66.Swami Vivekananda’s Vision

 

The Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems (CIKS), NIT Calicut   organized    a programme on  National Youth Day (January 12,2024).   Two invited  speakers  delivered  lectures.

Dr. M. V. Natesan, Prof. (Retd.), Department of Vyakarana and Head   of the Department of Education, Sree Sankaracharya University of  Sanskrit, Kalady   delivered a lecture on the  topic ‘Revalued and Restated Philosophy of   Swami Vivekananda’.

 This was followed by a  lecture  on  ‘Swami Vivekananda’s  Contributions for the Development of Science in India’  by Dr. K. Muralidharan, Principal Scientist, Central Plantation Crops   Research Institute, Kasaragod and President, Swadeshi Science  Movement Kerala on the topic,

 Excerpts  from the lecture:

 Dr.Natesan:

To Swami Vivekananda,  Education should be man-making, life-giving, and character-building  leading to nation building. For this he wanted  Darsana  to be the  foundation of education in India.

*Swami Vivekananda  advocated Karma  Yoga, Bhakti  Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga

     * One should control the mind  by avoiding  externals (Yama)  and  preventing the mind from wandering in any direction (Niyama)

*Each soul is potentially divine and the goal should be to  manifest this Divinity within, by controlling nature, external and internal.

*Understanding  Bharat   knowledge system is  essential.  The various branches include  Science, Darsana, Samskara and  Art. The end of art and science is self awareness.

*If  we  wish to  improve the  quality of  the   youth of today  then we have to ensure that they preserve  purity of character and  should not be addicted to a material way of  life.

Excerpts from the lecture

Dr.Muralidharan

*Swami Vivekananda was a great scientific visionary : “Do not believe a  thing because you read it in a book…Do not believe a thing because another has said  it so…Find out the truth for yourself!...That is realization…”

*Awakening from a trance that followed his deep meditation below an old peppul tree, beside a stream near Almorah (India), he jotted down his vision in a note book: “the scheme of the universe of both micro-world and macro-world are built on the same plan…the whole universe exists in the atom…”

In 1913, a student of Rutherford, Neils Bohr developed a model of atomic structure which was patterned on the solar system, and his model is termed  planetary model of atomic structure. In this model, electrons are orbiting  around a positively charged central nucleus like the planets orbiting around the sun.

*Swamiji  used the language  of science to explain Vedanta:

“…soul is a circle whose circumference is nowhere  but the centre is  the same body…God is a circle whose  circumference is nowhere, and whose centre is everywhere, and when we get out of the narrow centre of the body we shall realize God-our true self.”

The  programme  concluded  with  Prof. Sridharan, Chairperson CIKS  offering the vote of thanks. The invited  speakers were also presented with mementoes.  

All participants of the programmes  were  gifted  books  on  Swami Vivekananda.

 The  Chairperson, Prof.Sridharan also announced the formation of   Vivekananda Study Circle, a  forum  with the “objective of providing an opportunity and guidance to the interested persons who seek to acquire a clear understanding of life, values and culture, in the light of the life and the teachings of SwamiVivekananda”.