30 November 2014

Let People Say Whatever They Like

Swami Vivekananda observed—[Source]
Each work has to pass through these stages — ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance.
He also asked—[Source]
Let us remember the words of Kâlidâsa: "Fools blame the actions of the great, because they are extraordinary and their reasons past the finding-out of ordinary mortals."

According to Swami Vivekananda, we should not be afraid or stop or work because of mere criticism or opposition. "Let people say whatever they like", we should—[Source]
Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life — think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success,

Let people say whatever they like

Uncle Sam
Let people say whatever they like, stick to your own convictions
— Swami Vivekananda 
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
According to Swami Vivekananda OR Swami Vivekananda told—
  • Let people praise you or blame you, let fortune smile or frown upon you, let your body fall today or after a Yuga, see that you do not deviate from the path of Truth.[Source]
  • Let people say whatever they like, stick to your own convictions, and rest assured, the world will be at your feet. They say, "Have faith in this fellow or that fellow", but I say, "Have faith in yourself first", that's the way. Have faith in yourself—all power is in you—be conscious and bring it out. Say, "I can do everything." "Even the poison of a snake is powerless if you can firmly deny it." Beware! No saying "nay", no negative thoughts! Say, "Yea, Yea," "So'ham, So'ham"—"I am He! I am He!"[Source]
  • Let people say whatever they will — "Men (who wrongly criticise) are to be treated as worms!" as Shri Ramakrishna used to say. Let there be no disparity between what you profess and what you do. . .[Source]
  • . . .let people say what they will. Let anyone write anything for or against me in the papers; you shouldn't take the slightest notice.[Source]
  • Let people speak out their own opinions, why should we object?[Source]

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29 November 2014

"Be Not Afraid" — Swami Vivekananda's Suggestions

In this website we have been preparing a series of articles on Swami Vivekananda's motivational and inspirational quotes.

In this article we'll make a compilation of those Swami Vivekananda quotes, where he asked "not to be afraid".

Be not afraid

Swami Vivekananda
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Swami Vivekananda told—
  • Be not afraid. Awake, arise, and stop not till the goal is reached![Source]
  • "Be not afraid even if there is evil in your work, for there is no work which has no evil." "Leave it unto the Lord, and do not look for the results."[Source]
  • Be not afraid, for all great power, throughout the history of humanity, has been with he people. From out of their ranks have come all the greatest geniuses of the world, and history can only repeat itself. Be not afraid of anything. You will do marvellous work. The moment you fear, you are nobody. It is fear that is the great cause of misery in the world. It is fear that is the greatest of all superstitions. It is fear that is the cause of our woes, and it is fearlessness that brings heaven even in a moment. Therefore, "Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached."[Source]
  • Be not afraid, my children. Look not up in that attitude of fear towards that infinite starry vault as if it would crush you. Wait! In a few hours more, the whole of it will be under your feet. Wait, money does not pay, nor name; fame does not pay, nor learning. It is love that pays; it is character that cleaves its way through adamantine walls of difficulties.[Source]
  • Be not afraid. Think not how many times you fail. Never mind. Time is infinite. Go forward: assert yourself again and again, and light must come. You may pray to everyone that was ever born, but who will come to help you? And what of the way of death from which none knows escape? Help thyself out by thyself. None else can help thee, friend. For thou alone art thy greatest enemy, thou alone art thy greatest friend. Get hold of the Self, then. Stand up. Don't be afraid. In the midst of all miseries and all weakness, let the Self come out, faint and imperceptible though it be at first. You will gain courage, and at last like a lion you will roar out, "I am It! I am It!" "I am neither a man, nor a woman, nor a god, nor a demon; no, nor any of the animals, plants, or trees. I am neither poor nor rich, neither learned nor ignorant. All these things are very little compared with what I am: for I am It! I am It! Behold the sun and the moon and the stars: I am the light that is shining in them! I am the beauty of the fire! I am the power in the universe! For, I am It! I am It![Source]

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Importance Of Bhakti In Bahagavad Gita

Bhakti or Devotion is a very important theme in the Bhagavad Gita. In Chapter 7, verse 1, Shri Krishna tells—
With the mind clinging to Me, O Partha, performing yoga, refuged in Me, how thou shalt without doubt know Me to the uttermost, that hear thou.
In Chapter 9, verse 26, Shri Krishna tells—
He who offers to Me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, water, that I accept from the striving self, offered as it is with devotion.
In Chapter 11, verse 54, Shri Krishna assures—
By devotion to Me alone I may thus be perceived, Arjuna, and known and seen in essence, and entered, O Parantapa.

There are many more verses in Bhagavd Gita explaining and discussing Bhakti/devotion. Our this articles' topic is— importance of Bhakti in Bhagavad Gita — according to Swami Vivekananda.

Importance of Bhakti in Bhagavad Gita

Krishna and Meera
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Swami Vivekananda told—
  • If you want to be a Bhakta, it is not at all necessary for you to know whether Krishna was born in Mathurâ or in Vraja, what he was doing, or just the exact date on which he pronounced the teachings of the Gitâ. You only require to feel the craving for the beautiful lessons of duty and love in the Gita. All the other particulars about it and its author are for the enjoyment of the learned. Let them have what they desire. Say "Shântih, Shântih" to their learned controversies, and let us "eat the mangoes".[Source]
  • Let us see some of the main points discussed in the Gita. Wherein lies the originality of the Gita which distinguishes it from all preceding scriptures? It is this: Though before its advent, Yoga, Jnana, Bhakti, etc. had each its strong adherents, they all quarrelled among themselves, each claiming superiority for his own chosen path; no one ever tried to seek for reconciliation among these different paths. It was the author of the Gita who for the first time tried to harmonise these. He took the best from what all the sects then existing had to offer and threaded them in the Gita. But even where Krishna failed to show a complete reconciliation (Samanvaya) among these warring sects, it was fully accomplished by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in this nineteenth century.[Source]
  • Says Krishna in the Gita: The Lord is the only One who never changes. His love never fails. Wherever we are and whatever we do, He is ever and ever the same merciful, the same loving heart. He never changes, He is never angry, whatever we do. How can God be angry with us? Your babe does many mischievous things: are you angry with that babe? Does not God know what we are going to be? He knows we are all going to be perfect, sooner or later. He has patience, infinite patience. We must love Him, and everyone that lives — only in and through Him. This is the keynote.[Source]
  • To obtain Bhakti, seek the company of holy men who have Bhakti, and read books like the Gita and the Imitation of Christ; always think of the attributes of God.[Source]


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28 November 2014

20 Mind-Boggling Quotations Of Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vvekananda 1893
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
As you are aware that in this website we have been preparing articles and compilations of Swami Vivekananda on every possible topic and subject.

Here is a(nother) special article of this website. Here you'll find 20 mind-boggling quotations of Swami Vivekananda.

All of you may not find these quotations mind-boggling. We, however, found these quotations—
  1. thought-provoking
  2. insightful
  3. interesting
  4. powerful
Hope you'll like our attempt. (following our practice, we'll use WikiSource to refer quotes, so that you can read the entire chapter or discourse easily and freely)

20 Mind-Boggling Quotations of Swami Vivekananda

①
  • A great sage used to say, "Suppose there is a thief in a room, and somehow he comes to know that there is a vast mass of gold in the next room, and that there is only a thin partition between the two rooms What would be the condition of that thief? He would be sleepless, he would not be able to eat or do anything. His whole mind would be on getting that gold. Do you mean to say that, if all these people really believed that the Mine of Happiness, of Blessedness, of Glory were here, they would act as they do in the world, without trying to get God?" As soon as a man begins to believe there is a God, he becomes mad with longing to get to Him. Others may go their way, but as soon as a man is sure that there is a much higher life than that which he is leading here, as soon as he feels sure that the senses are not all, that this limited, material body is as nothing compared with the immortal, eternal, undying bliss of the Self, he becomes mad until he finds out this bliss for himself. And this madness, this thirst, this mania, is what is called the "awakening" to religion, and when that has come, a man is beginning to be religious.[Source]
②③
  • How absurd to take the credit of doing the good act on oneself and lay the blame for the evil act on the Lord![Source]
  • Let us remember the words of Kâlidâsa: "Fools blame the actions of the great, because they are extraordinary and their reasons past the finding-out of ordinary mortals."[Source]
④⑤
  • Strength and manliness are virtue; weakness and cowardice are sin.[Source]
  • We are for ever trying to make our weakness look like strength, our sentiment like love, our cowardice like courage, and so on.[Source]

⑥⑦
  • If education is identical with information, the libraries are the greatest sages in the world, and encyclopaedias are the Rishis.[Source]
  • If the mountain does not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain. If the poor cannot come to education, education must reach them at the plough, in the factory, everywhere.[Source]
On Fear
 ⑧⑨
  • Always say, "I have no fear." Tell this to everybody --"Have no fear". Fear is death, fear is sin, fear is hell, fear is unrighteousness, fear is wrong life. All the negative thoughts and ideas that are in this world have proceeded from this evil spirit of fear. This fear alone has kept the sun, air and death in their respective places and functions, allowing none to escape from their bounds.[Source]
  • In this world we work through fear of others, we talk through fear, we think through fear, alas! we are born in a land of enemies. Who is there who has been able to get rid of this feeling of fear, as if everyone is a spy set specially to watch him? And woe unto the man who pushes himself forward! Will it ever be a land of friends? Who knows?[Source]

⑩
  • Friendship with many is best at a distance, and everything goes well with the person who stands on his own feet.[Source]

⑪⑫
  • God is the one goal of all our passions and emotions. If you want to be angry, be angry with Him. Chide your Beloved, chide your Friend. Whom else can you safely chide? Mortal man will not patiently put up with your anger; there will be a reaction. If you are angry with me I am sure quickly to react, because I cannot patiently put up with your anger. Say unto the Beloved, "Why do You not come to me; why do You leave me thus alone?" Where is there any enjoyment but in Him? What enjoyment can there be in little clods of earth? It is the crystallised essence of infinite enjoyment that we have to seek, and that is in God. Let all our passions and emotions go up unto Him They are meant for Him. . .[Source]
  • Go to God directly. No theories, no doctrines. Then alone will all doubts vanish. Then alone will all crookedness be made straight.[Source]

⑬
  • The only remedy for bad habits is counter habits; all the bad habits that have left their impressions are to be controlled by good habits. Go on doing good, thinking holy thoughts continuously; that is the only way to suppress base impressions. Never say any man is hopeless, because he only represents a character, a bundle of habits, which can be checked by new and better ones. Character is repeated habits, and repeated habits alone can reform character.[Source]

On Love
⑭⑮
  • Beggar's love is no love at all. The first sign of love is when love asks nothing, [when it] gives everything.[Source]
  • Man rails in love with woman, and woman goes to die for man. The chances are that in five minutes John kicks Jane, and Jane kicks John. This is a materialism and no love at all. If John could really love Jane, he would be perfect that moment.[Source]

⑯
  • Each work has to pass through these stages — ridicule, opposition, and then acceptance. Each man who thinks ahead of his time is sure to be misunderstood. So opposition and persecution are welcome, only I have to be steady and pure and must have immense faith in God, and all these will vanish. . . .[Source]

⑰
  • I was once travelling in the desert in India. I travelled for over a month and always found the most beautiful landscapes before me, beautiful lakes and all that. One day I was very thirsty and I wanted to have a drink at one of these lakes; but when I approached that lake it vanished. Immediately with a blow came into my brain the idea that this was a mirage about which I had read all my life; and then I remembered and smiled at my folly, that for the last month all the beautiful landscapes and lakes I had been seeing were this mirage, but I could not distinguish them then. The next morning I again began my march; there was the lake and the landscape, but with it immediately came the idea, "This is a mirage." Once known it had lost its power of illusion. So this illusion of the universe will break one day. The whole of this will vanish, melt away. This is realization.[Source]

On Salvation
⑱
  • Salvation never will come through hope of reward.[Source]

On Weakness
⑲⑳
  • The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength.[Source]
  • Many a time comes when we want to interpret our weakness and cowardice as forgiveness and renunciation.[Source]


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All Knowledge Is Within Us

Swami Vivekananda told— "All knowledge is within us."

He told—
All knowledge is within us. All perfection is there already in the soul. But this perfection has been covered up by nature; layer after layer of nature is covering this purity of the soul. What have we to do? Really we do not develop our souls at all. What can develop the perfect? We simply take the evil off; and the soul manifests itself in its pristine purity, its natural, innate freedom.[Source]
In this article we'll make a collection of Swami Vivekananda's quotes and thoughts on this theme— "All knowledge is within us".

All knowledge is within us

University of Erfurt
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
According to Swami Vivekananda—
  • All knowledge depends upon calmness of mind.[Source]
  • All knowledge is in the soul.[Source]
  • All knowledge is within [the] mind. Who saw knowledge in the stone, or astronomy in the star? It is all in the human being.[Source]
  • All knowledge is within us. All perfection is there already in the soul. But this perfection has been covered up by nature; layer after layer of nature is covering this purity of the soul. What have we to do? Really we do not develop our souls at all. What can develop the perfect? We simply take the evil off; and the soul manifests itself in its pristine purity, its natural, innate freedom.[Source]
  • All knowledge that we have, either of the external or internal world, is obtained through only one method — by the concentration of the mind.[Source]
  • It is true that all knowledge is within ourselves, but this has to be called forth by another knowledge.[Source]
  • Man is the epitome of all things and all knowledge is in him.[Source]
  • The fountain of all knowledge is in every one of us, in the ant as in the highest angel. Real religion is one, but we quarrel with the forms, the symbols, the illustrations. The millennium exists already for those who find it; we have lost ourselves and then think the world is lost.[Source]
  • We say Newton discovered gravitation. Was it sitting anywhere in a corner waiting for him? It was in his own mind; the time came and he found it out. All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in your own mind. The external world is simply the suggestion, the occasion, which sets you to study your own mind, but the object of your study is always your own mind. The falling of an apple gave the suggestion to Newton, and he studied his own mind. He rearranged all the previous links of thought in his mind and discovered a new link among them, which we call the law of gravitation. It was not in the apple nor in anything in the centre of the earth. . . . All knowledge, therefore, secular or spiritual, is in the human mind. In many cases it is not discovered, but remains covered, and when the covering is being slowly taken off, we say, "We are learning," and the advance of knowledge is made by the advance of this process of uncovering. [Source]

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You may read the main article too—

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27 November 2014

20 Terms And Conditions Of Love

Painting of couple
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
When Swami Vivekananda spoke about "love" or tried to define/explain it, he actually meant "higher and superior form of love" or "divine universal love" and not mere sexuality (as love is often confused with sexuality).

In this website, we have attempted to prepare a series of articles on Swami Vivekananda's comments, quotes and views on love.

Our this article's title might be a bit strange, but it'll attempt to make a distinction between Swami Vivekananda's views on what is love and what is not love.

20 Terms and Conditions of Love

According to Swami Vivekananda—
  1. Beggar's love is no love at all. The first sign of love is when love asks nothing, [when it] gives everything.[Source]
  2. Begging is not the language of love.[Source]
  3. Books and learning, Yoga and meditation and illumination — all are but dust compared with love.[Source]
  4. Love and ask nothing; love and look for nothing further.[Source]
  5. Love and forget all the "isms".[Source]
  6. (Love) can never be the means. The man who says, "I love you for such and such a thing", does not love. Love can never be the means; it must be the perfect end.[Source]
  7. Love is always a manifestation of bliss. The least shadow of pain falling upon it is always a sign of physicality and selfishness.[Source]
  8. Love is always the giver, and never the taker.[Source]
  9. Love is great and noble, but, it may die away in meaningless sentimentalism.[Source]
  10. Love knows no bargaining.[Source]
  11. Love knows no fear. You may cut me to pieces, and I [will] still love you.[Source]
  12. Love knows no reward. Love is always for love's sake.[Source]

  13. Love loves for the sake of love itself.[Source]
  14. Love makes no distinction between man and man, between an Aryan and a Mlechchha, between a Brâhmana and a Pariah, nor even between a man and a woman. Love makes the whole universe as one's own home. True progress is slow but sure. Work among those young men who can devote heart and soul to this one duty — the duty of raising the masses of India. Awake them, unite them, and inspire them with this spirit of renunciation; it depends wholly on the young people of India.[Source]
  15. Love never asks; it always gives. . . . When a young man goes to see his sweetheart, . . . there is no business relationship between them; theirs is a relationship of love, and love is no beggar.[Source]
  16. Love should be unrelated. Even when we love wrongly, it is of the true love, of the true bliss; the power is the same, use it as we may. Its very nature is peace and bliss. The murderer when he kisses his baby forgets for an instant all but love. Give up all self, all egotism s get out of anger, lust, give all to God. "I am not, but Thou art; the old man is all gone, only Thou remainest." "I am Thou." Blame none; if evil comes, know the Lord is playing with you and be exceeding glad.[Source]
  17. Lust is the death of love.[Source]
  18. Pure love has no motive. It has nothing to gain.[Source]
  19. The highest love is the love that is sexless, for it is perfect unity that is expressed in the highest love, and sex differentiates bodies. It is therefore only in spirit that union is possible.[Source]
  20. The reward of love is love, and what a reward it is! It is the only thing that takes off all sorrows, the only cup, by the drinking of which this disease of the world vanishes Man becomes divinely mad and forgets that be is man.[Source]
    .

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    Introduction To Bhagavad Gita

    In this website/project we have been working to create a series of articles on Bhagavad Gita and Swami Vivekananda's commentaries on Bhagavad Gita.
    Very recently we discussed "Bhagavad Gita as a source of motivation and strength".

    In this article, our topic is introduction to Bhagavad Gita — according to Swami Vivekananda.

    Introduction to Bhagavad Gita

    Krishna
    Image source: Wikimedia Commons
    Swami Vivekananda told—[Source]
    The book known as the Gita forms a part of the Mahâbhârata. To understand the Gita properly, several things are very important to know. First, whether it formed a part of the Mahabharata, i.e. whether the authorship attributed to Veda-Vyâsa was true, or if it was merely interpolated within the great epic; secondly, whether there was any historical personality of the name of Krishna; thirdly, whether the great war of Kurukshetra as mentioned in the Gita actually took place; and fourthly, whether Arjuna and others were real historical persons.


    Swami Vivekananda also felt—[Source]
    The first discourse in the Gita can be taken allegorically.

    This is how Swami Vivekananda discussed introduction to Bhagavad Gita—[Source]
    To understand the Gita requires its historical background. The Gita is a commentary on the Upanishads. The Upanishads are the Bible of India. They occupy the same place as the New Testament does. There are [more than] a hundred books comprising the Upanishads, some very small and some big, each a separate treatise. The Upanishads do not reveal the life of any teacher, but simply teach principles. They are [as it were] shorthand notes taken down of discussion in [learned assemblies], generally in the courts of kings. The word Upanishad may mean "sittings" [or "sitting near a teacher"]. Those of you who may have studied some of the Upanishads can understand how they are condensed shorthand sketches. After long discussions had been held, they were taken down, possibly from memory. The difficulty is that you get very little of the background. Only the luminous points are mentioned there. The origin of ancient Sanskrit is 5000 B.C.; the Upanishads [are at least] two thousand years before that. Nobody knows [exactly] how old they are. The Gita takes the ideas of the Upanishads and in [some] cases the very words. They are strung together with the idea of bringing out, in a compact, condensed, and systematic form, the whole subject the Upanishads deal with.

    Other quotes

    Here are few more quotations—
    • God is everywhere preached in the Gita. Hinduism is nothing without God. The Vedas are nothing without Him.[Source]
    • The Bhagavad-Gita — most of you, perhaps, have read it, it is the best commentary we have on the Vedanta philosophy — curiously enough the scene is laid on the battlefield, where Krishna teaches this philosophy to Arjuna; and the doctrine which stands out luminously in every page of the Gita is intense activity, but in the midst of it, eternal calmness. This is the secret of work, to attain which is the goal of the Vedanta. Inactivity, as we understand it in the sense of passivity, certainly cannot be the goal. Were it so, then the walls around us would be the most intelligent; they are inactive. Clods of earth, stumps of trees, would be the greatest sages in the world; they are inactive. Nor does inactivity become activity when it is combined with passion. Real activity, which is the goal of Vedanta, is combined with eternal calmness, the calmness which cannot be ruffled, the balance of mind which is never disturbed, whatever happens. And we all know from our experience in life that that is the best attitude for work.[Source]
    • The Gitâ is the gist of the Vedas. It is not our Bible; the Upanishads are our Bible. It [the Gita] is the gist of the Upanishads and harmonizes the many contradictory parts of the Upanishads.[Source]
    • The Gita takes the ideas of the Upanishads and in [some] cases the very words. They are strung together with the idea of bringing out, in a compact, condensed, and systematic form, the whole subject the Upanishads deal with.[Source]
    • The reconciliation of the different paths of Dharma, and work without desire or attachment — these are the two special characteristics of the Gita.[Source]

    Many more quotes



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    26 November 2014

    Bhagavad Gita As A Source Of Inspiration And Strength

    Bhagavad Gita, the great Hindu scripture is generally considered as a religious or philosophical book. Swami Vivekananda, although, pointed out that Bhagavad Gita is primarily a source of inspiration, motivation and strength.

    In this article we'll attempt to make a collection of Swami Vivekananda's quotations on the topic/theme Bhagavad Gita as a source of inspiration and strength.

    Bhagavad Gita as a source of inspiration and strength

    Krishna teaching Arjuna, from Bhagavata Gita
    Image source: Wikimedia Commons
    Swami Vivekananda told/observed—
    • First of all, our young men must be strong. Religion will come afterwards. Be strong, my young friends; that is my advice to you. You will be nearer to Heaven through football than through the study of the Gita. These are bold words; but I have to say them, for I love you. I know where the shoe pinches. I have gained a little experience. You will understand the Gita better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger. You will understand the mighty genius and the mighty strength of Krishna better with a little of strong blood in you. You will understand the Upanishads better and the glory of the Atman when your body stands firm upon your feet, and you feel yourselves as men.[Source]
    • In Krishna we find ... two ideas [stand] supreme in his message: The first is the harmony of different ideas; the second is non-attachment. A man can attain to perfection, the highest goal, sitting on a throne, commanding armies, working out big plans for nations. In fact, Krishna's great sermon was preached on the battlefield.[Source]
    • . . . it won't do to merely quote the authority of our ancient books. The tidal wave of Western civilisation is now rushing over the length and breadth of the country. It won't do now simply to sit in meditation on mountain tops without realising in the least its usefulness. Now is wanted -- as said in the Gita by the Lord -- intense Karma - yoga, with unbounded courage and indomitable strength in the heart. Then only will the people of the country be roused, otherwise they will continue to be as much in the dark as you are.[Source]
    • . . . the Gita — "that wonderful poem, without one note in it of weakness or unmanliness."[Source]
    • The reconciliation of the different paths of Dharma, and work without desire or attachment — these are the two special characteristics of the Gita.[Source]
    • This morning the lesson on the Gitâ was grand. It began with a long talk on the fact that the highest ideals are not for all. Non-resistance is not for the man who thinks the replacing of the maggot in the wound by the leprous saint with "Eat, Brother!" disgusting and horrible. Non-resistance is practised by a mother's love towards an angry child. It is a travesty in the mouth of a coward, or in the face of a lion. (Sister Nivedita's notes)[Source]

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    24 November 2014

    Amitabh Bachchan On Swami Vivekananda

    Amitabh Bachchan (born 11 October 1942) is a well-known Indian actor of Bollywood cinema. Some of his notable films are Sholay, Deewar, Don, Zanjeer,  Agneepath, Paa etc.

    Amitabh Bachchan, in his official blog, has several times written on Swami Vivekananda.

    Amitabh Bachchan on Swami Vivekananda

    Amitabh Bachcan in front of Vivekananda statue in Kolkata
    Amitabh Bachcan in front of Vivekananda statue in Kolkata, 2014
    Image source: Amitabh Bachchan's blog
    Amitabh Bachchan told or wrote—
    • I pay my respects to Vivekananda ji .. his image at an institution right next to where we shoot .. a great mind, a great thinker, philosopher and revered spiritual  (15 November 2014, Bachchan came to Kolkata to shoot for Piku)[Source]
    • Have we ever wondered why Buddha, Mahavir, Nanak, Kabir, Rahim, Confucius, Gandhi or Vivekananda – great men and saints over time – have influenced the way we conduct ourselves and our lives. They were men of simple bearings. They were men not of Kingdom and wealth, nor were they ones that presented fear and terror. What was it about them that even with the passage of great time, we still submitted ourselves and our personalities to their governance and thought ? (24-25 April 2010) [Source]

    Swami Vivekananda on Vivekananda Rock

    In February 2009, Amitabh Bachchan went to Kanya Kumari, Tamilnadu. At that he wrote—
    • I am now in my room, quietly overlooking the end of the mainland into the vast Indian Ocean. In fact.. the point where three water masses meet –  the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean; a minute or two away from the historic Vivekananda Rock – a symbol of the great religious philosopher that trod this land and influenced millions with his teachings. (10 February 2009)[Source]
    • This is the Vivekananda Rock, where the great philosopher sat and meditated. Further to the left and hidden behind foliage is a mosque. Such a wonderful amalgamation and integration of all the religions. A symbol of our secular constitution. (12 February 2009)[Source]
    • The South Indian ethos for welcome and greeting.And presenting to you the early morning vista of the Vivekananda Rock and the grand statue of Swami Thiruvalluvar. This is around 8 in the morning. I got closer to it, through narrow by-lanes, full of multiple curio shops and object des arts. (13 February 2009)[Source]


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    01 November 2014

    Biography Of Durgaprasad Datta — Swami Vivekananda's Grandfather

    A couple or readers of this website have asked us to write on Durgaprasad Datta (Swami Vivekananda's grandfather). We have decided, therefore, to prepare an article for the world wide web discussing Durgaprasad's biography.


    Durgaprasad Datta

    A house in Kolkata
    The big house located at 3 Gourmohan Mukherjee Street
    Image source: Wikimedia Commons
    Durgaprasad Datta or Durga Prasad Datta (Bengali: দুর্গা প্রসাদ দত্ত) OR Durgacharan Datta (Bengali: দুর্গাচরণ দত্ত) was one of two sons (and seven daughters) of Rammohan Datta (Swami Vivekananda's great grandfather). Rammohan Datta was a clerk and assistant of an English lawyer. It was Rammohan Datta, who built a big house at 3, Gourmohan Mukherjee Street, i.e. Swami Vivekananda's birthplace (now acquired by Ramakrishna Mission and has been converted into a museum).

    Durgprasad married at the age of sixteen or seventeen. He had a daughter and a son — Vishwanath Datta. Vishwanath was born in 1835 and soon after his birth, Durgaprasad renounced family-life and became a wandering monk (sannyasi). At that time he was 25 years old.

    Durgaprasad was a learned man. He was well versed in Persian and Sanskrit languages and literature. He had, although, more inclination towards spirituality and monastic life.

    Durgaprasad Datta — Swami Vivekananda's "talks"

    This section needs to be expanded
    I was going to name this section "Durga Prasad Datta — Swami Vivekananda's reminiscences" and then felt, "reminiscences" is not the right word.
    Anyway, Swami Vivekananda talked about his grandfather, he told—
    • My grandfather was married when quite a child.[Source]


    Sources

    We have studied the following books and works to prepare this article—
    1. Chaturvedi Badrinath (2006). Swami Vivekananda, the Living Vedanta. Penguin Books India. pp. 3–. ISBN 978-0-14-306209-7.
    2. Rajagopal Chattopadhyaya (1 January 1999). Swami Vivekananda in India: A Corrective Biography. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 8–. ISBN 978-81-208-1586-5.

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