INSPIRATIONAL SAINT OF YOUTH

IT WAS AT THE CORE OF SWAMI VIVEKANAND’S TEACHINGS THAT THE YOUTH SHOULD COME OUT OF THE DARKNESS OF IGNORANCE AND MOVE FORWARD TOWARDS THE ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE

Swami Vivekanandji was a yugadrishti sannyasi and an inspiration for youth. He was such a rare personality who not only saw and tested his era but constantly worked to awaken the youth and inspired them to do something new.

Making the mantra of Kathopanishad-- ‘Uttishtha Jagrat Prayapya Varan Bodhat’ his motto, he exhorted the youth to ‘arise, wake up self and others and do not stop until the goal is achieved’.

It was at the core of his saying that the youth should come out of the darkness of ignorance and move forward towards the acquisition of knowledge.

Along with getting rid of all the superstitions and perverted evils of society, he also called upon the youth to be free from all such bondage, due to which the mind becomes dormant and tends towards unrestrained.

The entire life of Swami Vivekananda is the path of the ideal for youths.

His thoughts awaken enthusiasm among the youth. In his writings, he has always believed that youth is a bundle of strength and courage.

If the youth is determined to do something with their mind, then they can take the nation towards excellence. Swamiji was a great scholar of the Vedas and the Upanishads.

He made them accessible to the youth by taking them into their original implications rather than the traditional meanings.

He had written, “I want many such young sannyasis who spread in the villages of India and get consumed in the service of the countrymen.” In fact, by “young sannyasi”, he meant such youths who work for the country and society by being committed and by keeping a goal.

I also believe that he has continuously revealed the meaning of Shastras, Puranas and Vedas through his contemplation in which youth can reach heights in their life by aiming positively towards life.

Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy of Vedanta became famous not only in India but all over the world because it has a psychological explanation of these three philosophies - Dvaita, Vishishtadvaita and Advaita. I have perused his Vedanta philosophy continuously and have found that his vision of the rituals and knowledge of the Vedas is so simple, that the meaning of life is revealed in it.

Through Vedanta philosophy, he also taught the youth of the country in a way to not to deviate from the path of religion and to always walk on the right path. Swamiji was a great orator.

At the young age of 30, he addressed the Dharma Sansad while representing Sanatan Dharma on behalf of India in the Vishwa Dharma Mahasabha held in Chicago in 1893.

The Vedanta philosophy of India, full of spirituality, reached America and Europe only due to the oratory of Swami Vivekananda.

Many may be surprised to know that he was given only 2 minutes to speak, but when his eloquent speech was made, people were mesmerized and full of enthusiasm and they wanted to listen to him in every session of the Dharma Mahasabha, he dominated with his power.

He said in the Dharma Mahasabha, “I am proud that I belong to a country which has given refuge to the persecuted people of all religions and all countries.

While negotiating the sublime expressions of life in the narratives related to Indian culture and religion through the verses of the Bhagavad Gita, he said that the present conference, which is one of the most sacred gatherings till date, is in itself related to the teachings of the Gita that “whoever comes to me, no matter how I reach him.

People take different paths, face difficulties, but they reach me in the end. Swami Vivekananda, who considered the Bhagavad Gita as the mantra to live life, even said that the youth should play football instead of reading the Gita.

If we go to his intention behind this, it would seem that along with empowering the youth, he had an emphasis on empowering the country and society through them.

He said that the nervous system of the youth should remain strong. If there is a healthy body, then only an excellent mind will reside in it. If the mind is strong, then there is no desire or success, which cannot be achieved.

He wrote, “Most of the youth want to lead a successful and meaningful life, but they are not physically ready to achieve their goal’.

Therefore, later he appealed to the youth to become fearless and make themselves physically fit.

If we go into his motto of motivating youth power, then we will also find that he, while calling experience as the best teacher, has emphasized on constant learning as long as there is life.

This is how success will be achieved. He said that every work has to pass through three stages- ridicule, opposition, and acceptance .

That is, people will first make fun of you. Then they will oppose you and in the end, they will approve of you.

He had a deep connection with Rajasthan. He got the name Vivekananda only in Rajasthan. If you read his biography, it will be known that Raja Ajit Singh of Khetri had brought him from Mount Abu in his hospitality. Later, from Khetri he went to Chicago for the Vishwa Dharma Sammelan.

Earlier he was known as Narendranath Dutt and Vividishananda. Ajitsinhji first addressed Swamiji as Vivekananda after finding his wonderful knowledge, philosophy, energy, and spirituality.

His picture of the Chicago conference is still an inspiration to the youth, in which he is wearing a Rajasthani saffron safa, cloak, Kamar bandh presented by the Khetri King. Swami Vivekananda had immense faith in the youth power.

That is why he did the work of awakening the youth by travelling across India. There was a wonderful positive emotion in his thoughts.

He reached Chicago 6 weeks ago for Dharma Mahasabha, but all the money he had was exhausted. Severe cold, no warm clothes, and no proper identity card to enter the Dharma Mahasabha. In spite of all these difficulties, he did not lose his patience and represented India there.

All this is inspirational for the youth. While targeting the youth, he has also said that religion is the art of cultivating the intuition of the human being.

By this, we are bound in the discipline. Religion is not bondage but the path of liberation. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore once said that if you want to know India, read Vivekananda. In him, you will find a person with immense optimism and no negative attributes.

I also believe that if the youth works with a positive mindset, then there is no work in life in which they cannot achieve success.

I believe that Swami Vivekananda Jayanti is celebrated as Youth Day because he was a wonderful young ascetic of sharp intellect. He was the biggest inspiration of the youth.

An incident of his life is very touching in which once a woman came to him and told him that she wanted to marry him and wanted him to have a bright son like him.

Swamiji had said quickly on this that I am a sanyasi. How can I get married? If you want, make me your son. This will not break even my “sanyas” and you will also get a son like me.

It is said that on hearing this, the foreign woman fell at the feet of Swami Vivekananda and said, ‘You are like God!’ It is true, Swami Vivekananda was just like a god in our nation.

He never deviated from the path of his religion under any circumstances. He always inspired the youth power through Indian culture and spirituality.

Every time I read about that great man, Swami Vivekananda, I find life being interpreted in new meanings. Today on the occasion of his birth anniversary, let us salute him and imbibe the ideals given by him.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL