raghuvamśam of kālidāsa - An Illumined Teacher And A Brilliant Pupil

Of his brother-disciples, and after the Master's passing on August 16, 1886, these young men banded together as a brotherhood of monks. In spite of a flood of difficulties and hardships they remained together: such was the strength of the Master's influence and of his pupil's personality. When Sri Ramakrishna passed away, Narendra was only twenty-three years old. It was many years before he would begin the work of translating Sri Ramakrishna s thought into living action. The young monk was hesitant, torn between dream and action. One side of his nature desired to possess, to conquer, to dominate the earth, and the other to renounce all earthly things in order to realize God. This conflict was resolved in due course. It was the Master's discerning and prophetic eye which had foreseen and declared:

The day when Naren comes in contact with suffering and misery, the pride of his character will melt into a mood of infinite compassion. His strong faith in himself will be an instrument to re-establish in discouraged souls the confidence and faith they have lost. And the freedom of his conduct, based on mighty self-mastery, will shine brightly in the eyes of others, as a manifestation of the true liberty of the Ego.¹⁷

What Narendra was able to achieve as Swami Vivekananda is a tremendous story in itself He took the message of Sri Ramakrishna to people throughout India and the world. His favourite theme was:

Do not care for doctrines, do not care for dogmas or sects, or churches, or temples; they count for little compared with the essence of existence in each man, which is spirituality; and the more this is developed in a man, the more powerful is he for good. Earn that first, acquire that, and criticize no one, for all doctrines and creeds have some good in them... Only those who have attained to spirituality can communicate it to others, can be great teachers of mankind. They alone are the powers of light.¹⁸

In later years, Swami Vivekananda was to recall the sweet memories of the five he spent with Sri Ramakrishna, and he paid perhaps the most exalted compliment that a pupil can ever make to his teacher:

It is difficult to explain to others how blissfully I spent my days with the Master. It is simply astonishing to think how, through play, merriment and