Swami Vivekananda humanified and humanised

Somdatta Bhattacharya said... on Jan. 18, 2008. Dear multisubj yb, Thanks a lot for pointing out this letter of Swamiji. Now we can be certain that he was a normal human being after all and not the heartless monster that some people make him out to be. Don't you think after all he did for the benefit of mankind that he was entitled to his share of fun? And mind you, despite all this he lost none of his powers, for it was possibly around the same time that he demonstrated the incredible feat of memorizing the first 11 volumes of the Britannica. So go on digging up all the sleaze, its only going to add to his glory, for how many people do you find accomplishing such tremendous feats without forsaking their sense of fun? Yeah, he had taken the vows of a Sanyasin and that you are going to say precluded him from such indulgements, but for me, after what he had done, Swamiji had transcended those vows, for he had achieved whatever those vows are meant for. So keep up the good work. Somda...

One blogger wrote: "... He is a major figure in the history of the Hindu reform movements. While he is widely credited with having uplifted his own nation . ..." BLOGGER'S VIEW This uplifter of Nation must be a great weight-lifter. How is it that this weight-lifter ended up begging foreign women for photos? On 2nd Sept. 1901, Swami Vivekananda wrote from Belur Math to Ms. Christina Greenstidel: "... They all are expected here in November, and will have a "hot time in this old town" etc. I pray you can come, and the Mother will open the door for it. I cannot but say my prayers mostly have been heard, up to date." BLOGGER'S VIEWS *A Swamiji who relinquished everything craving for a 'hot time in old town'! *A Swamiji praying foreign ladies to come! *A Swamiji praying for mundane things!

Swami Vivekananda wrote to Pramada Das Mitra, from Almora on May 30, 1897. The Smritis and the Puranas are productions of men of limited intelligence and are full of fallacies, errors, the feelings of class and malice. Only parts of them breathing broadness of spirit and love are acceptable, the rest are to be rejected. The Upanishads and the Gita are the true scriptures. BLOGGER'S VIEW At the point of writing this letter, Vivekananda was at the zenith of his career. He was preaching to foreigners. He made money. Naturally, there were some traces of arrogance. If the producers of Smritis and Puranas were men of limited intelligence was Vivekananda a man of unlimited intelligence? Actually verse Nos. 18/42 to 45 (Path of Liberation and Renunciation)of Bhagavad Gita contain the same errors, fallacies, and malices of caste etc. which Vivekananda found in Smritis and Puranas. Upanishads such as Brihadaranyaka contain procedures and chants which carry the same errors, fallacies an...

One blogger wrote on Jan. 12, 2008: "...To Day is 145th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand.This Article is dedicated to this Grate Guide of the world ..." COUNTERVIEW 1. What is the definition of "Grate Guide of the world" (spelling error of 'grate' for 'great' 'sic')? 2. Who will decide whether a particular person is a great guide? 3. Catholics may think that Pope is the Great Guide of the World. Sunny Muslims may think that Khalifa was the Great Guide. Some Hindus may think that Vivekananda is a great guide. 4. Then how does a great guide behave? Does he sacrifice goats? Does he crave for turtles and shad fish? Does he beg women for photos? Does he call vegetarians grass eaters? What are the parameters? This criticism is addressed to and applies to preachers and top functionaries of all the religions.

Swami Vivekananda stayed at Belgaum in 1892 for nine days, with one Shri G.S. Bhate. He said to Shri Bhate, as per the latter's reminiscences of Swamiji: "... As regards food, when he was asked whether he was a vegetarian or a meat-eater, he said that as a man belonging not the ordinary order of Sannyasins but to the order of the Paramahamsas, he had no option in the matter. The Paramahamsa, by the rules of that order, was bound to eat whatever was offered, and in cases where nothing could be offered he had to go without food ..." BLOGGER'S VIEW As per Swamiji himself, a Paramahamsa was expected to accept whatever was offered. This is his justification for his eating meat in spite of being a monk. Where is the Paramahamsa order? Did Vivekananda create it? If a Paramahamsa was expected to accept what is offered by the householders, why live in a palatial bungalow and crave for turtles and shad fish?

Paramahamsa literally means Supreme Swan (Parama=Supreme, hamsa=swan). In Hindu philosophy a soul is symbolised as a swan. A paramahamsa, therefore, is a soul which has attained a state of supreme bliss. How to know whether a particular person's soul (if at all it exists) has attained/reached the supreme state of bliss? Nobody can check it. Anybody can claim that he has a soul, which has experienced the supreme bliss. There is an impression among some Hindus that 'Paramahamsa' title is conferred by some person of competent authority. We have to remember that Hinduism is not an organised religion and there are no competent authorities to award titles. Traditionally, some Monasteries used titles like 'Jagadguru (Teacher of the World)', 'Sankaracharya', and 'Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya' etc. But even for these titles, the authority is doubtful. Somebody in the line of succession over centuries started using them and the custom glued to the in...

Mr. K. Sundara Rama Iyer was resident of Trivandrum. He was tutor for Prince Martanda Varma, nephew of the ruler of Travancore (Kerala). Vivekananda visited Kerala in Dec. 1892. He stayed nine days with Mr. Sundararama Iyer. The following is a quote from the reminiscences of Mr. Iyer in his conversation with Vivekananda. "... The Swami also told me that he had long taken no fish food, as the South Indian Brahmins whose guest he had been throughout his South Indian tour were forbidden both fish and flesh, and would fain avail himself of this opportunity to have his accustomed fare. I at once expressed my loathing for the taking of fish or flesh as food. The Swami said in reply that the ancient Brahmins of India were accustomed to take meal and even beef and were called upon to kill cows and other animals in yajnas or for giving madhuparka to guests. He also held that the introduction and spread of Buddhism led to the gradual discontinuance of flesh as food, though the Hindu sha...