##24 (Vivekananda) Visit To Hardwar Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

Narendra started for Hardwar
A sacred pilgrimage centre,
Situated at the foothills
Of the Mountain Himalayas.

At Hathras Station, on his way,
He met its Master, one day,
By name Sarat Chandra Gupta,
Who showed interest in Narendra.

For some time, he stayed there
With the Station Master,
And discussed on matters
Of interests in Hindu scriptures.

Narendra told, “Oh my son,
Now I’ve a great mission
To obey my Master’s command
To regenerate our Motherland.”

“It has spiritually fallen down.
It should go on dynamic again,
With its vital spiritual power,
To earn its respect world over.

Sarat renounced the world,
And as a disciple, he joined.
He then followed the Master
All the way to Hardwar.

Their next place of visit was
Hrishikesh, near the Ganges,
Where they met pious monks,
Coming from various sects.

Sarat suddenly fell sick
And was shifted back
To Hathras for treatment,
Thus cutting short his visit.

Narendra too had an attack
Of malaria fever and fell sick.
Back to his Baranagore Town,
He was forced to return.

This tour to different places
Did give him some traces
Of ancient civilization
In every remote region.

He revealed his worry
And openly felt sorry
For the Indian masses
Who were the sufferers.

Seeing their cheap life,
He fell into utter grief.
He blamed heartless priests,
And landlords for this.

The religion gave ideals.
Besides its liberal riches,
But the prolonged power
Corrupted priests all over.

The innocent people at large
Were denied of knowledge
Of the Vedas or the religion,
That caused this deterioration.

He wanted to throw open
All the gates of the religion
To bring about a regeneration
Of Indian masses once again.