SWAMI VIVEKANANDA – Indian monk

Swami Vivekananda, born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk. He was a chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna.

Born: 12 January 1863, Kolkata

Died: 4 July 1902, Belur Math, Howrah

Full name: Narendra Nath Datta

Guru: Ramakrishna

Narendra Nath Data (1863 – 1902) , later known as Swami Vivekananda, was the prime follower of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. An educated youth, he was drawn to Ramakrishna’s message. Dissatisfied with conventional philosophical positions and practices, he advocated the practical Vedanta of service to humanity and attacked the tendency to defend every institution simply because it was connected with religion.

He emphasized a cultural nationalism and made a call to Indian youth to regenerate Hindu society. His ideas bred a sense of self – confidence among Indians who felt inferior in relation to the materialist achievements of the West. He became famous for his addresses on Hinduism at the 1893 World Congress of Religions in Chicago.

Despite his fame, he was condemned by orthodox Hindus for suggesting that the lower castes should be allowed to engage in the Hindu rituals from which they were traditionally excluded. Vivekananda’s activist ideology rekindled the desire for political change among many western-education young Bengalis. Many of the youths who were involved in the militant nationalist struggle during the Swadeshi movement following the Partition of Bengal were inspired by Vivekananda.

Swami Vivekananda Statue

The Swami Vivekananda statue is a bronze statue of the Hindu Indian monk Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), located in Golpark neighbourhood in the Indian city of Kolkata. The original statue, made of marble and unveiled in 1966, was the oldest statue of Swami Vivekananda in the city. The old statue was replaced by a new, taller one in 2005.

Vivekananda’s Speech

I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.

Vivekananda’s Chicago Speech

Swami Vivekananda gave a historic speech in Chicago on this day, still fills Indians with pride. 127 years ago, Swami Vivekananda gave his famous speech in 1893 in the Religion Parliament of Chicago, USA. He started his speech by saying ‘my American brothers and sisters‘.

Swamiji’s Principle

His teachings focused on four cardinal principals: The non-duality of the Godhead, the divinity of the soul, harmony of religions, and oneness of existence.

Quotes

✓Arise,awake and donot stop until the goal is reached.

✓Truth can be stated in a thousand different ways, yet each one can be true.

✓You cannot believe in God until you believe in yourself.

✓You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.

DIED

Swami Vivekananda died at an early age of 39 years on July 4, 1902, due to rupture in the blood vessel of his brain. His disciples say that he attained Mahasamadhi (the act of consciously and intentionally leaving one’s body at the moment of death) while meditating.