SWAMIJIS MONKS LIFE

After the death of their master, the monastic disciples led by Vivekananda formed a fellowship at a half-ruined house at Baranagar near the river Ganges, with the financial assistance of the householder disciples. This became the first Math or monastery of the disciples who constituted the first Ramakrishna Order. The dilapidated house at Baranagar was chosen because of its low rent and proximity to the Cossipore burning-ghat, where Ramakrishna was cremated. Narendra and other members of the Math often spent their time in meditation, discussing about different philosophies and teachings of spiritual teachers including Ramakrishna, Adi Shankara, Ramanuja, and Jesus Christ. Narendra reminisced about the early days in the monastery as follows, "We underwent a lot of religious practice at Baranagar Math. We used to get up at 03:00 am and got ourselves busy with meditation or penance. What a strong spirit of dispassion we had in those days! The world at the time of meditation would hardly exist for us; we were that much dedicated and passionate towards the job. In the early part of 1887, Narendra and eight other disciples took formal monastic vows. Narendra took the name of Swami Bibidishananda. Later he was given the name Vivekananda by Ajit Singh, The Maharaja of Khetri.