Talk to yourself at least once in a day. Otherwise you may miss a meeting with an excellent person in this world… Swami Vivekananda
Introduction-
National Youth Day is celebrated every year on January 12, to honor the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, one of India’s most incredible spiritual and inspirational leaders, who believed in the power of youth and service to humanity. Swami Vivekananda was a great believer in the potential of youth to change the world. He urged the Indian youth to educate themselves and emphasized how service should be the focus of their lives. He once said, “It is a privilege to serve mankind, for this is the worship of God. God is here, in all these human souls. He is the soul of man.” He coined a new word Daridra Narayana – ‘God in the poor and the lowly.’ Through this coinage, he brought in a sense of religious duty that people could feel towards the poor.
Leading by example-
Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Mission to honor his guru and raised funds for the Mission from various sources. The nonprofit Organization has been in the service of humankind for almost 125 years now. It has a two-fold purpose— to spread the teachings of the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta and to uplift the oppressed masses of the country. As envisioned by Swami Vivekananda, poverty alleviation is central to India’s rise and that cannot be achieved as long as many Indians remain illiterate. It is no coincidence that the number of poor people in India is equal to the number of illiterate. While 270 million people live below the poverty line, around 272 million are uneducated.
An inspiration for generations-
Swami Vivekananda has inspired millions of youths over the years, and following his teachings, many have been serving humankind through social developmental programmes. Some of the pan-India organizations that are doing great service towards fellow human beings include Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, Swami Vivekananda Medical Mission, Vivekananda Youth Forum, Swami Vivekananda Rural Development Society and others.
“If the poor cannot come to education, education must reach them, at the plough, in the bakery, factory, elsewhere,” he once said.
While many people inspired by Swami Vivekananda have dedicated themselves to education, poverty alleviation and other forms of social service, ordinary well-to-do Indians can also do their bit by helping those who are directly involved in these missions. With increased social awareness and a sense of responsibility towards their fellow citizens, more and more Indians are donating through online crowd funding.
For many years, online fundraising by NGOs has been largely limited to asking visitors to their website or followers on social media to contribute to various causes. But it has undergone a great change with crowd funding platforms such as ‘Give’. Such platforms make it easy for social sector entrepreneurs to raise funds from around the world for poverty alleviation, medical emergencies, and other activities at the grassroots level.
Making a difference through crowd funding-
For ordinary citizens who may see Swami Vivekananda as an inspiration but cannot take time out of their everyday lives to do their bit for society, can look at a crowd funding platform like ‘Give’ with over 2,500 verified nonprofits. Give ensures that the money people are donating is used for the right causes and can also track the same.
People can directly choose a nonprofit of their choice from the list of verified organizations on Give, or choose other giving options. For instance, the salaried can donate to causes like education, health, hunger on Give’s monthly giving platform or through the corporate ‘Payroll Giving Programme’ under which employees of member companies can contribute a fixed sum every month to charity through their payroll. Give ensures that the donations are channeled to the programmes and organizations of the donor’s choice.
Swami Vivekananda once said, “All that man has to do is to take care of three things; good thought, good word, good deed.” You can do that good deed every day.
Conclusion-
Swami Vivekananda should always be remembered for his inspiration to the mankind. Swami, without a doubt, is the greatest source of achievement, pride and inspiration. He taught us unconditional love, reinforced the importance of giving back and taught us how to be a better person. Life of Swami Vivekananda inspires me a lot. He is my role model.
By: Chetanya Gupta
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