Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda - Josephine Macleod - 2

We never spoke to him, had nothing much to do with him; but during that spring we were dining one night with Mr. Francis. H. Leggett, who later became my brother-in-law. "Yes, we can dine with you but we cannot spend the evening with you," we had told him. "Very well," he answered, "just dine with me." When dinner was over, he said, "Where are you going this evening?" We told him we were going to a lecture; and he asked. "Mayn't I come?" We said. "Yes." He came, he listened; and when it was over, he went up to Swamiji, shook hands with him and said. "Swami, when will you dine with me?" And it was he who introduced us to Swami socially.

The Swami came to Ridgely Manor, Mr. Leggett's place in the Catskill Mountains, and spent some days there. At the time some of the students said. "But Swamiji, you can't go. The classes are going on." Swami turned with great dignity and answered. "Are they my classes? Yes, I will go." And he did. While he was there, he met my sister's children who were then twelve and fourteen years old. But when we came down to New York and the classes began again, he did not seem to remember them, and they, very much surprised, said. "Swami doesn't remember us." We said to them. "Wait until the class is over." While he was lecturing, he was always completely absorbed in what he was talking about. When he was through speaking, he came up and said, "Well children, how nice to see you again," showing he did remember them. They were very happy.

Perhaps it was during this period, when he was our guest in New York City, one day he came home very quiet and subdued, He did not speak for hours, and finally we said to him, "Swami! What did you do today?" And he said, "I have seen a thing today that only America can show. I was in the street car. Helen Gould sat on one side and a negro washerwoman, with her washing on her lap, on the other. No place but America can show that."

In June of that year Swami went up to Camp Percy, Christine Lake. N. H., to be the guest of Mr. Leggett at his fishing camp. We also went. There my sister's engagement to Mr. Leggett was announced, and Swami was invited to go abroad and be the witness at the wedding. While he was at the Camp, Swami would go out under those beautiful white birch trees and meditate for hours. Without telling us anything about it he made two beautiful birch bark books, written in Sanskrit and English, which he gave to my sister and me.

Then when my sister and I went to Paris to buy her trousseau, Swami went to Thousand Island Park and for six weeks gave those wonderful talks called Inspired Talks, which to me are the most beautiful words that were written, because they were given to a group of intimate disciples. They were disciples, whereas I was never anything but a friend. But that quality that he gave them! Nothing I think revealed his heart as those days did.

He came over to Paris with Mr. Leggett in August. There, my sister and I stayed at the Holland House, and the Swami and Mr. Leggett stayed at a different hotel; but we saw them every day. At that time Mr. Leggett had a courier who always called Swami 'Mon Prince!' And Swami said to him. "But I am not a prince. I am a Hindu monk." The courier answered, "You may call yourself that, but I am used to dealing with Princes, and I know one when I see one." His dignity impressed everyone. Yet, when someone once said to him, "You are so dignified, Swami", he replied, "It isn't me, it's my walk."

To Be Continue..

(Prabuddha Bharata, December 1949)

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

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Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda - Josephine Macleod - 1

ON the twenty-ninth of January 1895, I went with my sister in 54 West 33rd Street, New York, and heard the Swami Vivekananda in his sitting room where were assembled fifteen or twenty ladies and two or three gentlemen. The room was crowded. All the arm-chairs were taken; so I sat on the floor in the front row. Swami stood in the corner. He said something, the particular words of which I do not remember, but instantly to me that was truth, and the second sentence he spoke was truth, and the third sentence was truth. And I listened to him for seven years and whatever he uttered was to me truth. From that moment life had a different import. It was as if he made yon realm; that you were in eternity. It never altered. It never grew. It was like the sun that you will never forget once you have seen.

I heard him all that winter, three days a week, mornings at eleven o'clock. I never spoke to him, but as we were so regular in coming, two front seats were always kept for us in this sitting room of the Swamiji. One day he turned and said. "Are you sisters?" "Yes", we answered. Then he said, "Do you come very far?" We said, "No. not very far — about thirty miles up the Hudson." "So far? That is wonderful." Those were the first words I ever spoke to him.

I always felt that after Vivekananda, Mrs. Roethlisberger was the most spiritual person I ever met. It was she who took us to him. Swamiji had a great place for her also. One day she and I went to the Swami and said. "Swami, will you tell us how to meditate?" He said. "Meditate on the word 'OM' for a week and come again and tell me." So after a week we went back and Mrs. Roethlisberger said,"I see a light." He said, "Good, keep on," "O no, it is more like a glow at the heart." And he said to me, "Good, keep on." That is all he ever taught me. But we had been meditating before we ever met him, and we knew the Gita by heart, I think that prepared us for recognition of this tremendous life force which he was. His power lay, perhaps, in the courage he gave others. He did not ever seem to be conscious of himself at all. It was the other man who interested him. "When the book of life begins to open, then the fun begins," he would say. He used to make us realize there was nothing secular in life; it was all holy. "Always remember, you are incidentally an American, and a woman, but always a child of God. Tell yourself day and night who you are. Never forget it." That is what he used to tell us. His presence, you see, was dynamic. You cannot pass that power on unless you have it, just as you cannot give money away unless you have it. You may imagine it, but you cannot do it.

To Be Continue..

(Prabuddha Bharata, December 1949)

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

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Swami Vivekananda in Newspaper

Indian Mirror January 21, 1897

Swami Vivekananda was accorded a most enthusiastic reception at Colombo, where he landed on the 15th instant. All classes of the Colombo community, whether Hindus or Buddhists, forgot their differences, and went to work together to render fitting honour, where honour was so eminently due. The appreciation of his splendid record of work in the West is by no means confined to his brethren in the faith, for the fact of the Buddhists having co-operated with the Hindus in acknowledging the debt of gratitude, under which he has laid all followers of the several Eastern creeds, is a proof positive of his services having been estimated at their true worth, outside the ranks of Hinduism. The Swami stayed only for four days at Colombo, and then started for Madras, where arrangements are being made on a magnificent scale to extend to him an impressive and enthusiastic welcome. We learn from a letter from the Southern Presidency that the Hindu community there to a man is animated by a sincere desire to celebrate, in a fitting manner, the return of the "conquering hero," and, on this behalf, it has set about its work in sober earnest. It is but in the fitness of things that the Province, which was the first to recognise the Swami's genius, and which paid the greater portion of the expenses of his voyage, should also be the first to welcome him with open arms on his return to the country of his birth. The Swami, after stopping in Madras for a few days, will leave for Calcutta -- his native city -- where he is expected to arrive by the middle of February. A prophet, they say, is not honored in his own country, but, we hope, that, in this case, there will be a departure from this rule, and that all sections of our community will combine to welcome the Swami home in a right royal fashion. He may not be a Roman hero, returning from the field of battle with the laurels of many victories on his brow. But peace hath her victories no less than war, and, in the bloodless battle that he has fought on behalf of a religion, which teaches the highest doctrines of peace and brotherhood amongst mankind, entitles him to the eternal gratitude of his fellow-believers. He has raised the Hindu nation in the estimation of the Western world, and has created for the Hindu faith an interest, which will last through all time. It is impossible to over-estimate the value of his services in America to the cause of Hinduism. Hundreds of men and women have enlisted themselves under the standard, which he unfolded in America, and some of them have even taken to the bowl and the yellow-robes. The work, that he had to do, speedily assumed such proportions as to necessitate the despatch of fresh re-inforcements from India to keep it live in America. Swami Saradananda is busy in Boston in watering the seeds, which were sown there by Swami Vivekananda. The classes opened in several places in America, and even in England , for the teaching of Hinduism in its purer form, are a sufficient token of the leaning towards Vedantism, which the West has begun to manifest under the inspiring and soul-stirring eloquence of Swami Vivekananda. Those that attended the lectures, delivered the other day at the Emerald Theatre by Mr. Turnbull of Chicago, must have been thoroughly impressed with the magnitude of the change, which has been wrought by Swami Vivekananda in the hearts and convictions of the American people. The Swami delivered his first memorable address on Hinduism in the Parliament of Religions, which was held in Chicago, in September, 1893. He made a tour of almost all the principal places in the United States, and wherever he went, he won.

Source : https://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/unpublished/indianmirror_01211897.htm

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

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Swami Vivekananda's amazing memory - The Newspaper

Once Swamiji and one of his friends were travelling through Ship, they asked for a newspaper to read. Ship's crew member provided newspaper to them.

Swamiji goes out for a while to another chamber of the Ship.

Due to heavy breeze and wind, while reading newspaper his friend slips the newspaper accidentally into sea. One of the Crew members came to know about this, he gets angry and scolds Swamiji's friend in abusive manner.

After some time Swamiji returned, his friend informed him about the incident and how he was insulted. Swamiji asked for a pen and paper, he wrote down the entire newspaper very fast. The detailing was so correct that even comas and fullstops were placed as it were on newspaper.

Swamiji handed over the paper to the crew and said that this is what your newspaper contained if you doubt, you can check it there is not a single detail missing in it. The Crew was speechless.

(Anecdotes from the life of Swami Vivekananda - RKM)

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

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Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda - Viraja Devi - 2

After living in Turk Street for a month, Swamiji went to Alameda and stayed at the "Home of Truth", It was quite a large house and was surrounded by a beautiful garden, where the Swamiji used to walk about in smoking. There was quite a large porch on the house on which Swamiji sat sometimes talking to the few of us who gathered around him. The Easter Sunday night was the full moon, the nisteria was in full bloom and draped the porch like a curtain. Swamiji sat on the porch smoking and telling funny stories, then he told of how his feet hurt him when he wore shoes in Chicago, and of his experience with a lady doctor who had undertaken to doctor his toe. He said. "Oh my toe, my toe! Whenever I think of that lady doctor, my toe hurts. "Then one of the party asked him to talk on "Renunciation". "Renunciation?" said Swamiji, "Babies, what do you know of renunciation?" "Are we too young even to hear of it?" was asked. Swamiji was silent for a while and then gave a most illuminating and inspiring talk. He spoke of discipleship and of entire resignation to the guru, which was quite a new teaching to the Western world. While in Alameda Swamiji used to cook Hindu dishes for himself on Sunday afternoons, and I again had the privilege of being with him and partaking of his dishes; and although I attended all Swamiji's public lectures both in San Francisco and Alameda, it was this close contact with the Swamiji that I most deeply cherish. Once after being quiet for some time Swamiji said, "Madame, be broad-minded, always see two ways. When I am on the Heights I say 'I am He', and when I have a stomach-ache, I say "Mother, have mercy on me'. Always see two ways." On another occasion he said, "Learn to be the witness. If there are two dogs fighting on the street and I go out there, I get mixed up in the fight but if I stay quietly in my room. I witness the fight from the window. So learn to be the witness." While in Alameda Swamiji gave public lectures in Tucker Hall. He gave one wonderful lecture. "The Ultimate Destiny of Man" and Finished by placing his hand on his chest and saying "I am God". A most awed silence fell upon the audience, and many people thought it blasphemy for Swamiji to say such a thing.

Once he did something in rather an unconventional way. and I was a little shocked at him. He said. "O Madame, you always want this little outside to be so nice. It is not the outside that matters, it is the inside."

How little we understood the Swamiji? We had no knowledge of what he really was. Sometimes he would tell me things, and I in the abundance of my ignorance, would tell him I did not think that way, and he would laugh and say, "Don't you?" His love and toleration was wonderful. Swamiji was not in good health — much lecturing told upon him. He used to say he did not like platform work, "Public lecturing is killing. At eight o'clock I am to speak on'Love'. At eight o'clock I do not feel like love!"

After he finished lecturing in Alameda, the Swami went to Camp Taylor and a tittle later started for the East and we in California never saw him again. Yet we who were blessed by his presence cannot feel he is entirely gone from us. He lives in our memories and in the teachings he gave us. Before he left, he told me if I ever got into psychic difficulty again to call on him and he would hear me wherever he was, even though hundreds of miles away, and it may be he can hear even now.

(Vedanta Kesari, September 1924)

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

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Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda - Viraja Devi - 1

EARLY in March 1900 the Swami Vivekananda gave a series of three lectures on "Indian Ideals" in Redmen's Hall, Union Square, San Francisco, and it was at the first lecture of this series that I had the blessed privilege of hearing him. Being in ill health, both mentally and physically, it was a great effort to go to the lecture; and as I sat in the hall waiting for the Swami to come. I began to wonder whether I had not made a mistake in coming to hear him; but all doubts vanished when the Swami's majestic figure entered the hall. He talked for about two hours telling us of India's Ideals and taking us with him, as it were, to his own country so that we might understand him a little and be able to comprehend even in the least the great truths he taught. After the lecture, I was introduced to the Swami; but feeling overawed by his wonderful presence. I did not speak, but sat down at a distance and watched him, while waiting for friends who were busy settling up the business connected with the lectures. After the second lecture, I was again waiting, sitting at a distance watching the Swami, when he looked across and beckoned to me to come to him. I went and stood before him as he sat in a chair. He said, "Madame. if you want to see me privately, you come to the flat on Turk Street, no charge there, none of this botheration about money."

I told him I should like very much to see him. He said, "Come tomorrow morning", and I thanked him. Much of the night was spent thinking of all the questions I should ask him, as many questions had been troubling me for months and no one to whom I had gone was able to help me. On arriving at the flat next morning, I was told that the Swami was going out, so could not see any one. I said I knew he would see me because he had told me I might come, so I was allowed to go up the stairs and into the front sitting-room. In a little while the Swami came into me room, dressed in his long overcoat and little round hat, chanting softly. He sat on a chair on the opposite side of the room and continued chanting softly in his incomparable way. Presently he said "Well, Madame!" I could not speak but began to weep and kept on weeping as though the flood-gates had been opened. The Swami continued chanting for a while, then said, "Come tomorrow about the same time."

Thus ended my first interview with the Blessed Swami Vivekananda, and as I went from his presence, my problems were solved and my questions were answered, though he had not asked me anything. It is now over twenty-four years since that interview with the Swami, yet it stands out in memory as the greatest blessing of my life. I had the wonderful privilege of seeing Swamiji every day for a month, and was in the meditation class which he held in Turk Street.

I used to stay after the class and help him cook lunch etc., or rather, he allowed me to be in the kitchen with him and do odd jobs for him while he talked Vedanta and chanted and cooked. One verse from the Gita he chanted a great deal is verse 61, Chapter 18: "The Lord dwelleth in the hearts of all beings, O Arjuna, by His illusive power, causing all beings to revolve as though mounted on a potter's wheel.

He chanted it in Sanskrit, and every now and then would stop and talk of it. He was so wonderful, his nature so manysided, at times so childlike, at times the Vedanta Lion, but to me always the kind and loving parent. He told me not to call him Swami, but to call him "Babaji", as the children did in India. Once when walking along the street with Swamiji after a lecture, all at once he seemed to me so big, as though he towered above the ordinary mortals. The people on the street looked like pigmies, and he had such a majestic presence that people stepped aside to let him pass by. One evening after the lecture, Swamiji insisted upon taking a party of about 10 or 12 of us to have ice-cream. Some ordered ice-cream and some ice-cream soda. Swamiji was fond of ice-cream but did not care for ice-cream soda. The waitress who look the order made a mistake and brought ice-cream soda for the Swami; she said she would change it for him. The proprietor spoke to the waitress about it, and when Swamiji heard him, he called out, "Don't you scold that poor girl. I'll take all the ice-cream soda if you are going to scold her."

(Vedanta Kesari, September 1924)

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

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Tribute to Swami Vivekananda by his friends and admirers

Nagendra Nath Gupta

His thoughts ranged over every phase of the future of India , and he gave all that was in him to his country and to the world. The world will rank him among the prophets and princes of peace, and his message has been heard in reverence in three continents. For his countrymen he has left priceless heritage of virility, abounding vitality, and invincible strength of will. Swami Vivekananda stands on the threshold of the dawn of a new day for India , a heroic and dauntless figure, the herald and harbinger of the glorious hour when India shall, once again, sweep forward to the van of the nations.

(Source: Prabuddha Bharata,  April 1927)

K. Sundarama Iyer

The Swami's towering personality and marvellous career must be said to mark an epoch in history whose full significance can become discernible only in some distant future time. But to those who have had the privilege of knowing him intimately, he seems to be only comparable to some of those immortal spiritual personages who have shed an undying lustre on this Holy Land . It is very pleasant to have recorded these personal reminiscences, meagre as they are, and even though they can add little or nothing to our knowledge of the Master, who enchanted and enchained the heart of human society in the East and in the West in his time and generation.

(Source: Reminiscences of K.Sundarama Iyer )

Harriet Monroe

Harriet Monroe the founder of Poetry A Magazine of Verse, through which she introduced many of America 's now famous poets attended the World's Fair in 1893 and years later in her autobiography, A Poet's Life, recorded her impressions of the Parliament of Religions and of Swami Vivekananda:

The Congress of Religions was a triumph for all concerned, especially for its generalissimo, the Reverend John H. Barrows, of Chicago 's First Presbyterian Church, who had been preparing it for two years. When he brought down his gavel upon the "world's first parliament of religions" a wave of breathless silence swept over the audience-it seemed a great moment in human history, prophetic of the promised new era of tolerance and peace. On the stage with him, at his left, was a black-coated array of bishops and ministers representing  the various familiar Protestant sects and the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches; at his right a brilliant group of strangely costumed dignitaries from afar-a Confucian from China, a Jain from India, a theosophist from Allahabad, a white-robed Shinto priest and four Buddhists from Japan, and a monk of the orange robe from Bombay.

It was the last of these, Swami Vivekananda, the magnificent, who stole the whole show and captured the town. Others of the foreign groups spoke well-the Greek, the Russian, the Armenian, Mazoomdar of Calcutta, Dharmapala of Ceylon-leaning, some of these upon interpreters. Shibata, the Shintu, bowed his wired white headdress to the ground, spread his delicate hands in suave gestures, and uttered gravely with serene politeness his incomprehensible words. But the handsome monk in the orange robe gave us in perfect English a masterpiece. His personality, dominant, magnetic; his voice, rich as a bronze bell; the controlled fervor of his feeling; the beauty of his message to the Western world he was facing for the first time-these combined to give us a rare and perfect moment of supreme emotion. It was human eloquence at its highest pitch.

One cannot repeat a perfect moment-the futility of trying to has been almost a superstition with me. Thus I made no effort to hear Vivekananda speak again, during that autumn and winter when he was making converts by the score to his hope of uniting East and West in a world religion above the tumult of controversy.

Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim

Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (February 5, 1840 – November 24, 1916) was an American inventor who emigrated to England at the age of forty-one and adopted British citizenship. He was the inventor of the Maxim Gun – the first portable, fully automatic machine gun – and the ubiquitous mousetrap. He patented the first silencing device for a firearm, and laid a claim to inventing the lightbulb. He also experimented with powered flight, but his large aircraft designs were never successful. However, his "Captive Flying Machine" amusement ride, designed as a means by which to fund his research while generating public interest in flight, was highly successful.

Sir Hiram Maxim wrote of his impression of Swami Vivekananda  

To some members of the great Parliament audience Swamiji stood as the victorious opponent of all that was stereotyped, dull, and unthinking in Christian churches. Among these was Sir Hiram Maxim, one of the brilliant engineers and inventors of his day, who, in 1893, had not yet left his native America to become a British subject. Twenty years later, in a foreword to his anti-missionary treatise, Li Hung Chang's Scrap-Book, Sir Hiram recalled the Parliament of Religions and the figure who was still vivid in his mind as its hero. Maxim wrote:

A few years ago there was a Congress of Religions at Chicago . Many said that such a thing would be impossible. How could any understanding be arrived at where each particular party was absolutely right and all the others were completely in the wrong? Still the Congress saved the American people more than a million dollars a year, not to mention many lives abroad. And this was all brought about by one brave and honest man. When it was announced in Calcutta that there was to be a Congress of religions at Chicago , some of the rich merchants took the Americans at their word, and sent them a Brahmin monk, Viva Kananda, from the oldest monastery in the world. This monk was of commanding presence and vast learning, speaking English like a Webster. The American Protestants, who vastly outnumbered all others, imagined that they would have an easy task, and commenced proceedings with the greatest confidence, and with the air of "Just see me wipe you out " However, what they had to  say was the old commonplace twaddle that had been mouthed over and over again in every little hamlet from Nova Scotia to California. It interested no one, and no one noticed it.

When, however, Viva Kananda spoke, they saw that they had a Napoleon to deal with. His first speech was no less than a revelation. Every word was eagerly taken down by the reporters, and telegraphed all over the country, where it appeared in thousands of papers. Viva Kananda became the lion of the day. He soon had an immense following. No hall could hold the people who flocked to hear him lecture. They had been sending silly girls and half educated simpletons of men,  and millions of dollars, to Asia for years to convert the poor benighted heathen and save his alleged soul; and here was a specimen of the unsaved who knew more of philosophy and religion than all the parsons and missionaries in the whole country. Religion was presented in an agreeable light for the first time to them. There was more in it than they had ever dreamed; argument was impossible. He played with the parsons as a cat plays with a mouse. They were in a state of consternation. What could they do? What did they do? What they always do-they denounced him as an agent of the devil. But the deed was done; he had sown the seed, and the Americans commenced to think. They said to themselves: "Shall we waste our money in sending mis- sionaries who know nothing of religion, as compared with this man, to teach such men as he? No!" And the missionary income fell off more than a million dollars a year in consequence.

(From Marie Louie Burke's "New Discoveries")

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

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The dog's curly tail

There was a poor man who wanted some money; and somehow he had heard that if he could get hold of a ghost, he might command him to bring money or anything else he liked; so he was very anxious to get hold of a ghost. He went about searching for a man who would give him a ghost, and at last he found a sage with great powers, and besought his help. The sage asked him what he would do with a ghost. "I want a ghost to work for me; teach me how to get hold of one, sir; I desire it very much," replied the man. But the sage said, "Don't disturb yourself, go home." The next day the man went again to the sage and began to weep and pray, "Give me a ghost; I must have a ghost, sir, to help me." At last the sage was disgusted, and said, "Take this charm, repeat this magic word, and a ghost will come, and whatever you say to him he will do. But beware; they are terrible beings, and must be kept continually busy. If you fail to give him work, he will take your life." The man replied, "That is easy; I can give him work for all his life." Then he went to a forest, and after long repetition of the magic word, a huge ghost appeared before him, and said, "I am a ghost. I have been conquered by your magic; but you must keep me constantly employed. The moment you fail to give me work I will kill you." The man said, "Build me a palace,", and the ghost said, "It is done; the palace is built." "Bring me money," said the man. "Here is your money," said the ghost. "Cut this forest down, and build a city in its place." "That is done," said the ghost, "anything more?" Now the man began to be frightened and thought he could give him nothing more to do; he did everything in a trice. The ghost said, "Give me something to do or I will eat you up." The poor man could find no further occupation for him, and was frightened. So he ran and ran and at last reached the sage, and said, "Oh, sir, protect my life!" The sage asked him what the matter was, and the man replied, "I have nothing to give the ghost to do. Everything I tell him to do he does in a moment, and he threatens to eat me up if I do not give him work." Just then the ghost arrived, saying, "I'll eat you up," and he would have swallowed the man. The man began to shake, and begged the sage to save his life. The sage said, "I will find you a way out. Look at that dog with a curly tail. Draw your sword quickly and cut the tail off and give it to the ghost to straighten out." The man cut off the dog's tail and gave it to the ghost, saying, "Straighten that out for me." The ghost took it and slowly and carefully straightened it out, but as soon as he let it go, it instantly curled up again. Once more he laboriously straightened it out, only to find it again curled up as soon as he attempted to let go of it. Again he patiently straightened it out, but as soon as he let it go, it curled up again. So he went on for days and days, until he was exhausted and said, "I was never in such trouble before in my life. I am an old veteran ghost, but never before was I in such trouble." "I will make a compromise with you;" he said to the man, "you let me off and I will let you keep all I have given you and will promise not to harm you." The man was much pleased, and accepted the offer gladly.

This world is like a dog's curly tail, and people have been striving to straighten it out for hundreds of years; but when they let it go, it has curled up again. How could it be otherwise?

One must first know how to work without attachment, then one will not be a fanatic. When we know that this world is like a dog's curly tail and will never get straightened, we shall not become fanatics. If there were no fanaticism in the world, it would make much more progress than it does now. It is a mistake to think that fanaticism can make for the progress of mankind. On the contrary, it is a retarding element creating hatred and anger, and causing people to fight each other, and making them unsympathetic. We think that whatever we do or possess is the best in the world, and what we do not do or possess is of no value. So, always remember the instance of the curly tail of the dog whenever you have a tendency to become a fanatic.

(TALES AND PARABLES by Swami Vivekananda)

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

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Swami Vivekananda wrote to Alasinga Perumal

C/o Miss H. Muller,
Airlie Lodge, Ridgeway Gardens
Wimbledon, England
22nd September, 1896
Dear Alasinga,

I am sure you have got the article on Ramakrishna, I sent you, by Max Muller. Do not be sorry, he does not mention me there at all, as it was written six months before he knew me. And then who cares whom he mentions, if he is right in the main point. I had a beautiful time with Prof. Deussen in Germany. Later, he and I came together to London, and we have already become great friends.

I am soon sending you an article on him. Only pray do not put that old-fashioned "Dear Sir" before my articles. Have you seen the Raja-Yoga book yet? I will try to send you a design for the coming year. I send you a Daily News article on a book of travel written by the Czar of Russia. The paragraph in which he speaks of India as the land of spirituality and wisdom, you ought to quote in your paper and send the article to the Indian Mirror.

You are very welcome to publish the Jnana-Yoga lectures, as well as Dr. (Nanjunda Rao) in his Awakened India --only the simpler ones. They have to be very carefully gone through and all repetitions and contradictions taken out. I am sure I will now have more time to write. Work on with energy.

With love to all,
Yours,
Vivekananda

PS. I have marked the passage to be quoted, the rest of course is useless for a paper.
I do not think it would be good just now to make the paper a monthly one yet, unless you are sure of giving a good bulk. As it is now, the bulk and the matter are all very poor. There is yet a vast untrodden field, namely--the writing of the lives and works of Tulasidasa, Kabir, Nanak, and of the saints of Southern India. They should be written in a thorough-going, scholarly style, and not in a slipshod, slovenly way. In fact, the ideal of the paper, apart from the preaching of Vedanta, should be to make it a magazine of Indian research and scholarship, of course, bearing on religion. You must approach the best writers and get carefully-written articles from their pen. Work on with all energy.
Yours with love,
Vivekananda

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

Follow us on   blog   twitter   youtube   facebook   g+   delicious   rss   Donate Online

Prabuddha Bharata: 125 Years Young!

WAY BACK IN THE closing decade of the 19th century, India lay prone for a millennium, trampled upon by for- eign hordes, and had come almost to the brink of losing its past, its message of universal harmony, and its united endeavour to step towards the noons of the future. There were lone voices speaking helplessly of the past dawns, and these memories were becoming dim with the intro- duction of Macaulay's Minute. But that was the darkest period before dawn when a few hero- warriors of the spirit appeared as deliverers, defying all the calculations of the foreign oppressors who wished to wipe out India's priceless heritage based on Sanatana Dharma. The flag of Mother India was hoisted by the brave youth of the land. Foremost among them was Swami Vivekananda.

Swamiji's achievements in this sphere defy a complete enumeration. There was nothing big or small that did not shine brilliantly with his golden touch-even a Journal to be published in the English language, a language that was still a stranger to most of the population. But he never entertained any doubt regarding this aspect. When a few enthusiastic, educated young men in Chennai who were drawn to him, wrote to him to show the way to help India return to her ancient glory, prompt was his reply: "Start an English journal!" Yes, this would re-educate the English educated Indians about their heritage. and they would carry the message all over India that the nation was now awake, and would never allow its past to die. The future of the world was dependent upon Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Religion, which has been saying from time im- memorial in its sacred scriptures: "Sarve janäh sukhino bhavantu". may all be happy. India will awake from its present stupor, and recognise the true treasures of the nation: not gold mines and precious stones but its priceless heritage of a unique culture, one that defies time and the forces of darkness, a chiranjeevi samskṛti, the eternal culture.

Chennai proved to be the seedbed where events moved swiftly. At a time when commu- nication between India and the West was not easy, planning for the journal was taken up, and the Swami's steady lessons of self-confidence found ready listeners. A Prospectus was sent to like-minded people. Welcome letters were re- ceived. The President of the Mahabodhi Society, H Dharmapala, even sent the first year's sub- scription of one pound with a blessing: 'May its mellifluous fragrance purify the materialistic at- mosphere of the fallen India! Your efforts will be crowned with success and "Prabudhdha Bharata" will surely awaken the lethargic sons of Bharata Varsha.' The journal came out in July 1896. The editor was the young writer, B R Rajam Aiyar.

There is a popular saying in Indian tradition: "Sreyamsi bahu vighnani" there will be many obs- tacles while doing good. This especially turned out to be true for Prabuddha Bharata. Even as the journal was being received with widespread excitement, and was publishing enthusing infor- mation about Swami Vivekananda's victorious march, making Vedanta a household word in the West, the brilliant editor who had taken up the responsibility of giving a shape to the journal as advised by Swamiji, and was filling up the pages with significant articles as also coaxing others to take up their pens for this holy pilgrimage, Rajam Aiyar passed away at the very young age of twenty-six on 13 May 1898. The June issue car- ried the unhappy news and published articles in his memory. The July 1898 issue did not appear.

But Swamiji was an intrepid warrior in the battlefield of life. By now he had returned from America. As Sister Nivedita said, he had a special love for this journal that he had named, and was very happy at the way it was planned and being published. Immediately, he went to work. He asked his disciple, Captain J H Sevier to take up the task of publishing the magazine with Swami Swarupananda as the editor. Prabuddha Bharata, relocated thus at Almora where Captain Sevier lived, came out with the August 1898 issue, flagged off by Swami Vivekananda's poem, "To the Awakened India':

Once more awake!
For it was sleep, not death to bring thee life,
And rest to lotus-eyes, for visions
Daring yet. The world in need awaits, O Truth,
No death for thee!'

This blessings of the Swami that the journal be a 'chiranjeevi; immortal' has borne fruit, and Prabuddha Bharata has been serving the world of serious and purposive Indian journalism in a very big way.

How has Prabuddha Bharata been a beacon for a century and more in a land where usually English journals do flash as meteors but are not able to sustain themselves for long? Even before Prabuddha Bharata, there were journals like Indu Prakash, Haris Chandra's Magazine, Mook- erjee's Magazine, and The Madras Review. Ideal- ists all over India, who had mastered the English language because of the British thrust in English- oriented education, turned to publishing peri- odicals, hoping to educate their countrymen in gathering the new breeze from abroad, and also. to strengthen themselves to face the foreigner. A millennium earlier, Sanskrit had been a com- mon language for all India. Now the regional languages had made big advances. Presently, it appeared as though English could take the place of knitting the country together.

Already, the First War of Indian Independence referred to as the Sepoy Mutiny by the British rulers had sowed the seeds of patriotism in the Indians who had so far remained divided into: various minor kingdoms and principalities. The public recognised a powerful weapon in the English language journals for spreading ideas quickly all over India at the same time. Mere rail traffic was enough for them to get these journals (most of them monthlies) to all parts of the country where they were read by educated Indians who translated the important features into the regional languages for publication. Most of these journals. were brought out by idealists who could eke out some funds for them with great difficulty. Occasionally, there were intelligent patrons. Hence, no page was wasted in unnecessary news-talk.

The Mahratta founded by Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1881 was a political journal. It has survived to this day, but it is no more just a political quarterly, but an academic, peer-reviewed journal that deals with a variety of topics tuned to changing times like Ayurveda, Sanskrit, Mass Communications, and Hotel Management. For the rest, politically inspired journals like Bande Mataram (1906-10) and Young India (1919-31) could not go on because of British repression or lack of financial support. And yet these English journals had not been published in vain. Ast Rahul Sagar who has worked tirelessly in preparing a new database of pre-Independence

Indian periodicals from 1857-1947 rightly says :
The great purpose of these periodicals was to foster a national conversation about what kind of country and society India was and should become. Because they were published in the English language they could, and were, read throughout the country. Thus, they had an im- pact and a reach that could not be matched by vernacular periodicals.(2)

Politics apart, there were also English journals that chose certain areas of life for their major thrust: these included philosophy, literature, and India's religious heritage. Such journals have had a slightly better chance for survival thanks to the help of an institution or the Princely States. Of the journals completely devoted to philosophy, two readily come to mind: Prabuddha Bharata inspired by Swami Vivekananda and Arya (1914- 21) edited by Sri Aurobindo. Their style of reaching out to the reader was quite different. Their major subjects were the Vedas, Vedanta, and the Bhagavadgita. Nevertheless, they have become reference-points for the common reader and re- searcher to this day. Both of them have drawn copiously from the lifegiving waters of Sanatana Dharma. Both have influenced generations of readers. Prabuddha Bharata continues to be published till today. As for Arya, almost all the essays published in it as serials have become classics such as 'The Life Divine, "The Synthesis of Yoga, "The Foundations of Indian Culture' and 'Essays on the Gita.

Hence, today, in the publishing history of English journals in India, Prabuddha Bharata remains unique. Swamiji, when he gave the name, assured us that we were in awakened India already. A nation that was awakened will not go to sleep again. Some regular education in their peerless past was all that was : needed for Indians: their philosophy, literature, culture, and religious amity. Since their heart was in the right place when this much-needed, well-planned education was given in the manner it should be, the particles of rust present in the minds of Indians would be dusted away.

Swamiji was clear that this educational syl- labus, though very serious in intent, would have to mix the elements properly in a journal that would please all age-groups. His advice was clearly listened to by the highly-educated young admirers in Madras: P Aiyasami, G G Narasim- hacharya, B V Kamesvara Iyer, and B R Rajam Aiyar. Vedanta would be the central pole: human unity and religious tolerance would be an abid- ing oxygen; the spiritual heritage of India as hymnology, Shastras, Itihasas, Puranas, and folk- lore will be presented shorn of all hypocrisy and ambiguity. And, politics would have no entry into its sacred portals guarding the life-enno- bling presence of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and Sri Ramakrishna. In essentials, no editor has placed any drastic change in this policy until today. There lies the secret of Prabuddha Bharata's endurance and the maternal way in which the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission have backed this journal.

For, every one of the issues is a lesson in selfcontrol and endurance during each terrible trial. The journal was just five years old when there came the crucial test: the unexpected passing away of Swamiji. Yes, he had been ill but seemed to be recovering. On the morning of 4 July 1902, he had meditated for three hours and later in the after- noon had taken a class of three hours on Panini's grammar for the monastic students. He went out for a long walk in the evening. Then he meditated for some time and laid down on his bed before giving up his body. So young for our eyes and experience, but a Sanatana, eternal like Bhishma, he had withdrawn from the physical as though hearkening to the murmur of Mother Ganges flowing near the Belur Math.

The July 1902 issue comes to the eager readers. And this news! The eyes of each reader of the journal, who may have known by now about the Swami's withdrawal, would have been moist as they began reading the 'In Memoriam' with a dignified statement: 'By the death of Swami Vivekananda, we have lost a dear friend, and suf- fered an irreparable loss. 'Dear friend!' How very true! There are leading articles on the Swami from other well-known journals like The Indian Nation, Calcutta, The Advocate, Lucknow, and The Tribune, Lahore. In keeping with the ideals of Swami Vivekananda, karma yoga has no stopping. No time for tears but remembrance and moving forward! 'The Hymn of Creation' from Rig Veda is published in this issue: "That vibrated motionless, one with its own glory.' Going through the issues down the century, one recognises this firm commitment to the Swami's hopes for a vibrant India that is already awake! After the deeply sad announcement in two brief paragraphs that 'the Holy Mother, the divine consort of Sri Ramakrishna, after her life- long good services to the world, left the mortal regions in Mahasamadhi, the issue (August 1920). however, gives detailed information regarding the work done by the Sri Ramakrishna Sevashrama in Allahabad, Puri famine relief work, explanation of Vivekachudamani verses (serial), and other topics on Vedanta and Indian culture.

This is a great lesson gained from the jour- nal by awakened India, and the reason why the journal has been a meaningful part of our life. Again, though the originating spring is the Ram- akrishna-Vivekananda Movement, Prabuddha Bharata has not closed its doors for other areas. of experience in philosophy, life, and literature. From the very first issue, it was made clear that Vedanta was the main portal. This was empha- sised in the opening paragraph of the Prospectus issued some months before the publication of the first issue in July 1896, to assure the edu- cated elite of India that the time had come to recognise the renaissance in Vedantic studies and one should firm up this interest as a permanent spring for the future generations:

In the wonderful disposition of Providence, it has been designed that truths revealed, perhaps for the first time to the sages of our coun- try, and treasured up by them in a monumental form should cross oceans and mountains and spread among Nations utterly foreign to us both in their past and their present lives. The Kantian revolution in the Western philosophy, the outpourings of the Upanishads-intoxicated Schopenhauer, the abstruse metaphysics of the post-Kantians, the revival of Sanskrit study, the Theosophic Movement, the conversion and ac- tivity of Mrs. Besant, the remarkable lectures of Max Muller, the great Parliament of Religions and the timely appearance of Swami Viveka- nanda have all been unswervingly tending to the dissemination of those great truths, Kripananda, Abhayananda, Yogananda, and a whole host of converts to Vedantism are springing up everywhere. Science itself has become a will- ing tool in the hands of our ancient phil- osophy. The word Vedanta is as familiar on the shores of Lake Michigan as on the banks of the Ganges.

The tightly worded Prospectus gained im- mediate listeners and Prabuddha Bharata was born. True to these words, the journal has untiringly kept the flag of Vedanta flying. And Vedanta has so many mansions! Hence, the journal has given space to other philosophical thoughts from the West as well. All this, recorded by innumerable students of Vedanta and scholars from all over the world, carefully checked by a 'panapana' (tradition) of sannyasin-scholars (except for Rajam Aiyar) belonging to the Ramakrishna Order, has given a steady course for the journal.

The Prospectus itself is a study in humility. The journal would be a sort of supplement to the Brahmavadin' which was, of course, all Ved- anta. Brahmavadin had been inspired by Swami Vivekananda and amid financial difficulties, had seen publication till 1914. However, the
Brahmavadin turned out to be an inspiration to start the Vedanta Kesari which has now successfully com- pleted 107 years of publication. Thus the idealism of Swami Vivekananda's admirers and disciples has been a steady glow in Indian journalism.

Prabuddha Bharata, from the first issue itself, learnt an important lesson from Swamiji. Tell meaningful stories to catch the readers young! If today, we proudly raise the flag of this magazine, it is mainly due to the story content in the early issues. Literally, a Katha-Sarit-Sagara (Ocean of Stories) explaining philosophy, the yogas of karma, bhakti and knowledge in an easy manner to make people understand the great values of life! There was the never-failing granary of meaningful stories in the Mahabharata, and there was the rich folklore found all over India. As we move to the next issue, as we walk to the next year, as we gallop to the next decade, the art of story-telling keeps the readers bound to their journal which is a favourite of both young and older readers. These stories come as serials too!

The journal sees to it that peace is as much a reality as war. The First World War rages, but here we read quietly the epistles of Swami Vivekananda, Bhartrihari's Vairagya Shatakam, translations from the Tamil saint-poet Tayumanavar (all of them serials) and just a reference to the Franco-German War in the brief section, "By the Way". No more.

A hundred years of Prabuddha Bharata later, we realise that the story-telling sessions have slowly receded to the background. One rea- son is that Indian children had now a variety of this genre available. A publication series like Amar Chitra Katha and monthlies like Chandamama gave a good fight to literature from abroad and educated them in their great past, a work that had been inaugurated by the Pra- buddha Bharata. The success of Indian publishers of children's books is not this place to deal with, but it is enough to say that the time had come to make Prabuddha Bharata deal more with Indian philosophical writing, critical or creative, in a big way.

Let us take the beginning of the centenary ycar, January 1995. It is a special volume. A San- skrit hymn to Sri Ramakrishna is followed by a delightful musical, "The Universal Gospel. Drawing the needed texts from world scriptures, with music by John Schlenck, this beautiful cre- arion tells us the story of Sri Ramakrishna. One could say, the sheer story-telling of the earlier issues that rang in 1896 (from the month of July) now gets to be innovative, a psychological realm of story-telling. Articles from Swami Bhute- shananda ('Spiritual Life for the Modern Age"), Swami Ranganathananda ('Living Vedanta'), Pravrajika Brahmaprana's sumptuous paper ("Vivekananda's Yoga Technology in a multimedia Age") and many more are all meant for adult readers. The traditional story-telling style of the Indian past has given place to the psychological- philosophical-technological age.

Would that mean science and spirituality will always have to be at the two ends of a pole? Not quite, if one goes by 'Labyrinths of Consciousness, an essay drawn from The Telegraph. There are further riches too in this centenary special issue. Rev. Ananda Maitreya, a doyen among scholars of the Theravada School and one who is also close to the Ramakrishna Movement is interviewed by Pravrajika Brahmaprana to understand how the East meets West in the contemporary world. There is a heart-warming tribute to Swami Vivekananda's impact upon the West by his Chicago speech, yet another musical hailing Swami Vivekananda: "A Mission to the World".

So, as we enter 2021, we realise that Prabuddha Bharata has succeeded in its mission of educating a few generations, and now there is no particular need to tell stories from the Mahabharata and the Puranas. Those who come to Prabuddha Bharata now readily understand their heritage, the unique Sanatana Dharma that has been able to illumine the entire world. The focus shifts to wider areas of achievement by the Indians and Vedanta-inspired personalities from the West. This is reflected in the Review Section which has, from the very beginning, been very educative for the reader. Since there is no 'finale' for a Vedantin's life, Prabuddha Bharata, coming from Mayavati, Himalayas, continues to point out new pathways in Vedanta as also in civilisation. Indeed, it stands tallest not only in age and content but also in an optimistic view of life. Awakened India?

References
1. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 9 vols (Calcurra: Advaira Ashrama, 1-8, 1989; 9, 1997), 4.387-9.
2. See <https://www.firstpost.com/india/ new-database-of-pre-independence-indian- periodicals-from-1857-1947-reflecrs-a-narion- forging-irs-idenriry-7748851.hrml> accessed oz November 2020.

Dr Prema Nandakumar - Dr Prema Nandakumar is an independent re- searcher, publishing critical and biographical works. She is also a creative writer in Tamil and English, and a recipient of several awards.

(Source : Prabuddha Bharata)

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The main theme of my life is to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to every home and pave the way for launching, in a big way, the man-making programme preached and envisaged by great seers like Swami Vivekananda. - Mananeeya Eknathji

विवेकानन्द केन्द्र कन्याकुमारी (Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari) Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra : http://www.vivekanandakendra.org Read Article, Magazine, Book @ http://eshop.vivekanandakendra.org/e-granthalaya Cell : +91-941-801-5995, Landline : +91-177-283-5995

. . . Are you Strong? Do you feel Strength? — for I know it is Truth alone that gives Strength. Strength is the medicine for the world's disease . . . This is the great fact: "Strength is LIFE; Weakness is Death."

Follow us on   blog   twitter   youtube   facebook   g+   delicious   rss   Donate Online