Mangalore: ABVP urges youth to follow Swami Vivekananda's teachings

Pics :Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (DV)

Mangalore, Jan 7: “When India was under the colonial rule, we were suppressed under the illusion of our superstitious beliefs and poverty, and it was Swami Vivekananda who illuminated the society with the power of Upanishads and its teachings. Swami Vivekananda’s call ‘Arise, Awake and stop not till the goal is reached’ had awakened the slumbering soul of this nation, hence we need to bow down to such a great personality for his tremendous contribution and sacrifices to this nation," said Dr B V Vasanth Kumar, state president of ABVP.

He was addressing the valedictory of 'Vivekotsava-2014' marking Swami Vivekananda's 150 birth anniversary organized by ABVP at Town Hall here on Tuesday January 7.

He further said, "Vivekananda in those days pondered over the difficulties faced by this nation; and to put an end to these problems he gave a call to the youth to ‘Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached’. But today, unfortunately, we are not living in the 'Bharath' envisioned by Swami Vivekananda.

"Swami Vivekananda preached that one must respect woman and treat her as ‘Jaganmathe’. But what is happening today is shameful. Women are treated as an object of lust. Instead of empowering and educating her, she is being treated as a commodity for sexual acts. Today assaults on women are increasing, that too in a highly educated place like Mangalore. Swami Vivekananda also defined man and woman as the two wings of a bird which can move forward only if the wings flap together, but the leftist ideologists are creating a gap between the two sexes in the name of feminism and increasing hatred," he said. 

"Swami Vivekananda on September 11, 1893 in Chicago showed the world that India is not a land of snake charmers but it is a beautiful land with rich culture and heritage and which promotes betterment of the world through religious tolerance. But today our family system has deteriorated, several people are living in poverty, India is facing threat to national security with incursion of Chinese, our soldiers are beheaded by Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis have infiltrated into this country. Today's India is not as Vivekananda had envisioned it; he dreamt of ‘Swabhiman Bharath’; hence it is our duty to choose the right leader for the nation to build a ‘Swabhiman Bharath’. Swami Vivekananda was a person who led his life by practicing Vedanta," he added.

Chief guest Malady Ajith Kumar Rai in his address said, “The youth should remember the contribution of great leaders like Swami Vivekananda. He was a person who sacrificed his life for this nation for the betterment of the poor and needy. To become nationalists, students should imbibe the principles of Swami Vivekananda."

Ganesh Rao who presided over the programme said, “When we love ourselves, we develop self-confidence which leads us to love our country. When we learn to love we can face any challenge."
       
Ramesh K, state secretary of ABVP, Balakrishna, Chethan and others were present.