Question

What was usual activity of Swami mentioned in the story?

Answer 1

In several ways, the life and work of Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) mark the historical process of India rediscovering herself in modern times. These are also emblematic of the ways in which a tradition modernizes or creates alternative forms of modernity. Today, as the nation celebrates the 150th birth anniversary of the Swami, it is only apt that we critically reflect on his life and legacy.
Generally speaking, his contribution to India and to the larger world may be summed up in four ways. First, in modern India, it was Vivekananda who first emphasized that our everyday lives would become more meaningful only when spiritualized. It was in this spirituality that he re-discovered, as it were, India’s message to herself and to the world. For Vivekananda, this spiritual self-realization led to people more fully realizing their own potentialities. Especially in the context of a colonized society like that of 19th century India, this was tantamount to men and women locating greater self-belief in themselves.
The human soul being free, suggested Vivekananda, more than compensated for the loss of political freedom.
Second, even though the Swami rejected political praxis and Westinspired social and religious reforms, his essential message was the empowerment of the people: through education, collective thought and action but above all, realizing he underlying unity of all human existence. In the Hindu tradition, ascetic detachment from the world had been criticized even before Vivekananda but it was he who first actively joined the idea of individual renunciation to committed social service. In this sense, he gave new meaning or signification to the very idea and institution of sanyas.
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