Researching A Hindu Saint Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Researching A Hindu Saint - Essay Example Referring to the Bhagavad Gita, he has made use of the Yogas and Vedantas in order to help people understand the importance and implementation of the major themes namely Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga. (Vivekananda Kendra) Vivekananda was born in Calcutta on 12th January, 1863 to a Bengali Kayastha family and his birth name was Narendra Nath Datta. He was influenced greatly by both his parents; his father helped him to inculcate within him a sense of logical thinking equipped with rationality whereas his mother assisted him on thinking along the lines of religious spirituality. His guru Ramakrishna also played a major role in his life by teaching him about the faith and service that a man devotes to God and how this service is the same in all religions to all Gods. Swami Vivekananda also was heavily influenced by the teachings in the Bhagavad Gita and remarked on an allegory of the war taking place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. He stated that the war was a metaphor of th e war that is constantly raging within the mind of a human being with respect to good and evil and what he should give in to. In 1881, Vivekananda experienced a turning point in his life as he met Ramakrishna; it is surprising to note that at first he revolted against all of the ideas of the guru and did not accept him as his senior; he had his own views regarding spirituality and did not believe in Ramakrishna’s vision. However, during the course of studying for five years under him, he began to accept his views and became a man ready to renounce the world in order to understand the realization a man achieves by being close to God. When Ramakrishna began suffering from throat cancer, Vivekananda formed a monastic group of which he was a part of and was given the duty to look after all the other disciples and take forward his teachings. From 1888 to 1893 Vivekananda wandered all over India as a monk with nothing but a pot of water and the robes on his back. He carried with hi m a copy of the Imitation of the Christ and the Bhagavad Gita and during the course of this journey he was able to understand people from different walks of life as he stayed with, and interacted with all kinds of people from all over the country. (Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda) After 1893, Vivekananda began travelling abroad with his first visit to Japan. He was very impressed by the cleanliness in the Japanese lifestyle; both in their way of living as well as their attitude. From there on, he visited Chicago where he was taken to the Parliament of World Religions by Prof. John Henry Wright of Harvard University. Vivekananda has hosted several lectures on his tours across England and America and after coming back to India, founded the Ramakrishna Mission all over the country where young learners are taught about the Gita as well as other world religions with emphasis on Hinduism. He has tried to keep Ramakrishna’s message and vision alive by spreading the word about God and self-realization. The essence of his teachings has best been described through a Vedanta philosophy of the soul as potentially divine. He is also considered to be a social reformer as he worked to help the poor and made provisions of providing them with food, shelter as well as knowledge through the Ramakrishna Missions set up throughout the country. The Bhagavad Gita is a 700 verse discourse in Sanskrit, a part of the Sanskrit epic titled the Mahabharata written by Valmiki. Also