Sister Nivedita - Death of Swami Vivekananda

Death of Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda, master of Nivedita died at ten minutes past nine p.m. on 4 July 1902. At that night Nivedita dreamed Ramakrishna leaving his body a second time. On the next morning, Swami Saradananda from Belur Math sent a monk with a letter to Sister Nivedita and conveying the message of Vivekananda's death. Instantly everything around Nivedita's eyes became blank. She immediately rushed to the Math and reached the place around 7 a.m and entered the room of Vivekananda. There she found Swamiji's body was laid on the floor. She sat near Vivekananda's head and started to fan his (dead) body with a hand-fan. Till 1 p.m. she sat like that and continued fanning Swami Vivekananda's body.

In the afternoon of 5 July, Swami Vivekanand'a body was taken for cremation. Vivekananda's body was wrapped with a saffron cloth. Nivedita wished to take a small portion of that cloth so that she could send it as a memento to Josephine MacLeod. Understanding the mind of Nivedita Swami Saradananda asked her to cut a small portion of the Swami's cloth. But, Nivedita was unsure whether the act would be proper or not and decided not to take it. When Vivekananda's body was being cremated she sat sat all the while looking at the burning pyre. Around six o'clock in the evening the burning flame was about to go out. Suddenly Nivedita felt somebody had pulled her sleeve. She turned around and found a small piece of saffron cloth which had somehow come out of the pyre during cremation. Nivedita lifted it and took it considering it as a blessing of the Swami.