Swami Vivekananda Jayanti: Service to mankind, Spirituality

Once during pre-partition days some districts of East Bengal were hit badly by famine. As succor to those suffered in the calamity many people came forward and began to do what they could. Joined with others in this humanitarian mission also was Swami Vivekananda. Collecting food and money for the victims as he reached Dhaka, some pundits [scholars] belonging to Vedanta school came to him for the polemics. With due respect, Swamiji offered them the place to sit and began to discuss about the famine. He said, “My eyes fill with tears to see the miseries of the famine–affected people. God knows what would happen!”

Hearing this, the pundits remained quiet and began to grin meeting their eyes with each other. Swamiji was taken aback at this strange response of them. Little later he asked, breaking the silence, “What as such I said that makes you grin, Gentlemen!”

At this one of them answered, “Swamiji, we used to think you, being a sanyasi [renunciant], would be detached from the worldly things, above sorrow and happiness. But you are shedding the tears for the perishable body which has to transform ultimately into the soil with the exit of soul.”

Swamiji got stunned to hear his logic. And, at the very next moment, he raised a wooden pole and strode after the pundit to hit, saying, “Come on! Today is your test. This pole will not hit at your soul, but only at your perishable physical body. Move not from your position, if you really are a pundit.”

Then what, to save his perishable body punditji began to run breathlessly, forgetting all their superficially earned scriptural knowledge!

By Rajesh Pathak