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Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda in 1893 Born 12 January 1863 Monday Kolkata, Bengal, India 4 July 1902 (aged39) Friday Belur Math near Kolkata Narendranatha Dutta Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Paramahansa Vedanta Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga Swami Sadananda, Sister Nivedita
Died
Birth name Founder of Guru Philosophy Literary works Prominent Disciple(s) Quotation
Come up, O lions, and shake off the delusion that you are sheep; you are souls immortal, spirits free, blest and eternal; ye are [1] not matter, ye are not bodies; matter is your servant, not you the servant of matter.
Signature
Swami Vivekananda (Bengali: , Shami Bibeknondo; Hindi: ) (12 January 1863 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Dutta (Bengali: , Hindi: ),[2] was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission.[3] He is considered a key figure in the introduction of Hindu philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the "Western" World, mainly in America and Europe[3] and is also credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the end of the 19th century C.E.[4] Vivekananda is considered to be a major force in the revival of Hinduism in modern India.[5] He is perhaps best known for his inspiring speech which began: "Sisters and Brothers of America,"[6] [7] through which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions at Chicago in 1893.[2] Swami Vivekananda was born in an aristocratic Bengali kayastha family of Calcutta on January 12, 1863. Vivekananda's parents influenced his thinkinghis father by his rationality and his mother by her religious temperament. From his childhood, he showed an inclination towards spirituality and God realization. His guru, Ramakrishna, taught him Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism); that all religions are true and that service to man was the most effective worship of God. After the death of his Guru, Vivekananda became a wandering monk, touring the Indian subcontinent and acquiring first-hand knowledge of conditions in India. He later traveled to Chicago and
Swami Vivekananda represented India as a delegate in the 1893 Parliament of World Religions. He conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes, disseminating Vedanta and Yoga in America, England and Europe. He also established the Vedanta societies in America and England.
Swami Vivekananda
With Ramakrishna
"The magic touch of the Master that day immediately brought a wonderful change over my mind. I was astounded to find that really there was nothing in the universe but God! everything I saw appeared to be Brahman. I realized that I must have had a glimpse of the Advaita state. Then it struck me that the words of the scriptures were not false. Thenceforth I could not deny the conclusions of the Advaita philosophy."
[38]
Narendranath's meeting with Ramakrishna in November 1881 proved to be a turning point in his life.[39] About this meeting, Narendranath said, "Ramakrishna looked just like an ordinary man, with nothing remarkable about him. He used the most simple language and I thought "Can this man be a great teacher?". I crept near to him and asked him the question which I had been asking others all my life: "Do you believe in God, Sir?" "Yes", he replied. "Can you prove it, Sir?" "Yes". "How?" "Because I see Him just as I see you here, only in a much intenser sense." That impressed me at once. [] I began to go to that
Ramakrishna Paramahansa
Swami Vivekananda man, day after day, and I actually saw that religion could be given. One touch, one glance, can change a whole life."[39] [40] Even though Narendra did not accept Ramakrishna as his guru initially and revolted against his ideas, he was attracted by his personality and visited him frequently.[41] He initially looked upon Ramakrishna's ecstasies and visions as, "mere figments of imagination",[14] "mere hallucinations".[42] As a member of Brahmo samaj, he revolted against idol worship and polytheism, and Ramakrishna's worship of Kali.[43] He even rejected the Advaitist Vedantism of identity with absolute as blasphemy and madness, and often made fun of the concept[42] Though at first Narendra could not accept Ramakrishna and his visions, he could not neglect him either. It had always been in Narendra's nature to test something thoroughly before he would accept it. He tested Ramakrishna, who never asked Narendra to abandon reason, and faced all of Narendra's arguments and examinations with patience"Try to see the truth from all angles" was his reply.[41] During the course of five years of his training under Ramakrishna, Narendra was transformed from a restless, puzzled, impatient youth to a mature man who was ready to renounce everything for the sake of God-realization. In time, Narendra accepted Ramakrishna as guru, and when he accepted, his acceptance was whole-hearted and with complete surrendering as disciple.[41] In 1885 Ramakrishna suffered from throat cancer and he was shifted to Calcutta and later to Cossipore. Vivekananda and his brother disciples took care of Ramakrishna during his final days. Vivekananda's spiritual education under Ramakrishna continued there. At Cossipore, Vivekananda reportedly experienced Nirvikalpa Samadhi.[44] During the last days of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and some of the other disciples received the ochre monastic robes from Ramakrishna, which formed the first monastic order of Ramakrishna.[45] Vivekananda was taught that service to men was the most effective worship of God.[14] [46] It is reported that when Vivekananda doubted Ramakrishna's claim of avatar, Ramakrishna reportedly said, "He who was Rama, He who wasKrishna, He himself is now Ramakrishna in this body."[47] During his final days, Ramakrishna asked Vivekananda to take care of other monastic disciples and in turn asked them to look upon Vivekananda as their leader.[48] Ramakrishna's condition worsened gradually and he expired in the early morning hours of August 16, 1886 at the Cossipore garden house. According to his disciples, this was Mahasamadhi.[48]
We underwent a lot of religious practice at the Baranagar Math. We used to get up at 3:00 am and become absorbed in japa and meditation. What a strong spirit of detachment we had in those days! We had no thought even as to whether the world existed or not.
In the early part of 1887, Narendra and eight other disciples took formal monastic vows. Narendra took the name of Swami Bibidishananda. Later he was coronated with the name Vivekananda by Ajit Singh, the Maharaja of Khetri.[50] In January 1899 the Baranagar Math was shifted to a newly acquired plot of land at Belur in the district of Howrah, now famous as the Belur Math.
Swami Vivekananda
- The Wandering Monk Later, In 1888, Vivekananda left the monastery as a Parivrjakathe Hindu religious life of a wandering monk, "without fixed abode, without ties, independent and strangers wherever they go."[52] His sole possessions were a kamandalu (water pot), staff, and his two favorite booksBhagavad Gita and The Imitation of Christ.[53] Narendranath travelled the length and breadth of India for five years, visiting important centers of learning, acquainting himself with the diverse religious traditions and different patterns of social life.[54] [55] He developed a sympathy for the suffering and poverty of the masses and resolved to uplift the nation.[54] [56] Living mainly on Bhiksha or alms, Narendranath traveled mostly on foot and railway tickets bought by his admirers whom he met during the travels. During these travels he gained acquaintance and stayed with scholars, Dewans, Rajas and people from all walks of lifeHindus, Muslims, Christians, Pariahs (low caste workers) and Government officials.[56] Northern India In 1888, he started his journey from Varanasi. At Varanasi, he met pandit and Bengali writer, Bhudev Mukhopadhyay and Trailanga Swami, a famous saint who lived in a Shiva temple. Here, he also met Babu Pramadadas Mitra, the noted Sanskrit scholar, to whom the Swami wrote a number of letters asking his advice on the interpretation of the Hindu scriptures.[57] After Varanasi he visited Ayodhya, Lucknow, Agra, Vrindavan, Hathras and Rishikesh. At Hathras he met Sharat Chandra Gupta, the station master who later became one of his earliest disciples as Sadananda.[58] [59] Between 1888-1890, he visited Vaidyanath, Allahabad. From Allahabad, he visited Ghazipur where he met Pavhari Baba, a Advaita Vedanta ascetic who spent most of his time in meditation.[60] Between 1888-1890, he returned to Baranagore Math few times, because of ill health and to arrange for the financial funds when Balaram Bose and Suresh Chandra Mitra, the disciples of Ramakrishna who supported the Math had expired.[59] The Himalayas
Swami Vivekananda In July 1890, accompanied by his brother monk, Swami Akhandananda, he continued his journey as a wandering monk and returned to the Math only after his visit to the West.[59] [61] He visited, Nainital, Almora, Srinagar, Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar and the Himalayas. During this travel, he reportedly had a vision of macrocosm and microcosm, which seems to be reflected in the Jnana Yoga lectures he gave later in the West, "The CosmosThe Macrocosm and The Microcosm". During these travels, he met his brother monks Swami Brahmananda, Saradananda, Turiyananda, Akhandananda and Advaitananda. They stayed at Meerut for a few days where they passed their time in meditation, prayer and study of scriptures. At the end of January 1891, the Swami left his brother monks and journeyed to Delhi alone.[61] [62] Rajputana At Delhi, after visiting historical places he journeyed towards Alwar, in the historic land of Rajputana. Later he journeyed to Jaipur, where he studied Panini's Ashtadhyayi with a Sanskrit scholar. He next journeyed to Ajmer, where he visited the palace of Akbar and the famous Dargah and left for Mount Abu. At Mount Abu, he met the maharaja, Ajit Singh of Khetri, who became his ardent devotee and supporter. Swami Tathagatananda, a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Order, and the Head of Vedanta Society, New York wrote as follows : At Khetri, he delivered discourses to the Raja, became acquainted with the pandit Ajjada Adibhatla Narayana Dasu, and studied Mahbhya on sutras of Panini. After two and a half months there, towards the end of October 1891, he proceeded towards Rajasthan and Maharastra.[56] [63] Western India Continuing his travels, he visited Ahmedabad, Wadhwan, Limbdi. At Ahmedabad he completed his studies of Muslim and Jain culture.[56] At Limbdi, he met Thakore Sahed Jaswant Singh who had himself been to England and America. From the Thakore Saheb, the Swami first got the idea of going to the West to preach Vedanta. He later visited Junagadh, where he was the guest of Haridas Desai, the Dewan of the State, who was so charmed with his company that every evening he, with all the State officials, used to meet the Swami and converse with him until late at night. From there he also visited Girnar, Kutch, Porbander, Dwaraka, Palitana, Nadiad where he stayed at Diwan Haridas Desai's house Nadiad ni haveli and Baroda. At Porbander he stayed three quarters of a year, in spite of his vow as a wandering monk, to perfect his philosophical and Sanskrit studies with learned pandits; he worked with a court pandit who translated the Vedas.[56] He later traveled to Mahabaleshwar and then to Pune. From Pune he visited Khandwa and Indore around June 1892. At Kathiawar he heard of the Parliament of the World's Religions and was urged by his followers there to attend it. He left Khandwa for Bombay and reached there on July 1892. In a Pune bound train he met Bal Gangadhar Tilak.[64] After staying with Tilak for few days in Poona,[65] the Swami travelled to Belgaum in October 1892. At Belgaum, he was the guest of Prof. G.S. Bhate and Sub-divisional Forest officer, Haripada Mitra. From Belgaum, he visited Panjim and Margao in Goa. He spent three days in the Rachol Seminary, the oldest convent-college of theology of Goa where rare religious literature in manuscripts and printed works in Latin are preserved. He reportedly studied important Christian theological works here.[66] From Margao the Swami went by train to Dharwar, and from there directly to Bangalore, in Mysore State.[67] Southern India At Bangalore, the Swami became acquainted with Sir K. Seshadri Iyer, the Dewan of Mysore state, and later he stayed at the palace as guest of the Maharaja of Mysore, Chamaraja Wodeyar. Regarding the Swami's learning, Sir Seshadri reportedly remarked, "a magnetic personality and a divine force which were destined to leave their mark on the history of his country." The Maharaja provided the Swami a letter of introduction to the Dewan of Cochin and got him a railway ticket.[68]
Swami Vivekananda
From Bangalore, he visited Trichur, Kodungalloor, Ernakulam. At Ernakulam, he met Chattampi Swamikal, contemporary of Narayana Guru in early December 1892.[69] From Ernakulam, he journeyed to Trivandrum, Nagercoil and reached Kanyakumari on foot during the Christmas Eve of 1892.[70] At Kanyakumari, the Swami reportedly meditated on the "last bit of Indian rock", famously known later as the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, for three days.[71] At Kanyakumari, Vivekananda had the "Vision of one India", also commonly called "The Kanyakumari resolve of 1892".[72] He wrote,
"At Cape Camorin sitting in Mother Kumari's temple, sitting on the last bit of Indian rockI hit upon a plan: We are so many sanyasis wandering about, and teaching the people metaphysicsit is all madness. Did not our Gurudeva use to say, 'An empty stomach is no good for [72] [73] religion?' We as a nation have lost our individuality and that is the cause of all mischief in India. We have to raise the masses."
From Kanyakumari he visited Madurai, where he met the Raja of Ramnad, Bhaskara Setupati, to whom he had a letter of introduction. The Raja became the Swami's disciple and urged him to go to the Parliament of Religions at Chicago. From Madurai, he visited Rameshwaram, Pondicherry, he travelled to Madras and here he met some his most devoted disciples, who played important roles in collecting funds for Swami's voyage to America and later in establishing the Ramakrishna Mission in Madras. With the aid of funds collected by his Madras disciples and Rajas of Mysore, Ramnad, Khetri, Dewans and other followers Vivekananda left for Chicago on 31 May 1893 from Bombay assuming the name Vivekanandathe name suggested by the Maharaja of Khetri.[74] [75]
Swami Vivekananda
Only I want that numbers of our young men should pay a visit to Japan and China every year. Especially to the Japanese, India is still the dreamland of everything high and good. And you, what are you? talking twaddle all your lives, vain talkers, what are you? Come, see these people, and then go and hide your faces in shame. A race of dotards, you lose your caste if you come out! Sitting down these hundreds of years with an ever-increasing load of crystallized superstition on your heads, for hundreds of years spending all your energy upon discussing the touchableness or untouchableness of this food or that, with all humanity crushed out of you by the continuous social tyranny of ages what are you? And what are you doing now? promenading the sea-shores with books in your hands repeating undigested stray bits of European brainwork, and the whole soul bent upon getting a thirty rupee clerkship, or at best becoming a lawyer the height of young Indias ambition and every student with a whole brood of hungry children cackling at his heels and asking for bread! Is there not water enough in [76] the sea to drown you, books, gowns, university diplomas, and all?
Swami Vivekananda was hardly less interesting than those earnest words, and the rich, rhythmical utterance he gave them." The New York Herald wrote, "Vivekananda is undoubtedly the greatest figure in the Parliament of Religions. After hearing him we feel how foolish it is to send missionaries to this learned nation."[84] The American newspapers reported Swami Vivekananda as "the greatest figure in the parliament of religions" and "the most popular and influential man in the parliament".[85] He spoke several more times at the Parliament on topics related to Hinduism and Buddhism. The parliament ended on 27 September 1893. All his speeches at the Parliament had one common themeUniversalityand stressed religious tolerance.[86]
After the Parliament of Religions, held in September 1893 at The Art Institute of Chicago, Vivekananda spent nearly two whole years lecturing in various parts of eastern and central United States, appearing chiefly in Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and New York. By the spring of 1895, he was weary and in poor health, because of his continuous exertion.[88] After suspending his lecture tour, the Swami started giving free and private classes on Vedanta and Yoga. In June 1895, for two months he conducted private lectures to a dozen of his disciples at the Thousand Island Park. Vivekananda considered this to be the happiest part of his first visit to America. He later founded the "Vedanta Society of New York".[88] During his first visit to America, he traveled to England twicein 1895 and 1896. His lectures were successful there.[89] Here he met Miss Margaret Noble, an Irish lady, who later became Sister Nivedita.[88] During his second visit in May 1896, while living at a house in Pimlico, the Swami met Max Mller a renowned Indologist at Oxford University who wrote Ramakrishna's first biography in the West.[83] From England, he also visited other European countries. In Germany he met Paul Deussen, another famous Indologist.[90] He also received two academic offers, the chair of Eastern Philosophy at Harvard University[91] and a similar position at Columbia University. He declined both, saying that, as a wandering monk, he could not settle down to work of this kind.[88]
Swami Vivekananda
10 He attracted several sincere followers. Among his other followers were, Josephine MacLeod, Miss Mller, Miss Noble, E.T. Sturdy, Captain and Mrs. Sevierwho played an important role in the founding of Advaita Ashrama and J.J. Goodwinwho became his stenographer and recorded his teachings and lectures.[88] [90] The Hale family became one of his warmest hosts in America.[92] His disciplesMadame Louise, a French woman, became Swami Abhayananda, and Mr. Leon Landsberg, became Swami Kripananda. He initiated several other followers into Brahmacharya.[93] Swami Vivekananda's ideas were admired by several scholars and famous thinkersWilliam James, Josiah Royce, C. C. Everett, Dean of the Harvard School of Divinity, Robert G. Ingersoll, Nikola Tesla, Lord Kelvin, and Professor Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz.[14] Other personalities who were attracted by his talks were Harriet Monroe and Ella Wheeler Wilcoxtwo famous American poets, Professor William James of Harvard University; Dr. Lewis G. Janes, president of Brooklyn Ethical Association; Sara C. Bull, wife of Ole Bull, the Norwegian violinist; Sarah Bernhardt, the French actress and Madame Emma Calv, the French opera singer.[94]
From West, he also set his Indian work in motion. Vivekananda wrote a stream of letters to India, giving advice and sending money to his followers and brother monks. His letters from the West in these days laid down the motive of his campaign for social service.[95] He constantly tried to inspire his close disciples in India to do something big. His letters to them contain some of his strongest words.[96] In one such letter, he wrote to Swami Akhandananda, "Go from door to door amongst the poor and lower classes of the town of Khetri and teach them religion. Also, let them have oral lessons on geography and such other subjects. No good will come of sitting idle and having princely dishes, and saying "Ramakrishna, O Lord!"unless you can do some good to the poor."[97] [98] Eventually in 1895, the periodical called Brahmavadin was started in Madras, with the money supplied by Vivekananda, for the purpose of teaching the Vedanta.[99] Subsequenly, Vivekananda's translation of first six chapters of The Imitation of Christ was published in Brahmavadin (1889).[100] Vivekananda left for India on 16 December 1896 from England with his disciples, Captain and Mrs. Sevier, and J.J. Goodwin. On the way they visited France, Italy, seeing Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, and set sail for India from the Port of Naples on December 30, 1896.[101] Later, he was followed to India by Max Mller and Sister Nivedita. Sister Nivedita devoted the rest of her life to the education of Indian women and the cause of India's independence.[88] [102]
Swami Vivekananda
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Two other monasteries were founded by him- one at Mayavati on the Himalayas, near Almora called the Advaita Ashrama and another at Madras. Two journals were also started, Prabuddha Bharata in English and Udbhodan in Bengali.[110] The same year, the famine relief work was started by Swami Akhandananda at Murshidabad district.[83] [109] Vivekananda had inspired Sir Jamshedji Tata to set up a research and educational institution when they had travelled together from Yokohama to Chicago on the Swami's first visit to the West in 1893. About this time the Swami received a letter from Tata, requesting him to head the Research Institute of Science that Tata had set up. But Vivekananda declined the offer saying that it conflicted with his spiritual interests.[111] [112]
Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on March 19, 1899, later published many of Swami Vivekananda's work, now publishes Prabuddha Bharata journal
Swami Vivekananda
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Visit to Punjab
He later visited western Punjab with the mission of establishing harmony between the Arya Samaj which stood for reinterpreted Hinduism and the Sanatanaists who stood for orthodox Hinduism. At Rawalpindi, he suggested methods for rooting out antagonism between Arya Samajists and Muslims.[113] His visit to Lahore is memorable for his famous speeches and his inspiring association with Tirtha Ram Goswami, then a brilliant professor of Mathematics, who later graced monasticism as Swami Rama Tirtha and preached Vedanta in India and America.[109] He also visited other places, including Delhi and Khetri and returned to Calcutta in January 1896. He spent the next few months consolidating the work of the Math and training the disciples. During this period he composed the famous arati song, Khandana Bhava Bandhana during the event of consecration of Ramakrishna's temple at a devotees' house.[114]
The Swami Vivekananda temple at Belur Math, on the place where he was cremated.
Death
His tours, hectic lecturing engagements, private discussions and correspondence had taken their toll on his health. He was suffering from asthma, diabetes and other physical ailments.[119] A few days prior to his demise, he was seen intently studying the almanac. Three days before his death he pointed out the spot for this cremationthe one at which a temple in his memory stands today. He had remarked to several persons that he would not live to be forty.[119] On the day of his death, he taught Shukla-Yajur-Veda to some pupils in the morning at Belur Math.[120] He had a walk with Swami Premananda, a brother-disciple, and gave him instructions concerning the future of the Ramakrishna Math. Vivekananda died at ten minutes past nine P.M. on July 4, 1902 while he was meditating. According to his disciples, this was Mahasamadhi.[121] Afterward, his disciples recorded that they had noticed "a little blood" in the Swami's nostrils, about his mouth and in his eyes.[122] The doctors remarked that it was due to the rupture of a blood-vessel in the brain, but they could not find the real cause of the death. According to his disciples, Brahmarandhra the
Swami Vivekananda aperture in the crown of the head must have been pierced when he attained Mahasamadhi. Vivekananda had fulfilled his own prophecy of not living to be forty years old.[120]
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It is not the sign of a candid and scientific mind to throw overboard anything without proper investigation. Surface scientists, unable to [129] explain various extraordinary mental phenomena, strive to ignore their very existence.
He further says in the introduction of the book that one should take up the practice and verify these things for oneself, and that there should not be blind belief.
Swami Vivekananda
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What little I know I will tell you. So far as I can reason it out I will do so, but as to what I do not know I will simply tell you what the books say. It is wrong to believe blindly. You must exercise your own reason and judgment; you must practise, and see whether these things happen [130] or not. Just as you would take up any other science, exactly in the same manner you should take up this science for study.
In his paper read at the World Parliament of Religions, Chicago (1893), Vivekananda also hinted about the final goal of physics:
Science is nothing but the finding of unity. As soon as science would reach perfect unity, it would stop from further progress, because it would reach the goal. Thus Chemistry could not progress farther when it would discover one element out of which all other could be made. Physics would stop when it would be able to fulfill its services in discovering one energy of which all others are but manifestations.. All science is bound to come to this conclusion in the long run. Manifestation, and not creation, is the word of science today, and the Hindu is only glad that what he has been cherishing in his bosom for ages is going to be taught in more forcible language, and with further light from [131] the latest conclusions of science.
The great electrical engineer, Nikola Tesla, after listening to Vivekananda's speech on Sankhya Philosophy, was much interested in its cosmogony and its rational theories of the Kalpas (cycles), Prana and Akasha. His notion based on the Vedanta led him to think that matter is a manifestation of energy. After attending a lecture on Vedanta by Vivekananda, Tesla also concluded that modern science can look for the solution of cosmological problems in Sankhya philosophy, and he could prove that mass can be reduced to potential energy mathematically.[132] [133]
Influence
Several leaders of 20th Century India and philosophers have acknowledged Vivekananda's influence. The first governor general of independent India, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, said "Vivekananda saved Hinduism, saved India."[134] According to Subhash Chandra Bose, Vivekananda "is the maker of modern India"[135] and for Mohandas Gandhi, Vivekananda's influence increased his "love for his country a thousandfold." National Youth Day in India is held on his birthday, January 12.[136] Swami Vivekananda is widely considered to have inspired India's freedom struggle movement. His writings inspired a whole generation of freedom fighters including Subhash Chandra Bose, Aurobindo Ghose and Bagha Jatin. Vivekananda was the brother of the revolutionary freedom fighter, Bhupendranath Dutta. Subhash Chandra Bose, one of the most prominent figures in Indian independence movement said[137]
I cannot write about Vivekananda without going into raptures. Few indeed could comprehend or fathom him even among those who had the privilege of becoming intimate with him. His personality was rich, profound and complex... Reckless in his sacrifice, unceasing in his activity, boundless in his love, profound and versatile in his wisdom, exuberant in his emotions, merciless in his attacks but yet simple as a child, he was a rare personality in this world of ours
Swami Vivekananda
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At the Belur Math, Mahatma Gandhi was heard to say that his whole life was an effort to bring into actions the ideas of Vivekananda.[138] Many years after Vivekananda's death, Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel Poet Laureate told Romain Rolland,[139]
"If you want to know India, study Vivekananda. In him everything is positive and nothing negative."
Vivekananda inspired Jamshedji Tata[141] to set up Indian Institute of Science, one of India's finest Institutions. Abroad, he had some interactions with Max Mller. Scientist Nikola Tesla was one of those influenced by the Vedic philosophy teachings of the Swami Vivekananda. On November 11, 1995, a section of Michigan Avenue, one of the most prominent streets in Chicago, was formally renamed "Swami Vivekananda Way".[142] In many institutes, students have come together and formed organizations meant for promoting discussion of spiritual ideas and the practice of such high principles. Many of such organizations have adopted his name. One such group also exists at IIT Madras and is popularly known as Vivekananda Study Circle [143]. Another one exists at IIT Kanpur by the name Vivekananda Samiti [144]. Additionally, Swami Vivekananda's ideas and teachings have carried on globally, being practiced in institutions all over the world. In 2011, during the anti-corruption Lokpal bill movement, the prominent figure and Gandhian activist Anna Hazare repeatedly mentioned that he was greatly inspired by Swami Vivekananda's thoughts.[145]
Swami Vivekananda
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Works
Vivekananda left a body of philosophical works (see Vivekananda's complete works). Vivekananda observed that the billions of people on the earth could be classified into four basic types- those who were in constant activity, or the worker; those who were driven by their inner urge to achieve something in life, or the lover; those who tended to analyze the working of their minds, or the mystic and those who weighed everything with reason, or the philosopher. His books (compiled from lectures given around the world) on the four Yogas (Karma yoga for the worker, Bhakti yoga for the lover, Raja yoga for the mystic , and Jnana yoga for the philosopher) are very influential and still seen as fundamental texts for anyone interested in the Hindu practice of Yoga. His letters are of great literary and spiritual value. He was also considered a very good singer and a poet.[146] By the time of his death, He had composed many songs including his favorite Kali the Mother. He used humor for his teachings and was also an excellent cook. His language is very free flowing. His own Bengali writings stand testimony to the fact that he believed that words spoken or written - should be for making things easier to understand rather than show off the speaker or writer's knowledge.
Notes
[1] Vivekananda, Swami (19). "Paper On Hinduism" (http:/ / www. advaitaashrama. org/ cw/ volume_1/ addresses_at_the_parliament/ v1_c1_paper_on_hinduism. htm). Complete Works Of Swami Vivekananda. . Retrieved 16 August 2011. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Justice, Phyllis G. (2003), Holy People of the World, ABC-CLIO, pp.899 Georg, Feuerstein (2002), The Yoga Tradition, Motilal Banarsidass, p.600 Clarke, Peter Bernard (2006), New Religions in Global Perspective, Routledge, p.209 Von Dense, Christian D. (1999), Philosophers and Religious Leaders, Greenwood Publishing Group, p.191 Vivekananda, Swami (11th September, 1893), Response to Welcome (http:/ / en. wikisource. org/ wiki/ The_Complete_Works_of_Swami_Vivekananda/ Volume_1/ Addresses_at_The_Parliament_of_Religions/ Response_to_Welcome), Parliament of Religions, Chicago, [7] Harshavardhan Dutt (2005), Immortal Speeches, p.121 [8] Sahoo, Srijata. "Ancestral Home Birthplace Of Vivekananda" (http:/ / www. vivekananda. net/ HistoricalPreservation/ PressInformationBureau. html). Datta Ancestral Home - Birthplace of Vivekananda. Government of India. . Retrieved 3 October 2011. [9] Mukhopadhyay, Manishankar (1996). Obishshashyo Vivekananda (http:/ / www. nirmalsahityam. com). Kalikt: Shityama. pp.19. . Retrieved 16 August 2011. [10] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, p.11 [11] Swami Chetanananda, "Swami Vivekananda", God lived with them, p.20 [12] Nikhilananda, Swami. Swami Vivekananda - A Biography. Ramakrishna Vivekananda Center OF New York. pp.3, 5, 23, 44. [13] Amiya Sen 2003, p.19 [14] Nikhilananda 1964 [15] Amiya Sen 2003, p.20 [16] Biswas, Arun Kumar (1987), Buddha and Bodhisattva, Cosmo Publications, p.19 [17] Arrington, Robert L.; Tapan Kumar Chakrabarti (2001), "Swami Vivekananda", A Companion to the Philosophers, Blackwell Publishing, p.628 [18] Amiya Sen 2003, p.21 [19] Early Years (http:/ / www. ramakrishnavivekananda. info/ vivekananda_biography/ 02_early_years. htm) [20] Banhatti 1995, p.4 [21] www.advaitayoga.org/advaitayogaarticles/vivekanandatimeline.html [22] Amiya Sen 2006, pp.1214 [23] Amiya Sen 2003, pp.104105 [24] Pangborn, Cyrus R.; Bardwell L. Smith (1976), "The Ramakrishna Math and Mission", Hinduism: New Essays in the History of Religions, Brill Archive, p.106, "Narendra, son of a Calcutta attorney, student of the intellectually most demanding subjects in arts and sciences at Scottish Church College." [25] Dhar 1976, p.53 [26] Malagi, R.A.; M.K.Naik (2003), "Stirred Spirit: The Prose of Swami Vivekananda", Perspectives on Indian Prose in English, Abhinav Publications, pp.3637 [27] Prabhananda 2003, p.233 [28] Banhatti 1995, pp.79 "Vivekananda is said to have offered, in a letter to Herbert Spencer, some criticism of the celebrated philosopher's speculations, which the aged stalwart is said to have appreciated." [29] Swami Vivekananda By N.L. Gupta, p.2
Swami Vivekananda
[30] Dhar 1976, p.59 [31] Dutta, Mahendranath, Dhirendranath Basu, ed., Sri Sri Ramakrishner Anudhyan (6th ed.), p.89 [32] Bhuyan, P. R. (2003), Swami Vivekananda, Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, p.5 [33] Amiya Sen 2006, pp.1213 [34] Pangborn, Cyrus R.; Bardwell L. Smith (1976), "The Ramakrishna Math and Mission", Hinduism: New Essays in the History of Religions, Brill Archive, p.106 [35] Joseph, Jaiboy (2002-06-23). "Master visionary" (http:/ / www. hinduonnet. com/ thehindu/ mag/ 2002/ 06/ 23/ stories/ 2002062300310400. htm). The Hindu. . Retrieved 2008-10-09. [36] Mukherjee, Dr. Jayasree (May 2004), "Sri Ramakrishna's Impact on Contemporary Indian Society" (http:/ / www. eng. vedanta. ru/ library/ prabuddha_bharata/ sri_ramakrishna's_impact_on_contemporary_indian_society_may04. php), Prabuddha Bharatha, , retrieved 2008-09-04 [37] Swami Chetanananda, God lived with them, p.22, "Hastie said, 'I have known only one person, who has realized that blessed state, and he is Ramakrishna of Dakshineswar. You will understand it better if you visit this saint.'" [38] Mannumel, Thomas, The Advaita of Vivekananda: A Philosophical Appraisal, p.17 [39] Prabhananda 2003, p.232 [40] Vivekananda, Swami, "My Master" (http:/ / en. wikisource. org/ wiki/ The_Complete_Works_of_Swami_Vivekananda/ Volume_4/ Lectures_and_Discourses/ My_Master), The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 4, Advaita Ashrama, pp.178179, [41] Banhatti 1995, pp.1013 [42] Rolland, Romain (1929), "Naren the Beloved Disciple", The Life of Ramakrishna, pp.169193 [43] Arora, V. K. (1968), "Communion with Brahmo Samaj", The social and political philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, Punthi Pustak, pp.4 [44] Isherwood, Christopher (1976), Meditation and Its Methods According to Swami Vivekananda, Vedanta Press, p.20 [45] Cyrus R. Pangborn, "The Ramakrishna Math and Mission", Hinduism: New Essays in the History of Religions, p.98 [46] Isherwood, Christopher (1976), Meditation and Its Methods According to Swami Vivekananda, Vedanta Press, p.20, "He realized under the impact of his Master that all the living beings are the embodiments of the 'Divine Self'... Hence, service to God can be rendered only by service to man." [47] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, p.183 [48] Rolland, Romain (1929), "The River Re-Enters the Sea", The Life of Ramakrishna, pp.201214 [49] God lived with them, p.38 [50] God lived with them, p.39 [51] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, p.277 [52] Rolland 2008, p.7 [53] Dhar 1976, p.243 [54] Richards, Glyn (1996), "Vivekananda", A Source-Book of Modern Hinduism, Routledge, pp.7778 [55] P. R. Bhuyan, Swami Vivekananda, p.12 [56] Rolland 2008, pp.1625 [57] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, pp.214216 [58] Rolland 2008, pp.1112 [59] Banhatti 1995, pp.1922 [60] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, pp.227228 [61] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, pp.243261 [62] Rolland 2008, p.15 [63] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, pp.262287 [64] Rolland 2008, p.25 "It was so at Poona in October, 1892; Tilak, the famous savant and Hindu political leader, took him at first for a wandering monk of no importance and began by being ironical; then, struck by his replies revealing his great mind and knowledge, he received him into his house for ten days without ever knowing his real name. It was only later, when the newspapers brought him from America the echoes of Vivekananda's triumph and a description of the conqueror, that he recognised the anonymous guest who had dwelt beneath his roof." [65] Dhar 1976, p.1434 "Tilak recorded his impressions as follows, 'When asked about his name he only said he was a Sanyasin ....There was absolutely no money with him. A deerskin, one or two clothes and a Kamandalu were his only possessions.' [66] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, pp.288320 [67] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, pp.321346 [68] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, pp.323325 [69] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, pp.327329 [70] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, pp.339342 [71] This view is supported by the evidence of two eyewitnesses. One of these was Ramasubba Iyer. In 1919, when Swami Virajananda, a disciple of the Swamiji, went on pilgrimage to Kanyakumari, Iyer told him that he had himself seen the Swami meditating on the rock for hours together, for three days consecutively ... Another eye-witness, Sadashivam Pillai, told that the Swami had remained on the rock for three nights and had seen him swim over to the rock. Next morning Pillai went to the rock with food for the Swami. There he found him meditating; and when Pillai asked him to return to the mainland, he refused. When he offered food to the Swami, the latter asked him not to disturb him. See, Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, pp.344346
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[72] Agarwal, Satya P. (1998), The social role of the Gt: how and why (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=Gt0XdLly0i0C& pg=PA59), Motilal Banarsidass, pp.59, ISBN9788120815247, [73] Life and Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, p.24 [74] Banhatti 1995, p.24 [75] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, pp.359383 [76] Paranjape, Makarand (2005), Penguin Swami Vivekananda Reader, Penguin India, pp.246248, ISBN0143032542 [77] P. R. Bhuyan, Swami Vivekananda, p.15 [78] Minor, Robert Neil (1986), "Swami Vivekananda's use of the Bhagavad Gita", Modern Indian Interpreters of the Bhagavad Gita, SUNY Press, p.133 [79] P. R. Bhuyan, Swami Vivekananda, p.16 [80] Banhatti 1995, p.27 "Representatives from several countries, and all religions, were seated on the platform, including Mazoomdar of the Brahmo Samaj, Nagarkar of Prarthana Samaj, Gandhi representing the Jains, and Chakravarti and Mrs. Annie Besant representing Theosophy. None represeted Hinduism, as such, and that mantle fell on Vivekananda." [81] P. R. Bhuyan, Swami Vivekananda, p.17 [82] McRae 1991 [83] Prabhananda 2003, p.234 [84] J. N. Farquhar, Modern Religious Movements in India, p.202 [85] Sharma, Arvind, "Swami Vivekananda's Experiences", Neo-Hindu Views of Christianity, p.87 [86] P. R. Bhuyan, Swami Vivekananda, p.18 [87] "Sayings and Utterances" (http:/ / en. wikisource. org/ wiki/ The_Complete_Works_of_Swami_Vivekananda/ Volume_5/ Sayings_and_Utterances), The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 5, pp.419, [88] Adjemian, Robert; Christopher Isherwood, "On Swami Vivekananda", The Wishing Tree, pp.121122 [89] Banhatti 1995, p.30 [90] God lived with them, pp.49-50 [91] How Yoga Won the West, New York Times (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2011/ 10/ 02/ opinion/ sunday/ how-yoga-won-the-west. html?_r=1) [92] Life and Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, p.27 [93] Burke, Marie Louise (1958), Swami Vivekananda in America: New Discoveries, p.618 [94] God lived with them, p.47 [95] Kattackal, Jacob (1982), Religion and Ethics in Advaita, St. Thomas Apostolic Seminary, p.219 [96] Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1963), Swami Vivekananda Centenary Memorial Volume, p.577 [97] Burke, Marie Louise (1983), Swami Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries, p.417 [98] Sharma, Benishankar (1963), Swami Vivekananda: A Forgotten Chapter of His Life, Oxford Book & Stationary Co.,, p.227 [99] Sheean, Vincent (2005), "Forerunners of Gandhi", Lead, Kindly Light: Gandhi and the Way to Peace, Kessinger Publishing, p.345 [100] Sharma, Arvind, "Swami Vivekananda's Experiences", Neo-Hindu Views of Christianity, p.83 [101] Life and Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, pp.33-34 [102] A Comprehensive Biography of Swami Vivekananda, p.852 [103] "Return and Consolidation", Life and Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, pp.3334 [104] P. R. Bhuyan, Swami Vivekananda, p.20 [105] P. R. Bhuyan, Swami Vivekananda, p.27 [106] Gokhale, B. G. (Jan., 1964), "Swami Vivekananda and Indian Nationalism" (http:/ / www. jstor. org/ stable/ 1460427), Journal of Bible and Religion (Oxford University Press) 32 (1): 3542, , "Vivekananda, Tilak, and Gandhi form parts of one continuous process. Many of Gandhi's ideas on Hinduism and spirituality come close to those of Vivekananda." [107] Thomas, Abraham Vazhayil (1974), Christians in Secular India, p.44, "Vivekananda emphasized Karma Yoga, purposeful action in the world as the thing needful for the regeneration of the political, social and religious life of the Hindus." [108] Miller, Timothy, "The Vedanta Movement and Self-Realization fellowship", America's Alternative Religions, p.181, "Vivekananda was adamant that the social worker should never believe that she or he was actually improving the world, which is, after all, illusory. Service should be performed without attachment to the final results. In this manner, social service becomes karma yoga, the disciple of action, that ultimately brings spiritual benefits to the server, not to those being served." [109] Banhatti 1995, pp.3435 [110] Kraemer, Hendrik, "Cultural response of Hindu India", World Cultures and World Religions, p.151 [111] Prabhananda 2003, p.235 [112] LULLA, ANIL BUDDY (September 3, 2007). "IISc looks to Belur for seeds of birth". The Telegraph. [113] Eastern and Western disciples 2006a, p.291 [114] Banhatti 1995, pp.3536 [115] Eastern and Western disciples 2006b, p.450 [116] Banhatti 1995, pp.4142 [117] "The Paris Congress of the History of Religions" (http:/ / en. wikisource. org/ wiki/ The_Complete_Works_of_Swami_Vivekananda/ Volume_4/ Translation:_Prose/ The_Paris_Congress_of_the_History_of_Religions), Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 4, Advaita
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Ashrama, [118] Banhatti 1995, pp.4344 [119] Banhatti 1995, pp.4546 [120] Eastern and Western disciples 2006b, pp.645662 [121] A.P. Sen (2006), "Editor's Introduction", The Indispensable Vivekananda, p.27 [122] M.V. Kamnath (2005), "p.241", Philosophy of Life and Death [123] Jackson, Carl T (1994), "The Founders", Vedanta for the West, Indiana University Press, pp.3334 [124] Y. Masih (1991), "Introduction to Religious Philosophy", Introduction to Religious Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, p.68 [125] Agarwal, Satya P. (1998), The social role of the Gt: how and why, Motilal Banarsidass, p.ix [126] Priya Nath Sinha, "Conversations and Dialogues : VI - X Shri Priya Nath Sinha" (http:/ / en. wikisource. org/ wiki/ The_Complete_Works_of_Swami_Vivekananda/ Volume_5/ Conversations_and_Dialogues_(Recorded_by_Disciples_-_Translated)/ Volume_5/ VI_-_X_Shri_Priya_Nath_Sinha), Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, 5, [127] Here nature is not referred as mother nature, but as prakriti or maya as described in Bhagavad Gita's cosmology [128] Vivekananda's Raja Yoga (Hinduism) (http:/ / www. uwec. edu/ beachea/ vivekananda. html) [129] The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Raja-Yoga/Preface [130] The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Raja-Yoga/Introductory [131] s:The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Addresses at The Parliament of Religions/Paper on Hinduism [132] Eastern and Western disciples 2006b, p.68 [133] Vivekananda also mentioned this to E.T.Sturdy in one of his epistles [134] Prabuddha Bharata: 112, 1983. [135] "Article on Swami Vivekananda" (http:/ / www. ramakrishna. eu/ EnglishVivekananda. html). . Retrieved 13 September 2011. [136] "National Youth Day" (http:/ / india. gov. in/ allimpfrms/ alldocs/ 2539. pdf). National Portal of India. Government Of India. 10 January 2009. . Retrieved 5 October 2011. [137] "Article On Swami Vivekananda" (http:/ / www. writespirit. net/ authors/ swami_vivekananda/ quotes-on-swami-vivekananda/ index. html). Sri Chinmoy Centre. . Retrieved 13 September 2011. [138] Campbell, Joseph; Robin Larsen, Stephen Larsen, Antony Van Couvering (2002), "Travels with the Swami" (http:/ / books. google. com/ ?id=VySPqLx1DucC& pg=PA74), Baksheesh & Brahman, New World Library, pp.74, ISBN9781577312376, [139] "Article on Swami Vivekananda" (http:/ / www. isical. ac. in/ ~econophys/ swamiji. html). . Retrieved 20 August 2011. [140] Nikhilananda (1953). "Vivekananda A Biography" (http:/ / www. ramakrishnavivekananda. info/ vivekananda_biography/ 01_preface. htm). . Retrieved 13 September 2011. [141] IISC (http:/ / materials. iisc. ernet. in/ ~rangu/ text. pdf) [142] July 13, 1998 Press Release From the Consulate General of India, Chicago [143] http:/ / www. vsc. iitm. ac. in [144] http:/ / students. iitk. ac. in/ vivekananda/ [145] " " (http:/ / www. esakal. com/ esakal/ 20110822/ 5707081137403404595. htm). Sakal. 22 August 2011. . Retrieved 22 August 2011. [146] G. S. Banhatti, The Quintessence of Vivekananda, p.276, "A singer, a painter, a wonderful master of language and a poet, Vivekananda was a complete artist."
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Swami Vivekananda doi:10.2307/1390252, JSTOR1390252. Vivekananda, Swami (2001), Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda. info/vivekananda/complete_works.htm), 9 Volumes (Mayavati Memorial ed.), Advaita Ashrama, ISBN978-8185301754 Rolland, Romain (2008), The Life of Vivekananda and the Universal Gospel (http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/ scripts/FullindexDefault.htm?path1=/data_copy/upload/0078/360&first=1&last=438& barcode=6010010078355) (24 ed.), Advaita Ashrama, pp.328, ISBN9788185301013 Nikhilananda, Swami (April 1964), "Swami Vivekananda Centenary", Philosophy East and West (University of Hawai'i Press) 14 (1): 7375, doi:10.2307/1396757, JSTOR1396757. Nikhilananda, Swami, Vivekananda: A Biography (http://www.vivekananda.net/PDFBooks/ BiographybyNikhilananda.pdf), ISBN0-911206-25-6 the swami Virajananda, ed. (1910-1918), The Life of the swami Vivekananda / by his eastern and western disciples... (http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb37011727r/PUBLIC) (The semi-centenary birthday memorial ed. in four volumes ed.), Mayavati: Advaita ashrama Eastern and Western disciples (July 2006a), Life of Swami Vivekananda, 1 (Sixth ed.), Advaita Ashrama, ISBN81-7505-043-8 older edition (http://www.vivekananda.net/PDFBooks/BioSV/LifeOfSVByGhosh.pdf)
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Eastern and Western disciples (July 2006b), Life of Swami Vivekananda, 2 (Sixth ed.), Advaita Ashrama, ISBN81-7505-044-6 Sil, Narasingha, Swami Vivekananda: A Reassessment, ISBN0-945636-97-0 Nivedita, Sister, The Master As I Saw Him (http://www.archive.org/details/masterasisawhimb00niveiala) Nivedita, Sister, Notes of Some Wanderings With the Swami Vivekananda (http://www.archive.org/details/ notesofsome00viveuoft) Marie Louise Burke, Swami Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries Dhar, Shailendra Nath (1976), A Comprehensive Biography of Swami Vivekananda, Vivekananda Prakashan Kendra Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda, Advaita Ashrama, ISBN81-85301-17-4 Vivekananda: The Great Spiritual Teacher by A Compilation, ISBN81-7505-147-7 Chaturvedi Badrinath (2006), Swami Vivekananda The Living Vedanta, Penguin, ISBN0143062093 Swami Jyotirmayananda (August 2000), Vivekananda -- His Gospel of Man-Making (http://www. vivekanandagospel.org) (5 ed.) Sankariprasad Basu, (Vivekananda and contemporary India), 7 Volumes
External links
Swami Vivekananda Complete Information (http://swamivivekananda.net/) Swami Vivekananda (http://www.belurmath.org/swamivivekananda.htm) Vivekananda's Biography (http://www.vivekananda.org/biography.asp) Complete Works of Vivekananda (http://www.advaitaashrama.org/cw/content.php) Swami Vivekanada's Selected Quotes (http://knol.google.com/k/tito-dutta/ swami-vivekananda-stirring-quotes/155kw6v690czt/19#)
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