The two great men shook the world by their ideas and deeds, and lived their lives for others on this very land, twenty-five centuries apart. Lord Buddha, the mover of the wheel of religion, gifted with transcendental power, overwhelmed the universe with his teachings of compassion and detachment while Swami Vivekananda spread the philosophies of the Vedanta, the ancient sacred scripture of India, worldwide. They both lived more than a phenomenal existence. The lives of these two great men had astounding resemblances in many ways. Both wandering monks spent every moment of their lives for a purpose. Their minds did not enjoy any worldly objects. Disease and decay, and the transitory pain of manhood assailed Buddha.

Lord Buddha meditated by the side of river ‘Nairanjana’ for seven long days at a stretch with the conviction to attain eternal knowledge and completed it. The knowledge absolute that he thus acquired shows the means of removing misery, the misery of desire of mankind. Prince Siddhartha Gautama attained ‘Nirvana’. The auspicious rain enabled the seed of religion to germinate. Sitting on the last stone of India at Kanyakumari for three consecutive days – December 24 to 26, 1892 – Swami Vivekananda passed into a deep meditation on the present and future of his country. Poverty and ignorance of the countrymen preoccupied his mind. He was in search of a remedy for the misery of the masses of India.

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Lord Buddha after attaining ‘Nirvana’ traversed his whole life in the Gangetic plains in cities and towns on foot “….in the fashion of a Rishi passed From street to street, with beggingbowl in hand, Gathering little pittance of his needs.” [Light of Asia] The four months of rain were the only deterrent. Sister Nivedita in her book ‘The Master As I Saw Him’ perceived that the study of writings of Dr Rajendralal Mitra and the ‘Light of Asia’ sowed the seeds of interest about Buddha in Swamiji in his boyhood days. “During the years … the attention of the world had been much concentrated on the story of Buddhism” she........

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