Life of Vivekananda: child, death of Sri Ramakrishna

1. Introduction to the life of Swami Vivekananda
2. The lineage of Narendra Nath Datta
3. Birth and Childhood
4. Early education. Glimpses of Spirituality
5. University days. First Knowledge of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Trends
6. Under the influence of the Master
7. The guru and the disciple
8. The man in the making
9. Tests and difficulties
10. Days of ecstasy in Dakshineswar
11. Cossipore and the death of the Master

Both Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda were two of the greatest Yogis in history. In order to realize the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita in your own life, that is, achieve your self-knowledge and liberation, it is highly recommended to study the lives of these two figures who were a real example of the realization of the Bhagavad Gita.

Krishna in verse 26 of the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 further states that if someone cannot follow any of the four main paths of yoga (Selfless Action, Meditation, Devotion and Knowledge) the study of the teachings of these great sages is also a path of release.

We will begin by studying the lineage of Narendra Nath Datta, born on January 12, 1863, the future Swami Vivekananda, where we will understand the fundamental role of three key figures:

1. His grandfather Sannyasin
2. His father, who was a lawyer, a lover of music (so important in Vivekananda's life) and the Bible
3. His mother, a great student of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and a devotee of Shiva. She will teach you English and Bengali:

As a young man, Naren was a mischievous boy, with leadership skills, happy and restless; He also had extraordinary intelligence, capacity for meditation and memory. And he already showed admiration for the Sannyasins, stating:

“I must become a Sannyasin”

At this time Naren practiced boxing and was already able to recite the Mahabharata. He began a phase of self-study, becoming a devourer of books and attending many conferences, thus developing his extraordinary argumentative power and concentration in reading.

In his university days, Naren wanted to know if anyone had seen God, and thus he had his first knowledge of Sri Ramakrishna, when the director of his college told him:

“I have only seen one person who has experienced that blessed state of mind, and he is Ramakrishna Paramahamsa of Dakshineswar”

In his inexhaustible desire for knowledge, he will begin to self-study Western philosophy, ancient and modern European history, as well as music and singing. Over time, Naren will compose several songs.

At this time he formalized his joining the Hindu reformist movement Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, meeting its leaders Brahmo Samaj and Raja Rammohan Roy.

Naren's metaphysical vision was the belief in a God with attributes but without form, different from the All is One conception of Advaita Vedanta. A constant in Vivekananda's life will be his visions, one of which was his future as a Sannyasin.

He went to see one of the greatest Swamis of the time Maharshi Debendra Nalh Tagore and asked him directly “have you seen God?”, and Tagore was unable to give him an answer, so he decided to see Sri Ramakrishna again.

It must be kept in mind that an Incarnation like Sri Ramakrishna, composed of pure Gunas Sattva (light and wisdom), cannot, due to its own nature, produce a massive effect on humanity. Another personality with more Rajas is required as was the case of Swami Vivekananda.

Sri Ramakrishna pure Sattva (light and wisdom) Swami Vivekananda (Raja Gunas)

When Sri Ramakrishna saw Naren, he already knew that he would be the one to explain and spread his teachings throughout the world. Only a Paramahamsa like Ramakrishna could have intuited it at this first moment:

“Behold! How Naren shines with the light of Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning!”

Narendra asked Sri Ramakrishna

The Master answered him:

“Yeah. I see it just as I see you here, only in a much more intense sense. God can be realized.”

Narendra had already found someone who could answer him affirmatively about the possibility of seeing God.

From then on, a loving and deep relationship between Master and disciple begins. It is interesting to study this relationship as an example of how a disciple should relate to his teacher. Although it should be noted that due to Naren's skepticism, it took him a long time to accept Ramakrishna as his Guru.

Naren had been agnostic and was still very skeptical, he did not believe in anything that cannot be proven. And this will be another of his messages: religion is fulfillment, anything that does not make you free (books, dogmas, rituals) eliminate it. Naren stated:

“And the entire universe, along with my individuality, was about to merge into a mysterious, all-encompassing void!”

Thus began the spiritual dawn of the future Swami Vivekananda and a relationship of infinite love between the Guru and his disciple that lasted five years. At this time he used to visit his teacher a couple of times a week. Sri Ramakrishna once said of Narendra:

“Let no one judge Naren. No one will be able to understand him completely... he is always cutting into pieces the veils of Maya with the sword of knowledge”

Sri Ramakrishna knew that his disciple's path was Jnana, the Yoga of Knowledge, and that is why he initiated him into the profound teachings of Advaita Vedanta, which he had received from his second guru Totapuri. Sri Ramakrishna said:

“Thou eyes show that Thou are not just a Jnani (man of knowledge). In Thou tender devotion (Bhakti) and deep knowledge are mixed”

A Paramahamsa like Ramakrishna can transfer his powers with a simple touch and he did so with Narendra, in this regard he said:

“I was shocked to discover that there was really nothing in the universe but God!”

Narendra thus understood this concept of All is One, and finally accepted the Advaita Vedanta philosophy. However, Narendra did not accept to receive these spiritual powers from Sri Ramakrishna.

The future Swami Vivekananda began a deep study of Western science (for example, the nervous system or the brain) and philosophy (for example, Kant or Schopenhauer), surely aware of his mission to propagate Vedanta, the Bhagavad Gita and the teachings of his master throughout the world. He also studies Buddhism in depth (he even had a vision about the Buddha) and consolidates another of his passions: poetry and music.

At this time Narendra's family wanted to marry him, but Sri Ramakrishna strongly opposed it. His father dies and the family goes through serious financial problems. He even became a Mason for a month.

Sri Ramakrishna knew very well the character of Narendra's Jnani Yogi, which is why he allowed his own mind to be his own Guru. Sri Ramakrishna stated:

“Realization is the only goal. When realization comes to the heart, all arguments cease and the state of divine knowledge shines”

And that infinite love of the Guru for his beloved disciple allowed Narendra to find a balance between Bhakti and Jnana, between heart and intellect. By instinct, Naren was a philosopher. Sri Ramakrishna made him a devotee. He even already believed that his Master was an avatar, a divine incarnation. Narendra once said:

“Sri Ramakrishna was all Bhakti (devotion) outside, but inside he was all Jnana (knowledge); I am all Jnana yes; but inside my heart everything is Bhakti”

These days Sri Ramakrishna was diagnosed with throat cancer, his death was approaching. Despite this he continued to teach his teachings and refused to use his yogic powers to heal himself. Sri Ramakrishna stated:

“The time will come when Naren will shake the world to its foundations through the force of his intellectual and spiritual powers!... Narendra will teach others”

Under the influence of Ramakrishna, Naren begins to establish himself as the leader among his followers. They even manage to understand the wisdom of their Guru thanks to Naren, perhaps the only one who really understood him.

Naren travels to Buddha Gaya and again has a vision about Lord Buddha. At this time, Naren begins to perceive his spiritual powers, even his Kundalini awakens. He understands that both Jnana and Bhakti lead to the same goal, he understands that only the Absolute of Vedanta could reconcile all the philosophies and religions of the world. Naren enters a Samadhi state.

Finally Sri Ramakrishna passes away, attains Mahasamadhi

Translated by Pedro Nonell.

Note: A number of verses from Bhagavad Gita, commentaries of Sri Ramakrishna, etc. have been added. with the aim of facilitating the understanding of the text and helping to observe the important influence of the Bhagavad Gita on Swami Vivekananda.

The complete content on “Life of Swami Vivekananda (I)” is only available to students of the Gita Institute

Outline of the topics analyzed in the subject - The Life of Swami Vivekananda (I): as a child until the death of Sri Ramakrishna

1- Introduction to the “Life of Swami Vivekananda”

2- The linage of Narendra Nath Datta

1. The importance of his grandfather Sannyasin
2. A lawyer father, philanthropist, lover of music and the Bible
3. An intelligent mother with an extraordinary memory who studied the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Follower of Lord Shiva
4. Birth and Childhood
5. His mother's dream seeing Shiva in a dream taking the form of a male child who would be her own are
6. Birth of the future Swami Vivekananda on Monday, January 12, 1863
7. A happy, restless and mischievous child
8. His great fondness for wandering monks
9. His mother teaches him English and Bengali as well as the stories of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata
10. His deep meditations and night visions
11. A private tutor. Manifestation of his extraordinary gifts of intelligence and memory
12. A leading child
13. Feeling his spirit of greatness within him

3- Early education. Glimpses of spirituality

1. Inventor of games and toys
2. A good boxer
3. Narrating the Mahabharata
4. “I must become a Sannyasin”
5. When a teacher almost ripped off his ear
6. Everyone's favorite
7. Learning how to cook
8. Start studying books and attending conferences
9. Development of your argumentative power
10. Meditating before the beauties of nature
11. Influence of his father
12. When he passed the lessons of three years in one
13. Studies in history and English and Bengali literature
14. Acquiring enormous power of concentration in reading

4- University days. First acquaintance with Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Trends

1. Admission to the University
2. Studies in Western philosophy, ancient and modern history of the different nations of Europe
3. Singing and instrumental music studies
4. A great admirer of Napoleon
5. Contacts with Brahmo Samaj and its leader Raja Rammohan Roy
6. Adherence to the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj
7. The ideal of Brahmacharya
8. Unsuccessful attempts to marry him
9. Belief in a formless God with attributes (unlike the Absolute of Advaita Vedanta)
   1. Jnana Yoga and Vedanta
10. His visions as a Sannyasin, a wandering monk with no possessions
11. With Maharshi Debendra Nalh Tagore (considered one of the greatest spiritual teachers): “Lord, have you seen God?” The Maharshi could not respond
12. His decision to see Sri Ramakrishna
13. Sri Ramakrishna, Harmony, so many paths, so many religions

5- The Saint Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

1. The Prophet whose life would harmonize all religious ideals
2. The Lord incarnates in Sri Ramakrishna to restore the Dharma
3. 1. Restore the Knowledge
   2. Ignorance and Knowledge
4. “I prefer to remain ignorant all my life and follow the path of God”
5. The living presence of Kali, the Divine Mother
6. Sri Ramakrishna becomes intoxicated with God
7. His first guru: Bhairavi Brahmani teaches him the Path of Devotion and Tantric Sadhana
8. His second guru: Totapuri teaches him the secret of the Advaita (non-dual) philosophy
9. Ramakrishna attains Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the state in which the soul realizes its identity with Brahman
   1. Mahasamadhi
10. Sri Ramakrishna worships Sri Sarada Devi as the living symbol of the Divine Mother
11. “Brahman and Shakti are one”
12. “All Religions are true, each religious system represents a path to God”
13. The first devotees
14. Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
15. Mahendranath Gupta (M) – the disciple who recorded the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

6- The meeting between Swami Vivekananda and Sri Ramakrishna: under the influence of the Master

1. At their first meeting, Sri Ramakrishna instantly recognized that Naren was the one to take his message to the world
2. Naren came to Sri Ramakrishna with all the doubts and skepticism of the modern was, unwilling to accept even the highest truths of religion without verification
3. The intense activity of the West must be combined with the deep meditation of the East
4. Birth of Neo-Hinduism
5. “O, how I long to unload my mind on someone who can appreciate my most intimate experience!”
6. “Thou art a Dhyana-Siddha” (an adept in meditation even from the very birth)
7. Naren is slow to accept him as a teacher
8. Third visit: Naren loses all external consciousness
9. Visions of the Master about Naren
10. Narendra: a skeptic, without faith in Hindu gods
11. Naren's Spiritual Dawn

7- The infinite love and respect of the guru for his disciple

1. Two souls in one: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda
2. Vivekananda: “It is his love for me that unites me to him”
3. The Master's sadness at Swami Vivekananda's lateness: “Holy Mother, I cannot live without seeing him”
4. During his five years as a disciple, Narendra goes to see the Master once or twice a week
5. Naren's love of freedom would show humanity the path to liberation
6. Teacher: “Look, Shiva is in you! And Shakti is in me! And these two are One!”
7. Sri Ramakrishna: “He is always cutting into pieces the veils of Maya with the sword of knowledge.”
8. The Master knew that Narendra's path was the Path of Jnana Yoga (Yoga of Knowledge)
9. Ramakrishna touches Naren: “I was shocked to discover that there was really nothing in the universe but God!” Acceptance of Advaita Philosophy
10. Ramakrishna begins to treat Naren with complete indifference to test him
11. Naren refuses to receive the spiritual powers of the Master
12. Swami Vivekananda: Western science, plus Hindu spirituality

8- The man in the making. Study of Western science and philosophy.

1. The influence of your family
2. Naren studies philosophy, science, history and Western art
3. Study of the works of Herbert Spencer, Kant, Schopenhauer, John Stuart Mill and Auguste Comte. Study of Buddhism
4. Against the autocracy of the Hindu priestly caste
5. Naren gets lost in the labyrinth of Agnosticism
6. Courses on the nervous system, brain and spinal cord
7. Passion for history and poetry
8. “Mine will be the monastic life, I'm sure.”
9. The great barrier to your final realization: your intellect
10. The impact of “Three Essays on Religion” by John Stuart Mill, of Hume's skepticism and Herbert Spencer's doctrine of the unknowable: it becomes a philosophical skepticism
11. His fascination with music
12. Meditation against confusion of intellect and agnosticism
13. Naren adopts a new meditation method
14. His vision of Lord Buddha
15. Naren becomes convinced, through an intellectual process, the existence of an Ultimate Reality

9- Tests and difficulties. Pressure from Sri Ramakrishna to prevent Narendra Nath's wedding

1. Sri Ramakrishna opposes Naren's arranged marriage
2. “No, even I don't understand, but I love that old man, that saint, Sri Ramakrishna.”
3. Death of his father. Serious economic problems
4. The poorest of the poor at university
5. For a month he becomes a Freemason
6. Doubts: “Does God really exist?”
7. Sri Ramakrishna advises him to pray to the Mother: “Mother, give me discrimination! Give me resignation! Give me knowledge and devotion!”
8. Understanding the full meaning and purpose of worshiping God through images

10- Days of ecstasy in Dakshineswar

1. Sri Ramakrishna allows Naren's mind to become his own Guru
2. Sri Ramakrishna's wonderful teaching method
3. Naren attacks faith as a means to liberation
4. The man who preached universal love and tolerance
5. Naren: “How beautifully he has reconciled the ideal of Bhakti with the knowledge of Vedanta!”
6. Sri Ramakrishna injects a living spirit into Hinduism
7. Sri Ramakrishna's love for Naren struck a balance between his intellect and his heart
8. Devotion to God is impossible without purity of heart
9. Naren was to show the world the treasures that the Master had found
10. All religions are paths to God
11. The Master's Cancer
12. Belief in the Master as a Divine Incarnation
13. Spirituality: defeat of passion and uprooting of desire (Swami Vivekananda)

11- Cossipore and the death of the Master

1. Despite his seriousness, Ramakrishna cannot resist the impulse to transmit his knowledge to the multitude of religious aspirants who flocked to him
2. Naren assumes leadership under the influence of the Master
3. Sri Ramakrishna initiates Naren with the name of Rama
4. Many disciples understand the Master better through Naren
5. Naren's Kundalini Awakening
6. The Master refuses to use his yogic powers to heal himself
7. Naren feels spiritual powers within him
8. “Illness is naturally in the body. I see many forms of the Lord, and this (your own form of him) is also one of them”
9. Knowledge, Renunciation and devotion: The divine attributes of Maya
10. Naren realizes that the paths of Devotion and Knowledge lead to the same goal, that Love is the culmination of Realization
11. Trip to Buddha Gaya. Visions of the Buddha
12. The future apostles of the Ramakrishna Order
    1. Swami Sarvapriyananda
13. Naren's Samadhi
14. Sri Ramakrishna completes his task in his Incarnation and human manifestation and surrenders himself totally and completely to Naren
    Mahasamadhi
15. “Jai Ramakrishna!”, “Victory to Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna!”

Life of Swami Vivekananda (I): as a child until the death of Sri Ramakrishna

Cape Comorin, Parliament of Religions, London, Back to India, Belur Math

1. Transmission of Knowledge
2. Lower and Higher Knowledge
3. Sacrifice and austerity