:0§m Sister Nivedita, known as Margaret Elizabeth Noble, was a great disciple of Swami Vivekananda. The Swami has dedicated her to the service of India and hence called he ‘Nivedita’. Sister Nivedita’s was a fiery spirit that knew no rest till her whole personality was spent for the cause of her dedication—India. In the midst of her tireless efforts for the amelioration of Indian women, she found time to make a deep study of Indian literature, philosophy, mythology and history. Combined with her comprehensive mind was a remarkable largeness of heart and deep insight of love. This helped her to interpret in an extraordinary manner Indian religion and thought, art and literature, custom and tradition. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Public.Resource.Org https://archive.org/details/completeworksofs01advi THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SISTER NIVEDITA 150th Birth Anniversary Edition VOLUME 1 ^Dvaita Asfxrama (Publication House of Ramakrishna Math) 5 Dehi Entally Road • Kolkata 700 014 Published by Swami Tattwavidananda Adhyaksha, Advaita Ashrama Mayavati, Champawat, Uttarakhand, Himalayas from its Publication Department, Kolkata Email: [email protected] Website: www.advaitaashrama.org © All Rights Reserved Second Edition, October 2016 1M1C ISBN 978-81-7505-010-1 (Vol.l) Printed in India at Trio Process Kolkata 700 014 PUBLISHER'S NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION The year 2017 marks the 150th Birth Anniversary of Sister Nivedita. On this occasion, we are pleased to present this digitally composed version of the Complete Works of Sister Nivedita as the "150th Birth Anniversary Edition". We hope the readers would welcome this edition. 28 October 2016 Publisher PUBLISHER'S NOTE TO THE FIRST EDITION The Complete Works of Sister Nivedita (in Four Volumes) was first published by the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission Sister Nivedita Girls' School, Calcutta, during the birth centenary year of Sister Nivedita (1967-1968), as a homage to her hallowed memory. These four volumes comprised her books already published by Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, and Udbodhan Office, Calcutta. In 1975, another volume entitled Sister Nivedita's Lectures and Writings, consisting of several of her contributions to various journals, newspapers, and other manuscripts, was published by the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission Sister Nivedita Girls' School, Calcutta. Recently, by mutual agreement, these volumes have been handed over to us for publication in the future. We are deeply indebted to the authorities of Sri Sarada Math and the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, Dakshineshwar, for this gesture on their part. m It is our intention to publish The Complete Works of Sister Nivedita in five volumes, i.e. the present four volumes, as they are, and the fifth, being Sister Nivedita's Lectures and Writings. She wrote on a variety of subjects, even on commonplace themes. The late Ramananda Chatterjee, well-known founder and editor of The Modern Review, made a very significant remark about Sister Nivedita's writings, when he wrote : "Nothing that she wrote was commonplace; even the most hackneyed topics were invested by her pen with new power and grace, and became connected with the first principles of human action and with the primal source of all strength." It is with great pleasure that we offer the reprint of these five volumes to the admirers and students of 'Nivedita of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda,' as she was wont to refer to herself. We hope that these volumes will be received with all the enthusiasm they deserve from the public. Mayavati Publisher Phalaharini Kali-Puja 22 May 1982 IV CONTENTS Page Editor's Preface ... viii Chronological Table ... xviii Our Master and his Message ... 3 The Master As I Saw Him A Word to Western Readers ... 15 I. The Swami in London, 1895 ... 17 II. The Swami Vivekananda in London —1896 26 III. The Conflict of Ideals ... 39 IV. The Swami Vivekananda and the Order of Ramakrishna ... 51 V. Wanderings in Northern India . 70 VI. The Awakener of Souls ... 78 VII. Flashes from the Beacon-Fire . 84 VIII. Amarnath ... 91 IX. Kshir Bhowani ... 95 X. Calcutta and the Holy Women . 103 XI. The Swami and Mother-Worship . 117 XII. Half Way across the World ... 125 XIII. Glimpses of the Saints ... 133 XIV. Past and Future in India ... 139 XV. On Hinduism ... 145 XVI. Glimpses in the West ... 154 XVII. The Swami's Mission Considered as a Whole 161 XVIII. The Swami Vivekananda and his Attitude to Buddha ... 175 v XIX. The Swami's Estimate of Historic Christianity 189 XX. Woman and the People ... 195 XXI. His Method of Training a Western Worker 208 XXII. Monasticism and Marriage ... 220 XXIII. Our Master's Relation to Psychic Phenomena So-called... 232 XXIV. The Swami's Teaching about Death. 240 XXV. Superconsciousness ... 253 XXVI. The Passing of the Swami ... 264 XXVII. The End 270 Appendix ... 273 Notes of Some Wanderings with the Swami Vivekananda Foreword ... 281 I. The House on the Ganges ... 284 II. At Naini Tal and Almora ... 290 III. Morning Talks at Almora ... 295 IV. On the Way to Kathgodam ... 312 V. On the Way to Baramulla ... 315 VI. The Vale of Kashmir . 322 VII. Life at Srinagar ... 326 VIII. The Temple of Pandrenthan ... 336 IX. Walks and Talks beside the Jhelum. 344 X. The Shrine of Amarnath ... 352 XI. At Srinagar on the Return Journey. 358 XII. The Camp under the Chennaars . 361 Concluding Words of the Editor . 364 Appendix ... 365 Lectures and Articles The National Significance of the Swami Vivekananda's Life and Work... ... 377 Swami Vivekananda as a Patriot ... 386 Swami Vivekananda ... 389 Swami Vivekananda's Mission ... 393 Swami Vivekananda's Mission to the West ... 398 VI Kedar Nath and Badri Narayan — A Pilgrim's Diary I 403 II. 418 III. 436 IV. 446 The Historical Significance of the Northern Tirtha 450 Kedar Nath and Badri Narayan ... 459 Kali The Mother Concerning Symbols ... 471 The Vision of Shiva ... 477 Two Saints of Kali ... 485 The Voice of the Mother ... 505 A Visit to Dakshineshwar ... 508 An Intercession ... 511 The Story of Kali ... 514 vii EDITOR'S PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION Life and Work Sister Nivedita, whose previous name was Margaret Noble, was of Irish parentage and was born at Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, on October 28, 1867. After finishing her education at the Halifax College, she worked in various girls' schools gaining practical experience of teaching. In 1892, at the age of 25, she opened a school of her own in Wimbledon and settled down to serious work. She was a close student of Pestalozzi and Froebel and one of the enthusiastic supporters of the New Education movement, then in vogue in London. With her manifold intellectual interests Margaret had one deep-rooted trouble, namely, the growing consciousness of uncertainty and despair with regard to religion. It was at this time that Swami Vivekananda reached London with his message of Vedanta. And his words "came as living water to men perishing of thirst" to quote Margaret's words. She met him first in November, 1895. His teachings aroused Margaret's dormant religious aspirations and desire to serve humanity unselfishly, and she finally decided to take the plunge, though Swami Vivekananda, on his part, was very frank in putting forward all possible arguments against her intention to join his mission. On July 29, 1897, he wrote to her: "Let me tell you frankly that I am now convinced that you have a great future in the work for India. What was wanted was not a man, but a woman; a real lioness, to work for the Indians, women specially. viii PREFACE IX "India cannot yet produce great women, she must borrow them from other nations. Your education, sincerity, purity, immense love, determination and above all, the Celtic blood make you just the woman wanted. "Yet the difficulties are many. You cannot form any idea of the misery, the superstition, and the slavery that are here. You will be in the midst of a mass of half-naked men and women with quaint ideas of caste and isolation, shunning the white skin through fear or hatred and hated by them intensely. On the other hand, you will be looked upon by the white as a crank and every one of your movements will be watched with suspicion. "Then the climate is fearfully hot; our winter in most places being like your summer, and in the south it is always blazing. "Not one European comfort is to be had in places out of the cities. If in spite of all this you dare venture into the work, you are welcome, a hundred times welcome..." Margaret's earnestness helped her to make a quick decision. She left England at the end of 1897, and reached Calcutta on January 28, 1898. On March 25, she was initiated into Brahmacharya and given by her Guru the name Nivedita, the dedicated. After a tour of the Almora and Kashmir regions from May to October with Swami Vivekananda and others, Nivedita returned to Calcutta in November. On November 13, in the presence of the Holy Mother and with her blessings, her school in Bagh Bazaar was declared open. But it was only an experimental school, attended with much difficulty, and after a few months she decided to close it and go abroad to find new means and opportunities. In June, 1899, she left with Swami Vivekananda for Europe and America. Everywhere she went she employed her oratorical powers on India's behalf and strove to secure financial help for her educational experiment in India. Nivedita returned to India in the beginning of 1902. She could not be with Swami Vivekananda for long, for he X PREFACE died on July 4, 1902. The end of personal association did not deter her from carrying on his work.