Today's Quote

Friday, September 28, 2007

The Soul Wants to Soar High

Swami Vivekananda's realization of the highest Truths, both in its formless and personal aspects, acted as 'theoretical' confirmation of the highest Vedantic principles as laid down in the Upanishads. They remained confined in the heart of Narendra making him aglow with effulgent divinity, but the condition of his mind was like a bird trapped in a golden cage. It wanted to spread its mighty wings all over, strengthened now with the power of nondual realizations and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna. It wanted to soar high in limitless sky to cover the whole humanity under its massive wings and make it aware of those invaluable truths. The restlessness reached the stage when Swami Vivekananda could no longer confine himself to the four walls of Baranagore monastery. He intently desired to go into open world to learn more about practicality of Vedanta. How can Vedanta be applied in day-to-day life to alleviate the sufferings of the masses? Is it possible? Such and many similar questions crowded his mind from dawn to dusk and from dusk to dawn. And one day, alone, sometime in July 1888, Swami Vivekananda left Calcutta telling his brother disciples not to follow him. Thus started the second important phase in the life of Swami Vivekananda, the Parivrajaka Monk, wandering years of the Swami. He went to Varanasi, Ayodhya, Vrindavan, Lucknow, Agra, and the Himalayas, thus covering the entire north of India. These are the great places of historical, socio-religious, and spiritual importance. These are the places connected with life and teachings of Sri Rama and Sri Krishna, Sita and Radha who glorified divine love and dharma as the final culmination of spiritual quest. The great Himalayas attracted him, where loneliness prevailed and called the sadhaka to be ready to merge in the glory of Infinite. This was a short trip and the Swami returned to Calcutta in a few months' time. For sometime he remained in the company of his brother disciples trying to devise the means and the ways to propagate their Master's message to every nook and corner of India and the world, but his future plans could but be sketchy, for he didn't understand how to go about it. The force of knowledge was very great in his heart, acting like a silent bomb; when and where would it burst, no one knew. The restlessness could not be contained in the narrow confines of his head and heart; it must come out to cover all the sky. And hence, for the second time in around July 1891, he left his brothers to wander all over the country, after seeking blessings from Ma Saradadevi.

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