CBSE Class 12 English Core Sample Paper 2013 Set 08

Q.1. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below:

Swami Vivekananda is a striking figure with his turban and his kindly features. On my enquiring as to the significance, if any, of his name, the Swami said, “Of the name by which I am not known, the first word is descriptive of a Sannyasin, or one who formally renounces the world, and the second is the title I assumed- as is customary with all Sannyasins – on my renunciation of the world; it signifies, literally, the bliss of discrimination.”“And what induced you to forsake the ordinary course of the world Swami?” I asked. “I had a deep interest in religion and philosophy from my childhood”, he replied, “and our books teach renunciation as the highest ideal to which man can aspire. It only needed the meeting with a great teacher- Ramakrishna Paramahamsa to kindly in me the final determination to follow the path he himself had trod, as in him I found my highest ideal realised.” “Then did he found a sect, which you now represent”? “No”, replied the Swami quickly. “No, his whole life was spent in breaking down the barriers of sectarianism and dogma. He formed no sect. Quite the reverse. He advocated and strove to establish absolute freedom of thought. He was a great Yogi”. “Then you are connected with no society or sect in this country? Neither Theosophical nor Christian Scientist, nor any other?” “None whatever!” said the Swami in clear and impressive tones. “My teaching is my own interpretation of our ancient books, in the light which my master shed upon them. I claim no supernatural authority. Whatever in my teaching may appeal to the highest intelligence and be accepted by thinking men, the adoption of that will be my reward”. “All religions”, he continued, “have for their object the teaching either of devotion, knowledge or yoga, in a concrete form. Now the philosophy of Vedanta is the abstract science which embraces all these methods, and this is that I teach, leaving each one to apply in to his own concrete form. I refer each individual to his own experiences, and where reference is made to books, the latter are procurable, and may be studied by each one for himself. Above all, I teach no authority proceeding from hidden beings speaking through visible agents, any more than I claim learning from hidden books or manuscripts. I am the exponent of no occult societies, nor do I believe that good can come of such bodies. Truth stands on its own authority, and truth can bear the light of day.” “Then you do not propose to form any society, Swami”? I suggested. “None; no society whatever. I teach only the self, hidden in the heart of every individual and common to all. A harmful of strong men knowing that self and living in its light would revolutionize the world, even today, as has been the case by single strong men before, each in his day”. “Have you just arrived from India”? I inquired. “No,” he replied, “I represented the Hindu religion at the Parliament of Religions held at Chicago in 1893. Since then I have been travelling and lecturing in the United States. The American people have proved most interested audiences and sympathetic friends, and my work there has to take root that I must shortly return to that country”. “And what is your attitude towards the western religions, Swami”? “I propound a philosophy which can serve as a basic to every possible religious system in the world, and my attitude towards all of them is one of extreme - sympathy my teaching is antagonistic to none. I direct my attention to the individual, to make him strong, to teach him that he himself is divine, and I call upon men to make themselves conscious of this divinity within. That is really the ideal- conscious or unconscious – of every religion”.

Questions:

a) Answer the following questions briefly: 

   i. What does Swami Vivekananda tell the interviewer regarding significance of his name?

   ii. What influence did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa have on Swami Vivekananda?

   iii. What according to Vivekananda is the philosophy of Vedanta?

   iv. Why had Swami Vivekananda gone to Chicago?

   v. How did Vivekananda find the American audience?

   vi. Explain: “I direct my attention to the individual”.

b). Find words from the passage which mean the same as each of the following:

     i. Importance; the meaning of something.

     ii. Abandon; give up

     iii. Very old.

Please refer to attached file for CBSE Class 12 English Core Sample Paper 2013 Set H