The Modi government is realising Swami Vivekananda’s dream

He laid the foundations of the awakening self-respect in Indian society during a period when the mentality was one of servitude. The result of his efforts was that Swami Vivekananda became the centre of inspiration for India’s freedom fighters. None other than Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose spoke of how Swami Vivekananda’s teachings served as a powerful guiding force. “I asked Swami Vivekananda to give me strength so that I could liberate my motherland,” Netaji said.

He formulated a new vision of India's development on many subjects like eradication of untouchability, raising literacy levels, development of industries and women's upliftment, all of which continue to remain guiding goals for us even today. He also showed the path of world peace to the global community trapped by the vapidity of luxury and the evil of communalism. Swamiji contained within himself a superb confluence of devotion and modern development.

Swami Vivekananda's thoughts have left a deep and indelible impression on the life of India’s Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi. Narendra Modi had joined the Ramakrishna Mission (Rajkot) during his student days. He had also expressed his desire for initiation into sanyasa to Swami Atmasthanand, the then head of the Rajkot branch. Swami Atmasthanand inspired him to work for society. This became the inspiration for the PM to create a prosperous India with welfare and self-respect for the poor as the centrepiece of the development paradigm. His association with the Ramakrishna Mission remains strong even today.

Regarding the mentality of slavery, Swami Vivekananda says that “this darkness in the form of dependence eclipsed India's self-respect so much that Indians lost their self-confidence.” The result of that self-deprecation was that we had a tendency to find faults in our great men, history, knowledge, art and culture and considered being conversant with foreign norms and icons as synonymous with modernity.

PM Modi in his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2023 reiterated his resolve to make India a developed country—Viksit Bharat. In this period of Amrit Kaal, he has urged every Indian to pledge to give up all forms of slavery. The consecration of the idol of Lord Shri Ram at the temple in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024 is one of the many efforts to awaken this self-respect.

Swami Vivekananda wanted both worldly and spiritual progress of man through education. He envisioned that along with modern subjects, subjects like health and national service should be included in the curriculum. The resolve to provide high quality education to all citizens through the New Education Policy (NEP), education through Indian languages and to make India a global knowledge superpower are examples of Swamiji's thoughts in education.

Swami Vivekananda was very distressed after seeing the suffering of the poor. Expressing this pain, he said that now the country’s goal should be “Daridra Devo Bhava”. In an outline of his manifesto for the progress of India, he said, “Let this country rise from the huts of the poor, from the boats of the sailors, from the furnaces of the blacksmiths, from the fields and barns of the farmers, from the huts of the cobblers, from the Girikandras”. Since assuming office PM Modi started giving shape to this manifesto. Many schemes have been designed, crafted and implemented specifically to gives the poor a better life, empowering them with opportunities to enable upward income and social mobility.

Many schemes such as the Swachch Bharat campaign, th e Ujjwala scheme, Ayushman Bharat andJal Jeevan Mission proved to be milestones for the upliftment of the poor. Providing housing to more than four crore families, skilling 1.36 crore youth, and providing food to 80 crore people every month all mirror this this philosophy. On the subject of bread for the poor, Swami Vivekananda had said, “First give bread to the poor and then recite the Gita because his need is bread.”

Our small craftsmen play an important role in the development of society. The PM calls them Vishwakarma, those who built India. This includes people such as carpenters, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, potters, sculptors, cobblers and washerman. More than 30 lakh such families will get assistance from the Pradhan Mantri Vishwakarma Yojana, benefitting about 1.5 crore people.

This government has worked to bring light to the homes of the people who earn their living through tiny and nano enterprises such as street vendors by providing assistance through Pradhan Mantri Swanidhi Yojana.

In his speech on the occasion of Chicago Dharma Sabha, quoting a mantra from Shiva Mahima Stotra, Swami Vivekananda had said:

Ruchianaam vaichitryaadjukutil nanapathajushan.

Nrināmeko gamyastvamsi payasamarnav iv.

(As the sea is the final resting place for all types of streams, you are the only reaching place for all people whichever path, straight or zigzag, they may accept.)

He had expressed the idea that there is only one God in all religions and that the goal of all is the same destination. The prestige of yoga all over the world, help to the world on the basis of “Jaan bhi, jahan bhi” during the Covid pandemic, the motto of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” in G-20, are all manifestations of these.

This call of Swami Vivekananda, “Get up, wake up and do not stop till you achieve your goal” has been accepted by Narendra Modi as the ideal of his life. Without stopping, without getting tired, he is engaged in achieving the goal of a prosperous India. All Indians should take inspiration from the thoughts of Swami Vivekananda and keep pace with PM Modi and pledge to remove darkness from the world by making India a prosperous, safe, proud and self-respecting nation during the glorious period of Amrit Kaal. This would be the best tribute to Swami Vivekananda on his birthday.

This article is authored by Shiv Prakash, national co-secretary (Organisation), Bharatiya Janata Party, New Delhi.