1. 1. Swami VivekanandaA PRESENTATION Swami Vivekananda, the great Hindu Monk of India, left his mortal coil exactly a century ago,on July 4 , 1902.Time has proved the truth of the words SwamiVivekananda uttered before his death: "It may bethat I shall find it good to get outside my body -- tocast it off like a worn out garment. But I shall notcease to work. I shall inspire men everywhere untilthe world shall know that it is one with God."Work unto death, I am with you, and when I amgone, my spirit will work with you.
2. 2. OVERVIEW 100 Years Later A Glowing Tribute Homage An Estimate (of the inestimable) A Prophetic Voice Divine Sparks Be and Make
3. 3. SWAMI VIVEKANANDA 100 Years Later
4. 4. This is the centenary year of themaahasamaadhi of Swami Vivekananda, thepatriot-saint and the intrepid Hindu Monk ofIndia who dazzled the West by his fascinatingpersonality, scintillating intellect and powerfuloratory. One hundred years ago, on July 4,1902, completing his divinely ordainedmission, the great Swami left his mortal coiland returned to the Divine Source. In thewords of his illustrious disciple, SisterNivedita, .on the wings of meditation, hisspirit soared whence there could be noreturn, and the body was left, like a foldedvesture, on the earth. And the day hechose of all others was the Fourth of July the American Independence Day.
5. 5. His was a rare personality, a dynamicand dedicated life in a short span. Hismulti-faceted life and work, and theinspiring message were for the spiritualregeneration of India and the world.Having given his ideal a firm practicalshape, having inspired millions of peoplewith the noble ideals of Renunciationand Service, having made Indiaconscious of her glorious past, andhaving awakened her to future tasks,Vivekananda wound up his earthlycareer at the age of thirty-nine years,five months and twenty-two days, thusfulfilling his own prophecy: I will not liveto be forty years old. "
6. 6. At the height of his glory and renown, how unassuming and ego-less hewas! Here is the testimony: If there has ever been a word of truth, aword of spirituality, that I have spoken anywhere in the world, I owe it tomy Master; only mistakes are mine They call me the cyclonic Hindu.Remember, it is His will I am a voice without a form. This is also atestimony to his fidelity to his Great Master Sri Ramakrishna.
7. 7. And, as to his spiritual depth and universality of outlook, mark his words: What is India or England or America to us? We are the servants of that God who by the ignorant is called man.Renunciation, service and sacrifice were his watchwords. And, anembodiment of renunciation that he was, he wore himself out in the serviceof God in man. Here is his testament: When will that blessed day dawnwhen my life will be a sacrifice at the altar of humanity? Let the body, sinceperish it must, wear out in action and not rust in inaction It is better to wearout than to rust out.
8. 8. Time has proved the truth of the words Swami Vivekananda uttered beforehis death: "It may be that I shall find it good to get outside my body -- tocast it off like a worn out garment. But I shall not cease to work. I shallinspire men everywhere until the world shall know that it is one with God."Work unto death, I am with you, and when I am gone, my spirit will workwith you.
9. 9. Swami Vivekanandas influence on societies and individuals can be classifiedinto: his impact as a teacher of the message of Eternal India, which is in factthe spiritual message of Sanatana Dharma, popularly known as Hinduisim, orthe rational and universal gospel of the Vedanta; his stress on the practice ofreligion of service, based on equality and tyaga; his role as an awakener,builder and organizer of modern India with its patriotic, spiritual and servicemovements; his contribution as a cultural and spiritual emissary of India to theWest; his work as an interpreter of Indian values in the universal language ofscience and, his influence in taming and unifying science itself.
10. 10. Humanity has not yet opened fully the gift it has received fromSri Ramakrishna, the gift of the advent and work of SwamiVivekananda. We can only envy the future world, which will bedelighted and blessed with this gift, which it has been ready toreceive but slow to uncover.
11. 11. Swami Vivekananda "burst into theworld like a bomb not to lick it intodestruction with tongues of fire, butto rouse men from their spiritualstupor by the boom of his powerfulvoice. His words seem to gaingreater force as they roll down theyears. Vivekananda is today a voicewithout form.
12. 12. The main concern of the world today is peace and harmony.If peace and harmony are to rise and rein in the hearts and minds of allpeople all over the world, they should have an opportunity to be exposed tothe revealing insights of spirituality, which Swami Vivekananda hasbequeathed to humanity.
13. 13. Swami Vivekananda is verily a bridge between the East and the West.He is a dynamic spiritual force to shape the future of humanity. Histeachings have set in motion a spiritual force, which can eventuallybring into the western civilization the needed qualitative change .
14. 14. The greatest of all benefactions, according to SwamiVivekananda, is the act of rousing man to the glory ofthe divinity within. The awakened man solves forhimself all his problems, secular and sacred."The solution to all human problems is in mans becoming Man (with capitalM) in all his dimensions, by manifesting his divinity. Problems areunderstandably many. But the solution is one -- to become the new kind ofman, who being simultaneously scientific and spiritual eventually becomesfree. It is this new man, pure in heart, clear in brain, unselfish in motivation,who works in a balanced manner with his head, heart and hand, who hasshed all his smallness and illusions, who has experienced unity of existencein his expanded consciousness -- this selfless, spotless and fearless man ofcharacter, enlightenment and love, is the hope of the world.
15. 15. What made Swami Vivekananda stand apartfrom others is that in his life there was mademanifest a tremendous force for the moral andspiritual welfare and upliftment of humanityirrespective of caste, creed or nationality. Thispower of his is what characterizes Swamijiswork even to this day. Though his voice iswithout a form today, the vibrations of the samehave been caught up in many a heart and havesurcharged and transformed them.
16. 16. As we offer our homage to Swami Vivekananda in the centenary year ofhis mahasamadhi, let us meditate on his multi-faceted life and work andinspiring message for the spiritual regeneration of humanity. And, above all,let us translate his spiritual teachings into our day-to-day life and beblessed thereby.All glory to that great Hindu Monk of India!
17. 17. A GLOWING TRIBUTEbySrimat Swami Ranganathanandaji13th President of the Ramakrishna Order
18. 18. Swami Vivekananda is the one person who stands as a golden linkbetween India and the western world, and who promises to be sucha link between India and the rest of the world as well.
19. 19. For the first time in our history of the past thousand years, our countryproduced a great teacher in Swami Vivekananda who took India out of herisolation of centuries and brought her into the mainstream of internationallife. This is a great work, whose beneficent results are slowly and steadilybecoming evident as decades roll on.
20. 20. Swami Vivekananda had a fourfold training, which equipped him for theworld mission. Firstly, his education in modern western science, literature,and history; secondly, his assimilation of the positive elements in theIndian culture and traditions; thirdly, his discipleship at the feet of SriRamakrishna, the very personification of the Indian spiritual tradition; andfourthly, his intimate grasp of the realities of contemporary India during hislife as a wandering monk for six years. And this fourfold training madeVivekananda an embodiment of the East and the West.
21. 21. He passed away on 4th July 1902, atthe young age of 39 years, 5 months,and 22 days. Out of the nine years ofhis public ministry, from the Parliamentof Religions in 1893 up to his death in1902, he gave over four most intenseyears to the West. The intensity of hisnine years of work in the West and inIndia, the output of spiritual,intellectual, literary, and organizationalwork, besides the traveling involvedduring the period, is unprecedented.As a teacher of modern India and asher cultural and spiritual Emissary tothe West, Vivekananda has illuminedthe horizon of national andinternational life, which has no parallelin the history
22. 22. He was a man with a message and he delivered it fearlessly and intensely. He had said of himself: Buddha had a message to the East, and I have a message to the West.The West will one day learn to feel proud of this Emissary of modern Indiaand learn from him the philosophy of comprehensive spirituality and totallife-fulfillment and the way to its own redemption from a soul-killingmaterialism. When that response comes from the West, the tunnelconnecting East and West would be complete, and a new culture, neithereastern nor western, but just human, would be evolved, making for thespiritual growth of man everywhere and tending to develop a mankind-awareness in all nations, and marking the fulfillment of the purposes of theadvent of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda in the modern age.
23. 23. A HOMAGEVictory to that Intrepid Hindu Monk of India
24. 24. vishwahitaishi mahaamanishi janasevaataapasijayatu vivekananda swami jayatu veera sannyaasi IInipeeya sakalam tattwajnaanampaanchabhautikam nava vijnaanamjagaditihaasa puraana darshanamparameshwara darshane manaswiyo nitaraam abhilaashijayatu veera sannyaasi II
25. 25. sakaladharama patha parama saadhakam vividha dharma mata marmabodhakambhogavaada naastikya rodhakam jagadgurum tam pranamya sahasaajaato dradhataapasi jayatu veera sannyaasi IIgraame graame nagare nagare nadi nadaanaam teere teereguha gahware vipine ghore vilokya jana jivanam vipannamyo vivhala maanasi jayatu veera sannyaasi II
26. 26. vishwadharma sammelana pithe vividha dharma guru garva garisthenaanaa dharma dhwaja pratishte navayuga maanavadharma ghoshanaajagarjayo saahasi jayatu veera sannyasi IImahaavera iva parama viraagikrista-buddhavat karuno tyaagishankara iva digvijayi yogiudaara charito vishwa kutumbijanagana hrdaya nivaasijayatu veera sannyaasi II
27. 27. AN ESTIMATE (of the inestimable) Surely, Vivekanandas words do not need introduction from anybody; they make their own irresistible appeal.- Mahatma Gandhi The best introduction to Vivekananda is not to read about him but to read him.- Christopher Isherwood If you want to know India, study Vivekananda. In himeverything is positive and nothing negative. - Rabindranath Tagore
28. 28. A PROPHETIC VOICEToday man requires one moreadjustment on the spiritual plane; todaywhen material ideas are at the height oftheir glory and power, today when man islikely to forget his divine nature, throughhis growing dependence on matter, and islikely to be reduced to a mere money-making machine, an adjustment isnecessary.
29. 29. The whole world requires Light. It isexpectant! India alone has that Light,Not in the magic, mummeries, andcharlatanism, but in the teachings ofthe glories of the spirit of real religionof the highest spiritual truth. That iswhy the Lord has preserved the racethrough all its vicissitudes into thepresent day. Now the time has come.
30. 30. As I look upon the history of my country, Ido not find in the world another countrywhich has done quite so much for theimprovement of the human mind and thatIndia was the homeland of the invisiblepowers that ruled the destinies of men andnations and its ancient scriptures wouldmake it the teacher of the world.
31. 31. DIVINE SPARKSEach soul is potentially divine. The goal (of life) is tomanifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external (through physicalscience, technology and socio-political processes), and internal (through thescience of religion). Do this either by work or worship or psychic control orphilosophy by one or more or all of these and Be Free All power is withinyou; you are the reservoir of omnipotent power Awake from this hypnotismof weakness. None is really weak; the soul is infinite, omnipotent andomniscient. Stand up, assert yourself, proclaim the God within you Teachyourself, teach everyone his real nature, call upon the sleeping soul and seehow it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, goodness will come, puritywill come and everything that is excellent will come, when the sleeping soul isroused to self-conscious activity.
32. 32. BE AND MAKEThe monosyllable superimposed on the bosom of man symbolizeshis intrinsic Divinity, which is his real nature. The prayer: tamaso maa jyotirgamaya Lead me from darkness to Lightquoted in the inner orb, is indicative of mans spiritual quest his aspiration todiscover, realize and manifest the innate Divinity. The meditative posture of man, the brilliant sun behind him, the lotus on whichhe is seated and the waves beneath it are symbolic of mystic communion, pursuit ofknowledge, devotional absorption and selfless work, respectively. The design thus depicts the gospel of Swami Vivekananda, according to whichman can discover, realize and manifest the Divinity enshrined in him, by cultivating anintegrated life, with due emphasis on pursuit of knowledge, devotional absorption,mystic communion and selfless service. Be and Make is an epigram of Swamiji exhorting man to unfold his intrinsicdivinity through the cultivation of an integrated life and also to help others marchtowards that end.