Interesting Incidents from the Life of Swami Vivekananda – Part 1

Swamiji was not an ordinary person right from his childhood. Almost his whole life, starting from his childhood till his last day on earth, was full of many interesting and inspirational incidents, which not only teach us certain important lessons about life, but also inspire us. Here, I am presenting a series of unusual and interesting experiences of Swami Vivekananda and incidents from his life in his own words. I hope the readers will admire the series and learn from it.

Swamiji used to have a certain peculiar kind of experience when he went to sleep. Given under is the account in Swamiji’s own words:

Swami Vivekananda in Meditation

 

I used to see all my life a wonderful point of light between my eyebrows, as soon as I shut my eyes in order to go to sleep, and I used to observe attentively its various changes. So that it might be convenient to see it, I used to lie on my bed in the way people bow down touching the ground with their foreheads. The extraordinary point keep changing its colours and increasing in size, became gradually converted into the form of a ball, and bursting at last, covered my body from head to foot with white liquid light. As soon as that happened, I lost consciousness and fell asleep. I believed that all people went to sleep that way. I was long under that impression. When I grew up and began to practise meditation, that point of light used to come before me as soon as I closed my eyes, and then I concentrated my mind on it. In those days I daily practised meditation with a few friends according to the instructions of Maharishi Devendranath. We talked among ourselves about the nature of visions and experiences that each of us had. At that time I came to know from what they said that they never had the vision of such a light and that none of them went to sleep in that way.

OUR COUNTER - QUESTION HAS BEEN!!??

Are we then to go back to the days of the primitive caveman, the stone age! Our counter-question has been: Is the 24-hour cyber society created in the sci-tech era more natural, organic and humane than the bygone ages? Let us listen attentively to these philosophical truths of Swami Vivekananda uttered in London during the fall of 1896:

 

" As we increase our power to be happy, we also increase our power to suffer; and sometimes I am inclined to think that if we increase our power to become happy in arithmetical progression, we shall increase, on the other hand, our power to become miserable in geometrical progression. We who are progressing know that the more we progress, the more avenues are opened to pain as well as pleasure. And this is Maya.

- Swami Vivekananda
[ Swami Vivekananda - Leader of Sacred Nationhood ]

I SHALL MEDIATE ON THE HEART OF A LION. THAT GIVES STRENGTH.

Swamiji's first night at Camp Taylor [ Northern California ], May 2, 1900. I close my eyes and see him standing there in the soft blackness with sparks from the blazing log fire... flying through it and a day-old moon above. He was weary after a long lecture season, but relaxed and happy to be there. " We end life in the forest, " he said, " as we begin it, but with a world of experience between the two states." Later after a short talk, when we were about to have the usual mediation, he said: "You may meditate on whatever you like, but I shall mediate on the heart of a lion. That gives strength." The bliss and power and peace of the meditation that followed could never be described.

- Swami Vivekananda
[ Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda: Ida Ansell ]See More

AN INDIAN LULLABY - THE SOUL NEVER KILLS OR IS KILLED

There was once a Hindu queen, who so much desired that all her children should attain freedom in this life that she herself took all the care of them; and as she rocked them to sleep, she sang always the one song to them - "Tat tvam asi, Tat tvam asi" ("That thou art, that thou art")

Three of them become Sannyasins [ monks ], but the fourth was taken away to be brought up elsewhere to become a king. As he was leaving ho...me, the mother gave him a piece of paper which he was to read when he grew to manhood. On that piece of paper was written, " God alone is true. All else is false. The soul never kills or is killed. Live alone or in the company of holy ones." When the young prince read this, he too at once renounced the world
and became a Sannyasin.

- Swami Vivekananda
VII. 89-90
[LULLABY - A soothing song with which to lull a child to sleep]

WORK INCESSANTLY

You should work like a master and not as a slave; work incessantly, but do not do slave's work.

- Swami Vivekananda

HAVE FAITH IN MAN, WHETHER HE APPEARS TO BE AN ANGEL OR THE VERY DEVIL HIMSELF.

Have faith in man, whether he appears to you to be a very learned one or a most ignorant one. Have faith in man, whether he appears to be an angel or the very devil himself. Have faith in man first, and then having faith in him, belive that if there are defects in him, if he makes mistakes, if the embraces the crudest and the vilest doctrines, believe that it is not from his real nature that the...y come, but from the want of higher ideals. You give him the truth, and there your work is done. Let him compare it in his own mind with what he has already in him; and, mark my words, if you have really given him the truth, the false must vanish, light must dispel darkness, and truth will bring the good out. Put the good before them, see how eargerly they take it, see how the divine that never dies, that is always living in the human, comes up awakened and stretches out its hand for all that is good, and all that is glorious.

- Swami Vivekananda

PURITY IS OUR REAL NATURE

To the believers of original sin, Vivekananda said in America:

" Be not deluded by your religion teaching original sin, for the same religion preaches original purity. When adam fell, he fell from purity, { Applause }. Purity is our real nature, and to regain that is the subject of all religion. "

- Swami Vivekananda