Swami Vivekananda: Everything You Need To Know

You must be familiar with Swami Vivekananda, who is credited with promoting interfaith harmony and establishing Hinduism as a significant global religion. Let's reveal a few of his facts that the younger generation is still unaware of. 

Swami Vivekananda, whose real name was  Narendranath Datta, was a famous Indian Hindu monk who practiced Hinduism. He was a crucial influence in introducing Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world.

Vivekananda was drawn to religion and spirituality as a young child. He was born in Calcutta into an affluent Bengali Kayastha family. Vivekananda extensively throughout the Indian subcontinent after Ramakrishna passed away to gain firsthand information on the conditions of Indians living in what was then British India. He was moved by his countrymen's plight and determined to help them, so he made plans to come to the United States. It was in Chicago at the 1893 Parliament of Religions that he gave his well-known speech, in which he introduced Hinduism to Americans and introduced the legendary representation as "Sisters and Brothers of America”.

His Early Life

In the era he lived in, Vivekananda was one of India's most influential philosophers and social reformers. He was also one of Vedanta's most effective missionaries to the West. He also had a significant role in modern Hindu reform movements and helped colonial India's conception of nationalism. 

He happened to be the only pupil to achieve first-division marks on the Presidency College admission exam in 1879, following his family's relocation to Calcutta.

"Narendra is a genius," wrote William Hastie, the head of Christian College in Calcutta, where Narendra received a graduate degree. 

According to De Michelis, Ramakrishna had less of an impact on Vivekananda than the Brahmo Samaj and its fresh ideas. Swami Medhananda concurs that the Brahmo Samaj had a significant influence.

His Journey Towards Spirituality

After his father passed away in 1884, Narendra first met Ramakrishna in 1881, who later became his spiritual inspiration. The family became bankrupt after Narendra's father passed away unexpectedly in 1884; creditors demanded debt repayment, and family members threatened to evict the family from their ancestral house. Narendra, formerly a wealthy family's kid, is now one of his college's lowest students.  When Narendra heard Professor William Hastie discussing William Wordsworth's poem The Excursion in a literature lesson at the General Assembly's Institution, he first learned about Ramakrishna.

His Bond With His Guru

One day, Narendra asked Ramakrishna to call upon goddess Kali for their family's financial well-being. Ramakrishna recommended that he go to the temple himself and pray there instead. He visited the temple three times on the advice of Ramakrishna, but instead of praying for any material needs, he instead prayed to the goddess for true wisdom and devotion. Narendra eventually became prepared to give up everything to realize God and recognized Ramakrishna as his spiritual leader.

A Spiritual Exposure To The World

As a part of the World's Columbian Exposition, the Parliament of the World's Religions was inaugurated at the Art Institute of Chicago. Initially uneasy, he bowed before goddess Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning, and said, "Sisters and brothers of America!" to start his speech.

He is well known for his excellence in literacy works.

His Publications that were Published in his lifetime

• Sangeet Kalpataru (1887, with Vaishnav Charan Basak)
• Karma Yoga (1896)
• Raja Yoga (1896 [1899 edition])
• Lectures from Colombo to Almora (1897)
• Bartaman Bharat (in Bengali) (March 1899), Udbodhan

Published posthumously (Published after his death)

• Addresses on Bhakti Yoga
• Bhakti Yoga
• The East and the West (1909)
• Inspired Talks (1909)
• Narada Bhakti Sutras – translation
• Para Bhakti or Supreme Devotion
• Practical Vedanta

The Eternal Inspiration for the Youth

During The Time Of His Death

Vivekananda got up early on the morning of July 4, 1902, went to the monastery at Belur Math, and meditated for three hours. He lectured students on the Shukla-Yajur-Veda, Sanskrit grammar, and the yoga philosophy before holding a meeting with colleagues to propose a future Vedic college at the Ramakrishna Math. He passed away at 9:20 p.m. while in deep meditation. Vivekananda's prediction that he wouldn't survive the past 40 years is considered to have come true.

People around the world were grieving over his death since he was such an influential teacher and excellent philosopher, and everyone still paid the utmost interest in his teachings.