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Swami Vivekananda

Topics Covered: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Swami Vivekananda:

Context:

Death Anniversary- 4th July.

 

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:

  1. Born in Kolkata on January 12, 1863 in Kolkata, Swami Vivekananda was known as Narendra Nath Datta in his pre-monastic life.
  2. He is known to have introduced the Hindu philosophies of Yoga and Vedanta to the West.
  3. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had called Vivekananda the “maker of modern India.”
  4. In 1893, he took the name ‘Vivekananda’ after Maharaja Ajit Singh of the Khetri State requested him to do so.
  5. 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.”
  6. In 1899, he established the Belur Math, which became his permanent abode.
  7. He preached ‘neo-Vedanta’, an interpretation of Hinduism through a Western lens, and believed in combining spirituality with material progress.

 

Books written by him:

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

 

Insta Curious:

Did you know that so far, six international modern Parliaments of Religions have been hosted? Read here

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. About 1893 Parliament of World’s Religions.
  2. Main participants.
  3. Who represented Hinduism?
  4. Headquarters of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.
  5. International modern Parliaments held so far.
  6. Contributions of Swami Vivekananda to Hinduism.
  7. About Ramakrishna Mission.

Mains Link:

How Swami Vivekananda became the ‘messenger of Indian wisdom’ to West. Discuss.

Sources: PIB.