Vivekananda and his love for humanity - part 2

As one who had renounced the world and a follower of Vedanta, he had tremendous jnana or knowledge outside, but inside, he was all love and bhakti or devotion, in his own words. Swamiji’s love for humanity probably begins under the tutelage of Sri Ramakrishna in Daksineswar. The almost inexhaustible reservoir of love who distributed it without least compunction among his many devotees, disciples and ordinary people taught his foremost disciple what magnitude selfless love can assume. In the later years while talking about that selfless love Narendranath referred to the Bengali song honouring Sri Chaitanya, “What a treasure of love Gora Rai (Sri Chaitanya) disseminates. Pitchers and pitchers of love which never empties,” and said, “So true, the love being disseminated by the Gora Rai of Daksineswar is never exhausting.” The loving embrace of the divine child was now reflected in the great flood of love for the mankind by the Supreme Being, who chose the sage of the greatest heaven as his foremost disciple for distributing that love even when His own play is over. When Narendra wanted to remain ever immersed in Nirvikalpa Samadhi, Sri Ramakrishna rebuked him saying that he would be one big banyan tree under which many souls would come and seek shelter and that should be his ideal – a fitting ideal for the sage from the indivisible realm.

When that greatest reservoir of love finally left his mortal coil, it was left to the greatest disciple to continue with the legacy. The first sign of that was evident to his brother disciples who simply rejoiced in his company. Narendranath had to bear the burden of uniting all monastic disciples with the bond of love, always encouraging them in spite of many adversities and tribulations. As recorded by “M” in the Gospels, Baranagar Math had become a veritable mart of joy under Narendra.

The wandering monk did not need to love anybody, and yet, wherever he went, people were naturally drawn to him, charmed by not only his scholastic abilities but also by his overwhelming love and sympathy for all and sundry. Not only the kings, but even wayside cobblers and poorest of the poor did not miss his attention and whenever he found an opportunity to show his love and respect for them he did it without the least scruples. During his itinerant days he once said to Swami Turiyananda, “Haribhai, I am still unable to understand anything of your so-called religion. But my heart has expanded very much, and I have learnt to feel.” He saw India, in all her miseries and afflictions and resolved to do something for her children. Thus were sown the seeds of his future mission.

Even Americans were not deprived of that treasure. He formed a most loving and enduring relationship with the Hale family whose house was always open for him. He found his sisters among the daughters and nieces of Mr. Hale, with whom, as his letters show, he enjoyed a sweet and ardent closeness, beyond even their brothers of flesh could have offered. His other acquaintances who shared this abundance of love included the Bagley family, Mr. and Mrs. Leggett, “Dhira Mata” Sara Bull, Josephine Macleod, and his followers in Thousand Island Park, most notable among them being Ellen Waldo whom he told in New York, “Whom shall I scold if not to my own?”, among others. His love was reflected in numerous ways, in preparing dishes for the students, in taking classes for free, rebuking or scolding them when needed, in his numerous witty comments, in his letters to several of them etc. His initial disciples and later detractors like Marie Louise, Leon Landsberg, E.T Sturdy, and Henrietta Mueller were also co-sharers of that love, even when they had left him for good, for no reason whatsoever. His undiminished love was apparent for people in distress like the famous opera singer Emma Calvé who had suffered much sorrows in her personal life and whom Swamiji’s healing touch restored to normalcy.