“Knowing him from Books and knowing him personally were two different things” – Swami Brahmananda, First President of Ramakrishna Math.
When one reads this book on the amazing life of Swami Vivekananda, one truly understands the prophetic nature of this statement, which incidentally is from the same book. Swami Vivekananda’s enigmatic life has inspired generations and will continue to do so for the coming time. His teachings resonate with the young and old alike and are worshipped very widely for his inspiring call to the nation and the world. Many of the books on Swami Vivekananda deal with his teachings, thoughts, and perhaps Ramakrishna Mission/Belur Math. However, do we understand Swami Vivekananda as a person? What was his personality in real life, especially with those whom he interacted with regularly? This and many more questions are answered in this superlative work by Sankar, which provides a humane perspective of Swami Vivekananda dealing with some of the daily issues of life that everyone grapples with.
Swami Vivekananda’s life is one that has captured the imagination of many researchers from India and abroad including the humungous number of books written by Swami’s younger brother, Mahendrananth Dutta. The beauty of his life lies in the fact that it is well documented in various forms through the writings of close acquaintances to numerous letters and correspondences. To assimilate this mountain of information and condense it to an acceptable level is an uphill, arduous task, which has marvellously been achieved by the author. One of the standout features of the book is the sheer number of anecdotes and wisdom nuggets captured in the forms of dialogue between Swami & his companions or just the historical references to those who had influenced the author. For example, in the foreword, the author honours his headmaster’s memory by quoting his wisdom: “Read the original and you will never lose your way”.
The family history of Swami Vivekananda (born Narendranath Dutta) is quite well through other works on the famed leader. However, this book provides a detailed family tree on both paternal and maternal sides. This is particularly critical to understand the inner personalities of Swami’s mother and grandmother who had to undergo numerous tribulations all along their life but yet managed to hold the family together. Their life histories itself are inspirational and it shouldn’t be a surprise that such a prodigious son was born into their lineage.
If one has to summarise this book, it provides a very humane and realistic picture of a person known as Swami Vivekananda. Though a sanyasi, he was very attached to his mother which is quite evident throughout his life. After the death of his father, the family is embroiled in a series of litigation and court cases that drain the financial and mental resources of the family. Coupled with the eldest son’s decision to embark on the path of renunciation, his mother (Bhubaneshwari Devi) deals with every single challenge thrown by life toward her. There are some interesting parts of his life like anger during childhood, liking towards snuff, pigeon flying, etc. These incidents present a very holistic view of the great man – A man who is as common as any one of us.
In one of the most poignant phrases, Swami’s life is summarised as a series of Struggles and Disillusionments. Owing to the joint family system and the inherent challenges in such a setup, Swami’s family had to face numerous challenges related to money. Swami’s eternal goal was to provide and care for his mother. He was blessed with some Gurubhais who used to help Swami’s family financially. Disappointments were Swami’s eternal friends with even the great Ishwar Chandra Sagar removing Swami as a teacher based on the instigation of some students. When one reads the various, sometimes harrowing, experiences of Swami and his family, one needs to appreciate the monumental efforts of the author who has compiled data from various sources with a sharp focus.
Swami Vivekananda had to struggle a lot throughout life both financially & from a health point of view. During his times of duress, he was steadfast in his principles as he famously pronounced: “It’s a sin to cast morality aside, no matter what difficulties one encounters in life”. Swami is an exemplary personality who lived by every word he preached to others. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is about the famous “My Mother” lecture in Boston in 1894. Though it is widely understood to be about the Divine mother, many hold a different view that it was more about Swami’s own mother. One of the most hard-hitting aspects of this book is to learn the fact that Swami Vivekananda was literally starving with no good accommodation just before he delivered the famous lecture at the World’s Parliament of Religions.
Swami Vivekananda found an ally in Ajit Singh, H. H. Maharaja of Khetri who supported Swami and his family through a monthly stipend over a decade up until his death. As one wades through the pages, one can’t help but find similarities between Swami’s experiences with the universal guru Adi Sankaracharya. His eternal goal in life was to establish the Ramakrishna Mission and spread the teachings of his guru, Sri Ramakrishna to a wider audience. Sister Nivedita summarised Swami’s life in a great way: The monk named Vivekananda could renounce money and women but not love for his family. Swami Vivekananda always acknowledged the role of his mother publicly, which made him an astounding leader who was humane enough.
The book gives a very detailed insight into the culinary skills of Swami Vivekananda, who had set up a club in his childhood named “The Greedy Club”. His love for fragrant tobacco and very hot chilli peppers was quite well known. Cooking was a medium of expression to the great man, whose only pleasure was to serve others. In other words, he exhibited a motherly love in caring for his colleagues and friends. There are some interesting passages about the introduction of Tea into Bengali society, including the different names for Tea in Samskruta: Shleshwari, Girvit, Shyamaparni, Atandri, Kamalarasa and a local colloquial word, Fant.
The letters written by Swami Vivekananda are considered as one of the best treasure troves of Bengali literature that include some very detailed travelogue across the world. The book has some very wonderful photos from the life of Swami Vivekananda including some rare, uncommon ones.
The last part of the book is perhaps the hardest to read. These sections outline the excruciating life of Swami Vivekananda and his various battles with health disruptions and diseases. Diabetes is one of the biggest contributors, but the sheer number of challenges that Swami underwent is just too agonising. At one juncture, the author lists down around 31 different problems that were ailing Swami at various points in time. Alternating between starvation and food, Vivekananda’s body had taken a huge toll that led to a breakdown in multiple forms over a prolonged period of life. In his letters, Swami Vivekananda describes his conditions in great detail which churns the heart and stomach of the reader.
The question would be: Why is this relevant? There are 2 important aspects to consider. Swami Vivekananda lived a life filled with misery and suffering just like every common person i.e. he was as humane as the rest of us. However, the more important lesson to take away is that, even though he was undergoing challenging times with his body, he was steadfast in his dedication to the Math and ensuring that the teachings of his Guru were spread wide. Compared to earlier reads, when one reads this book in its entirety, we can appreciate the towering achievements of the great man, Swami Vivekananda. This book truly provides a great insight into why Swami Vivekananda is worshipped very widely even today.
The book is a definitely, very highly recommended. I am thankful to Sri Suryaprakash Pandit, eminent writer and journalist who recommended this book to me.
Gee Vee is an engineer and avid fan of itihasas, puranas and books.
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