Dear Friends,
“One vision I can see clear as life before me that the ancient Mother has awakened once more, sitting on her throne- rejuvenated, more glorious than ever. Proclaim her to the entire world with the voice of peace and benediction” thus proclaimed a great man. When India was in the clutches of imperialism, plagued by poverty, destitution and diminishing self-confidence, he went a step ahead and proclaimed that a resurrected India would be the leader of the world ( Jagad Guru Bharat)! That great soul was Swami Vivekananda.
Swamiji embodied the spirit of India. When he returned home from his travels overseas he was asked what he thought of India; Swamiji replied, “I loved my Motherland dearly before I went to America and England. After my return every particle of dust of this land seems sacred to me.” After his lecture in Chicago the entire world was at his feet, but gazing at the skyscrapers that filled Chicago’s moonlit skies, he wrote to a disciple, “When will India be like this?” No wonder every revolutionary in the Independence movement drew great inspiration from Swami Vivekananda- he ignited the spark of a nations conscience!
He had visualized India’s pre-ordained destiny of taking on the mantle of the world’s leadership. This would not only be in the realm of spirituality but also in every other sphere be it economic, political or social. He called for capacity building in science and technology. Influenced by Swamiji’s words, pioneer industrialist Sir Jamshedji Tata spearheaded the formation Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore alongside his famous steel plant. Sir JC Bose drew inspiration from his thoughts and went on to give India its rightful place in the world of science. Today, our advances in science and technology have made the world stand up and listen to us but Swami Vivekananda had asserted the need for capacity building a century ago.
“Every nation has a message to deliver, a mission to fulfill, a destiny to reach. The mission of India has been to guide humanity.” At Kanyakumari Swamiji realized India’s purpose- its message of spirituality, its mission to teach human beings the science of life- a destiny of wearing the crown of world leader. He spent his entire life in spreading this message.
Swami Vivekananda called for the awakening of India if at all the welfare of human kind was to be achieved. “Shall India die? Then, from the world all spirituality will be extinct, all sweet-souled sympathy for religion will be extinct, all identity will be extinct; and in its place will reign the duality of lust and luxury as the male and female deities, with money as its priest, fraud, force and competition its ceremonies, and human soul as its sacrifice. Such a thing can never be” he opined.
In Swami Vivekananda’s world view, so engrained was the sprit or service and renunciation in our DNA that we will not awaken to serve Indians alone but will work for the betterment of the entire humankind. Seeing the various problems that plague the world today, one will understand the importance of what Swamiji‘s words. It is because India has been unable to occupy what rightfully belongs to her that the world is suffering from the menace of terrorism, degradation of the environment and a topsy-turvy economy.
A famous philosopher once said, “Who lives if India dies? Who dies if India lives?” With freedom came an opportunity to take India to the pedestal of world leadership Sri Aurobindo said and this is what we must do in the 21st century. We may excel individually in every field but till we, as a nation, demonstrate our collective strength we would be unable to serve mankind, which will go against our destiny. Take the example of a football match- the common aim is to score more goals than the opposite team but the role of each player is different. There is no point if the goalkeeper leaves his stipulated place and runs ahead. Just like that we must have our collective goal clear in sight; the role of each one of us plays in attaining that goal varies. When we play our part with dedication, the results will be for everyone to see.
Friends, I can say with great conviction that it is possible to achieve Swami Vivekananda’s vision of a glorious India! Gujarat is blessed as Swamiji spent maximum time here, when he embarked on his nationwide journey from July 1890 to May 1893. Swamiji’s blessings have played a big part in taking Gujarat to where it is today and I see no reason why our country cannot perform wonders with his blessings. In Gujarat we are celebrating 2012 as the ‘Year of Youth Power’ to commemorate Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth year. Let us use this occasion to tirelessly work together and play our part in realizing Swami Vivekananda’s dreams. This is the best gift we can give to this proud son who consecrated our land!
