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Soon, the young monks of Baranagore wanted to live the
life of a wandering monk with rags and a begging bowl
and no other possessions. On July 1890, Vivekananda set
out for a long journey, without knowing where the
journey would take him. The journey that followed took
him to the length and breadth of the Indian
subcontinent. During these days, Vivekananda assumed
various names like Swami Satchidananda, etc., It is said
that he was given the name Vivekananda by Maharaja of
Khetri for his discrimination of things, good and bad.
During these wandering days, Vivekananda stayed on
king's palaces, as well as the huts of the poor. He came
in close contact with the culture of different regions
of India and various classes of people in India.
Vivekananda observed the imbalance in society and
tyranny in the name of caste. He realised the need for a
national rejuvenation if India was to survive at all. He
reached Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of the Indian
subcontinent on 24 December 1892. There, his devotees
claim that he swam across the sea and started meditating
on a lone rock. He thus meditated for three days and
said later that he meditated about the past, present and
future of India. The rock went on to become the
Vivekananda memorial at Kanyakumari.
Vivekananda went to Madras and spoke about his plans for
India and Hinduism to the young men of Madras. They were
impressed by the monk and urged him to go to the United
States and represent Hinduism in the World Parliament of
Religions. Thus, helped by his friends at Madras, Raja
of Ramnad and Maharajas of Mysore and Khetri,
Vivekananda set out on his journey to the USA. |
