Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kanyakumari on May 30 after the election campaign ends. Here he will meditate in the ‘Dhyan Mandapam’ of Vivekananda Rock Memorial till June 1. The memorial is built at the same place where Swami Vivekananda meditated for three consecutive days on 25, 26, 27 December 1892.
How was Vivekananda Rock Memorial built?
Till the 60s, there used to be only a rock here. In the year 1963, when Swami Vivekananda’s birth centenary was being celebrated, some local people of Kanyakumari decided to build a memorial near the rock. However, they did not get much success. After this, they contacted the then Sarsanghchalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Madhavrao Sadashivrao Golwalkar. Golwalkar entrusted the task of building the memorial to RSS pracharak Eknath Ranade.
Eknath Ranade writes in his book Story of Vivekananda Rock Memorial that at that time there was a Congress government in Tamil Nadu and M. Bhaktavatsalam was the Chief Minister. When he was asked for help for the memorial, he flatly refused. The same attitude was of Union Cultural Minister Humayun Kabir…’ Ranade did not give up even after this. He came to Delhi and met Lal Bahadur Shastri.
Lal Bahadur Shastri told Ranade, ‘I am a very slow person, but I can suggest you a way. If we can create public opinion for Vivekananda Shila Smarak, it will put pressure on the government. We can start it with the MPs…’ The Parliament session was going on those days. Eknath Ranade immediately got busy with his work and within the next three days, he met 323 MPs and got their signatures. This included MPs from Congress and Left parties. After this, Ranade went back to Shastri and he agreed.
Money problems
Ranade writes in his book that the approval for the memorial was received, but the biggest problem was money. He decided to raise funds. He started with the Chief Ministers of the country. From Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Sheikh Abdullah to Nagaland CM Hokishe Sema, everyone helped. In those days, there was a Left government in West Bengal and Jyoti Basu was the Chief Minister.
Jyoti Basu’s denial
Ranade hoped that since Swami Vivekananda was a resident of Bengal, the Bengal government would not back down from helping. But Jyoti Basu clearly said, ‘I have no relation with Vivekananda ji. I cannot help because I am a member of the left party..’ After this, Ranade met Jyoti Basu’s wife Kamala Basu and she agreed to help. She collected and gave 1100 rupees for the memorial.
30 lakh people donated
According to Vivekanand Kendra, almost all the state governments donated Rs 1 lakh each for the stone. But the most important thing is the donations from the common people. Eknath Ranade went from village to village and told people that they can donate from Rs 1 to a maximum of Rs 5. A total of 30 lakh people donated. In this way, the construction of the memorial began. On 2 September 1970, the then President of India V.V. Giri inaugurated it. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi also attended the two-month long ceremony.
What happens here?
In January 1972, an organization named ‘Vivekananda Kendra’ was established. Which manages the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. This organization organizes programs ranging from yoga camps to spiritual retreats in Kanyakumari. Apart from this, it also runs many schools across the country. It is also working for the culture and heritage of Northeast India.
Tags: 2024 Lok Sabha Election, Lok Sabha Election 2024, Lok Sabha Elections, Swami Vivekananda, Tamil Nadu
FIRST PUBLISHED : May 29, 2024, 12:35 IST