SISTER NIVEDITA
- A SOLDIER WITH A FLAMING SWORD
Paying tribute to
the hallowed memory of Sister Nivedita, a Western admirer said,
"..it is as a soldier in the war of liberation that I remember
her - a soldier with a flaming sword." Our nation also remembers
her as an apostle of nationalism, as a passionate fighter for
India’s freedom.
Fearlessness,
sacrifice and dedication were the inspiring words of Swami Vivekananda,
her Guru, to Sister Nivedita, whose life personified selfless
service of the highest order.
Sister Nivedita’s
primary contact with India was through Swami Vivekananda whom
she had first met in London. It was impossible for one, not to
be interested in India when one heard about that ancient land
from Swami Vivekananda.
Born on October
28,1867, Sister Nivedita, earlier known as Margaret Elizabeth
Noble was initiated into brahmacharya (celibacy). She was
given the Name Nivedita by Swami Vivekananda on March 25,1898.
Her work among
women, her support to the cause of national education and her
contributions in the field of national awakening, her service
to the poor and the needy and, above all, her love for our motherland
endeared her among all Indians.
Commenting on
her dedication, Rabindranath Tagore has observed: "The life
which Sister Nivedita gave for us was a great life...Every moment
of every day, she gave what was noblest." Her supreme dedication
made her a luminous spirit, who could dispel darkness and show
others the right path to follow.
What Vivekananda
was demanding was supreme self-sacrifice and complete self-effacement
and she did not fail him. She proved that she was worthy of her
Guru and worthy of her name "Nivedita", the Dedicated,
given her by her Guru.
Nivedita is the abiding
symbol of sacrifice and service. Since January 28,1898, the day
Margaret landed in Kolkata, she started working among the poor
and destitute. Nivedita plunged into action in Kolkata to save
the city from the grip of the plague in 1899. She started sweeping
the streets and clearing the drains. Youths, unused to any kind
of manual labour and accustomed to look upon scavenging as a dirty
work, felt guilty at their own inaction and came to the aid of
their beloved sister. Thus did Nivedita teach the people of Kolkata
their first lessons in sanitation, self-help and social service,
not by precept but by practice.
Sister Nivedita,
like her great teacher, Swami Vivekananda, did not live to see
the political Independence of India but both of them had visualised
its glorious future.
Sister Nivedita was
a genius. She occupies an important place among the builders of
modern India. Her love for India is reflected in her writings.
" I love India as the birth place of the highest and best
of all religions. I will look to India, India may look to the
West if she wishes" she wrote.
Sister Nivedita will
always inspire the generations to come. She taught us how to understand,
love and serve our country. On the eve of her 136th birth anniversary
on October 28, a grateful nation salutes her.(PIB Features)
Contributed
by Souvagya Kumar Kar, Information Assistant, PIB, Bhubaneswar
