A GREAT STAR VANISHED....! J.K. SIVAN

I was looking at the sky and seated under the peepal tree at the nearby temple. The temple tank nearby was not completely dry. There was some water still and some birds were enjoying bathing there. The local women were washing their dirty clothes despite the objections from Naidu, the local care taker.

The evening sky was overcast with some dark clouds and I wondered whether it will rain tonight. The sun was yet to set and his golden rays were adding beauty to the clouds in light blue and black here and there.

I looked at the book in my hand. The great Mahan with his turban, square unwrinkled face, dark deep big and powerful eyes looked at me from the wrapper. His ochre coloured collarless dress, with a sash at the waist with hands folded across the chest. He is a marvellous saint.

I suddenly remembered today is the day he disappeared from this world. 4th July in 1902, a hundred and fifteen years ago.

Let us together go back and watch what happened on 4.7.1902........ We know now what happened that day!.

Very early in the morning: Swami Vivekananda woke up very early morning on this day, went to temple. He was looking fresh, there was no sign of bad health, although he had been suffering from many diseases for last few years.

Breakfast: Swamiji took breakfast with other Sannyasis. He laughed and joked with others. In the breakfast he drank tea, coffee and milk, as usual.

Morning walk: Swamiji went for a morning walk with Swami Premananda. During the walk, Swamiji told Premananda, "you should not imitate me, remember our Guruji said not to imitate anyone.

8:30 am: Swamiji asked Swami Premananda to close the door and prepare the worship room for him. There he started meditating.

11:00 am: Meditation till 11:00 am. He started singing devotion songs— ''Ma ki amar kalo (Bengali: মা কি আমার কালো), Kalorupa elokeshi (Bengali: কালোরূপা এলোকেশী), Hridipadma kore alo (Bengali: হৃদিপদ্ম করে আলো)''

11:30 am: Swamiji took lunch with others. That day's menu was— rice, hilsa fish curry, vegetable fry, ambal (Bengali: ভাত, ইলিশ মাছের ঝোল, ভাজা, অম্বল). He said, "the observation of ekadashi has whetted my appetite. With difficulty I resisted the temptations to eat up the utensils."

12:30 pm: Swamiji took a day-nap for 15-20 minutes. Then he told Swami Premananda, "let's go to the study room, being Sannyasi, we should not sleep during the day."

1 pm—4 pm: Taught Brahmacharis in the library room. Today's teachings were Sanskrit grammar of Panini.

4 pm: Drank a cup of warm milk and went for evening walk with Swami Premananda. Swamiji and Swami Premananda walked almost 2 miles. Makarand Paranjape wrote in his book Penguin Swami Vivekananda Reader, Vivekananda had a lengthy conversation with Premananda and told him— "India is immortal if she persists in her search for God. But if she goes in for politics and social conflict, she will die."

5 pm: Swamiji and Swami Premananda came back to Belur Math. They sat on a bench near a mango tree in the garden of Belur Math. Swamiji told, "I have not felt so well for many days." He talked to Ishwar Chandra Chakraborty (father of Swami Ramakrishnananda) for some time.

6:30 pm: Drank a cup of tea with a few monks.

7 pm: The bell announced the evening worship time. Swamiji went to the worship room and attended the daily event. He asked to give him a prayer bead, and went to his own room, asking not to be disturbed.

7:45 pm: Swamiji told Brajendra that he was feeling warm and asked to open the windows. He lied down on his bed on the floor.

9:00 pm: Swamiji was lying on his back, now he turned on his right side. Brajendra noticed drops of sweats on Swamij's forehead. Then he wept/cried like a child for sometime.

9:02 pm—9:10 pm: He breathed deeply. His hands trembled.

9:30 pm: Everyone of the Math rushed to Swamiji's room. They were unable to decide if it was a Samadhi. Swami Bodhananda tried to feel Swamij's pulse and then shouted, "go immediately and bring Doctor Majumdar." Considering it a Samadhi, Swami Premananda and Swami Nischayananda started chanting the name of Ramakrishna to bring back Swamiji's consciousness.

10:30 pm: Doctor Mahendranath Majumdar, Swami Brahmananda and Swami Saradananda came to Belur Math. Doctor Majumdar started examining Swamiji's body and found his heart was not pumping. He tried inducing artificial respiration but was unsuccessful.

12:00 midnight: Doctor Majumdar announced Swamiji's death.He told, most probably heart attack was the cause of his death

Swamiji died after 9 pm. Chaturvedi Badrinath, in his book Swami Vivekananda, the Living Vedanta, wrote Swamiji died at 9 pm. Manishankar Mukhopadhyay wrote in his book The Monk as Man: The Unknown Life of Swami Vivekananda, the time was 9:10 pm. K. S. Bharathi too stated in Encyclopaedia of eminent thinkers: the political thought of Vivekananda, Vivekananda died at 9:10 pm.

It is widely believed that he chose the day and time of this own death and that it was no accident that this happened to be the American Independence Day in which country the Swamiji spread the message of Hinduism.