6

Arise, Awake !
Strength, strength is what the Upanishads speak to me from every page. This is the one great thing to remember, it has been the one great lesson. I have been taught in my life, strength, it says, strength. O man, be not weak. Stand up and be strong. Ay, it is the only literature in the world where you find the word Abhih, fearless, used again and again; in other scriptures in the world is the adjective either to God or to man. Abhih, fearless ! strength, strength for us. What we need is strength, who will give us strength ? Therefore, my friends as one of your blood, as one that lives and dies with you, let me tell you that we want strength, strength, and every time strength. And the Upanishads are the great mine of strength. Arise, awake and stop not till the desired end is reached. Be bold and fear not. Arise, awake, for your country needs this tremendous sacrifice. It is the young men that will do it the young, the energetic, the strong, the well-built, the intellectual. Arise, awake the world is calling upon you. Think not that you are poor, that you have no friends. The moment you fear you are nobody. It is fear that is the great cause of misery in the world. It is fear that is the greatest of all superstitions. It is fear that is the cause of our woes, and it is fearlessness that brings heaven even in a moment. Therefore, Arise! Awake! Come, the youth of my country, stand by me. Help me. Go out in the world, to the villages, go across the country and spread this message of courage ; Arise! Awake! Spread this message to the humblest and to the mightiest. Talk to the people, plead with the people, inspire the people, tell them that there is no end to their strength. Tell them that they are the inheritors of the earth-unleash their creative energies. Let them gird up their loins and plunge into the battle of life. Let them be man enough. Let them know

Textbook

35

that they are the shapers of their destiny. Let them be self-reliant. Let them have faith. Let them know that it was out of indomitable faith that all great things are born. Forward, O, the youth of my country ! He who has no love in his heart is dead. Do not aspire to be a leader, but aspire that you may serve. If you want to be a master, first be a servant. I am a humble servant of man. I am not a politician, not am I a social reformer. Educate and raise the masses and thus alone a nation is possible. But what is education ? Is it book-learning ? No. Is it diverse knowledge ? Not even that. Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man. Is that education which is slowly making man a machine ? It is more blessed, in my opinion, even to go wrong, impelled by ones free will and intelligence, than to be good as an automation ..... Take your universities. What have they done during the fifty years of their existence ? They have not produced one original man. They are merely examining bodies....... Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain-remains undigested all your life. We must have service to man, life-building, man-making, character making, assimilation of ideas. If you have assimilated five ideas and made them your life and character, you have more education than any man who has got by heart a whole library. Let each one of us pray day and night for the down-trodden millions in India who are held fast by poverty, priestcraft, at tyranny..... pray day and night for them.. I am no philosopher, nay, no saint, I am poor, I love the poor .. Who feels in India for the two hundred millions of men and women sunken forever in poverty and ignorance ? Where is the way out ? Who will bring light to them? So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least need to them. The poor is our God, the illiterate is our Master. Do not search for God in obscure places, for God is there in front of you in million forms. He who loves creation is serving God ..... Throw away the paraphernalia of worship ! Go out and worship man,, for God has appeared in the from of man and to worship man is to serve man, so serve is to toil and labour. - Swami Vivekanand (adapted)

36

Textbook

Glossary
arise tremendous misery inheritors come up very large, very great great suffering of the mind or body persons who are affected by the work, ideas of people who lived before them to suddenly let a strong force, emotion etc. be felt or have an effect

/ J ' r a I z / /trJ'mendJs/ /'mIzJri/ / I n ' h e r I t J z /

unleash

/ V n ' l i :S /

gird up their loins /g3:d Vp DeJ(r) lOInz/ (idiom) to get ready to do something difficult indomitable aspire manifestation impelled assimilation down-trodden sunken traitor obscure paraphernalia /In'dQmItJbl/ / J ' s p a I J ( r ) / /%m&nIfe'steISJn/ /Im'peld/ / J % s I m J ' l e I S n / /'daUntrQdn/ /'sVNkJn/ / ' t r e I t J ( r ) / /Jb'skjUJ(r)/ / % p & r J f J ' n e I l i J / unyieldingly courageous desire eagerly to seek some high aim expression urged absorption pushed down by a strong power become worse or weaker one who does harm to his own king or country by helping an enemy dark, not well known many and various things belonging to a person or used in some work

Textbook

37

Exercises
Vocabulary
A. Match the following. tat taught taut tot tote tut trust B. a very small child something of very low quality to carry especially with difficulty showing signs of worry or anxiety pass on knowledge or skill care or responsibility used for expressing slight disapproval or annoyance

Write 'in' or 'un' before the following words. ____ domitable ____ complete ____ able ____ avoidable ____ eligible ____ leash ____ bearable ____ audible ____ auspicious ____ correct ____ sincere ____ polite

C.

Choose the correct word and fill in the blanks. (i) Children in school are expected to (collect/assimilate/take) what they have been taught. (ii) Do not search for God in (vague, clear, obscure ) places. (iii) This latest outbreak of violence is a clear (manifestation, feeling, belief) of the growing discontent in the area.

38

Textbook

(iv) Do not____ (aspire, expire, ceasefire) to have wanted things in your life. (v) Our country needs (wide, large, tremendous) sacrifice. D. In words like arise and awake stress is not on the first syllable. Give some more examples of the words begining with 'a' and having stress on the second syllable.

Example : again Comprehession

Answer each of the following questions in about 50 words. 1. 2. 3. What according to Swami Vivekanand is real education ? Why do you agree that the ideas of the author are universal ? Discuss the need and importance of mass education.

Grammar
A. Study these sentences. Upanishads speak to me from every page-stand up and be strong. What we need is strength, who will give us strength.

Textbook

39

Arise, awake and stop not till the desired end is reached. Help me. Go out in the world, to the villages. Spread this message to the humblest and to the mightiest.

There is no obvious future tense in English corresponding to the time/tense relation for present and past. Instead there are several possibilities for denoting future time. Pick out the sentences occurred in the text showing Future Time references.

Speaking Activity
A. Following are the excerpts from the speech of Swami Vivekanand. Learn a few of them and speak them in the manner Swamiji might have spoken. Strength, strength what the Upanishads speak to me from every page. O man, be not weak. Stand up and be strong. Arise, awake and stop not till the desired end is reached. Be bold and fear not. Arise ! Awake for your country needs this tremendous sacrifice. Think not that you are poor, that you have no friends. The moment you fear you are nobody. It is fear that is the great cause of misery in the world. It is fear that is the cause of our woes and it is fearlessness that brings heaven even in a moment.

B.

Quote orally some sayings of the other Indian philosophers and social reformers like Mahatma Gandhi, Maharishi Aurobindo, Dr. Radhakrishnan, Swami Dayanand and others.

Writing Activity
A. What qualities would you like to imbibe after reading the speech. Write to your younger brother about them. (50 words)
Textbook

40

B.

If you were a reporter of a newspaper present at the time of Swami Vivekanands speech given in the text, what report along with a headline would you have written ? (150 words)

Think it over
A. To be a citizen of a strong nation is a great feeling. What are the things that make a nation strong ? Is it only army that makes a nation strong ? Or is it only national character that makes a nation strong ? Why ? Fear is the greatest of all superstitions because fear is often based on false ideas. One should always be fearless to venture into unknown. Is it true ? Education is the continual refinement of human instincts and behaviour. Education builds national character. The national character decides the direction is which the nation progresses. How important is character in your view? D. Service to mankind means service to God. The poor is our God in million forms. What is your opinion ?

B. C.

Things to do
Visit your library and collect information regarding the life of Swami Vivekanand on the following points birth childhood education fame message to the Indian youth

Textbook

41