July 4 is such a significant day in the calendar because it is 161 years ago that Swami Vivekananda, one of the greatest and most prominent spiritual leaders and reformers of India, left his earthly life. Narendra Dutt, also known as Swami Vivekananda, was born on 12th January 1863 in Calcutta (present-day Kolkata), and his message is still spreading across the globe.
It is noteworthy that Vivekananda was rather gifted as a child and possessed a highly developed intellect. It is said he read one book and could recite the whole book as if he was still fresh from reading it; that was his curiosity. Due to his high intelligence and great interest in matters of the spiritual world, he turned to Maha Rishi Devendra Nath for answers. When he asked Maha Rishi if he had seen god, Vivekananda pointed to Ramakrishna Paramhansa, who became his master.
At 25, Swami Vivekananda accepts the Sanyasi life, which means leaving all the bonds of the word. He wanted to give an India message to the West and the world that spirit and matter could be reconciled and could help each other. As far as spiritual attainment was concerned, Vivekananda believed the greatest spirituality was to work for humanity. Vivekananda was born to a well-to-do Bengali Kayastha family, and he was trained in the new method of education introduced by the British that followed the Christian method of education steps, which helped him come into contact with various philosophies, Christianity, and science. His association with this society showed his social reformation principles by banning child marriage, illiteracy, and education for women and lower classes of society.
While Ramakrishna reconciled the cults and taught that all religions were indeed one, the most famous disciple of the latter was Vivekananda. Stressing the humanitarian and, thus, the generic aspect of the Vedas, Vivekananda aimed at rejuvenating the Hindu mind and introducing Hindu spirituality to the audience of the Global North. He played a very active role in introducing the Vedanta philosophy in the United States and England.
Vivekananda came to the United States in 1893, and his speech at the World’s Parliament of Religions holding the banner for Hinduism stunned his audience. He was given appreciation for his influential speaking and good understanding, which must have made him interested due to the comment made by a newspaper that said that “he was an orator by divine right, and undoubtedly the greatest figure at the Parliament.
Check here for the latest updates in Hindi!