Touched by God
By Swami Chetanananda, Belur Math.
From 'God Lived With Them'
From 'God Lived With Them'
Touched by
God
(Lives of
the mystics - A chronicle)
Touched by
God
By Swami
Chetanananda, Belur Math.
From 'God Lived With Them'
From 'God Lived With Them'
After lunch Swamiji would generally recline on the couch in the living room, and there he would read or talk while Mrs. Wyckoff busily pursued her various household tasks. "Madam," he said one day to her, "you work so hard that it makes me tired. Well, there have to be some Marthas, and you are Martha." Another day the Swami asked Ralph, Mrs. Wyckoff’s son, "Can you see your own eyes?" Ralph answered that he could not, except in a mirror. "God is like that," the Swami told him. "He is as close as your own eyes. He is your own, even though you can’t see Him."
Vivekananda then travelled to northern California, where in April 1900 he founded the Vedanta Society in San Francisco. Swamiji’s oratory and magnetic personality overwhelmed the people. "He once told us," Mr. Thomas Allan recounted, "that he had such faith in the Divine Mother that if he had to speak on a subject that he knew absolutely nothing about, he would get on his feet, for he knew that Mother would put the words into his mouth." Mrs. Edith Allan wrote in her reminiscences: "Although I attended all Swamiji’s public lectures both in San Francisco and Almeda, it was… close contact with Swamiji that I most deeply cherish. Once after being quiet for some time Swamiji said: ‘Madame, be broad-minded, always see two ways. When I am on the heights, I say, "I am He," and when I have a stomachache, I say "Mother, have mercy on me." Always see two ways.’ On another occasion he said: ‘Learn to be witness. If there are two dogs fighting on the street and I go out there, I get mixed up in the fight; but if I stay quietly in my room, I witness the fight from the window. So learn to be the witness."
Swamiji was bold and fearless. He never tried to please or flatter others: he told people what was good for them. Ida Ansell, Swamiji’s stenographer, wrote in her memoirs: "What becomes of one’s individuality when one realizes his oneness with God? You people in this country are so afraid of losing your in-di-vid-u-al-i-ty!’ he would exclaim. ‘Why, you are not individuals yet. When you realize your whole nature, you will attain your true individuality, not before. In knowing God you cannot lose anything. There is another thing I am constantly hearing in this country, and that is that we should live in harmony with nature. Don’t you know that all the progress ever made in the world was made by conquering nature? We are to resist nature at every point if we are to make any progress."
During his second visit to America Swamiji worked mainly in California. While there, he had a premonition of the approaching end; in April 1900 he wrote to Miss MacLeod, "My boat is nearing the calm harbour from which it is never more to be driven out." Before finishing his mission to the world, Swamiji sang his swan song; he poured out the quintessence of Vedanta:
"In this country (America) the king has entered every one of you. You are all kings in this country. So with the religion of Vedanta. You are all Gods. One God is not sufficient….You want to be democratic in this country. It is the democratic God that Vedanta teaches. There is a chance of Vedanta becoming the religion of your country because of democracy.
"Don’t repent! Don’t repent! … Spit, if you must, but go on! Don’t hold yourself down by repeating! Throw off the load of sin, if there is such a thing by knowing your true selves – The Pure! The Ever Free! … That man alone is blasphemous who tells you that you are sinners…..This world is a superstition. We are hypnotized into believing it real. The process of salvation is the process of de-hypnotization… This universe is just the play of the Lord – that is all. It is all just for fun.
"Stand up and fight! Not one step back, that is the idea. Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the spheres! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garment. What of it? Thus fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the gods in the world. Has misery ceased?… This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, my soul. You are infinite, deathless, birthless. Arise! Awake! Stand up and Fight!
"Enter not the door of any organized religion. Religion is only between you and your God, and no third person must come between you. Think what these organized religions have done! What Nepoleon was more terrible than these religious persecutions? If you and I organize, we begin to hate every person. It is better not to love, if loving only means hating others. That is no love. That is hell!"
Swamiji left for New York from California on 30 May 1900; on his way he stopped in Chicago to meet his old friends and devotees. He was the guest of the Hale family and exchanged many old reminiscences. Swami Nikhilananda recorded a touching incident from this visit:
"On the morning of his departure, Mary came to the Swami’s room and found him sad. His bed appeared to have been untouched, and on being asked the reason, he confessed that he had spent the whole night without sleep. ‘Oh,’ he said, almost in a whisper, ‘it is so difficult to break human bonds!’ He knew that this was the last time he was to visit these devoted friends."
After arriving in New York on 7 June 1900, he sent Turiyananda to northern California to start a retreat, which later became Shanti Ashrama. Swamiji gave a few more lectures and classes in New York and then left for Paris on 26 July 1900 to attend the Congress of the History of Religions, where he spoke twice. On 24 October 1900 he left Paris for the East with Monsieur and Madame Loyson, Jules Bois, Madame Calve, and Miss MacLeod. He visited Vienna, Constantinople, Athens, and Cairo. "What a pilgrimage it was!" recalled Madame Calve. "Science, philosophy, and history had no secrets from the Swami. I listened with all my ears to the wise and learned discourse that went on around me…. One day we lost our way in Cairo. I suppose, we had been talking too intently. At any rate, we found ourselves in a squalid, ill-smelling street, where half-clad women lolled from windows and sprawled on doorsteps. The Swami noticed nothing until a particularly noisy group of women on a bench began laughing and calling to him.
"’Poor children!’ he said. ‘Poor creatures! They have put their divinity in their beauty. Look at them now!’ He began to weep. The women were silenced and abashed. One of them leaned forward and kissed the hem of his robe, murmuring brokenly in Spanish, ‘Hombre de Dios, hombre de Dios! (Man of God)."
In Cairo, the Swami felt intuitively that something was wrong in India, not knowing that Mr. Sevier was on his deathbed at Mayavati. He became restless to return to India and left alone on the first available boat to Mumbai (Bombay).
Towards the
End
On 27 December 1900 Vivekananda left for Mayavati to console Mrs. Sevier. He arrived there on 3 January 1901. Swamiji’s love and concern assuaged Mrs. Sevier’s grief; she loved him as his own son. He stayed there for a couple of weeks and then returned to Belur Math on 24 January. During this time the Swami received invitations for a lecture tour to East Bengal (now Bangladesh), and also his mother expressed a desire to visit the holy places in that part of the country. On 26 January 1901 he wrote to Mrs. Bull: I am going to take my mother on a pilgrimage….This is the one great wish of a Hindu widow. I have only brought misery to my people (family) all my life. I am trying to fulfill this one wish of hers."
On 28 March 1901 Swamiji, in spite of his poor health, left for Dhaka with a large party. He gave two public lectures in Dhaka and exhorted the people there to cultivate manliness and the faculty of reasoning. To a sentimental young man he said: "My boy, take my advice: develop your muscles and brain by eating good food and by healthy exercise, and then you will be able to think for yourself." On another occasion, addressing the youths of Bengal who had very little physical stamina, he said, "You will be nearer to God through football than through the Bhagavad Gita.
On 5 April Vivekananda and his party left Dhaka and visited Chandranath in Chittagong, Kamakhya in Guwahati, and Shilong. Swamiji’s health was failing rapidly. In addition to the diabetes from which he had been suffering, he had another severe attack of asthma at Shilong. While the Swami was in pain, someone overheard him murmuring to himself: "What does it matter! I have given them enough for fifteen hundred years!" On another occasion he said to a Western devotee: "The spiritual impact that has come here to Belur will last fifteen hundred years – and this will be a great university. Do not think I imagine it, I see it."
Returning from East Bengal, Vivekananda led a relaxed life in Belur Math, surrounded by his pets: his dog, Bhaga; the she-goat, Hansi; an antelope; a stork; several cows, sheep, ducks, and geese; and a kid called Matru who was adorned with a collar of little bells, with whom the Swami ran and played like a child. The animals adored him. Matru used to sleep in his room. When Matru died he grieved like a child and said to a disciple: "How strange! Whomsoever I love dies early."
Vivekananda had completed the mission that Ramakrishna had entrusted to him. Keeping his mind on his beloved Guru, Vivekananda waited for his own great departure. Sometimes he would talk to his own disciples about the Master. Swami Shuddhananda recorded:
"Swami Vivekananda was then Narendranath; he was visiting Ramakrishna regularly at Dakshineshwar. Pointing to Narendra’s well-combed curly hair, the Master teased him about his foppishness. Narendra was also uninspiring; he pointed out to the Master his varnished shoes, hubble bubble, mattress, bolster, and so on. Then the Master told him, ‘Look here, the amount of austerity I practised for God-realization, if you can do one-sixteenth of that, I shall arrange for you to sleep on a costly bedstead putting mattress upon mattress.’ Swamiji practised severe austerity in his life; and then when he returned from the West, his Western disciples presented him with a spring bed and mattress (which are still preserved in his room). While lying on that Western mattress and remembering those words of the Master, Swamiji would tell that incident to his disciples with tears."
In spite of his illness Vivekananda kept a watchful eye on the monks and the activities of the monastery. He gave regular classes on Vedanta scriptures, conducted meditation in the shrine, inspired the workers with a spirit of virile confidence in themselves, and paid strict attention to discipline and cleanliness. One day he found that Swami Shivananda had missed the morning meditation in the shrine. He said to him: "Brother, I know you do not need meditation. You have already realized the highest goal through the grace of Sri Ramakrishna. But you should meditate daily with the youngsters in order to set an example for them." Shivananda obeyed that command till his old age.
Ramakrishna had always been very particular about cleanliness and Swamiji followed his example. He would check the beds and rooms of the monks, and asked that they be kept clean. Once the sweeper was sick and the privy was not cleaned for three or four days. Swamiji noticed this and decided to clean it himself. One morning at four o’clock, without informing anybody, he began scrubbing the privy. Some young monks saw him in the dark and rushed to him, asking that he return to his room so that they could clean it. But he did not stop until he had finished the task. An ideal teacher is the person who practises what he teaches. Swamiji thus demonstrated the role of an ideal teacher.
Sometimes he talked to the poor labourers who were levelling the ground; he also supervised cooking arrangements, and would sing devotional songs with the monks. At other times he imparted spiritual instructions to visitors. His fragile body did not dampen his desire to work. When urged to rest, he said to a disciple: "My son, there is no rest for me. That which Sri Ramakrishna called ‘Kali’ took possession of my body and soul three or four days before his passing away. That makes me work and work and never lets me keep still or look to my personal comfort." Vivekananda continued to train his disciples: "In every country, nations have their good and bad sides. Ours is to do good works in our lives and hold an example before others. No work succeeds by condemnation. It only repels people. Let anybody say what he likes, don’t contradict him. In this world of maya, whatever work you take up will be attended with some defect.
‘All undertakings are beset with imperfections, as fire with smoke.’ (Gita, 18, 48).
But will you, on that account, sit inactive? As far as you can, you must go on doing good work."
Later, he disclosed his life’s experience: "After so much tapasya, austerity, I have known that the highest truth is this: He is present in all beings. These are all the manifested forms of Him. There is no other God to seek for! He alone is worshipping God, who serves all beings."
Towards the end of 1901, Kakuzo Okakura, a famous artist, and Mr. Hori came to Belur Math from Japan. Later, Reverend Takuno Oda, a Buddhist abbot, came to invite Vivekananda to attend the Congress of Religions in Japan. Because of his ill health, the Swami could not go; but he agreed to go with them to Bodh Gaya, where Buddha had attained illumination. Swamiji, Miss MacLeod, Okakura, and others left for Gaya on 27 January 1902. Sister Nivedita wrote about this visit:
"When the winter began to set in, he (Vivekananda) was so ill as to be confined to bed. Yet he made one more journey, lasting through January and February 1902, when he went first to Bodh Gaya and next to Varanasi. It was a fit ending to all his wanderings. He arrived at Bodh Gaya on the morning of his last birthday (January 29), and nothing could have exceeded the courtesy and hospitality of the Mahanta (head of the monastery). Here, as afterwards at Varanasi, the confidence and affection of the orthodox world were brought to him in such measure and freedom that he himself stood amazed at the extent of his empire in men’s hearts. Bodh Gaya, as it was now the last, had also been the first of the holy places he had set out to visit. And it had been in Varanasi, some few years back (when he was an unknown monk), that he had said farewell to one, with the words, ‘Till that day when I fall on society like a thunderbolt I shall visit this place no more!’"
The maharaja of Varanasi offered Swamiji a sum of money to establish a monastery there. He accepted the offer and later sent Shivananda to organize the work. Vivekananda also inspired a group of young men who had started a small organization for the purpose of providing destitute pilgrims with food, shelter, and medical help. He said to them: "You have the true spirit, my boys, and you will always have my love and blessings! Go on bravely; never mind your poverty. Money will come. A great thing will grow out of it, surpassing your fondest hopes." Swamiji wrote an appeal for their support and named the institution "Ramakrishna Home of Service."
"I
Shall Never See Forty"
Miss MacLeod wrote in her memoirs: "One day in April (1902) he said, ‘I have nothing in the world. I haven’t a penny to myself. I have given away everything that has ever been given to me.’ I said: ‘Swami, I will give you fifty dollars a month as long as you live.’ He thought a minute and then he said, ‘Can I live on that?’ ‘Yes, o yes,’ I said, ‘but perhaps you cannot have cream.’ I gave him then two hundred dollars, but before the four months were passed he had gone."
"At Belur Math one day, while Sister Nivedita was distributing prizes for some athletics, I was standing in Swamiji’s bedroom at the Math, at the window, watching, and he said to me, ‘I shall never see forty.’ I, knowing he was thirty-nine, said to him, ‘But Swami, Buddha did not do his great work until between forty and eighty.’ But he said, ‘I delivered my message and I must go.’ I asked ‘Why go?’ and he said, ‘The shadow of a big tree will not let the smaller trees grow up. I must go to make room.’"
Sometimes Swamiji was in an exalted mood. Bodhananda, a disciple of Vivekananda, recalled:
"Once Swamiji said that he would do the worship of Sri Ramakrishna that day. So all of us went to watch Swamiji do it. We were curious to see how he would perform the ritual. First, in the usual way he took his seat as worshipper and meditated. We meditated too. After a pretty long time we sensed that someone was moving around us. I opened my eyes to see who it was. It was Swamiji. Taking the tray of flowers meant to be offered to Sri Ramakrishna, he got up. But instead of placing them before the Lord, he came to us, and touching the flowers with sandal paste, placed one on the head of each disciple.
"Considered from the ordinary traditional standpoint, this was an anti-traditional act. Imagine flowers meant for the Lord, offered by Swamiji to his disciples! Generally after the worship service, the leftover flowers are set aside to be thrown away. But instead of doing this, Swamiji approached the altar and what remained in the tray placed before the picture of Sri Ramakrishna. He also carried out the usual rites. Then he indicated that the time had come for food offering; so we all got up to leave the room. It is a custom in India that during the food offering no one should be in the shrine except the worshipper. We heard from outside Swamiji saying, addressing Sri Ramakrishna, "Friend, please eat!" Then he came out of the shrine and closed the door. His eyes were bloodshot with emotion."
Bodhananda later explained the significanceof Swamiji’s worship:
"Actually Swamiji did not worship the disciples. In placing a flower on the head of each one of us, he really offered the flower at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna in each disciple. Thereby he awakened His presence in us. That presence took different aspects in everyone. Some were devotional; others had the jnana (knowledge) aspect predominant. By his act of worship, Swamiji awakened the Divine in us. The remaining flowers were not in any way defiled. The same divine presence, which Swamiji saw in the photograph of Sri Ramakrishna on the altar, he also saw in his disciples; and at the altar he offered the remaining flowers. Lastly, Swamiji’s relation to his Chosen Deity was that of a friend. That is why, in offering the food, he addressed Sri Ramakrishna by that term."
Another day, touching the casket of Sri Ramakrishna’s relics, Vivekananda asked himself: "Does the Master really reside here? I must test it." Then he prayed, "Master, if you are truly present here, bring here the maharaja of Gwalior (who was then visiting Calcutta) within three days." The next day Vivekananda left for Calcutta on some business. However, when he returned later that afternoon, he was told that the maharaja of Gwalior had stopped there earlier. He had been passing by the Grand Trunk Road near the monastery in his car and had sent his younger brother to see if the Swami was in. Since Vivekananda was not there, the maharaja had gone away disappointed.
When Swamiji heard this news, he remembered his test. He immediately rushed to the shrine, and holding the urn of relics on his head, repeatedly said: "Master, you are true! You are true! You are true!" At that time Swami Premananda entered the shrine for meditation, and he was bewildered. Later Swamiji told Premananda and the monks about his test and all marvelled at this proof of the Master’s presence in the shrine.
One day Swamiji came downstairs and sat on the canvas cot under the mango tree in the courtyard, facing west, as he often did. The monks around him were busy with their activities. One was sweeping the courtyard with a broom. Swami Premananda was climbing the steps to the shrine after his bath. Suddenly Vivekananda’s eyes became radiant. Surcharged with spiritual fervour, he said to a disciple: "Where will you go to see Brahman? He is immanent in all beings. Here, here is the visible Brahman! Shame on those who, neglecting the visible Brahman, set their minds on other things! Here is the visible Brahman before you as tangible as a fruit in one’s hand! Can’t you see? Here – here – here is Brahman!"
These words struck the people around him like an electric shock. For about fifteen minutes no one could move or function. Premananda went into ecstasy; others experienced peace and joy. At last Vivekananda said to Premananda, "Now go to worship," and all were released. The disciples were amazed to witness the spiritual power of Vivekananda.
Swamiji explained this phenomenon on another occasion: "He who has realized the Atman (soul) becomes a house of great power. From him as the centre, and within a certain radius, emanates a spiritual force, and all those who come within this circle become animated with his ideas and are overwhelmed by them. Thus without much religious striving they inherit the results of his wonderful spirituality. This is grace."
On 15 May 1902, Swamiji wrote to Miss MacLeod: " I am somewhat better, but of course far from what I expected. A great idea of quiet has come upon me. I am going to retire for good – no more work for me."
His brother disciples were worried by his contemplative mood. They remembered the Master’s forecast that Naren would merge forever into samadhi as soon as his mission was over, and that he would refuse to live in his physical body once he realized who he was. A brother monk one day quite casually asked him, "Do you know yet who you are?" The unexpected reply, "Yes, I now know!" awed everyone present into silence. Nobody dared to probe further. Another day he said to Saradananda: "I don’t see that girl (Mother Kali) any more. She has withdrawn her hand from me."
A few days before his passing away, one of his boyhood friends came to Vivekananda and asked for some financial help. Swamiji asked Bodhananda to give his friend two rupees from his wallet. Bodhananda checked the wallet and said that if the friend was given two rupees there would not be much left. Immediately Swamiji said: Do you think I care for that? Give him two rupees plus a little more." Then he continued: "In a room, if one window is open and the corresponding window is closed, there is no ventilation; so let it go by one window and it will come by the other."
A week before the end, Vivekanand asked Shuddhananda to bring him the Bengali almanac. Swamiji turned several pages and then kept it in his room. He was seen several times on subsequent days studying the almanac intently, as if looking for something auspicious. It did not strike anyone what his intention might be; only after his death did they realize that he was selecting an auspicious day for his departure as Sri Ramakrishna had done.
Three days before his passing away, while walking on the spacious lawn of the monastery with Premananda, Swamiji said to him, pointing to a particular spot on the bank of the Ganges, "When I give up the body, cremate it there." Today on that very spot stands a temple in his honour.
Sister Nivedita left a vivid account that includes many significant facts in connection with Vivekananda’s passing away and his foreknowledge of it: "When June closed… he knew well enough that the end was near. ‘I am making ready for death!’ he said to one who was with him, on the Wednesday before he died. ‘A great tapasya (austerity) and meditation has come upon me, I am making ready for death.’
"Once in Kashmir, after an attack of illness, I had seen him lift a couple of pebbles, saying, ‘Whenever death approaches me, all weakness vanishes. I have neither fear, nor doubt, nor thought of the external. I simply busy myself making ready to die. I am as hard as that’ – and the stones struck one another in his hand – ‘for I have touched the feet of God!’
"Did we not remember, moreover, the story of the great Nirvikalpa samadhi of his youth, and know, when it was over, his Master had said: ‘This is your mango. Look! I lock it in my box. You shall taste it once more, when your work is finished!’
"It was on the last Sunday before the end that he said to one of his disciples, ‘You know, the work is always my weak point! When I think that might have come to an end, I am all undone!’"
On Wednesday (2 July) of the same week, the day being Ekadashi (the eleventh day of the moon, which orthodox Hindus observe by fasting), and himself by keeping the fast in all strictness, he insisted on serving the morning (noon) meal to the same disciple (Nivedita). Each dish as it was offered – boiled seeds of the jackfruit, boiled potatoes, plain rice, and ice-cold milk – formed the subject of playful chat; and finally, to end the meal, he himself poured the water over the hands, and dried them with a towel.
"It is I who should do these things for you, Swamiji! Not you for me!" was the protest naturally offered. But his answer was startling in its solemnity – "Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.’ Something checked the answer – ‘But that was the last time!’ – as it rose to the lips, and the words remained unuttered.
On his last day, Friday, 4 July 1902, Vivekananda got up very early in the morning as usual and went to the shrine for meditation. He was not sick at all. During breakfast he was in a jovial mood, teasing Premananda and recalling many events of olden times. He had fruit, milk, and tea. A fresh shad (ilish) fish from the Ganges was brought from a fisherman, and it was shown to him. Shad fish is a delicacy for Bengalis. Seeing the fish, Swamiji in fun said to a novice from East Bengal: "Don't you worship the first shad of the season in your part of the country? Let me see how you do that."
At 8:00 a.m. he again entered the shrine for meditation. When at 9:30 a.m. Premananda entered the shrine to perform the daily worship, Swamiji asked him to carry his asana (seating mat) on the Master’s bedroom, which was adjacent to the shrine, and shut all doors and windows. Swamiji dusted the Master’s bed with his own hand, and again sat for meditation. Never before had he performed such meditation in the monastery. What transpired there, no one knows. He finished his meditation at 11.00 a.m., and then began to sing a song about Kali in his sweet voice which the monks heard from downstairs. The words of the song are:
Is Kali, my Mother, really black?
The Naked One, though black She seems,
Lights the Lotus of the heart.
Men call Her black, but yet in my mind
Does not believe that She is so:
Now she is white, now red, now blue;
Now She appears as yellow, too.
I hardly know who Mother is,
Though I have pondered all my life:
Now Purusha, now Prakriti,
And now the Void, She seems to be.
To meditate on all these things
Confounds poor Kamalakanta’s wits.
Descending the stairs of the shrine, he walked back and forth in the courtyard of the monastery. He appeared indrawn, as if travelling to a distant land. Suddenly Swamiji said to himself: "If there were another Vivekananda, then he would have understood what this Vivekananda has done! And yet – how many Vivekanandas shall be born in time!" His statement was overheard by Premananda, who was standing on the verandah of the chapel. Never before had Swamiji spoken like this.
After instructing the disciples to make preparations for the Kali worship, Swamiji asked Shuddhananda to bring the Shukla-Yajur Veda from the library. When it was brought, Swamiji asked him to read the mantram beginning with the words ‘Sushumnah suryarashmi’ with Mahindhara’s commentary on it (Vajasaneyi Samhita, 18.40). Listening to part of it, Swamiji remarked: "This interpretation of the passage does not appeal to my mind. Whatever may be the commentator’s interpretation of the word ‘sushumna’ the seed or the basis of what the Tantras, in later ages, speak of as the Sushumna nerve channel in the body, is contained here in this Vedic mantram. You, my disciples, should try to discover the true import of these mantras and make original reflections and commentaries on the scriptures."
The purport of Mahindhara’s commentary may be put thus: "That Moon, who is of the form of Gandharva (a demi-god), who is Sushumna, that is, giver of supreme happiness to those who perform sacrifices, and whose rays are like the rays of the Sun – may that Moon protect us Brahmins and Kshatriyas! We offer our oblations to Him! His (Moon’s) apsaras (nymphs) are the stars who illuminate all things – we offer our oblations to them." Swamiji’s desire to perform the Kali worship and his discussion of the Sushumna suggest what he was thinking about at the time. He was planning to give up his body like a true yogi, passing through the six centres of the Sushumna and merging the Parmatman in the Sahasrara (crown of the head).
At noon he heartily enjoyed his lunch with the monks in the dining room. Because of his illness, he had generally taken his meals in his room. That day Swamiji relished various kinds of fish preparations, and humorously told Premananda: "I was very hungry because of fasting on the Ekadashi day. With great difficulty I skipped eating the cups and plates." Again, humorously, he said to his brother disciple in English, "Fish need water to swim"; and then with a chuckle, "Please give me a glass of water." He talked a while and then went to his room to rest. After fifteen minutes he came out of his room and told Premananda: "Let us go and study. Day sleep is not good for a monk. Today I did not get any sleep. I got a little headache, because of a long meditation. I see, my brain is getting weak nowadays!"
He went to the library and called the brahmacharins to attend the class on Sanskrit grammar (Laghu Kaumudi by Varardaraja). One who attended the class wrote: "The class lasted for nearly three hours (1.00 to 4.00 p.m.). But no monotony was felt. For he (Swamiji) would tell a witty story or make bons mots now and then to lighten his teaching, as he was wont to do. Sometimes the joke would be with reference to the wording of a certain aphorism, or he would make an amusing play upon its words knowing that the fun would make it easier for recollection. On this particular day he spoke of how he had coached his college friend, Dasharathi Sanyal, in English history in one night by following a similar process. He, however, appeared a little tired after grammar class."
Swamiji wanted each disciple to be original and not to follow him blindly. Warning against false prophets who might come in the future, he said to the boys: "If any man ever imitates me, kick him out. Do not imitate me."
At 4.30 p.m. Vivekananda drank some water and a cup of hot milk. Then he went for a walk with Premananda to Belur Bazar, one mile away. He felt good and talked to his brother disciple on many interesting subjects. Seeing a garden on the way, he began to describe Mr. Leggett’s big and beautiful garden at Ridgely Manor, and how in America a few people are able to manage large gardens by using machinery. By the by, he said to Premananda: "Why should you imitate me? The Master would forbid one to imitate others. Don’t be extravagant like me." He also mentioned his plan for establishing a Vedic college in the monastery. In order to have a clearer understanding of what Swamiji felt on the matter, Premananda asked, "What will be the good of studying the Vedas?" Swamiji replied, "It will kill superstitions."
At 5.30 p.m. he returned to the monastery from his walk. He sat on a bench under the mango tree and said: "my health is so good today, which I have not felt for a long time." Swamiji talked to Premananda and other monks about the history of European civilization and also colonial history. "India is immortal," he said, "if she persists in her search for God. But if she goes in for politics and social conflict, she will die." He also talked to Ramakrishnananda’s father for some time.
At 6.30 p.m. when he found that some monks were taking tea, he went to them and said, "Will you give me a cup of tea?" He enjoyed the tea with them. When the vesper bell was rung at 7.00 p.m., he got up and went to his room upstairs. Bodhananda, who was Swamiji’s secretary and kept his little bit of cash, reminisced:
"I was standing by the stairway down on the ground floor. It was the month of July. In India the mosquitoes are so numerous and so dangerous that you get malaria from them, and no one can sleep in bed without the curtains. He had discovered that the curtains of some monks were torn, and his last command to me was, ‘See that they all get new mosquito curtains.’"
Even in his last moments Vivekananda showed his great love and concern for the monks!
Entering his room, Swamiji said to his attendant Brahmachari Brajendra: "My body is very light today. I feel fine. Please give me my rosary." He sat facing the Ganges. Before he began his meditation, he asked Brajendra to go to the other room, and instructed him, "Wait and meditate till I call you." After an hour, at 8.00 p.m., the Swami called Brajendra and asked him to fan his head. Swamiji told him to open all the windows of his room, because he was feeling hot. Then, he laid himself down on his bed on the floor. He still had the rosary in his hand.
After a while Swamiji said to him: "All right, no more need for fanning! It would be better if you give a little massage to my feet." Soon, he seemed to fall asleep, and one hour passed in this manner. Vivekananda was lying on his left side and the brahmacharin was massaging his feet. He then moved and lay down on his back; shortly after that, he cried out like a baby cries for his mother. Towards the end, Brajendra noticed that Swamiji’s right hand trembled a little, there was perspiration on his forehead, he breathed a deep breath, and his head rolled down by the pillow. There was silence for a minute or two, and again he breathed in the same manner; his body became still. It was 9:10 p.m.
Bajendra thought that Swamiji was in samadhi, but he was scared and puzzled. He rushed downstairs and told Swami Advaitananda about Swamiji. Immediately the old swami went to Swamiji’s room, placed his hand on his heart, and checked the pulse. There was no breathing. Then Advaitananda asked Bodhananda, who had just arrived and was cooking Swamiji’s meal, to check the pulse. After doing this for a while, he stood up and cried aloud. Advaitananda then told Nirbhyananda: "Alas! What are you looking at? Hurry to Dr. Mahendra Nath Majumdar of Baranagore, and bring him here as soon as you can." Within a couple of minutes Premananda arrived and found Swamiji motionless. He, Nischayananda, and Ramakrishnananda’s father began to chant "Ramakrishna" loudly into Swamiji’s ears, hoping that he would return from samadhi. Swamiji’s eyes were fixed in the centre of his eyebrows, and his face had assumed a divine expression with a sweet smile.
Nirabhyananda and another monk crossed the Ganges at night – the former went to the doctor at Baranagore and the latter went to Calcutta to inform Swamis Brahmananda and Saradananda. Both arrived at Belur Math at 10:30 p.m. After a thorough examination, Dr. Majumdar found no sign of life; he still tried artificial respiration, but failed. "There was," said a brother disciple, "a little blood in his nostrils, about his mouth, and in his eyes." According to the Yoga scriptures, the life breath of an illumined yogi passes out through the opening on the top of the head, causing the blood to flow in the nostrils and the mouth. Vivekananda passed away at the age of thirty-nine years, five months, and twenty-four days, thus fulfilling his own prophecy, "I shall never see forty."
In the beginning of his mission Vivekananda had said, "I am a voice without a form." Towards the end, he said: "It may be that I shall find it good to get outside of my body – to cast it off like a disused garment. But I shall not cease to work! I shall inspire men everywhere, until the world shall know that it is one with God."
"That which is night to all beings, in that state (of divine knowledge and supreme bliss) the God-realized yogi keeps awake, and that (the ever changing, transient worldly happiness) in which all beings keep awake is night to the seer (sage)."
- The Bhagavad Gita Ch.2- verse 69.
Excerpts from the book 'God Lived With Them' by Swami Chetanananda.
"How
can He who is the Absolute Brahman, omnipresent and pervading the whole
universe, incarnate Himself as man?"
Once in Dakshineshwar some
non-dualistic devotees came from Varanasi to visit the Master when Gangadhar
(later Swami Akhandananda) was present. He later recorded their conversation in
his memoirs:One person asked: "Sir, how can He who is the Absolute Brahman, omnipresent and pervading the whole universe, incarnate Himself as man?"
"You see," the Master replied, "He who is the Absolute Brahman is the witness and is immanent everywhere. The divine incarnation is an embodiment of His power. The power is incarnate somewhere a quarter, somewhere else a half, and very rarely in full. He in whom the full powers manifest is adored as Purna Brahman, like Krishna. And three quarters of the Divine were manifested in Rama."
Swami
Vivekananda at Kanyakumari Rock
Swami Vivekananda as young Narendra received from Sri Ramakrishna trasmission of spiritual powers several times. Narendra once narrated how the Master had transmitted his power into him:
“Two or three days before Sri Ramakrishna’s passing away, he called me to his side and looked steadily at me and went into samadhi. Then I felt that a subtle force like an electric shock was entering my body! In a little while I also lost outward consciousness and sat motionless. How long I stayed in that condition I do not remember. When consciousness returned I found Sri Ramakrishna shedding tears. On questioning him, he answered me affectionately:
‘Today, I have given you my all, I am now only a poor fakir, possessing nothing. By this power you will do immense good in the world, and not until it is accomplished will you return.’
(Henceforth the Master lived in the disciple.)
I feel that that power is constantly directing me to this or that work. This body has not been made for remaining idle.”
When Sri Ramakrishna passed away, he left a batch of young disciples imbued with his spirit, to continue his work. Headed by the great Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), these educated young men lived in obscurity for about six years, performing intense spiritual sadhana (austerity) and wandering, mostly on foot, through the length and breath of India, penniless and depending upon God alone. Thus, towards the close of 1892, Swami Vivekananda went to Rameshwaram, worshipped in the temple, and then went to Kanyakumari, the last southern extremity of India.
He prostrated himself before the goddess Kanyakumari inside the shrine and was there for sometime. He came out and went to the seashore. He saw at a distance a rock in the midst of the ocean. He felt an urge to go there. He asked some fishermen to ferry him across the creek to the rock. He had no money to offer to them and they were not interested in taking a beggar sanyasin (monk) to that far-off rock. Swami Vivekananda did what any person with a desperate longing would do. He jumped into the shark-infested waters, swam along at a brisk speed and reached the rock.
He climbed up the rock and sat in a meditative pose. He saw in front of him the vast ocean, surging with waves. In front of him was the vast land of his dear and beloved India, where the teeming masses of humanity, crowded in hovels and shanties, were leading a life of poverty and starvation.
His heart wept. He yearned for the spiritual quest. His heart was a seething cauldron bursting with a fierce storm. The agony of his mother country reflected in his soul and he pined to do something for the downtrodden, for the forsaken humanity of India.
He sat on the rock and meditated for three days and three nights, without food, all alone, with not a soul to keep him company. Overhead the birds and the seagulls were fluttering their wings; underneath, there sat a great yogi, with a live volcano heart, meditating like a lonely sentinel.
At Kanyakumari, in deep meditation, the whole history of India unfolded before his vision, and he became identified, as it were, with the achievements and failures, sorrows and triumphs, of his motherland. Her past glory and continued existence through millenniums filled him with inspiration; but her present condition filled him with dismay and dejection. Yet, presently, the future filled him with hope. With tears in his eyes and hope in his breast, he discovered his mission in life, which was to dedicate himself to the regeneration of India, the queen of his adoration, to reawaken her from her deep long sleep. And this awakening is to be of real good not only to her but also to the whole world. In short, an awakening India is to be a complete synthesis of the past and present, of the East and the West.
It was at Kanyakumari that a turning point came in his life. A strong synthesis of a patriot and a prophet got merged into each other. It was at Kanyakumari where the monk decided to actively consecrate his life to the service of humanity.
He came down from the rock and started swimming back to the mainland, to awaken the dormant spirit of man, to ignite the fire once again in the dead charcoals. His spirit was superb. The creek and the ocean sent forth dancing, singing waves, singing something divine, urging him, beckoning him, filling his spirit with a sense of urgency for the noble task that lay ahead.
Like a second Buddha emerging from the seclusion of Buddha Gaya, Swami Vivekananda emerged from his meditations at Kanyakumari with the same determination which impelled Buddha 2500 years ago to preach his great message, ‘For the good of the many, for the happiness of the many’, Bahujana-hitya, Bahujana-sukya; and in this mood of assurance and resolve, Swami Vivekananda arrived in Madras (Chennai). Here he attracted the attention of a few intelligent and educated young men, and here he closed, once for all, the chapter of his obscurity. The enthusiasm of these young men and the help and sympathy of the princely rulers of Mysore and Khetri enabled him to proceed to America and to attend the Parliament of Religions at Chicago held in September 1893.
His speech at the parliament was characterised by a wide sympathy, broad outlook, and utter sincerity.
And for the next four years, the Western world, for the first time, through the lips of Swami Vivekananda, heard the universal teachings of the sages of India, the imperishable and cultural treasures of India.
It was at Kanyakumari where Swami Vivekananda decided to actively consecrate his life to the service of humanity.
And Swami Vivekananda had to accomplish this task within ten years for he knew and used to say ‘I shall not see 40’. And Swami Vivekananda lived on earth for 39 yrs-5 months and 24 days.
The disciples learned from their Master how to synthesize the four yogas (karma, bhakti, raja and jnana), the harmony of religions, the true meaning of the scriptures, and the worship of God in human beings, service to all, recognize them as God’s manifestation and serve them.
Sri Ramakrishna used to explain:
“What is work? Karma Yoga consists in disinterestedly serving
the Lord’s children, offering the fruits of one’s actions to the Lord, and constantly remembering the Lord. Karma Yoga removes the bondage of Maya and unites a person with God.”
Here Sri Ramakrishna taught the message of the Gita:
Yajna arthaat Karmanah anyatra lokoayam Karmabandhanaat
Tadartham Karma Kaunteya, Mukta sanghah samaachara
Gita 3-9
Doing Good
Ideals of Service and Sacrifice
Why do we do good work? Because it is a blessing to ourselves. Swami Vivekananda calls upon us to serve God in man, and gives the key to blessedness in the following words:
“We may all be perfectly sure that it will go on beautifully well without us, and we need not bother our heads wishing to help it. Yet, we must do good; the desire to do good is the highest motive power we have, if we know all the time that it is a privilege to help others. Do not stand on a high pedestal, and take five cents in your hand and say,
‘Here, my poor man,’ but be grateful that the poor man is there, so that by making a gift to him you are able to help yourself. It is not the receiver that is blessed, but it is the giver. Be thankful that you are allowed to exercise your power of benevolence and mercy in the world and thus become pure and perfect….
"No beggar whom we have helped has ever owed a single cent to us: we owe everything to him because he has allowed us to exercise our charity on him. It is entirely wrong to think that we have done, or can do, good to the world, to think that we have helped such and such people. It is a foolish thought, and all foolish thoughts bring misery. We think that we have helped some man and expect him to thank us, and because he does not, unhappiness comes to us. Why should we expect anything in return for what we do? Be grateful to the man you help, think of him as God. Is it not a great privilege to be allowed to worship God by helping our fellow men? If we were really unattached, we should escape all this vain expectation, and could cheerfully do good work in the world.”
Letter from Lord Ram (14) (reproduced from our page
Stories and Episodes
Shavani went to her mailbox and there was only one letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address.
She read the letter:
“Dear Shavani: I’m going to be in your neighbourhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit.
Love Always, Lord Ram”
Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. "Why would the Lord want to visit me? I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer."
With that thought, Shavani remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.
"Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner."
She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents.
"Well, I can get some bread and Veg, at least."
She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of French bread, various vegetables, and a carton of milk, leaving Shavani with grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.
"Hey lady, can you help us, lady?"
Shavani had been so absorbed in her dinner plans; she hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags
"Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kind of hungry and, well, if you could help us. Lady, we’d really appreciate it."
Shavani looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.
"Bhai ji, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself. All I have is a few vegetables, some bread and milk and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him."
"Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway."
The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Shavani felt a familiar twinge in her heart.
"Bhai ji, wait!"
The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them.
"Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out something else to serve my guest."
She handed the man her grocery bag.
"Thank you lady. Thank you very much!" "Yes, thank you!"
It was the man's wife, and Shavani could see now that she was shivering.
"You know, I've got another coat at home. Here, why don't you take this one.”
Shavani unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street...without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.
"Thank you lady! Thank you very much!"
Shavani was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him.
She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox.
"That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day."
She took the envelope out of the box and opened it.
She read the letter:
“Dear Shavani: It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.
Love Always Lord Ram”
The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Shavani no longer felt the cold. A thrill ran through her entire being and her eyes were filled with tears of joy.
From Bhagavad Gita Ch.18, verse 61
Ishwarah Sarva Bhutanam Hrideshe Arjuna Tishthati
The Lord dwells in the hearts of all beings
Om Tat Sat
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