SOME GREAT MEN ON SWAMIJI.

                              QUOTE OF THE DAY      :         SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

PURITY,  PATIENCE AND  PERSEVERANCE ARE THE THREE ESSENTIALS TO SUCCESS, AND .   .    .    .     .     .    .      .    .         ABOVE ALL --  LOVE .

SRI AUROBINDO  ::

It was in religion first that the soul of India awoke and triumphed.There were always indications, always great forerunners, but it was when the flower of the educated youth of India bowed down at the feet of an illiterate Hindu ascetic, a self-illuminated ascetic and 'mystic' without the single trace or touch of the alien thought or education upon him that the battle was won. The going forth of VIVEKANANDA, marked out by the Master as the heroic soul destined to take the world between his two hands and change it, was the first visible sign to the world that India was awake not only to survive but to conquer.... Once the soul of the Nation was awake in religion, it was only a matter of time and opportunity for it to throw itself on all spiritual and intellectual activities in the national existence and take the possession of them. 

VIVEKANANDA was a soul of puissance if ever there was one, a very lion among men, but the definite work he has left behind is quite incommensurate with our impression of his creative might and energy. We perceive his influence still working gigantically, we know not well how, we know not well where, in something that is not yet formed, something leonine, grand, intuitive, up heaving that has entered the soul of India and we say,'Behold',Vivekananda still lives in the soul of his Mother and in the soul of her children.

The visit of Swami Vivekananda to America and the subsequent work of those who followed him did more for India than a hundred London congress could effect. That is the true way of awakening sympathy,-- by showing ourselves to the Nation as a people with a great past and ancient civilization who still possess something of the genius and character of our forefathers, have still something to give the world and therefore deserve freedom,-- by proof of our manliness and fitness,not mendicancy.

                                                      ------  SRI AUROBINDO.

        JWAHARLAL NEHRU ::            FIRST PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA.

"Rooted in the past and full of pride on INDIA's prestige, VIVEKANANDA was yet modern in his approach to life's problem and was a kind of bridge between the past and her present... He was a fine figure of a man, imposing, full of poise and dignity,sure of himself and his mission, and at the same time full of a dynamic and fiery energy and a passion to push India forward.He came as a tonic to the depressed and demoralized Hindu mind and gave it self-reliance and some roots in the past.

       I do not know how many of the younger generation read the speeches and the writings of Swami Vivekananda. But I can tell you that many of my generation were very powerfully influenced by him and I think that it would do the great deal of good to the present generation if they also went through Swami Vivekananda's writings and speeches, and they would learn much from them. That would, perhaps, as some of us did, enable us to catch a glimpse of that fire that raged in Swami Vivekananda's mind and heart and which ultimately consumed him at an early age. Because there was fire in his heart_the fire of great personality coming out in eloquent and ennobling language_it was no empty talk that he was indulging in. He was putting his heart and soul into the words he uttered. Therefore he became a great orator, not with the orators' flashes and flourishes but with a deep conviction and earnestness of spirit. And so he influenced powerfully the minds of many in India and two or three generations of young men and women have no doubt been influenced by him....

      Much has happened which perhaps makes some forget those who came before and who prepared India and shaped India in those early and difficult days. If you read Swami Vivekananda's writings and speeches, the curious thing you will find is that they are not old. It was told 56 years ago (now...), and they are fresh today because, what he wrote or spoke about dealt with certain fundamental matters and aspects of our problems or the world's problems. Therefore they do not become old. They are fresh even though you read them now.

       He gave us something which brings us, if I may use the word, a certain pride in our inheritance. He did not spare us. He talked of our weaknesses and our failures too. He did not wish to hide anything. Indeed he should not,. Because we have to correct those feelings, he deals with those failings also. Something he strikes hard at us, but something point out the great things for which India stood and which even in the days of India's downfall made her, in some measure, continue to be great.

        So what Swamiji has written and said is of interest and must interest us and is likely to influence for a long time to come. He was no politician in the ordinary sense of the word and yet he was, I think, one of the great founders_if you like, you may use any other word_ of the national modern movement of India, and a great number of people who took more or less an active part in that movement in a later date drew their inspiration from Swami Vivekananda. 

         Directly or indirectly he has powerfully influenced the India of today. And I think that our younger generation will take advantage of this fountain of wisdom, of spirit and fire, that flows through Swami Vivekananda.

         ... Men like Sri Ramkrishana Paramhansa, men like Swami Vivekananda and men like Mahatma Gandhi are great unifying forces, great constructive geniuses of the world not only in regard to the particular teaching that they taught, but their approach to the world and their conscious and unconscious influence on it is the most vital importance to us."

                                                                    ...... JAWAHARLAL NEHRU.

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