Special Contribution – Kunal Roy

One of the finest factors of Swamiji was his magnetic personality. An individual whose journey was from a materialistic world to the world of spiritualism. But it took quite a few years before Naren was transfigured into the eternal soul of Vivekananda.
Born to a much affluent family of Biswanath Dutt and Bhuboneswari Devi, Bele, (the childhood name of Swamiji) never displayed his attraction towards the riches. A classic combination of restlessness and grave spiritualism formed the essence of his character! A brilliant soul accompanied by an extraordinary memory power, Naren began to show the traits of becoming a great spiritual teacher like Adi Shankaracharya. But as fate would behold, something very auspicious took place with such a pious soul! He wandered in search of an apt answer to a single, solitary question: “Can one see God?”. However, the answer to such a poignant question could not be given even by the religious fellows like Debendronath Thakur and many more! They opined that the presence of God can only be realised in the depths of one’s mind. It is utterly an impossible act to view Him like any other worldly object! His thirst couldn’t be satiated. The quest for the ‘ultimate truth’ continued unabatedly, unless the hour ripened when he met Thakur Ramakrishna Dev in Dakshineswar. Narendranath was initiated and was entrusted with the huge onus of canvassing Hinduism far and wide! The Religious Meet at Chicago in 1893 made him touch the dizzy height of spiritual triumph! De facto he came, he saw , he conquered like Julius Caesar, the infamous emperor of Rome. A journey back to the roots. He returned to his native land, set up Belur Math for training more and more souls bearing a strong penchant for the spiritual upliftment! It is worth mentioning that the idea of celebrating Durga Puja in Belur Math was first conceived by him.
Gradually time fleeted away. The time for quitting this mortal globe was approaching in its measured steps. And the cycle managed to reach the complete status on 4th July, 1902. Swamiji breathed his last at a premature age. He was simply thirty nine.
Today as soon as the sun has touched the snow capped mountain tops, the 118 th death anniversary is observed in a befitting manner. Thakur once said,” The day Naren would realise his true purpose and identity, he would not stay a moment more on the earth”. Lips that uttered such words came true! Swamiji is no longer with us. But his philosophy, his teachings and above all the tale of supreme sacrifice for the sum total development of the human race will forever be etched in the minds of all and sundry!