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Vivekananda's prayer to Kali at Dakshineswar (1884) is the event in which Narendranath Datta (the pre-monastic name of Vivekananda), following the suggestion of Ramakrishna, went to the Kali temple of Dakshineswar with the intention to pray for financial welfare, but ultimately prayed for pure knowledge, devotion and renunciation. This event has been a subject of scholarly studies and is considered as a significant event in the life of Vivekananda, who initially revolted against idol-worship but now accepted and prayed before an idol of Kali. According to B. R. Kishore, "this incident added a new dimension to Narendra's devotion and knowledge". After making three attempts to seek a blessing to remove his financial problems from mother goddess Kali, he came out with the divine statement: “Mother, I Want Nothing But Knowledge and Devotion!” == Background == Vivekananda was born Narendranath Datta on 12 January 1863 in an affluent family of North Calcutta. His father Vishwanath Datta was a lawyer and had a lucrative income, but he used to spend more than his earning. In 1884, when Narendranath was preparing for his upcoming F.A. examinations, Vishwanath Datta died. Vishwanath's sudden death left the Datta family bankrupt; creditors began demanding the repayment of loans, and relatives threatened to evict the family from their ancestral home. Narendra, once a son of a well-to-do family, became one of the poorest students in his college. Narendra was the eldest son of Vishwanath and had to take responsibility of his family. He tried to find a job but failed. He also failed to earn the basic needs of life for his family. None of their wealthy friends and relatives, who could easily help them, came forward to provide any kind of assistance. This was the first time in his life, when he saw the cruel form of life. Vivekananda recounted his experiences of these days— I was dying of starvation. Barefooted I went from office to office and was refused everywhere. I learnt by experience what human compassion is. This was my first contact with the realities of life; and I discovered it... had no room for the weak, the poor, the deserted... (詳細はRamakrishna in 1881, and used to go to Dakshineswar frequently to meet Ramakrishna. In this difficult phase, his visit to Dakshineswar increased and he found solace in Ramakrishna. In the initial meeting with Ramakrishna, Narendra had resisted to accept or worship Kali the goddess whom Ramakrishna used to worship. Ramakrrishna asked him— "Why do you come here, if you do not accept Kali, my Mother?" Narendra replied "simply because I come to see you? I come to you because I love you." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Swami Vivekananda's prayer to Kali at Dakshineswar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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