यतो धर्म: ततो जय:
Margaret becomes Nivedita - 1
Swami Vivekananda wanted to introduce Margaret Noble to the people of Calcutta and see their response. Therefore, a public meeting was organised on 11 March. People came with lot of curiosity and wonder. Swami Vivekananda first introduced her and then she gave a speech. Nivedita answered in her speech the unasked questions in the minds of the people as to 'Who is this woman? What does she know about us? Is she still another missionary?'
Margaret spoke, 'You have the ingenuity of 6000 years of conservatism. But yours is a conservation of the people who have, through that long period, been able to preserve the greatest spiritual treasures of the world; and it is for this reason that I have come to India, to serve her with one burning passion for service. ...One day Europe, weighed down by the burden of its riches, might turn toward India envying its poverty and discovering the quality of its incorruptible spiritual treasure. …I must learn everything like a child; my education is beginning. Help me! When the road is difficult, I shall remember the welcome in your kindly faces….' When the speech was over the people warmly responded her. Swami Vivekananda was also pleased with her speech as he could see that she had come to India really to serve and not to patronize it.
After getting settled down, Swami Vivekananda wanted Margaret to meet Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, the spiritual consort of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa the Guru of Swami Vivekananda. He knew that Margaret would receive something of a shock when she saw the intimate household of an orthodox Hindu widow. He wanted his disciple to feel the sparkling joy that radiated from Sarada Devi. Along with the other two American women, Margaret went to meet Sri Ma on 17th March. Somewhere it was in her mind that, 'if Sri Sarada Devi does not approve of me then it would be difficult to be accepted in India'. It was a very new world for her. The men including Swami Vivekananda and other monks had no entry in the inner parts of Sri Ma's household.
No comments:
Post a Comment