National Situation in Which Vivekananda was born (contd-3)

In his youth Narendranath came in contact with Keshab Chandra Sen (Keshub Chandra Sen was an Indian Bengali Hindu philosopher and social reformer who attempted to incorporate Christian theology within the framework of Hindu thought) and Pandit Sivanath Sashtri and became a member of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. This was nothing unusual in those days among the youthful intelligentsia of the time.He used to sing in choir of the Brahmo Church.Once Pandit Shivanath Shashtri  told,
" Narendranath wanted to took me to his father Vishwanath to introduce with him."
He was an enthusiastic Brahmo at that time.

During his college life at the General Assembly's Institution, in 1881, Prof W.W. Hastie , the principal, was explainng Wordsworth's reference to trance in his poem The Excursion  , 'such an experience ', he said, ' is the result of purity of mind and concentration on some particular object , and it is rare indeed, particularly in these days. I have seen only one person who has experienced that blessed state of mind, and he is Ramakrishna Paramahangsa of Dakshineshwar. You can understand if you go there and see for yourself'. Narendranath met Ramakrishna, Narendranath's classmate Haramohan narrated the following incident, " One day our European professor was discussing with the students. The students could not understand the state of  trance referred to by Wordsworth. ..."

During the time when Narendranath was visiting Brahmo Samaj, Dr. Ramachandra Datta, a direct  relative of Narendranath's father, had been brought up in their house, and became a physician in Calcutta.When he came to know that Narendranath declined to marry, in order to pursue the path of spiritual enlightenment, he said to him, 'if you have a true desire to realise God , then come to the master at Dakshineshwar instead of visiting the Brahmo Samaj and other places.  Once asked him to see Ramakrishna Paramhangsa some biographers of Narendranath said that once at the house of Suresh Chandra Mitra where Ramakrishna was expected, Narendrath was invited there to sing some bhajans. This was the first instance when Narendranath met Ramakrishna.