Sister Nivedita
Sister Nivedita, 1867-1911, social and political worker. Originally named Margaret Elizabeth Noble, she was the eldest daughter of Samuel Richmond Noble and Mary Isabel, and was born is Ireland, on 28 October 1867. She originally started as a teacher but came under the influence of the teachings of Nivekananda in 1895-96. She came to India in January 1898 and joined the Ramakrishna Mission. She was given the name, Nivedita by Vivekanand on 23 March 1898, and worked with the Mission in all its spiritual and social activities, even joining in the plague relief work in 1899. She later left for Europe and America to collect funds for the Mission and returned to India in February 1902 to continue her work. After the death of Vivekanand (July 1902) she resigned from the purely spiritual side the Mission to undertake political and social work, though she still maintained close contacts with the Mission. She came in contact with great political leaders of those days, and became a bitter critic of the British policy, and supported the Swadesh movement, and young revolutionaries of Bengal. She attended the Benares Congress in 1905 and also edited Aurobindo’s paper Karma-Yogin. She toured all over India during 1902 to 1906 to rouse the national consciousness of the people. Her health later broke down and she left for Europe in 1907, and returned to India in April 1911. She went to Darjeeling for change, where she died on 13 October 1911. Sister Nivedita is the author of many books and articles on Indian culture, including Web of Indian Life (1904) and has played a commendable role in the spiritual and cultural regeneration of India.
