Kanyakumari resolve of 1892
The Kanyakumari resolve of 1892 was the resolution taken by Indian Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda to dedicate himself for the service and the welfare of people. In 1970 Vivekananda Rock Memorial was founded at the place where Vivekananda took this resolution.
Background
Ramakrishna, the spiritual teacher of Vivekananda, desired to see his disciple dedicate his life for the welfare of the society. After the death of Ramakrishna in 1886, Narendranath Datta (pre-monastic name of Swami Vivekananda) and other disciples founded their first monastery at Baranagar.
In 1888, Narendranath Datta left the monastery as a parivrajaka (meaning: "the Hindu religious life of a wandering monk") "without fixed abode, without ties, independent and strangers wherever they go". Between 1888 and 1893 he travelled extensively in several states of India. In 1888 he visited several places of Northern India like Ayodhya, Lucknow, Agra, Vrindavan, Hathras and Rishikesh. Between 1888 and 1890, Vivekananda visited Vaidyanath and Allahabad.
In 1891, he travelled to Ahmedabad, Wadhwan and Limbdi. He also visited Girnar, Kutch, Porbander, Dwaraka, Palitana, Nadiad, Nadiad ni haveli and Baroda.
In 1892, he went to South India. He first travelled to Bangalore and then visited other cities like Trissur, Kodungalloor, Ernakulam, Nagercoil and Trivandrum. He offered worship at Rameswaram and finally reached Kanyakumari on 24 December 1892.
Kanyakumari resolve
During his wandering years Vivekananda had experienced the sufferings and problems faced by common people. The poverty, lack of self-respect and education pained him. He wanted to help these poor people. He wanted to restore the dignity and self-respect of these people.
When Vivekananda reached Kanyakumari on 24 December 1892, he was still unable to formulate any idea to help the masses of the country. In Kanyakumari, he swam across the ocean to reach a large mid-sea rock. There he sat on the rock and started meditating on India's past, present and future. His meditation on the "last bit of Indian rock" (later known as the Vivekananda Rock Memorial) continued for three days from 25 to 27 December. Here he had a "vision of one India" and came up with a solution in the form of resolution, which is popularly known as the "Kanyakumari resolve of 1892"..." [1][2] The purpose of the 'resolve' was also to organize sannyasins for social service.[3]
In a letter written to Swami Ramakrishnananda on 19 March 1892, Vivekananda recalled:[1]
My brother, in view of all this, specially of the poverty and ignorance, I had no sleep. At Cape Comorin sitting in Mother Kumari's temple, sitting on the last bit of Indian rock—I hit upon a plan: We are so many Sannyasins wandering about, and teaching the people metaphysics—it is all madness. Did not our Gurudeva use to say, "An empty stomach is no good for religion"? That those poor people are leading the life of brutes is simply due to ignorance. We have for all ages been sucking their blood and trampling them underfoot.
At Kanyakumari he decided to dedicate his life for the welfare and uplifting of common masses of India.
Sankalp Divas
The date 24 December, when Vivekananda took the resolution at Kanyakumari, is celebrated as Sankalp Divas (the resolve day, resolution day). [4]
Expansion from Life of Swami Vivekananda Vol 2 ppp215–219
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Agarwal 1998, p. 59.
- ↑ Banhatti 1995, p. 24.
- ↑ Agarwal 1995, p. 77.
- ↑ "Sankap Divas celebration". Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- Bibliography
- Satya P. Agarwal (1 January 1995). The Social Message of the Gita: Symbolized as Lokasaṁgraha : Self-composed Sanskrit Ślokas with English Commentary. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-1319-9.
- Agarwal, Satya P. (1998), The social role of the Gītā: how and why, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-1524-7
- Banhatti, G.S. (1995), Life and Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, p. 276, ISBN 978-81-7156-291-6, retrieved 6 April 2012