.

Ramachandra Dutta once took Narendranath to Surendranath Mitra’s house when he was preparing for the FA examination in November 1881 AD. There Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev was invited to give a sermon. In this interview, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev asked Tarun Narendranath to sing a song. Later, being impressed by Narendranath’s musical talent, Ramakrishna Paramahansa Dev invited him to Dakshineshwar. However, neither Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev nor Narendranath later gave importance to this meeting as their first meeting. They did not even mention this meeting. In late 1881 AD or early 1882 AD, Narendranath along with two friends came to Dakshineswar to meet Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev.

This meeting is a very important event in Narendranath’s life. Referring to the interview, Narendranath said, “He [Ramakrishna Dev] seemed like an ordinary person, I didn’t see anything extraordinary. He spoke in very simple language. I thought, could this man be a great dharmacharya? What I have asked others all my life, I approached him and asked him the same question, ‘Sir, do you believe in God?’ He replied – ‘Yes.’ ‘Sir, can you provide proof of his existence?’ I see him just as I see you in front of me, but more clearly, more brilliantly.’ A single glance can change a whole life.

I have seen this happen again and again.” At first, however, Narendranath Ramakrishna refused to accept Paramahansa Dev as his Guru. He even rebelled against his thinking. But he was also particularly attracted to the personality of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev. As a result, he started traveling to Dakshineshwar frequently. At first, he considered the state of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the meeting of gods and goddesses as ‘imaginary creations’ and ‘belief in the existence of illusory objects’.

Narendranath, a member of Brahmo Samaj at that time did not support idol worship, polytheism and Kali Puja of Ramakrishna Paramahansa Dev. Even Advaita Vedanta doctrine was ridiculed by him as heresy and madness. Narendranath Ramakrishna used to examine Paramahamsa Dev. Even Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev would calmly listen to his arguments and say, “Try to see the truth from all angles.”

In 1884, Narendranath’s father died suddenly. Then his family fell into severe financial difficulties. Creditors began pressing them for repayment and relatives began trying to evict them from their ancestral homes. A son of a once wealthy family, Narendranath became one of the poorest students in the college. He started looking for a job and became skeptical about the existence of God. But at the same time he continued to find peace in the presence of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev in Dakshineshwar.

One day Narendranath Ramakrishna requested Paramahamsa Dev to pray to Kali for financial prosperity of his family. Ramakrishna Paramahansa Dev told him that he himself should go to the temple and pray. As advised by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev, Narendranath visited the temple thrice. But instead of praying for worldly needs, he prays for knowledge and conscience. Narendranath then decided to leave the world for God-realization and accepted Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev as his guru. In 1885, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev was diagnosed with throat cancer.

He was first shifted to Shyampukur in North Kolkata and later to a garden house in Kashipur for treatment. During this time Narendranath along with other disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev took care of him. Narendranath’s religious education continued during this time as well. Narendranath attained Nirvikalpa Samadhi at Kashipur. Narendranath and some other disciples this time from Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev.

Received sannyas and noble clothes. In this way, the first Sannyasi Sangha was established in Ramakrishna’s discipleship. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa taught Dev Narendranath that human service is the best pursuit of God. He also asked Narendranath to take care of his other monastic disciples and chose him as the leader of the Sannyasi Sangha. It is said that when doubts arose in Vivekananda’s mind about the incarnation of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Ramakrishna Deva declared, “That Rama, that Krishna, is Ramakrishna in this body recently…” On the last night of August 16, 1886, Ramakrishna Paramahansa Dev passed away in Kashipura.

Establishment of Ramakrishna Math at Varahnagar; Main article: Barahnagar Math;

After the death of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dev, his devotees and admirers stopped helping his disciples. Unable to raise the rent, Narendranath and other disciples started looking for new accommodation. Many went back home and started living a domestic life. With the remaining disciples, Narendranath thought of establishing a new monastery in a dilapidated house in the Barahnagar area of North Kolkata. The rent of this house in Barahnagar Math was low. The money for this house rent was raised through “madhukari” i.e. the begging of the monks. Barahnagar Mutt is the first building of Ramakrishna Mutt. In this monastery, Narendranath and other disciples meditated for hours and practiced strict religious austerities.

Later Narendranath while reminiscing about Barahnagar Math said: We used to do a lot of penance in Barahnagar Math. We used to wake up at three in the morning and engage in chanting and meditation. At that time, what was born in our minds! We didn’t even think about whether the world exists or not. In 1887 AD, Narendranath Vaishnava edited a music-compilation called Sangeetkalpataru under the auspices of Charan Basak. Narendranath composed and edited most of the songs in this book. But due to unfavorable circumstances, he could not finish the work of the book.

take monasticism;

In December 1886, Narendranath’s uncle Babura invited Mother Narendranath and other monks to Antpur village. They accepted the invitation and went to Antpur in Hooghly district and stayed there for some time. Narendranath and eight disciples formally accepted sannyas on the eve of Christmas in Antpur. They decided to live like Ramakrishna Paramahansa Dev. Narendranath adopted the name “Swami Vivekananda”.

Traveler Vivekananda;

Vivekananda left the monastery as a pilgrim in 1888. A Religious Life of a Wandering Hindu Monk In this life he wanders freely without any fixed abode or attachment. Swami Vivekananda’s companions in his wandering life were a kamandalu, a stick and two of his favorite books—the Bhagavadita and the Ishanusaran. For five years, Vivekananda traveled all over India – visiting every educational center and becoming familiar with various religions and social systems.

He developed sympathy for the plight of the common people and devoted himself to the betterment of the nation. During this time, Vivekananda traveled all over India on foot as a beggar. That is why the whole world knows Swamiji as ‘Paribrajak’. Sometimes his admirers would buy him a train ticket. During his travels he socialized and lived with various scholars, diwans, kings, and Hindus, Muslims, Christians and even low-class pariahs and government officials.

North India

He started his journey from Varanasi in 1888 AD. In Varanasi, he met prominent Bengali writer Bhudev Mukhopadhyay and eminent saint Trailangaswamy. It was here that he met the eminent Sanskrit scholar Babu Premdas Mitra, with whom he subsequently discussed Hindu theology in several correspondences. After Varanasi, he went to Ayodhya, Lucknow, Agra, Vrindavan, Hathras and Hrishikesh one by one. At Hathras he met the station master Saratchandra Gupta, who later became a disciple of Vivekananda and became known as Sadananda.

He was an early disciple of Vivekananda. Between 1888-90 AD he traveled to Baidyanath and Allahabad. He went to Ghazipur from Allahabad and visited Paohari Baba. Paohari Baba was a non-dualistic saint who spent most of his time in meditation. During 1888-90, he returned to Barahnagar Math several times to look after the financial system of the Math after his poor health and after the death of Balaram Bose and Suresh Chandra Mitra, two of the Math’s financial benefactors.

Himalayan travel

In July 1890 AD, he again went on a journey as a wandering monk with his guru brother Swami Akhandananda. He returned to the monastery after traveling to the west. First he went to Nainital, Almora, Srinagar, Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar and the Himalayas. It is said that during this time he saw the outer world and the microcosm in a clairvoyance. Swami Vivekananda described this extraterrestrial and microcosm in his Jnana Yogavaktrimala, which was later published in the West. During this journey, he met his other guru brothers Swami Brahmananda, Sardananda, Turyananda, Akhandananda and Advaitananda. They spent a few days together in Meerut in meditation, prayer and reading scriptures. At the end of January 1891, he left the other guru brothers and proceeded alone towards Delhi.

Rajputana

After visiting the historical places of Delhi, he left for the historical state of Rajputana, Alwar. Later he went to Jaipur. There he studied Panini’s Ashtadhyaya under a Sanskrit scholar. His next destination was Ajmer. Seeing the famous dargah and Akbar’s palace there, he went to Mount Abu. Maharaja Ajit Singh of Khetri met him at Mount Abu. Later he became a devoted devotee and patron of Vivekananda. On his invitation, Vivekananda came to Khetri. There he discussed various matters with the king. It was at Khetri that he became close to Pandit Narayandas and studied Panini’s Mahabhasya of the Sutras. After spending two and a half months in Khetri, he left for Rajasthan and Maharashtra in October 1891.

West India

On his way west he visited Ahmedabad (present day Gandhinagar), Wadhwan and Limbdi. He completed his studies in Islamic and Jain culture in Ahmedabad. At Limbdi he met Tagore Sahib Jaswant Singh, who himself had traveled to America and England. It was from Tagore that Vivekananda got the idea to spread Vedanta in the West. After that

He went to Junagadh, Girnar, Kutch, Porbandar, Dwarka, Palitana and Baroda (Vadodara). Breaking the rules of monastic life at Porbandar, he stayed for nine months to study philosophy and Sanskrit literature from scholars. At this time he also worked on the translation of the Vedas together with Sabha Pandit. He then went to Mahabaleshwar and then to Poona. June 1892 AD from Poona. By month he traveled to Khandwa and Indore. In Kathiawar he heard the Visvadharma Mahasabha. His followers kept requesting him to attend that meeting. From Khando he left for Bombay. He reached Bombay (now Mumbai) in July 1892.

He met Bal Gangadhar Tilak in the train on the way to Poona. Swami Vivekananda traveled to Belgaum in October 1892 after staying with Tilak for some time in Pune. In Belgaum he received the hospitality of Professor GS Bhati and Sub-Divisional Forest Officer Haripad Mitra. From Belgaon he went to Panjim and Margaon in Goa. Stayed for three days at Rachol Seminary, Goa’s oldest theological convent-college.

In this convent-college, manuscripts and printed works of rare religious literature written in Latin were preserved. It is believed that here he acquired valuable knowledge about Christian theology. Vivekananda traveled by rail from Margaon to Dharwad. From there he came to Bangalore (now Bengaluru) in the state of Mysore (now Karnataka).

South India

In Bangalore, Swamiji became acquainted with the Dewan of Mysore State, Sir K Lashadri Iyer, and later stayed at the royal palace as a guest of the Maharaja of Mysore, Sri Chamarajendra Wadiyar. According to the account, Sir Neshadri commented on Swamiji’s erudition, “a fascinating personality and divine power destined to leave their mark on the history of his country.” The Maharaja gave a letter and a railway ticket to introduce Swamiji to the Dewan of Cochin. Vivekananda Rock Memorial at Vivekananda Rock in Kanyakumari, India

From Bangalore he traveled to Trichur, Kodungallore, Ernakulam. At Ernakulam in the first part of December 1892 he met Narayana Guru’s contemporary Chhattampi Swamikal. From Ernakulam he traveled to Trivandrum, Nagercoil and reached Kanyakumari on foot on the eve of Barodin 1892 AD. Swamiji is said to have meditated for three days at the “End of the Indian Hill” which later became known as the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. At Kanyakumari, Vivekananda dreamed of “One India”, which is often referred to as the “Kanyakumari Sankalp of 1892 AD”. He wrote, “Sitting in the temple of Maa Kumari in Camorin Antaripe at the end of the Indian hills-I make a plan: we have so many monks going around and teaching people metaphysics/philosophy-all this is madness.

Didn’t our Gurudevaki say, ‘Isn’t an empty stomach good for religion?’ , as a nation we have lost the distinctive character of the mother and that is the cause of all the ills of India. We have to wake up the masses.” From Kanyakumari he went to Madurai where he met Raja Bhaskar Sethupathi of Ramnad and showed his identity card. Raja became Swamiji’s disciple. and urged him to go to a religious conference in Chicago.

From Madurai he went to Rameswaram in Pondicherry (now Puducherry). From there he went to Madras (now Chennai) and here he met his most loyal disciples who were instrumental in raising funds for Swamiji’s trip to America and later the establishment of the Ramakrishna Mission in Madras. With the help of money collected from his disciples in Madras and the kings of Mysore, Ramnad, Khetri, Dewans and other followers and assuming the name Vivekananda suggested by the Maharaja of Khetri, Vivekananda left Mumbai for Chicago on 31 May 1893 AD.

travel to japan

On his way to Chicago, Vivekananda visited Japan in 1893 AD. First he reached the port city of Nagasaki and then boarded a steamer for Kobe. From here he traveled by land to the three major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo to Yokohama. He called the Japanese “one of the cleanest peoples in the world” and was impressed not only by the cleanliness of their streets and houses but also by their actions, attitudes and postures. All of whom he thought were “picturesque”. This was a period of rapid military growth/strength in Japan – a precursor to the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War.

All these preparations did not escape the notice of Vivekananda, who wrote – “The Japanese now seem to have fully roused themselves to the exigencies of the present time. They are now a fully organized military armed with guns/weapons invented by their own officers and said to be incomparable. Moreover they have made their navy Incessantly enlarging.” Of the progress in industry he observed, “the factories are a sight to behold and they are eager to manufacture in their own country everything they want.” Comparing the situation in India with the rapid progress of Japan, he urges the people of his country—“superstition and For the children of centuries of oppression – to come out of their narrow holes and look abroad – I only wish that our young people would travel to Japan and China every year.

Especially for the Japanese, India is still a dream country where everything is high and good. And you, what are you?…..You’ve wasted your whole life, what are you, vain lunatics? Come, see these people and go and cover your faces in shame. Inert minded people, you will lose your palace if you come out! For hundreds of years you have been sitting with a growing burden of superstitions ingrained on your head, for centuries you have been sapping all your energy by discussing the touchability or untouchability of this food, all your humanity has been crushed by ages of incessant social oppression – what are you And what are you doing now?

traveling to the sea-shore with books in your hands—the European mind—repeating the inexhaustible stray bits of work, and all souls debased to a thirty-rupee clerk’s job, or to be a Barojo barrister—the pinnacle of the ambition of the new India—and every student with his A group of hungry children walking around asking for bread! Is there not enough water in the sea to drown you, books, gowns, university diplomas and everything?

Thank you so much.