<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml"
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">

<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; ">
<title>Vivekananda</title>

</head>

<body lang=EN-US style='tab-interval:.5in'>

<table border="0" cellpadding="6" style="border-collapse: collapse" width="100%">
	<tr>
		<td>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;line-height:150%; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size="4">Vivekananda</font><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<div class=Section1>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><i><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></i></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>VIVEKANANDA is the
embodiment of the newly awakened, heroic and eternal soul of <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
<st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region> forgot
herself, forgot I what she was, what was her mission in the world. With the
true nature of her psychic being gone out of her consciousness, <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
was sunk in slumber. <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
had lost her spirit, virility, wisdom and, withdrawn into her shell was about
to be swamped by the deluge of an utter destruction. Vivekananda lifted <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
up as did the Lord when he had incarnated himself as a white boar and lifted
the earth from the ocean-bed with his pointed tusks. Thus with his indomitable
power Vivekananda upheld <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
before the world and awakened her to establish herself in the assembly of<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>nations. Or he is, as it
were, the Indra of the Vedas. Panis had, removed the Sun and concealed him in a
cave. Indra cleaved through the rocks and rescued him from the robbers and
raised him from the darkness to the heavens above. So runs the mythological
story. In the same way, Vivekananda brought <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
the knowledge-sun of humanity, out of the tenebrous abyss of degradation and
established her in her original glory and her pristine Light.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.75pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Many
had preceded him with the message of the awakening of <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and many a man of action had come down to clear the path and create the field.
But Vivekananda was a Seer. He saw and revealed the mystic Word, by the force
of which the godhead of <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
awoke and stood vibrant with life. The seer is he whose vision and creative
power go together. His creative genius is the fruit of his<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 230<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:12.95pt;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'>

<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>

</div>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>vision. The seer-vision of
Vivekananda cast aside all veils and non-essentials and penetrated straight
into the soul of <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and, like Bhagirath, inundated the world with her glory. With the force and
fire of his dynamic vital he gave her a living and mighty reality.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.05pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Hosts
of seers and saints had invoked the awakening dawn, but no sooner did Vivekananda
utter, &quot;Awake, Mother, awake,&quot; than <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
power in its fullness manifested. Vivekananda's gift was the mantra of
strength, of self-reliance, of self-power and self-control. Just a few words
constitute his whole philosophy, all his magic – &quot;No fear; Brahman am <st1:place>I.</st1:place>
Fear not! Infinite is your courage, limitless your capacity. You are the very
Brahman. Awake in the Being <span style='mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>of<i> </i></span>the
Brahman within you. Know who you are and what you are. You will blow off the
illusion of attachment to the small and the petty, the sense of inferiority and
incapability. Man's entire sadhana consists in kindling this fire of the
Brahman, the flaming tongues of which will purify him by consuming all
impurities in order to manifest the blazing forms of the Vast in whatever he does
and creates. How shall this fire be kindled? By <i>sraddha, </i>by
the power of faith alone. A man becomes as is his faith. A man becomes whatever
he has faith in.&quot;<i><o:p></o:p></i></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:11.0pt;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>It was all due to
Vivekananda that on the life-plane of <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
in her mundane occupation, there entered faith in the self. And thus the fire
of the Brahman lighted up.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.0pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Vivekananda's
was the creation that was instinct with the impulsion of life and it flowed in
currents of power. It was not his mission to give an actual form to the
creation of a well-built and lovely external image. Vivekananda diffused his
inspiration and illumination over the firmament and set the country's
heart-strings vibrating. That is why we do not find anything static in his
creation. He has sketched many forms and has pointed out many a line of
multiple beauty. But these were merely constructive hints and suggestions. If
we adhere to anyone of them <span style='mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>in<i> toto
</i></span>we shall be cramping<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 231<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:12.95pt;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'>

<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>

</div>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>and limiting the real
Vivekananda. Even the philosophical truths and the conclusions he arrived at
and the spiritual secrets he revealed should not be regarded as something final
and irrefutable, for Vivekananda's advent was not meant for formulating a new
scripture. He did not take upon himself the burden of constructing the body,
the outer shape. The first vibrant throb of the descent of the soul into life
which is the source of all external creation, the awakening of the individual
soul to its real nature which is divine – this constitutes the real Vivekananda.
The first requisite is to be awakened in one's own self, to be able to feel an
altogether new flow-tide in life-power. The thing next to be done, the power
that will organise and regulate this awakened life and its activities, is a
matter for the future. All problems will have their infallible solutions as the
inevitable result of the powerful awakening of the soul when achieved. These
problems can be solved in various ways and Vivekananda has given countless
instances of them. He did not consider it at all necessary for his work to
evaluate, harmonise and organise his solutions. In the midst of various
contradictory and disorganised conclusions Vivekananda had only one word to
say: &quot;This self is not to be attained by the weakling.&quot;<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:11.0pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Vivekananda
was not a householder, yet he was not a sannyasin. He was a seeker after
spirituality; nevertheless his patriotism had no parallel. Vivekananda told the
youths of <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
to set aside the Gita and play football. Again it is he who gave them the call
to wear the loin-cloth and lift high the ochre-coloured banner. He has accepted
all these as the symbol of a profounder truth. Whether you become a sannyasin
or a philanthropist or a patriot, first you must become a man. Vivekananda
welcomed the manifestation of the Brahman in any form, be it in the strength of
the sannyasin or in the power of the leader of men, in self-abnegation or in
self-reliance.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:13.5pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>He
was a votary of the Upanishads, not because the<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 232<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:12.95pt;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'>

<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>

</div>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>Upanishads embody the deep
and subtle mysteries of the spiritual realm, but because of the fire of
strength they emit, the lightning that strikes and awakens in man the presence
of the Brahman, and because the Upanishads alone have the hardihood to declare,
&quot;Thou art That.&quot;<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.55pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>In
his philosophical views, Vivekananda subscribed to the doctrine of Maya, but in
practice Karmayoga was the motto of his life. According to him, the true
Mayavada is freedom from the bondage of limitation, the backward pull of
attachment – a sense of infinity which sunders the knots of the heart and
before which the entire world appears to be quite insignificant, a mere toy in
one's palm to play with. Therefore Vivekananda's conception of the Brahman is
totally different from the static, immobile and the infinite Void of Shankara.
He looked upon the Brahman as absolute Power. The Brahman signifies the full
glory and magnificence of the soul of man. He has viewed the static Brahman too
with an eye of appreciation, because its immobility comprises perfected power
self-absorbed. He aspired for the Infinite Void as well. For the individual
soul feels a unique and powerful urge to identify itself with the Infinite
Void. Vivekananda has sung the glory of renunciation as a source of strength.
But as a matter of fact, his nature was that of a man poised in meditation and
yet not averse to action. He wanted action founded on the Brahman, what he
called practical Vedanta. Vivekananda sought to establish <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
life on the Brahman. He has awakened and dynamised the eternal soul and
spiritual being of <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
and stimulated her life. .<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:10.05pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>The
eternal power of the Brahman residing in the soul of <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has been activised by this lion of a man. But how to give it a practical form
in life in all its minute detail and to make a subtle and apt application of it
– that he has not indicated; and to approach him for this is to take him amiss.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:9.8pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>It
is thus that Vivekananda has placed <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
mission also before the world. Life is to be built up with the power<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 233<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:12.95pt;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'>

<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>

</div>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;line-height:150%;mso-pagination:
none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>of the Brahman. He has
laid stress on the Brahman even in <st1:place>Europe</st1:place> which is moved
and guided by the vital Force. <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has to be poised in the Brahman, to attain to the power of the Brahman. Herein
lies <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
distinction, a distinction that belongs to her soul. The true function of <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>
consists in preserving, cherishing and keeping it up for the entire world. And
this lies at the root of the message of human unity and of synthesis of
religions that Vivekananda carried over the world. The ceremonials, the outer
forms of religions vary in different climes and different ages. The repose in
the Brahman with all its power is the truth by which humanity can be inspired
with the idea of unity and it is here that all spiritual practices are one.
This alone is the quintessence of all true religious practices.<o:p></o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify;text-indent:12.0pt;line-height:
150%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'><st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s
Shakti is the soul <i>of </i>the world. And this Shakti is nothing else but
Brahman's own Power that ensures man's attainment of ultimate godhood by the
awakening of the Self, the infinite Power, Freedom, Tranquillity, the spirit of
Askesis. Vivekananda is the divine dynamism descended into the life-atmosphere
of the world. He appears at the meeting-point of a past that is dying and a
future ushering in a new age, a new life.<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></p>

<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0'>
<span
style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;'>Page – 234<o:p></o:p></span></p>

<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:12.95pt;
mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none'>

<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center>

</div>

  <p class=MsoNormal align="right" style="line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p><a href="-00_Content"><img src="_Gif%20Image/Home.gif" width="59" height="24" border="0"></a></p>

</div>

		</td>
	</tr>
</table>
</body>

</html>
