Biography

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• Woes and enmity will continue to be there, till, man brings change in his character.[br /]

• Two things control man's character : Strength and Pity.[br /]

• If you are unable to help someone, atleast do not harm him.[br /]

• We need morality, such solidness of mind and strength of character, which can make man strong for his lifetime.[br /]

• The highest ideal of our character is - Charity.[br /]

• By doing even little for others, our internal strength increases.[br /]

• By thinking even little for others, our heart gets strength of a lion.[br /]

• Man is as much selfish as he is immoral.[br /]

• We have to keep our thoughts so dear that constructive life and building up of our character is made possible and we can be human beings.[br /]

• Those who lack self-confidence are atheists.[br /]
• Follow morality, be adventurous, strictly follow moods, there should not be a single blotch on your moral character. Be ready even to fight with the death itself.[br /]

• First let us be sacred and help others to become sacred. "Be and make others to be" is our slogan.[br /]

• One who cries for poor is a great soul, otherwise he is an evil one.[br /]

• To be sacred and do good unto others - is the essence of all the perseverance.[br /]

• Our first and principal need is building of good character.[br /]

• The person whose character remains always great and even in all the conditions, only he is great in reality.[br /]

• We need such a heart that is serious like sea and generous like sky.[br /]

• We need speed in blood and strength in muscles. We want iron arms and steel muscles and not the futile thoughts, which bring weakness.[br /]

• We should adopt our thoughts in such a way that our life and character get creativity through it and make us humane.[br /]
• Human beings, only human beings are required. Everything would automatically happen, but there is need of brave, bright, capable and perfect, honest young men.[br /]

• We should not support our weakness by lowering our ideal.[br /]

• They are great who prepare other's path with their own blood from heart.[br /]

• The greatest men are peaceful, little speaking and unknown.[br /]

• As rose spreads fragrance by its nature itself, you also donate the same way.[br /]

• Boldness, bravery and satisfaction of soul lie in giving up and not in dominance.[br /]

• Jealousy is the blotch to our obedient national character.[br /]

• Do not forget that your women's ideals are Sita, Savitri, and Damyanti.[br /]

• Stand on the dais of good intention, proper perseverance and veracious bravery.[br /]
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[b]WORK[/b][br /]
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• Work done with selfishness is the work of a slave.[br /]

• Any work, done with real love, always gives peace and joy.[br /]

• We wish that there are less talks and more appropriate work.[br /]

• We do not have alternative but to work with religious background.[br /]
•Every deed is sacred and sincerity towards work is the best form of prayer to God.[br /]

• One should never neglect any type of work. Man should not be considered on the high or low responsibility, but how he fulfills his responsibility.[br /]

• Start doing work, then you will find rising of tremendous strength in yourself that you will find difficult to contain.[br /]

• My best, brave noble brothers, start sincerely working for our activities, get completely involved in it. Do not stop, or look back - neither for name, fame nor for any futile thing. Throw away your personal egotism and do work.[br /]

• Work in this world in such a way considering as if you are a foreign traveler.[br /]

• Art is expression of beauty. Everything should be full of art.[br /]

• Concentrate on that sacred thing which you like.[br /]

• Every work done with love, always gives joy.[br /]

• Escaping from the field of work is not the path to peace.[br /]
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[b]FEARLESS CHILD[/b][br /]
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Once he sat before the idol of Shiva, with his body all smeared with ash. His perplexed mother asked him, ''Naren, what's all this ? " He smiled and said, ''Mother, I am the Lord Shiva". The mother feared that her son would become a sanyasi, like his grandfather.[br /]
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Once a landlord threatened the children saying, ''There is a demon in the tree and he swallows children". Narendra was not impressed by this threat. He settled down on a branch.[br /]
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On his birthday, he would wear new clothes. If a beggar asked for, he would give away the new clothes. From that day, his mother would lock him up in a room whenever a beggar passed by the house. But every beggar knew Narendra's nature very well.[br /]
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So beggars would stand near the window of Narendra's room. He would throw to them anything he had. The spirit of sacrifice and renunciation was already blossoming in him.[br /]
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Once there was a display of physical exercises in a local gymnasium. Accidentally an iron bar fell on a sailor among the spectators. He fell down unconscious.
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The people who had gathered there ran away lest the police should question them. Narendra, with the help of two friends of his, gave the wounded sailor first aid. Then he took him to doctor. He even raised some money for the wounded man.[br /]
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[b]MOMENT WITH RAMAKRISHNA[/b][br /]
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Shri Ramakrishna was a priest in the temple of Goddess Kali. He was not a scholar. But he was a great devotee. It was being said of him that he had realized God.[br /]
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Scholars who went to him, became his disciples. Once, Narendra went with his friends to Dakshineswar to see him. Shri Ramakrishna sat surrounded by his disciples; he was immersed in discussions about God.[br /]
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Narendra sat in a corner with his friends. All at once Shri Ramakrishna's eyes turned to him. Shri Ramakrishna's mind was in turmoil. He was thrilled.Narendra's attractive figure and shining eyes filled him with wonder. ''Can you sing ?" he asked Narendra. Narendra sang a couple of Bengali songs in a melodious voice.[br /]
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As he listened to the music, the Bhagvan went into a trance. After some time he took Narendra into a room. He patted Narendra on the back and said, ''My child, why are you so late ? I have grown weary, waiting for you all these days.[br /]
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I wanted to share my experience with the right person. You are not an ordinary man. You are Lord Vishnu in human form. Do you know how much I have been craving for you?" And he broke down. [br /]
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I wanted to share my experience with the right person. You are not an ordinary man. You are Lord Vishnu in human form. Do you know how much I have been craving for you?" And he broke down. But Shri Ramakrishna would always bring him back to the right path by saying, ''There are many roads to reach a destination. No one has the right to say that the path the other man takes is not the right one.''[br /]
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On observation of Naren's youth - one can find three factors responsible for his character building - culture of his mother and father, vast and vivid reading and guidance of the great guru Ramakrishna Parmahansa.[br /]
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Poverty hit the family immediately after his father's death. The moneylenders began to harass the family. Some of them even went to a court of law. Narendra wandered far and wide, looking for a job. His clothes were tattered and torn; and it was difficult even to get one meal a day.[br /]
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Many a day he fasted so that his mother and his brothers and sisters might have something to eat. He would tell them that he had eaten with a friend. Sometimes he would faint with hunger and fall down in the street. But in spite of such overwhelming misfortune he never lost faith in God. [br /]
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Poverty taught him to have sympathy for miserable, helpless people. He gave the word 'Daridra Narayana' which was later on adopted by Gandhiji also. One day he said to himself : ''God gives whatever my Guru seeks. So it is best to seek my Guru's help".[br /]
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He went straight to his Guru and said, ''On my behalf kindly pray before the Goddess to rid me of this poverty. She will give you whatever you wish for, won't She ?" The Guru said, ''My child, you have no faith in Her, why then will she listen to my prayer ? You approach Her yourself. Then she will fulfil your need."[br /]
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" So in the dead of night Narendra stood before the idol of Goddess Kali. He lost himself in deep meditation. He begged the Goddess, ''O Mother, bestow on me the spirit of renunciation. Let me see You, that is all I beg of You".

When he came out, the Guru asked, ''Did you submit your prayer to Her ? And what did She say ?" Narendra said in dismay, ''O, forgot about it completely". The Guru's joy knew no bounds. ''My child, you should not crave for only food and clothes. They are not the ultimate goals of man.

Have faith in God. She will look after the welfare of your family". Ramakrishna always thought that Narendra is born for the upliftment of hundreds and thousands of people. So, whenever Naren's marriage talks would fail due to some sudden problem, he (Ramakrishna) would be very happy.
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The disciples nursed the Guru to the best of their ability. But the thought that the Guru would not recover from the illness agonized them. His end was drawing near. On the last day he called Narendra to his bedside and touched him.[br /]
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He invested Narendra with all his spiritual powers. He said, ''Naren, now you are all-powerful. All these are my children. It is your duty to take care of them". These words filled Narendra's heart with grief. He went out of the room weeping like a child. [br /]
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For nearly five years Narendranath stayed with Shri Ramakrishna and was taught and trained by him. At the end of this short period of utmost intensity Narendranath had imbibed the superhuman wisdom of the Paramahansa and had become his alter ego.[br /]
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In 1886, when Narendranath was not even twenty-three years old, Shri Ramakrishna passed away. On Naren's very-young shoulders fell the gigantic burden of executing Shri Ramakrishna's mission. It was not an easy task, but if anyone was capable of performing it, it was Narendranath, who had the brain and the brawn for it.[br /]
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He renounced home; he became Swami Vivekanand; he established a Math (a monastery) where he and his co-disciples could carry on austerities. He then wandered over India as a parivrajaka sadhu. From the northern Himalayan extremity to the southern land's end of Kanya Kumari did he travel, studying the Motherland, understanding her problems at first hand and forming solutions for her regeneration.[br /]
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This pilgrimage was one of the landmarks of his life and the very many occurrences and incidents relating to his wanderings are fascinating peeps into the rich variety and compelling charm of his personality.[br /]
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[b]DELEGATE OF INDIA[/b][br /]
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In Chicago, he was sitting on the footsteps of a playground. A lady came out of a house facing the playground and asked him : ''Are you a delegate to the Conference of World Religions ?" The Swamiji replied : ''Yes". The lady said, ''Please come to my house. You can bathe and have food. Then I shall take the conference". Her name was Mrs. George Hails.
The Conference started on 11th September 1893. Thousands of delegates belonging to different countries of the world had gathered at the Conference. Vivekanand was the youngest of them all.[br /]
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When it was his turn to speak, his heart was pounding. His throat went dry. Besides, he did not have, like the other delegates, a prepared speech.[br /]
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He requested the President to let him be the last speaker. His turn did come as the last speaker. He prayed fervently to Sri Ramakrishna and Mother Sharadadevi and stood up to speak. [br /]
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When he began his address in his pleasing voice with the words ''Brothers and Sisters of America", there was a thunderous applause; it lasted for a full three minutes.[br /]
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When it subsided at last, he continued his short speech. He said that people born in different religions finally reach the same God, as rivers born in different places finally reach the sea. He emphatically declared that no religion is superior and none is inferior.[br /]
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[b]A TRAVELLER[/b][br /]
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In 1897 the Swami returned to India. The nation rose like one man to Honor him. The people saw in him a new Sankara who had risen to bring life and vigor to the motherland.[br /]
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The Swami reminded his countrymen of the Indian national ideal of renunciation, roused them to a sense of privilege in being Indians and showed them how spiritual culture was the secret of India's immortal existence. He made Bharata a Prabuddha Bharata.

While Swami was travelling by train, in Rajasthan an interesting incident took place. He was resting in a second class compartment. Two Englishmen were profusely hurling abuses at him. They were under the impression that the Swami did not know English.[br /]
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When the train reached the station. Swamiji asked an official, in English, for a glass of water. The Englishmen were surprised; they asked Swamiji that why he was silent though he could understand them. Swamiji snapped back, ''This is not the first time I have met fools." [br /]
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The Englishmen were enraged, but Swamiji's formidable physique silenced them. At Alwar, some Muslims became his disciples. While Swamiji used to eat in their houses, he became acquainted with Maharaja Mangal Singh.

Initially the Prince had no faith in the Swami. There was a heated debate between the two. ''Swamiji, I have no faith in idol worship". Said the Maharaja. The Swamiji replied: ''An idol is only a symbol. It is not something to sneer at. [br /]
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Every devotee has his own way of realizing God. It depends on the individual's devotion". The Prince was not satisfied with Swamiji's explanation. There was a portrait of the Maharaja on the wall.
The Swamiji asked the Diwan by his side, ''Whose picture is that ?" ''The Maharaja's," replied the Diwan. Vivekanand said, ''Spit on it". The Diwan was taken aback. [br /]
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''Why are you unhappy ?" asked the Swamiji. The Diwan thought this man was certainly mad. Swamiji explained : ''After all, the photograph is just a shadow of your Maharaja. It is devoid of flesh and blood." ''But then it reminds us of the Maharaja, does it not ?" said the Diwan. Wisdom then dawned on the Maharaja. He apologized to the Swamiji.[br /]
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