“Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached” – Swami Vivekananda
January, the first month of the year according to the English calendar, is remarkable in many ways. In this month, the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda along with the festivals of Lohari, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, etc are celebrated all over India and also in some other parts of the world. The Republic Day is celebrated in the national capital’s India Gate in this month. This month also becomes the outset for the festivals like Vasant Panchami, Maha Shivratri, Holi, etc falling in the coming months. All these cultural-spiritual-national festivals, which are organized to create and garnish positive consciousness among the human beings, are celebrated to give the universal message– ‘O people! If you are asleep, arise; if you are arised, awake; if you are awakened, move on towards your life-goal.’
Getting up is not awakening. Many people are getting up on regular basis, but they are not awakened. Getting up is also not the state of awakening; being awaken is only the state of awakening. Only the awakened person can understand his duties, know the needs of the society, choose and determine the path of his desires, and by moving forward on the same path he can achieve success, joy and bliss.
In fact, a true person is that who keenly observes the situations, understands his collective duties, works on his assigned responsibilities and moulds his behavior accordingly. Such a person is an awakened one– a true seeker, a true patriot, a true nationalist, a true citizen. This impressive mantra of Swamiji, which is however for all people and all societies, is especially useful for the youth, the scholars, the soldiers, the activists, the professionals, the artists and the ideal citizens of the world.
All the best!
Happy reading...
Abnish Singh Chauan
Managing Editor