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On Swami Vivekananda's Birth Anniversary, Let's Talk About His Childhood
Often when we look back into our childhood and early school days, many of us remember the fear of the first days at school and the consequent boredom which has come to characterise schooling in India of late. But the hero of our story lived at a time when Macaulayan English education had just been introduced in India and many of our post-independence politicians had not yet been born to tamper with it further and make it messier as we see it today.
But what really stands out in accounts of Swami Vivekananda's early education is his fearlessness in the pursuit of truth and knowledge. Naren was admitted into the Metropolitan Institution run by the famous Bengali educationalist and scholar Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. Naren refused to learn the English language, asking why one should learn a foreign language before mastering one's own native languages! Naren complained to his parents who tried to convince about the necessity of learning English and yet again he refused! It was only after many months of persuasion and cajoling by his parents and relatives that Naren finally started learning English. And the speed and earnestness with which he then mastered the English language, amazed everyone.
This
trait
continued
to
characterise
Naren
later
in
his
life
too
as
Swami
Vivekananda.
If
he
set
his
mind
to
acquiring
some
branch
knowledge,
then
nothing
could
stop
him
from
mastering
it.
Later
in
his
life,
as
a
wandering
monk,
the
story
is
told
of
how
he
struggled
to
learn
Panini's
sutras
on
Sanskrit
grammar,
under
a
great
Sanskrit
scholar
and
the
teacher's
efforts
utterly
failed
in
imparting
the
knowledge
to
Naren.
But
when
he
himself
made
a
firm
resolve
to
learn
Sanskrit
grammar,
he
picked
them
up
in
just
three
days!
Imagine
a
young
school
kid
today,
arguing
with
his
teacher
why
he
should
not
learn
Sanskrit
or
Tamil
before
learning
English!
In
such
a
case,
it
is
most
likely
that
the
student
would
be
beaten
up
either
by
the
English
teacher
or
by
the
parents
themselves!
English
has
become
a
symbol
of
the
false
prestige
that
the
de-Indianised
masses
in
India
flaunt
to
prove
their
intellectual
superiority!
Parents
swell
with
pride
when
tiny
tots
parrot
rhymes
in
English,
even
if
they
don't
understand
a
word
of
it!
His
childhood
restlessness
continued
as
he
grew
up
for
it
was
a
reflection
of
the
volcano
of
spiritual
energy
waiting
to
burst
forth
from
him.
Teachers
found
it
difficult
to
control
his
energy
and
yet
respected
him
for
his
brilliance
of
intellect
and
learning.
Another incident is told of a geography teacher who mercilessly caned Naren at school insisting that his answer was wrong. But Naren held on to his position and the teacher slowly realised his mistake, apologised to Naren and treated him with respect thereafter. Naren's mother consoled and encouraged him after this incident and told him, "If you are right, my boy, what does it matter? It may be unjust and unpleasant, but do what you think right, come what may."
Naren grew up in this healthy atmosphere which encouraged independent thinking and respect for knowledge.
To be continued
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