Swami Vivekananda (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the late 19th century He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India, and contributed to the concept of nationalism in colonial India. Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He is perhaps best known for his speech which began, "Sisters and brothers of America ...,"in which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893.
Born into an aristocratic Bengali family of Calcutta, Vivekananda was inclined towards spirituality. He was influenced by his Guru, Ramakrishna Deva, from whom he learnt that all living beings were an embodiment of the divine self; therefore, service to God could be rendered by service to mankind. After Ramakrishna's death, Vivekananda toured the Indian subcontinent extensively and acquired first-hand knowledge of the conditions prevailing in British India. He later travelled to the United States, representing India at the 1893 Parliament of the World Religions. Vivekananda conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes, disseminating tenets of Hindu philosophy in the United States, England and Europe. In India, Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saint and his birthday is celebrated in India as National Youth Day.
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4. The following is a summary of Râja-
Yoga freely translated from the
Kurma- Purâna.
5. The fire of Yoga burns the cage of
sin that is around a man.
Knowledge becomes purified and
Nirvâna is directly obtained. From
Yoga comes knowledge; knowledge
again helps the Yogi.
6. He who combines in himself both
Yoga and knowledge, with him the
Lord is pleased. Those that practice
Mahâyoga, either once a day, or
twice a day, or thrice, or always,
know them to be gods.
7. Yoga is divided into two parts. One
is called Abhâva, and the other,
Mahayoga. Where one's self is
meditated upon as zero, and bereft
of quality, that is called Abhava.
8. That in which one sees the self as
full of bliss and bereft of all
impurities, and one with God, is
called Mahayoga. The Yogi, by each
one, realises his Self.
9. The other Yogas that we read and
hear of, do not deserve to be
ranked with the excellent
Mahayoga in which the Yogi finds
himself and the whole universe as
God. This is the highest of all Yogas.
10. Yama, Niyama, Âsana, Prânâyâma,
Pratyâhâra, Dhârâna, Dhyâna, and
Samâdhi are the steps in Raja-Yoga,
of which non-injury, truthfulness,
noncovetousness, chastity, not
receiving anything from another are
called Yama.
11. This purifies the mind, the Chitta.
Never producing pain by thought,
word, and deed, in any living being,
is what is called Ahimsâ, non-injury.
There is no virtue higher than non-
injury.
12. There is no happiness higher than
what a man obtains by this attitude
of non-offensiveness, to all
creation.
13. By truth we attain fruits of work.
Through truth everything is
attained. In truth everything is
established.
14. Relating facts as they are — this is
truth. Not taking others' goods
by stealth or by force, is called
Asteya, non-covetousness.
15. Chastity in thought, word, and
deed, always, and in all conditions,
is what is called Brahmacharya.
16. Not receiving any present from
anybody, even when one is
suffering terribly, is what is called
Aparigraha.
17. The idea is, when a man receives a
gift from another, his heart
becomes impure, he becomes low,
he loses his independence,
he becomes bound and attached.
18. The following are helps to success in
Yoga and are called Niyama or regular
habits and observances; Tapas,
austerity; Svâdhyâya, study; Santosha,
contentment; Shaucha, purity;
Ishvara-pranidhâna, worshipping God.
Fasting, or in other ways controlling
the body, is called physical Tapas.
19. Repeating the Vedas and other
Mantras, by which the Sattva
material in the body is purified,
is called study, Svadhyaya. There
are three sorts of repetitions of
these Mantras.
20. One is called the verbal, another
semi-verbal, and the third mental.
The verbal or audible is the lowest,
and the inaudible is the highest of
all. The repetition which is loud is
the verbal; the next one is where
only the lips move, but no sound is
heard.
21. The inaudible repetition of the
Mantra, accompanied with the
thinking of its meaning, is called
the "mental repetition," and is the
highest. The sages have said that
there are two sorts of purification,
external and internal.
22. The purification of the body by
water, earth, or other materials is
the external purification, as bathing
etc. Purification of the mind by
truth, and by all the other virtues,
is what is called internal
purification.
23. Both are necessary. It is not
sufficient that a man should be
internally pure and externally dirty.
When both are not attainable the
internal purity is the better,
but no one will be a Yogi until he
has both.
25. We have spoken about Yama and
Niyama. The next is Asana
(posture). The only thing to
understand about it is leaving the
body free, holding the chest,
shoulders, and head straight.
26. Then comes Pranayama. Prana
means the vital forces in one's own
body, Âyâma means controlling
them. There are three sorts
of Pranayama, the very simple, the
middle, and the very high.
27. Pranayama is divided into three parts:
filling, restraining, and emptying.
When you begin with twelve seconds
it is the lowest Pranayama; when you
begin with twenty four seconds it is
the middle Pranayama; that
Pranayama is the best which
begins with thirty-six seconds.
28. In the lowest kind of Pranayama
there is perspiration, in the medium
kind, quivering of the body, and in
the highest Pranayama levitation of
the body and influx of great bliss.
29. There is a Mantra called the
Gâyatri. It is a very holy verse of the
Vedas. "We meditate on the
glory of that Being who has
produced this universe; may He
enlighten our minds."
30. Om is joined to it at the beginning
and the end. In one Pranayama
repeat three Gayatris. In all books
they speak of Pranayama being
divided into Rechaka (rejecting or
exhaling), Puraka (inhaling), and
Kurnbhaka (restraining, stationary).
31. The Indriyas, the organs of the
senses, are acting outwards and
coming in contact with external
objects.
32. Bringing them under the control of
the will is what is called Pratyahara
or gathering towards oneself.
33. Fixing the mind on the lotus of the
heart, or on the centre of the head,
is what is called Dharana.
34. Limited to one spot, making that spot
the base, a particular kind of mental
waves rises; these are not swallowed
up by other kinds of waves, but by
degrees become prominent, while all
the others recede and finally
disappear.
35. Next the multiplicity of these waves
gives place to unity and one wave
only is left in the mind.
36. This is Dhyana, meditation. When
no basis is necessary, when
the whole of the mind has become
one wave, one-formedness, it is
called Samadhi.
37. Bereft of all help from places and
centres, only the meaning of the
thought is present.
38. If the mind can be fixed on the
centre for twelve seconds it
will be a Dharana, twelve such
Dharanas will be a Dhyana, and
twelve such Dhyanas will be a
Samadhi.
39. Where there is fire, or in water or on
ground which is strewn with dry
leaves, where there are many ant-
hills, where there are wild animals, or
danger, where four streets meet,
where there is too much noise, where
there are many wicked persons, Yoga
must not be practiced.
40. This applies more particularly to
India. Do not practice when the
body feels very lazy or ill, or when
the mind is very miserable and
sorrowful. Go to a place which is
well hidden, and where people
do not come to disturb you.
41. Do not choose dirty places. Rather
choose beautiful scenery, or a room in
your own house which is beautiful.
When you practice, first salute all the
ancient Yogis, and your own Guru, and
God, and then begin.
Dhyana is spoken of, and a few
examples are given of what to
meditate upon.
42. Sit straight, and look at the tip of your
nose. Later on we shall come to know
how that concentrates the mind, how
by controlling the two optic nerves
one advances a long way towards the
control of the arc of reaction, and so
to the control of the will.
43. Here are a few specimens of
meditation. Imagine a lotus
upon the top of the head, several
inches up, with virtue as its centre,
and knowledge as its stalk.
44. The eight petals of the lotus are the
eight powers of the Yogi. Inside, the
stamens and pistils are
renunciation. If the Yogi refuses the
external powers he will come to
salvation.
45. So the eight petals of the lotus are
the eight powers, but the internal
stamens and pistils are extreme
renunciation, the renunciation of all
these powers.
46. Inside of that lotus think of the
Golden One, the Almighty, the
Intangible, He whose name is Om,
the Inexpressible, surrounded with
effulgent light.
47. Meditate on that. Another
meditation is given.
Think of a space in your heart, and
in the midst of that space think that
a flame is burning.
48. Think of that flame as your own
soul and inside the flame is another
effulgent light, and that is the Soul
of your soul, God. Meditate upon
that in the heart.
49. Chastity, non-injury, forgiving even
the greatest enemy, truth, faith in
the Lord, these are all different
Vrittis. Be not afraid if you are not
perfect in all of these; work, they
will come.
50. He who has given up all
attachment, all fear, and all anger,
he whose whole soul has gone unto
the Lord, he who has taken refuge
in the Lord, whose heart has
become purified, with whatsoever
desire he comes to the Lord, He will
grant that to him.
52. "He who hates none, who is the friend of
all, who is merciful to all, who has
nothing of his own, who is free from
egoism, who is even-minded in pain and
pleasure, who is forbearing, who is always
satisfied, who works always in Yoga,
whose self has become controlled, whose
will is firm, whose mind and intellect are
given up unto Me, such a one is My
beloved Bhakta.
53. From whom comes no disturbance,
who cannot be disturbed by others,
who is free from joy, anger, fear,
and anxiety, such a one is My
beloved.
54. He who does not depend on
anything, who is pure and active,
who does not care whether good
comes or evil, and never becomes
miserable, who has given up all
efforts for himself;
55. who is the same in praise or in
blame, with a silent, thoughtful
mind, blessed with what little
comes in his way, homeless, for the
whole world is his home, and who
is steady in his ideas, such a one is
My beloved Bhakta." Such alone
become Yogis.
56. There was a great god-sage called
Nârada. Just as there are sages
among mankind, great Yogis, so
there are great Yogis among the
gods. Narada was a good Yogi, and
very great. He travelled
everywhere.
57. One day he was passing through a
forest, and saw a man who had
been meditating until the white
ants had built a huge mound round
his body — so long had he been
sitting in that position.
58. He said to Narada, "Where are you
going?" Narada replied, "I am
going to heaven." "Then ask God
when He will be merciful to me;
when I shall attain freedom."
59. Further on Narada saw another
man. He was jumping about,
singing, dancing, and said, "Oh,
Narada, where are you going?" His
voice and his gestures were wild.
Narada said, "I am going to
heaven." "Then, ask when I shall be
free."
60. Narada went on. In the course of time
he came again by the same road, and
there was the man who had been
meditating with the ant-hill round
him. He said, "Oh, Narada, did you ask
the Lord about me?" "Oh, yes." "What
did He say?"
61. "The Lord told me that you would
attain freedom in four more
births." Then the man began to
weep and wail, and said, "I have
meditated until an ant-hill has
grown around me, and I have four
more births yet!"
62. Narada went to the other man.
"Did you ask my question?" "Oh,
yes. Do you see this tamarind tree?
I have to tell you that as many
leaves as there are on that tree, so
many times, you shall be born, and
then you shall attain freedom."
63. The man began to dance for joy,
and said, "I shall have freedom
after such a short time!"
A voice came, "My child, you will
have freedom this minute."
64. That was the reward for his
perseverance. He was ready to
work through all those births,
nothing discouraged him.
65. But the first man felt that even four
more births were too long. Only
perseverance, like that of the man
who was willing to wait aeons
brings about the highest result.