##50 (Vivekananda) Swamiji's Last Days Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

(Born on 12-1-1863 and died at 39 years
on 4-7-1902)

Swamiji came very late
To Belur Math at night.
None expected him by then,
As he didn’t inform anyone.

He had to scale the gate.
And in the kitchen, he met
His brother disciples
Who sat there for meals.

On his silent homecoming,
They enjoyed in a gathering.
They exchanged greetings,
And shared their feelings.

After staying there for sometime
He proceed to Advaita Ashram
At Mayavati, near Himalayas,
To meet the other disciples.

He set up this institution,
For non-dualistic discipline,
That differed from dualistic one
Both followed in the Hindu Religion.

He said, “The Ultimate Reality is
Non-dual in its existence.
The stage one is dualism,
That leads to non-dualism.”

This was his opinion,
That came in the open,
Through this institution,
Of the Hindu Religion.

Back to Belur Math, he came.
Bad to worse his health became.
His disciples forced him
To take rest in his room.

But he was still moving about
Without taking any rest.
Too much worried they were,
But he didn’t take any care.

It was one evening time,
He was sitting in his room
With closed windows and doors
And was meditating for an hour.

Later, he called them
And when they came
He was in his bed,
With his eyes closed.

They were under impression
He was in deep meditation.
He took a deep breath twice,
And fell into an eternal silence.

A voice from the sky echoed
While they stood around
The lifeless body of a soul
That cared for the poor still.

“May I be born
Again and again
To suffer all miseries
To worship God who exists.”

“For me the only God is,
The sum total of all souls.
I shall inspire everyone.
This is my only mission.”