विश्वभानुः: Visvabhanuh- The Universal Light (A Poem on Swami Vivekananda with an English Translation) An Old and Rare Book

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In September 1974, I felt an urge to compose a hymn in praise of Goddess Kanyakumari. The introductory part of the hymn contains the following reference to Swami Vivekananda:

विश्वाधीश्वरि विश्ववन्दित विवेकानन्दयोगीश्वरं गान्धि भक्ततमं च शिल्पवपुषौ दृष्ट्‌वा भवत्सन्निधौ ।

श्रद्धाभक्तितरङ्गितं परचिदानन्दानुभूत्युत्सुकं चेतो मे तव पादतीर्थसलिले पूर्वाधिकं मज्जति ॥

Empress of the universe, seeing in Your precincts in sculptural form, Vivekananda, the great Yogin whom the world honours, and the great devotee Mahatma Gandhi, my mind surging with devotion and faith and yearning for the Supreme Bliss immerses itself deeper than ever, in the holy water of Your divine feet.

It took me about a month to complete the hymn and during this period the image of the Divine Mother and the environment of Her sacred temple stood clearly reflected in my mind. Once the hymn was completed my mind automatically moved on to the Rock Memorial with its impressive and imposing statue of the great patriot-monk. It was against this mental background that I started writing the poem on October 22, 1974 without any conscious preparation or set design.

Within a few days after its commencement I almost completed the First Canto of the poem. But my mind began to waver whether I should continue the composition or not. I was not sure whether I would be able to do justice to this sacred theme and recreate the solemn personality of Swami Vivekananda in Sanskrit metre. While I was in this wavering mood I received information that His Holiness Swami Vimalananda Ji Maharaj had come down from Uttara Kaśi for a short stay at Trivandrum. I welcomed this as a godsend and decided to seek the advice of that great Samnyasin of sharp literary perception. The dizzy heights in spiritual realm he has risen to are beyond me either to comprehend or to describe. He is a consummate scholar in Indian thought, an authority on Ramakrishna-Vivekananda literature and also a biographer of Swami Vivekananda. Hence I presented the initial pages of my manuscript to Swami Ji for the favour of perusal, with the firm conviction and faith that he would help me with his dispassionate and enlightened judgement. By that time, I had through the manuscript, Swami Ji graciously blessed me and desired me completed three cantos in spite of my wavering mood. After going to continue and complete the poem. He was also pleased to scrutinise the entire manuscript which I completed on April 4, 1976 and to write a learned and analytical Introduction to the poem at my request. I offer my reverent and grateful prasamas to him for all the kindness and affection he was pleased to shower on me. Here, I also recall with gratitude the encouragement I received in composing this poem at the hands of the late Swami Anantatmananda, President, Shri Ramakrishna Ashram, Trivandrum.

It is indeed a matter of great privilege for me to have the poem graced with a Foreword by a Sanskrit scholar and famous literary figure like Dr. Pratap Chandra Chunder, Union Minister for Education and Culture. On the occasion of his visit to Kerala in 1977, I showed him the press copy of the poem and requested him to favour me by writing a Foreword to it. After going through the pages with patience, he kindly acceded to my request and amidst his multifarious duties as a Union Minister, he fulfilled my desire with great sympathy for me and deep insight into the theme. In his brief but scintillating Foreword Dr. Chunder has touched both upon the form and content of the poem, and has given me tributes which I wish I really deserved. The kindness he has shown in this respect is but consistent with his well-known geniality and readiness to patronise literary men. I offer my respectful gratitude to him from the bottom of my heart.

I used to discuss the poem in the manuscript form with my friend and erstwhile colleague Shri M. Madhavan Unni, Siromani, as and when each canto was completed and the discussions stood me in good stead in improving the text in many places. Panditaraja Shri K.P. Narayana Pisharodi also read through the entire manuscript and gave me valuable suggestions. Shri E. G. Trivikraman Pillai, my cousin, touched up my translation of the poem. Dr. N. P. Unni, University of Kerala, my friend and student, assisted me in many ways, particularly in preparing the press copy. In seeing the poem through the press Shri S. Bhaskaran Nair, Director, V. V. Research Institute, Punjab, my friend and student, gave me the benefit of his long experience in editing Sanskrit texts.