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The
National Monument
Swami Vivekananda's
message proclaimed at the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago
on 11th September 1893, was the message of Universal Brother hood of
fraternity and friendship between the nations and among their
people, the world over. This message is not only very relevant but
also even indispensable today to prevent a human holocaust. And the
Vivekananda Rock Memorial erected opposite the ancient Kanyakumari
temple at the land’s end of the Indian sub-continent, where, in
Gandhiji’s words, the three seas meet to wash the feet of
Bharatamata, is a national monument in the true sense of the term,
for it has been built at a cost of Rs.1.25 crores by collecting
small donations of one or two rupees each from lakhs of common
people and not only from the rich or the government. Making it
national in this sense too, was to the credit of Eknath Ranade, who
had so planned it and pursued this plan with vigour and skill.
Karmayogi as he was, he used often to quote from the Gita, this
favourite words, "Yoga is skill in action". Built as a
memorial to one of the greatest sons of India and a prophet of
Universal Brotherhood and world harmony, the Vivekananda Rock
Memorial is like a Light House shining in the dark, beckoning the
world to India, to follow the path of the harmony of Religions, of
Faiths, of Races, of Creeds and Castes. It sends out a message of
world unity, of understanding and appreciation, of co-existence and
co-operation, and calls for "Selfless Service of God’s
creation as true worship of the Lord".
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