Impact of Swami Vivekananda on Sister Nivedita
The transformation of Margaret Elizabeth Noble to Nivedita, the dedicated was not all of a sudden. The cold Sunday of November in 1895 was the turning point in her life. The great ‘Hindu Yogi’ shaken her up and helped her to dispel all of her doubts for the search for the Divine Light & Eternal Truth. The Hindu Yogi not only cleared her doubts but also gave her the mission of her life. After the first meeting with Swami Vivekananda, she wrote to her friend “suppose he had not come to London that time! Life would have been like a headless dream; for I always knew that I was waiting for something. I always said that a call would come. And it did.”
The First meeting with Swami Vivekananda was a great event in her life. Swami Vivekananda was seated on the floor of West End drawing room in meditative pose, his face radiant with dignity and poise. Childlike simplicity and calm was radiating spiritual aura. Nearly fifteen to sixteen curious listeners, newcomers to the Hindu thought, sat around the Swami in a half circle and listened with rapt attention every word coming from the mouth of the great Jnani and the orator. Margaret Noble was one of them listening to the celestial words of the Swami who was elaborating ancient wisdom of the Upanishads and Vedanta to the small group. She liked the talk he gave; but told her friend that there was nothing new in that. But when she went home and thought over, she realised that she was unkind and unjust in passing such a comment. She attended all the lectures given by him after the meeting.
Margaret’s father was quite aware of her bright future even in her childhood. He found that his daughter was not of the common run. Therefore, before breathing his last, Samuel, who was a priest, spoke to his wife in a low tone, almost a whisper, about Margaret: “When God calls her, let her go. She will spread her wings...She will do great things.” Till she met Swamiji she was living the life with doubt, gloom and taking swings from material to spiritual life. But the thundering words of Swamji, : “ What the world wants today is few men and women who can dare to stand in the street yonder, and say that they possess nothing but God……….. The earth’s bravest and best will have to sacrifice themselves for the good of many, for the welfare of all”, made a deep impact in her. She felt that it was a call, the call for which she had been waiting as her father predicted. She left for the country unknown to her with strong determination to sacrifice everything for it.
Margaret Noble had to prepare for a challenging life in the tropical country where the weather is extremely hot in most part of the year. The land had many languages and varied customs. And moreover she had to win over the suspicion of the simple Indians to serve them better. The solid promise of Swami Vivekananda gave her confidence to face unfavourable situations. He wrote to her “I will stand by you unto death whether you work for India or not, whether you give up Vedanta or remain in it” Not only the words of promise but also the great lessons of learning about the India which included the heroism of Rajputs, the faith of the Sikh, the courage of Maratha, stories about devotees and saints, about the purity and sacrifice of noble women gave the practical experiences to know India.
Margaret Noble had been gifted with wonderful moments by her guru. One of the important events was the day her life was consecrated to the service of God. Her master gave her the beautiful name ‘Nivedita’ meaning one who is dedicated or offered to God. The second one was her journey to various places with her master. The journey to Almora, Kashmir, Punjab and Rawalpindi, Amarnath was memorable and helped her to know India practically with the guidance of the Guru. Recollecting all these experiences, she wrote; “As I look back on this wonderful summer, I wonder how I have come to heights so rare. We have been living and breathing in the sunshine of the great religious ideals, all these months and God has been more real to us than the common men”.
The experience in India made her realise the need of working among Indian women. But she never had any superiority feeling. She kept the words of her Guru that she had come to serve, and not to uplift or teach. She should never let people think that she had more knowledge than they had. The school started by her attracted the girls of the neighbourhood as she won them by sincerity and goodness. She taught them sewing, elementary rules of hygiene, nursing etc., apart from regular courses. The school started by her with the blessing of Holy Mother Sarada and Swami Vivekananda, grew and now it is known as Ramakrishna Sarada Mission Sister Nivedita Girls’ School.
It was during the plague the Indians saw the great concern she had for the fellow men. She had organized a band of young men to take care of the sick and also clean the streets most of the time she led them from front. The medical officer wrote in his report about her service “During the calamity the compassionate figure of Sister Nivedita was seen in every slum of the Baghbazar locality. She helped others with money without giving a thought to her own condition.
The great bond of Guru- Shishya which is nurtured by both of them always helped Nivedita to adept so quickly with any situation and renew her commitment from time to time. She not only influenced the common men but also the elites like Rabindra Nath Tagore, Bipin Chandra Pal, JC.Bose etc. The ocean of knowledge opened in front of her through the Guru, has helped her write many books like the Web of Indian Life, The Cradle Tales of Hinduism, Kali the Mother, Footfalls of Indian History etc. Her famous book, “The Master As I Saw him” gives us the first hand information and the perception of the most ardent disciple of Swami Vivekananda.
The influence of her guru is so deep in her; the demise of Swamiji has not weakened her spirit. Rather it strengthened. She wrote “He is not dead, he is with us always. I cannot even grieve, I only want to work” She plunged more to serve the Nation. As she understood that the political freedom is necessary to rejuvenate this great country, she thrown herself in the freedom movement. Rash Behari Ghosh said “If we are conscious of a budding national life at the present day, it is in no small measure due to the teaching of Sister Nivedita.”
The relationship between Nivedita and Vivekananda was the great example of Guru- Sishya Prampara of our ancient tradition. The study of Sister Nivedita is inspiring and heart touching) story of a woman who fell in love with India and served it and its people with utmost dedication. Swami Vivekananda’s magnetic personality could attract this iron lady and change her from Margaret to a Magnet to attract such iron ones. Her words and deeds still attract many lives. Napoleon’s dictionary did not house the word ‘impossible’, and hers had no room for ‘despair’. Even the last words she uttered shows her life, which was a true replica of her Master’s heroic spirit, would not give way to despair: “The boat is sinking, but I shall see the Sunrise.”
Let us take the opportunity of the 150th birth anniversary of Sister Nivedita to re-build India. She was full of love for this holy land, its tradition, its people, Gods and Goddesses. There was only positive and positive in her about the Mother India.
Swami Vivekananda’s messages like: “They alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive”, “Each Soul is potentially divine”, “If there is any land on this earth that can lay claim to be the blessed Punya-Bhumi, to be the land to which souls on this earth must come to account for Karma, the land to which every soul that is wending its way God ward must come to attain its last home, the land where humanity has attained its highest towards gentleness, towards generosity, towards purity, towards calmness, above all, the land of introspection and of spirituality—it is India,” to be remembered at this juncture.
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