From Narendra to Vivekananda

Sri Ramakrishna was a priest in the temple of Goddess Kali. He was not a scholar but was a great devotee. His devotion was so great that it was said that he had realised God. Narendra and some friends went to see him in Dakshineswar one day. Memories of an earlier meeting seemed circulated around Sri Ramakrishna's mind.

He gently patted Narendra on the back and said, 'my child, why are you so late? I have grown weary, waiting for you all these days.' Narendra was puzzled by his behaviour and thought that he was mentally deranged but thought it is not proper to judge without investigating first.

At first, Narendra was highly critical of people who worshipped idols and out rightly rejected the concept of 'Advaita' (oneness). Whenever he would criticise the idea, Sri Ramakrishna would always bring him back to the right path by saying, 'there are many roads to reach a destination. No one has the right to say that the path the other man takes is not the right one.' Over time, Narendra's views changed and his hunger for realising God never ceased. He gradually turned towards renunciation, giving up all worldly desires.

In 1884, Narendra heard news of his father's death. Poverty hit the family immediately after with money lenders harassing the family. Narendra wandered far and wide looking for a job. His clothes were torn and getting a meal for the day was arduous. Many a day he would fast so that his mother, brother and sisters could eat. Despite the gloom, he never lost faith in God and Sri Ramakrishna would remind him that, 'you are here to serve mankind and do mother Kali's work. You must be brave'.

One day Narendra asked his Guru to pray on his behalf to the mother Goddess to rid him and his family of poverty. Sri Ramakrishna told him to approach her yourself. Before the deity of Goddess Kali, Narendra lost himself in meditation and was so focused on her that he forgot to ask her to rid him of poverty. Again and again whilst meditating upon her he forgot to speak about poverty but instead repeatedly asked for 'the spirit of renunciation.' Sri Ramakrishna was joyous and saw a change in his disciple and said, 'my child, you should not crave for only food and clothes. They are not the ultimate goals of man. Have faith in God and he will look after the welfare of your family.'

Later, Narendra took up teaching and taught in a school and as a result his family had at least enough food. Meanwhile, his Guru's health began to deteriorate, he had developed a tumour in his throat. Narendra gave up his job and devoted his time caring for his Guru.

Once, while meditating Narendra shouted, 'where is my body?' Others had to touch his body to convince him of its existence. On hearing this, Sri Ramakrishna was happy that at last his desire to find a worthy disciple had been fulfilled.

On his last day of living, Sri Ramakrishna called Narendra to his bedside and invested him with all his spiritual powers. He said, 'Naren, you are all powerful. All these are my children. It is your duty to look after them.' Without their Guru, the young monks continued to carry out his work. They opened a monastery and had two goals: salvation and service of fellow men. They were unmindful of a lack of food and clothing and never neglected their studies and meditation. As a sannyasi, one cannot be tied to a particular place - attachment to a particular place is wrong. It was to the great fortune of India that Narendra took to sannyasa and became 'Vivekananda'.