Good morning/Good afternoon/Good evening my friends out there! This is 12th January, 2020, Sunday in India. At first,
Happy New Year to All of You my friends!
This is my first post of this year and I have chosen this
day to be with you! Because, this is the ‘National Youth Day’! In India,
Swami Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saint of modern India and his
birthday is celebrated as National Youth Day. Let me allow sharing some thoughts
and facts about him………
Swami Vivekanand's name was Narendra Nath Dutta in his pre-monastic life. He was born in an
affluent family in Kolkata on 12th January, 1863. His father, Vishwanath Datta,
was a successful attorney with interest in varied subjects, and his mother,
Bhuvaneshwari Devi, was endowed with qualities like deep devotion, strong
character etc. The precocious boy, Narendra mastered music, gymnastics and
studies. By the time he completed his graduation from Calcutta University, he
had acquired a vast knowledge of different subjects, especially Western
philosophy and history. He had a yogic temperament and used to practice
meditation even from his boyhood, and was also involved in 'Brahmo Movement' for time being.
He was a key figure in the introduction of Indian philosophies
of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world and was credited with raising
interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion
in the late 19th century. He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in
India and contributed to the notion of nationalism in colonial India. He was
the chief disciple of the 19th century saint Ramakrishna and the founder of the
Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. Shri Ramakrishna instilled the
spirit of renunciation and brotherhood in these youngsters. He is perhaps best
known for his inspiring speech beginning with "Sisters and Brothers of
America," through which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the
World's Religions in Chicago in 1893. In the last two centuries, no other
individual has captured the hearts of the youth of Bharat, the way Swami
Vivekananda did. He blew energy into the Hindu race which was indulging in
self-loathe. He exhorted people of Bharat with his words -
“This is the
ancient land, where wisdom made its home before it went into any other country…
Here is the same India whose soil has been trodden by the feet of the greatest
sages that ever lived… Look back, therefore, as far as you can, drink deep of
the eternal fountains that are behind, and after that look forward, march
forward, and make India brighter, greater, much higher, than she ever was.”
Swami Vivekananda Jayanti or National Youth Day is a great occasion to remind ourselves of his thoughts and vision for Bharat and dedicate ourselves to the cause of dedicating ourselves to the glory of our motherland and Dharma.
Well, that’s all for today. Hope you all have joined the
Giveaway, running in this blog! New posts coming very soon; please stay tuned
with me and take care of your family and yourself. Have a good day/ afternoon/evening/night!
Namaskar!
Where are the men? That is the question. Young men, my hope in you. Will you respond to the call of your nation? Each one of you has a glorious future if you dare believe me. Have a tremendous faith in yourselves. Ay, we will then go to every country under the sun, and our ideas will before long be a component of the many forces that are working to make up every nation in the world. We much enter into the life of every race in India and abroad; shall have to work to bring this about. Now for that I want young men. “It is that young, the strong, and healthy, of sharp intellect that will reach the Lord”, say the Vedas.CW: VOL 3: Lectures from Colombo to almora: The future of India p: 303 – 304.
