The central themes of Swamiji’s approach to human development were man-making and the upliftment of women and the masses. He wanted a hundred thousand men and women, fired with the zeal of holiness, fortified with eternal faith in the Lord, and nerved to lion’s courage by their sympathy for the poor, the fallen, and the downtrodden, who would go throughout the length and breadth of the land, preaching the gospel of salvation, the gospel of help, the gospel of social upliftment – the gospel of unity.

This concept of human development strongly influenced Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the dynamic national leader. Netaji was an ardent admirer of Swamiji and regarded him as ‘the maker of modern India.’ Both Swamiji and Netaji recognised the vast potential of youth power and strove hard to awaken the young men and women of India. An attempt is made here to understand Swamiji’s influence on Netaji and how the latter carried out Swamiji’s man making mission.

According to Netaji, Swamiji’s unique greatness was in harmonising East and West, religion and science, past and present. He believed that Swamiji’s teachings gave Indians an unprecedented self-respect, self-confidence and self-assertion.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, it was only Swami Vivekananda who preached the idea of complete freedom—inner and external. As Netaji writes: ‘Freedom, freedom is the song of the soul’— this was the message that burst forth from the inner recesses of Swamiji’s heart and captivated … the entire nation. This truth was embodied in Swamiji’s works, life, conversations, and speeches.’ Truly, Swamiji’s multifaceted contribution changed the entire nature of nation-building activities.

Harnessing youth power Youth power is the game-changer of a society. It has the power to change the course of history. Swamiji wanted the youth to build a sterling character and participate in nation building. He said, ‘I have faith in my country, and especially in the youth of my country.… My conviction is that from the youth of Bengal will come the power which will raise India once more to her proper spiritual place. Ay, from the youth of Bengal, with this immense amount of feeling and enthusiasm in the blood, will come heroes who will march from one corner of the earth to the other, preaching and teaching the eternal spiritual truths of our forefathers. And this is the great work before you.’ ‘Young men of Madras, my hope is in you. Each one of you has a glorious future if you dare believe me. Have tremendous faith in yourselves, like the faith I had when I was a child, and which I am working out now. Have that faith, each one of you, in yourself — that eternal power is lodged in every soul — and you will revive the whole of India.

Now look back 10 years and you will understand next 5 years of Modi Ji. I am blessed to have met one out of three names in this post and spend 3 hours with him
DR GP