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12 January 1863: Swami Vivekananda, spiritual and religious leader, was born

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 1/12/2021 11:37:11 AM

Vivekananda, the great Indian spiritual leader and monk, was born Narendranath Datta (Narendra) in Calcutta on January 12, 1863 to a Bengali Kayastha family. His father Vishwanath Datta was attached to the Calcutta High Court. Narendra was attracted to spirituality and monks from an early age. In his biography of Swami Vivekananda, Swami Nikhilananda writes: The youngster developed a special fancy for wandering monks, whose very sight would greatly excite him. One day when such a monk appeared at the door and asked for alms, Narendra gave him his only possession, the tiny piece of new cloth that was wrapped round his waist. Thereafter, whenever a monk was seen in the neighbourhood, Narendra would be locked in a room. But even then he would throw out of the window whatever he found near at hand as an offering to the holy man.” Narendra’s interests ranged from philosophy and history to science and spirituality. He also studied the Hindu scriptures, learned classical music and participated in physical exercises. He studied the works of some of the finest Western minds including Baruch Spinoza, Arthur Schopenhauer, George Hegel, Charles Darwin and Immanuel Kant. He corresponded with Herbert Spencer and translated his book into Bengali. After being introduced to the saint Ramakrishna Paramhansa, the young Narendra was initially skeptical of his teachings but later accepted him as his guru. On his deathbed in August 1886 Ramakrishna asked his disciples to consider Narendra as their leader. In 1888 Narendra decided to travel across the country as a monk. It was in a sense his spiritual discovery of India which lasted several years. He also got to know first-hand the enormous challenges facing the nation and the poverty of its people. He lived mainly on alms and travelled on foot and by train, from tickets bought by followers. He met people of all religions, castes and classes. In Varanasi he met the writer Bhudev Mukhopadhyay, Sanskrit scholar Babu Pramadadas Mitra and saint Trailanga Swami. After meeting him Mukhopadhyay predicted that Narendra was destined for greatness. After Varanasi Narendra went to places like Ayodhya, Vrindavan and Rishikesh. At the railway waiting room in Hathras a railway official named Sharat Chandra Gupta invited him home and became his disciple.