Vivekananda as wandering Monk (contd-1)

In July 1890, Swami Vivekananda took leave of Sarada Devi, the holy consort of Sree Ramakrishna, who was the spiritual guide of the young monks after the death of their Master.He also took leave of his brother monks, with the firm resolve to cut himself free from all ties and to go into the solitude of the Himalayas, for he felt it essential to be alone.In the words of Romain Rolland , " This was the great departure . Like a diver he plunged into the Ocean of India and the ocean of India covered his tracks.  Among its flotsam and jetsam he was nothing more than one nameless sannyasin in safron robe among a thousand others. But the fires of genius burned in his eyes. He was prince despite all disguise."
His wandering took him various placesof pilgrimage and historical interest in Uttarpradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, tamilnadu, Karnatak, Hyderabad, and Kerala. Everywhere the glory of ancient India vividly came before his eyes, whether political, cultural, or spiritual. In the midst of this great education, the abject misery of the Indian masses stood out before his mind. He moved from one princely state to another, everywhere to explore avenues  of mitigating their lot.  
Thus he came to meet many leading personalities and rulers of the princely states. Among them , Maharaja Ajit Singh of Khetri became his fast friend and ardent disciple. At Alwar he studied the Mahabhasya of Patanjali. At Poona Swami Vivekananda met Bal Gangadhar Tilak (Lokmanya Tilak, born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, was an Indian nationalist, journalist, teacher, social reformer, lawyer and independence activist who was the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement) at national leader . At first Tilak talked with Swami with scant regard, but later, impressed by Swami's depth of learning and profoundity of thought, he invited him to be his guest. From  there, after a stay of Belgaum, he went to Bangalore and Mysore.The Maharaja of Mysore gave him the assurance of financial support  to enable him to to go to the West to seek help for India and to prech the eternal religion . From Mysore he visited Trivandrum and Kannya Kumari.     

Swami Vivekananda and Pavhri Baba - 1890

Swami Vivekananda met many different kinds of persons during his travels that began in 1890. There were people from different walks of life – monks, businessmen, teachers and professors, Government officials, nationalists, Christian priests and Muslim clergy. While he loved interacting with monks and religious persons, he could also engage people with different interests. He had heard of Pavhari Baba, the great mystic and saint of Ghazipur, and wanted to meet him for a long time. When he was staying at Allahabad in January 1890, he decided to go to Ghazipur to see the Baba.

Pavhari Baba was born to Brahmin parents in a village near Varanasi. He left home as a boy and went to Ghazipur, where under the tutelage of his uncle learnt Sanskrit grammar, logic and the philosophy of Ramanuja. Soon he left Ghazipur and traveled around the land, determined to attain realization of God. He is reported to have practiced intense austerity and yogic practices and soon mastered the Advaita Philosophy too. He returned to Ghazipur and built a hermitage by the riverside where he practiced intense meditation most of the time. He was rumoured to hardly eat any food and is known to have subsisted on neem leaves and a few chilies. So spare was his diet that he was called Pavhari Baba, literally meaning the ‘air-eating father’. He generally avoided meeting people and very rarely interacted with his devotees.

Swami Vivekananda got an interview with this saint after trying for many days. When he did finally meet him, he was struck by the Baba’s personality. “Through supreme good fortune, I have obtained an interview with Babaji”, Swamiji wrote to Pramadababu on February 4, 1890, “A great sage indeed! It is all very wonderful, and in this atheistic age, a towering representation of marvelous power born out of Bhakti and Yoga! I have sought refuge in his grace; and he has given me hope – a thing very few may be fortunate enough to obtain. It is Babaji’s wish that I stay on for some days here, and he would do me some good. So following this saint’s bidding I shall remain here for some time.”

Swami Vivekananda moved to a place closer to the Baba’s hermitage and started severe ascetic practices. He also fell ill during this time and suffered physically. He had come to the Baba to learn and be initiated into Raja Yoga and felt that he was not making any significant progress. The Baba hardly spoke and even when he did, was very circumspect and indirect. This went on for many days and Swamiji was getting increasingly restless. He was also having visions of his guru Sri Ramakrishna, and this left him both guilty and confused. Finally he decided that there was nothing he could gain from Pavhari Baba and decided to move on. It was then that he wrote again about the Baba to Pramadababu in a letter dated March 3, 1890, “But now I see the whole matter is inverted in its bearings! While I myself have come, a beggar at his door, he turns round and wants to learn of me! This saint perhaps is not perfected – too much of rites, vows, observances and too much of self-concealment. The ocean in its fullness cannot be contained within its shores, I am sure. So it is not good, I have decided not to disturb this sadhu for nothing, and very soon I shall ask leave of him to go.”

Swami Vivekananda was thence no longer distracted and satisfied to give himself to single-minded meditation. Though a few of his brother disciples thought that he was going away from the path prescribed by Sri Ramakrishna by indulging in the practices of the Baba, it shows his aptitude for many-sided knowledge and different perspectives. Swamiji sought only the truth and was ever willing to experiment in this pursuit of truth.

Events of Swami Vivekananda

Chronology of Main Events related to Swami Vivekananda

1863	January 12	Birth in Kolkata
1879		Enters Presidency College
1880		Transfers to General Assembly Institution
1881	November	First meeting with Sri Ramakrishna
1882-1886		Association with Sri Ramakrishna
1884		Passes B. A. Examination
		Father passes away
1885		Sri Ramakrishna’s last illness
1886	August 16	Sri Ramakrishna passes away
	Fall	Establishes Baranagar Math
	December 24	Informal vow of sannyasa at Antpur
1887	January	Formal vows of sannyasa at Baranagar Monastery
1890-1893		Travels all over India as itinerant monk
1892	December 24	At Kanyakumari, South India
1893	February 13	First public lecture, Secunderabad, South India
	May 31	Sails for America from Mumbai
	July 25	Lands at Vancouver, Canada
	July 30	Arrives in Chicago
	August	Meets Professor John Ft. Wright of Harvard University
	September 11	First address at Parliament of Religions, Chicago
	September 27	Final address at Parliament of Religions
	November 20	Begins mid-western lecture tour
1894	April 14	Begins lectures and classes on East Coast
	May 16	Speaks at Harvard University
	July-August	At Green Acre Religious Conference
	November	Founds Vedanta Society of New York
1895	January	Begins classes in New York
	June 4-18	At Camp Percy, New Hampshire
	June-August	At Thousand Island Park on St. Lawrence river, N.Y.
	August-September	In Paris
	October-November	Lectures in London
	December 6	Sails for New York
1896	March 22-25	Speaks at Harvard University, offered Eastern Philosophy chair
	April 15	Returns to London
	May-July	Gives classes in London
	May 28	Meets Max Muller in Oxford
	August-September	In the Europe for six weeks
	October-November	Gives classes in London
	December 30	Leaves Naples for India
1897	January 15	Arrives in Colombo, Sri Lanka
	February 6-15	In Chennai
	February 19	Arrives in Kolkata
	May 1	Establishes Ramakrishna Mission Association, Kolkata
	May-December	Tours northwest India
1898	January	Returns to Kolkata
	May	Begins North India pilgrimage with Western devotees
	August 2	At Amarnath, Kashmir
	December 9	Consecrates Belur Math
1899	March 19	Establishes Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati
	June 20	Leaves India for second visit to the West
	July 31	Arrives in London
	August 28	Arrives in New York City
	August-November	At Ridgely Manor, New York
	December 3	Arrives in Los Angeles
1900	February 22	Arrives in San Francisco
	April 14	Founds Vedanta Society in San Francisco
	June	Final classes in New York City
	July 26	Leaves for Europe
	August 3	Arrives in Paris for International Exposition
	September 7	Speaks at Congress of History of Religions at Exposition
	October 24	Begins tour of Vienna, Constantinople, Greece and Cairo
	November 26	Leaves for India
	December 9	Arrives at Belur Math
1901	January	Visits Mayavati
	March-May	Pilgrimage in East Bengal and Assam
1902	January-February	Visits Bodh Gaya and Varanasi
	March	Returns to Belur Math
	July 4	Mahasamadhi

Wandering Monk - Swami Vivekananda

A remarkable change over outlook came over Narandranath between the closing of 1888, when he first left on his temporary excursions and 1890, when he parted from his brethren and travelled alone as an unknown mendicant. He began to assume various names in order to conceal his identity that he might be swallowed up in the immensity of India.
During his interaction with his disciples or publicly Swamiji had found rarely to say anything about his experiences of his spiritual attainments. One day, during exchanges of opinion, he said; Do you know, how one can understand perception of God by a person? The Jesus of Nazareth became   Jesus Christ after the perception of God, Sakya Singha became Gautam Budha, Nimai Pandit of Nadia became Sreekrishna Chaityanna.
Narendranath knew that he was not an ordinary recluse struggling for his personal salvation  He was destined to fulfill the task bestowed upon him by his Master. Under the influence of his burning desire to know India better and the mute appeal rising all around him from oppressed India, he first went to Varanasi, the holiest city of the Hindus.  There he met Pramadadas Mitra, a great Sanskrit scholar, with whom he had been in correspondence regarding various problems of Hindu religion and philosophy.
After Varanasi he visited Lucknow, Agra, Vrindaban, hathras, and Rishikesh and the returned to Baranagore  for a time. At hathras he met Sharat Chandra Gupta who became his first disciple (Swami Sadananda). he revealed to him the mission entrusted to him by his Master, namely, the spiritual regeneration of India and the world. Sharat who was on the staff of the railway station at Hathras, resigned his post, and  followed his Guru to help him in his mission..

Swami Vivekananda and Gora of Rabindraqnath

Gora (1909) is the fifth in order of writing and the largest of Tagore’s twelve novels. It was serialised in a literary magazine Probasi from 1907 to 1909. Being a complex novel, it can be studied and interpreted at different levels. The various themes like friendship, motherhood, love, caste discrimination, woman-emancipation, the play of destiny, nation and nationalism, religion, spirituality, time and space provide a panoramic view of Tagore’s vision. It is rightly said by Krishna Kriplani, “Gora is more than a mere novel; it is an epic of India in transition at a crucial period of modern history, when the social conscience and intellectual awareness of the new intelligentsia were in the throes of a great churning. No other book gives so masterly an analysis of the complex of Indian social life with its teeming contradictions, or of the character of Indian nationalism which draws its roots from renascent Hinduism and stretches out its arms towards universal humanism” (Kriplani, A Life 118)

Prof Jagadish Bhattacharya discussed in his article about the points of similarity in the character of Gora  as portrayed by Rabindramath in his famous novel Gora with that of Vivekananda. he mentioned the comments of the biographer of Rabindranath, Pravat Kumar Mukhopadhyay saying;

" In the message given by Swami Vivekananda, the Hinduism and Nationalism were referred to. He didn't have any chance to review, due his untimely death, the over-emphasis given by him to Indian-Hindus greatness. His ideal Hindu society would not be able to give  a proper place to the Irish lady. Miss Margaret Nobel, to become popular as "Bhagini Nivedita". It was not even possible to have lunch on the same table by any person  of  Brahmmin  without removing its old traditional orthodox tendency.I hope , none will be hurt if I say that I find a combination of characters of Swami Vivekananda and Nivedita with that of Gora as portrayed by Rabindranath. imagining the impossibility of the Irish Lady to become a Hindu, Rabindranath  made Gora a Irish born hero.. Miss Nobel was also an Irish lady."

The above statement may have some different views but in the creation of the character of Gora there are three views  amongst the readers is evident;

1. The character of Gora is the reflection of  the combination of characters of Vivekananda and Nivedita,

2. Gora is portrayed to have the maximum traits of character of Nivedita,

3. To paint the character of Gora, Vivekananda's life and thought plays most important role.

Jagadish Babu submitted that he belongs to the third group.  

Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore (contd-2)

Prof. Jasgadish Bhattacharya discussed the relation between Vivekananda and Rabindranath in three phases;  1. Relation developed in the line of love of Music, 2. Relation  in the line of  downtrodden people, and 3. Relation in the light of spirited human being.
The first one has already been discussed.
Secondly, the phrase "God in disguise of poor person" was coined by Swami Vivekananda. The meaning of this word was deep rooted in the inner part of his heart.. 'Service to mankind is service to god' was his motto.To analyse  his concept of peoples awareness, Jagadish Babu cited three examples from the first part of the 'series  of Letters' (Patrabali)-Page left/ written by him in India and abroad.
The quotations from "apamanita' written by Rabindranath also reveals the same idea with that of Vivekananda. ( page -rt).
Thirdly, Swami Vivekananda, the great soul loved and revered in East and West alike as the rejuvenator of Hinduism in India and the preacher of its truth abroad, he wrote poem,  (Pic -below)

The poem "Pagal" written by Rabindranath also depicts the same meaning given here. 

Vivekananda and Rabindranath (contd-1)

 Prof. Jagadish  Bhattacharya, formerly professor , dept. of Bengali,  Bangabasi College, discussed at length the relation between Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda in his article, " Vivekananda O Rabindranath" published recently in his centenary issue edited by Tapabrata Ghosh and published by Bharbi. Jagadish Bhattacharya mentioned that  to know the relation between Vivekananda and Rabindranath one has to see it in the perspective of the relations of Rabindranath with Sri Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and Nivedita.
Rabindranath called Vivekananda as a great man. His  attitude was also similar to Vivekananda about the means of attaining the goal by India. Both of them thought that the welfare of India was dependent on the  union of the ideas of East and West. He mentioned in his article " Purba O Pashchim" of the book Samaj written in 1315, similar idea as vivekananda did.

When Rabindranath was in Geneva in Aug.,1930, he met the French Nobel Laureate Romain Rolland, the biographer of Vivekananda,  and discussed with him about the two greatmen Ramakrishna and Vivekananda at the perspective of Christianity as depicted in the Bible. Romain Rolland asked in relation to the controversy of Old Testament and New Tstament developed in their discussion;
" Do you think that Vivekananda In india tried to check the abuses in this line ?" rabindranath replied;
" So far as I can make out Vivekananda's idea was that, we must accept the facts of life...we must rise higher in our spiritual experience in the domain where neither good nor evil exists. It was because Vivekananda tried to go beyond good and evil that he could tolerate many religious habits and customs which have nothing spiritual in them"
All these utterances of Rabindranath showed how deep regard he had on Vivekananda.
The novelist Sourendramohan Mukhopadhyay narrated that after the demise of Swami Vivekananda, they had a condolence meeting   in 1902 in South Subarban School where Rabindranath mentioned so far as he remembered ;
" The notions of Vivekananda towards the fallen, deprived and exploited human being are unerring.We have to accept those ideals."[ desh 29Bhadra, 1369].
To both of them Budhadev is the ideal person.