Swami Vivekananda

Context: The Prime Minister recalled the “special connection” Vinoba Bhave Jayanti on September 11 has with Swami Vivekananda, noting that the renowned spiritual figure had delivered his famous speech in Chicago on this day in 1893.

About Swami Vivekananda:

• He was a true luminary, credited with enlightening the western world about Hinduism.

• He was an ardent disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, and a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India.
• He pushed for national integration in colonial India, and his famous speech remains as the one that he gave in Chicago in 1893 (Parliament of the World Religions).
• In 1984 the Government of India declared that 12 January, the birthday of Swami Vivekananda, will be celebrated as National Youth Day.

Early life- contributions:

• Born in Kolkata on January 12, 1863 in Kolkata, Swami Vivekananda was known as Narendra Nath Datta in his pre-monastic life.
• He is known to have introduced the Hindu philosophies of Yoga and Vedanta to the West.
• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had called Vivekananda the “maker of modern India.”
• In 1893, he took the name ‘Vivekananda’ after Maharaja Ajit Singh of the Khetri State requested him to do so.
• He formed the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 “to set in motion a machinery which will bring noblest ideas to the doorstep of even the poorest and the meanest.”
• In 1899, he established the Belur Math, which became his permanent abode.
• He preached ‘neo-Vedanta’, an interpretation of Hinduism through a Western lens, and believed in combining spirituality with material progress.
• Death: He died at Belur Math in 1902. Belur Math, located in West Bengal, is the headquarters of Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission.

Books written by him:

• ‘Raja Yoga’, ‘Jnana Yoga’, ‘Karma Yoga’ are some of the books he wrote.

Source: The Hindu