25.
Swami Vivekananda in his teens used to go to all the swamis, fakirs and spiritual figures, with only one question: “Have you seen God? Have you seen God?”They observed his intense sincerity, but the answer was always the same: “Sorry, no, I have not seen God.”
Some of these spiritual figures at that time had disciples as well, but each one was sincere enough to tell the young Naren, “No, I have not seen God.”
Then Swami Vivekananda went to Tagore’s father, Maharshi Debendranath, with the same question. Debendranath said, “I have not seen God, but I can clearly see in your eyes that you will one day realise God. Your eyes tell me that you will see God, you will realise God.” And he showered boundless affection on Naren. Debendranath was the only one who could see Naren’s future.
After conquering the heart of America and the West, Swami Vivekananda came back home. He went to Debendranath to pay his homage and to offer his gratitude because he had received so much affection and so many blessings from Tagore’s father. Tagore’s father was kindness incarnate. When he saw Vivekananda, his joy knew no bounds. His pride in Vivekananda was boundless.45
RTM 127,5. August 22nd, 2003 and January 30th, 2005. Previously unpublished.↩
