The monk who redefined the concept of God

                                                                                                  By    Ankur Bora

The monk who redefined the concept of God is a must read for those who want to learn from Swami Vivekananda , the great Indian spiritual leader . The book is an extraordinary story of two young American youths who discovered the eternal significance of Swami’s teaching of Universal brotherhood, peace and non-violence.  Authored by Gautam Prasad Baroowah , this book is bringing new attention to the eternal and universal significance of Vivekananda’s philosophy and discourse. A Business Economist, a Human Resource Management expert and a visionary, Mr. Baroowah through his book is trying to revive a theme and form that have fallen into disuse. It is his particular genius to have identified stories that already existed in the culture but had become muted or neglected over the years. In trying to capture the glory of Vivekananda, in the face of rival contemporary current and counter stories, Gautam Baroowah is ushering in a new way of thinking about India – its people, culture, heritage and wisdom.

The book is an account of Shankar and Siddarth , two American teenagers of Assamese origin. They were deeply disturbed when a mentally deranged gunman embarked on a ghastly killing spree of school children. The shooting incident shook everyone in United States. The event forever altered these two teenagers life as they sought to find a meaning in the ancient civilization of India. As they began to delve deeper into the wisdom of India, they discovered the eternal and universal significance of Vivekananda. They realized that the philosophy of Swamiji and the ideals for which he lived and worked could be a great source of inspiration for the American Youth. Subsequently, they embarked on an epic journey to India – they flew to India and visited the places associated with Swami and met many people who provided them fascinating insights into the life of this great soul.

The book takes the readers through a tour of the various places visited by Shankar and Siddarth beginning with the birth place of Swamiji at Kolkata.  The boys met and took interviews of the monks residing at the center which consists of a house of worship and a museum. Throughout their stay , they were told a lot of interesting stories of young Vivekananda who was born as Naren. They had an intimate conversation with the center Acharya who narrated the incredible spiritual journey which transformed Naren into Swami Vivekananda. “Arise! Awake! And Stop Not Till the Goal is reached!”- These were the famous words with which Swami Vivekananda roused the sleeping soul of India, more than 150 years ago. It is said that those powerful words of Swamiji re-awakened and re-energize India, filling the mind of everyone with inspiration, hope and courage.  The book insightfully and skillfully, documents the journey as Shankar and Siddarth delved further taking a trip to Dakshineswar Temple, followed by a visit to Belūr Maṭh , the world headquarters of the Ramakrishna  Mission.

The book also provides hitherto unknown details on Swamiji’s visit to Assam. In April, 1901 Swami Vivekananda visited the then undivided Assam. There is an amazing account of his stay atop Nilachal hill. “At Guwahati, Swamiji addressed several meetings including one at the then newly-established Cotton College," the book narrates, “The people of Guwahati were completely mesmerized by Swamij’s speech. They had never heard such an eloquent speaker before.”      

  

Shankar and Siddarth are deeply motivated young men, who choose to be part of the solution by sharing their knowledge and activism in their respective communities. On July 4^th, 2013 , at the Getty Museum , Los Angles, a academics circle organized an inter school nationwide debating competition on the topic “The most relevant leader in today’s world.” Shankar and Siddarth representing Los Angles school district rose to speak , “The world is passing through troubled times. What the world needs today is someone who can inspire us , fill us with hope and show us the path to all round development and excellence. We believe that, today, we the world needs Swami Vivekananda more than anything else.”  It was a dramatic speech and Shankar and Siddarth were liked by majority of audience. Finally, amidst cheers and applause, the judges declared the Los Angles as the winning team.

“The monk who redefined the concept of God” is a true story which brilliantly captures the transformational pilgrimage and the new found wisdom of these two American teenagers. Through a compelling narrative, Mr. Gautam Prasad Baroowah has succeeded in opening up a conversation on the bold vision of Swami Vivekananda - that the whole world is one human family and no matter where we were born, we share a common thread of culture that unites us as one civilization - a culture of love, nonviolence, peace and harmonious co-existence.

                                                                                                   ankurbora@hotmail.com