Swami Vivekananda

Why is in news? PM recalls Swami Vivekananda's Chicago speech delivered on this day 130 years ago

Swami Vivekananda (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), bornNarendranath Dattawas an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher and author.

He was achief discipleof the 19th-century Indian mysticRamakrishna. Vivekananda founded theRamakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission.

Influenced by Western esotericism, he was a key figure in theintroduction of the Indian darsanas (teachings, practices) of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world.

Swami Vivekananda is best known in the United States for his ground breakingspeech to the 1893 World's Parliament of Religionsin which heintroduced Hinduism to America and called for religious tolerance and an end to fanaticism.

Swami Vivekanandadied at an early age of 39 yearson July 4, 1902, due to rupture in the blood vessel of his brain.

Swami Vivekanandacombined thinking of different religions, communities and traditions. His thoughts inspire liberation from inertia. Swami Vivekananda is the inspiration behindNational Youth Day.

Vivekananda linkedmorality with control of the mind, seeing truth, purity and unselfishnessas traits which strengthened it. He advised his followers to be holy, unselfish and to have faith.

On September 11 in 1893, the saint delivered a powerful speech at the first Parliament of the World’s Religions - in which he spoke about tolerance, religious acceptance and the need to abolish all forms of fanaticism - issues that find relevance even today.

Through his speech, Swami Vivekananda introduced Hinduism to the western world - the religion which he said has taught the world both, tolerance and universal acceptance.

Discarding the idea of religious supremacy, he propagated a message of universal brotherhood.

The iconic speech earned Swami Vivekananda a standing ovation for two minutes, and went on to establish him as the greatest figure in the Parliament of World Religions, and India as the mother of religions.