Narendranath dutta biography of donald
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NARENDRA
To spread his message to the four corners of the earth Sri Ramakrishna needed a strong instrument. With his frail body and delicate limbs he could not make great journeys across wide spaces. And such an instrument was found in Narendranath Dutta, his beloved Naren, later known to the world as Swami Vivekananda. Even before meeting Narendranath, the Master had seen him in a vision as a sage, immersed in the meditation of the Absolute, who at Sri Ramakrishna's request had agreed to take human birth to assist him in his work.
Narendra was born in Calcutta on January 12, 1863, of an aristocratic kayastha family. His mother was steeped in the great Hindu epics, and his father, a distinguished attorney of the Calcutta High Court, was an agnostic about religion, a friend of the poor, and a mocker at social conventions. Even in his boyhood and youth Narendra possessed great physical courage and presence of mind, a vivid imagination, deep power of thought, keen intelligence, an extraordinary memory, a love of truth, a passion for purity, a spirit of independence, and a tender heart. An expert musician, he also acquired proficiency in physics, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, history, and literature. He grew up into an extremely handsome young man. Even as a child he practised meditation and showed great power of concentration. Though free and passionate in word and action, he took the vow of austere religious chastity and never allowed the fire of purity to be extinguished by the slightest defilement of body or soul.
As he read in college the rationalistic Western philosophers of the nineteenth century, his boyhood faith in God and religion was unsettled. He would not accept religion on mere faith; he wanted demonstration of God. But very soon his passionate nature discovered that mere Universal Reason was cold and bloodless. His emotional nature, dissatisfied with a mere abstraction,
Swami Vivekananda, named Narendranath Dutta (Naren) in childhood, was born on 12 January 1863 to Biswanath Dutta, a well-known lawyer in Calcutta and Bhuvaneswari Devi, a very intelligent and pious lady.
Childhood
Narendranath was upright and fearless even as a child. He learnt the Hindu epics and Puranas from his mother who was a good story-teller. He was an accomplished musician, good at wrestling and other sports, compassionate to others, had a ready wit and a rational frame of mind. He was a natural leader and used to role-play as a king with his friends. Naren was adept at meditation from childhood itself illustrated by an incdent when he was oblivious of all the clamor that his friends made when a snake approached him while he was meditating.
As a seeker of God in youth
As a student of philosophy, the question of God was very much on his mind. Is there a God? If there is a God, what is He like? What is man’s relationship with Him? Did He create this world which is so full of anomalies? He discussed these questions with many, but no one could give him satisfactory answers. He looked to persons who could say they had seen God, but found none. Meanwhile, Keshab Sen had become the head of the Brahmo Movement. He was a great orator and many young people, attracted by his oratory, enrolled as members of the Brahmo Samaj. Naren also did the same, but soon he began to feel it did not quite touch the core of his search. As the days passed, Naren began to grow restless about the various riddles that religion presented to him. He particularly wanted to meet a person who could talk about God with the authority of personal experience.
Naren passed Financial Accounting (F.A.) and Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) examinations from the General Assembly’s Institution (now Scottish Church College). William Hastie, principal of the College, was highly impressed by Naren’s brilliance and philosophical insight. It was from Mr. Hastie that Naren firs Narendranath"Naren"Datta aka Vivekananda Son of Vishwanath Datta and Buvaneshwari (Devi) Datta [sibling(s) unknown] [spouse(s) unknown] [children unknown] Profile last modified | Created 25 Dec 2018 This page has been accessed 3,322 times. Narendranath Datta was born in India Narendranath Datta is Notable. Narendranath (or Narendra Nath or ‘Naren’) Datta (or Dutt) was born on Monday 12 January, 1863 into one of the most cultured and aristocratic Calcutta families, a Kayastha (Kshatriya = Warrior) family, not a Brahman family. He clearly had those warrior characteristics from a young age. Narendra’s grandfather, Durgan Charan Dutt, had renounced the world at the age of 25. He only had one son, Vishwanath Datta, Naren’s father, who lived in the ancestral house, 3 Gourmohan Mukherjee Street, in the northern part of Calcutta. His father was a flourishing Lawyer’s assistant, and became a distinguished Lawyer of the Calcutta High Court. He was also generous to a fault, which would later have a great influence on Naren’s life. In addition to generosity, Naren inherited his father's sonorous voice and love of music. Naren inherited his regal bearing, exceptional memory and his unbounded love for humanity from his mother Bhuvaneshwari Devi and had a passionate adoration for her. However, she wasn’t always able to control the naughty child in him, except by threatening that Shiva would not accept him if he did not behave. He was later to say "In India, the mother is the centre of the family and our highest ideal. To us, she is representative of God, as God Himself is the Mother of the Universe". Meditation was a favourite game for him and his playmates, when he used to feel inexpressible bliss, before images of Hindu Gods, Vishnu, Rama, Sita, and Mahav Narendranath Datta (1863 - 1902)
Biography
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