Swami Vivekananda - A Biography by Swami ... - IBNLive - Games
Swami Vivekananda - A Biography by Swami ... - IBNLive - Games
Swami Vivekananda - A Biography by Swami ... - IBNLive - Games
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Several other brother disciples joined Naren. But they could not go to Badrikashrama<br />
since the road was closed <strong>by</strong> Government order on account of famine. They visited<br />
different holy places, lived on alms, studied the scriptures, and meditated. At this time,<br />
the sad news arrived of the suicide of one of Naren's sisters under tragic conditions,<br />
and reflecting on the plight of Hindu women in the cruel present-day society, he<br />
thought that he would be a criminal if he remained an indifferent spectator of such<br />
social injustice.<br />
Naren proceeded to Hrishikesh, a beautiful valley at the foot of the Himalayas, which<br />
is surrounded <strong>by</strong> hills and almost encircled <strong>by</strong> the Ganga. From an immemorial past<br />
this sacred spot has been frequented <strong>by</strong> monks and ascetics. After a few days, however,<br />
Naren fell seriously ill and his friends despaired of his life. When he was convalescent<br />
he was removed to Meerut. There he met a number of his brother disciples and<br />
together they pursued the study of the scriptures, practised prayer and meditation, and<br />
sang devotional songs, creating in Meerut a miniature Baranagore monastery.<br />
After a stay of five months Naren became restless, hankering again for his wandering<br />
life; but he desired to be alone this time and break the chain of attachment to his<br />
brother disciples. He wanted to reflect deeply about his future course of action, of<br />
which now and then he was getting glimpses. From his wanderings in the Himalayas<br />
he had become convinced that the Divine Spirit would not allow him to seal himself<br />
within the four walls of a cave. Every time he had thought to do so, he had been<br />
thrown out, as it were, <strong>by</strong> a powerful force. The degradation of the Indian masses and<br />
the spiritual sickness of people everywhere were summoning him to a new line of<br />
action, whose outer shape was not yet quite clear to him.<br />
In the later part of January 1891, Naren bade farewell to his brother disciples and set<br />
out for Delhi, assuming the name of <strong>Swami</strong> Vividishananda. He wished to travel<br />
without being recognized. He wanted the dust of India to cover up his footprints. It was<br />
his desire to remain an unknown sannyasin, among the thousands of others seen in the<br />
country's thoroughfares, market-places, deserts, forests, and caves. But the fires of the<br />
Spirit that burnt in his eyes, and his aristocratic bearing, marked him as a prince among<br />
men despite all his disguises.<br />
In Delhi, Naren visited the palaces, mosques, and tombs. All around the modern city he<br />
saw a vast ruin of extinct empires dating from the prehistoric days of the Mahabharata,<br />
revealing the transitoriness of material achievements. But gay and lively Delhi also<br />
revealed to him the deathless nature of the Hindu spirit.<br />
Some of his brother disciples from Meerut came to the city and accidentally discovered<br />
their beloved leader. Naren was angry. He said to them: 'Brethren I told you that I<br />
desired to be left alone. I asked you not to follow me. This I repeat once more. I must<br />
not be followed. I shall presently leave Delhi. No one must try to know my<br />
whereabouts. I shall sever all old associations. Wherever the Spirit leads, there I shall<br />
wander. It matters not whether I wander about in a forest or in a desert, on a lonely<br />
mountain or in a populous city. I am off. Let everyone strive to realize his goal