Swami Vivekananda

(Poem)

Arise, awake, and stop not
Until you achieve your goal
Be the best version of yourself
And you will find your soul

At least once a day
With yourself, have a word
Or else you would miss
The most intelligent person in the world

So said a spiritual monk and a philosopher
He was destined to spread Hinduism
My American sisters and brothers -
The speech worth a standing ovation

He admired all the religions-
Believed in tolerance
Jesus and Mohammad were the messengers to him
The key to humanity was acceptance

Propagated neo-Vedanta and yoga
Bridging the gaps between religions
Promoted the happy co-existence
With selfless devotion

Give me 100 youth, said he-
And I will make India strong
With a population of 250 million then,
We were unable to meet his demand

No one should sleep hungry and ignorant
To pass the message- hard he strove
The youth icon that he was
He was not to live long to see it though

Swami had a long trail
of admirers and followers
Now too, there is a long list
of admirers, but no followers

The rationale of nationalism tampered with!
Annotations of welfarism adjusted!
Definition of Hinduism changed!
Tolerance and acceptance reversed!

Vivekananda has become
A part of posterity
Wafted in the air
His indomitable legacy!

• Nandkishor Shingne
• 11/06/2022

(Swami Vivekanand, born Narendranath Datta, attained Mahasamadhi on July 4th 1902. He was just 39 years old. Now is the time to remember him when the social fabric in his nation gets distorted, and social discrimination is at it’s peak.)