Swamiji reached Bharat 15 Jan 1897

ॐ वीरेश्वराय विद्महे विवेकानन्दाय धीमहि । तन्नो वीर: प्रचोदयात् ।
Dear All
Namaskars

Katha team feels to bring importance of the day in the life of Swami Vivekananda. The date only is chosen from His life of 39+ years. When He has given a lecture, we shall bring salient points of the lecture and give its link which will instantly make it available to you. We request you to read it so that our becoming Vivekanandamayam will pick up speed. Katha Team would be happy to have your suggestions / views.

15 January 1897 :  On 16 Dec1896 Swami Vivekananda boarded the train and via France, Italy reached Naples. There on 30 Dec, he boarded Prinz-Regent Leopold and started towards India - His Motherland. He reached Colombo on 15 Jan 1897.

Swamiji was received as a 'conquering hero' meaning that His reception was an appreciation of the fact that he had stormed the citadel of Western materialism and placed on it firmly and securely the banner of Indian spiritualism. The reception showed how He had roused the national pride.

In all the welcome addresses that were presented to Swamiji, the common points are : thankfulness for His true exposition of the truths contained in India's sacred books, thus disabusing the minds of the Westerners of their prejudices, and bringing home to His countrymen the value of their glorious heritage, thankfulness in particular for having drawn the attention of the West to the characteristic Hindu doctrine of Harmony and Brotherhood of Religions and the Hindu ideal of a universal religion, and above all, best wishes for the success of the great movement initiated by Him for the propagation and revival of Indian religion and philosophy. His proving of the capability of Hinduism to provide a basis for a universal religion, in bringing the West and the East nearer to each other and thus paving the path for human brotherhood was also welcomed by India with all warmth and sincerity.

Sri Coomaraswamy read out the welcome address.

The Swami gave a brief reply, expressing his appreciation of the kind welcome he had received. He took advantage of the opportunity to point out that the demonstration had not been made in honour of a great politician, or a great soldier, or a millionaire, but of a begging Sannyâsin, showing the tendency of the Hindu mind towards religion. He urged the necessity of keeping religion as the backbone of the national life if the nation were to live, and disclaimed any personal character for the welcome he had received, but insisted upon its being the recognition of a principle.

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Join the year long 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda : sv150.org  Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari

14th January in Swami Vivekananda Life

14th january

Memoirs of Sister Christine

ॐ वीरेश्वराय विद्महे विवेकानन्दाय धीमहि । तन्नो वीर: प्रचोदयात् ।

Sister Christine writes :

Now and then, at long intervals of time, a being finds his way to this planet who is unquestionably a wanderer from another sphere; who brings with him to this sorrowful world some of the glory, the power, the radiance of the far distant region from which he came. He walks among men, but he is not at home here. He is a pilgrim, a stranger, he tarries but a night.

He shares the life of those about him, enters into their joys and sorrows, rejoices with them, mourns with them, but through it all, he never forgets who he is, whence he came, or what the purpose of his coming. He never forgets his divinity. He remembers that he is the great, the glorious, the majestic Self. He knows that he came from that ineffable, supernal region which has no need of the sun or moon, for it is illumined by the Light of lights. He knows that he was, long before the time when "all the sons of God sang together for joy".

Such a one, I have seen, I have heard, I have revered. At his feet I have laid my soul's devotion.

Such a being is beyond all comparison, for he transcends all ordinary standards and ideals. Others may be brilliant, his mind is luminous, for he had the power to put himself into immediate contact with the source of all knowledge. He is no longer limited to the slow processes to which ordinary human beings are confined. Others may be great, they are great only as compared with those in their own class. Others may be good, powerful, gifted, having more of goodness, more of power, more of genius than their fellowmen. It is only a matter of comparison. A saint is more holy, more pure, more single-minded than ordinary men. But with Swami Vivekananda, there could be no comparison. He was in a class by himself. He belonged to another order. He was not of this world. He was a radiant being who had descended from another, a higher sphere for a definite purpose. One might have known that he would not stay long.

Is it to be wondered at that nature itself rejoices in such a birth, that the heavens open and angels sing paeans of praise?

Blessed is the country in which he was born, blessed are they who lived on this earth at the same time, and blessed, thrice blessed are the few who sat his feet.
He is Swami Vivekananda!  

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 Join the year long 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda : sv150.org  Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari