2. *INTRODUCTION
Swami Vivekananda (12 January 1863 – 4 July
1902), born Narendranath Datta was an Indian
Hindu monk. He was a chief disciple of the 19th-
century Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key
figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies
of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world and is
credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing
Hinduism to the status of a major world religion
during the late 19th century. He was a major force
in the contemporary Hindu reform movements in
India and contributed to the concept of Indian
nationalism as a tool to fight against the British
empire in colonial India. Vivekananda founded the
Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission.
He is perhaps best known for his speech which
began with the words “Sisters and brothers of
America …,” in which he introduced Hinduism at
the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago
in 1893. We will talk about some unknown and
interesting facts about Swami Vivekananda. So let’s
know about the interesting facts related to “Swami
Vivekananda” and his life.
4. SWAMI VIVEKANANDA FOUNDED RAMAKRISHNA MISSION:
Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute (RKMVERI) is
established, administered and run by Ramakrishna Mission (sponsoring society of the
University), a registered society started by Swami Vivekananda in 1897. Ramakrishna Mission
is a well-known and reputed non-governmental organization (NGO) serving the society in India
and abroad irrespective of caste, colour, creed, religion, nationality, gender, regional bias etc.,
through its vast network of nearly 200 branch-centres in the fields of education, cultural and
spiritual activities, health, relief and rehabilitation, rural and tribal development, publications,
teaching and preaching, and a large number of allied areas all of which are for the all-round
development of the individual and the society as a whole. Based on the ideology bequeathed by
Swami Vivekananda, namely, ‘selfless service is the real worship of God in man’, ‘for one’s
own liberation and for the welfare of the world’, Ramakrishna Mission has been silently
serving the society since its inception at the turn of the twentieth century and is now well
known as an established and accepted charitable, philanthropic, non-profit, non-governmental
organization started by Swami Vivekananda.
5. FACTS ABOUT SWAMI VIVEKANANDA:
The family members expressed the desire to name the
boy Durgadas, but on the basis of the dream seen by the
mother, the child’s house was named Veereshwar while
his official name was Narendra Nath.
When Swami Ji was angry in his childhood, his mother
Bhuvaneshwari Devi would pour cold water on him and
say “Om Namah Shivaya … and by doing this, he would
calm down.”
Swamiji was very attractive, so many women were willing
to befriend him with the wrong intentions, but they were
never ready for it. Once he told a woman – leave these
stupid desires and meditate on God
Ramakrishna died on 16 August 1886. Ramakrishna taught
Vivekananda that serving humans is more than worshiping
God.
6. In July 1893, Vivekananda went to Chicago. At that time
the World Sarva Dharma Sammelan was organized there.
But for some reason, he was not given the opportunity to
speak first. But later, with the help of Professor John
Henry, he got a chance to speak.
At the World Religion Conference on 11 September 1893,
he gave his first speech on Hindutva. He began his speech
with “Sister and Brothers of America”. On hearing this, all
the people present there stood up for him and played
applause. Around 7 thousand people had gathered at that
time
He has written many books – Karma Yoga (1896), Raj Yoga
(1896), Vedanta Shastra (1896), Speeches from Colombo
to Almora (1897), Bhakti Yoga, etc.
Swami Vivekananda died on 4 July 1902 at the age of 39
in Belur Math. His birthday is celebrated as National Youth
Day in India.
