There was a time Hinduism drained and strangled
Smothered by many alien norms and notions
Spiritual devastation everywhere, India was at stake
In time appeared a shooting star; a warrior saint!

Peerless he stands towering as saint of saints
Even centuries gone, still a sparkling flame
Inflaming every aspiring soul to arise and awake
A roar that echoed; a ‘very lion among men’

As simple as nature and as fierce as a storm
As calm as an ocean with whirling waves inside
As loving as a mother and as tireless as a soldier
As versatile as a god man; as exuberant as any human

His writings still vibrate kindling thousands to action
His soul still lingers enthusing dauntless daring souls
His life was short but still lives within every proud Indian
His impact is worldwide withstanding all disparities

God is within you, and you are the greatest temple,
‘Faith in oneself’, and he who lacks it, is an atheist,
Fortune is like a flirt, remain a master to enslave it,
We want strength and strength only; to fight misery,
All through his life he practised what he preached

Swami Vivekanada 'A tonic to the repressed Hindu'
A fighter who conquered the world with his sword
A sword of his own mould, of patience, purity and perseverance
An eternal source of 'self-respect, self-reliance and self-assertion'

Proud I feel as never before to say ‘I am an Indian’

Santhi Muthukrishnan