| Swami Vivekananda (1863 to 1902) |
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After the passing away of Sri Ramakrishna (1886) his young ascetic disciples
and householders, under the leadership of Vivekananda, dedicated themselves to carry out the mission of their Master. Vivekananda realized that he did not come to earth for his own salvation but he had a mission to fulfill. Like Sri Ramakrishna and Buddha, he came for the ‘good of the many, for the happiness’ of the many. (Bahujana hitaya, Bahujana sukhaya) |
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Some friends of Madras, a few rulers of the states urged and helped him to
represent Hinduism at the Parliament of Religions at Chicago (Sep. 1893). His speeches at the Parliament are the classic examples of oceanic sympathy, broad catholicity and total unselfishness. For the next four years, the West, for the first time heard through the lips of this cyclonic young sage, the immortal message of the divinity of the soul. He said, “My ideal can be put into a few words, that is, preach un to mankind their divinity and how to make it manifest in every movement of life.” |
