Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda (Narendranath Dutta) was born in Calcutta to a traditional Bengali Kayastha family on 12 January, 1853. After his education he became a member of a Freemason lodge and a breakaway faction of the Brahmo Samaj led by Keshab Chandra Sen and Debendranath Tagore. In 1885 he became a disciple of Ramakrishna paramahamsa and took over his activities after his death in 1886. Then evolved and emerged the reformer, Swami Vivekananda.
- He travelled to different parts of India like Varanasi, Lucknow up to the south to Kanyakumari spreading the message of Ramakrishna and his teachings.
- He chided casteism and untouchability vehemently during his travails and also gathering followers.
- He also stood for girl’s education as he and his disciple Sister Nivedita established in Kolkata.
- He refurbished a dilapidated Baranagar Math to the first Ramakrishna Math.
- He also established the Ramakrishna Mission headquartered at Belur which carries to this day his treatises and psalms.
- He was the first great philosopher from India who represented and exemplified Indian philosophy and the Hindu religion before the world at the Parliament of the World’s Religions opened on 11 September 1893 at the Art Institute of Chicago as part of the World’s Columbian Exposition. His famous Chicago speech still imbibed in the laurels of history and still remains one of India’s greatest moment till death.
Ramakrishna Math and Mission
- established in 1897 By Swami Vivekananda headquartered in Belur near Kolkata.;The Motto of the organisation is “Atmano Mokshartham Jagad-hitaya Cha” which means means For one’s own salvation, and for the good of the world
- It has become an organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the Ramakrishna Movement or the Vedanta Movement which has branches here as well as abroad.
- Also referred to as the Ramakrishna Order, the Math is the movement’s monastic organisation. Founded by Ramakrishna in 1886, the Math primarily focuses on spiritual training and the propagation of the movement’s teachings.
- The mission works against the caste system and orthodoxy to spread the message of harmony and spiritual transformation.
- It also has established a number of educational institutions for spreading education
- It is also involved in the spreading of Indian culture abroad .
- It is also involved in running destitute, old age homes and also involved in disaster relief.
- Its libraries help spread the knowledge of Hinduism to all.
- The mission activities include:
- Education
- Health care
- Cultural activities
- Rural upliftment
- Tribal welfare
- Youth movement etc
- It after its inception has resulted in a harmonious socio-religious movement and that of spirituality and is one the largest organisation working in this front; in the country.