User:TheMandarin/SV


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Swami Vivekananda was born in an aristocratic family of Calcutta in 1863. His parents influenced the Swami's thinking—the father by his rational mind and the mother by her religious temperament. From his childhood, he showed inclination towards spirituality and God realisation. While searching for a man who could directly demonstrate the reality of God, he came to Ramakrishna and became his disciple. As a guru Ramakrishna taught him Advaita Vedanta and that all religions are true, and service to man was the most effective worship of God. After the death of his Guru, he became a wandering monk touring the Indian subcontinent and getting a first hand account of India's condition. He later sailed to Chicago and represented India as a delegate in the 1893 Parliament of World religions. He conducted several public and private lectures, disseminating Vedanta, Yoga and Hinduism in America, England and few other countries in Europe. He also established Vedanta societies in America and England. He later sailed back to India and in 1897 he founded the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, a philanthropic and spiritual organization. The Swami is regarded as one of India's foremost nation-builders; his teachings influenced the thinking of other national leaders, like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Aurobindo Gosh, Radhakrishnan.

Birth and Childhood
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Ramakrishna

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His meeting with Ramakrishna in November 1881 proved to be a turning point in his life. About this meeting, Narendranath said, "He [Sri Ramakrishna] looked just like an ordinary man, with nothing remarkable about him. He used the most simple language and I thought ‘Can this man be a great teacher?’– I crept near to him and asked him the question which I had been asking others all my life: ‘Do you believe in God, Sir?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘Can you prove it, Sir?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘How?’ ‘Because I see Him just as I see you here, only in a much intenser sense.’ That impressed me at once. [. . .] I began to go to that man, day after day, and I actually saw that religion could be given. One touch, one glance, can change a whole life."

Narendra came to Ramakrishna (1836-1886) in the early part of 1882. Ramakrishna was deeply attracted by Narendra's singing. Ramakrishna reportedly said, "I know who you are, you are my Lord. You are Nara, the ancient sage, the incarnation of Narayana. You have come to earth to take away the sufferings and sorrows of mankind". However, Narendra's initial impression on Ramakrishna was that he was an eccentric and insane person. He put forth the same question, whether he had "seen God?" and he was deeply impressed by the reply he received from Ramakrishna, who said that he had seen God as he saw him, only more clearly.

Even though Narendra did not accept him as his guru initially and revolted against his ideas, he was attracted by Ramakrishna's personality and visited him frequently. He initially looked upon on Ramakrishna's ecstasies and visions as mere figments of imagination. As a member of Brahmo samaj, which taught formless worship, and revolted against idol worship and polytheism, Narendra revolted against Ramakrishna's worship of Kali. Narendra reportedly had a vision because of Ramakrisha's touch, which he described as follows—"The magic touch of the Master that day immediately brought a wonderful change over my mind. I was astounded to find that really there was nothing in the universe but God! … everything I saw appeared to be Brahman. … I realized that I must have had a glimpse of the Advaita state. Then it struck me that the words of the scriptures were not false. Thenceforth I could not deny the conclusions of the Advaita philosophy."

In 1885 Ramakrishna suffered from throat cancer and he was shifted to Calcutta and later to Cossipore. Vivekananda and his brother disciples took care of Ramakrishna during this final days. His spiritual education under Ramakrishna continued here. At Cossipore, Vivekananda experienced Nirvikalpa Samadhi. During the last days of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda received the ochre monastic robes from Ramakrishna and some of other disciples, which formed the first monastic order. Vivekananda was taught that service to men was the most effective worship of God. It is reported that when Vivekananda, doubted Ramakrishna's claim of avatara, Ramakrishna said, "He who was Rama, He who was Krishna, He himself is now Ramakrishna in this body." During his final days, Ramakrishna asked Vivekananda to take care of other monastic disciples and asked them to look upon Vivekananda as their leader. His condition worsened gradually and he expired in the early morning hours of August 16, 1886 at the Cossipore garden house. According to his disciples, this was Mahasamadhi.

Baranagore Monastery
After the death of their master, the monastic disciples lead by Vivekananda formed a fellowship at a half-ruined house at Baranagar near the river Ganga, with the financial assistance of the householder disciples. This became the first Math or monastery of the disciples who consistuted the first Ramakrishna Order.

The dilapidated house at Baranagore was chosen because of its low rent and proximity to the Cossipore burning-ghat, where Ramakrishna was cremated. Narendra and other members of the Math often spent their time in meditation, discussing about different philosophies and teachings of spiritual teachers including Ramakrishna, Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, and Jesus Christ. Narendra reminisced about the early days in the monastery as follows, "We underwent a lot of religious practice at Barangore Math. We used to get up at 3:00 am and become absorbed in japam and meditation. What a strong spirit of dispassion we had in those days! We had no thought even as to whether the world existed or not" In the early part of 1887, Narendra and eight other disciples took formal monastic vows. Narendra took the name of Swami Vividishananda. Later, prior to his journey to America, he changed his name to Swami Vivekananda at the request of Raja Ajit Singh of Khetri.

Parivrâjaka — Wandering monk
In 1888, Vivekananda left the monastery as a Parivrâjaka—the Hindu religious life of a wandering monk, "without fixed abode, without ties, independent and strangers wherever they go." His sole possessions were a kamandalu (staff), a water pot, and his two favorite books—Bhagavad Gita and The Imitation of Christ. Narendranath travelled the length and breadth of India for five years, visiting all the important centers of learning, acquainting himself with the diverse religious traditions and different patterns of social life. He developed a sympathy for the suffering and poverty of the masses and resolved to uplift the nation. Living mainly on begging, Narendranath traveled mostly on foot and railway tickets were bought by his admirers whom he met during the travels. During these travels he gained acquaintance and stayed with scholars, Dewans, Rajas and people from all walks of life—Hindus, Muslims, Pariahas (low caste workers), Government officials.

Northern India
In 1888, he started his journey from Varanasi. At Varnasi, he met pandit and Bengali writer, Bhudev Mukhopadhyay and Trailanga Swami, a famous saint who lived in a Shiva temple. Here, he also met Babu Pramadadas Mitra, the noted Sanskrit scholar, to whom the Swami wrote a number of letters asking his advice on the interpretation of the Hindu scriptures. After Varanasi he visited Ayodhya, Lucknow, Agra, Vrindaban, Hathras and Rishikesh. At Hathras he met Sharat Chandra Gupta, the station master who later became one of his earliest disciples as Sadananda. Between 1888-1890, he visited Vaidyanath, Allahabad. From Allahabad, he visited Ghazipur where he met Pavhari Baba, a Advaita Vedanta ascetic who spent most of his time spent in meditation. Between 1888-1890, he returned to Barangore Math few times, because of ill health and to arrange for the financial funds when Balram Bose and Suresh Chandra Mitra, the disciples of Ramakrishna who supported the Math had expired.

The Himalayas
In July 1890, accompanied by his brother monk, Swami Akhandananda, he continued his journey as a wandering monk and returned to the Math only after his visit to the West. He visited, Nainital, Almora, Srinagar, Dehra Dun, Hrishikesh, Hardwar and the Himalayas. During this travel, he reportedly had a vision of macrocosm and microcosm, which seems to be reflected in the Jnana Yoga lectures he gave later in the West, "The Cosmos—The Macrocosm and The Microcosm". During these travels, he met his brother monks —Swami Brahmananda, Saradananda, Turiyananda, Akhandananda, Advaitananda. They stayed at Meerut for few days where they passed their time in meditation, prayer and study of scriptures. In the end of January 1891, the Swami left his brother monks and journeyed to Delhi alone.

Rajputana
At Delhi, after visiting historical places he journeyed towards Alwar, in the historic land of Rajputana. Later he journeyed to Jaipur, where he studied Panini's Ashtadhyayi from a Sanskrit scholar. He next journeyed to Ajmer, where he visited the palace of Akbar and the famous Dargah and left for Mount Abu. At Mount Abu, he met the Maharaja Ajit Singh of Khetri, who became his ardent devotee and supporter. He was invited to Khetri, where delivered discourses to the Raja. At Khetri, he also became acquainted with Pandit Narayandas, and studied Mahabhashya on Sutras of Panini. After two and half months at Khetri, towards end of October 1891, he proceeded towards Rajasthan and Maharastra.

Western India
Continuing his travels, he visited Ahmedabad, Wadhwan, Limbdi. At Ahmedabad he completed his studies of Mohammedan and Jain culture. At Limbdi, he met Thakore Sahed Jaswant Singh who had himself been to England and America. From the Thakore Saheb, the Swami got the first idea of going to the West to preach Vedanta. He later visited Junagadh, Girnar, Kutch, Porbander, Dwaraka, Palitana, Baroda. At Porbander he stayed three quarters of a year, in spite of his vow as a wandering monk, to perfect his philosophical and Sanskrit studies with learned pandits; he worked with a court pandit who translated the Vedas.

He later traveled to Mahabaleshwar and then to Poona. From Poona he visited Khandwa and Indore around June 1892. At Kathiawar he heard of the Parliament of the World's Religions and was urged by his followers there to attend it. He left Khandwa for Bombay and reached there on July 1892. In a Poona bound train he met Bal Gangadhar Tilak. After staying with Tilak for few days in Poona, the Swami travelled to Belgaum in October 1892. At Belgaum, he was the guest of Prof. G.S. Bhate and Sub-divisional Forest officer, Haripada Mitra. From Beglaum, he visited Panjim and Margo in Goa. He spent three days in the Rachol Seminary, the oldest convent-college of theology of Goa where rare religious literature in manuscripts and printed works in Latin are preserved. He reportedly studied important Christian theological works here. From Margao the Swami went by train to Dharwar, and from there directly to Bangalore, in Mysore State.

Southern India
At Bangalore, the Swami became acquainted with Sir K. Seshadri Iyer, the Dewan of Mysore state, and later he stayed at the palace as guest of the Maharaja of Mysore, Shri Chamarajendra Wadiyar. Regarding Swami's learning, Sir Seshadri reportedly remarked, "a magnetic personality and a divine force which were destined to leave their mark on the history of his country." The Maharaja provided the Swami a letter of introduction to the Dewan of Cochin and got him a railway ticket.

From Bangalore, he visited Trichur, Kodungalloor,Ernakulam. At Ernakulam, he met Chattambi Swami, the guru of Narayana Guru in early December 1892. From Ernakulam, he journey to Trivandrum, Nagercoli and reached Kanyakumari on foot during the Christmas Eve of 1892. At Kanyakumari, the Swami reportedly meditated on the "last bit of Indian rock", famously known later as the Vivekananda Rock for three days. At Kanyakumari, Vivekananda reportedly had the "Vision of one India". He wrote, "At Cape Camorin sitting in Mother Kumari's temple, sitting on the last bit of Indian rock - I hit upon a plan: We are so many sanyasis wandering about, and teaching the people metaphysics-it is all madness. Did not our Gurudeva used to say, `An empty stomach is no good for religion?' We as a nation have lost our individuality and that is the cause of all mischief in India. We have to raise the masses."

From Kanyakumari he visited Madurai, where he met Raja of Ramnad, Bhaskara Setupati, to whom he had a letter of introduction. The Raja became the Swami's disciple and urged him to go to the Parliament of Religions at Chicago. From Madurai, he visited Rameshwaram, Pondicherry and he travelled to Madras and here he met some his most devoted disciples, like Alasinga Perumal, G.G. Narasimhachari, who played important roles in collecting funds for Swami's voyage to America and later in establishing the Ramakrishna Mission in Madras. From Madras he travelled to Hyderabad. With the aid of funds collected by his Madras disciples and Rajas of Mysore, Ramnad, Khetri, Dewans, and other followers Vivekananda left for Chicago on 31 May, 1893 from Bombay assuming the name Vivekananda—the name suggested by the Maharaja of Khetri.

During his sojourn at Rajasthan, he met Maharaja Ajit Singh of Khetri, who became his disciple and supported him financially. He happend to meet many leading personalities and rules of princely states. Amoung them Maharaja Ajit Singh of Khetri became his first disciple. At Poona he stayed with Balgangadhar Tilak, a great nationalist leader of Maharashtra. He also met Bhaskara Setupati, Raja of Ramnad and Raja of Mysore who became his devotees and provided financial support for this first visit to the West.

From Kanyakumari,

Travelling throughout the length and breadth of India, mostly on foot, Narendra was trying to work out a purpose for his life. While on the road, he often faced starvation and frequently found himself with nowhere to stay. To Narendra, this was an opportunity to study India and its needs at first hand. He observed that his country possessed a priceless spiritual heritage, but had failed to reap the benefit of it. The weak points were poverty, caste, neglect of the masses, oppression of women and a faulty system of education. How was India to be regenerated? He came to the conclusion: We have to give back to the nation its lost individuality and raise the masses. [. . .] Again, the force to raise them must come from inside (CW, vol. VI, p. 255).

At the fag end of his journey he went to Kanya Kumari, the southern most tip of India, swam across the shark infested waters and sat on a rock and "meditated upon the greatness of India's past, her shattered present and the future of India, causes of her downfall and the ways of her resurrection." According to him, he realized that revival of spiritualism would resurrect India nationally and reassure India's national vitality. He also made a decision to go to the West and seek help for the starving people of India. With this decision he journeyed to Rameswaram and Madurai and then to Madras. In this city Vivekananda's desire for visiting the West was intensified when he came to know from the newspapers, about the Parliament of World Religions, which was being convened at Chicago in America as a part of Columbus exposition. He also reportedly had a symbolic dream of Ramakrishna walking over the ocean waves and beckoning him to follow. After taking Sarada Devi's permission, he decided to travel to the Chicago. His followers at Madras began to raise money. The Maharaja of Khetri extended the best possible help to Narendra and upon the Maharaja's suggestion he assumed the name of Swami Vivekananda. He left for Chicago from Bombay on 31 May 1893 and reached Chicago on 30 July.

First visit to West

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He travelled to America via China, Japan, Canada and arrived at Chicago in the middle of July 1893. But to his disappointment he learnt that no one without credentials from a bona fide organization would be accepted as a delegate. He came in contact with Professor John Henry Wright of Harvard University. After inviting him to speak at Harvard and on learning of his not having credential to speak at the Parliament, Wright is quoted as having said, "To ask for your credentials is like asking the sun to state its right to shine in the heavens." Wright then addressed a letter to the Chairman in charge of delegates writing, "Here is a man who is more learned than all of our learned professors put together." On the Professor Vivekananda himself writes, "He urged upon me the necessity of going to the Parliament of Religions, which he thought would give an introduction to the nation."

Parliament of World's Religions
The Parliament of Religions opened on 11 September 1893 at the Art Institute of Chicago. On this day Vivekananda gave his first brief address. He represented India and Hinduism. Though initially nervous, he bowed to Saraswati, the goddess of learning and began his speech with, "Sisters and brothers of America!". To these words he got a standing ovation from a crowd of seven thousand, which lasted for two minutes. When silence was restored he began his address. He greeted the youngest of the nations in the name of "the most ancient order of monks in the world, the Vedic order of sannyasins, a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance." And he quoted two illustrative passages in this relation, from the Bhagavad Gita—"As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take, through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee!" and "Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths that in the end lead to Me." Despite being a short speech, it voiced the spirit of the Parliament and its sense of universality.

Dr. Barrows, the president of the Parliament said, "India, the Mother of religions was represented by Swami Vivekananda, the Orange-monk who exercised the most wonderful influence over his auditors." He attracted widespread attention in the press, which dubbed him as the "Cyclonic monk from India". The New York Critique wrote, "He is an orator by divine right, and his strong, intelligent face in its picturesque setting of yellow and orange was hardly less interesting than those earnest words, and the rich, rhythmical utterance he gave them." The New York Herald wrote, "Vivekananda is undoubtedly the greatest figure in the Parliament of Religions. After hearing him we feel how foolish it is to send missionaries to this learned nation." Swami Vivekananda was regarded as, "undoubtedly the greatest figure in the arliament of religions", "beyond question, the most popular and influential man in the parliament."

He spoke several more times at the Parliament on topics related to Hinduism and Buddhism. The parliament ended on 27th September 1893. All his speeches at the Parliament had one common theme—Universality and stressed religious tolerance.

After the parliament he went on a lecturing tour and later began to work more intimately with small group of persons on the West Coast, in New York, and in Europe, institutionalizing the Ramakrishna Movement in New York in 1895.

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Lecturing tours in America, England
After the Parliament of Religions, Vivekananda spent nearly two whole years lecturing in various parts of eastern and central United States, appearing chiefly in Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and New York. By the spring of 1895, he was weary and in poor health, because of his continuous exertion.

After giving up his lecture tour, the Swami started giving free and private classes on Vedanta and Yoga. In June 1895, for two months he conducted private lectures to a dozen of his disciples at the Thousand Island Park. Vivekananda considered this to the happiest part of his first visit to America. He later founded the Vedanta Society at New York.

During his first visit to America, he traveled to England twice in 1895 and 1896. His lectures were successful there. Here he met Margaret Nobel an Irish lady, who later became Sister Nivedita. During his second visit in May 1896, the Swami met Max Müller a renowned Indologist at Oxford who wrote Ramakrishna's first biography in the West. From England, he also visited other European countries. In Germany he met Paul Deussen, another famous Indologist.

He also received two academic offers, the chair of Eastern Philosophy at Harvard University and a similar position at Columbia University. He declined both, saying that, as a wandering monk, he could not settle down to work of this kind.

He attracted several sincere followers. Two disciples joined him, Madame Louise, a French woman, who became Swami Abhayananda, and Leon Landsberg, who became Swami Kripananda. He initiated several other followers into Brahmacharya. Among his other followers were, Josepine MacLeod, Miss Muller, Miss Noble, E.T.Sturdy, Captain and Mrs. Sevier—who played an important role in the founding of Advaita Ashrama and J.J.Goodwin—who became his stenographer and recorded his teachings and lectures. The Hale family became one of his warmest hosts in America.

Swami Vivekananda's ideas were admired by such scholars and philosophers such as William James, Josiah Royce, C. C. Everett (Dean of the Harvard School of Divinity), Robert G. Ingersoll, Nikola Tesla, Lord Kelvin, and Professor Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz. Other personalities who were attracted by his talks were Harriet Monroe and Ella Wheeler Wilcox—two famous American poets, Professor William James of Harvard University; Dr. Lewis G. Janes, president of Brooklyn Ethical Association; Sara C. Bull wife of Ole Bull, the Norwegian violinist; Sarah Bernhardt, the French actress and Madame Emma Clave, the French opera singer.

From West, he also set his Indian work in motion. Vivekananda wrote a stream of letters to India, giving advice and sending money to his followers and brother monks. His letters from the West in these days laid down the motive of his campaign for social service. He constantly tried to inspire his close disciples in India to do something big. His letters to them contain some of his strongest words. In one such letter, he wrote to Swami Akhandananda, "Go from door to door amongst the poor and lower classes of the town of Khetri and teach them religion. Also, let them have oral lessons on geography and such other subjects. No good will come of sitting idle and having princely dishes, and saying "Ramakrishna, O Lord!"—unless you can do some good to the poor." Eventually in 1895, the periodical called Brahmavadin was started in Madras, with the money supplied by Vivekananda, for the purpose of teaching the Vedanta. Subsequenly, Vivekananda's translation of first six chapters of The Imitation of Christ was published in Brahmavadin (1889).

Vivekananda left for India on 16 December 1896 from England with disciples, Capitan and Mrs. Sevier, and J.J.Goodwin. On the way they visited France, Italy, seeing Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper, and set sail for India from the Port of Naples on December 30, 1896. Later, he was followed to India by Miss Muller and Sister Nivedita. Sister Nivedita devoted the rest of her life to the education of Indian women and the cause of India's independence.

Colombo to Almora
Vivekananda arrived in Colombo on January 15, 1897 and received a grand welcome. Here, he gave his first public speech in East, India, the Holy Land. From there on, his journey to Calcutta was a triumphal progress. He traveled from Colombo to Pamban, Rameshwaram, Ramnad, Madurai, Kumbakonam and Madras delivering lectures. People and Rajas gave him enthusiastic reception. From Madras, he continued his journey to Calcutta and continued his lectures upto Almora. These lectures have been published as Lectures from Colombo to Almora. These lectures are considered to be of nationalistic fervor and spiritual ideology. His speeches had tremendous influence on the Indian leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, Bipin Chandra Pal and Balgangadhar Tilak.

Founding of Ramakrishna Math and Mission
On 1 May 1897 at Calcutta, Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math—the organ for propogating religion and Ramakrishna Mission—the organ for social service. This was the beginning of an organized movement to help the masses through educational, cultural, medical and relief work. The Ramakrishna Mission was based on Karma Yoga. Two monasteries were founded by him, one at Belur, near Calcutta, and became the Headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission and the other at Mayavati on the Himalayas, near Almora called the Advaita Ashrama and later a third monastery was established at Madras. Two journals were started, Prabuddha Bharata in English and Udbhodan in Bengali. The same year, the famine relief work was started by Swami Akhandananda at Murshidabad district.

Vivekananda had inspired Sir Jamshetji Tata to set up a research and educational institution when they had travelled together from Yokohama to Chicago on the Swami’s first visit to the West in 1893. About this time the Swami received a letter from Tata, requesting him to head the Research Institute of Science that Tata had set up. But Vivekananda declined the offer saying that it conflicted with his spiritual interests.

He later visited Punjab, in Pakistan with the mission of establishing harmony between the Arya Samaj which stood for reinterpreted Hinduism and the Sanatanaists who stood for orthodox Hinduism. At Rawalpindi, he suggested methods for rooting out antagonism between Arya Samajists and Muslims. His visit to Lahore is memorable for his famous speeches and his inspiring association with Tirtha Ram Goswami, then a brilliant professor of Mathematics, who later graced the famous monastic name, Swami Rama Tirtha and preached Vedanta in India and America. He also visited other places, including Delhi and Khetri and returned to Calcutta in January 1896. He spent the next few months consolidating the work of Math and training the disciples. During this period he composed the famous arati song, Khandana Bhava Bandhana during the event of consecration of Ramakrishna's temple at a devotees' house.

Captain Sevier assumed the monastic name of Swarupananda and became the first president of Advaita Ashrama and editor of Prabuddha Bharata. Sister Nivedita and Miss Muller who had embraced Hinduism, founded an school for women. This period was characterised by the start of several socio-religious movements.

The Ramakrishna Math and Mission has been called the "greatest spiritual force in modern India". By rejuvenating India, stimulating nationalism, and engaging in social service, Vivekananda and the Ramakrishna Mission have contributed to the formation of the secular state.

These monasteries are meant to receive young men who have become become sannyasis of the Ramakrishna Mission, and to give them a training for their work. The same year the philanthropic activity was started and relief of the famine was carried out.

Swami Vivekananda founded the Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati in the Himalayas, where neither inmates nor guests are permitted any formal worship. He wanted to bring students there from all cultural traditions to study philosophy on a non-partisan basis and to devote themselves to contemplation. The Home of Service, which he founded in Banaras, carries on medical relief work. He aimed at turning the Belur Math, the Headquarters of the Ramakrishna Order near Calcutta, into a complete university where Western science and Eastern mysticism would be studied side-by-side.
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Second visit to England and America

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Back to India
After his return, a third monastery was founded, in Madras; and centers of philanthorpic effort were formed in Madras, Benares and in the Murishdabad district of Bengal. He would not deliver lectures, but did all he could to set men to work.

he also started several magazines, which are still published in India. The Brahmavadin, which is published in Madras, and the Prabuddha Bharata, which is published at mayavati in the Himalayas. A Bengali monthly named Udbodhan, is published in Calcutta.
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Final Days
Ramakrishna had said, "Narendra is a great soul, perfect in meditation. The day he recognizes his true self he will give up his body by an ac of will, through yoga."

Teachings and Message

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His ideas had a strong influence on religious and political leaders, as well as revolutionaries like Mahatma Gandhi. The Swami’s objections to the ancient caste system and hatred among the various ethnic groups were attempts at social reform. A generation of scholars, pundits, mystics, Hindu sects, and even other religions have either openly embraced or acknowledged Swami Vivekananda’s teachings of unity and peace.

Furthermore, Vivekananda once remarked, “all the ideas that I preach are only an attempt to echo his (Ramakrishna’s) ideas.”

An underlying theme in Swami Vivekananda’s lectures is an emphasized need for religious harmonization. His comparative approach and reference to Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus was a concerted effort to establish a commonality among these world religions.

On Nationality
The Swami is regarded as one of India's foremost nation-builders and his teachings influenced the thinking of other national leaders, like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Subhas Chandra Bose.

Works
Swami Vivekananda's writings, speeches, letters, and poems, published in eight volumes, show the vastness and depth of his knowledge, both Eastern and Western. His Raja-Yoga is based on the philosophy of the Samhkhya and Yoga; Bhakti-yoga deals with the philosophy of the love of God; Karma-yoga summarizes the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita; and Jnana-yoga explains the philosophy of non-dualistic Vedanta. He tried to reconcile the various schools of Hindu philosophy on the basis of non-dualism. In his opinion, the different branches of knowledge were complementary and not contradictory.