2070- "Daridra Narayana"

(Feed the poor, Heal the sick)
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Vivekananda, after he became a sage in 1892, had a deep desire to spread the message of "divine unity of existence and unity in diversity" throughout British India.

He then as a Parivrajaka Sanyasi, a "wandering" or itinerant monk, travelled all over India from its north to west. He confronted the poverty and deprivation of his countrymen, and the degree of their ignorance and exploitation. He then said that:
"To the hungry religion comes in the form of bread".
At the end of his Parivrajaka, he said: "The only God that exists, the only Godin whom we believe ...my God the miserable, my God the poor of all races".
He believed that the only way to help the poor was through the spirit of Niskama karma of the Gita. His vow was to "serve humanity."
The poor were like god Narayana and he had offered food to the manifestation of god. Thus, Vivekananda coined the euphemism "Daridra Narayana"
The motto of Swamy Vivekananda's mission is what Vivekananda had said: "To reach Narayana we must serve the Daridra Narayana, the starving millions of the land. Feel for them, pray for them. Strive for the relief and uplift of the suffering and miserable brethren."
(Though the term "Daridra Narayana" was coined by Swami Vivekananda, it was popularized by Mahatma Gandhi. Throughout his political career Gandhi worked for the betterment of poor and distressed people.)
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