Swami and His Thoughts
Swami and his thoughts…..
Swami Vivekananda was born on 12 January, 1863 in Calcutta. His family name was Narendranath Dutta. His father Vishwanath Dutta was a learned man who was well- versed in English and Persian. By profession, he was a successful Attorney-at-law in the High Court of Calcutta.
His mother was a pious lady who influenced Naren since his childhood in the formation of his character. She first taught Naren English lesson, and then made him acquainted with Bengali alphabets.
Naren studied in the Metropolitan Institution at Calcutta; and after passing the Entrance Examination, he joined the General Assembly's Institution founded by the Scottish General Missionary Board (later renamed as Scottish Church College) in Calcutta, from where he passed his B.A. examination, and went to study law. But since his father died, his family's financial position did not allow him to prosecute further study.
Naren was a good singer. Once Ramakrishna Paramahamsa happened to hear Naren singing a devotional song. He asked the young man to see him at Dakshineswar, where he was a priest at the Kali temple.
From his childhood, Naren was eager to see God face to face. He asked many religious stalwarts about his desire in the past, but none could satisfy him. Now this God-man of Dakshineswar said to Naren that as one can see him, he can also see God in the same real form. Naren was not convinced with his words. He wanted the saint to prove it to him. And in course of time, Naren had that wonderful divine experience in his life. He became the most important disciple of the saint. His Guru taught him that God lives in every human being. So by serving mankind, one can serve God.
With this teaching, Naren, in his later life, established the Ramakrishna Mission which is till this day engaged in rendering voluntary social service to the poor and the distressed, irrespective of caste, creed and religion.
Naren was later named as 'Swami Vivekananda', when he became a monk. He
Swami Vivekananda was born on 12 January, 1863 in Calcutta. His family name was Narendranath Dutta. His father Vishwanath Dutta was a learned man who was well- versed in English and Persian. By profession, he was a successful Attorney-at-law in the High Court of Calcutta.
His mother was a pious lady who influenced Naren since his childhood in the formation of his character. She first taught Naren English lesson, and then made him acquainted with Bengali alphabets.
Naren studied in the Metropolitan Institution at Calcutta; and after passing the Entrance Examination, he joined the General Assembly's Institution founded by the Scottish General Missionary Board (later renamed as Scottish Church College) in Calcutta, from where he passed his B.A. examination, and went to study law. But since his father died, his family's financial position did not allow him to prosecute further study.
Naren was a good singer. Once Ramakrishna Paramahamsa happened to hear Naren singing a devotional song. He asked the young man to see him at Dakshineswar, where he was a priest at the Kali temple.
From his childhood, Naren was eager to see God face to face. He asked many religious stalwarts about his desire in the past, but none could satisfy him. Now this God-man of Dakshineswar said to Naren that as one can see him, he can also see God in the same real form. Naren was not convinced with his words. He wanted the saint to prove it to him. And in course of time, Naren had that wonderful divine experience in his life. He became the most important disciple of the saint. His Guru taught him that God lives in every human being. So by serving mankind, one can serve God.
With this teaching, Naren, in his later life, established the Ramakrishna Mission which is till this day engaged in rendering voluntary social service to the poor and the distressed, irrespective of caste, creed and religion.
Naren was later named as 'Swami Vivekananda', when he became a monk. He