An Autobiography of Swami Vivekananda.pptx
- 3. Swami Vivekananda’s Life Swami Vivekananda was born on the 12th of January in 1863, Calcutta now called Kolkata. He died on the 4th of July 1902 near Calcutta. His original name was Narendranath Nath Datta. He was born in a wealthy family and Vivekananda was skilled in music, gymnastics, and studies, and had a vast knowledge of different subjects by the time he had graduated from Calcutta University. He also knew a lot about Western philosophy and history. Vivekananda was a monk, Hindu spiritual leader, and reformer in India who tried to combine Indian spirituality with Western material progress.
- 4. Sri Ramakrishna Swami Vivekananda started to doubt the existence of God. However, he had heard about Sri Ramakrishna and decided to meet him in the Kali Temple in Dakshineswar. Upon meeting him, he immediately asked Ramakrishna “Sir, have you seen God?” And without hesitating, the Master said “Yes, I have. I see Him as clearly as I see you, only in a much intenser sense” This removed all doubts from Vivekananda and Sri Ramakrishna became his guru.
- 5. Swami Vivekananda’s speech Swami Vivekananda is best known in the United States for his famous speeches to the first World’s Parliament of Religions on the 11th of September. This is his speech on his response to welcome. Swami Vivekananda begins his speech thanking his welcome on the behalf of the ancient monks, the mother of religions, and millions of Hindus. He belongs to a religion that teaches tolerance and universal acceptance, and that also accepts all religions as true. Vivekananda is proud to belong to a nation that has helped refugees and people who were oppressed.
- 6. He quotes a hymn from his early childhood: “As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.” Vivekananda says excessive devotion to a religious group, rejection of other opinions, and extreme beliefs that lead to unreasonable behaviour which is called fanaticism, have filled the earth with violence and blood, destroyed civilization, and sent entire nations to despair. But now their time has come, and he hopes that the event he is speaking at will stop fanaticism, ill-treatment, and all uncharitable feelings between people on their way to the same goal.
- 8. Swami Vivekananda’s Motivation During his travels around India, Vivekananda was shocked to see the amount of poverty. The masses had lost faith in themselves and didn’t know how to improve their economic condition. Vivekananda‘s answer to solve this was through education Vivekananda decided to go to the World’s Parliament of Religions because it would help him present his Master’s message to the world and also to find financial help to lift the masses out of poverty.
- 9. Swami Vivekananda’s Impact To help the masses out of poverty, Vivekananda decided that education was the best way forward. To do this, he needed an efficient organisation of dedicated people. Vivekananda said that he wanted ”to set in motion a machinery which will bring noblest ideas to the doorstep of even the poorest and meanest”. So he founded the Ramakrishna Mission, where monks and unprofessional people would spread the use of Practical Vedanta and different social services, such as hospitals, schools, and relief for victims of natural disasters.
- 10. More Impacts Nowadays, National Youth Day is celebrated in India on the same date as Vivekananda’s birth to educate and inspire young Indians to create a better future. It is likewise celebrated to spread Vivekananda’s philosophies and ideals and to show appreciation for Vivekananda’s work for India. Many people have also been inspired by Vivekananda: 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.” Gandhi said that “I have gone through his works very thoroughly, and after having gone through them, the love that I had for my country became a thousand-fold”
- 11. Religious Influences Swami Vivekananda was influenced by Hinduism because he was taught to accept all Hindu views as one total view of reality. This then let him give an identity to the various forms of Hinduism. He was also inspired by God, as he points out that you must believe in yourself first before you can believe in God, so in his path to God, Vivekananda strengthened his self belief.
- 14. Sources Britannica Ramakrishna The Vedanta Society Belur Math Swami Vivekananda’s speech New York Herald quote