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World history has witnessed several legends who have gone beyond their limits and have achieved a name for themselves like no other. When it comes to Indians who have made such an impact on the world, Swami Vivekananda is one man who cannot be overlooked. Let us take a look at the life of the man who journeyed to a path of enlightenment.

Childhood and early years:

Born in a Bengali family, Narendranath Dutta was the name given to him. At a young age where kids would be busy playing outside with their friends, young Narendra kept himself occupied with meditation. He fascinated the lives of sanyasis. While many kids struggle to decide a future for themselves, young Narendra knew for sure that he was going to grow up to be a sanyasi.

Growing up, Narendra found the right balance between his body and mind. He kept himself academically well-read and at the same time was at the peak of his fitness. This personality and dedication made him stand out in school as well as in college! Soon, he found himself journeying towards the path of spiritual enlightenment as he began seeking for answers and searching for God.

The spiritual path:

After extensive searching, Narendra was not able to seek the answers he longed for. Until one day, he was asked to go see Shri Ramakrishna of Dakshineshwar. Before he knew it, Ramakrishna had already seen Narendra’s arrival and his destiny. He knew that Narendra is destined to help humanity. Narendra kept visiting him to search for answers. However, after the untimely death of his father, Vishwanath Datta, Narendra grew restless and desperate for a steady income for his mother.

He found himself at Ramakrishna’s feet, seeking aid. After a few encounters with him, Narendra finally had his first spiritual experience! It was as if his mind had exploded and expanded into the depths and secrets of the universe. Since then, Narendra decided to stay closer to Ramakrishna. He would spend days under deep meditation. He was an eager man, he wanted to learn more. But good things come to those who wait and rightly so, Ramakrishna asked him to be patient.

When Shri Ramakrishna was on his deathbed, he called for Narendra who was sorrowful as he could see the inevitable future his master awaited. Ramakrishna understood that it’s time for Narendra to carry on his master’s work and thus with a touch of a hand, Ramakrishna transferred his divine knowledge onto Narendra. Narendra could feel the divine spirit of his master enter him. After Ramakrishna’s death, Narendra donned a saffron garb that symbolised renunciation and shaved his head. He sought blessings from Ramakrishna’s wife and set out on a mission.

Fulfilling his destiny:

Just as he wished when he was a child, Narendra was now a sanyasi. He decided to see his beloved country from all corners. This decision made him embark on a journey where he traversed around the country. Wherever he went, the crowd would gather to hear him talk. He never discriminated on the basis of caste or religion. He treated all men alike.

One day, he was asked to represent India at the Parliament of Religions which was going to take place in Chicago, USA. At first, Narendra put a pin on the thought of going but after a vision from his master, Shri Ramakrishna, he decided to go. Soon then, the Maharaja of Khetri invited him to his darbar, provided him with his contribution for his trip and gave him the title of Swami Vivekananda which means one who rejoices in wisdom.

The Chicago event:

After a long journey, Swami Vivekananda had finally arrived in Chicago. Entering the Parliament of Religions wasn’t easy for him. After a lot of hustle and help from kind strangers, he finally made it. There, the Indian delegates resented his presence but once he spoke, everyone was in awe of him. In fact, they even scurried to meet him after his address. Soon after he was requested to deliver lectures all around America. Wherever he went, his pearls of wisdom moved people.

A grand welcome back home:

After journeying to America and England, it was time for Swami Vivekanand to return home. He arrived in India on January 15, 1897, and was welcomed by thousands of people waiting to touch his feet and seek his blessings. Now in his beloved motherland, he decided to help the needy, sick, and the poor. He established various institutions and travelled all around India spreading his knowledge. Even in his last days, Swami Vivekananda meditated and helped the poor. When his spirit had left his body, he had a divine expression on his face.

Swami Vivekananda firmly believed that the nation’s youth holds the key to solve various issues faced by India. This is why his birth anniversary, January 12th, is also celebrated as National Youth Day. He believed in the true spirit of Hinduism which abolished the lenses of untouchability and in helping the poor sections of India as they are the backbone of the country. Even a century later, he remains to be a prominent name in spiritualism and his institutions continue to spread his wisdom!

Read the complete story of this great monk in our title ‘Vivekananda’. Now available on the ACK Comics app, Kindle, Amazon, Flipkart, and other major e-tailers. 

A true pioneer of the Indian contemporary dance form, Astad Deboo has left behind a legacy that will inspire millions. A master of Kathak and Kathakali, he would effortlessly fuse modern dance forms with classical styles, mesmerising his audience across the globe.

Throughout his career, he collaborated with legendary personalities and bands such as Pierre Cardin, Pink Floyd, and the Gundecha Brothers, among others. He only occasionally choreographed for movies as well, including M.F. Hussain’s Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities and Mani Ratnam’s Raavan. His shows were often booked out with  fans present in almost every country across the globe.

For his phenomenal contribution in the field of performing arts, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996 and the Padma Shri in 2007.

By Srinidhi Murthy

Govind Swarup was one of the pioneers of radio astronomy, responsible for building one of the world’s largest telescopes, making India one of the leading countries in astronomical research. For his immense contribution in the field of astronomy, he is called the Father of Indian Radio Astronomy.

Early years

Swarup was born on March 23, 1929, in the town of Thakurdwara in Uttar Pradesh. In one of his interviews, he stated that his mother wanted him to become a civil engineer, but his father and uncle encouraged him to pursue a career in science, a subject very dear to his heart. While pursuing his masters degree at Allahabad University, he got an opportunity to learn from the veteran physicist K.S. Krishnan who taught him electricity magnetism in his first year. In 1947, Swarup also had the good fortune of meeting the Nobel Laureate Sir C.V. Raman.

Higher Education

After obtaining his masters degree from Allahabad University in 1950, Swarup joined the newly formed National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and began to work in the area of paramagnetic resonance, once again under the guidance of K.S. Krishnan. In 1960, he completed his doctorate focused on solar emissions from Harvard University, and later worked as an Assistant Professor at Stanford University. He later joined Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in 1963 after spending seven years in the USA.

Designing Telescopes

While Swarup was in Stanford, Homi Bhabha wrote him to join them as he trusted his abilities to design bigger equipment for them. Faced with this new challenge, he built a parabolic cylinder which could follow the stars with the counter-rotation of earth. He was also the key scientist behind the concept, design and installation of the Ooty Radio Telescope (India) and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT).

Today, the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) is used widely by scientists from all over the world to study various astronomical bodies. In 2018, scientists were able to identify the most distant galaxy ever known to man with the help of this telescope, located at a distance of 12 billion light-years away. 

When Swarup created the first design of the telescope, India’s funding in science was limited. However, he was an intelligent and resourceful scientist. Swarup figured out one way to minimise cost would be to use stainless steel mesh instead of solid metal for the large dish. This also made it more manoeuvrable. His innovation was widely acclaimed as it hugely reduced the wind load and made it more energy efficient. The GMRT also helped scientists witness the Ophiuchus Supercluster explosion, which is considered to be the biggest explosion in the history of the universe.

Always smiling, Always inspiring

Swarup was known as the ever-smiling scientist among his colleagues, taking up impossible tasks and inspiring his colleagues to achieve them. He was a positive person whose ideas about science and education sparkled with creativity. For most of his later life, Swarup resided in Pune with his wife Bina and two children.

His Legacy

Swarup received several awards including the prestigious awards such as Padma Shri in 1973, the URSI Dellinger Medal in 1990, the C.V. Raman Medal in 1993, the Hershel Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2005, and the Grote Reber Medal of Australia in 2007.

Swarup breathed his last on September 7th, 2020, at the age of 91 after a period of short illness. The GMRT, which was proposed and completed by him between 1987-1997, is still regarded as the world’s largest radio telescope operating at a frequency range of about 130 MHz to 1430 MHz. He also made significant contributions in areas such as solar radio emission, interplanetary scintillations, pulsars, radio galaxies, quasars and cosmology.

Each year on National Science Day, the GMRT Observatory in Khodad, Pune, invites students and the general public to visit and listen to explanations of radio astronomy, receiver technology and astronomy. They also encourage students to put up their science experiments at the exhibitions, inspiring them to dream beyond the stars just like Govind Swarup.