Swami Vivekananda
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entirely by their vision and foresightedness and by this yardstick
Swami Vivekananda stands tall and high in the list of such men.
It is truly amazing how Swamiji’s teachings and ideas are
still all the more relevant, even after passage of more than a century
and when the world is directly face-to-face with the deadly scourges
of terrorism, extremism and fanaticism. The eminent British historian
A.L. Basham stated that “In centuries to come, Swami Vivekananda will
be remembered as one of the main moulders of the modern world”.
Swami Vivekananda was born on 12 January 1863 in an
aristocratic family of Kolkata, India. His thinking and personality
were greatly influenced by his parents – the father by his rational
mind and the mother by her religious temperament. In his early
childhood days itself, he became familiar with Western philosophy
and science and refused to accept anything without rational proof
and pragmatic test. Another part of his mind was draw to the
spiritual ideals of meditation and non-attachment.
From his childhood, he showed strong inclination towards
spirituality, God realization and realizing the highest spiritual
truths. He studied different religious and philosophical systems of
East and the West. In particular, he studied the writings of David
Hume, Herbert Spencer, John Stuart Mill and Charles Darwin and
was also thoroughly acquainted with Indian Sanskrit scriptures. At
the young age of 25, he became a wandering monk and travelled the
length and breadth of India, visiting important centres of learning
and acquainting himself with the diverse religious traditions and
different patterns of social life. All this transformed the young
Vivekananda into a Swami, who respected all religions, beliefs and
ways of life and who gave the idea to the world that the union of
science and religion will bring harmony and peace to the humanity.