History :Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)

• His original name was Narendranath Dutta and was burn at Calcutta in 1863. He was a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa.
• He attended the Parliament of Religions held at Chicago in 1893 and published two papers— PrabhudhaBharata in English and Udbodhana in Bengali.
• Social ideas He stressed on social action & proclaimed the essential oneness of all religions and condemned any narrowness in religious matters.
• He believed that only in uplifting the- masses lay the vitality of the nation.
• He urged people to imbibe spirit of liberty, equality & freethinking
• Wanted new social order based on freedom & equality.
• He was champion of emancipation of women & was of the view that “no social progress is possible without improving condition of women, who were most important instrument of social change”.
• He said, “So long as millions live in hunger and ignorance I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them.”

Religious ideas

• Felt Hinduism needs reinterpretation
• He subscribed to Vedanta, which he declared to be a fully rational system & reinterpreted the vedant which led to Neo-Vedantism
• Condemned the caste system and the Hindu emphasis on rituals and superstitions
• Preached humanistic religion and was of the view that best form of worship was service to humanity.

Nationalism

• Contributed to the rise of nationalism. His nationalism was based on 4 pillars of
• Awakening of masses
• Development of physical and moral strength
• Unity based on common spiritual ideas
• Pride in ancient Indian glory
• Wanted modernization of India through Science & Technology
• In 1807, he founded the Ramakrishna Mission to carry on humanitarian relief and social work. Belur became the headquarters of his mission and Matha. An Irish woman Margaret Noble popularized the teachings of the Mission.
• Vivekananda died in 1902.