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Vivekananda Jayanti - Boston
PRESS RELEASE
Hindu Students Council (HSC) celebrated the 132nd birth anniversary of
Swami Vivekananda (January 12, 1863 - July 4, 1902) at Northeastern
University, Boston, MA.
Boston, January 15, 1995.
On Jan 15, 1995 the participants celebrated the 132nd birthday of Swami
Vivekananda as part of the monthly Swami Vivekananda Study Center which
the Boston area HSC chapters have had for 4 years. The program started
with the practice of yoga & meditation guided by Tanya Vkinov. A
ceremonial lamp was lit in front of Swamiji's photo. Students also
studied chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Geeta. The class was conducted by Dr.
Mahesh Mehta, renowned polymer scientist and past president of Vishwa
Hindu Parishad of America. Mrs. Anjalee Pandya sang "Nirvanasatakam:
Chidananda Rupah, Shivaham Shivaham."
Kanchan Banerjee, National Coordinator of HSC spoke about the many
facets of this great man - saint and savant, patriot and citizen of the
world, seer and singer, humorist and orator, yogi and humanist and much
more. The talk illustrated the many facets of the life of Swamiji
Shri Kanchan Banerjee said: "Any sincere student who tries to study his
life and contribution comes to the conclusion that it is impossible to
describe him completely. Many look at him not as a man but as a
movement. Many believe him to be the "prophet of our time." His main
contributions were categorized into five major groups:
1) Awakening the Indian nation and the people
2)Spreading the message of Hindu System in general and Vedanta in
particular, especially to the West
3)Bridging the gap between the East and West
4) Putting forth the doctrine of a universal religion where spirituality
is defined as "Science of life"
5) Promotion of the idea of social service as the service to God
Most of the great leaders of the Indian independence movement like
S.N.Banerjee, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Chitta Ranjan
Das, Subhas Chandra Bose, Sri Aurobindo, and Mahatma Gandhi - were
highly influenced by Swamiji. In 1912 Lokmanya Tilak said, "Vivekananda
is the father of Indian nationalism...Every Indian is proud of this
father of modern India." Pt. Nehru explained, "Full of 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 itself reliance.
Directly or indirectly he has profoundly influenced the India today."
Rabindranath Tagore was quoted as saying, "Read Vivekananda if you want
to know India...Vivekananda rose keeping the East to his right and the
West to his left and himself standing in between...He sacrificed his
life to open up a communication line by which the achievements of the
West may be accepted in India." And maybe that answers the question
raised whether he really fulfilled one of his missions. As he said, "It
is for this reason - to find the means for the salvation of the poor of
India - that I'm going to America."
According to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, "He embodied the spirit of this
country (India). He was a symbol of her spiritual aspirations and
fulfillment. It is that spirit which was expressed in the songs of our
devotees, the philosophies of our seers, the prayers of our common
people. He gave articulation and voice to that eternal spirit of
India."
Students and community leaders followed Shri Kanchan Banerjee's talk
with a discussion on the contribution of Swami Vivekananda to the world
and the relevance of his vision today. The program ended with the
reading of one of his poems, "Hold on yet a while, brave heart."
This event also marks the 4th year of the Swami Vivekananda Study Center
which was set up for Boston area students to have the opportunity to
learn yoga and meditation, the life and message of Swami Vivekananda and
other great personalities, Hindu philosophies, culture and history. On
an average over 25 university students have been participating in this
center organized by HSC. This center started in 1992 prior to the
centenary celebrations of the famous Chicago Address of Swami
Vivekananda in 1893.
Hindu Students Council is an international forum for the education and
promotion of the Hindu culture and heritage. HSC is also involved in
many social service and cultural activities. For more information about
HSC, call (617) 227-3023 or send email to
Hindu.Students.Council@um.cc.umich.edu.
