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| Swami Vivekananda (1863 - 1902) |
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 Swami Vivekandanda was one of the most influential spiritual leaders of the philosophies of Yoga and Vedanta. He was the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Swami Vivekananda was seen as a great saint and a major figure in the history of the Hindu Reform movement. He was also the founder of the Ramakrishna Matha and the Ramakrishna mission. He was a great thinker, singer, and poet. His books are a compilation of his lectures on Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga. His writings are still of great spiritual and literary value to anyone interested in the practice of Yoga. Swami Vivekandanda was the first known Indian saint to visit the West, where he gave many seminal lectures and discourses on Yoga and Vedanta philosophy. In 1893, he addressed the World Parliament of Religions, in Chicago. His speech so captivated the audience that Swami Vivekananda was catapulted to fame in the US. |
Date of Birth: 12 Jan, 1863
Location: India
State: Orissa
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Views: 123
Summary
Swami Vivekananda was born Narendranath Dutta on January 12, 1863. In 1879, he entered the prestigious Presidency College in Calcutta. After a year, he joined the Scottish Church College and studied philosophy and European history. This was the beginning of his spiritual search about the meaning of God and God-consciousness. Eventually in 1881, he met Ramakrishna. He was so struck by his honesty and the depth of his experience that he decided to visit him regularly. Over the course of five years he underwent training in Bhakti and Advaita Vedanta. During the course of their discourses, Narendra was transformed from a restless youth into a mature man ready to renounce the world in pursuit of God-realization. When Ramakrishna developed throat cancer in 1886, Narendra and a group of other disciples took vows to become monks. For many years, he wandered the Indian subcontinent and gave talks on India and Hinduism. He was invited to the Parliament of World Religions in 1893 and so he journeyed to the West. In India, he delivered influential lectures and founded the Ramakrishna Mission. He died on July 4, 1902, at the age of thirty-nine, from heart failure.
References:
Related Links:
www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info
www.sriramakrishnamath.org/home.asp
www.writespirit.net/authors/swami_vivekananda
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