SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S HISTORIC MEDITATION ON THE SREEPADA SHILA IN KANYAKUMARI

Have you ever heard of a young unknown Wandering Monk doing Dhyana to know the root cause of the downfall of a great nation from its pinnacle of spiritual glory to the depth of degradation?

- A.Balakrishnan

Have you ever heard a young sanyasi with full of vigour and vitality, doing Dhyana in the midst of ocean, in an isolated spot, to plan for the revitalisation of the dormant Hindu Society, living like worms in the gutter water under the tyranny of British rule.

Yes! It happened at Kanyakumari, the holy Sreepadam of Bharat Mata where the three oceans meet to wash Mother’s feet uninterruptedly from time immemorial.

That young monk was Swami Vivekananda who reached Kanyakumari on 24th December 1892 after a long and strenuous journey starting from Kolkata in the year 1888. In his long and hazardous sojourn he visited most of the holy places of North India and then came down to south after covering the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Mysore and Travancore Cochin. It was a great education for the youthful Swamiji meeting people face to face and knowing their trials and tribulations. He had occasion to live with Kings, princes, rich businessmen, intellectuals and also often with common men. He could visit many of the historical places of India and saw how many Hindu temples, libraries and cultural centres were want only destroyed by the unscrupulous and barbaric Muslim invaders. He also could gauge to what extent India’s treasuries containing precious wealth were looted by the British rulers. He could see with his own eyes how the masses of India are living in poverty and disease. Swamiji’s heart pained to see how the English educated Indians were serving the British masters, forgetting their own brothers living in most pitiable condition.