National Youth Day is celebrated on 12 January being the birthday of Swami Vivekananda. In 1984 the Government of India declared this day as National Youth Day and since 1985 the event is celebrated in India every year.
History
It was a decision of Government of India taken in 1984 to celebrate the birthday of great Swami Vivekananda, i.e. 12 January, as National Youth Day every year. The Government of India quoted that ' the philosophy of Swamiji and the ideals for which he lived and worked could be a great source of inspiration for the Indian Youth Day.'[2]
On 12 January 2013, Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told in his address at the inauguration of four-year-long celebrations of Swami Vivekananda's 150th birth anniversary:[3]
What Gandhiji said captures the great importance of spreading Swami Vivekananda's ideas and ideals among the youth in our country today. He personified the eternal energy of the youth and their restless quest for truth. It is entirely fitting that the Government of India has declared 12th January, the birthday of Swami Vivekananda, as National Youth Day. We must work to rekindle the eternal message of this great patriot and son of India.
Celebration and activities
Celebration of Swami Vivekananda's 156th birthday at Baranagar Ramakrishna Mission of West Bengal, India in 2019The National Youth Day is observed all over India at schools and colleges, with processions, speeches, music, youth conventions, seminars, Yogasanas, presentations, competitions in essay-writing, recitations and sports on 12 January every year. Swami Vivekananda's lectures and writings, deriving their inspiration from Indian spiritual tradition and the broad outlook of his Master Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. These were the source of inspiration and have motivated numerous youth organizations, study circles and service projects involving the youth.[4]
On his 155th birth anniversary, we remember some inspiring things on Swami Vivekananda:
- Swami Vivekananda's pre-monastic name was Narendra Nath Datta. He was born with a temperament of yogis and used to meditate at a very early age.
- He was born in a financially well-off family. His father, Vishwanath Datta was an attorney who excelled in his career. His mother's name was Bhuvaneshwari Devi.
- When it came to academics, Narendra Nath Datta wasn't great at scoring marks. He took three university examinations - the entrance examination, the First Arts Standard (FA, which later became Intermediate Arts or IA) and the Bachelor of Arts (BA). His scores in the English language were 47 per cent at the entrance level, 46 per cent in FA and 56 per cent in BA.
Swami Vivekananda's father died suddenly when he was young. This broke the financial backbone of his family and the whole family was pushed into poverty. At this time, Swamiji would often lie about having lunch invitations so that his family members get to eat a larger share. In his words, "On such days, I had very little to eat, sometimes nothing at all. I was too proud to tell anyone..." Before being initiated as a monk, Narendranath had sought divine influence from many sectors. He met Debendranath Tagore, founder of the Brahmo Samaj and father of Rabindranath Tagore, in 1880. When he asked Tagore if he had seen God, Tagore replied, " My boy, you have the Yogi's eyes" No one could help Narendranath with his question about God. Until he met Ramakrishna Paramahansa in 1881. When he asked the same question to Ramakrishna, the latter replied, " Yes, I see Him as I see you, only in an infinitely intenser sense." This was a far more satisfactory answer to Narendranath Vivekananda was the man who took the Vedanta philosophy to the West and reformed Hinduism drastically. Vivekananda had as many as 31 ailments. Liver and kidney damage, insomnia, migraine, asthma, diabetes are to name a few. He observed and inflicted immense pain on his human body and neglected it throughout his life. During his last few days, he said his disciples to learn from his experience. Always pay attention to the human body and to stay fit. He used to borrow books from the library in large volume and used to return them the next day.this trend continued for a number of days.The librarian doubted whether Swamiji really read them or not. Swamiji loved Khichdi and it was regularly served in his monastery. Swamiji had always said that he will not live until 40 years of age and died at 39.
The National Youth Day is observed all over India at schools and colleges, with processions, speeches, music, youth conventions, seminars, Yogasanas, presentations, competitions in essay-writing, recitations and sports on 12 January every year. Swami Vivekananda's lectures and writings, deriving their inspiration from Indian spiritual tradition and the broad outlook of his Master Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. These were the source of inspiration and have motivated numerous youth organizations, study circles and service projects involving the youth.[4]
On his 155th birth anniversary, we remember some inspiring things on Swami Vivekananda:
- Swami Vivekananda's pre-monastic name was Narendra Nath Datta. He was born with a temperament of yogis and used to meditate at a very early age.
- He was born in a financially well-off family. His father, Vishwanath Datta was an attorney who excelled in his career. His mother's name was Bhuvaneshwari Devi.
- When it came to academics, Narendra Nath Datta wasn't great at scoring marks. He took three university examinations - the entrance examination, the First Arts Standard (FA, which later became Intermediate Arts or IA) and the Bachelor of Arts (BA). His scores in the English language were 47 per cent at the entrance level, 46 per cent in FA and 56 per cent in BA.
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