Vivekanda and Yugapurushan
Swamy Vivekanda the greatest scholar, philosopher and social reformer mother INDIA has ever produced was a constant traveler. He has travelled all over INDIA and even to many other nations. He traveled across the length and breadth of INDIA to know his country and to understand the pulse of INDIA. In 1882 Vivekanda visited Kerala. He visited Trivandrum, Kochi ,Trishur and many other places in Kerala. He was so embarrassed by the life of people and the rigid caste system that existed. He was sad seeing the how under developed Kerala was inspite of the great resources Kerala had. He then referred Kerala as ‘Lunatic Asylum’.
During his visit to Kerala he met many Social reformers like Sree Narayana Guru, Chattambi Swami and so on. He was impressed by the by greatness of these social reformers and mentioned about Sree Narayan Guru and Chattambi Swamy in his books. Swamy Vivekanda met Yugapurushan Narayana Guru and shared ideas about the social reforms needed. These discussions later proved useful in the reform movements in Kerala. He had keen interst in the development of weaker sections of Kerala. He wanted the reformers to restructure the social structure of Kerala. He was so surprised by the rigid caste system that followed and he asked to organize themselves against it. He wanted everyone to have education and a standard living condition.
From Kerala he further went south to Kanyakumari where land’s end. Here, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal meet. By the time Swami Vivekananda had reached Kanyakumari, he was almost penniless. He did not have the money to pay for a boat ride that would take him to a rock out into the sea. Swami Vivekananda plunged into the sea (which was infested with sharks) and swam across to get there. He meditated on that rock for 3 days on the past, present and future of India. Then, looking back as from a mountain, Swami Vivekananda embraced the whole of the country he had just traversed.
Swami Vivekananda said: “The whole universe is one. Everything in the universe is yours, stretch out your arms and embrace it with love. If you ever felt you wanted to do that, you have felt God.”
Tags: sree narayana guru, swami vivekananda, vivekanand, yugapurushan
