Gayatri vivekananthan biography

Home / Celebrity Biographies / Gayatri vivekananthan biography

The passing of the years and the many stupendous and unexpected events which have occurred since then suggest that in centuries toi come he will be remembered as one of the main molders of the modern world, especially as far as Asia is concerned, and as one of the most significant figures in the whole history of Indian religion.”
—A.L. To have a life outside of that mold then would require extraordinary life partners who support and nurture the professional growth and aspirations of a woman along with her.

With his opening words, “Sisters and brothers of America”, Swamiji brought the crowd to its feet. This encouraged Gayatri Devi, who felt compelled to do more for her people. As it happens, the party had approached Gayatri Devi’s husband before the first general elections in 1952, offering him a ticket to contest elections from the constituency formed from his former kingdom.

In one lifetime, Gayatri Devi lived many, often contrasting, lives.

Before she became the Maharani or Rajmata of Jaipur, Gayatri Devi was a princess from Cooch Behar, an erstwhile kingdom at the foot of the Himalayas. In the profile I attempt here, I shall present a portrait of this remarkable woman, who was so much more than the glamour of her world-renowned chiffons, pearls and palaces.

The many paradoxes that Maharani Gayatri Devi inhabited during her lifetime intrigued me.

She attracted the awe of the locals and the palace staff — the maharani who did not cover her face, who rode horses every morning, drove around town, and prowled her husband’s vast estates as its manager.

The Maharani as a Political Figure

Remembering a newly independent and democratised India in her memoir, Gayatri Devi laments the breakdown of their ‘old way of life’, and writes—with a considerable bias of course —of how the new system of democracy distanced the governed from those who govern.

…He spoke up and acted. There is no other God to seek for! He was ahead of his time in encouraging women and Westerners to not only practice Vedanta, but to be leaders. A woman who lived her life in unimaginable wealth and with access to so much power and so many powerful individuals, in turn, wielded considerable influence in various spheres of her life.

A crucial aspect of her life and contribution to society, therefore, remains unanalysed.

Despite everything that is remembered of her, it is worth appreciating that instead of letting her wealth, privilege and power shackle her to an unremarkable life of comfort, Maharani Gayatri Devi stepped out and did something with all that was given to her.

Take advantage of the fountain of wisdom, of Spirit, and of fire that flowed through Vivekananda.”
—Jawaharlal Nehru

“I had the special privilege of being introduced to the writings, sayings, and life of Swami Vivekananda and the Ramakrishna Mission. It is certainly far greater than any Western historian or most Indian historians would have suggested at the time of his death.

In fact, most Vedanta Societies which were founded in America and Europe up through the 1930s can trace their origins directly to Vivekananda or the people who heard him speak from 1893 through 1900.

After his first visit to the West, Swami Vivekananda went back to India and founded the Ramakrishna Order at Belur outside of Kolkata in 1898.

These are all in manifold forms of him. She lamented much later in her life that she made the mistake of confusing political office as the only way of doing something for her country and its people.

Gayatri Devi arguably became the face of an old-world, glamorous, rich India to people within the country and abroad. He wrote poems and hymns in Bengali, English and Sanskrit, some of which are sung daily in Vedanta centers worldwide.

He alone is worshipping God, who serves all beings!”