EARLY YEARSSwami Vivekananda, the great soul loved and revered in East and West alike as therejuvenator of Hinduism in India and the preacher of its eternal truths abroad, was bornat 6:33, a few minutes before sunrise, on Monday, January 12, 1863. It was the day ofthe great Hindu festival Makarasamkranti, when special worship is offered to theGanga by millions of devotees. Thus the future Vivekananda first drew breath whenthe air above the sacred river not far from the house was reverberating with theprayers, worship, and religious music of thousands of Hindu men and women.Before Vivekananda was born, his mother, like many other pious Hindu mothers, hadobserved religious vows, fasted, and prayed so that she might be blessed with a sonwho would do honour to the family. She requested a relative who was living inVaranasi to offer special worship to the Vireswara Siva of that holy place and seek Hisblessings; for Siva, the great god of renunciation, dominated her thought. One nightshe dreamt that this supreme Deity aroused Himself from His meditation and agreed tobe born as her son. When she woke she was filled with joy.The mother, Bhuvaneswari Devi, accepted the child as a boon from Vireswara Sivaand named him Vireswara. The family, however, gave him the name of NarendranathDatta, calling him, for short, Narendra, or more endearingly, Naren.The Datta family of Calcutta, into which Narendranath had been born, was well knownfor its affluence, philanthropy, scholarship, and independent spirit. The grand father,Durgacharan, after the birth of his first son, had renounced the world in search of God.The father, Viswanath, an attorney-at-law of the High Court of Calcutta, was versed inEnglish and Persian literature and often entertained himself and his friends by recitingfrom the Bible and the poetry of Hafiz, both of which, he believed, contained truthsunmatched by human thinking elsewhere. He was particularly attracted to the Islamicculture, with which he was familiar because of his close contact with the educatedMoslems of North-western India. Moreover, he derived a large income from his lawpractice and, unlike his father, thoroughly enjoyed the worldly life. An expert incookery, he prepared rare dishes and liked to share them with his friends. Travel wasanother of his hobbies. Though agnostic in religion and a mocker of socialconventions, he possessed a large heart and often went out of his way to support idlerelatives, some of whom were given to drunkenness. Once, when Narendra protestedagainst his lack of judgement, his father said: 'How can you understand the greatmisery of human life? When you realize the depths of men's suffering, you willsympathize with these unfortunate creatures who try to forget their sorrows, eventhough only for a short while, in the oblivion created by intoxicants.' Naren's father,however, kept a sharp eye on his children and would not tolerate the slightest d

eviationfrom good manners.Bhuvaneswari Devi, the mother, was cast in a different mould. Regal in appearanceand gracious in conduct, she belonged to the old tradition of Hindu womanhood. Asmistress of a large household, she devoted her spare time to sewing and singing, beingparticularly fond of the great Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, largeportions of which she had memorized. She became the special refuge of the poor, andcommanded universal respect because of her calm resignation to God, her innertranquillity, and her dignified detachment in the midst of her many arduous duties.Two sons were born to her besides Narendranath, and four daughters, two of whomdied at an early age.Narendra grew up to be a sweet, sunny-tempered, but very restless boy. Two nurseswere necessary to keep his exuberant energy under control, and he was a great tease tohis sisters. In order to quiet him, the mother often put his head under the cold-watertap, repeating Siva's name, which always produced the desired effect. Naren felt achild's love for birds and animals, and this characteristic reappeared during the lastdays of his life. Among his boyhood pets were a family cow, a monkey, a goat, apeacock, and several pigeons and guinea-pigs. The coachman of the family, with histurban, whip, and bright-coloured livery, was his boyhood ideal of a magnificentperson, and he often expressed the ambition to be like him when he grew up.Narendra bore a striking resemblance to the grand-father who had renounced the worldto lead a monastic life, and many thought that the latter had been reborn in him. Theyoungster developed a special fancy for wandering monks, whose very sight wouldgreatly excite him. One day when such a monk appeared at the door and asked foralms, Narendra gave him his only possession, the tiny piece of new cloth that waswrapped round his waist. Thereafter, whenever a monk was seen in the neighbourhood,Narendra would be locked in a room. But even then he would throw out of the windowwhatever he found near at hand as an offering to the holy man. In the meantime, hewas receiving his early education from his mother, who taught him the Bengalialphabet and his first English words, as well as stories from the Ramayana and theMahabharata.