Page 24 - JyotipunjEng

31

to struggle with the British who had enslaved the country.
However, just like Vivekananda, the final fifteen years of his
life too became broader. Now, he was no more working for
independence or opposing those who had enslaved the country,
but his ultimate aim of his life transformed into the progress of
the nation. Like Vivekananda, the sole deity for him was Mother
India.

Vivekananda came in the company of Ramakrishna Dev in
the year 1881. In a brief period of five years after that,
Ramakrishna Dev took leave of him. Once Ramakrishna Dev
had given everything of his to Vivekananda through a power
of attorney, and called himself a fakir. In the life of Doctor Saheb
too, an opposite, but somewhat similar incident takes place. Just
five years before his death, he met Madhavrao, Guruji, on whom
he had to assign the responsibility of the remaining great deeds,
and in a brief period of five years ever since, he emptied himself
through empowerment, and took leave of this world.

Fifteen years before his death, Vivekananda founded the
Ramakrishna Mission and focussed all his attention to it. Much
in the same manner, Dr. Hedgewar too founded the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh and devoted all his focus to it. The obstacles
both of them faced were quite similar in nature. Vivekananda
established his monastery in an old house at Baranagar, between
Dakshineshwar and Kolkata. All those who participated in the
functioning of the monastery did not have enough to fill their
stomachs even. Financial scarcity, lack of necessary resources –
these were the characteristic features of the beginning of the
Ramakrishna Mission. The beginning of the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh too was somewhat like this. The associates
had to remain hungry for days together, and they had to look
here and there in order to have a few grains of gram even. After
the death of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda was so depressed that
he approached Pavhari Baba, who lived in the Himalayas, to
learn Hathayoga, in order to be on the path of self-realization.
He tried to do this a couple of times, but every time, the infinite
soul of Ramakrishna would dawn on him and stop him from
doing this, and motivate him to proceed towards his true goal.
Ultimately, he gave all that up, and returned. In the life of Doctor