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"Lives of great men all
remind us
We can make our lives sublime
And, departing, leave behind us
- H.W. Longfellow.
The British Raj was at its height of glory in India in the 19th century. Christian Missionaries were converting Hindus, ridiculing idol worship, Hindu concepts of multiple gods etc. On the day of "Makara Sankaranti", on January 12, 1863, Narendranath Dutta was born to middle class parents in Calcutta while people were chanting mantras for morning prayers in the near by Ganges.
Generally, the western schools educated young people and they had no pride of their religion surrounded by the Christian propaganda and many of them turned out to be "agnostics" (nonbelievers in God). Narendranath was a very bright student; his Professor Hastie said, "He is a genius; I have never come across a lad of his talents and possibilities, even in German Universities. He is bound to make his mark in life."
The hands of Destiny cast its net quite early. Narendranath was 18 years old and attending F.A. class in Scottish Church College. Professor Hastie was teaching Wordsworth's poem, Excursion. He was explaining the concept of "Momentary Trance." Hastie said, "Such an experience is the result of purity of mind and concentration on some particular object and it is rare indeed in these days. I have seen only one person who has experienced that blessed state of mind and he is ‘Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’. You can understand if you go there and see for yourself."
Like a bee drawn to the flower, Narendranath went to see Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Ramakrishna was a great Shaktha (Mother worshipper). He was also open to other religious paths and practiced Religious Pluralism. On seeing the young lad, the Guru (Ramakrishna) said, "I was looking for you for so long. Finally you have arrived." The Sishya (Narendranath) asked, "Have you seen God?" The Guru answered unequivocally, "Not only have I seen God but also I will show HIM to you." It is said that the Guru showed him the Goddess Kali. All doubts dispelled, Narendranath surrendered (sharanagatham) to his Guru and became Vivekananda.
Guru transferred all his realizations to his Sishya before departing this world. Guru and Sishya became one. Swami Vivekananda traveled to the Himalayas and all the way to the tip of South India, Kanyakumari, and gathered a lot of knowledge about India. He chose the ideal of serving the poor as the Mission, which is being followed by the Ramakrishna Missions. To quote, "to mitigate the untold miseries of the inarticulate millions and to liquidate the illiteracy and untouchability that were eating the vitals of the race."
It was the great fortune of the people of Tamil Nadu to be able to collect the funds for the voyage of India's spiritual messenger to USA to attend the Parliament of World Religions. The entire Western World was mesmerized when Vivekananda took the podium (at the Art Institute, Michigan Ave, Chicago) on September 11,1893 and started, "Brothers and Sisters of America.” He explained to the western audience in every city, the truths of Vedas, Upanishads, Gita and the Puranas. The western world understood the magnificence of the Hindu Teachings. More importantly, the Hindu Youth of the late 19th century started to regard their religion with respect.
The Ramakrishna Missions all over the world have these basic objectives:
· To serve the poor and disadvantaged in all possible ways and to impart the knowledge of the scriptures to all.
· To practice Religious Pluralism. Swami Vivekananda said in his Chicago address, "As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, O LORD, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to THEE."