Narendra was born in the lap of luxury. But his world collapsed upside down unexpectedly. His father was a leading advocate in the High Court of Calcutta, India. Lavish in every way, his father never cared to save anything for a rainy day. He thought he would always be there to support his family. But his untimely death shattered the life of Narendra and his mother.
Narendra was in college when his father died. He had to discontinue his education and support himself and his mother. He knocked at many doors for a job. But none offered him even an attendant's job. Yet he never gave up. He believed God would be on his side to help him.
It was his practice to get up early in the morning to pray. One morning while he was immersed in prayer, his mother lost her cool mind set and scolded him violently saying, "Why are your prayers not answered with food? Will you get food for your stomach if you recite the names of God?"
Narendra was speechless. He could not believe his mother would say such a thing. However, he knew pains of hunger would drive people insane. Bravely he went to see his spiritual guide and guru Sriramakrishna Paramahamsa. Without much introduction he requested the Swamiji to pray for his family's financial turnaround. But Swamiji refused to do such a thing. However, he said if Narendra so wishes he himself could go to the temple and pray for his financial well being. Narendra knew he had no choice because of his mother. He went to the temple to pray. But while he was there he forgot why he was there and asked God only for wisdom and devotion. On his return the Swamiji asked him whether he prayed for material blessings for his family. Only then did he remember why he had gone to the temple. This time the Swamiji recommended that he should go back to the temple and pray for the prosperity of his family.
Narendra went back to the temple, but again forgot why he was there. Hence, he prayed to the Lord again to bless him with wisdom and devotion. When Sriramakrishna found out what had happened he insisted that Narendra should go back again to the temple to pray for his family's needs. This time, while being in the temple, he remembered why he was there. But he could not bring himself to do it. Hence, he prayed for God's blessings and left the temple.
Narendra was in extreme poverty. Even then he could not think of asking God specifically for material blessings. It was this Narendra who later became world-famous as Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902).
Vivekananda believed in the providence of God. He knew God would take care of his needs. That was why even in the midst of dire poverty he did not pray for material needs. Instead he prayed for the blessings of God. He knew what he really needed was God's blessings and not material prosperity.
The fact that Vivekananda did not pray for material prosperity does not mean that we should not pray for material blessings in our life. However, we should make sure that our prayer does not end up with endless requests for material blessings. God is our heavenly father. Hence, there is nothing wrong in asking Him what we need in our lives. However, we should never forget that what we really need in our lives is His love and continued protection. If God's blessings are with us, then we will lack nothing. In that case why should we always blabber about material things in our prayer?
During the great war of Kurukshetra, the rival leaders went to Lord Krishna for help. While Duryodhana asked Krishna for the support of his whole army, Arjuna requested only the personal support of Krishna. Arjuna knew it was enough to have the personal presence and the blessings of Krishna to win the war. And that is what happened with the personal presence and support of Krishna, Arjuna and other Pandavas won the war. What we also need in our life is God's presence and His blessings. And then we will have dearth of nothing, we will never fail.
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