Swami Vivekanamda in Dwaraka

The Dwarakadheesh temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Krishna, who is worshipped here by the name Dwarkadhish, or 'King of Dwarka'. It is situated at Dwarka, Gujarat, which is believed to have been built after the historic Dvarka city, the Kingdom of Krishna which submerged in to the ocean after the Mahabharata war. The main shrine of the 5-storied building, supported by 72 pillars, is known as Jagat Mandir or Nija Mandir, and is believed to be 2,500 years old. The Dwarkadhish Temple is a Pushtimarg temple, hence it follows the guidelines and rituals created by Shree Vallabhacharya and Shree Vitheleshnathji.
Swamiji came as a wandering monk to Dwaraka, holy with innumerable memories and legends of Sri Krishna. But of its glories nothing remains at the present day. Now the tumultous ocean roars over the place where once stood the great capital of which Sri Krishna was the reigning prince. Gazing out upon the ocean , waves of agony rose in the Swami's mindat the thought that nothing remained but the ruins of that greater India. He sat on the shore and yearned ardently to fathom the India of the future. later, in the silence of his cell in the ruined city of the Tadavas, he saw a great light, symbolizing the bright future of India. 

Swami Vivekananda and Porbandar

With Shri Sankar Pandurang Pandit at Porbandar

Swami Vivekanand visited Porbandar twice. According to Swami Shivanand, "it was the big beautiful library of Shri Sankar Pandurang Pandit which had attracted Swamiji's special notice when he had come to Porbandar at the time of his earlier visit and that Panditji had requested him to stay as long as he liked at his place and utilize the library. Swamiji had agreed to do so and hence he came again to Porbandar and this time stayed for about four months”. His earlier visit was a short one as confirmed from the autobiography of Swami Abhedananda. During his travels Swami Abhedananda had come to Porbandar and learnt from Shankar Pandurang Pandit that a few days back an English-knowing Bengali Sanyasi named Swami Sachhidananda had come there on a short visit. Later he found out that he was none other than Swami Vivekananda.

Pandit Shankar Pandurang of Konkan was not only an eminent Sanskrit scholar, but he was a man of affairs being at the time in high favour with the Government. After his return from England in 1874, he was appointed as Oriental Translator in Bombay Government because of his proficiency in nine languages. In 1886, he was appointed as Registrar in Bombay High Court and shortly afterwards as administrator of Porbandar. Apart from editing 'Atharva Veda' and 'Raghuvansha' of Kalidas, he started a journal 'Vedarthyatra' for propagation of ‘Rig Veda’. He got appreciation for his numerous Sanskrit works by great scholars all over the world. Prof. Max Mueller had said, "The editions of Sanskrit text published at Bombay by Prof. Bhandarkar and Mr. S. P. Pandit and others need not fear comparison with the best works of European scholars."

Apart from this, he was a great philanthropist. He arranged for irrigation facilities for farmers, started telegraph offices all over the State of Porbandar, started schools for girls as he had devotion for female education, opened hospitals in the villages and carried out various works for the benefit of the people. During his long stay at Porbandar, Vivekanandji came very close to Pandit Shankar Pandurang and his family. He used to go on a horse-ride with Panditji to have a look at the distant villages. Being an expert in culinary skills, he taught Panditji's wife, Ushadevi, various delicacies. Two sons of Panditji, Madhav and Vaman, played with him, learnt swimming from him and became great friends of Swamiji. Three daughters Tara, Kshama and Bhadra who were at first shy, received greater affection and blessings of Swamiji.

During Swami Vivekanand's stay at Porbandar, Pandit Shankar Pandurang was editing Sayanacharya's commentary on the 'Atharva Veda'. Impressed by Vivekanandji's scholarship, he often asked his help to explain some of the more abstruse passages which Vivekanandji did with his usual expertise. Both kept at the work constantly, Swamiji becoming more and more engrossed in it as his perception of the greatness of Vedic thought grew still keener. Swamiji also finished reading of Panini's 'Mahabhasya' at Porbandar. Swami Vivekanand told Swami Akhandananda that in the whole of India he had not seen Pandurang's equal in Vedic learning. Swamiji also learnt French as advised by Panditiji who said,"It will be of great use to you, Swamiji". He wrote a letter in French to his brother-disciples at Alambazar and gave them a great surprise. 
The Swami's stay at Porbandar on the Saurashtra coast was unusally long . The Maharaja insisting , he remained here for eleven monthsand worked with Pandit Shankar Pandurang, a vedic scholar of repute, in translating the Vedas.Here he finished, too, the reading of the Mahavasya, the great commentary of Patanjali on Panini's grammer.He also took up the study of French and gained a fair knowledge of it with the help of the Pandit who said, "It will be of use to you, Swamijio." 

Pandit Shankar Pandurang told Swami Vivekanand, "I am afraid you cannot do much in this country. Few will appreciate you here. You should go to the West. Surely you can throw a great light on Western culture by preaching the ‘Sanatan Dharma". Here, perhaps Vivekanandji heard for the first time about the religious convention that was to be held sometime in the following year at Chicago.

Swami Vivekananda in Gujarat

On his arrival at Junagadh, the Swami was keen to climb up the Girnar mountain, sacred to Budhism and Jainism, and also to many creed Hinduism.He climbed up with ease the step mountain path and arrived first at the large enclosure of sixteen Jaina temples.He paused here to study their marvellous architecture and proceeding further, he reached the summit . From there he saw the whole of India, as it were, as a place of pilgrimage, as one huge temple filled with shrines and sanctuaries.    

(Jaina Temple in Mt. Abu)

Swami Vivekananda and Maharaja Ajit Singh of Khetri

Maharaja Ajit Singh Bahadur (1861–1901) was a ruler of the Indian princely state of Khetri between 1870-1901. He was a close friend and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. Ajit Singh is known for his monetary support he provided to Vivekananda, and encouraging him to speak at the Parliament of the World's Religions at Chicago in 1893.

Swami Vivekananda and Ajit Singh had a very intimate and cordial relationship. Vivekananda first visited Ajit Singh as a wandering monk in 1891. As a state-guest, Swamiji spent two and a half months at Khetri.

In the summer of 1891, Swamiji visited Mt. Abu in Rajaasthan and stayed in a cave on the banks of the Nakki Lake.  Later, at the importunate request of a Mussalman pleader, he agreed to stay in his house. After a few days, the pleader invited Munsi Jagmohanlal, the private secretary of the Maharaja of Khetri, to meet the Swami. When the Munshi questioned the propriety of the Swami's staying with a Mussalman, since his food might inadvertently be touched by him , Swamiji said, "I am above all such social conventions. I can dine even with a Bhangi (sweeper). I see Brahman everywhere, manifested even through the meanest creature. For me there is nothing high or low. Shiva, Shiva!"

The Swami passed many weeks with the Maharaja of Khetri, studying , teaching , and living the spiritual life. Though in a palace, he lived as a monk, in a constant communionwith his soul and his Master.Swamiji often visited the houses of his poorer devotees, and frequently are at the house of Pandit Shankar Lal, a poor Brahmin. The whole town of Khetri was enamoured of the Swami, and he treated the least of his admirers with the same love and affection as he showed to the Maharaja.   

(The palace of the Maharaja of Khetri where Vivekananda stayed. It is now the centre of Ramakrishna Mission) 

Swami Vivekananda - Wandering Monk (contd-4)

Swamiji remembered the life of freedom of the stern ascetics in the neighborhood of Hardwar and Hrishikesh. " I saw many great  men in Hrishikesh ," said Swamiji in later life. "One case that I remember was that of a man who seemed to be mad. he was coming nude down the street , with boys pursuiting and throwing stones at him. the whole man was bubbling over with laughter , while blood was streaming down his face and neck. I took him and bathed his wound , putting ashes (made by burning a piece of cloth ) on it to stop the bleeding . And all the time , with peals of laughter , he told me of the fun the boys and he had been having, throwing the stones." So the father plays," he said,

Swami Vivekananda- Wandering Monk(contd-3)

Swami Vivekananda and Sharat Chandra Gupta

In 1888, Swmiji met Sharat Chandra Gupta, the assistnt station master of Hathras Railway Station. He invited the Swami to his house.There the Swami was singing a song. " My beloved must come to me with ashes on his moon face.". Forth with Sharat Chandra appeared before him , divested of his official clothes,   

with ashes on his face.After a few months he joined the Baranagore monastery and became Sadananda. He used to say later; " Swamiji risked his life several times for my sake. How can I describe him, friends, except by the word Love,Love Love! When I was too ill to do anything but stagger along, he carried my personal belongings including my shoes,"




From left to right: Swami Trigunatita, Swami Shivananda, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Turiyananda, Swami Brahmananda, Swami Sadananda (seated below)

The Durga Mandir (Temple) is situated in Ramnagar of Banaras (or Varanasi).[1] It is believed that it was built 500 years ago which is under control of royal family of Banaras State currently. This temple is devoted to Hindu deity Durga. The temple has a large stone built pond with it. The Durga Mandir boasts of its fine stone works, which is a fabulous example of north Indian stone work arts.

There is another Durga temple, within the Varanasi city, built in the 18th century overlooking a pond known as Durga Kund.
One day, as Swamiji was returning from the temple of Mother Durga, he was pursued by a group of monkeys. He fled, fearing that they might harm him; suddenly, he heard the voice of an old sannyasin calling him out; " Stop! Always face the brute." Swamiji turned , his fear gone, seeing defiant, the monkeys fled. In a lecture, given in Newyork, years later, he referred to this incident and pointed out the moral of the story; " So face nature! Face ignorance! Face illusion! Never fly. 

Vivekananda as a wandering monk (contd-2)

Wherever he went was not the important places and he met people of all sections of the society. He found the terrible poverty and misery of the masses that caused him sad and thoughtful. He had traveled through the whole of India, often on foot, for nearly three years, coming to know India at first hand. Now he had  reached the end of his journey as it were. He prostrated himself with great feeling before the image of Mother Kumari at the Kanya Kumari Temple.  
Then he swam across the sea to a rock of the south coast, and sitting there for the whole night went into deep meditation. The vast panorama of his experiences during his travels passed before his mind's eye. He meditated on the past, the presents, and the future of India, the causes of her downfall, and the means of her resurrection. He then took the momentous decision to go to the West to seek for the poor of India and thus give shape to his life's mission.
  With this decision, he journeyed to the Rameswaram and Madurai. At the latter place, he met the Raja of Ramnad who became his staunch supporter and assured him of his help. He then went on to Madras, where a group of young men, headed by Alasinga Perumal, were eagerly awaiting his arrival. To them he revealed his intention of visiting America to attend the Parliament of Religions that was being convened at Chicago. But Swami was not yet certain that it was the Divine Mother's will that he should go. At this juncture, the Swami had a symbolic dream in which Sri Ramakrishna walked out into the sea and beckoned him to follow. This, coupled with the blessings and permission of Sri Sarada Devi, who also, in a dream, had received Sri Ramakrishna's consent, settled the question for him, and his young disciples to set about collecting the necessary funds.
He  next paid a short visit to Hyderabad. Then, while arrangements were being made for his journey to America , there came a sudden invitation from the Maharaja of Khetri to attend the celebrations in connection with the birth of his son. Te Swami could not refuse this invitation from his disciple. The Maharaja sent his personal secretary with the Swami to equip him for the journey and see him off at Bombay. His journey to America commenced on 31 May 1893.
 

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..