Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) was an Indian monk, self-realised master and one of the most celebrated and inspirational spiritual leaders of India. He was not only a great spiritual personality, but also a genius thinker and a passionate patriot. Indeed a heroic role model for millions of youth.
In this chapter, let's see how Swami Vivekananda attained enlightenment (as explained by himself).
Swami Vivekananda had undergone many spiritual experiences and extraordinary visions during his lifetime that are beyond the comprehension of logic-driven people.
Vivekananda's former name was Narendra. Knowing Narendra's inherent nature, Shri Ramkrishna (his Guru) instructed him in Advaita (Non-dualistic) Vedanta, which teaches that Atman (soul) and Brahman (super soul) are identical.
One day, Narendra was telling Hazra (a devotee of Shri Ramkrishna) about Non-dualistic Vedanta and his unwillingness to accept it.
Narendra said, "Can it be that the water pot is Bhagwaan, the drinking vessel is Bhagwaan, everything we see and we ourselves are Bhagwaan?!" and he laughed scornfully at the idea.
When he was laughing, Ramkrishna approached him. "What are you both talking about?" The Guru asked Narendra affectionately.
Then without waiting for an answer, Ramkrishna went into Samaadhi (a super conscious state of infinite bliss through meditation) and touched Narendra.
Narendra relates the effect of his Guru's touch as, "At the marvellous touch of my Guru, my mind underwent a complete revolution! I was aghast to realise that there was really nothing in the entire universe other than Bhagwaan."
"I remained silent, wondering how long this state of mind would continue. It didn't pass away all day. I got back home and I felt just the same there. Everything I saw had become Bhagwaan, be it the plate of food or my mother who served it. I myself was bhagwaan and bhagwaan alone."
"From then on, I kept on having the same experience, no matter what I was doing. It was a kind of intoxication I can't describe!"
"When this intoxication would lose some of its power, I would see the world as if I were dreaming. When I would go for a walk around Hedua or Cornwallis square, I would knock my head against the iron railings to check if they were dream-railings or real ones!"
"The loss of feeling in my hands and feet made me afraid that I was becoming paralysed. The overwhelming intoxication didn't leave me completely for some time. When I came back to my normal consciousness, I was convinced that the state I had been in was the revelation of Non-dualistic (Advaita) Vedanta. From that day onwards, I had no doubts about the truth of Advaita Vedanta."
--- Swami Vivekananda
Day by day, Narendra practised spiritual disciplines with unabating intensity. His mind now longed for the highest experience of Non-dualistic vedanta, the Nirvikalpa Samaadhi, in which the names, forms and sounds of the phenomenal world disappear... And then Narendra realised total indifference between the Atman, the Brahman and the universe.
Shri Ramkrishna adviced Narendra to use great discrimination about food and companions, only accepting the purest.
The Guru had also said, "Narendra will give up his body on his own will. Very soon, he will shake the Earth with his intellectual and spiritual powers. I have prayed to the divine mother to keep away the knowledge of absolute truth from him for some time and cover his eyes with a veil of Maya. There is much work to be done by him on Earth until then."
16 years later, on 4th July 1902, after the successful completeion of his works valuable for the generations to come, Swami Vivekananda consciously left his body while meditating (as said by his Guru) and merged with the Brahman.
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(Shri Ramkrishna)
If somebody is wondering at all: How is it that the Guru "touches" the disciple and his enlightenment happens? Here is the answer...
Deeksha is the sanskrit word for initiation. A Guru initiates his disciple in order to transmit divine knowledge or energy into him.
Among the various types of Deekshas, one is called Sparsh Deeksha, where the Guru touches the disciple to transmit his own awakened energy into the disciple.
The touch can be as intimate as a hug to as distant as being poked with a stick. Even Shri Ramkrishna was given Sparsh Deeksha by his Guru Totapuri by pressing a sharp stone against his forehead.
In the previous chapter, Yogananda had been touched by his Guru Yukteshwar, after which divine cosmic consciousness greeted young Yogananda.
