This was the beginning of the Ramakrishna Mission.įrom 1888 to 1890 Swami Vivekananda travelled widely. Narendra, now known as Swami Vivekananda, founded an Ashram near Calcutta, in order to organise better the Master’s mission. Narendra yearned intensely for God and began to plague the Master for realisation. During these years of great struggle, his sheet anchor was his Guru, Sri Ramakrishna. The death of his father forced Narendra to find work and support the family. When he became normal again, he made Narendra sit beside him and enquired lovingly of the boy. As he sang, he sent thrill after thrill through Sri Ramakrishna until the saint fell into a state of ecstasy. Narendra was also invited to sing devotional songs. One day, his neighbour received a surprise visit from the saint of Dakshineshwar, Sri Ramakrishna. He was the “soul of social circles” and no gathering was deemed complete without his presence. He was rarely absent from social parties. He enjoyed doing worship of Lord Rama and Lord Krishna with his mother.Īfter his matriculation, Narendra went to college. Nevertheless, he was very generous, loving and devoted, with a strange attraction for wandering Sadhus. As a boy, Narendra was very naughty and self-willed, and often had to be placed under a water tap to curb his mischief. His mother, Devi Bhuvaneshwari, was a devout woman with a great ability for training her children. He was highly respected for his intelligence and culture.

His father, Viswanath Datta, was a brilliant lawyer. This illustrious patriot-saint of modern India was born in Calcutta on 12 January, 1863.

Life of swami vivekananda