I
am really very happy to launch this web portal in view of the historic
celebrations of 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda in the year
2013 to 2014. This is in fact the third wave of Swamiji's inspiring
impact on Bharatiya Society. It is a very opportune time in the human
history to present Swamiji to the young generation of Bharat as well as
the whole world. We Hindus have a firm faith that when the Dharma is at
its lowest, there is always a divine intervention to restore balance. In
the last few decades science and technology is making stupendous
progress with giant leaps in all the fields to make human life more
comfortable. The communication is so fast and seamless that national or
geographical boundaries have virtually become inconsequential. The
breakthroughs in the Medical field have made miraculous progress to
increase the longitivity of human life. But has all this made any
increment in the quality of life? We find that the very existence of our
planet is threatened by the all pervading environmental degradation.
Global warming is assuming alarming proportions. Yet the competing
powers continue the indiscriminate exploitation of nature. Another major
threat is posed by the Global terrorism propagated by intolerant
ideologies both of religious and secular origins. The menace of
materialism and vulgar consumerism have degraded all social values and
human life has become devoid of higher dimentions and divine aspiration.Swami Vivekananda had warned us of all these dangers. He had given us the remedy also. His message of Vedanta as a scientific way of life promoting harmony, cooperation and co-existence has become more relevant today. The whole world is looking expectantly at Bharat, the land of origin of this philosophy for sustaining solutions in these demanding times.
Swami Vivekananda's 150th Birth anniversary presents us an occasion to take the message of Sanatana Dharma to our own people and awaken Bharat to its full potentials to guide the whole world. The youth of Bharat is ready to grasp Swamiji's inspiring thoughts. The young generation of today's Bharat is more confident, vibrant and active. They believe in themselves and are ready to serve the country and the masses. They are ready to come out and sacrifice to make their motherland strong, capable and prosperous to give the whole world its eternal message of sustainable prosperity, peace and benediction.
Swami Vivekananda after his triumphant return from the west travelled across Bharat from Colombo to Almorah giving the clarion call, "Arise, awake, give up all your comforts and serve the motherland." The youth responded splendidly and joined in the freedom struggle. Bharat saw the rise of Hindu nationalism in politics, arts, literature and all the walks of life. Again in 1963, at the time of centenary of Swami Vivekananda the whole nation geared up and celebrated it spontaneously. The nation was beleaguered and lost its confidence due to demoralizing military defeat at the hands of China. Swami Vivekananda's message once again became the strong motivation. The whole nation woke up and stood as one resulting in a massive movement to build the grand Vivekananda Rock memorial at Kanyakumari, the greatest centre of national and international pilgrimmage.
More delicate and dengarous circumstances face the nation after another fifty years. On one hand the youth power is rising, the nation is ready to march in the economic, scientific and technological fields to capture the number one position in the comity of the nations, the global geo-political situation is most conducive for Bharat to take the lead. On the other hand, lack of good governance and unprecedented corruption have weakened the political structure of the country to the lowest level in independent Bharat.
This is the backdrop against which we are ready to launch the celebrations of Swami Vivekananda's 150th Birth Anniversary. This gives us the most suitable opportunity and also the required philosophical content in the form of Swamiji's message to awaken the masses. Let us take Swamiji to all the sections of our society. This is also the opportunity to integrate the "scattered spiritual forces" in Bharat. Let us reach out to all the Hindu service organizations engaged in religious, spiritual or social service of Mother Bharat and appeal to them to join the celebrations. Let Swami Vivekananda's integrating message unite the whole nation and make it realize its potential and responsibility as the guide of the world, Jagat-Guru.
I am sure that this web-portal will facilitate the Swami Vivekananda 150th Birth Anniversary Committee to reach the national and global audience and disseminate information about the programmes. It will also equip the workers in the field and provide them necessary knowledge base to make the campaign more effective and successful.
Swami Vivekananda's 150th Jayanti Website : http://www.vivekananda150jayanti.org
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