The Kanyakumari resolve of 1892 was the resolution taken by Indian Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda to dedicate himself for the service and the welfare of people. In 1970 Vivekananda Rock Memorial was founded at the place where Vivekananda took this resolution.
Ramakrishna, the spiritual teacher of Vivekananda, desired to see his disciple dedicate his life to the welfare of the society. After the death of Ramakrishna in 1886, Narendranath Datta (Pre-monastic name of Swami Vivekananda) and other disciples founded their first monastery at Baranagar.
In 1888, Narendranath Datta left the monastery as a parivrajaka (meaning: "the Hindu religious life of a wandering monk") "without fixed abode, without ties, independent and strangers wherever they go". Between 1888 and 1893 he traveled extensively in several states of India. In 1888, he visited several places of Northern India like Ayodhya, Lucknow, Agra, Vrindavan, Hathras and Rishikesh. Between 1888 and 1890, Vivekananda visited Vaidyanath and Allahabad.
In 1891, he travelled to Ahmedabad, Wadhwan and Limbdi. He also visited Girnar, Kutch, Porbander, Dwaraka, Palitana, Nadiad, Nadiad ni haveli, and Baroda.
In 1892, he went to South India. He first travelled to Bangalore and then visited other cities like Trissur, Kodungalloor, Ernakulam, Nagercoil and Trivandrum. He offered worship at Rameswaram and finally reached Kanyakumari on 24 December 1892.
During his wandering years, Vivekananda had experienced the sufferings and problems faced by common people. Poverty, lack of self-respect, and education pained him. He wanted to help these poor people. He wanted to restore the dignity and self-respect of these people.
When Vivekananda reached Kanyakumari on 24 December 1892, he was still unable to formulate an idea to help the masses of the country. In Kanyakumari, he swam across the ocean to reach a large mid-sea rock. There he sat on the rock and started meditating on India's past, present and future. His meditation on the "last bit of Indian rock" (later known as the Vivekananda Rock Memorial) continued for three days from 25 to 27 December. Swami Vivekananda contemplated on India since Vedic age during his 3 days meditation in Kanya Kumari. The past glory of India brought tears in his eyes. In Bodhgaya, he had contemplated on the Buddhist age of India and it's glory was so mesmerizing that he was overwhelmed while being in meditation.
Here he had a "vision of one India" and came up with a solution in the form of resolution, which is popularly known as the "Kanyakumari resolve of 1892"..." [1] [2] The purpose of the 'resolve' was also to organize sannyasins for social service. [3]
In a letter written to Swami Ramakrishnananda on 19 March 1894, Vivekananda recalled: [1]
My brother, in view of all this, especially of poverty and ignorance, I had no sleep. At Cape Comorin sitting in Mother Kumari's temple, sitting on the last bit of Indian rock—I hit upon a plan: We are so many Sannyasins wandering about, and teaching the people metaphysics—it is all madness. Did not our Gurudeva use to say, "An empty stomach is no good for religion"? That those poor people are leading the life of brutes is simply due to ignorance. We have for all ages been sucking their blood and trampling them underfoot.
At Kanyakumari, he decided to dedicate his life to the welfare and uplifting of the common masses of India.
The date 24 December, when Vivekananda took the resolution at Kanyakumari, is celebrated as Sankalp Divas (the resolve day, resolution day). [4]
Swami Vivekananda, born Narendranath Datta was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world. He is credited with raising interfaith awareness and bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion in the late nineteenth century.
Swami Akhandananda (1864–1937) was a swami and direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, a 19th-century mystic. He was the third president of the Ramakrishna Mission.
Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a monument and popular tourist attraction in Kanyakumari, India's southernmost tip. The memorial stands on one of the two rocks located about 500 meters off mainland of Vavathurai, Tamil Nadu. It was built in 1970 in honour of Swami Vivekananda, who is said to have attained enlightenment on the rock.
Ramakrishna Paramhansa Deva had sixteen direct disciples who became monks of the Ramakrishna Order; they are often considered his apostles. In the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement, the apostles have played an important role. Apart from Swami Vivekananda, the direct disciples or apostles of Ramakrishna were as follows.
Raja Ajit Singh Bahadur was the ruler of the Shekhawat estate (thikana) of Khetri at Panchpana in Rajasthan between 1870 and 1901. He was born on 16 October 1861 at Alsisar. His father was Thakur Chattu Singh, a resident of Alsisar. Ajit Singh was later adopted to Khetri and after the death of Fateh Singh, he became the eighth king of Khetri in 1870. In 1876, he married Rani Champawatiji Sahiba and the couple had one son and two daughters. He died on 18 January 1901 due to an accident at the tomb of Akbar in Sikandra near Agra and was cremated at Mathura.
The Vyadha Gita is a part of the epic Mahabharata and consists of the teachings imparted by a vyadha (butcher) to a sannyasin (monk). It occurs in the Vana Parva section of Mahabharata and is told to Yudhishthira, a Pandava by sage Markandeya. In the story, an arrogant sannyasin is humbled by a vyadha, and learns about dharma (righteousness). The vyadha teaches that "no duty is ugly, no duty is impure" and it is only the way in which the work is done, determines its worth. The Bhagavata Purana mentions the vyadha as an example of someone who attained perfection through satsang. Scholar Satya P. Agarwal considers Vyadha Gita to be one of the popular narrations in the Mahabharata.
Swami Vivekananda is a 1998 Indian biographical film directed by G. V. Iyer and produced by T. Subbarami Reddy. It took Iyer 11 years to finish the research work required for the film and to write the screenplay.
Pavhari Baba (1798–1898) was a Hindu ascetic and saint. He was born in Premapur, Jaunpur in a Brahmin family. In his childhood he went to Ghazipur to study under the tutelage of his uncle who was a follower of Ramanuja or Shri sect. After finishing his studies he travelled to many places. At Girnar in Kathiawar he was initiated into Yoga.
Subodhananda, born as Subodh Chandra Ghosh, was a direct monastic disciple of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century saint and mystic from India. The youngest of the direct monastic disciples, he was affectionately known by his brother monks, whose leader was Swami Vivekananda, as "Khoka". He played a pioneering role in establishing the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He was one of the first group of trustees of the Belur Math appointed by Vivekananda in 1901, and was afterwards elected treasurer of the Ramakrishna Mission.
Nirmalananda, born as Tulasi Charan Dutta in Calcutta, was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century mystic and Hindu saint from India, and took Sanyasa from Vivekananda along with Brahmananda and others. He was initiated by Sri Ramakrishna, on which fact a few latter-day antagonists tried to cast doubt in the Bangalore Court, but into which question the Court refused to get into. Nirmalananda played a key role in establishing Ramakrishna Math and Mission chiefly in South India, in Kerala and Bangalore and Tamil Nadu and also in the USA, Burma and Bangladesh.
Biley or Bilay is a 2012 Bengali drama created by Bengali theatre group Lokkrishti, This is a dramatisation of the life and works of Swami Vivekananda. Debshankar Haldar played the lead role. Phalguni Chattopadhyay directed this drama and Ujjwal Chattopadhyay was the playwright.
Ramakrishna Mission Swami Vivekananda's Ancestral House and Cultural Centre is a museum and cultural centre. It is located at 105 Vivekananda Road, Kolkata, India. In this house, Swami Vivekananda was born on 12 January 1863. The house remained Vivekananda's home throughout his childhood and early youth. The cultural centre was inaugurated by the President of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
Ram Chandra Datta was a householder disciple of Ramakrishna and a writer. Datta was a relative of Indian monk and social reformer Swami Vivekananda. After completing his graduation, he took job of a Government employee and a chemist. He invented an antidote for blood dysentery from an extract of an indigenous medicinal plant and started promoting "modern science".
Baranagar Math or Ramakrishna Math, Baranagar was the first monastery of Ramakrishna Order. In September 1886, after the death of Ramakrishna, when his devotees stopped funding, Swami Vivekananda and other disciples of Ramakrishna decided to make a dilapidated house at Baranagar their new math. The house crumbled to dust in 1897. In 1973 Vivekananda Math Samrakshan Samity was formed who attempted to preserve the area. In 2001, the possession was handed over to Belur Math authority, who soon-after declared it as one of their official branch. The restoration and development work of the area is still going on.
Meditation played a very important role in the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda. He was interested in meditation from his childhood. His master Ramakrishna found him a dhyana - siddha . On 24 December 1892, Vivekananda reached Kanyakumari and meditated for three days on a large rock and took the resolution to dedicate his life to serve humanity. The event is known as the Kanyakumari resolve of 1892. He reportedly also meditated for a long time on the day of his death.
The relationship between Ramakrishna and Vivekananda began in November 1881, when they met at the house of Surendra Nath Mitra. Ramakrishna asked Narendranath to sing. Impressed by his singing talent, he invited him to Dakshineswar. Narendra accepted the invitation, and the meeting proved to be a turning point in the life of Narendranath. Initially Narendra did not accept Ramakrishna as his master and found him to be a "mono maniac", but eventually he became one of the closest people in his life. Ramakrishna reportedly shaped the personality of Narendranath and prepared him to dedicate his life to serve humanity. After the death of Ramakrishna, Narendra and his other monastic disciples established their first monastery at Baranagar.
Sangeet Kalpataru is a Bengali language song anthology edited and compiled by Swami Vivekananda and Vaishnav Charan Basak. The book was first published in August or September 1887 from Arya Pustakalaya, Calcutta. In 2000, the book was reprinted by the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. It was edited with a critical introduction by Dr. Sarbananda Choudhury.
Vivekananda's prayer to Kali at Dakshineswar is an event which occurred in September 1884 when Swami Vivekananda, following the suggestion of Ramakrishna, went to the Kali temple of Dakshineswar with the intention to pray for financial welfare, but ultimately prayed for pure knowledge, devotion and renunciation. This event has been a subject of scholarly studies and is considered as a significant event in the life of Vivekananda, who initially revolted against idol-worship but now accepted and prayed before an idol of Kali. This incident added a new change to Narendra's devotion and knowledge.
Sri Ramakrishna Darshanam is a 2012 Tamil-language biographical film based on the life and philosophy of 19th century Bengali mystic saint Ramakrishna. The film was directed by G N Dass produced by G.N.D. Vision International Private Limited. The film had screened in Chennai before being shared 17 August as a part of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Swami Vivekananda.
In 1888, Swami Vivekananda left the monastery as a Parivrâjaka— the Hindu religious life of a wandering monk, "without fixed abode, without ties, independent and strangers wherever they go". His sole possessions were a kamandalu, staff and his two favourite books: the Bhagavad Gita and The Imitation of Christ. Narendra travelled extensively in India for five years, visiting centres of learning and acquainting himself with diverse religious traditions and social patterns. He developed sympathy for the suffering and poverty of the people, and resolved to uplift the nation. Living primarily on bhiksha (alms), Swami Vivekananda travelled on foot and by railway. During his travels he met, and stayed with Indians from all religions and walks of life: scholars, dewans, rajas, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, paraiyars and government officials.